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墨書 Inktalez
I turned my head slightly to glance at Liu Squad Leader in the second row and meaningfully said to him, "Song Guilong has an injury on his right foot; he won't be able to walk too fast."
Among the six of us, Liu Squad Leader was the one most resolute about finding Song Guilong. To me, it seemed like he had come out with a death wish. One thing I was certain of was that during those five minutes, Li Squad Leader must have said something to Liu Squad Leader. Otherwise, his attitude wouldn't be so firm, and the change wouldn't be so drastic.
Liu Squad Leader grumbled in the darkness, "No matter how fast or slow he walks, this path will eventually lead somewhere. There will definitely be a time when we meet."
Liu Squad Leader's statement was indeed correct. Currently, not just me, but Xiao Guolin and Cao Mingzhe also believed that this Drainage Ditch was a channel used by Ancient Civilization to collect drinking water. Our assumption that this channel's purpose was solely for collecting drinking water wasn't baseless; it was because the channel was remarkably clean. It could be imagined that whether it was rainwater or river water, before being diverted into this underground channel, it would have undergone sedimentation and filtration, ensuring that silt wouldn't flow down with it. Such a complex and refined Water Storage Project, used for irrigation, would still be considered an extravagant endeavor even today.
The final collection point for drinking water wouldn't be too large and would definitely mark the end of the passage. "We will meet sooner or later," I calmly concluded this statement and turned to continue forward.
The greatest advantage of good lighting is that nothing gets overlooked. After walking for a while, we passed a Branch and marked it. Not long after, we discovered a hole.
This hole opened at the top of the arch, about sixty centimeters in diameter, resembling a maintenance access point into the passage. The hole wasn't deep; under the bright lights, we could see that there was a Stone Grate at the top, though we couldn't see it clearly. The six of us gathered around the hole and looked up.
"Let's go take a look," Zhao Squad Leader commanded.
Xu Xinming took off his shoulder-mounted Walkie-Talkie and prepared to ascend. However, he didn't know who to give his Walkie-Talkie to and could only cast an inquiring glance at Zhao Squad Leader. Among our six-member team, Xu Xinming was tasked with heavy labor. Of the three soldiers, he was the only private; another squad leader was barely hanging on and couldn't be relied upon at all. Among the three Archaeology team members, two were older, one of whom had issues with his mental state and sensory nerves. While I could assist him due to age and physical condition, he didn't know whether he should ask the young Professor Zhang for help with the Walkie-Talkie.
Although our group of six had come out to find water, the primary responsibility of the Archaeology team remained to classify this channel and locate water sources based on the ruins. Currently, it seemed that finding a water source shouldn't be too difficult; it all depended on whether there was still water left. Zhao Squad Leader felt it inappropriate to ask an Archaeology team member to do something else and took the Walkie-Talkie from Xu Xinming.
Even though the highest point of the arch was only about two and a half or three meters high, getting up there still required forming a human ladder. I said to Xu Xinming, "I'll go up."
Before Zhao Squad Leader, Xu Xinming wouldn't just follow my orders; he immediately looked at Zhao Squad Leader for confirmation. When Zhao Squad Leader nodded, he slightly crouched down. I placed my first foot on his knee and my second foot on his shoulder while gently reaching up to touch the Cave Wall and poking my head inside.
The Cave Wall was made of Azure Brick Wall, appearing to be in worse condition than the Brick Wall of the passage. It wasn't due to severe oxidation; there was a significant difference between the two. The deterioration was serious because of frequent use and erosion, rather than simply being oxidized over time in the air. This indicated it was a water inlet, and it had been used quite often. The Brick Hole had no handles or footholds, but fortunately, there was enough space for me to brace myself against the Cave Wall and climb up.
Since the Brick Hole was short, I quickly reached the rotating top. Above was a Stone Grate, sturdy and with a density of two fingers between its gaps, likely able to block larger debris. I pressed my back against one side of the Cave Wall, spreading my legs against the opposite side to create space for Zhao Squad Leader to shine the light up. I was very concerned about the layout above the Stone Grate; it was our best hope of finding an escape.
White light filtered through the gaps in the Stone Grate, illuminating a complete Bluestone Slab above. I frowned and studied it for a moment before signaling downwards and sliding out of the hole to jump down.
"This is an inlet for Water Inlet. In this Underground Pipeline Network, there should be more such inlets. However..." I glanced around at everyone before continuing, "A large bluestone is pressing down on the inlet above, perhaps similar to the Azure Stone Floor found in the Test Pit. In any case, this water inlet has been artificially blocked off; there’s no way out from here."
My words extinguished everyone's faint hope of escape. Although when we discovered it, everyone thought the chances of finding an exit were slim, having some hope versus none made a significant difference.
"Maybe other inlets aren't blocked," Zhao Squad Leader said defiantly.
Xiao Guolin and I exchanged glances without speaking. Xiao Guolin forced out a response: "Maybe."
That response felt too forced; even Zhao Squad Leader could hear the hopelessness in Xiao Guolin's words. I knew that blocking off such a massive Water Storage Project's inlet required immense courage and faced tremendous pressure at that time. Similarly, one question became more prominent: what had happened back then?
Clearly, at the moment this underground water storage system was sealed off, it had been completely abandoned. But why?
I didn't know if Zhao Squad Leader had this question; Xiao Guolin clearly did. Although he still tried to act nonchalant, his increasingly serious expression betrayed him.
I wasn't pretending; I had already been frightened by this question in the Brick Hole and had decided to accept it calmly.
Damn Liu Squad Leader was getting better at acting; his face showed no expression at all. But I didn't believe he hadn't thought about this issue; perhaps he knew something I didn't. During those five minutes when communication was cut off, what had Li Squad Leader told him? This question gnawed at me like a festering wound. I couldn't tell if it was because the effects of Morphine were wearing off or if my concussion was starting to show its consequences, but his face looked somewhat pale. I actually hoped he was just scared by reality; this pretentious person was increasingly resembling Li Squad Leader.
The six of them took the opportunity to rest and held a brief meeting. Under the insistence of Squad Leader Zhao, they added a new task: to search for an exit along the way. It seemed he was unaware that there would be no exit above the Brick Hole and the potential dangers lurking in the passage.
While resting, I quietly sat next to Squad Leader Liu and lowered my voice to ask, "What do you know? What did Squad Leader Li tell you? We need to openly exchange this information."
To conserve battery, the flashlight was off during the break, leaving the passage completely dark. They could only hear each other's voices, with no one able to see the other's expression.
"You want to know?" Squad Leader Liu's tone was relaxed, with a hint of teasing. I immediately thought of Squad Leader Li and imagined how he would respond. Sure enough, it was just as I expected: "Unfortunately, I can't tell you because it's not something you should know."
I suppressed my anger and calmly replied, "You will tell me, and you will do so willingly, perhaps in the next moment."
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