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墨書 Inktalez
The situation here was unlike anything they had encountered before. As they continued forward, the ground was littered with strange bones, remnants of those who had likely tried to crawl toward the Bronze Door. It was evident that something had driven them out, but they never anticipated that the Bronze Door would close automatically behind them once they entered.
There were no signs of blade or gun attacks; instead, aside from the drag marks on the ground, there were no other traces. The environment felt eerily serene, as if it had never been disturbed by human presence. In a place like this, even the slightest noise would be noticeable. It was astonishingly quiet, with only their group present.
“Let’s keep moving,” Ross said calmly. “It seems quiet in here; it doesn’t look like there are any monsters around. They must have fallen victim to some kind of trap, perhaps a nerve gas attack.” He continued, “So we need to be cautious. It’s better to take our time and move slowly than to end up like those corpses on the ground. The Bronze Door is completely sealed now, so we can’t rely on that for an exit. We either find another way out or face despair. We should prepare for an explosive escape; clearly, the Ancient One underestimated the power of modern technology. A simple detonator won’t breach the rock walls; we’ll need Alchemical Explosives to break through.”
The others remained silent, looking at Freyr, waiting for his input.
As Commander, Freyr was expected to step up and alleviate their concerns in such situations. However, he found himself without any solid ideas and could only let Ross lead the way. After all, he too had ventured deep into this Catacomb. The power of Alchemical Explosives was ten times that of conventional explosives; one gram equated to a pound of destructive force.
They could not afford to be careless. The explosive force could generate a tremendous shockwave, and the walls of the Catacomb would likely not withstand such power. A single misstep could cause the Catacomb to collapse inwardly, trapping them inside without any chance of escape.
It was estimated that the upper part of this Catacomb formed the spine of a mountain—its center of gravity. If that balance were disturbed, a collapse was inevitable.
At this moment, Freyr couldn’t think of a better way to handle their predicament. While he was brave in combat situations, he lacked the strategic insight that Ross possessed. Ross’s experience from numerous missions made him more suited for the role of Commander.
However, Ross wasn’t one to win hearts easily; he was preoccupied with his own thoughts and didn’t even know what others liked or what they enjoyed eating. If someone like him were in charge as Commander, team members would likely work independently on tasks without unifying their efforts.
If one only considered this perspective, it wasn’t entirely wrong; after all, their current situation was as such. The only advantage Freyr had as Commander was that there were no secrets among team members—except for himself. Such a person would not be well-received anywhere.
With no other options left, they pressed forward into the depths of the Catacomb. They truly had no alternative but to proceed cautiously and discover what lay ahead. Each member pulled out their Oxygen Masks and secured them over their mouths.
The path ahead remained relatively smooth and easy to navigate. As they delved deeper, they noticed subtle changes in the surroundings on either side.
Gradually, they seemed to hear other sounds. While it was not unusual to hear noises, it felt quite strange in such a closed space.
“Shh, listen. It sounds like there’s something,” one of them whispered. They moved forward cautiously, then slowed down as they approached the front, where it appeared something else was happening. Suddenly, Ross at the front raised his hand to signal them to stop.
This group had been following his commands, moving and pausing without any other thoughts, yet they hadn’t noticed anything amiss.
The journey had been remarkably quiet, and there were no ominous signs at all.
“It sounds like flowing water,” someone in the team responded. The others perked up their ears to listen closely, and indeed, it did resemble the sound of water flowing.
No one had imagined that there could be any water movement here, but when they had pulled out the chains earlier, they had also brought some water with them. It seemed there was a connection to water somewhere within; whether it was groundwater or stagnant water remained unknown.
As they ventured deeper, the sound of water grew louder, sending chills down everyone’s spine. After walking for so long without encountering anyone, hearing the sound of water felt unsettling. Fortunately, everyone managed to suppress their unease.
“It seems to be just ahead,” Xiong Tai said, unable to contain himself after a long silence. Although he spoke in a low voice, the acoustics of the environment amplified his words, echoing into the depths as if someone identical were mimicking him.
When the sound echoed deeper without leaving any trace of movement, some of them stood frozen in fear for a while. There didn’t seem to be any traps triggered ahead; it appeared that the mechanism was not related to the sound.
If one were to judge the creation of this Catacomb by modern standards, it could indeed eliminate any intruder who slipped in unnoticed.
It was fortunate that no traps had been activated. The others shot Xiong Tai a glance, thinking they would definitely not let him off easily once they got out. They regrouped and continued into the darkness ahead.
The surroundings fell silent again. After a short while, two rows of statues resembling stone figures appeared beside them. By this point, they could feel that the source of the sound was getting closer and closer.
It sounds like it's really nearby, and the sound is quite clear, unlike the so-called stagnant water that circulates. Instead, it resembles a flowing underground channel, but I just can't understand where the underground water is flowing to.
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