RBCT Chapter 22 Lava Lake
Chapter 22 Lava Lake
A few minutes later, Cheng Xu finally realized the situation he was in.
The opening at the end of the fissure was on a mountain of crystal rock. The fissure passage they climbed cut diagonally through the mountain from underground, with the exit located halfway up the mountain.
The sky above was a dark red, completely different from any sky Cheng Xu had seen on Golun Star.
Looking out from the mountain, a boundless, boiling lava lake comes into view, turning the sky red.
The lake surface resembles a crimson heart embedded in the crystalline earth, its surface shimmering with a dazzling metallic luster.
The crystal rocks that cooled and solidified on the lake shore continuously cracked and melted, falling into the lake and creating new bubbles. The new crystal rocks then cooled and solidified again, growing into clusters of crystals.
Thick smoke shrouded the lake, condensing into a yellowish-green poisonous cloud high in the sky. The light that leaked through the gaps in the cloud was stained a dirty amber color, and even Cheng Xu, who was far away, could faintly smell the pungent smell of sulfur.
Standing atop the crystal mountain, the radiation indicator on the combat suit flashed red, indicating that the radiation in the environment was approaching the threshold that the combat suit could withstand.
The heatwave rippled around my body, making even normal breathing difficult.
However, Cheng Xu's mind was not on these harsh environmental factors at all. His gaze was fixed on the busy figures by the lake.
Hundreds of crystal rock figures, averaging three to four meters tall, surrounded the lake shore, constantly digging crystal rock blocks from the surrounding mountains, transporting them to the lake, and throwing them in.
The two crystal mountains closest to the lava lake have been largely hollowed out.
Taking into account all the elements presented by the scene before him, Cheng Xu came to a conclusion.
The lava lake he saw should be the core of the Abnormal Crystal Tomb, the place where the catastrophic ritual that led to the extinction of the Crystal Clan took place.
Cheng Xu never expected that he would come here by accident.
Without hesitation, he activated the miniature camera on his chest and recorded the scene before him.
Since the rescue team from Chengming Star Branch arrived on Golun Star, they have still not been able to obtain any information about the core area of the Crystal Rock Tomb.
The command center on the whale-class transport ship once controlled a large number of micro-flying aircraft to the location of the lava lake, but due to the interference of strong radiation, the only view they could detect was a flashing black and white snowflake.
With the arrival of more support, the Bureau's operations focused on rescuing the survivors on the planet as much as possible, leaving no resources to explore the core of the Crystal Tomb.
It can be said that Cheng Xu and Fields are probably the only two people who know the true situation in the core area.
Even during filming, Cheng Xu didn't stay idle.
The combat suit contains video footage of the area surrounding the core of the Crystal Tomb before its mutation. This data is retrieved in an attempt to determine the user's exact location.
As he watched, Cheng Xu's face darkened, and he unconsciously clenched his teeth.
Using the video footage provided by the administration, he was able to determine his location, but he also discovered a fact that sent chills down his spine.
Before the disaster, the lava lake was not nearly as large as it is now.
Originally, from the hilltop where he was looking towards the core area, he shouldn't have been able to see the lava lake.
After a quick mental estimate, I realized that the area covered by the lava lake had more than doubled.
If it were merely a simple expansion of area, Cheng Xu might not have lost his composure so much. What truly terrified him was another discovery—
The branch office of the Anomaly Management Bureau, Chengmingxing Branch, located on Golun Star, should have been in the valley in front of it, surrounded by several crystal mountains.
In order to monitor the status of the Crystal Tomb as soon as possible, the outpost was set up very close to the lava lake.
Over the years, no unusual activity has been recorded at the outposts in the core lava lake area, which is one of the important bases for the Administration to approve the reduction of the danger level of the Crystal Tomb.
But now, the outpost has disappeared. Where there should have been an outpost, now there is churning, boiling lava.
The valleys surrounding the outpost were gone, leaving only two dilapidated crystal mountains, the same two that Cheng Xu had seen the crystal rock golems digging.
Cheng Xu recalled the scene when he first heard about the Crystal Rock Tomb.
Xiang Sicun told him that after receiving the message "[Something has changed at the Crystal Rock Tomb!]", the branch office was unable to contact the Ge Lunxing post again.
Cheng Xu understood that the outpost had probably been swallowed up by the lava lake shortly after the disaster.
As for the safety of the people involved... Cheng Xu didn't want to think about it in detail.
He felt a lump in his throat. All along, he had only read about the devastation caused by anomalies and disasters to interstellar societies in books.
But after arriving on Golun Star, he truly experienced the emotions that words in books could not convey.
"Fields, come with me. Can you walk by yourself?"
Quickly composing himself, Cheng Xu knew there was no time for sadness now.
The combat suit's load capacity is already nearing its limit; if it continues to linger in place, unimaginable consequences could occur.
Fields, in particular, had already suffered serious injuries in the previous fall and was only managing to suppress the pain with painkillers to maintain his mobility.
After two consecutive days of cave exploration and the intense climbing he just did, his physical condition was nearing its limit.
In such a harsh environment, the once lively boy had little energy left to speak, and could only keep taking deep breaths, waiting for Cheng Xu's next move.
They need to get away from here as soon as possible and get to an area where they can contact command via signal flares.
Once the location is determined, finding a path through the intelligent system configured in the combat uniform becomes relatively easy.
"It's okay, Brother Cheng, don't worry about me."
Fields gave Cheng Xu a thumbs-up, indicating that he still had energy to spare.
The two walked down the rugged, crystalline mountain, one after the other, quickly moving away from the lava lake.
But as if fate had deliberately created obstacles, a new crisis arose just ten minutes after they had started their journey.
On the path they had to take, the figure of a crystal rock human came into view.
"Damn it..." Cheng Xu cursed, just as he was about to have the AI system replan a route, when Fields tugged at his arm.
"Brother Cheng, look, it seems to be on its way too?"
Cheng Xu was taken aback. He looked up and saw the crystal rock man striding forward, completely unaware that there were two humans behind him.
It roughly swept aside the obstacles in its path and walked briskly in a certain direction, its posture indeed suggesting that it was in a hurry.
"Go, follow behind it, and be sure to stay hidden at all times."
The crystal rock creature's goal was basically the same as the path the two were taking. Since it hadn't noticed them, following it from a distance wouldn't be dangerous for the time being.
"Where is it going in such a hurry?"
A question arose in Cheng Xu's mind.