Volume 9: Molten Mine Chapter 452: Stable Tunnel
"Huh... To be honest, this stretch of road is the most comfortable one I've walked since I got off the cruiser. Although I hate the Alpha civilization, I have to admit that this tunnel is really well built. Walking here feels like strolling on the streets of the Ark ." The Hound said, stomping on the ground twice with his feet. "Alas, what a pity... If we can dig out so much Nino alloy and bring it outside the mining area, our hunting group's assets will increase several times."
"Wait a minute." Ke Lan suddenly stopped, "Old dog, what did you just say?"
"I said that if we can take out the Nino alloy for building tunnels, we will make a fortune." The Hound was a little stunned by Ke Lan's startled behavior. "What's wrong? I was just joking. Why do you look so nervous?"
"Not this one, the previous one. " Ke Lan said, staring at the hound.
"The previous sentence... the previous sentence was... Oh, I said the Alpha tunnel was well built, very stable... stable..." The Hound stopped talking halfway, as if he had discovered something unbelievable, he widened his eyes and looked at Ke Lan.
"This... this is wrong!" The hound let out a low cry, and suddenly jumped up as if the floor was burning its feet. It hopped hard a few times, and the "bang bang" sound echoed in the tunnel and gradually spread to the distance.
Then, the hound ran to the side of the tunnel like a madman, pressed its body against the wall, and started beating it with its fists.
"What's wrong? What happened to Lao Gou?" Zhuoligetu bent over cautiously, holding a recoilless gun in his arms, and looked around suspiciously, "This tunnel seems... it seems that there has been no change. It is exactly the same as when we first came in."
"What's wrong is that there is no change." Ke Lan said in a deep voice, "We all know that because of the earthquake caused by 'Aguna Kotor', the entire Molten Mine Area has been torn apart. When we came in, the largest intact piece of land we saw was only five kilometers square."
Ivan nodded. "But... we have already walked more than ten kilometers in the tunnel."
"If the surface plates are cracked like that, then the tunnel buried in the rock layer cannot be unaffected. Even if the tunnel has good ductility and will not be torn apart, it should not be like this now." Ke Lan took over the conversation and said, "Just like Lao Gou said, it is stable."
“It was as if the earthquake had never happened,” Aya added.
"Before we decided to enter the tunnel, we were mentally prepared that this would be a difficult journey. But now, not only did the various obstacles and dangers we imagined not appear, but the horizontal angle of this tunnel did not even change significantly." Ke Lan took the electronic map from Layton's hand, "This is the route we took. It's a straight line."
"No wonder. I kept feeling like something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out why, so I didn't dare to speak up." Leighton muttered.
"The overly easy journey has paralyzed our nerves. Although everyone is still vigilant, in this environment, the condition of the tunnel itself is the most easily overlooked factor." Ivan sighed, "It seems that we must have triggered some unknown mechanism again... The end of this tunnel may not be the exit we imagined."
"As an experienced relic hunter, how do you usually deal with this situation when you encounter it while exploring the ruins?" Aya Breya turned her gaze to Ke Lan.
"The Ruin Hunters are not capable of handling this situation. You overestimate us. All we have is the freedom to choose." Ke Lan shook his head. "Keep moving forward, or return the same way."
"...Is there no way to crack the mechanism?" Aya frowned and asked, "Did you always do this in previous missions..."
She didn't continue talking. Instead, the hound who came back said the word she didn't say: "You want to say gambling with your life, right? You are right. The hunters you see alive are the ones who made the right bet. As for the losers, nine out of ten will not even leave their bodies... Haha, where do you think the high elimination rate in our industry comes from?"
"This is not a question of whether we can crack the trap." Ke Lan raised his hand, signaling Hound not to speak for now. "We now know what trap we were hit by, and this is the most troublesome thing. The only information we have is that this tunnel... is too stable. This is a place that contradicts reality, but other than this anomaly, we know nothing."
"Then... go back?" Aya said, "As long as we go back to the exit..."
"Although I'm not sure, my experience tells me that when encountering this kind of thing, going back is usually the wrong option. Since the designer of the tunnel did not cover up the anomaly, it means that it is not worried about us discovering these problems. It will certainly consider that people who enter the tunnel will choose to return by the original route. Do you think the designer will not take any measures against this?" Ke Lan said, "Since it did not choose to wipe us out directly, it means that as long as we act according to the 'rules', we will not encounter any danger."
"You mean we can only follow the designer's ideas and keep moving forward until we reach where he wants us to go? Wouldn't that make us puppets at his mercy? Are you sure he will be merciful and let us all out?"
"Of course not, but at least, we have to ensure our own safety first." Ke Lan lowered her voice slightly, "At least on the surface, we should 'obey the rules'."
"What's more, if we return the same way, our supplies won't be enough to sustain us wasting a round trip," he added.
"What if going forward leads to a dead end?" Aya asked.
"Then going back is definitely a dead end." Ke Lan pointed to the end of the straight line on the map, "I even suspect that we are no longer in this position."
"Not at this location?" Layton said in confusion, "But... I drew this route myself, and we walked this road step by step. I can guarantee that the overall error will not exceed ten meters."
"No, I mean... not our position in the tunnel, but our position in the mining area." Ke Lan said in a deep voice, "Although we have been walking in a straight line, in fact, we are not moving along the straight line on this map."
"What?"
"Although it sounds confusing, it's actually very simple to put it bluntly - I suspect that we were teleported to another place while we were traveling ."
As early as in the underwater city, Ke Lan had experienced a mechanism similar to "teleportation". He had no doubt that the Alpha civilization had the ability to create a wormhole-like device that could directly teleport living things over short distances. This device could fold two originally unconnected spaces together. Taking a step in this device, in the original three-dimensional space, might mean crossing a distance of tens of thousands of kilometers.
