When the wind passed through the long and narrow valley and surged into the sinkhole like a tidal wave, the ball-shaped trees in the air swayed with the wind, and like real demons, they let out wails and cackles.
It was difficult to imagine how an isolated human town could exist in this stupid place for more than half a century.
And Lu Siya and the others did not notice any signs of a human town.
There were no skyscrapers, traffic arteries, vehicles, or factories. There was nothing there.
There weren't even any crumbling walls or crumbling walls.
Of course, the fog gathered and scattered, and the depths of the sinkhole were covered in lush plants. It was impossible for the investigators to scan the entire sinkhole.
This was just the place where the Piranhas left their final coordinates.
There was a possibility that the strange conversation they heard in the communication channel was left elsewhere.
Perhaps the human town was even deeper in the sinkhole.
If they were just drawing a map and providing guidance for the railway guns and armored airships to bombard the place, it might have been enough.
But if there was really a human town in the depths of the sinkhole, then if they were to carpet bomb it twenty-four hours a day, it would definitely cause the town and all its citizens to be torn to shreds and reduced to dust.
This was a moral responsibility that the highest authorities in Dragon City could not accept.
Besides, the sinkhole was too big. Lu Siya and the others had yet to discover any place that could be considered the ultimate nest of the monster civilization.
If they had the railway guns and armored airships bombard such a large area, they would need to use up an astronomical number of crystal bombs.
The cost of war was too high, and the effects of the bombing might not be too good.
If they could save up the crystals and use them for human cultivation, they might be able to cultivate more Heaven Realm and Deity Realm superhumans for Dragon City.
Or they could invest in the four great research centers to develop more advanced technology that would help Dragon City's civilization in the next step of colonizing the Other World.
Hence, after weighing the pros and cons, Lu Siya and the other investigators from the nine teams decided to continue moving forward.
Regardless of whether it was a human town or the ultimate nest of the monster civilization, they had to at least locate one precise coordinate.
"I'll lead Team One down first. Shao Jun, you lead Team Two to meet us at the edge of the sinkhole. Zhou Meng, you and Team Three retreat two kilometers away to the high ground we just found. Observe our actions from a distance."
"Remember, if anything abnormal happens to us, and I'm saying anything abnormal, your and Squad 3's mission is not to save us, and neither is it to continue exploring. Instead, you are to turn around and run without hesitation. Do your best to send all the data you gathered earlier, understand?"
"But —"
The two deputy team leaders named Shao Jun and Zhou Meng were both tough men with ferocious looks on their faces. They looked like they were very capable and fierce.
In the face of the mysterious and unfathomable Sky Pit, not only did they not have the slightest bit of fear, but they were also eager to give it a try. They wanted to take the initiative to volunteer.
"There are no buts. I'm the leader, so I'll go down first. If I can't handle it, you'll be wasting your time. It's better if you try to escape and call for artillery fire to provide support!" Lu Siya rejected them without hesitation.
After half a year of training, the Queen Bee had become even more experienced. Her actions were firm, and she gave off a presence that allowed no argument.
When the two deputy team leaders saw her fierce gaze, they stopped arguing and immediately carried out her orders.
Lu Siya ordered the investigators to use the equipment brought by the runic symbol machines to set up a small camp at the edge of the sinkhole.
Then, she used a hoist driven by crystals and steel cables to create a small elevator.
During this process, she released some drones in an attempt to enter the sinkhole and record more images at a close distance.
But the wind in the sinkhole was strong, and the spirit energy magnetic field interference was very strong. When the drones went dozens of meters deep, they seemed to be wrapped up by invisible tentacles and dragged into the depths of the fog. The real-time images from the cameras turned white.
It was the same for the spider-shaped thinking vehicle she sent down.
After it slowly crawled more than one hundred meters into the sinkhole, it lost control and disappeared without a trace.
By the looks of it, humans had to be in danger to be able to detect everything with the naked eye.
"We're going down!"
For safety's sake, Lu Siya did not activate maglev. Instead, she rode the elevator with the investigators and descended slowly.
In one of the shots, she gave a thumbs up and waved her fist at the people at the edge of the sinkhole.
A light breeze blew over, and the fog gathered together once more to drown Lu Siya and the investigators. Then …
"That's it."
Long Feijun turned off the 3D image and said, "This is the final information we received from the elite investigators of Group 9."
Silence fell over Meng Chao.
"How is that possible?"
Meng Chao stood up swiftly and slammed his fists against the conference table. He practically created two clear pits on the table. "Captain Lu and the others didn't run into any danger. Besides, Captain Lu made careful arrangements. Wasn't there a group of people stationed at a high vantage point a few kilometers away to observe from a distance? Could it be that they didn't manage to capture anything?"
"That's the problem. All of them went missing, including Captain Lu and the first squad, who went deep into the sinkhole, the second squad, who set up a lot of automatic firing points around the temporary camp, and the third squad, who was far away from the sinkhole, mysteriously disappeared at the same time.
"Let's not talk about the first and second squads for now. The high vantage point of the third squad was carefully chosen by Captain Lu. He even buried a lot of landmines around it to ensure that it was absolutely clean and safe.
"Logically speaking, even if an Apocalyptic Beast suddenly appeared, it would need a certain amount of time and trouble to kill all three squads.
"Even if the third squad was powerless to fight back, at the very least, before they were all wiped out, they should have been able to send a final message so that we could see the enemy's true colors, right?
"But they didn't. Before they disappeared at the same time, they didn't leave anything behind.
"It's not just Group 9 led by Captain Lu. There's another elite reconnaissance squad from the Red Dragon Army and the third exploration squad formed by veteran hunters from the Hunter's Association. They came from different directions and approached the sinkhole at the same time. But when Captain Lu and the others went missing, the other two squads from the Red Dragon Army and the Hunter's Association also went missing. Before they went missing, there was nothing abnormal about them, and they didn't go through any battles either."
Long Feijun's words made everyone think about it carefully, and cold sweat broke out on their backs.
"If the disappearance of the Piranha Squad can be explained by the fact that they ran into monsters, fought while retreating, ran out of ammunition, and sacrificed themselves heroically, then the disappearance of Captain Lu and the other two exploration squads is incredibly strange," Long Feijun said on behalf of everyone.
"If we don't figure out the mystery behind their disappearance, Dragon Citizens won't be able to eat and sleep in peace!"
That was only natural.
Even if the monsters the Piranha Squad ran into could not be explained with logic, at the very least, they could be killed with artillery fire.
But Lu Siya and the others had three elite exploration squads, and they were stationed at eight coordinates that were very far away from each other. They had dozens of veteran superhumans who were above Heaven Realm and had been through hundreds of battles. They were familiar with the characteristics of monsters and the temperament of the forest. They also had runic symbol machines that were ten times the number of their members. Each runic symbol machine had a lot of cameras, detectors, and data transmission devices.
In the end, they didn't even get to see the enemy's true face before they were blinded, their ears sealed, and their tongues cut off. They couldn't even send any useful information?
This sort of unfathomable unknown was the most terrifying thing about it.
The group looked at each other and saw the puzzlement and coldness in each other's eyes.
It was another period of silence that they couldn't figure out.
Battle God Lei Zongchao suddenly coughed softly and said, "A 'Jun, play the video again."
To stabilize his vitality magnetic field, Lei Zongchao curled up in a custom-made lead apron.
In order to stimulate everyone's thinking, he purposely suppressed his presence and sat in the corner without saying a word, as if he was a mascot, quietly listening to everyone's discussion.
But when he coughed softly, even if it was just half a cough, he instantly attracted the attention of all the young officers and ace investigators, and he became the main character.
Long Feijun respectfully asked Lei Zongchao which video he wanted to see.
Lei Zongchao asked him to look at the UHV transmission tower that Lu Siya and the others had filmed. It was covered in vines and branches and had turned into green giants.
Then, he found the UHV transmission tower that the Piranha Squad had filmed and compared it to the video.
"Did the two exploration squads film the same place one after the other?"
Lei Zongchao narrowed his eyes and looked at it for a long time before he asked slowly.
Long Feijun nodded in agreement.
"So, these green giants were transformed from the same UHV transmission tower?" Lei Zongchao asked.
"Yes," Long Feijun said.
"The Dragon City Electricity Bureau has the data of all the transmission towers and substations around Dragon City before we transmigrated. This batch of UHV transmission towers is 233 meters tall, and the bifurcation structure at the top is rather unique. It's the newest product at that time, and there's only one batch around Dragon City.
"Then, we compared it to the terrain around us, and we can be certain that the Piranha Squad and Group 9 were filmed at the same place."
"That's not right."
Lei Zongchao pointed at the two holographic photos and said, "In these two photos, the relative positions of the UHV transmission towers have changed. These two towers are a little closer to each other, and these towers are much less spaced out. It's as if they intentionally left a gap between them. The cables of the towers at the back are hanging down and hidden in the bushes.
"If my guess is correct, they were lurking there like pythons and could jump up at any moment to hurt people."
Under Lei Zongchao's guidance, the group drew their heads closer to take a closer look. Just as he expected, they saw a strange change.
When the Piranha Squad and Group 9 arrived, the positions of a few of the UHV transmission towers had changed.
It was as if a trap meant to kill people had been adjusted and moved, and it became more convenient for them to prey on its prey!
"How is this possible?"
Everyone had a look of disbelief on their faces.
The UHV transmission towers should have been rooted deep underground and embedded in a base made of reinforced concrete. That was the only way they could support the towers that were more than two hundred meters tall and withstand the attacks of strong winds and storms.
If they transmigrated along with the ground, there would only be two outcomes for them.
Either they would remain standing and not move, or they would collapse due to an earthquake.
No matter what, they should be towering trees with reinforced concrete. They should not be running around like monsters with legs, right?
Wait …
Someone suddenly thought of what would happen if the UHV transmission towers really rose from the ground under the influence of some mysterious power and were wrapped up by moss, branches, and vines with high cellular activity.
Their attack patterns might not be like predatory plants. They could only be limited to a certain area.
Instead, they would be like monsters, who could choose the most suitable hunting ground to kill.
This realization caused the temperature in the meeting room to instantly drop by ten degrees Celsius.
The sound of people gulping could be heard.
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