I was a rookie reporter in the 00s

"Be careful!" Li Wei's voice suddenly rang out, his eyes fixed on the surface of the pool.

The water surface began to ripple, as if some massive object were awakening underwater. Zhang Wanqing and Fu Siyuan quickly retreated, their eyes fixed on the water, their hearts racing.

Suddenly, a huge stone statue rose from the water, its body covered with moss and water plants, and its eyes flashed red light. The statue's movements were stiff and slow, but its strength was enough to destroy everything.

"What is this?" There was a hint of fear in Fu Siyuan's voice.

Zhang Wanqing's eyes flashed with determination: "This is an ancient guard, designed to protect the secrets of this underground city."

Li Wei gripped the pistol tightly, his voice low and firm: "We must find a way to subdue it."

They began searching the square for clues, hoping to find a way to disable the guards. Zhang Wanqing's gaze wandered over the patterns on the stone wall. She remembered her father mentioning a similar mechanism. Her fingers gently traced the indentations on the stone wall, and suddenly, she discovered a nearly imperceptible button.

"Here!" Zhang Wanqing pressed the button with a hint of excitement in her voice.

The ground in the square began to shake, and the stone slabs slowly shifted, revealing a hidden control room. They quickly entered the room, which was filled with various ancient machines and gears. Zhang Wanqing's eyes swept across the control console and she discovered a red crystal, which contained powerful energy.

"This is the key to controlling the guards." Zhang Wanqing's voice was firm as she carefully removed the crystal.

The guard's movements suddenly stopped, the red light in its eyes gradually dimmed, and its body slowly sank into the water, returning to calm.

Fu Siyuan and Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief. They scanned the control room, hoping to find more clues. Li Wei's voice was filled with awe: "This underground city is much more complicated than we imagined."

They began to look for possible clues in the control room, hoping to find a path to the secret organization's lair.

As the crystal was removed from its base, the light in the entire control room seemed to dim a little, and only the ancient machines and gears cast intricate shadows in the weak light.

Zhang Wanqing held the red crystal tightly in her hand. She could feel the energy contained within it. It was an ancient and powerful force that seemed ready to burst out at any time.

Fu Siyuan's gaze lingered over the furnishings in the control room, his fingers gently tracing the intricate mechanical structures, as if he could feel their ancient pulse. "The things here... they all seem alive," he said with a hint of awe.

Li Wei stood vigilantly at the door, his eyes scanning both ends of the passage to ensure that no unknown threats were approaching. His voice was low and firm: "We have to hurry. It's not safe here."

Zhang Wanqing nodded, her eyes fixed on a corner of the console, where a dimly lit screen displayed strange symbols and patterns. Cautiously, she approached the screen, her fingers lightly touching the symbols. Suddenly, the screen lit up, revealing a map of a secret passage.

"Look at this." Zhang Wanqing's voice was filled with excitement as she pointed to the map on the screen. "This might be the path to the secret organization's lair."

Fu Siyuan and Li Wei quickly gathered around, their eyes scanning the map. Fu Siyuan's finger slid lightly across the map, his voice tinged with surprise: "This passage...it leads directly to the center of the island."

Li Wei's brows were furrowed, and a trace of vigilance flashed in his eyes: "That might be the most dangerous place."

They began following the instructions on the map, passing the control room and coming to a hidden doorway with intricate patterns carved into it that matched the symbols on the metal plate.

Zhang Wanqing carefully placed the crystal in the groove in the center of the door. The door slowly opened, revealing a stone staircase leading underground.

The stone steps wound down deep into the earth, each step feeling incredibly heavy. Their footsteps echoed through the passage, each echo like the echo of history. The walls of the passage were covered in moss, and the air was filled with a damp and ancient scent.

As they went deeper into the passage, the light around them dimmed and dimmed until they finally fell into complete darkness. They turned on their flashlights, and beams of light flickered in the darkness, illuminating the path ahead.

Their heartbeats were particularly clear in the darkness, and every beat seemed to remind them that they were walking on an unknown road.

Suddenly, a low roar came from the end of the tunnel, as if some huge machine was starting up. Zhang Wanqing and her team immediately stopped, their eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.

"What's that sound?" Fu Siyuan's voice was filled with a hint of nervousness.

Li Wei gripped the pistol tightly, his voice low and firm: "We must be careful, there may be a trap."

They continued to move forward cautiously. As they approached the end of the tunnel, the roar became louder and louder. Finally, they came to a huge underground space. In the center of the space was a huge mechanical device. At the center of the device was a huge gear, which was rotating slowly and powerfully.

The rotation of the gears drove the entire mechanical device, and each part of the device emitted a low roar. Zhang Wanqing's eyes swept over the device and she found a control panel on one side of the device with some buttons and switches on it.

"Here!" There was a hint of excitement in Zhang Wanqing's voice as she walked towards the control panel.

Fu Siyuan and Li Wei followed closely behind, their eyes scanning the control panel. Fu Siyuan's fingers gently touched the buttons on the control panel, and suddenly, he found an almost imperceptible symbol that echoed the pattern on the metal plate.

"This button." Fu Siyuan's voice was a little nervous as he pressed the button.

The mechanical device suddenly stopped working, and the entire underground space fell into silence. Then, one side of the device slowly opened, revealing a passage leading deeper.

Zhang Wanqing stood at the entrance of the passage, her eyes scanning the area. She could sense the power within it, an ancient and mysterious force. She knew they had found the path to the secret organization's lair.

Fu Siyuan and Li Wei stood beside her, and their eyes were also shocked by this spectacular scene.

There was a hint of awe in Fu Siyuan's voice: "Here, this is the way to the lair of the secret organization."

They began to move forward along the passage, each step feeling incredibly heavy. As they went deeper, the secrets of this underground city gradually revealed.