sin of lumen

When he crossed the Gulf of Mexico and reached the coastline, Lu Ting took a deep breath.

They had just taken a long detour—in order to avoid crashing into the patrol circle around the capital, the two spaceships deliberately walked around the edge of the ice sheet for a while.There are only three people, one LastShadow is certainly enough, and the Aldebaran-b is brought along because of its scientific research function.Needless to say, the performance of software and hardware such as terrain scanning and magnetic field mapping is more than a little more advanced than the big guy who has been soaking in the sea for more than [-] years. There are also three drones sharing the system, equipped with remote VR functions, that is to say, Most of the time, field inspections can be carried out without going out of the cabin.

In the current situation, it is indeed impossible to come out of the sealed cabin.

Lu Ting saw the fog, which covered a large area and was almost opaque, covering the peninsula. It was different from the sea fog on a rainy day, showing a color between purple and gray, viscous and adding to the A bit muddy.

Probably poisonous, Lu Ting thought, there might be some weird creature hidden in the mist.

Lucy has completed a general assessment of the external environment, and introduced at the same time in the two spaceships flying back and forth: "The oxygen content at the current altitude is only 9%. In addition to nitrogen, the main components of the air are water vapor, methane and carbon dioxide, and a small amount of air. of helium, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide."

"Inflammables and toxic gases are all taken up," He Zhensheng sighed as he stayed alone in Aldebaran-b, "It's really not suitable for human habitation. I thought the government was trying to keep some secrets and scare people?"

"Maybe these gases are also released by the government, just to prevent enthusiastic tourists from coming here to explore the secrets. After all, not everyone has our equipment conditions," Lu Ting said, calling up the operating system of the neighboring machine, and turned the No. [-] unmanned The machine was launched, "Let's see what's going on next."

"It should be a swamp." Dun Mochi said.

Lu Ting was dubious about this, and sat back in the co-pilot, looking at the gray world outside the window.He was inside a spacecraft that could isolate nuclear explosions, and its airtightness was strong enough to withstand the pressure of deep water day and night. At this moment, of course, the fog couldn't squeeze in to surround him.But somehow, while advancing slowly, he also slowly felt the pressure coming.The congestion before and after and the obscuration of sight will always bring a great sense of depression to people. He waited silently. The area of ​​the peninsula is nearly 20 square kilometers. At this time, the flying altitude is about 1000 meters. After about 5 minutes, the drone Only then began to return data.

Sure enough, Deng Mochi's guess was right, the bottom of them, the southernmost part of the peninsula, was indeed not solid soil.The fluid covers the surface, perhaps because of the light. According to the pictures sent back by the drone, the water is black, very shallow, and smooth, like tar. From time to time, small sandbars surface, and there is no biological activity. sign.

"It's not like this in 2089. It looks like a desert," Lu Ting recalled the video footage of this place at that time. "Has there been any major changes in the weather in recent years?"

"There are no reliable records. But there was a 2095-magnitude earthquake in the nearby sea in 7.9," Lucy said. "It may have triggered a tsunami that washed away the coastline and caused a large area of ​​​​seawater influx."

"The earthquake affected the groundwater system." Deng Mochi opened his eyes and said, "The water that comes out is fresh water."

"Yes," Lucy continued to explain for him, "Under the seawater environment, the microorganisms in the plants and peat cannot raise the swamp gas to this concentration within five years."

Lu Ting winked at Deng Mochi, as if praising him for his careful thinking, but He Zhensheng on the other end of the intercom line said: "I almost fell asleep listening to it, can the other two drones be sent to work? Let's The focus should be on the ground."

"You send it." Lu Ting took a sip of milk and said, "The authority has been opened for you."

When Deng Mochi saw the white circle on his lips, he just glanced at it, then put it in his pocket, and continued to close his eyes and rest his mind.

Lu Ting knew that Deng Mochi was often not sleepy, but just because he was upset and didn't want to talk to others.He also noticed the increasingly obvious anxiety in Deng Mochi's body since he set off from Aldebaran this morning to the current noon.Is it because of some kind of intuition?Deng Mochi only mentioned the danger, but did not explain the rest, maybe he couldn't figure it out himself.

Then the most sensible choice now is to give him a little peace.

In this way, two spaceships hovered at low altitudes to scan the entire island, and three drones conducted on-the-spot surveys near the ground. Apart from the fact that the process was slow due to the influence of fog and repeated checks and corrections were required, there was not much to worry about. Trouble happens.Sometimes this is the case. Technology moves too fast, and it inevitably makes people look like they have nothing to do.

A few hours have passed, and the topography and biological environment of the peninsula have been almost touched. The south is a large area of ​​swamp and degraded rainforest, and the north was once a grassland, but now it has become a bare wilderness.In addition to some huge insects and various algae in the swamp, the peninsula is also a colony of other creatures. The drone only captured a small amount of fuzzy pictures. The body looks like birds, standing in groups in dry On the tree, the largest wingspan can reach three meters, but they are very afraid of strangers. As soon as the drones approach, they spread their wings and scatter.

Lucy did not find a creature with matching characteristics in the map.

At the beginning of [-] o'clock in the evening, in the last few minutes before the sun set on the horizon, the poisonous fog gathered thicker and lowered, and the No. [-] drone sent back new discoveries.It was a pyramid-shaped temple located in the west of the ancient city of Chichen Itza. It had not yet been buried by the collapsed mountain, but the perennial acid-base imbalance environment still eroded it completely. One of the four edges of the pyramid collapsed, allowing drones to enter internal.

Lu Ting turned on the camera mode, and a large number of images were uploaded to the system database. Deng Mochi's eyes also drifted away, and the two of them focused on the screen together.The dripping ruins, the cramped passages, everything is illuminated by the narrow lighting range of the drone, making it even more confusing.Although the pyramid is hollow, if you don't go inside it yourself, it doesn't seem to be worth seeing.This thought lasted in Lu Ting's mind for a while, and suddenly, something flashed in front of his eyes, and he subconsciously pressed pause.

Reverse the drone for a while, until the thing that flashed just now is framed back into the shot.

It was a mural, one of the corners.The color has faded long ago, leaving only brown-red lines and shadows of different shades. The shape follows the square shape of Mayan characters. In the middle of the picture are two people side by side, with thick lips, big eyes, grand headdresses, and emphatically depicted Sexual characteristics, surrounded by a circle of people, relatively smaller in size, all in kneeling postures.

"This is worshiping God." He Zhen said.

Lu Ting backed the drone away, and a larger picture came into view. The upper right corner of the mural was a brand new scene.There are floods and thunderstorms, the sun falls on the ground, houses are broken and people are scattered, depicting natural disasters.

"It's still a comic book," Lu Ting said, "the next one... Well, those two people were guiding the villagers to escape just now."

"Then it should be the village chief and his wife." He Zhen laughed.

"Can't we say it's the king and queen?" Lu Ting also smiled, and pointed the camera at the fourth mural. Overall, there are seven murals on this stone wall, which are raised first and then lowered in the shape of steps. This one is located in the highest point.

The one with the most exaggerated headdress raised his hands high and stood on a magnificent building similar to a temple. The villagers in the painting were smaller than the villagers in the previous paintings, because there is a higher existence in this mural—probably a god. Abstractly drawn as a beam of light piercing the clouds, enveloping the tiny king.

In the fifth picture, the king returns to the chaotic world with a ball in his arms.

In the sixth picture, a large circular lake occupies most of the picture, and a person is soaked in the center of the lake, with only half of his head exposed.There are mountains all around, and a circle hangs on the right side of the sky, smaller than the sun, bigger than the king's ball, many people are kneeling by the lake, and there are many big birds with their wings folded, all bowing their heads, like I'm seeing you off.

In the seventh picture, the sun returned to the sky, the city was rebuilt, and the king stood in the center of the picture and was worshiped again.

After walking the seven steps, it returned to the lowest point.

"The one in the lake should be the queen, and the headgear is similar," Lu Ting said with a frown. "So the story is that the king got the will of the gods and wanted to sacrifice a person. He chose his wife, and then the natural disaster passed smoothly." pass?"

"The so-called divine inspiration is that ball?" He Zhensheng seemed to be joking, "Don't we also have a ball?"

"Then what is the sixth one hanging in the sky? Our ball will also float into the sky?"

"It might be Venus." Deng Mochi said suddenly, "Venus appears in the eastern sky and is used to tell the time. The Mayans also worshiped Venus."

"There is also that poem - it is the dawn." Lu Ting said softly.

Deng Mochi looked at him and nodded.

"Start to check the landforms," ​​Lucy interjected, "the Yucatan Peninsula does have a large circular lake at the edge of the swamp, and it is also the center of the underground crater."

"Then the reason why it is special and drawn in may be because it has a special magnetic field?" Lu Ting wondered, "At any rate, it is the center of the crater, there must be something abnormal."

"The No. [-] drone has been sent to check." Lucy said.

"You performed well today, very clever." Lu Ting smiled again.

"Thank you for the compliment, thanks to the transformation of the boss of the big monster in the universe, and the strong CPU support," Lucy said excitedly, "I am no longer a nanny who can only clean up and remind you of your daily life!"

He Zhensheng interrupted the artificial intelligence's acceptance speech and said: "Then shall we go too? Take the ball, go to the lake, wait until the dawn of Venus rises, and see what happens."

Before Lu Ting had time to agree, he heard Deng Mochi say: "We just saw the inside of any pyramid."

He Zhensheng asked again what Lu Ting wanted to ask: "After wandering around in it, I saw a reminder. Do you want to ask why there is such a coincidence?"

"Ah."

"Maybe it's God's will, don't forget that you are in the land of the Mayans," He Zhensheng sighed, "Aren't they always talking about it?"

Deng Mochi didn't answer, he didn't express his opinion, so he couldn't start rashly.While waiting for the feedback from the No. [-] UAV, Lu Ting let the No. [-] UAV wander around in the pyramid, and his face quickly changed, "It's not a coincidence," he cut out a few frames, "Boss, look There are more than one set of murals, they can be found everywhere!"

"..." Deng Mochi frowned.

Before Lu Ting reminded him, he had already discovered that there are a total of eight pictures, located in different positions of the pyramid, all describing the same seven steps and one event.

"Repeating so many times, is it because I am afraid of accidents in the future and want to ensure that the information is passed on?" Lu Ting tugged at his wrist, "Our teacher also said that important information must be transmitted repeatedly in emergencies. delivery rate."

Dun Mochi thought of those collapsed pyramids that were impossible to enter.If the Mayans really had important information to convey, would they also paint such simple and absurd pictures on the inside of each building?

"Go and see the lake," he said at last.

About 3000 meters away from the round lake, the relevant information has been analyzed. The report shows that the content of hydrogen ions in the surface layer of the lake has exceeded 1mol/L, that is to say, its corrosiveness is on the same order of magnitude as that of concentrated sulfuric acid.

What's even weirder is the magnetic field above the lake. The general shape established according to the intensity distribution is three-dimensionally projected in front of him.Unlike the surroundings of any ordinary magnet, the magnetic field here is completely chaotic, jagged, and irregular, like a pile of unclean scrap iron in a furnace.

At the same time, the drone that was going to explore the way was also besieged, and it was the group of mysterious big birds that shot it. They surrounded it, attacked it with sharp claws and hooked beaks, and finally knocked it down.Before falling into the acid lake, the final picture from the No. [-] drone was the aerial picture taken by the infrared camera. There were at least twenty red hotspots hidden in the thick methane.

So, just to be on the safe side, the three of them put on masks and protective suits, and completed the handover in advance in the air. He Zhensheng was replaced by LastShadow to protect the top, and Lu Ting stayed in Aldebaran-b with Dun Mochi, guarding the star. The ball with green stripes, observe the next move.

When I fixed my position above the center of the lake, it was not past twelve o'clock, at least seven hours before dawn, but whenever this happened, time passed very slowly.The magnetic field chaos has little effect on the performance of the spacecraft, but the sensitivity of the radar is somewhat limited, but this is also a small problem that can be tolerated temporarily and does not need to be discussed.The three of them seemed to be breaking the boat. After all, most of the things that could be lost were carried with them. In the middle, only He Zhensheng used the small rockets held by LastShadow to drive away the occasional big birds. Small talk.

"History repeats itself," he said. "What we have to defend against now is almost a natural disaster."

"Not exactly. The contemporary problems are mainly caused by people," Lu Ting corrected seriously, "It's people who pushed themselves to this point."

"Okay, what you said is right, I can't say anything more than His Royal Highness," He Zhen said cheerfully, "No, it's the queen, you have to be careful not to fall into the lake."

"It's so old that I still believe in the crap about priests," Lu Ting patted the microphone, "This is a scientific experiment, not a cult activity. I'm staying in a fighter plane made of steel plate and high borate glass. Of course it's impossible to fall. Go swim in the lake."

"What does the king think?" He Zhensheng asked again.

Only then did Deng Mochi come back to his senses. He had been looking at the sky just now, and when he suddenly turned his head, he looked at Lu Ting in a daze: "I don't want to trade you."

"Did you hear that?" Lu Ting handed him chocolate biscuits and said to He Zhensheng, "The king said he would protect me."

He Zhensheng refused to continue to shine brightly, exited the communication interface, and continued to shoot his strange bird.Those timid creatures came scattered at first, and they were easy to deal with. After about 05:30, probably because they got used to the size of the two spaceships and the light from the windows, the strange birds were no longer intimidated. The swarm also increased in size, and even began attacking LastShadow's shell from above.

"I'm not afraid of pecking my mouth crooked!" He Zhensheng also began to use heavier weapons to drive away.

The sunrise was approaching, and gradually, Lu Ting could hear his own heartbeat getting heavier and heavier, but Deng Mochi was still in intermittent fugues, with a pale face, rarely looking at him, and even less talking to him. He speaks.

"Boss," Lu Ting grabbed Deng Mochi's hand and yelled several times before "waking him up", "Look, it's almost dawn."

Following Lu Ting's gaze, Deng Mochi saw a white belly, a very thin layer, smeared on the sky like a veil.

Venus will also appear.

"You don't feel very good now, don't you?" Lu Ting opened his five fingers, seriously inserted his fingers into his fingers, and firmly intersected with him. "These things must be inextricably linked to you." Connection, your thoughts are messed up in your mind, and you are overwhelmed, and you want to figure out what this connection is... Am I right?"

"I can't see clearly." Deng Mochi squeezed back vigorously, "I can't see every road until the end. The magnetic field of this island makes me dull."

every way?Is it a hunch?Lu Ting didn't know how many roads he walked when he was in a trance.

Does your head hurt again?

"It's okay, if something happens in a while, don't you see it clearly?" Lu Ting hugged him, "If nothing happens, it means we think too much, then look for it on this island. If there are no other clues, we will go home."

Dun Mochi froze in this embrace.

This froze lasted for more than ten seconds, and when he recovered, he suddenly said, "Don't wait."

"What?" Lu Ting hugged him even tighter, leaning on his shoulder, his eyes focused on the horizon, a little line of sight was blocked by the spaceship above, and he could only see a white, bright spot at the edge of Chaoyang's aperture, suddenly Attracts the brilliance of the entire sky.

"Don't wait, let's go." Deng Mochi seemed to have an epiphany, pushed him away without hesitation, got up and walked to the operation desk, and there was still a fixed rod connected to LastShadow, he ignored it and started the operation directly. High speed program.However, no matter how the engine roared under his feet, Aldebaran-b couldn't move half a minute.

He called up the magnetic field 3D projection, chose to update, and the progress was 0%.

The strange bird has already started to attack the belly of the spaceship, which is where He Zhensheng can't help to protect. There are dense impact sounds. Lu Ting shoots according to the thermal image, and at the same time, he also sees the trembling of his shoulders, and asks: "What happened? You Don't say nothing, boss!"

Dun Mo didn't turn his head back, and even his voice was no longer stable, as if he had just done something stupid, "Wrong, it's too late, this is a trap!" He patted the table, the projection map was updated, and the chaotic The magnetic field has become orderly, and the strong magnetism spreads all around, like an invisible cage that is difficult to break through, trapping the two metal giants tightly.

Lu Ting's head buzzed, but he saw that Deng Mochi had regained his composure at this moment, and was kneeling on the ground. He wanted to take out the green ball that was vibrating at high frequency from the fixed iron trough on the ground, but it seemed that he was caught by a An invisible and insubstantial force held back, and he stretched out his hand with all his might, but it was difficult to get close to half an inch.Is it the magnetic field again? It can block anything at an invisible level. I am afraid that the magnetic field on the lake surface has changed only when it senses the invasion of the ball. Therefore, destroying this ball can break the deadlock formed by this strong magnetism.Thinking this way, Lu Ting turned on the engine power to the maximum to keep it as stable as possible under the impact of the strange bird, and silently walked behind Deng Mochi.

He held Deng Mochi's elbow joint, trying to add his own strength, it seemed... he succeeded, he was not in vain, Deng Mochi's hand was approaching the surface of the sphere.

He also felt the wetness of his palms, such thick clothes were soaked in cold sweat, he was really afraid that Deng Mochi would become dehydrated like this!However, he couldn't worry for another second. The moment Deng Mochi touched the sphere, Lu Ting suddenly saw the dazzling light, and felt that he was blown by a gust of wind squeezed by sharp blades. It is excruciating pain.When his vision recovered, he saw that everything was broken again. The console, the cabin shell, the ground where he had just landed, his Aldebaran-b... were all broken and disappeared!

There was only a lingering engine, protected by a thick metal layer, and a polymer alloy skeleton, which seemed to be deformed by heavy pressure, broken, bent, and broken.

And he hangs outside the skeleton, exposed under the wings of the strange bird and gusts of poisonous wind.He should have fallen directly into the acid lake, but it was Deng Mochi's hand that grabbed him.

Lu Ting raised his eyes and saw that Deng Mochi was also on the verge of falling, with half of his body sticking out of the support. What was even more frightening was that a skeleton with a broken sharp section was stuck directly behind him, probably at the lower ribs. I don't know how deep it was. , did not pierce, but there was blood seeping from the edge of his mask, flowing, ticking, and falling on Lu Ting's mask.

He supported his body with one hand, and held Lu Ting's hand with the other. His strength was so great that his hand bones were about to be crushed. Pulled by gravity, the tighter he held, the more he tried to lift Lu Ting up. As he came up, the steel rod pierced deeper into his body.

But he didn't let go.

"Why is the magnetic field back up again? What's your situation? It shows that Ab has stalled?" He Zhensheng's broken and delayed voice came from the headset, and LastShodow lowered, as if wanting to perceive the situation here.

"Don't move!" Lu Ting yelled with difficulty, he seemed to be unable to breathe, his eyes were dry and unable to shed tears, just as Deng Mochi opened his mouth and could not make a sound.Attracted by the blood, the strange birds had already started to peck at Deng Mochi's back. At this moment, raging fires sprang up around the two of them, and the poisonous mist burned violently, making the birds scream strangely.

He Zhensheng seemed to understand something, and began to focus on attacking the exposed birds, while Deng Mochi was choked with thick blood, his throat was flooded, his mouth was dripping, and his nose was coming out, everything.But he can't feel it, he can't even see Lu Ting clearly now, or feel a little pain, from holding the ball, to the green light burning in his hand, and then disappearing in his hand, he seems to be cut off All the feelings were gone, only countless frenzy pressed into his mind, tearing his consciousness apart and obliterating his existence.Deng Mochi felt connected, with the whole world, all people, all creatures with "personality", as if trillions of souls poured into his body at the same time, and as if his own soul was cut into trillions of fragments.

It seemed, maybe, that was what the ball was for.Venus rose, the living dream, fulfilled, and they used it rightly, but miscalculated its effect.In such severe pain, the New God opened his eyes under God's will. As long as he wants, he can knock on the door, pick up anyone's thoughts, and walk in. As long as he wants, any road is open. It is connected, nothing more than the difficulty of walking.

But Dun Mochi was unwilling.

Why can't I see you clearly? He just thought this way, concentrating all his energy to pull himself out of the tsunami of the soul, with a little success, he can feel the strangeness in his hands, which is even more attractive than any physical damage It was Lu Ting who opened his fingers one by one.

But he couldn't free his other hand to stop it, which would make them fall together.

"Stop, stop!" Dun Mochi was yelling, but the blood on his face made him unable to speak clearly.The strange bird's attack temporarily stopped, but the skeleton slowly stabbed deeper behind him, trying to pierce him. Lu Ting obviously wanted to stop all this with his own life. against him.It didn't last long.When the last finger couldn't bear the strength and let go weakly, when all the softness and warmth slipped from the palm of his hand, Deng Mochi's vision recovered.

He knew he was crying, it was such a strange feeling, his eyeballs were covered with moisture, he went to see the world, he couldn't see Lu Ting's face through the mask, the fundus of his eyes was as if a glacier had collapsed, and what finally flowed out, but Only one tear.

It is crystal clear and small, incompatible with fire and blood, bird carcasses and poisonous mist, chasing Lu Ting and falling all the way to the greedy round lake.Is that so, it's a logical and well-planned bait, a nefarious quid pro quo that needs to swallow a queen after all.But Deng Mochi looked at them, and suddenly knelt up, letting his body be pierced by the spikes, and kept watching until the thick fog wiped out the shrinking figure, and he couldn't reach it in his sight. Yes, somewhere far away...

He knocked on the door without much effort and entered Lu Ting's heart.

Remembered everything.