Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

The Kunlun Mountains traverse western China, located on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. They stretch from the eastern Pamir Plateau in the west to the upper reaches of the Qaidam River valley in the east, narrowing in the west and widening in the east, with a total length of over 2500 kilometers.

It is known as the "Ancestor of Ten Thousand Mountains" and the "Dragon Vein of the Nine Provinces".

The Kunlun Mountains, located in the mountain pass within Qinghai Province, are characterized by towering peaks and long, continuous ridges that unfold in a fan shape, resembling a gateway.

When Huang Ji led everyone to the mountain pass and looked out over the vast mountains, they saw thousands of peaks and valleys, snow-capped hills and rolling hills, and ever-changing clouds and mist in the sky.

"I'm not sure exactly where the Ruins of Kunlun are, but it's definitely in the northwest of Qinghai in China."

After all, the Kunlun Mountains we are talking about, although not the real Kunlun Hill of ancient times, are called that by the ancients, so there must be some connection between them.

It's more likely that the Kunlun Mountains, as defined by the ancients, actually encompassed the ancient Kunlun Xu region.

As Huang Ji and his group talked, they climbed through the Kunlun Mountains, constantly checking the surrounding terrain to see if it matched the descriptions in the ancient "Classic of Mountains and Seas".

Of course, they also relied on some high technology in this process, such as the satellites overhead.

After a period of arduous travel and on-site comparison, they finally determined the exact location of a part of Kunlun Ruins, namely the Nalenggele Gorge on the map.

This canyon is also known as Kunlun Death Valley, named for its abnormal internal magnetic field and frequent thunderstorms.

"Who would have thought that the legendary Kunlun is not a mountain, but a canyon?"

As Hu Bayi and his entourage boarded the heavy armed helicopter bound for Nalenggele Gorge, they couldn't help but sigh.

Looking down from high above, one can see that the peaks of the Kunlun Mountains are not sharp like those of famous mountains in the Central Plains, but rather have broad ridges arranged in a majestic, layered manner, resembling the teeth of a zipper.

This is due to the unique phenomenon formed by plate compression, which causes many ridges of the Kunlun Mountains to be knotted together, resembling molars when viewed from above. Although the altitude is high, many of the mountain shapes look like basins.

Huang Ji also pointed to the peaks below and said:
"Didn't I say that Kunlun Hill is a huge spaceship, shaped like a giant metal mountain, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, inserted upside down into the thickest part of the continental plate?"

So after it flies away, what we need to look for is not the high peaks, but precisely the low-lying volcanic terrain, because that is very likely the 'slot' of the Kunlun Mountains.

The armed helicopters were moving very fast, heading west along the edge of the Kunlun Mountains. Then, in a quick camera angle, they were already near their destination.

Huang Ji sat on the plane and pointed to an unnamed mountain area near the canyon outside the window. There were small basins surrounding a large basin, and the large basin was a volcano. That was the Nalenggele Gorge.

However, the magnetic field in this place was strange, so their helicopter landed at the nearby Nalenggler Ranch.

The terrain here is vast, and the destination can be seen not far away.

Qin Yanni, a member of the team, made a few phone calls to contact the local officials, and soon a local guide familiar with the area arrived.

Upon hearing their purpose, the guide shook his head repeatedly.

"This is a place where hikers often come to take risks and climb. Not long ago, several people went hiking here, but... the conditions in the mountains are very harsh. Our search and rescue teams at the foot of the mountain are often the ones who collect the bodies."

Especially the area you're going to climb, which the locals call Jingshan (Well Mountain) because its edges are vertical like well walls and its middle is concave like a well opening. It's an area that no one has ever been to before, with extremely steep cliffs and no way to go anywhere.

There are eight similar mountains here, including a volcano in the middle that is impossible for ordinary people to climb.

As soon as the guide finished speaking, Hu Bayi became excited. He had heard Huang Ji mention the "Nine Wells of Kunlun" near Kunlun Mountain.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Western Section of the Seas Within, states: The Kunlun Void is eight hundred li in circumference and ten thousand ren in height... It has nine wells on its surface, with jade railings. It also has nine gates on its surface, each guarded by a beast called Kaiming, the abode of a hundred gods.

Although the place they were looking for no longer contained the original Kunlun Hill, according to the description in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, there were many auxiliary buildings near Kunlun Hill.

For example, the Jade Mountain where the Queen Mother of the West lived, and the Gangyan Mountain that Yi climbed.

Now, without Huang Ji's interpretation, Hu Bayi can deduce on his own that the so-called Gangyan is actually those Jingshan.

Because, from its appearance, Iyama looks very similar to the character '冈' (gāng), like a giant rock with molar-like protrusions.

"From the side, this kind of giant mountain is Gangyan! It has it in all eight directions, and is collectively called the Eight Corner Rocks."

"But if you look at them from above, each of the eight rocks has a central depression, like the mouth of a well..."

"This record describes the 'void' of Kunlun, which means that Kunlun City flew away and is no longer there, leaving only these real mountain rocks, thus revealing the basin in the center that was originally the slot."

“The eight rocks surround an extinct volcano, and the central basin is like a well. If you look at it together from a flat perspective, it can be called ‘Nine Wells’.”

If Hu Bayi could think of it, then naturally everyone else present could too.

Now that we're here, the terrain is crystal clear.

What is truly unexpected is that the legendary Kunlun Mountain is actually an unnamed mountain area, only given the name Jing Mountain by the locals, and it is not marked with any name on satellite maps.

Within a radius of 800 li, only the 'Nalenggele Canyon' is barely famous because it is a valley of death.

The legendary Kunlun Hill, once a sacred site, has become an unnamed ruin in the vast mountains over time.

If you only search for it in books, you'll probably never find it.

While Huang Ji and the others were happy that the location had finally been determined, Liu Peiqiang in the group noticed another sentence the guide was saying.

Several people had already climbed this mountain a few days ago.

Is it really that much of a coincidence?
Liu Peiqiang and Qin Yanni exchanged a glance, secretly becoming more vigilant, and at the same time began to examine the weapons and equipment more carefully.

They rested in the pastoral area for half a day, and when the sun came out the next day and the weather was just right, they dressed up and put on their mountaineering equipment.

Some of them were even wearing lightweight mechanical exoskeletons that the special affairs department had urgently provided to them in order to help them overcome the treacherous terrain.

With this equipment, they were even more confident.

However, they soon realized that they had been too optimistic.

Although the sky was clear and sunny when they were at the ranch, once they entered the mountains, it was immediately accompanied by wind and snow, and cries of alarm could be heard everywhere.

Fortunately, their warm clothing was thick enough, and they were also wearing mechanical exoskeleton armor, which allowed them to quickly climb a relatively low, unnamed mountain peak despite the wind and snow.

"There's rocky terrain ahead, but there's no road," the guide leading the group said.

The group arrived at the edge of a cliff, where they saw a bottomless ravine, 25 meters wide. On the other side of the ravine was a towering, steep rock wall, as if carved by a knife.

They are currently at an altitude of 4,000 meters, while the rock face in front of them is more than 5,000 meters above sea level. This means that they need to fly over cliffs and ravines and then carve holes in the rock face step by step to climb up. There is no other way.

Of course, this method is no different from suicide for ordinary people. After all, the area above is covered with ice and snow, and the rock wall has been frozen as hard as iron. Let alone carving it by manpower, even if engineering machinery is used, it would be difficult to crack this tough nut.

Fortunately, the high-tech mechanical exoskeletons worn by the group were no joke. Using the guns of the rope-firing spears, they first used the ropes to reach the opposite rock face. Then, extremely sharp grappling hooks extended from the arms and feet of their exoskeletons, allowing them to climb step by step. Of course, if they got tired during this process, Liu Peiqiang could also use his weapons to carve out recessed platforms in the rock face at intervals, resting before continuing to climb.

It took Huang Ji and his companions several hours to climb this 1,000-meter vertical distance before they finally reached the summit of Gangyan Mountain.

Like the surrounding rock walls, the summit of this granite mountain is also a huge, knife-cut platform, covered only by a thick layer of snow and ice.

They arrived at the center of the platform and, following Huang Ji's instructions, took out various tools and began vigorously pounding the ground.

Thanks to the aid of mechanical exoskeletons, these people possess incredible strength; when they strike with a chisel, ice mixed with stone often shatters and flies everywhere.

With a series of clanging sounds, a large crater was quickly carved out of the ground as these people worked like excavators.

During this process, Liu Peiqiang did not participate, but instead looked around with his weapon in hand, remaining on guard at all times.

Seeing this, Huang Ji said calmly, "Those people probably didn't climb the same rock formation as us."

"Are all these different rock formations entrances?" Liu Peiqiang asked.

Huang Ji nodded. "According to the records in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, that's correct."

As they were talking, Xia Feng struck the ground with a hoe he had raised, making a crisp "clang" sound.

“It’s been dug out!”

The crowd quickly gathered around to look, and there they saw a nine-meter-square metal gate beneath the ice and rocks.

There were some patterns on the gate, which looked like the kind of unfoldable helipads that can be deployed above an underground fortress.

"Quickly, look for the mechanism!" Hu Bayi said, curiously studying it back and forth, making use of his expertise as a tomb raider.

Liu Peiqiang was also very surprised, he didn't expect that they would actually dig something up.

Upon closer inspection, he felt that the gate did not resemble an ancient artifact at all, because the metal gate was smooth and flat, and it was not cast in bronze. It looked more like a concealed gate of a modern military bunker.

"The Nine Wells of Kunlun have nine gates, each guarded by a benevolent beast, the abode of a hundred gods! Only the benevolent Yi can ascend these cliffs!"
It's actually true!

The group pondered around the gate for a while, but after searching for a long time, they still had no clue.

"Where is the mechanism for opening this door?"

"Does it require internal activation?"

"What should we do? Could it be that it requires identification and authentication? Maybe we should try blood test; that's what they always write in novels."

"Is there some kind of password or something, like 'Open Sesame'?"

Everyone looked at each other, and finally all turned to look at Huang Ji.

"Why are you looking at me? I don't know either. It's not mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas."

“By the way, speaking of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, why don’t we try mentioning the name of Yi the Archer? At least the Classic of Mountains and Seas records that Yi the Archer climbed up here,” Hu Bayi said.

Xia Feng was stunned for a moment.

"What? You climbed up here? That bronze groove we saw stuck in the rock wall when we came up, could it have been left by Hou Yi?"

"It's Yi the Archer, not Hou Yi. Never mind, it's all the same. You just need to know who it is."

Hu Bayi corrected him, then looked at Huang Ji.

"Is it true that the Classic of Mountains and Seas says there's no way to deal with the traps in this place? Our tomb raiding skills are powerless against them."

Huang Ji stared at the gate, his mind racing. Just then, Xiao Nai, the young man who hadn't shown much interest in the group and was following Liu Peiqiang, stepped forward.

He opened the backpack of his exoskeleton armor, and a dozen palm-sized unmanned aerial vehicles flew out, circling the eight huge granite rocks and the extinct volcano in the middle.

As the drone flew, the monitor in Xiao Nai's hand began to process the scanned data and project it in front of everyone.

Thus, a miniature version of the Kunlun Ruins appeared before everyone, and based on this, the "Kunlun Hill" flying machine that should have existed was also calculated and simulated.

There was a huge octagonal cone-shaped spaceship stuck in the ground. At the base of the cone was a ring, and eight support frames extended from the eight sides, pressing down on the eight surrounding rocks.

"I see!"

Huang Ji looked at the image in front of him and shouted.

"Smash it!"

"Huh?" Everyone was taken aback.

Huang Ji laughed and said, "No need to look for mechanisms, we'll just smash it open with force."

Everyone was speechless. Discovering ruins and finding the entrance mechanism was a perfectly normal procedure.

Smash it open? Who knows what the consequences would be!
"Huang Ji, are you really going to smash it? This doesn't sound like the way you would suggest."

At this moment, Liu Peiqiang sided with Huang Ji. Without saying much, he raised his gun, aimed at the door on the ground, and pulled the trigger.

With a soft whoosh, a shadow crackling with blue lightning struck the metal door, producing a crisp sound. At the same time, the spot where the door was hit dented, and the surrounding area showed signs of melting.

This is China's latest electromagnetic rifle, and its power is indeed astonishing.

Huang Ji also picked up his tools and pounded hard on the steel gate.

"This thing doesn't have any mechanisms, because the place we're in back then wasn't an exposed door at all, but a landing gear platform."

The entire colossal city of Kunlun Hill was thus completely pressed down upon it, with its eight protruding legs fitting perfectly into the gate. The actual passageway was inside the support frame.

Based on this assumption, the proper way for them to enter the underground base was through the internal passages of Kunlun City, taking an elevator directly down.

After hearing what he said, everyone suddenly understood.

The so-called "Nine Wells" refers to the receiving platform at the base of the Kunlun spacecraft, not a place for people to enter or exit.

"Then let's smash it open!" Hu Bayi shouted, and everyone joined in the hammering of the metal door. (End of Chapter)