Chapter 2

During the new book period, I'm seeking recommendations and collections!

"Go to the dock and check if the handling equipment has arrived. Give them a call to hurry it up and get it here as soon as possible," Professor Han stood at the cave entrance and instructed the few archaeologists beside him. This time, the archaeological team he led consisted of ten people, but even with the prior preparations, they were still stretched thin compared to the current discovery.

"Be careful, Professor," an archaeologist at the cave entrance said, "There's a lot of stuff, so we nine will go together. You wait for us at the entrance."

Professor Han waved his hand impatiently, his eyes fixed on the relics inside the cave, his flashlight sweeping back and forth. The few archaeologists exchanged helpless glances and left together. They were going to bring in larger and more precise testing equipment. This discovery was no small matter; the testing equipment was being air-freighted as quickly as possible, and it had even alarmed the relevant departments, which were already preparing for the preservation and research work.

"An ultra-ancient civilization, defying the development history of modern humans, existing in the impossible," Professor Han said excitedly. "In the past, an ancient nuclear reactor was discovered in Oklo, Gabon, consisting of six zones with about 500 tons of uranium ore, with an estimated output of 100 kilowatts, operating for 500,000 years, dating back 2 billion years. Now, the site we've discovered can also serve as the strongest evidence. It's a miracle in international archaeology, an immortal monument. But..."

Professor Han couldn't figure out the connection between the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton and the ultra-ancient civilization's relics. Looking at the stone spears, bronze swords, and armor, were they ancient dragon slayers? It seemed too fantastical.

"Let's go in and take a look!" Professor Han gritted his teeth and crouched to enter the cave.

"Professor!" Qin Chuan was startled, but it was too late to stop him.

"It's nothing, we'll just stay at the entrance. Don't you want the first-hand report?" Professor Han glared and began searching through the debris at the cave entrance.

"Let's go."

Shu Jing said calmly. This woman spoke little but was the quickest to react. Xiao Yi frowned slightly. He looked down and noticed a fine crack in the soil opening up. His heart raced as he glanced at the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, focusing on the fine cracks around the claw. Another crack appeared silently, catching Xiao Yi's eye.

Not good!

Xiao Yi's heart raced, and he reached out to grab Qin Chuan, who was the third to crouch and enter the cave, but it was too late. Qin Chuan felt his feet give way, and the cries of Professor Han, Qi Yong, and Shu Jing echoed simultaneously.

Boom!

Xiao Yi felt a powerful force from his palm, and the next moment, he lost his balance and was dragged into the cave. The wind whistled in his ears, and a few seconds later, he fell into icy water. The bone-chilling cold spread from his spine, and his limbs were almost instantly frozen. Struggling to the surface, Xiao Yi saw a cave about twenty meters high, deep and dark, like the mouth of a giant beast, cold and eerie.

Fortunately, the shore was not far away, just three or four meters. Qin Chuan and the others, including Professor Han, could swim, but the water was too cold, especially for Professor Han, who turned pale as he surfaced.

"Get to shore quickly!" Qi Yong shouted, though he was overweight, his movements were quick, and he swam to the shore in a few strokes.

One by one, they climbed ashore. Dim light fell from about twenty meters up, like a moonlit night. It was a scorching summer, and Shu Jing's thin silk dress, soaked with water, clung to her body, revealing her graceful figure and delicate curves. Qin Chuan and Qi Yong's eyes lit up, but they didn't dare to look for long. Xiao Yi glanced and quickly looked away; compared to such beauty, their own safety was more important.

Shu Jing's face was grim, but she didn't lose her temper. Professor Han shivered slightly as he stood up. None of their flashlights were lost, and five beams of light illuminated the cave. Xiao Yi's heart raced as they saw a mottled cave floor, with black spots the size of human heads, like drops of blood magnified.

"What's that!" Qin Chuan suddenly exclaimed, and everyone's attention was drawn to his flashlight.

It was a stone pillar as thick as a bucket, about five meters high, with a clear break at the top. The light shifted, and they saw a massive spearhead at the base, also covered in black spots, densely packed. Even after hundreds of millions of years, a powerful and tragic aura still emanated from it.

"A broken giant stone spear! Could it be, could it be a giant's weapon!" Qi Yong inhaled deeply, his eyes filled with shock.

Xiao Yi was also deeply moved. It was a broken stone spear, but it was so large. Could there have been such an ancient human race, with giant bodies and immense strength, unknown to humans?

The five of them almost couldn't resist moving deeper into the cave. The strong flashlights revealed the end. Along the way, they saw massive iron spears, bronze whips as thick as a person's arms, unknown giant shields, and fist-sized, grayish-white stones, which became more numerous, forming small piles, each with nearly a thousand pieces.

There were also half-meter-long stone clubs and one-foot-long bronze swords, like weapons of dwarves, and many other unknown ancient artifacts, which even Professor Han couldn't identify.

After walking nearly a hundred meters, the end of the cave became clear. Among a pile of rocks, a half-meter-high, fossilized dinosaur egg came into view. Professor Han was stunned and muttered, "A fossilized Tyrannosaurus Rex egg. Could this have been its den?"

The others were also moved. Xiao Yi thought, this might be an ancient dragon den, existing in the early Mesozoic era or even earlier. Could these broken weapons be the spoils of the Tyrannosaurus Rex?

This thought, once it arose, couldn't be suppressed. If so, then in the distant Mesozoic era, there might have been a different human civilization on Earth, with different races, giants, dwarves? They might have used cold weapons or other tools.

"Hmm, the texture of this fossilized egg is different from the Tyrannosaurus Rex eggs found before. The stone is fine and smooth, like jade," Professor Han observed for a moment, his expression puzzled.

"There's a mural behind!"

Qin Chuan shouted, and the four of them were startled. They looked past the fossilized egg and saw a large, ancient mirror carved on a flat stone wall, about a meter high. The mirror was simple and unadorned, with ancient patterns etched on it, and there was nothing below it.

"What is this, just a mirror?" Qi Yong sneered, then paused, "Did they have mirrors back then?"

Xiao Yi pondered. There were too many abnormalities in this ultra-ancient civilization site, all defying the historical trajectory. Almost instinctively, he directed the strong flashlight beam at the mirror.

Crack!

On the stone wall, a crack appeared on the protruding mirror, and a small piece of the wall fell off, revealing a spot of pure, golden light. As the light spread, a tragic aura filled the air, and the smell of blood became stronger. Xiao Yi seemed to hear an ancient song in the distance.

"Heaven will collapse, the earth will split, people will not betray, life and death, life and death, not betraying kin, soul returns..."

At that moment, Xiao Yi couldn't hear Qin Chuan and the others, nor see anything but the light. The sky and earth turned golden, and it wasn't until a few seconds later that the light gradually faded, the world became clear, and the ancient song finally disappeared. Xiao Yi felt a warmth in his chest, and a point of golden light vanished before his eyes.

"Where am I..."

When Xiao Yi opened his eyes again, he saw a stunning scene. The bright cave was filled with a white, hazy light, like a sacred celestial palace, a legendary immortal land. The air was incredibly fresh, and with each breath, Xiao Yi could feel his body strengthening, becoming lighter and more agile. Most importantly, Qin Chuan and the others were no longer by his side. The fossilized dinosaur egg in front of him had turned a golden jade color, glowing with a radiant aura, beautiful and mysterious, with a dense life force almost tangible.

Shocked, Xiao Yi turned to look back. The mottled corridor was gone, replaced by a bloody ground, with dark red blood dripping from the broken weapons. The broken giant spear, unlike before, seemed to come to life, emitting a tragic aura. Xiao Yi took a deep breath, breaking out in a cold sweat. This was a mental pressure, like a general in the anti-Japanese era whose roar could make ordinary people lose their senses. In modern times, high-ranking officials with accumulated authority could also make ordinary people tremble.

Xiao Yi looked again. The piles of grayish-white stones on the ground had turned milky white, emitting a hazy light and a faint, refreshing aura. Each breath was invigorating. These strange stones, though of unknown material, were undoubtedly far superior to the so-called million-dollar warm jade he had seen.

"How can this be! Could it be a time reversal, and I've returned to before the Mesozoic era?" Xiao Yi muttered. Everything he saw, from the disappearance of Qin Chuan and the others to the changes in the ancient dragon den, indicated that everything from the past was reappearing. The desolate and decaying aura he had felt earlier had vanished.

But why only him? Why weren't Qin Chuan and the others brought back? Clenching his teeth, Xiao Yi decided to go outside the cave to check. He still held a glimmer of hope that this was just a localized phenomenon, and he was still on Earth. (During the new book period, I'm seeking recommendations and collections!)

{Piaotian Literature}