Chapter 188: Artemis and Cassius

The deeper they go, the more spacious it becomes.

Moreover, the moss‑like plants growing in the cracks can emit white light on their own, providing illumination as bright as daylight.

After a short walk, the group arrived at an artificially constructed underground tunnel.

The technicians who entered the tunnel found neatly laid floor tiles and Greek‑style stone columns on both sides, both made of top‑grade granite, hard and resistant to weathering.

But Pulaise did not focus on studying the material of the tiles and columns; instead he reopened the helmet's map screen and discovered that they were currently directly beneath a temple.

Immediately after, Pulaise gazed at the tunnel's far‑end exit.

At the exit lay an even more spacious and bright area.

Zooming in, Pulaise observed that the place resembled an underground garden, with green grass, flowers, various dwarf trees, and a great many self‑luminescent mosses.

"Pulaise." The Ghost, who had also noticed this, said coolly, "Looks like our 141 found the cause of the lake's glow earlier than those tech guys."

"Indeed." Pulaise replied, reminding, "Everyone, stay on guard."

"Copy that."

The others then followed the celestial spirits flying ahead through the tunnel, eventually reaching the space directly beneath the lake.

As Pulaise and the Ghost had guessed, it was a vast underground garden.

Blocking the lake's surge here was a gigantic crystal‑like object.

The object resembled an enormous square pane of glass, smooth and transparent; the party that had just emerged from the tunnel looked up and could even see the fish swimming clearly in the lake.

Thus, the light emitted by the moss plants, passing through this massive crystal into the lake, gave the people standing on the shore the illusion that the lake itself was glowing.

Faced with this marvel, even the Umbrella technicians could not help but sigh inwardly.

Pulaise, the Ghost, and the 141, however, were not distracted by the ethereal underground garden; they examined everything carefully.

The overall layout of the underground garden was also square.

The stone bricks on the surrounding walls, the decorative columns, and the pathway tiles interspersed in the garden were all made of granite.

It seemed that this underground garden was the main body of the Artemis Temple.

Besides these artificial structures, a great many wild animals lived in the garden, and the team also saw a Keliunie doe whose antlers radiated golden light.

In fact, the company had observed this male deer nine years ago.

But because it ran extremely fast in the forest, the company only captured video footage of it and it then vanished completely from the company's view.

Pulaise and the Ghost did not expect to find the male deer again.

The Keliunie doe, which had been grazing on fresh grass, lifted its head at the sounds from the tunnel entrance and, seeing humans enter the garden, let out a "hwi!" nasal sound, clearly displeased by the humans' arrival.

This time, however, the doe did not flee; instead it kept watching from afar, staying alert to Pulaise and the others.

Seeing this.

"Bridge, this is Pulaise. We have located the long‑missing Keliunie doe. Requesting additional technical support."

Pulaise directly chose to contact the Hope Vessel, calling for technicians with professional equipment to also capture and control the male deer.

"Hope Vessel received. Support expected to arrive in twenty‑five minutes." The Hope Vessel replied promptly.

Afterwards, Pulaise had the Ghost lead a team to guard the tunnel's entrance and exit, while he led the remaining people to continue following the celestial spirits toward a low hill in the garden's centre, covered with green grass.

They arrived atop the low hill.

The group discovered a "beautiful woman" lying there, dressed in a white dress, with waist‑length hair that was a distinctly pale yellow.

She wore a golden crown, and beside her lay a similarly golden, finely carved longbow.

Everything looked extremely aesthetic.

However, a blood‑red double‑edged spear pierced the woman's abdomen, pinning her firmly to the hill.

She kept her eyes tightly shut, expression neutral, and there was no blood at the wound.

From just looking at this, the technicians could not tell whether she was alive or dead, but one thing was certain: she was definitely not human.

While the celestial spirits circled the "woman" and gestured with both hands, they seemed to place their hope of saving their "master" onto Pulaise and the others.

However, through the helmet cameras, Sui Bian, who had been watching the live feed, heard the system speak in his mind:

【Detected employee under host's command discovering anomaly "Artemis".】

'Oh? So it really is that hunting goddess.'

Hearing this, Sui Bian, seated on the sofa, muttered to himself, though his emotions remained unchanged.

To him, it was merely the discovery of a deity, nothing special.

【Also detected "Cassius Gun" and "Hunting Bow", whether to consume 2000 points to obtain full usage rights for the two items.】

Cassius?

Hearing the system's words, Sui Bian swiped his hand, enlarged one of the holographic screens, and carefully examined the double‑edged spear that pierced Artemis's abdomen.

Its appearance differed greatly from the Cassius Gun he knew.

He pondered for a moment.

Sui Bian asked the system: 'System, I want to know two things: first, the condition of Artemis; second, whether the divine power of the Greek gods is related to Spiritual Energy.'

【Because of the Cassius Gun, Artemis suffered severe injury and is now in a deep coma.

In a sense, the Greek gods are projections created in an alternate dimension by human emotions such as belief, worship, and fear, giving rise on Earth to a batch of "divine beings" similar to extra‑dimensional entities.

Therefore, the divine power claimed by the Greek gods is essentially Spiritual Energy.

However, they differ from true extra‑dimensional beings and are not subject to extra‑dimensional erosion or restriction.】

With the system's clarification, Sui Bian could completely discard the myth that humans were created by Prometheus and Athena in Greek mythology.

He then said: 'I want full usage rights for those two items.'

【Consume 2000 points to change permissions; host's current points: 3360.】

Changing permissions…

Change complete, host now has full usage rights for "Cassius Gun" and "Hunting Bow".

After confirming he had obtained the usage rights to two items, Sui Bian got up from the sofa and headed for the bedroom, saying to the Red Queen, who had likewise risen:

"Red Queen, please remind Leon for me; later I'll bring him and his Dark Angels to meet the Olympian chief god."

"Yes, sir."

(End of chapter)