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墨書 Inktalez
A sound echoed in my mind, was this really a death wish?
I couldn't believe my ears, nor could I trust Zhao Squad Leader's judgment. Following the beam of the flashlight, I saw that Song Guilong's footprints were completely preserved, without any mixing from others. However, Song Guilong's own footprints were quite chaotic; after reaching the edge of the crack, it seemed he had done many things or hesitated for a long time. Ultimately, his footprints did indeed disappear at the edge of the crack.
Throughout this incident, Xiao Guolin had remained calm, even at the most dangerous moments. Now, he seemed uncertain, staring at the crack as if pondering something or making a decision. His expression was complex, far from simply nervous or fearful.
I thought for a moment: "Let's simulate the scene."
Xiao Guolin nodded. "This is your specialty; you go ahead."
I didn't hold back and bent down to observe Song Guilong's footprints.
Simulating a scene is not only useful in police investigations but is also frequently employed in archaeology to reconstruct significant activities like ancient lifestyles or rituals. However, there was too little evidence available now; the most obvious were these footprints. Song Guilong's tracks were chaotic and overlapping, so I needed to discern the sequence and direction from them and even analyze where he had paused based on the weight of his steps. This process was slow; they could only wait.
After some time, I said, "Alright, I've simulated his activities here. Flashlight, follow me."
I walked to the edge of the crack, paced back and forth a few steps, then turned away from it and stood in front of a rectangular stone platform about one meter high. Pointing at a patch of ash, I said, "He smoked a cigarette here." Then I walked back toward the crack and circled around it before stopping again. "He went down from here."
The process was simple; I didn't explain or share my guesses. While Zhao Squad Leader and the others were deep in thought discussing the reasons behind Song Guilong's actions, I returned to the stone platform and addressed Xiao Guolin, who was also standing there in a daze: "Is it that piece of iron?"
Xiao Guolin shone his penlight onto a dent in the center of the stone platform without looking at me. He nodded silently. I finally understood that this matter was more complex and terrifying than I had imagined.
The stone platform stood not far from the crack, abruptly rising in the basin. It was rectangular, about one and a half meters long, with a smooth and flat surface made of stone identical to the ground beneath it, seamlessly integrated as if it were one piece. The existence of this stone platform itself was extremely bizarre; it was puzzling to leave such a high structure while excavating a water reservoir. However, what shocked both me and Xiao Guolin even more was that dent in the center of the platform.
In the center of the stone platform, there was a palm-sized, perfectly shaped hexagonal indentation. Inside the groove, sediment and dust had accumulated, making it impossible to accurately determine its depth. I extended a finger and lightly scraped at it with my nail; the groove was shallow, barely two fingers deep. As I did this, Xiao Guolin appeared very nervous, his lips moving as if to say something, but no sound came out.
I had only seen the hexagonal metal in a picture that Song Guilong had shown me, and of course, I couldn't gauge its size from the image. When I observed Song Guilong's footprints earlier and spotted this hexagonal indentation, I immediately thought of the hexagonal metal in the photo. This matter regarding the metal must be confidential for these soldiers; I discreetly examined the clues left by Song Guilong and simulated his actions at that time. I noticed changes in Xiao Guolin's expression; he too had seen the groove but did not show any reaction.
Seeing that my scraping did not raise any alarms, Xiao Guolin reached into the sleeping bag draped over him and pulled out a hand trowel and a brush, gently cleaning the dirt from inside the groove. I was utterly speechless; in such a situation, carrying archaeological tools with him was quite dedicated.
Zhao Squad Leader and his team debated for a moment without reaching a conclusion, which led to an argument. They had no choice but to gather around and ask Xiao Guolin for his opinion. Cao Mingzhe's expression changed when he saw the groove as well, but he seemed to have regained some clarity and refrained from saying anything inappropriate. I focused on Liu Squad Leader's face to see how he would react upon seeing this groove. To my disappointment, there was no change in his expression; I couldn't tell if he was just good at hiding it or genuinely unaware of the situation.
Liu Squad Leader approached and immediately asked Xiao Guolin for advice since he had the most experience here; his words carried more weight than Zhao Squad Leader's. Ignoring their discussion, I asked Cao Mingzhe for a piece of paper and a pen and began sketching a rough map on the stone platform.
From where we started at the escape pod to this point, although we hadn't walked in a straight line, our general direction remained northward. Judging by our corresponding ground position, we were heading directly into the Black Sandstorm. I wasn't sure about others, but I had kept track of my steps along the way; after accounting for the detours caused by winding passages, the straight-line distance was roughly around twenty kilometers. If this reservoir truly was a reservoir, from an architectural perspective it shouldn't be located on the outskirts of the city because that would make water extraction inconvenient; it should be within or even at the center of the city. Similarly, there shouldn't be just one water inlet; there should be more.
After completing my rough sketch of what we knew so far, I interrupted their ongoing debate: "We're here to find water; shouldn't we search this basin thoroughly before making any other decisions?"
"That's obvious; we've already reached the lowest point of the basin. Water has flowed down through cracks into deeper underground areas; we can only find water by going down," Liu Squad Leader asserted immediately.
I recognized that he had a point and understood his underlying motives—ones that aligned with my own goals. However, it was essential to make Zhao Squad Leader see that there was indeed no water here so that he would understand that descending into the cracks was our only hope. Additionally, I needed to confirm my assessment of this reservoir by creating a more detailed and accurate sketch to lay a foundation for finding an exit. All of this required me to search through this basin.
So instead of agreeing with him, I said, "You have a valid point. But until we've searched this basin thoroughly, no one will support your view. Just like if you hadn't come here yourself, would you have thought there would be a stone platform here?"
My words left Liu Squad Leader speechless while Zhao Squad Leader immediately echoed me: "Professor Zhang is right; we should search through the basin first before making any decisions."
Liu Squad Leader turned to glance at the dark crevice that resembled an open beast's mouth and quietly muttered, "You're wasting time."
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