Inside a grotto shaped like a tomb.
Professor Vernal, who was squatting next to a square stone, slowly stood up from the ground with his hands on his knees.
When Professor Vernal stood up, Schulz, who was standing on the side, put down his arms and took two steps forward.
"Did you find any clues?"
"Of course … The relics here are of great value." With an excited expression on his face, Professor Vernal looked at Schulz and suddenly asked, "Have you heard of the legend of mummies?"
Faced with this sudden question, Schulz was slightly stunned. A confused expression gradually appeared on his face.
"I've heard a little … Why?"
"The ancient Egyptians believed that the soul of a person would not be destroyed after death. As long as the corpse was not destroyed, one day it could be reborn. Therefore, in order to prevent the corpse from decaying, the pharaohs would order their servants to empty their internal organs, dry them, and wrap them in salt, spices, ointment, honey, and linen to make a mummy that would not decay for thousands of years. "
Schulz gulped. He looked at the square stones and said with a strange expression, "You mean … the meaning of the existence of these 'sarcophagi' is to prevent the body from decaying?"
"Of course not." Professor Vernal smiled and continued, "For the sake of preservation, storing the body in metal containers that are easy to oxidize is obviously the most unwise choice. Let's assume that billions of years ago, Mars had the same oxygen resources as Earth — or even more abundant, and the civilization here had mastered the technology to excavate such a huge project several kilometers deep. It's impossible that they didn't even know such basic chemical principles. "
"Then what do you think this is?"
"Obviously, this is a sanctuary."
"Sanctuary?"
"That's right." Professor Vernal nodded and continued, "At the time of the irreversible disaster on Mars, they sealed themselves in these iron coffins … At least billions of years ago, they used special technology to hibernate, waiting for the day to wake up. You should have heard of the frozen dormancy technology that is very popular on Earth. The X-0172 bacteria used seems to have been brought back from Mars by the Americans. "
Schulz nodded, and a look of realization appeared on his face.
Of course, he had heard of this matter. He even remembered that the dormant bacteria caused quite a stir at the time.
But now, the X-0172 bacteria had changed from a scourge to a delicacy in people's eyes.
Especially for those who were terminally ill, it was simply a blessing. In a situation where current medical technology was unable to cure them, they had one more option. Although they had to be separated from their flesh and blood, at least they could survive …
However, Schulz still did not understand.
If these things were hibernation pods, why did they eventually disappear in the dust of history?
"Obviously, they failed." As if guessing what Schulz was thinking, Professor Vernal shrugged and continued, "Although they made some attempts to save themselves, their extinction was almost doomed. Hibernation on a time scale of hundreds of millions of years was nothing more than a deathbed struggle. The mother planet lost the protection of the magnetic field, lost the atmosphere, and even lost the ocean … Even the most developed civilization needed soil to survive. "
Faced with the unimaginable doomsday catastrophe, Schulz was silent for a while.
After a long time, he spoke.
"What do you think these Martians … might be? I mean in a biological sense. "
"I don't know, but first of all, mammals can be ruled out. The gravity environment here is not conducive for bone development and calcium accumulation. Even if mammals exist in the ecosystem here, their size should not be large, and it is difficult for them to develop a wide enough skull … In contrast, invertebrates should have more advantages, especially arthropods. Their size will be larger than on Earth, and in theory, they can have a larger brain to accommodate more neurons.
"The signs of the emergence of civilization are fire and the use of tools, but the essence is still the ability to process and communicate information."
Professor Vernal shrugged his shoulders and spoke with a smile.
"Of course, all of this is just speculation. Even with all the prerequisites, the birth of civilization is full of coincidences. Just from the two samples of ants and bees, it is still possible for arthropods to evolve a social system that can coordinate large groups and engage in more intensive production activities. "
The excitement on Professor Vernal's face became stronger and stronger.
He squinted his eyes and looked around. It was as if the place in front of him was not a pile of rocks, but a gold mine!
"Everything here is very interesting. It is like the pyramid of the Martian civilization. Through their excavation, we may be able to restore the reason why Mars lost its magnetic field, as well as what the Martians who lived here tried to save it at the last moment of their lives. Whether it is to understand the history of billions of years ago or our own future, these precious relics have great significance.
"If conditions permit, I want to build a semi-permanent research station here to study these —"
Just as the excited Professor Vernal was describing his bold ideas to the bewildered Schulz, the tremors suddenly came from under their feet again.
Professor Vernal reached out and held the stone next to him. He looked at the gravel and dust shaking from the ceiling. The expression on Professor Vernal's face suddenly changed from ecstasy to horror.
"F * ck?! Again? "
"We have to get out of here!"
Schulz, who was the first to react, grabbed his shoulder and tried to drag him away. However, he found out that this guy was crazy. He had no plans of leaving at all.
"Wait a minute, let me get a few more samples back …"
He grabbed the multi-purpose shovel in his hand and threw it out fiercely.
Schulz used all his strength to shake him out of his daze.
"What the f * ck are you thinking?!"
"If we stay here any longer, we will become specimens ourselves!"
As he spoke, he felt another violent tremor.
This time, there was no need for Schulz to remind him. Professor Vernal, who had completely recovered, finally realized the seriousness of the problem. He rushed to the nearest exit.
The moment the two passed through the spacious grotto and emerged from the other side of the hole, the tunnel behind them closed like an avalanche.
Schultz turned around and glanced at the frightened Schultz. He suddenly had a strange feeling in his heart.
No, to be precise, it was an intuition.
The collapse of these tunnels seemed a bit unusual.
However, the current situation did not allow him to think too much.
Other than using all of his strength to run forward, he had no other choice ….
…
Almost at the same time, in another tunnel.
After listening to Professor Aubrey's explanation, Professor Lomonov touched his chin through the spacesuit helmet and nodded thoughtfully.
"I see …"
Aubrey: "Do you understand?"
Lomonov: "… Probably?"
Professor Aubrey sighed and threw the multifunctional shovel in his hand aside. He leaned against the rock wall next to him and sat on the ground.
"Sh * t … It seems that I wasted my time."
"You're the one who's confused." Professor Lomonov complained, "What standard Euclidean space? And the interference of four-dimensional matter on three-dimensional space … What does this have to do with earthquakes? "
"There is no earthquake, and the road under our feet hasn't even changed. If my inference is correct, nothing will happen even if we are swallowed by the collapsed tunnel. We will just move from one three-dimensional coordinate to another three-dimensional coordinate."
Lomonov: "Is this in line with the law of conservation of energy?"
"Conservation of energy? Of course it is. "Professor Aubrey drew marks on the ground with the multifunctional shovel in his hand. He sighed and continued," The state of motion of matter has not changed, and the energy has not changed. It's just that the order in three-dimensional space has been disrupted. Even if you can't understand standard Euclidean space, you should at least understand the hamster wheel, right? "
"You're saying that we are now like hamsters on a hamster wheel?"
"You can say that." Professor Aubrey said, "This space is circular. Maybe the road under our feet is the same as before."
A strange expression suddenly appeared on Professor Lomonov's face.
What he wanted to ask was, if this was the case, was it necessary to continue moving forward?
However, just when he was about to ask this, the earth suddenly trembled violently. Professor Aubrey was so scared that he stood up from the ground. He looked at the rubble falling from the ceiling and the tunnel that could collapse at any time. He immediately ran away.
“WTF？！ Isn't it once every two hours? It's only been a few minutes, why is it happening again?! "
Lomonov screamed as he staggered in front of him.
"Didn't you say that it would be fine to be swallowed by the collapsed tunnel?!"
"I said it!"
"Then why are you still running?!"
"Theories are one thing, but experiments are another! What's more, I'm just guessing, do you dare to try it with your life?! Sh * t, stop talking nonsense, let's run! "
Small stones and dust continued to fall from the top of the cave, hitting the two people's heads and shoulders.
The collapsed tunnel behind them was getting closer and closer. The two people, whose legs were not very convenient to begin with, showed a look of despair on their faces.
However, there was a flash of light in front of them.
The moment Professor Aubrey saw the light, the expression on his face stagnated slightly. His despair instantly turned into ecstasy.
"Exit! The exit is in front! Quick! "
There was no time to think.
Although they couldn't find any clues about extraterrestrial civilization, at least they survived. Perhaps the Congress would be disappointed, but Aubrey believed that if he died inside, he would cause more trouble for his motherland and the people of the world.
As long as he was still alive, everything would be fine!
"I will never explore this kind of place again! Cough cough — "
Professor Aubrey, who finally broke through the desperate darkness and ran out of the tunnel, put his right hand on the stone pillar at the entrance of the cave. He gasped desperately for breath, and it took him a while to recover.
However, the moment he raised his head, he was slightly stunned.
It wasn't just them.
Next to the rover, the two Chinese people, Wang Peng and Fan Tong, who had been separated from them before, as well as the British archaeologist and the German mathematician were also here.
Except for Academician Lu …
When Wang Peng saw Professor Aubrey running out of the cave, he took a few steps forward, reached out, and grabbed his shoulder. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared into Aubrey's eyes.
The creepy feeling made him shudder.
Professor Aubrey, who was being stared at, felt that he even forgot how to breathe for a while.
"Where is Lu Zhou! Where is he?! "
"How would I know?" Trembling all over, Professor Aubrey replied, "I'm not his bodyguard, not to mention, isn't he with you?!"
"…"
Although he didn't believe this Yankee's words, Wang Peng finally let go of Professor Aubrey's shoulder.
He turned his gaze to the shaking cave entrance. He clenched his fists tightly, and a trace of determination flashed in his eyes.
"I'm going to find Academician Lu."
Fan Tong stared at him as if he was looking at a madman.
"Are you crazy?! With the scale of this earthquake, I'm afraid the entire mountain range will be affected! "
"Then you guys go back first —"
Before he could finish his sentence, everyone standing at the entrance of the cave was suddenly shaken by a tremor that came from the soles of their feet, causing them to stagger. The feeling of the earth quaking and the mountains swaying came from all directions. Even the stone pillar that stood at the entrance of the cave let out a low groan, unable to bear the heavy load, and began to collapse to one side.
Seeing this scene, everyone's expression changed, and they ran frantically to the rover next to them.
"Quick! Drive! "
"Wang Peng hasn't come up yet!"
"I can't care so much! He's going to die. Are you going to drag everyone to die with him?! "
Listening to the roar coming from the communication channel, Fan Tong gritted his teeth and glanced back at the passengers sitting in the car.
No one wanted to die, including himself.
Especially if they died in an unknown way.
He finally made up his mind. He said sorry in his heart, grabbed two oxygen cylinders, and threw them out of the door. He then started the rover at the fastest speed in his life.
Other than being buried with the Martians who died billions of years ago, there was no point in staying here.
In order to avoid the stones rolling down from the ridge, Fan Tong used all his strength to step on the gas pedal and rushed all the way. Finally, he rushed out of the narrow pass that he had passed through when he came.
Almost as soon as they escaped, a giant rock wall about ten meters in length separated from the towering mountain ridge and collapsed in a cloud of dust toward the narrow pass they had just passed through.
If they were a second late, they might have been trapped in there forever …
The rolling gravel rose into the sky with the sand and dust. Forget about looking through the window, even if one stood at the height of a satellite, they could see it clearly.
They sped all the way in the desert, feeling the aftershocks coming from under the seat cushion. They looked back at the people behind them with expressions of relief on their faces.
"F * ck …"
Fan Tong slammed his fist on the steering wheel. He gradually slowed down the car and suddenly knocked his forehead on it. His shoulders trembled.
Schulz patted him on the shoulder silently to comfort him.
Everyone in the car was silent. There was no communication on the way back.
Professor Aubrey muttered in a low voice, "It's like the entrance to hell". After getting no response, he also silently lowered his head.
June 10th.
On this day.
The most serious earthquake since human observation occurred on Mars. Even the Mars scientific research station several kilometers away could clearly feel the tremor of the earth and the mountains.
And on the same day.
The Mars scientific research station lost two excellent team members …
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