Chapter 335: Bena

‘Sizzling—’

The I-beam punched straight through the rock layer, startling the two men standing before the ruins; they stared up in shock at the metal rod jutting out from the rock.

‘Ding—’

After fully piercing the rock layer, the I-beam shot straight into the cave and slammed hard to the ground with a loud ‘clanging’ echo that reverberated through the cavern.

A dusty fox head emerged from the hole in the rock layer.

The two men stared, dumbfounded, at the white fox.

‘What are you staring at? Never seen a white albino red fox dig tunnels in an agricultural superpower?’

‘Look at you two—never seen the world outside your little corner.’

An Sheng saw two men in ceramic factory uniforms, their faces blank with awe, staring at him; he immediately cursed at them, then scanned the surroundings.

This must be a cave system—or some other kind of cavern; An Sheng wasn’t sure, but every visible spot had lighting, and even the ground was paved with concrete.

The cave walls had been reinforced with concrete, arched concrete pillars supporting the ceiling, but what struck An Sheng as most odd was a patch-like concrete pour clearly visible on one corner of the ceiling.

That must have been the collapse that buried Wang Ya and the others in the ruins.

After seizing the ruins, these thieves sealed off the collapsed section and dug out a new tunnel wide enough for small trucks.

‘The fox spoke! No!’

‘He’s definitely a Xia nation beast-warrior—quick, go notify Director Bena!’

After their initial shock, the two men panicked and sprinted into the ruins; as they entered the spirit-grain site, they still pressed the emergency button at the entrance, triggering the hydraulics to seal the entire gate shut.

An Sheng saw their actions but ignored them, muttering under his breath as they ran off.

The entire tunnel had collapsed, and the ceramic factory was now under surveillance satellite coverage; these foreign thieves stealing from the spirit-grain site had no way out—An Sheng felt this was like catching a turtle in a jar.

‘It’s safe inside—come on!’

After inspecting the interior of the ruins and confirming no visible traps, An Sheng leapt down from the rock cave, landing on the concrete floor thirty meters below.

Jin Qianbao poked its head out of the rock cave; the emerald-green venomous snake coiled around it also surveyed the cavern. Once both spirit beasts confirmed no danger, they leapt out.

Then Wang Qiqi and the Snake Woman stepped forward; as they entered the cave, the Snake Woman kindly carried Wang Ya inside with her.

Even the lumberjacks knew this spirit-grain site could not have been discovered by Old Master Fuli.

He’d never even been to Tiechuan District—how could he have found this site? The only explanation was that Old Master Fuli heard about it from someone else, but no one knew where he’d heard it.

With Old Master Fuli summoning Wang Ya, everyone now knew who the true discoverer was.

But no one spoke it aloud.

As the discoverer of the site—and a top student on leave from Northwest Archaeology—Wang Ya’s knowledge would be invaluable here.

The particle size is aligned.

‘This place has changed a lot,’ Wang Ya said, glancing at the spot where the ground had collapsed; it was now poured with concrete, but her old BMW SUV still sat exactly where it had been.

Only the A-pillar and B-pillar were deformed, and its position had shifted from overturned to upright.

Wang Ya paused in remembrance, then raised her hand and pointed toward the round, tower-like structure:

‘Originally, there was a ring of stone pillars surrounding that low tower, forming a circular barrier. That ring was some kind of defense mechanism—it would spew out purple-green mist, and terrifying pea-shooter plants would sprout from the soil below.’

Wang Ya paused, choosing a simple, easily understood phrase to describe the site’s defense system.

Though the ring and pillars had long since been dismantled by tomb raiders, and even the ground that once grew those dreadful plants had been covered in concrete, Wang Ya still clearly identified the original layout.

‘That bunker-like round tower isn’t just a few levels above ground—I just saw two people running down into the underground structure.’

Old Master Fuli, standing before the I-beam, spoke to the others.

Though the two men ran fast, An Sheng still saw them reach a wall with cover, grip a handrail-like object, and dash downward.

Clearly, the main structure of this building was constructed underground—it must have gradually risen from below due to tectonic shifts.

‘Go!’

Though he had no giant hammer, Old Master Fuli seized the I-beam and swung it like a battering ram against the round tower’s door.

‘Clang—’

The force of a hundred-ton Wang Qiaotou was channeled into the I-beam; it slammed violently into the black door with a thunderous crash—but as the two collided, something utterly bizarre happened.

The seemingly fragile black door didn’t even tremble; instead, the tip of the I-beam instantly buckled inward.

The recoil surged back through the I-beam; the steel cables binding it couldn’t withstand the impact—each one snapped, numbing the flesh pads of Old Master Fuli’s palms.

‘What the hell?’

Failing to break open the bunker door, An Sheng’s eyes flickered with disbelief.

Even if the I-beam battering ram was crudely assembled, how could it leave not even a scratch on the door?

Could the steel used to cast this door really be this hard?

‘It’s made of spirit-grain metal.’

Seeing Old Master Fuli stunned, Wang Qiqi explained the origin of the metal door: ‘From the patterns on this door, it belongs to the late era of the previous spirit-power age—roughly eight to ten thousand years ago, the peak period of spirit-power resurgence known to archaeology.’

Wang Qiqi traced the door’s patterns, feeling its coating and texture, reciting archaeological knowledge.

‘Yes, the fortress door was forged from a special alloy of spirit-grain metal. Back then, we spent two full months trying to open it—ultimately, we had no choice but to use the ventilation shaft.’

As Wang Qiqi spoke of the door, a surveillance camera mounted on the wall suddenly emitted a young woman’s voice, agreeing with her explanation; when Wang Ya heard the clumsy Xia nation common tongue, her face flushed with shock: ‘Béna?’

‘Yes, my dear friend Xiao Ya,’ the surveillance’s voice module continued:

‘I don’t recommend you proceed further. When we entered here, we were awed by the fortress’s strength and security, so we planted C4 along every possible access route.’

‘If you keep going, you’ll trigger the explosives. As your friend, I must warn you—the entire fortress is packed with high explosives.’

As Bena spoke, the camera mounted on the door fixed its gaze on Wang Ya; her tone carried a hint of melancholy and an unspoken sigh.

As if she didn’t want Wang Ya to be here.

(End of chapter)