1865 Facing the Bizarre
“Us?”
Meng Chao could hear the subtle implication in Wu Haibo’s words.
“Of course.”
Wu Haibo’s eyes sparkled as he smiled. “I’m the director of the Ancient Ruins Research Center. It would be fine if the ruins are sealed. But someone has opened the ruins again after ten years. You don’t expect me to stay in this safe, boring place and watch you discover the secret treasure that I’ve been dreaming of, do you?
!!
“Besides, trust me when I say, without the guidance of professionals, the most elite captain of the Red Dragon Army, a senior secret police officer of the adjudicator, or the youngest Deity Realm expert in Dragon City will never survive ten minutes or die in ten minutes within the treacherous ruins!”
Behind Wu Haibo, the well-trained Black Horn Warriors stood up.
Like Wu Haibo, their eyes were filled with the same caution and excitement.
That made Meng Chao realize something.
Perhaps Wu Haibo did not trust him.
Perhaps, the director of the Ancient Ruins Research Center and the Black Horn Warriors who guarded the huge rift that led straight to h.e.l.l had been affected by the Ancient Ruins’ Summon the most.
Perhaps, for every day and night in the past decade, the brains of the researchers and the guards there had been constantly exposed to the mysterious temptation from the depths of the earth. Its melody had been playing for billions of years like the river of time itself, and it might have washed, as well as eroded, their spiritual defenses like an undulating tide.
Now, they just needed an excuse to send themselves deep into the earth’s core and into the endless darkness.
“I’ll leave it to you then, Inspector Wu!”
Meng Chao nodded.
It did not matter, though.
It did not matter even if Wu Haibo and the others were really tempted by the Ancient Ruins’ Summon.
It was all the same.
Everything was a matter of probability.
Regardless of the outcome, it would not be worse than the explosion of ten thousand suns.
Wu Haibo was indeed a professional.
Perhaps, ever since the rift was sealed, he had been preparing for it to open again.
It only took him five minutes to arrange a dazzling array of tools for every member of the rescue team. They then stuffed their multi-purpose backpacks, which were made of h.e.l.l Beast skin, until they were bursting at the seams.
“This is a brainwave detector. It will scan your brain every half a minute to ensure that you’re not tempted, corrupted, or transformed by the mysterious power deep within the ruins. A buzzing device is connected to the back of the detector. Once your brainwave amplitude or your mental index fluctuates greatly, the device will release a sharp, ear-piercing sound just like this…
“Remember, once your beeper or your companion’s beeper goes off, stop whatever you’re doing immediately because everything you see, hear, and touch could be fake at this point. You might be presented with a glittering slate that’s engraved with ancient martial arts principles, but in reality, it could just be a cl.u.s.ter of mush that carries the ancient virus.
“This is a rapid detection bracelet for physiological parameters. Similarly, every half a minute, it will collect a drop of your blood and test your cell structure as well as the stability of your genes. If the test results are normal, it will emit a gentle green light. If the test results show a slight change, it will emit an orange light that represents danger. The orange light will start to turn red when there’s a great deviation from the normal value.
“In such a situation, you shouldn’t move forward either. The standard procedure is to inject mithril and neurotoxin into your carotid artery or thigh artery. The neurotoxins are extracted from the venom of the blue-ringed octopus and Gila monster. This will put your central nerves in a ‘protective paralysis’ as you wait for your companions to rescue you.
“However, if the bracelet is already emitting an extremely bright red light that resembles boiling blood, it will not be safe to inject the mithril stabilizing agent or the neurotoxin. I suggest… no, I strongly request that you put the large-caliber pistol that has been loaded with crystal marrow bullets into your mouth immediately and press the trigger. You have to hold the trigger at all times to ensure that the marrow crystal bullets stay in the chamber. Once you release the trigger, the bullet will blow your brains out.
“Don’t be mistaken. Exploding your heads won’t stop the mysterious power in the depths of the ancient ruins. It can still turn your headless corpses into deformed and ugly monsters or the carriers of the mysterious will from billions of years ago.
“But you can at least leave this world without much suffering.
“Yes, that’s the only thing guns can do for you in the depths of the ancient ruins. It can help you and your companions ‘escape’ in an instant.
“Most of the oddities down there aren’t resistant to firearms. Even spirit guns that are filled with crystal marrow bullets can’t completely annihilate them. A barrage that’s as ferocious as a burning storm can only delay them at best. Therefore, my suggestion would be to not bring too many guns and ammunition. A few bullets for your ‘deliverance’ will be enough.
“There are many special tools in the backpack, and their usage is written in this manual. With your enhanced vision and memory, you should be able to master them in five minutes.
“But what I’m trying to say is, in the depths of the ancient ruins, precision instruments made of the most advanced spirit energy and rune technology are all likely to fail or even be corrupted by this bizarre force. In the extreme confusion, their indicators will still show that ‘everything is normal.’
“So, my personal favorite is this: Yes, a simple notebook without any technical content and a pencil.
“I suggest that you take five minutes to write a series of questions in your notebooks. It doesn’t have to be too complicated, such as ‘what is my name?’,’ when was I born?’, ‘where am I from?’, ‘where do I study?’, and ‘where do I work?’, ‘who are my relatives and lovers?’ You can also add a few private questions that only you know the answers to.
“Then, write the correct answers on the back page.
“After you enter the ancient ruins, I suggest that you use this notebook to conduct a ‘self-examination’ every five minutes. If your answers are consistent with the correct answers on the back, then the detection chip and the surveillance bracelet can be trusted.
“Pay attention. Every time you answer, you have to write the time.
“If you find that the questions on the front and the standard answers on the back of the notebook have been smeared, erased, or tampered with, or if the pages of the notebook have been torn off, or if you find that you haven’t answered your own questions for more than half an hour, you have to be on high alert.
“Put the large-caliber pistol in your mouth first, then let the beeper go off to warn your companions.
“Because at that time, you might no longer be a hundred percent yourself!”