This captain felt quite helpless, but as a soldier, he could only follow orders—escorting two scientists on a perilous mission to this unfamiliar foreign land with his squad. Yet now, having finally neared their target, over half of his men had already been lost along the way. He was now grimly wondering: even if they somehow managed to complete whatever task lay ahead, would he still be able to safely escort the two scientists back down the mountain afterward?
Still, at this point, the captain held firm to his conviction. Since his country had entrusted him with this mission, he was determined to see it through—even if his entire squad had to make the ultimate sacrifice, he would protect these two scientists and ensure their safe return home.
With that thought, he glanced at his watch, stood up, and said to the two scientists, “It’s been ten minutes. Let’s keep moving.”
The two scientists let out helpless sighs, then struggled to their feet with the support of the soldiers flanking them, and continued onward, following the soldiers ahead.
They both knew how difficult this mission was. And the special forces soldiers escorting them had it even tougher—along the way, they had already watched helplessly as one soldier fell into a native trap while trying to save them, and four others had been bitten by venomous snakes and spiders while clearing the path ahead.
The antivenom serum they carried proved utterly useless against these local poisons. All they could do was watch their comrades die in agony. Sometimes, to ease their suffering before the end, the team leader had been forced to drive his knife into the hearts of two of his own men.
So although the scientists found the journey grueling, whenever it was time to move on, they never hesitated—they pushed forward with the group until they simply couldn’t go any further.
Still, they understood the dangers of this mission. Facing this unknown control point, no one could guarantee there wouldn’t be unexpected surprises. They had already steeled themselves for death at any moment. So even though only five guards remained, they didn’t dwell on whether they’d make it down the mountain safely—instead, their minds were fixed on what they might encounter next.
Would they successfully activate and take control of this base? Or would the base’s defense systems obliterate them in an instant? Everything ahead was shrouded in uncertainty.
Gradually, with everyone’s efforts, the group finally reached the small plaza in front of the towering temple. The captain checked the display on his satellite positioning device and let out a quiet breath of relief. They had made it. But he didn’t let his guard down. He gestured to the four soldiers behind him.
The four soldiers nodded, raised their rifles, and relied on their night-vision goggles as they cautiously advanced toward the temple ahead.
After carefully scouting the temple entrance, they took out an instrument and scanned the interior, then gave the captain a thumbs-up.
Seeing his men’s all-clear signal, the captain finally relaxed a bit. He turned to the two scientists, who were sitting behind him catching their breath, and said, “We’ve reached the target safely. Everything’s clear.”
The two scientists sat there, eyes gleaming with excitement. They looked up at the majestic temple before them, filled with awe. Though they had already studied the intelligence reports and photos sent earlier, actually seeing this temple in person still left them utterly stunned.
They marveled at why that long-lost civilization would have built such an enormous temple right on top of what should be a control-point base. It was so different from the base in Tibet—that one was completely hidden beneath Mount Everest, with no trace of it visible on the surface.
But here, a massive temple stood conspicuously. What made this place so different from the other one?
The two scientists caught their breath, exchanged glances, and then, supporting each other, rose excitedly and hurried toward the temple.
Seeing the scientists already heading inside, the lead captain looked up at the ancient, weathered temple. A wave of inexplicable tension washed over him. After taking a deep breath, he signaled to his four soldiers and followed the scientists inside.
The two scientists stood at the temple’s entrance, gazing up at the stone pillars towering dozens of meters high. They exchanged an excited look, then turned to the team leader and said, “Captain, establish the satellite link with headquarters… and bring us our equipment. We’re about to begin.”
The captain nodded and instructed the soldier carrying two large packs: “Set up the satellite receiver. And help the professors unpack their gear.”
At the command, two soldiers moved swiftly. One began hauling out instruments, opening them one by one, quickly connecting everything and setting up the satellite receiver. The other soldier opened a small metal case and brought it before the two professors.
The two professors glanced at the soldier setting up the receiver, and after he signaled that the connection was ready, they pulled several devices from the case, put on their headsets, and began scanning the carvings at the temple entrance and the full structure of the temple itself.
At that moment, thousands of miles away in the underground base beneath Mount Everest in Tibet, the vast hall and the small office were ablaze with activity. Every screen and computer was powered on. Over a hundred scientists stared intently at their monitors or at the enormous display screens, watching the images and analytical data streaming in from the other side of the world. One after another, gasps of amazement filled the room.
After the two scientists finished scanning the temple’s exterior, they nodded to the captain, signaling they were ready to go inside.
The captain nodded, then gestured again to the four soldiers. Two of them moved quickly to the front, one hand on their rifles and the other switching on high-powered flashlights to scout the way. Behind them came the two scientists carrying their instruments, followed by a soldier hauling the equipment case, and one more bringing up the rear.
The seven of them finally stepped into the temple. Pale green fluorescence from the scientists’ instruments swept across the walls on either side and over the massive stone-carved monster statues ahead. Everyone gasped in awe—and on the other side of the planet, through the satellite relay with a few seconds’ delay, the scientists watching also saw these images and the torrent of analytical data pouring in, and similar exclamations of wonder echoed through the base.
General Zhang, sitting in his big office chair, stared at the colossal statues and the strange murals on the walls. His mouth fell open, and he slowly rose to his feet.
Beside him, Professor Ji shook his head in astonishment as he studied the carvings. “What era are these statues from? This style has never been seen anywhere else in Africa… When were these things built?”
But General Zhang was too fired up to dwell on such questions. “Tell them to find the data-link point as quickly as possible!” he said, his voice trembling with excitement. “We have to take control of this place immediately!”
Professor Ji, seeing the general’s urgency, quickly tried to calm him. “General… we can’t rush this. We must thoroughly collect and analyze all the data to avoid any surprises. And we need to document everything completely—if this connection attempt fails, we’ll have to be fully prepared for a future reconnection or a forced assault.”
Hearing the professor’s words, Zhang Yanzheng snapped back to his senses. He realized he’d been getting way too worked up. He took a couple of slow, deep breaths to steady himself, then sat back down. He knew he couldn’t start issuing impulsive orders. He had to trust the experts. Only by following their carefully laid-out plan could they maximize their chances of success and gather as much information as possible.
The two professors advanced step by step, escorted cautiously by the soldiers. As they studied the enormous stone monster carvings and humanoid statues around them, they didn’t share Xu Ze’s strange, uneasy feeling. After all, both had devoted their entire lives to researching the control-point bases—they’d never had the chance to watch foreign fantasy films. Naturally, they had no idea that this place bore an eerie resemblance to scenes from a certain famous movie, complete with all its terrifying associations.
They simply pressed forward cautiously. Before entering, the escort soldiers had scanned for signs of life and confirmed no one was inside. Intelligence suggested that as long as nothing special was triggered, there wasn’t much danger here. But as the people who understood better than anyone exactly what this place was, their hearts remained suspended in a mix of tension, excitement, and adrenaline.
Only the soldiers and their captain felt deeply unsettled. In their downtime, of course, they’d seen that well-known film. Now, with those massive monster statues looming on both sides, the two soldiers at the rear unconsciously edged closer together, nervously raising their weapons and scanning every shadow around them.
After advancing several dozen meters, they finally reached the main idol—a towering deity seated with arms folded. The sight of it made the soldiers breathe a collective sigh of relief, which drew surprised glances from the two scientists, who silently wondered: “Have they noticed something off too?”
But the scientists had no time to dwell on that. They carefully scanned the entire temple chamber with their instruments, then picked up another device to sweep the floor and the ceiling.
“There are unknown obstructions beneath the temple floor and above the ceiling—we can’t get a reading,” the two scientists reported to the base thousands of miles away, their voices tinged with both disappointment and excitement. Because back at the base, they’d also been unable to scan the structure using X-rays or any other external methods. It was remarkably similar to this place.
