mtl008 Chapter 356 The Sound from the Depths of the Earth
Chapter 356 The Sound from the Depths of the Earth
After it got completely dark, the workers were cooking by the campfire.
Although the food was simple, it was quite a treat in the mountains.
"Was that...ghostly figure really just an illusion?" a young worker asked in a low voice, his eyes filled with unease.
Li Xiangyang scooped up a bowl of thin porridge, took a slow sip, and then replied, "Actually, it's not entirely that. It could very well be images left behind by people who lived here in the past, or it could be some kind of visual phenomenon caused by magnetic field interference."
"Is it really just a visual phenomenon?" Professor Wang suddenly interjected, his eyes gleaming with the inquisitive spirit characteristic of scholars. "If that's the case, then it's incredibly valuable for research! It could mean that under certain conditions, a strong magnetic field can produce an effect similar to holographic projection..."
Zhang Guodong interrupted him with a smile: "Professor Wang, let's save that for tomorrow. Everyone's tired and needs rest."
After dinner, everyone returned to their tents to rest.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou were in charge of the first shift of night watch. The two sat side by side by the campfire, watching the sparks fly.
"Do you think that ghostly figure is the same one we saw last time?" Wang Ergou asked in a low voice.
Li Xiangyang shook his head: "It doesn't seem like it. Last time it was during a thunderstorm, but today it's sunny." He looked thoughtfully at the dark woods in the distance. "But this isn't necessarily a bad thing; it means that besides thunderstorms, there are other conditions that could cause those 'ghostly figures' to appear."
"So... even if there are no thunderstorms in mid-October, we still have a way to get out?" Wang Ergou's eyes lit up.
“That’s how it is in theory,” Li Xiangyang nodded, “but it depends on the situation. Cishan is too strange.”
As night deepened, the occasional cries of animals echoed through the woods, each sound waking the people in the tents.
After Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou finished their night watch, two other workers took over.
As soon as it got light, the campsite began to bustle with activity.
"Is everything packed? Let's get ready to go!" Zhang Guodong clapped his hands and reminded them.
Breakfast was simple: leftover porridge and steamed buns from last night.
The group quickly finished eating, tidied up the campsite, and continued on their way.
Li Xiangyang walked at the front, stopping from time to time to observe the marks on the ground or the markings on the trees.
Wang Ergou followed closely behind, constantly alert to any movement around him.
"Technician Li, something doesn't feel right about the environment here," Zhang Guodong said in a low voice.
Li Xiangyang nodded: "That's why I told everyone to stay close and not fall behind."
As they ventured deeper into the forest, the light grew increasingly dim, and the air was thick with a damp, rusty scent that made it difficult to breathe.
"Look over there!" Professor Wang suddenly pointed to a high ground in the distance.
Following the direction of his finger, everyone looked and could vaguely see a strangely shaped black mountain peak on the outline of the ridge, appearing and disappearing in the morning mist.
“That’s Magnet Mountain,” Li Xiangyang confirmed. “From this angle, it’s still quite a distance, but given the characteristics of this place, we might get there sooner than we think.”
"Why do you say that?" Zhang Guodong asked curiously.
"The sense of space here is strange. Places that look far away may actually be very close, and vice versa," Li Xiangyang explained, his expression revealing a confusion that he himself couldn't quite explain.
The group continued onward, passing through a dense thicket of mixed trees, where the terrain began to become rugged.
On several occasions, the workers had to put down their equipment and use their hands and feet to climb over the steep slopes.
"Wait, why do I feel like we've come full circle?" A worker suddenly stopped and looked around in confusion.
Wang Ergou also noticed this: "It does look somewhat similar, but it's not quite the same..."
“That’s just how the terrain is here,” Li Xiangyang said, unsurprised. “Even if you take different paths, you’ll eventually be led in the same direction—Magnetic Mountain.”
Professor Wang stepped forward, excitedly saying, "This is amazing! It defies all logic! Ordinary magnetic fields couldn't produce this effect, unless..."
Before he could finish speaking, a rustling sound suddenly came from the woods.
Then came the sharp crack of a branch breaking, getting closer and closer.
"An animal is coming!" Li Xiangyang warned in a low voice, raising his gun and aiming it in the direction the sound came from.
The others also tensed up, stopping in their tracks and looking around warily.
Suddenly, the bushes shook violently, and a huge wolf rushed out from within!
Its eyes were an unnatural reddish-brown, its fur was disheveled, and it was in a state of extreme excitement or frenzy.
"Watch out!" Li Xiangyang shouted, and his gun immediately followed the wolf's movement.
But the wolf did not attack the group directly. Instead, it circled the group strangely, occasionally letting out a low growl, as if it were observing and searching for something.
“Something’s not right,” Wang Ergou whispered to Li Xiangyang. “This wolf looks like it’s gone mad.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the wolf suddenly stopped, stared at a young worker in the group, and pounced on him!
"boom!"
Li Xiangyang's gunshot shattered the silence of the forest. The mad wolf was hit by the bullet in mid-air, crashed heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and then lay still.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but the fear still lingered in their hearts.
"How...how could this wolf do this?" the young worker who was almost attacked asked in a trembling voice.
Li Xiangyang stepped forward and cautiously nudged the wolf's carcass with the butt of his rifle.
"It's possible the magnetic field affected its nervous system," Professor Wang leaned closer and analyzed. "Or perhaps there are other unknown sources of radiation here..."
"Whatever the reason, everyone must be vigilant," Zhang Guodong said seriously. "This place may be far more dangerous than we imagine."
Li Xiangyang gazed thoughtfully at the distant Cishan Mountain: "If even animals go mad living here for an extended period, our situation might be even worse."
"Should we reconsider this operation?" Wang Ergou asked in a low voice.
Zhang Guodong shook his head: "The mission has been assigned, and we must complete it. However, we definitely need to be extra careful."
After packing up their equipment, the team set off again, the atmosphere even more tense than before. No one spoke; even breathing became cautious.
Terrible things are still happening.
As the group moved forward, the surrounding vegetation began to exhibit bizarre growth patterns—tree branches twisted into unnatural angles, while herbaceous plants grew deformed and their flowers displayed unhealthy colors.
"The area affected by the magnetic field is expanding," Professor Wang said, pointing to the increasingly obvious plant mutations. "This is not an ordinary electromagnetic field; it may be some kind of anomaly in the Earth's magnetic field."
Just as everyone was discussing, Li Xiangyang suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.
“Listen,” he whispered.
The woods were quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the breeze.
But beneath this deathly silence, there seemed to be a low, almost imperceptible humming sound, as if it were coming from the depths of the earth.