The Mountains Were Speaking

The train stopped at a temporary station.

According to the geographical location of the mortal world, this place is still more than 60 kilometers away from the border of the Ryukyu Islands. Looking along the railway towards the jagged, chaotic rock caves in the distance, we have already reached the end.

The train can't go in; you have to explore on foot.

At this moment, Meteor finally realized that he was doing something big; only the VIP (VIPs) in the railway system would venture into such a desolate and uninhabited place.

This temporary station is a base built by the assault team for this mission. The adventurers venturing into the unknown territory need logistical support, food to replenish their energy, and warm accommodations. The train will travel to and from the temporary station according to the VIP exploration mission cycle, bringing supplies to Meteor and Safe.

If the two passengers were in danger, this train would become Meteor's lifeline, responsible for immediately bringing the waiters and subsequent reinforcements to the "front line"—the assault team called this place the "front line."

Just then, Mr. Ping An passed the shooting star and greeted the leader of the assault team at the front-line stronghold.

Meteor, meanwhile, explored the wooden building, touching and looking around as it went up and down its two floors.

The large terrace on the second floor housed the exploration team's instruments, with a horizontal surveying instrument and telescope at the highest point. A dozen or so large lights lay haphazardly on the ground, having completed their initial tasks and been casually tossed aside by the soldiers in the team.

On the first floor, near the railway tracks, a few soldiers were squatting together smoking. When they saw the meteor coming, they immediately saluted and greeted him, as if they had all heard of the legend of the "General of Tears" in the novel "The Nameless".

Meteor hesitated to approach them, because the soldiers seemed rather intimidated.

--He smelled of Ahei; that big wolf was the cub of the Qingjin Wolf Mother. Ordinary people would tremble involuntarily upon smelling such strong pheromones.

"Bu Liuxing!" Brother Ping An called out, "Come in, come and meet the communications officer of the assault team, I have something to say to him!"

Heading from the small platform towards the kitchen, before you reach the restaurant, there's a large iron gate that opens to the right. Lift the waterproof canvas curtain, and you'll find the assault team's command room.

As soon as A Xing entered, he saw a legion emblem hanging on the wall. The banner had two pale green moon symbols that looked just like the BOSS's eyes.

The communications officer shouted, "Is that the nameless warrior, Mr. Bu Liuxing?!"

A Xing immediately replied, "It's me!"

The three met at the conference table. The communications officer looked quite young, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with short chestnut hair. He handed over his sergeant's badge to A Xing and exchanged identity cards. His name was Marco Laifu —of American descent, raised in Oklahoma. Both his parents were railroad workers, and he only learned about their true occupations later in life. This guy had no intention of settling down in the mundane world and resolutely joined Guangling Zhixi.

Marco: "Distinguished guests, I need to explain the situation at the front-line outposts to you."

A tactical topographic map and a geological map were both laid out on the large table.

"The food in the storage is plentiful, enough to keep the advance units in combat readiness at the base for more than a month. We have no shortage of water, so as long as you can return to the base, you don't need to worry about survival."

"Please look here, both of you--"

Marco pointed to the geological and topographical map with his left hand and the tactical topographical map with his right hand, both pointing to the same location.

"These collapsed caves and broken cliffs are no longer passable. Originally, there were seven roads leading to the Ryukyu Islands, with Shinto City as the main site. Fifty years ago, we could transfer trains and stations, and there were more than ten combinations of tickets available. We could customize our own travel routes to visit the underground Nara or relax and vacation at this super research center. But now there is only one road."

The place Marco pointed to was the first stop on this exploration mission.

"I call it Haofeng Ridge," Marco switched to Chinese to communicate with Meteor and Peace. "Unlike other roads, it's not a tunnel and doesn't have many bridges. When the Pacific Ring of Fire causes earthquakes, volcanoes, and other natural disasters, this route is least affected. But there are a few things to note."

As he said this, the communications officer brought over two walkie-talkies and an FOB multifunction terminal.

"Go to this cavity. There's a 16-kilometer safe road. This is the area the exploration team has already discovered. The entire railway was torn apart by the raging earth, along with the communication stations along the way. We've repaired some, but there's no signal deeper inside—you two distinguished guests, be prepared not to be able to make phone calls."

Mr. Ping An nodded.

A ripple of emotion stirred within Meteor; a long-forgotten sense of crisis resurfaced.

--Having spent so much time in the Arcane Library and Galahad school buildings, it feels wonderful to be back in the wild.

The messenger pulled two large boxes from under the table and continued explaining to the distinguished guests.

"We have fire suits for extreme environments and radiation protection clothing. Please don't go too far on your first expedition. If the forward base can't hear your response, we will send a medical search and rescue team to find you within three hours."

"Then there's the agreement: if the two distinguished guests find a high-value target in the unknown area and need to explore it further, they must first return to the railway line and contact us by radio. At the same time, we will prepare all-terrain vehicles and send an exploration team to pick you up. During this time, you will be free to move around for sixteen hours, maintaining a high level of focus to deal with various dangers in the unknown area. Our radio will remain silent and listen in, unless the VIP cancels the agreement."

"Finally, there's route guidance."

The messenger took two bottles from his clothing box, each containing fluorite. He took one out and explained it to Meteor and Peace.

"We need to drop a beacon at least every 300 meters. This fluorite has a weak psionic reaction, which can help the assault team find the right path—that's all I have to say."

Marco opened his arms to hug the two VIPs; the young man was very excited.

"It feels great to be back in this border region, comrades. Especially you, Mr. Bu Liuxing."

The young man slapped the legion emblem onto MOLLE's Velcro strap and handed two sets of warm survival suits to Meteor.

"You've been silent for two years and eight months. The last time I saw news about you was in a small article in the newspaper. Mr. Meteor, you have no idea how much we little people who grew up with you and fought alongside you like you!"

Bu Liuxing scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

Marco, beaming, said with a smile, "The Guangling Zhixi Assault Team, Frost Moon Knights' communications officer— Marco Laifu— salutes you! Nameless warrior, you look much thinner now, and not as spirited as in the battle logs. I will still be waiting for your good news at the stronghold. Go and rewrite your legend!"

When Meteor and Ping An returned to the platform, Meteor was still a little unaccustomed to the warmth of their frontline comrades.

A large wolf squeezed out from the restaurant's double doors. Black Brother squeezed out, his legs tucked in. He was fully equipped with a saddle and backpack. He hung up the gear he had just received, changed his clothes and shoes, and it was time to set off.

Thus, the two men and the wolf, far from the smoke rising from their stronghold, headed along the railway towards an unknown region.

Neither Meteor nor Peace spoke a word the entire way.

--Because we've already talked enough during the seven-hour car ride.

They wore protective helmets, their survival lights flashing faintly from time to time, and the only other sound was their regular, soothing breathing.

Every one or two hundred meters, you can see traces of the exploration team's activities on one side of the road, such as cigarette butts or makeshift shacks. These shacks are now abandoned, leaving only a street lamp to guide the way.

They walked for six hours, finally crossing the more than 60-kilometer journey, and arrived at the last abandoned signal base station.

Earlier, Mr. Ping An had made an agreement with the person in charge at the outpost to explore the unknown territory, and then took Meteor and continued on his way.

The wolf followed A Xing to an open area, where all that could be seen was devastation.

A raging mountain wind blows through the vast, dark cavity, and in the far distance, one can see some naturally luminescent heavy metal minerals with weak radiation. Scattered reddish-brown light sources indicate the elevation difference.

Their route here was along the lower part of the winding mountain railway. Now they have to start from the last station and enter a tunnel several hundred meters long from the southwest side of Haofeng Ridge. Otherwise, they won't be able to cross Haofeng Ridge and will have to turn to climbing mountains and cliffs, which is too risky—and it's still a question whether Black Brother can even climb up.

The once orderly railway is now in disarray. Affected by geological movements, the broken rails have been weathered over decades, and the original route features can no longer be found. The only way to find the railway is by relying on the traces of the roadbed caused by natural subsidence.

Ping An walked ahead, with Liu Xing following behind. In the pitch-black environment, he grabbed Black Brother's chin hair with one hand and looked at the tunnel entrance that was getting closer and closer.

Mr. Ping An: "This is it."

This tunnel cut through the rocky cliffs of Haofeng Ridge. According to the geological and topographical map, if you walk 600 meters ahead, you will officially enter the jurisdiction of Shinto City. From then on, 378,000 square kilometers of land belong to Shinto City —there are 16 large and small towns in the surrounding area, not to mention countless villages and settlements.

The radio was no longer receiving a signal, so the two stuffed all the extra communication equipment back into the bag on the Black Brother's back.

The entrance and exit of this tunnel showed signs of cracking, with the deepest cracks in the concrete rock platform and the mountain extending almost to the edge of the tunnel wall. The moment Meteor entered the cave, he felt a strong wind blowing from the front.

Meteor: "Brother Ping An! There's wind! The tunnel is open!"

Ping An: "Not necessarily. There's too much dust in the air. Little brother, you must stay behind me and don't run around or touch anything."

As he said this, the VIP took out a bottle of ink from his bag and applied it evenly to his boots.

"Your feet are bigger than mine, so step in my footprints and keep going."

The meteor asked in confusion, "Why?"

Walking along the platforms on both sides of the tunnel, the reinforced concrete poured inside the tunnel boring machine was solid and reliable with few cracks, and the environment was much better than the external roads.

At this moment, Ping An explained very carefully.

"If the strong winds in the tunnel carry mud and dust, it means there are new loose rocks and drastic structural changes. If this wind has been blowing for over forty years, it should have cleared away the dust on both sides of the mountain long ago."

Meteor nodded and followed Mr. Ping An's instructions, keeping up with the footprints. The big wolf behind it did the same. Although it couldn't speak human language, it could understand human speech. It deliberately followed the dark footprints, avoiding the small cracks that looked dangerous and suspicious.

A few minutes passed --

--In the middle of the tunnel, Daoist Master Ping'an stopped by the roadside and shone his flashlight on the rock wall.

This is an exposed hole. The original concrete structure of the tunnel has been crushed by the strange forces of nature, leaving a hollow in the arched wall. It is pitch black inside, and you can't see anything. When you shine a flashlight inside, you can only see many tiny flying insects and dust, carried by the strong wind back the way they came.

Ping An: "Wait a minute."

Meteor: "What's wrong?"

Ping An looked up and carefully observed the cave, his brows furrowed as if facing a formidable enemy.

Meteor followed and looked over. In the deep, dark cave, he could hear strange, inexplicable noises, as if a strong wind was blowing through the cave, producing a whistling sound like a flute or a long pipe.

But the irregular cave was too large, almost five meters high, and the sounds coming from it were very low, like many people weeping and whispering.

The flashlight beam followed the cave, shining on the other side.

Meteor and Peace originally walked along the right side of the tunnel. The middle road had four railway tracks, but now the tracks were rotten and the roadbed was broken. The other side was a relatively regular walkway, but it also had many cracks.

The section of road directly opposite the hole, illuminated by the flashlight beam, was riddled with holes. Meteor felt a chill run down his spine at the sight—he stood there almost frozen, unable to describe the scene on the concrete wall.

On this wall, which is no more than six meters wide and high, there are thousands of pits of varying sizes. Erosion by time, moisture from groundwater, and strong winds from the tunnel have corroded these small pits, transforming them into relatively regular semicircles.

The exposed basalt rock walls, beyond the concrete, give the overall appearance of a wall that has been struck by millions of meteorites.

"What's going on? Is it Spirit Calamity?" Meteor couldn't imagine it and had no idea what kind of disaster had struck the wall, or how the cave on the right side of the road came about. All of this needed an explanation.

"What kind of monster dug its way into the tunnel from this cave?"

"Brother Ping An, is it still active?"

"Did it bring in the dust and dirt in the air?"

"Don't worry." Luo Ping'an didn't turn around, patiently explaining, "It's not a living thing. If it were a living creature, Wolf Brother would have smelled it long ago—it would have alerted us."

To continue forward, one must cross this cave, which is more than six meters wide.

Mr. Ping An crouched down and peered into the crack beside the hole using a powerful flashlight.

A Xing was also curious, so he followed Daoist Master Ping'an to look over.

--The ruler became a walking stick, and after a while, with tapping and striking, it pried off several pieces of rock from the crack.

Immediately afterwards, A Xing smelled a strong fishy odor!

"There's a smell of blood! Brother Ping An! Why does it smell of blood?!"

Luo Ping'an stepped aside, put his arm around A Xing's shoulder, and came to the front of the crack, pointing to the earth's muscle veins inside.

"It's not blood, it smells like iron ore."

Looking into the depths of the cave through the crack, one could see patches of reddish iron oxide sand. Under the strong beam of a flashlight, the entire iron sand pit was quickly revealed, contrary to A Xing's expectations—this cave had no connection to the outside world and was only about twenty meters deep.

Meteor muttered to himself--

"--How did this hole come about? Was it created by an earthquake in a mine?"

Before he could finish speaking, A Xing felt a splitting headache.

That sound is back! And it's accompanied by intense Inspiration Pressure!

Iron-rich sand ore generally carries a strong geomagnetic field. The research institute of the Arcane Library once said that psionic energy is the bioelectricity that bursts forth from the iron-nickel core of Mother Earth.

The next second, Mr. Ping An suddenly pulled A Xing away and took him away from the eerie pit.

With a loud bang, the big wolf Black Brother was so frightened that he stumbled backward as a torrent of rocks shot out from the cave!

The fine sand and stones, like cannonballs, pounded against the wall on the other side of the road, leaving a new layer of scars, and the echoes of the explosions almost deafened Meteor!

The entire tunnel shuddered for a moment, then returned to calm.

Meteor was covered in cold sweat, grabbed Brother Ping An's clothes, and couldn't calm down for a long time.

"I heard someone talking! Brother Ping An! Did you hear that? There was a rock burst just now! And someone was talking!"

Rockbursts are a natural phenomenon.

Such natural disasters can occur when working in mines or digging tunnels.

It is caused by special internal stress generated inside the huge mountain. Rocks and metal minerals of different hardness deform under tens of millions of tons of pressure, accumulating huge kinetic energy, which is eventually burst out from the rock walls of the cave.

Luo Ping'an was being so careful along the way precisely to guard against rock bursts.

This place has been neglected for many years, with no human activity and no signs of plant or animal growth.

The dust in the air is most likely a trace left by rock bursts. This small hematite mine pit was probably caused by geological activity in the main ridge of Haofeng Ridge. The huge internal stress caused the mountain to spew out iron and sand every once in a while.

The scars on the other side of the tunnel are marks left by these terrifying flying rocks.

This is a natural phenomenon, nothing strange. But Luo Ping'an did indeed hear what the meteor said about "speaking."

The roar of the ancient mountains is accompanied by countless deep calls.

The sounds rose and fell, echoing amidst the deafening roar of rock bursts, as if all the wronged souls and wandering ghosts had gathered together to tell the world of their sorrow and resentment, expressing their anger and grief.

Ping An: "I heard it too."

Meteor: "You heard that too, right!?"

Black Brother: "Ugh!"

Meteor: "Black Brother, you heard that too?!"

Luo Ping'an took out two pens and asked Liuxing to silently write down that call, without letting the other party see it beforehand—often, the illusions brought about by inexplicable Inspiration Pressure are not the same for everyone.

If they hear the same sentence, the same meaning, and use the same language, then it's definitely not a hallucination.

[る·Kaeru]

The translated meaning is "[go back]".