Chapter 163: Welcome Back

Chapter 163: Welcome Back

Over three hundred years, many things have corroded and weathered away, yet the coarse stone has endured.

Chen Jian did not hesitate; he instantly ordered everyone to regroup and redeploy, advancing step by step according to the arrow etched on the rock.

They were forced deeper into the sub‑entity forest, and the concentration of toxic gas began to rise.

Chen Jian kept his smart visor’s readings under constant watch, then spoke his command:

“Everyone, lower your breathing rate and stretch the use of your air‑supplies as long as possible.”

“Those without air‑supplies, hold your breath; if you can’t, share an air‑supply with a nearby comrade.”

“Understood!”

No one questioned; his orders were carried out instantly.

Tactical flashlights cut through, beams piercing the dense sub‑entity forest and mingling with the faint glow at the base of the umbrella‑shaped stalks.

The small squad advanced cautiously; Chen Jian had feared they would not find a second marker, yet it was clear the forerunners had anticipated his worry.

The second clue appeared on a towering granite statue, bearing the same simple instruction and an arrow pointing the way.

As they drew nearer the final destination, Chen Jian’s pulse quickened involuntarily.

He had expected the reconnaissance to be arduous, yet, to his surprise, everything had been smooth sailing so far.

Perhaps it truly was because they had found the right method?

Or perhaps the crushing weight of knowledge?

After all, for the Mechanical Cult, if they could not decipher the mechanisms of the myriad toxic gases sequestered within the Jinling ruins, traversing such a distance would be nearly impossible.

Chen Jian shook his head, dispelling the fleeting, tangled thoughts.

At that moment, the third clue also materialized.

Like participants in a treasure hunt, the eight‑person squad followed the clues onward, and after delving hundreds of meters into the sub‑entity forest, they finally reached their ultimate destination.

“This is it.”

Chen Jian took an air‑supply from Ji Xing, inhaled deeply, and continued:

“The inertial navigation coordinates are off, but this granite slab was clearly brought in later.”

“Beneath our feet lies the entrance to Facility 095.”

“The problem is… it has been completely buried.”

As he spoke, Chen Jian tentatively stamped his foot.

The soft ground gave way a little, but it was evident that beneath his foot lay not loose soil but an organic layer of fungal growth.

Chen Jian could never have imagined that the final barrier to the facility would be this very thing.

“What now? Blow it open?”

Lei Jie asked instinctively.

Chen Jian shook his head and replied:

“If we can blast it open, fine; this beneath is completely filled. How much explosives would we need to clear it?”

“Burning won’t work either; it’s not dry twigs, its water content is too high to ignite.”

“No other way—dig.”

Chen Jian spoke helplessly, and the others, with no other recourse, set down their weapons and returned to the cat‑cart to retrieve digging tools.

It was certainly no simple task; the roots of those umbrella‑shaped sub‑entities brimmed with toxic gases that, once inhaled, would inflict irreversible harm.

Thus, Chen Jian and his team took turns: first felling the surrounding sub‑entities, using thermobaric grenades to incinerate and purge the toxic air, and only after the environment steadied did they begin digging.

The physical toll was immense; in the dead of winter, everyone’s garments were soaked through with sweat.

Had they not known a colossal secret lay beneath, no one could have endured such a harsh labor.

After a grueling six hours, as dawn approached, Chen Jian’s party finally carved a narrow opening in the ground.

Without hesitation, Chen Jian ordered Lei Jie to the passage, where two thermobaric grenades detonated the highly concentrated toxic gas within.

When the rushing air refilled the tunnel, the group donned their air‑supplies again and entered. The long passage spiraled downward, and the deeper they went, the fewer traces of fungal proliferation remained.

That was undeniably good news.

Chen Jian’s confidence was rekindled.

Perhaps the facility below could still be relatively intact?

He quickened his stride involuntarily, and his companions did the same.

When the first isolation door loomed ahead, he rushed forward without hesitation.

It was the same procedure as at Facility 7025: open the first isolation door, then the airtight door; minutes later, Chen Jian stood before the final safety door of this underground complex, a mirror of 7025.

——

Yet, in that instant, he sensed something amiss.

It was too bright.

And that brightness could not have come from the thermal‑fusion night‑vision device before his eyes.

He instinctively flipped the night‑vision gear upward, and a dazzling glare flooded his eyes.

It was the light from an overhead LED.

Chen Jian stared in horror at the others who had also removed their night‑vision gear, and immediately, Shen Yue’s voice reached his ears.

“The internal exhaust fan has kicked in; it’s making a lot of noise.”

“The facility’s environmental maintenance system is still running!”

Chen Jian instinctively glanced at the numbers on his smart visor, but before he could read them, a strong wind surged outward from within.

Air tinged with dust and a scent of decay was expelled, and the lock mechanism on the safety door thundered to life, the door slowly pulling open.

Chen Jian could not describe the shock that seized his heart.

On the way here, he had imagined countless scenarios about this facility.

He had thought it might have been destroyed, or, like the ruin in Huangzhou, corroded beyond recognition.

In the best case, he imagined it might be as well‑preserved as Facility 7025, yielding ample supplies.

Yet he never expected the facility’s lights to still shine.

Nor did he imagine that the final safety door would open not by brute force or explosives, but by some mighty combination of steel and electricity, opening of its own accord.

Those standing behind him, including Zeng Yi, were equally stunned.

Indeed, they had witnessed many colossal creations.

Yet they had never seen a steel door move so gently and smoothly by itself.

Zeng Yi, fascinated, stepped forward to touch the heavy safety door, his voice trembling as he stammered:

“Is this… some kind of gigantic machinery?”

Upon hearing his words, Chen Jian shook his head and replied:

"No, it's just an automatic door."

Having spoken, he could not even spare a glance at Zeng Yi's expression.

For right before him, the lights within Facility 095 began to flicker on, one after another.

The floor, thinly veiled in dust, reflected the overhead illumination, and throughout the vast chamber countless standardized crates stretched out in a strikingly orderly fashion.

Compared with the slightly chaotic haste of Facility 7025, the interior of this installation was almost oppressively neat.

Chen Jian stepped in instinctively, and the instant his foot touched the ground, a voice—cool to the bone yet unmistakably human—echoed in his ear.

"Facility 095 is now active."

"Welcome back."

(End of Chapter)