Chapter 638 - 18: Slavic Tundra Confession Booth No. 13_2
If he had known that this kind of thing would happen just on the negative first floor, he wouldn’t have taken the deal even for a million dollars a day, let alone with an extra zero.
This is a deal with a zero chance of survival.
Looking at Alexander, who was already shot and urgently bandaging his arm, Vladimirovich felt a chill in his heart.
Fortunately, he was on the vanguard, digging through the ice during the exploration process, otherwise, if his subordinates were exploring the negative first floor, it would be his legion suffering heavy casualties now.
The money earned might not even be enough for compensations.
"Once we’re out, settle the score with that old bastard."
Having made up their minds to leave, Vladimirovich’s men almost retreated at full speed.
They not only had to guard against attacks from the Alexander Legion abnormals ahead but also watch out for sneak attacks from those giant rats encountered earlier.
...
In this chaotic situation, except for Chen Zhou, no one paid attention to the whereabouts of Ivan and his confidants, Vladimirovich included.
Only Chen Zhou, sensing something amiss, noticed Ivan and his confidants turning off their headlamps, bypassing the battlefield, and disappearing through the confession room’s side door in the corridor.
At this moment, he faced two choices.
Firstly, prioritizing self-preservation, he could take the opportunity of noticing something strange early to quickly follow Vladimirovich’s team and leave this troublesome place; otherwise, if Ivan loses his mind and does something else, it would be hard to escape.
Secondly, he could follow Ivan to see what he intended to do, and if the opportunity arose, decisively sabotage Ivan’s plan.
Though this would place him in danger, it could resolve all hidden threats as much as possible.
After all, Ivan’s intentions were unclear, and among all those exploring the base, perhaps only Ivan himself knew what he was up to.
If Ivan did go insane for some purpose, to the extent of directly blowing up the base’s entrance, taking everyone down with him, the best solution would be to kill Ivan.
Otherwise, if he followed Vladimirovich to the entrance, he might be trapped inside the base by Ivan’s subsequent reckless actions, then there would be absolutely no escape.
...
Facing danger, not the inexperienced youth anymore, Chen Zhou decisively chose to track Ivan.
The root cause of everything was inextricably linked to Ivan, and only by catching Ivan could he get the answers, neither could he obtain them from anyone else.
Moreover, Chen Zhou didn’t understand, why did Ivan tempt him with such a huge reward, what did he intend to use him for?
If he was indeed of great importance, why did Ivan abandon him and act with his confidants?
Had Ivan gone mad?
...
Once the headlamps were turned off one by one, the base was plunged into darkness.
The hazy blackness, accompanied by the occasional gunfire, the crawling of gnawing rodents, and disorderly footsteps turned the place into an unknown and primal forest.
Anyone who caused noise or emitted light would become the center of attention, the focus of all eyes.
In Chen Zhou’s view, even in this pitch-black environment, a gray mist-like texture still emerged, resembling an old black-and-white photograph.
Though lacking in color distorted the scenes, the pure black, white, and gray imbued the image with more details, allowing him to focus on other aspects.
Maintaining about a 15-meter distance from Ivan, Chen Zhou cautiously controlled his footsteps.
Like a nimble big cat, he silently followed Ivan and his confidants using the wall’s raised reliefs and the dim environment.
A few minutes ago, Ivan and his confidants had removed their helmets from their protective suits, putting on head-mounted Night Vision Goggles instead.
Ivan’s withered hair was exposed, and as he continued moving forward, strands gradually fell away.
By the time Chen Zhou tailed him into the confession room’s side door, and along the pathway lined with lead coffins to the end, he had already turned bald.
Behind his wrinkled head, a red-painted hexagram could be faintly seen, inscribed with numerous mysterious symbols with unclear intentions, reminiscent of the priest hosting evil rituals in movies.
...
"Move it."
After removing his helmet, Ivan’s voice became clearer.
In stark contrast, his figure grew more hunched, his nearly 180cm frame shrunk and bent to less than 165cm, surrounded by his tall confidants, he resembled a thin monkey.
Upon his command, his confidants tightened their gloves and then approached the extra-large lead coffin at the cemetery’s end.
...
Before tracking, to avoid exposing his position, Chen Zhou intentionally discarded the Geiger counter.
However, Ivan and his confidants didn’t abandon their counters.
While still outside the confession room, the Geiger counter’s alert never ceased, only calming once inside the gloomy lead coffin tunnel, merely maintaining a periodic beep.
Nevertheless, when Ivan’s confidants used the pre-prepared equipment to secure the coffin lid and activate the motor to pull the lid back, the Geiger counter suddenly began frantically beeping.
Simultaneously, a layer of eerie blue light emerged from beneath the coffin lid.
There’s no need for measurement, as Chen Zhou could instinctively sense the radiation levels inside the tunnel were rapidly escalating.
...
"Damn, the old bastard wants to take everyone down with him!"
Grateful he hadn’t removed his protective suit, Chen Zhou immediately decided to withdraw from the tunnel.
Although his resistance to radiation surpassed ordinary people, he couldn’t linger in such an environment for long.
No matter how robust the body, it hasn’t transcended the limits of flesh and blood. Even staying a second longer near such intense ionizing radiation would result in DNA being pierced or even ruptured; at that point, not only slightly stronger than average persons, but even the "super soldiers" in American blockbusters wouldn’t survive.
...
The blue light beneath the coffin lid grew brighter, even causing Chen Zhou who was retreating to question—
What intensity does it take to emit such a bright light?
According to his understanding, even the blue glow produced by Cherenkov radiation couldn’t reach this level.
It’s known that such glow is emitted when nuclear fuel rods activate during the operation of an atomic reactor; how come there’s such a pure radiation source in a base so ancient and backward?
If the Soviet Union genuinely could manufacture something like this, why did they fail in the Cold War?
Just like Ivan said, they were only a step away from success, looking from any angle, shouldn’t they keep researching?
Thinking didn’t hinder Chen Zhou’s continuous retreat.
However, as the coffin lid gradually opened wider, and the blue light became increasingly prominent, with even the remains inside the coffin faintly visible, he halted his steps—
Probably due to the contrast between the dark environment and the blue light, once the blue light fully illuminated the tunnel, it appeared less bright and vibrant, instead manifesting a clear light blue hue.
A blue exactly the same as the one Chen Zhou had encountered multiple times during challenges.
"How can this be possible?"
Chen Zhou nearly couldn’t believe his eyes.
Finding a slot between two intersecting lead coffins, he squeezed into it, then removed his helmet and pulled out a necklace from his collar.
The necklace had a platinum-embedded square blue crystal, appearing sky blue; upon a simple comparison, it could be found entirely identical to the blue emanating from inside the lead coffin.
This crystal was the only item left with Chen Zhou by the Space-Time Administration Bureau after his private space ceased functioning.
To commemorate his past experiences, Chen Zhou had the crystal mounted, then hung it on his chest, occasionally taking it out to play with.
Though there are similar crafts on Earth, none in terms of properties can compare to those crafted by the Space-Time Administration Bureau.
In short, according to Chen Zhou’s understanding, neither modern cutting tools nor extreme environments on Earth could damage the crystal, nor cause any changes to it.
Chen Zhou had always thought his connection with the Space-Time Administration Bureau was like two intersecting lines, with no opportunity to converge again; he didn’t expect to see the familiar blue light here once more.
Without putting his helmet back on, eyes wide open, gaze piercing through gaps between Ivan’s confidants’ overlapping shadows, Chen Zhou finally saw what was inside the lead coffin—
It was half a frozen "Crystal Stone Statue," its general outline akin to a primate, body composed of countless tiny blue squares.
It was exactly the same as the blue humanoid entity Chen Zhou saw in a dazed state upon returning to modern times, only its body was already frozen solid.
Just by glancing at it, Chen Zhou could associate it with terms like "Space-Time Administration Bureau staff" or "higher-dimensional beings," "aliens," etc.