Using the MC system to pretend spiritual revival

Chapter 157 The First One (from Chapter 56) New, Purely New, Undisputedly New
After arranging their work, Li Junguo and his assistant Ling Shan returned to their specially made car.

The research team of a dozen or so people skillfully took out various tools for clearing the road.

In just a few minutes, the lone locust tree growing in the middle of the road was cut down and dragged aside to allow the convoy behind it to pass.

As the convoy slowly resumed its movement, the tall locust trees lying by the roadside flashed past the car windows.

Nothing happened.

However, the road ahead became increasingly difficult, with weeds and small trees so dense that they almost completely obscured the view.

Later on, people even had to get out of the car and manually clear the road before the car could drive normally.

This also greatly slowed down the team's speed.

What should have been a journey of less than an hour took us until the sun was high in the sky above the mountain before we finally emerged from this overgrown path.

If it weren't for the need to carry various instruments and equipment on board, and the subsequent excavation of artifacts, transportation by car would be required.

It would probably be faster if everyone got off the bus and walked through the grass.

Now, we walked out of the mountain cliff walkway and turned into a mountain stream between two peaks.

Although the stream erosion has left the area with jagged rocks, fortunately, perhaps due to the lack of soil, not much weeds have grown.

Thanks to the off-road vehicle's powerful performance, the ride was actually much smoother than on paved roads.

This allowed the convoy to finally reach its destination before nightfall—a cliff at the end of two mountains.

The mountain stream cascades down, carving a ravine in the cliff face before flowing into the mountain creek.

And it was in this corner of the cliff, covered with moss and vines, that we found ourselves.

A collapsed area that looks like it has been eroded by water over the years.

From a distance, its interior appears completely dark, clearly indicating that it is a hidden world.

The convoy that had arrived at the location had already chosen a relatively flat spot, with the cars arranged in a circle to provide shelter from the wind and rain.

The empty space left over from the workshop was used as a small temporary camp.

Various tents, waterproof mats, and portable stoves for preparing meals were also brought out.

Li Junguo was sitting on a folding chair that had been taken out of the car.

His gaze was fixed on the direction of the collapsed mountain wall a hundred meters away.

It was as if one's gaze could pierce through the mountain wall and see the treasure inside.

At this moment, the expedition team leader, who had already set up the camp and was sporting a beard, also came over in a solicitous manner.

"Director Li, are you hungry? The team has brought quite a few portable foods."

"I see some fish in the stream over there. Should I have someone catch some to give everyone a little something extra?"

The words that suddenly appeared beside him interrupted Li Junguo's gaze from the rock wall.

There was no hint of dissatisfaction in his tone; he just spoke with a forced smile.

"Captain Yan, you're very kind, but I think we're not here for leisure. We should follow the orders of the government, shouldn't we?"

The expedition team leader was stunned when he heard this, unsure of what he had said wrong.

But this clearly displeased the other party, so he quickly agreed verbally.

"Yes, yes, I'm used to this kind of exploration by the people. I'll have the equipment set up for the first round of exploration."

Seeing the other person's nervous expression, Li Junguo didn't say anything more.

He nodded slightly, then turned his head back to stare at the rock wall, ignoring it completely.

They tried to curry favor, but ended up getting a cold shoulder instead.

Captain Yan, with a mournful expression, walked back to his team and began to organize his men, taking out some lighting equipment and exploration devices.

And noticed the actions of this group of people.

Located in a corner of the camp, Jiang Shengping's archaeological team of four also realized that it was time to start their work.

They then took out the tools they carried with them.

"Blind Jiang" pulled a talisman with intricate patterns from his pocket and stuck it directly on his forehead.

This is a Vajra Talisman produced by Master Yang Ping, which can be redeemed on the data network after earning points through high-intensity collaborative experiments.

Not far from him, "Spirit Bird" was not to be outdone, and drew two gleaming purple-gold short swords from his waist.

Judging from the surface texture and the wear marks that don't look like they've been artificially aged, it's clearly an antique.

Next was the middle-aged man with the lowest profile in the group, known as "the mute."

He also reached into the large backpack on his back and pulled out two metal rods, twisting them together to reveal a Luoyang shovel.

Finally, Professor Gu Chen, the team leader known as "Old Gu," was the most outrageous.

First, he took out a Bagua mirror with a necklace attached and put it around his neck. Then he took out a bracelet full of copper coins and tied it to his wrist.

Immediately afterwards, he pulled out a peach wood sword about the length of his forearm from his lower back.

Then he pulled out a cross from the thick cotton coat at the collar.

Finally, the two strings of prayer beads, one long and one short, were wrapped around each other several times and held in the hand.

That completes the preparations.

But clearly, judging from the other party's bulging pockets, there was still a lot of spare equipment.

The transformation they underwent caused Li Junguo, who had just been looking in their direction, to silently look away again.

He took out a portable communicator and sent a signal to the guard troops on the outskirts of the mountain.

"If there is any unusual activity, we will immediately launch a rescue operation."

Only after doing all this did I feel a little more at ease, and I looked expectantly at the cliffs bathed in the golden light of the setting sun.

After a brief rest and adjustment, the exploration team is now ready.

A team of 20 ordinary people set off to assist Jiang Shengping and his three extraordinary archaeological teams.

The other three extraordinary experts from Kyoto, along with the five members of the expedition team who remained behind, stayed at the camp with Li Junguo.

After the team was assigned, Jiang Shengping and the others trudged through the rocky Gobi Desert to the towering cliff face.

Captain Yan of the scientific expedition team, hanging in the middle of the group, looked at the group of four men, women, and children at the beginning and felt that it was extremely unreliable.

Unfortunately, he could only play a supporting role in leading the team this time, and the main force still depended on these few people, so he couldn't say anything and just lowered his head and followed.

The team crossed the collapsed rubble and saw the entrance to the ruins that had been exposed due to the collapse, which had been mentioned in the intelligence reports.

"This place is really big."

Jiang Shengping peered into the irregular crack, which was taller than a person, and used the lights from the expedition team behind him to see inside.

As far as the eye can see, the space feels no less than a hundred square meters.

The interior is square, so it's clearly not a naturally formed cave, but rather an artificially constructed one.

Meanwhile, Captain Yan, at the rear of the group, watched as the young man codenamed "Blind Jiang" tapped and banged around the stone wall.

They didn't care at all, even though it might be a cultural relic that had been preserved for thousands of years.

There's no trace of a legitimate archaeological team.

Considering the behavior of the others along the way, I couldn't help but think to myself.

"So, archaeological teams are now recruiting tomb raiders?"

However, regardless of his thoughts, the four people on this side stopped after observing for a while.

"Alright, Shengping, stop looking and let's go inside."

Wearing a heavy cotton coat and with gray hair, Gu Chen patted Jiang Shengping, who was blocking the entrance to the cave, and urged him on.

"Good teacher."

Amidst Jiang Shengping's echoing voices.

Immediately afterwards, the four members of the archaeological team filed in.

Following closely behind was the 20-member mortal expedition team, who, led by Captain Beard, cautiously entered. Once inside, they discovered that the space was far larger than they had imagined.

The group of more than 20 people stood scattered about, yet the space still seemed quite empty.

Under the abundant illumination of the lights, the entire space was clearly visible to everyone.

The ground and the four walls were made of long rock bricks of similar size.

The room was completely bare, with nothing else to be seen at a glance.

At the deepest part of the room, there is a wall carved with various murals, shaped like a door.

Jiang Shengping sensed something was off as soon as he entered, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

They could only follow the main group and arrive at the only difference in the room: the carved door.

It was carved with dragons and phoenixes, and some patterns seemed to depict alchemy and ascension.

It is likely that the information mentioned in the previous materials was extracted from these murals.

Meanwhile, the captain of the mortal expedition team had also finished checking the area around the room but found nothing.

Then, carrying a lamp, he approached the four people gathered in front of the door.

Trying hard to control myself, I tried not to notice the four people's rustic outfits and the obviously mismatched equipment in their hands.

He looked at the carvings on the wall with some curiosity and asked a question.

"We've checked the rest of the room, and there's nothing noteworthy. Have you all discovered anything?"

As he spoke, he looked at the large door in front of him, which seemed to be embedded in the stone wall, and recalled some stories of gods and ghosts, guessing as he spoke.

"I've also heard some folk tales about whether this door requires some kind of formation or ritual to open?"

Upon hearing his question, before the others in the group could respond, the gaunt Gu Chen, affectionately known as "Old Old Man," shook his head slightly.

"This door probably can't be opened."

As he spoke, he pulled a small knife from his waist and scraped it twice in the crack of the door.

As a result, even the thin blade couldn't be inserted; it only managed to scrape off some stone powder.

After completing these actions, he pointed again to the top of the rock wall and stone gate, to the arched top.

"In my experience, the construction of these immortal abodes follows the principle of a round heaven and a square earth, and it's unlikely that they would have a structure that's round on top and square on the bottom, and..."

As he spoke, he handed the knife in his hand to the expedition team leader, pointing to the thin layer of lime on the blade.

"And look at this rock wall, it will crumble with just a scratch, unlike the immortal caves that can exist for thousands of years."

"The materials used by cultivators are difficult to destroy by ordinary means, let alone scrape off with a knife."

These words startled Captain Beard, who had been eagerly speculating about what lay behind the stone gate.

Clearly, they could understand the meaning behind the other person's words.

"You mean...this place is not right?"

Seeing his expression, Old Gu was also quite disappointed. He put away his knife and nodded affirmatively.

"New, brand new, undisputedly new."

However, these words of affirmation only made Captain Yan's surprised expression worse.

Thinking that his promotion and salary increase would soon be far away.

He walked through the crowd, somewhat agitated, and reached out to touch the carved rock face.

"No, that's not right! It can't be. Look at the patina, the crackle pattern, how could this be new? How could the carving be wrong?"

At this moment, the four people who had already stepped back voluntarily shook their heads with some pity.

Old Gu spoke again.

"New, brand new. You can tell at a glance that this carving was done with an electric carving tool. These erosion marks on the surface are all artificially aged by dyeing."

These words were like the last straw that broke Captain Yan's back; upon hearing them, he collapsed to the ground.

He was still muttering to himself.

"How could this be... The workmanship and the color are amazing, this is my chance for a promotion and a raise..."

However, at this moment, the four of them ignored him.

At this point, everyone realized that something was wrong.

Their expressions changed from playful to serious.

As the team leader, Old Gu Tou also took on the responsibility of calming people down, and shouted directly at the middle-aged man in the team who was "dumb".

Give me the Luoyang shovel.

"it is good."

With a hum, the old man took the heavy, metallic Luoyang shovel.

Looking at the ground, with its rocky floor tiles that were seven or eight tenths similar to those in the Tomb of the Hundred Kings, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Without hesitation, he raised the shovel above his head and slammed it into the ground with all his might.

After turning into a zombie, his strength had already increased significantly, and now he was putting in all his effort again.

Using the sharp tip of the Luoyang shovel, a whole piece of rock brick nearly one meter long was smashed to pieces.

Some stone chips flew everywhere, and part of the tip of the Luoyang shovel was embedded in the cracks in the rocks.

This confirmed his thoughts.

His expression was solemn, but his tone remained calm as he gave instructions to the other three.

"Go test the other wall locations around here and see if there are any unbreakable bricks."

"Ok."

"is teacher."

...

A moment later, the group gathered back around the old man, and without saying a word, they all shook their heads.

And this result seemed to be expected, only to be confirmed by a somber expression.

His eyes flickered as he pondered.

"Why go to such lengths, creating this elaborate decoy in this remote mountain valley? What is the purpose...?"

This fake cave dwelling is crude in many ways.

Although he considered himself to be highly experienced and unmatched, Old Gu also knew that these things were not something only he and his group could discover.

Director Li was clearly a cautious person by nature, not a stupid one.

It makes no sense that after investigating repeatedly and deciding to come in person, I would make a fool of myself.

Unless... the information received by the other party has been tampered with...

Thinking of this, Old Gu Tou suddenly looked up and gazed towards the direction outside the cave.

That place, one could say, contains the most important thing about this team, and is also the place that is most likely to make people put so much thought and effort into it.

"Oh no! Get out of here! This is a trap! Director Li is in danger!"

And then he shouted.

The sunlight streaming in from outside the cave wall seemed to be blocked by something in an instant.

With a series of twisting and squeezing "creaking" sounds, the entire cave was completely sealed off.

A rather young-sounding male voice came from the sealed-off opening.

"Looks like you guys have some tricks up your sleeve."

"I thought it would take much longer to figure it out, but it doesn't matter, it's the same whether it's sooner or later."

"If you don't want to die, stay here obediently and wait for rescue. Then you can leave..."

(End of this chapter)