Chapter 451: Mysterious Electric Arcs and Red Ghostly Shadows, Insects in the Mine |
Quis brought news that genuinely piqued Yu Yuan's interest.
Soon, the two miners were brought before Yu Yuan.
Although it was their first time meeting Yu Yuan, Quis had already briefed them beforehand.
Therefore, the two of them respectfully greeted him immediately.
Standing behind Yu Yuan were Zhi Zhi and Mie Mie.
Yu Yuan looked at Mie Mie.
"Is there anything wrong with these two men?"
Mie Mie stared at the two men for a few seconds, then shook its head.
"Nothing?"
Yu Yuan was also worried that the phantom might actually be a ghost or something, possessing these two men.
Since Mie Mie now said the two men were fine, they probably were indeed fine.
"You two, describe the situation at that time in detail. Don't rush, take your time, but make sure not to omit anything."
"Yes!"
"Leader, at that time, we were both operating the multi-functional mining vehicle..."
Only the sound of the two men narrating remained in the room, essentially one person telling the story while the other supplemented missing details.
But just as they were getting to the final detail, Yu Yuan suddenly interrupted them.
"Wait... repeat what you just said again."
"Uh... At that time, that red ghostly shadow was already less than five meters away from us. We don't know why, but both our bodies were immobilized. The entire mine shaft suddenly became extremely cold, as if we had entered a freezer, and our whole bodies became stiff."
"Just when we thought we were doomed, suddenly an electric arc emerged from the ground and touched that ghostly shadow. Immediately after, the ghostly shadow suddenly vanished, and our bodies could move again... Later, the two of us hurriedly ran out..."
Although the two didn't elaborate, Yu Yuan could guess that they were probably scared out of their wits at the time.
After all, encountering something that defies common sense would drive anyone crazy...
Yu Yuan, however, narrowed his eyes and looked at Quis.
"Quis, are there wires down in the mine shaft?"
This question hit a blind spot in Quis's knowledge. Although he was the person in charge of Dead Mine Town, he was just a mercenary and wasn't very familiar with the specifics of the mine.
But the two miners spoke up.
"Leader, only the front section of the mine shaft has wires, but they are all specially made explosion-proof cables for mines and mine explosion-proof substations. Mine explosion-proof lighting is also used."
"As for lighting in the deep parts of the mine shaft, it all relies on head-mounted miner's lamps. The place where we encountered that ghostly shadow was already deep within the mine shaft, so there were no electrical facilities at all."
"Then did you see clearly how that electric arc appeared?"
Yu Yuan asked the key question.
"This..." The two men looked at each other.
Quis, however, narrowed his eyes, a surge of killing intent rising as he roared:
"This what this?! If you have something to say, say it! Still trying to hide things from the Leader?"
Although, at Yu Yuan's request, all the miners had shed their slave status.
But Quis had long instilled fear and authority in the hearts of the Dead Mine Town miners. Hearing his sudden roar now,
the two men's legs trembled.
With panicked expressions, they looked at Yu Yuan and Quis and immediately said:
"We're not hiding anything, we're not hiding... It's just that the two of us aren't sure either, we're afraid of misleading the Leader's judgment..."
"Hmph—" Quis was about to say something more when Yu Yuan raised his hand to stop him.
"Alright, Quis!"
He looked at the two men.
"Don't have any reservations. Speak boldly. Judging truth from falsehood is my job..."
"Yes, Leader."
One of them gathered his thoughts, frowned, and said: "Last night, the two of us were also trying to recall what exactly that electric arc was. We actually remembered something, but we're not sure if we saw it wrong."
"When that electric arc lit up, I think I saw a bug..."
Deep within the Dead Mine.
Yu Yuan, the two miners, Xu Ke, and two Pioneering Group soldiers were slowly advancing.
Head-mounted miner's lamps illuminated the passage ahead.
"About how much further?"
Yu Yuan asked.
"Leader, we're almost there, less than 100 meters left," a miner whispered.
But his trembling tone revealed how scared he was.
Yu Yuan looked at the two Pioneering Group soldiers.
"If there's any situation later, you two protect them and get them out."
"Yes!"
Xu Ke, however, was holding a gamma radiation meter, carefully observing the changes in readings.
But if one looked closely, they would notice his eyes were gradually brightening.
And the flashing frequency of the gamma radiation meter's indicator light had unknowingly sped up considerably.
This indicated that the gamma radiation concentration in the area ahead was rapidly increasing.
"Leader, the radiation concentration ahead has increased significantly."
Yu Yuan showed an understanding expression.
Soon, the group arrived at the location where they had encountered the red ghostly shadow yesterday.
This was an open area within the mine shaft, where the surrounding ore had been completely excavated.
The walls and ceiling of the mine shaft were all supported by wooden stakes and planks. A multi-functional mining vehicle was parked there.
Zhi Zhi, perched on Yu Yuan's shoulder, stood up on its hind legs. Without needing Yu Yuan's instruction, it had already actively summoned shadow rats, sending them spreading out in all directions to search for any potentially useful clues.
It also emitted rat calls, summoning the local rats nearby.
Mie Mie disengaged from being Yu Yuan's equipment and appeared in this open area.
The moment Mie Mie landed, a faint green light spread from its body to the surroundings, only stopping slowly about ten meters away.
Not only did it disperse the dust and grime in the air, it even blocked the gamma rays.
The gamma radiation meter in Xu Ke's hand also stopped flashing at this moment.
Everyone felt a sense of relaxation and comfort throughout their bodies.
The unique oppressive feeling of being deep in the mine shaft was swept away.
At this moment, the way the few people looked at Mie Mie changed.
But Yu Yuan paid no attention to their change, because mine shaft rats had already arrived, responding to Zhi Zhi's summons.
There weren't many rats in the mine shaft, only about a dozen, but their bodies weren't thin or small; in fact, they were quite plump.
Not counting their tails, their body length was basically over twenty centimeters.
Regarding this, Yu Yuan was clear: in the mine shaft, rats were the miners' best companions.
They could detect potential dangers before humans.
Once these rats had all gathered, Zhi Zhi began questioning them about clues related to the red ghostly shadow and that bug.
The result...
"Master, they have indeed seen a special type of bug in the underground mine. Some rats even tried to prey on them.
But all the rats that preyed on these bugs died without exception. Later, they stopped touching those bugs."
Listening to Zhi Zhi's words, Yu Yuan's eyes slightly brightened.
"Zhi Zhi, can we find that kind of bug now?"
"That kind of bug is very rare and only appears occasionally... I've already sent shadow rats to search for clues about these bugs."
About twenty minutes passed like this.
"Master, found it!" Zhi Zhi made a discovery.
"Don't move, take me there!"
Led by Zhi Zhi, Yu Yuan arrived at a narrow passage within the mine shaft.
The moment he squeezed into the mine cavity, he immediately spotted the small bug crawling within a crevice in the ore.
It seemed Yu Yuan's appearance startled the little creature. Its figure paused slightly.
Then, a crisp blue electric arc shot out from the little creature's body...