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墨書 Inktalez
What was he doing in Yunnan? A question immediately arose in my mind. If he was the host of this Desert Archaeology project, there was no way he could have time to run off to Yunnan; the two locations had no intersection in terms of archaeology. If it was a more secretive topic outside of archaeology that involved Yunnan, it would make sense for him to go to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau personally. Based on the last Desert Archaeological Activity, I knew that the actions had already exceeded the scope of archaeology, and this time would be no exception—perhaps even more complex, as evidenced by the composition of the Task Force.
Fatty didn’t have such concerns and directly asked, “So what’s your dad doing in Yunnan?”
I shot Fatty an annoyed glare. Asking such things was one thing, but she didn’t even know that Xiao Guolin had been to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. That meant Xiao Guolin hadn’t told her anything; she didn’t even have the most basic information. What could we expect to learn from her? Asking would only complicate matters. The less she knew, the better. What Xiao Guolin hadn’t told her, we certainly shouldn’t disclose either—that was my principle. However, Fatty ’s question raised Xiao Ting’s alertness as he pursued Fatty with questions: “When did my dad go to Yunnan? Where in Yunnan did he go?”
This put Fatty in a difficult position. His casual inquiry had sparked my dissatisfaction. He glanced at me nervously, probably realizing my expression was growing darker, and could only raise his hands in a gesture of helplessness. Yet I felt as if he exchanged a knowing look with Xiao Ting.
Xiao Ting immediately turned his head, his eyes fixed on me with determination. I knew I wasn’t mistaken; Fatty must have given Xiao Ting a hint, pushing the trouble onto me. But I was angrier at Fatty for stirring up trouble with his loose tongue.
I noticed that the girl was trying to play psychological tactics on me. Ever since my complete defeat against Li Squad Leader, my mental resilience had actually improved; there was no way I would be defeated by a girl. I remained composed and stared at her without saying a word. Under my gaze, she quickly lost her composure, her expression becoming agitated and her face flushed.
I seized the moment to strike back: “I’m not clear about this matter either; it’s just hearsay. However, since Xiao Guolin didn’t tell you, it’s clear that this matter is restricted by a Confidentiality Agreement. We don’t need to inquire further; it has nothing to do with Xiao Guolin’s disappearance.”
Xiao Ting’s flushed face revealed anger; clearly, my answer did not satisfy him. But I didn’t care about his reaction; my goal was to prevent him from getting entangled in this matter. I decided to ease our emotions a bit; currently, he harbored opposing feelings, which wasn’t good and wouldn’t help in persuading him to abandon entering the desert.
Since we were both alumni from the same department, I decided to approach from a familiar angle and smiled slightly as I asked him, “How is Professor Zhou?”
“Not well,” Xiao Ting replied curtly, clearly irritated. “He collapsed after the last incident and directly withdrew.”
I wasn’t aware of this; I had tried to avoid any connection with JD. I sighed lightly: “Yeah, with Song Guilong’s incident, he must bear leadership responsibility. He’s so strong-willed; he definitely couldn’t handle it.”
Xiao Ting looked at me in shock: “It wasn’t just Song Guilong; six people went missing or were lost during your last expedition—just from the Archaeology team alone. I heard that all those Materials Scientists ended up buried under sand; the losses among Engineers and military personnel were even greater. Otherwise, why would it take so long to restart operations? You can’t possibly not know about this?”
I looked at her in astonishment, even more surprised than she was. How could I know? This operation was classified at the highest level, so of course, it wouldn't leak out. I could hear some news through channels related to Cultural Relics and Archaeology, but only what could be shared. I absolutely wouldn't hear anything from Materials Scientists or the military. The information revealed by Xiao Ting truly left me dumbfounded.
That time when I inexplicably emerged from the Underground Passage, I was isolated without understanding more information. After that, I couldn't get any news from others and didn't dare to inquire. Upon hearing this news today, I felt no sense of luck; instead, I was completely shocked and saddened. I could never have imagined that while a few of us trapped in dire straits survived, our colleagues and soldiers hiding in the shelter faced misfortune.
Unlike Xiao Ting's feelings, I was one of the participants in that operation. Those fallen soldiers and colleagues had fought alongside me. Even though some were unfamiliar, they had concrete images in my mind; they were once living people, and suddenly they were gone—it was incredibly hard for me to accept.
"Then Cao Mingzhe must have come out, right? I've heard news about him," I asked eagerly.
"Yes, Uncle Cao came out. But he's not well; he has mental issues and often goes missing. After my dad's incident, I went to find him to ask for help, but unexpectedly, he went missing again," Xiao Ting frowned.
"Often goes missing? What does that mean?" I asked in confusion.
"I'm not too sure; it's what my dad said. He went to see Uncle Cao and came back very downcast—just a simple statement like that. When I asked him more, he wouldn't say anything else."
I was puzzled; what could this mean? Countless questions flooded my mind. Where had he gone missing to? If he often goes missing, it also means he frequently returns—did he come back on his own or was he brought back by someone else? Where was he found? Was there any pattern to the duration of his disappearances?
But I didn't ask Xiao Ting these questions; based on her narrative, I felt she couldn't possibly know. However, the information she provided confirmed a decision for me: Xiao Ting must not delve deeper into this matter.
Of course, I needed to be extremely cautious about this issue myself. I had been investigating it for a while and understood its dangers; therefore, I didn't plan to conduct the actual exploration alone—that is, going down the passage. In fact, I leaned more towards hiring a more professional Expedition Team to carry out this work, which would certainly require cooperation with relevant departments. Based on my last experience, my assessment of that passage and what happened within it was that there were supernatural forces or phenomena present—things that could overturn current Physics knowledge—and it should be examined from a scientific perspective rather than a military one.
I felt a headache coming on and rubbed my temples vigorously. The news Xiao Ting brought me was shocking, but there was a commonality among them: they were vague and lacked details. This clearly indicated she hadn't touched upon the core of this matter, which was a good thing. Her information made me realize that relevant departments had been doing the same thing as me—perhaps even making greater progress—which I hadn't known before. Although it seemed their operation ended in failure this time, it allowed me to find potential collaborators; my individual strength was ultimately limited, and many tasks could only be accomplished with partners. Previously unsure of whom to collaborate with, now this work team had surfaced from the Pavement, which would benefit my future endeavors.
I quickly mapped out this matter in my mind and considered the various possibilities it might trigger. For a moment, there was an awkward silence.
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