Chapter 900: Exploration 2

The Laboratory of Maximus is also located within Valles Marineris.

It is situated about three hundred kilometers away from the Central Main Control Base, beneath a section of reddish-brown rock wall.

If one does not approach it, it is very easy to overlook the entrance.

It is a massive stone gate, fully a hundred meters high and fifty meters wide; because its exterior also looks reddish-brown, if one is slightly further away or does not look carefully, one would overlook it, assuming it is just part of the rock wall.

Prometheus is the only Decepticon Engineer to accompany the team on this operation, and he has brought along several Technical Officers and two squads of Workers.

After arriving at the destination aboard four Armed Transport Ships, Prometheus disembarked and began to inspect the rock wall.

That massive stone gate, which can only be seen clearly after walking up close, is also the primary object of his inspection.

After carefully examining it, Prometheus's expression turned grave, "This is not stone!"

He looked back at Sun Cheng, "Commander, this gate is a type of metal I have never seen before. It is very strange; it possesses some of the characteristics of stone, but in essence, it is metal."

After searching through his database thoroughly, Prometheus finally found a relatively suitable adjective.

"It is very similar to a concept of Mimic Metal that we have been proposing internally!"

Although Sun Cheng cannot yet be considered a Scientist, thanks to the knowledge he has continuously accumulated in the past, he is by no means inferior to any Decepticon Engineer.

Upon hearing this, he also stepped forward, inspected the stone gate before him slightly, and nodded slightly.

It is indeed as Prometheus said; this stone gate is very strange. Inspection data shows that its composition is largely the same as the surrounding rock wall, but its hardness is dozens of times greater than the surrounding rock.

Moreover, even with his scanning capabilities, he can only vaguely observe an empty passage behind the stone gate and cannot detect anything more at all.

However, Sun Cheng is not without any gains; at least he detected that after a certain distance behind the stone gate, this peculiar substance suspected to be Mimic Metal is no longer present.

"Blast in from the side, open a passage one hundred and twenty meters forward. There is no need to touch this gate; if it is safe inside, we can send people to study it later!"

Sun Cheng thought for a moment, and a decision was made in his heart.

He immediately walked to a section of the rock wall nearby, pointed at two spots on the wall, and relying on his immense strength, left two marks on the wall before ordering Prometheus and the two squads of Workers he brought to carry out the blasting operation.

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, Prometheus responded and arranged the work for one squad of Workers.

Accompanied by the sound of an explosion, about half an hour later, a passage fully twenty meters high and over ten meters wide was violently excavated.

After the passage was completed, Sun Cheng walked to the front of the corridor and released two electromagnetic waves from his eyes, quickly taking in the entire situation inside the corridor.

"Well done!"

For a passage over a hundred meters long, the Decepticon Workers used blasting techniques to open a passage with extreme precision.

Although it was only a temporary passage, to prevent it from collapsing under impact, the Workers also installed some metal support pillars inside.

Decepticon craftsmanship is trustworthy.

He was about to enter the passage first when, just as he reached the entrance, Sun Cheng suddenly seemed to remember something, stopped, and ordered: "Leave a few Ordinary Warriors to guard here. Once we encounter danger, blast the passage immediately and simultaneously notify the Mars Base to prepare for defense!"

He has other means of self-preservation; in the most dangerous situations, he can also save his life by abandoning this body that has only just been initially broken in.

This is also the reason why Sun Cheng is prepared to take a risk this time to come and probe this unknown laboratory.

If it truly reaches an irredeemable situation, he only hopes to preserve the Mars Base as much as possible.

It is no wonder Sun Cheng prepares for the worst; he has faced The Fallen directly, and that former one of the thirteen Primes of Cybertron, even in a severely injured state, still possessed combat power far exceeding that of a Leader Class.

Although according to the intelligence he possesses on the thirteen Primes, Maximus was not a Prime skilled in combat.

But this Prime had faced the joint pursuit of several Primes and still escaped for countless years without being eliminated, so how could he not have some tricks up his sleeve?

Therefore, Sun Cheng is still very worried about this laboratory that Maximus left on Mars.

He is responsible for issuing orders; he does not need to be responsible for the specifics.

An Advanced Warrior who led the team had already walked to the back and pointed out four Ordinary Warriors to guard at the entrance of the newly blasted passage.

Prometheus and the two squads of Workers he led followed at the rear of the team.

They are responsible for scavenging, which is to search for everything of value inside the laboratory after the Warriors in front ensure it is safe.

Sun Cheng took the lead and soon arrived at the end of the temporarily opened passage.

There, only one thin wall remained unblasted from the corridor at the laboratory entrance.

"Blast it!"

Following his order, the Workers, who had long since drilled holes in the rock wall and planted explosives, immediately retreated and detonated the wall.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a spray of mountain rocks, Sun Cheng, who was standing at the very front, could not avoid being hit repeatedly by the flying rocks, which made a series of clattering impact sounds against his body.

However, for him now, this kind of damage is just like sand and gravel falling on a human; it is completely not worth mentioning.

He drew his Ship-Slaying Blade and gripped it tightly in his hand.

Sun Cheng vigilantly stared at the opening just blasted out by the Workers; the dust and darkness could not affect his vision in the slightest.

After confirming that the newly blasted opening was large enough for him to pass through, he did not intend to wait for the Workers to clear it first, and instead walked in, leading the way with the Ship-Slaying Blade in hand.

As soon as he entered the corridor, a cold, icy wind made Sun Cheng feel a slight discomfort.

"The temperature is near minus thirty degrees Celsius!"

Sun Cheng looked down at the surface of his arm, where a faint frost was beginning to condense, and immediately reminded them on the communication channel: "Temperature anomaly detected. I suspect the laboratory might be built on an Underground Ice Lake. Stay alert!"

Although Cybertronians, like humans on Earth, do not like extreme environments, their special life form gives them stronger adaptability than humans when facing harsh environments such as ultra-high or ultra-low temperatures.

Gripping the Ship-Slaying Blade, Sun Cheng walked toward the depths of the passage first. The azure light in his eyes was more striking than usual; he was already scanning all conditions around him with full effort, including the composition of the rock walls, the temperature of the passage, searching for traps, and capturing any potential dangers at any time.

Yet, until he walked all the way out of the passage, he did not discover any abnormalities.

However, after walking through a winding passage that was several thousand meters deep, another gate, identical to the one at the entrance, appeared before Sun Cheng and his team.