When Shen Le opened his eyes, everything around him had changed dramatically.
Two rows of small prefab houses made of color steel panels spread outward in a V-shape on either side, wedged along the mountain road. Shen Le did not even need to step inside to see that one side housed laboratories, while the other contained the researchers' living facilities.
Machinery rumbled along the mountain path. A small tracked transport vehicle belched black smoke as it struggled uphill, carrying crate after crate and bag after bag of tools.
Miniature tamping machines, nearly as tall as a person, went chug-chug, rumble-rumble, pounding the ground over and over as they worked to create a level, solid road—or at least a rough track wide enough for tracked vehicles.
Mini excavators stood stationed at the end of the mountain path, some leaning against the mountainside, others propping themselves up on several legs as they dug out the roadbed bit by bit, or excavated drainage ditches along the roadside.
Chainsaws, brush cutters, and demolition picks roared as they cleared shrubs and weeds from both sides of the road, along with the smaller rocks that could not be bypassed...
In short, aside from the research institute hastily put together at the foot of the mountain, a two-meter-wide tamped dirt track was winding its way laboriously upward, stretching all the way toward the summit...
"How... how long was I meditating?"
Shen Le shook himself, wiped at his hair, then shook himself again. Dust and dirt came cascading down in a great cloud, billowing around him and nearly getting into his eyes.
His hands were even worse off. His hair felt stiff and sticky to the touch, as though every strand had been coated in something. He rubbed at it while looking around.
"It feels like half a