Chapter 23: Thunder Zone

  The search in the dense forest was relatively smooth, with Wen Long, Wu Wen and Wu Bin occasionally climbing to the top of the village to find the direction of the kite string, then directing the people below to move forward. Fortunately, we brought tree-climbing equipment this time, if every time we had to climb up bare-handed, I estimate even a monkey would be exhausted. Fortunately, Wen Long came up with this method, otherwise, we would also get lost in this dense forest, because our compasses were clearly pointing in the wrong direction. If we followed the coordinates, by now we wouldn't know where we'd gone. Moreover, I truly experienced the strangeness of the array, sometimes what's in front of your eyes is a tree, but when you actually walk over, you find it's just an illusion. If someone were alone at this time, they would have turned around and taken a detour, unaware that they were being led further away by the array.

  After walking and stopping for about three hours, we finally found the unmanned helicopter parked in a small open space. And about fifty meters away from it, we saw the minefield mentioned by Wang Shengjun and the two missing helicopters. Seeing the minefield, I could only say silently in my heart, "What the f*** is this?"

  Wen Long first made marks on the ground and trees, then untied the kite string behind the helicopter, informed Xiao Jia to fly the drone back to the camp via walkie-talkie. We slowly approached the minefield, only to discover that it was not located on flat ground but in a large depression. The top of the minefield was even lower than the treetops here, no wonder the drones flying in the sky didn't detect this place. Those mines scattered down like countless flying dragons from the sky and fell into the ground without a trace, forming a huge semicircle that enveloped the entire depression.

  Those two drones were about thirty meters away from the thunderstorm area, and it seemed that there was no major operation. We walked closer to observe, feeling that it should be possible to take off and land. Wen Long used the intercom to contact the camp, but found that except for the "rustling" sound, he couldn't get in touch with anyone.

  "Wen Long shook his intercom and said: 'No way, it was just working a moment ago, now it's broken?'"

  The old man said: "It's not broken, it's just that the interference is too strong and the signal can't get out. Look at that thunderstorm area, who would believe there's no interference?"

  "What can we do? Are we just going to leave it like this?"

  Wen Long gritted his teeth and said: "Can't we just move it to a place where it won't be disturbed?"

  I gave him a thumbs up and said, "Good idea. This thing must weigh several tons, right?"

  Wen Long said: "What are you thinking, this is not a tank, it's just over 700 kilograms. With more people working together, we should be able to lift it up directly without any problem."

  We said we would do it, so we put down our backpacks and got to work. It turned out that the thing wasn't as heavy as I had imagined. With a bit more attention to the trees and other obstacles, we were able to lift the two helicopters into place without much effort. Then we notified the camp to operate them and fly them back.

  Everything is ready, Wen Long looked at Lao Ye Zi and said: "How about it? Lao Ye Zi, want to go in and take a look?"

  The old man looked at the thunderstorm area and said, "This time we came mainly to explore the road. We don't have too many supplies to replenish, so it's not suitable to go in. Today is already a good result, let's go back first and talk about it tomorrow. Everyone will come together again and see what to do next. Besides, you see this thunderstorm area yourself, how many volts of electricity does it take to get in?" As he spoke, he looked at me.

  I sighed and said: "How did I get in? I'm going, now I regret not asking more questions at the time, how did Wang Shengjun get in?"

  The old man smiled and said: "This is easy, I'll call Director Liu when we get back to the camp and ask him again."

  "My goodness, ginger is still spicy when it's old. Now we're in the information age, how come my brain can't keep up? I'm so puzzled. How come my young brain cells aren't enough for an old man like me?"

  When we returned to the camp, it was already dark. Wu saw us coming back and was still very happy, although our exploration had not made any progress, but at least we found the missing helicopter. As Lao Ye said, it's considered an achievement. Everyone else was also very happy, except for Old Zhou who looked a bit gloomy, thinking about his half-year salary, sigh, forgive him.

  After dinner, we had another meeting, this time mainly to consider how to enter the restricted area. Old Su called Director Liu, but unfortunately he was already off work, and promised to help contact the matter as soon as he went to work the next day. We started preparing things to enter the restricted area. This time, in addition to normal food and water, we mainly brought various weapons and protective gear, electric batons, rubber batons, military daggers and other weapons were hung all over our bodies, and the protective gear was even more exaggerated. In addition to the protective gear for various vital parts of the body, we also brought riot shields. This thing made of lightweight materials such as polycarbonate, PC, and fiberglass is not only light enough, but most importantly, it is also non-conductive, and when attacked, it can be a lifesaver.

  After gearing up, I tried to walk a bit and this guy, fortunately, has been exercising well recently. If it were like before, I'd probably collapse before even reaching the destination. Of course, we didn't plan on wearing all this gear from the start. After all, there's a second team handling logistics, they'll help us carry these things through the jungle and only when we reach the minefield will we put everything on. Wu thought it through thoroughly, also requesting that we bring along a medical team and corresponding equipment, planning to set up camp relatively close to the minefield so that if any of us have problems, we can withdraw for treatment at any time.

  In terms of personnel, we also made adjustments. Pang San and Xiao Jia stayed behind. This was inevitable. These two people, one is a technical expert, not suitable for this kind of exploration work. The other, I thought about what if he gets stuck somewhere, do we rescue him or not? Besides, what if there's a trap, that guy won't have anywhere to hide. We also selected three more people from the second team. Two of them looked like they were from the military and were familiar with Wen Long and others, mainly responsible for defense work. The other one was an architectural expert from the opposing side, the middle-aged man I admired during the meeting earlier.

  Everything was ready, and everyone had dispersed to rest. I lay in bed, my mind full of the contents of Tianditao, I didn't know when I fell asleep, but I felt like I was falling into fire in my dreams, then falling into water, and finally searching everywhere for a toilet, it wasn't easy to find one, just as I was about to relieve myself properly, I woke up. I sat up, thank goodness, if I hadn't woken up, it would have been really embarrassing.

  All preparations have been completed, and everyone is quietly waiting for Mr. Su's phone call at 8:35. Right on time! On the other end of the phone, Director Liu chatted with Mr. Su for a few sentences, followed by Wang Shengjun. Mr. Su put the phone on speaker and asked about the entry method.

  Wang Shengjun's voice rang out: "You guys really found it, I thought you were still wandering around outside. I said so, you didn't even ask how to get in and just left, I thought you had a good method yourself, but in the end, you circled back and still asked me."

  I saw Wen Long make a gesture of punching the phone, knowing that he was a bit anxious because Wang Shengjun was beating around the bush. To be honest, if that guy were really here, I'd also want to punch him.

  Wang Shengjun obviously didn't know we thought that way, and continued: "Actually it's very simple, I happened to have a metal trekking pole in my hand at the time, which can conduct electricity. I tied a rope around it and threw it into the minefield. The mines were all deflected by the pole, creating an opening. I crawled through that opening, remember, don't use your hands! I wouldn't dare guarantee you won't be turned to charcoal if you get hit by those things."

  "Thanks." Old Su said and was about to hang up the phone.

  "Wait a minute, I haven't finished yet." A anxious voice came from Wang Shengjun on the other side.

  "Is there anything else?" Old Su asked after a pause.

  Wang Shengjun said: "The rope should not be too short. The reason why I let you tie the rope is that when you come out, you must pull out that lightning rod. If not, if that thing inside comes out, it's probably not a good thing."

  "Thank you." The old man thanked again, turned off his phone, and looked at Wen Long saying: "How is it? Can it be solved?"

  Wen Long said: "Too easy, we have flying claws."

  The old man nodded and said: "What are we waiting for? Let's set off."

  Back in the Thunder Zone, although I've seen it once before, I'm still drawn to the grandeur in front of me. Things that are beyond human control always attract more people. Wu Suo and Old Man Zhou's group were clearly stunned by the scene in front of them, they just stood there blankly staring at the Thunder Zone, without even blinking their eyes.

  We changed our equipment at a place about twenty meters away from the Thunder Zone. Wen Long took out two flying claws and said, "This is a ten-meter rope, we have to walk to a position about five meters away from the Thunder Zone before using this thing, won't we be struck by lightning?"

  I smiled and said, "Well, I don't dare guarantee it, I've never been here before. But thinking about that Wang Shengjun's trekking pole, it shouldn't have flown too far, right? You're not even worse than him, are you? Besides, you're still wearing rubber gloves, so even if there is electricity, it won't electrocute you, will it?"

  Wen Long immediately refused, saying: "Don't try to motivate me with that trick, it won't work on me. I always keep a clear head. However, what you said makes some sense, so I guess nothing will happen. Let's do this."

  This guy is a man of action, immediately walking forward, and at the same time, the flying claw in his hand was activated. At about five meters away, he released his grip, and the flying claw drew an arc into the thunder area. Our hearts were with that flying claw as it rose and fell. The moment the flying claw entered the thunder area, the thunder area immediately reacted, and the thunder around the flying claw was attracted to it, concentrating on a point about one meter away. The scene was like a large waterfall flowing straight down, suddenly entering a funnel. We all breathed a sigh of relief as two openings about one meter wide were torn out of the thunder area, with thunder in the middle and one on either side. Wen Long chose another location and flew out another flying claw, splitting the thunder again.

  He calculated very accurately, and the two flying claws just separated a passage of one meter wide for one person. It was no problem for people to walk through. Wen Long clapped his hands and said: "How's that? Not bad, right?"

  We all gave him a thumbs up. Wen Long made an inviting gesture, meaning who would go first? We all pointed at him together. At this time, the old man said: "Wen Long, how many flying claws do we have left?"

  "Wen Long thought for a moment and said: 'There are probably about ten or so left, I was afraid the experiment would fail, so I brought them all along, they're in the backpack of the second team now.'"

  I don't believe that guy is just being cautious, I think he's purely trying to add some weight for the second team. The old man said: "Each person who goes in has one packed in a bag as a spare."

  "Ah!" We were all surprised, Su Yi asked: "Why?"

  The old man looked at her and said, "We've been in here for a much longer time than Wang Shengjun. What if the strange creature he mentioned comes out of this gap? So after we go in, if that strange creature comes out of the gap, then people outside can pull up the flying claws, and when we come out, we can use the flying claws to get out ourselves."

  I think that monster shouldn't come out, after all, it's hard to change one's mindset. But if someone were to frame us, that would be terrible. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but glance at Old Man Zhou, and I felt like going to find Fei's claw and putting it in my backpack. I don't know if others have the same thoughts as me, but I always feel that one sentence is correct: "It's better to be safe than sorry."

  Everything was ready, and it was still up to Wen Long to take the lead. We passed through the minefield smoothly. Then I was stunned by the building in front of me, the Tower of Heaven and Earth. It really exists! I heard someone next to me say: "Heavens, this thing really exists."

  I don't need to turn my head, I know who said it, and I deeply resonate with it. It's like the Hundred Eyes Heavenly Formation - when you truly see it, you realize how great the person who built it is. Entering the Thunder Zone, it's even more vast than what we saw from outside, not just because we can't see the opposite side from outside, but also because inside, it's clearly a pit. The entire pit has a drop of about 30 meters, and from where we stand to the edge of the tower in the center of the pit, it's at least 500-600 meters away. From our current position, we can see the entirety of the Heaven and Earth Tower, although it's quite far away, and the light from the Thunder Zone affects visibility, but overall, the Heaven and Earth Tower still conquers us all with its majestic grandeur.

  Wen Long took out his binoculars and observed carefully, saying: "We should still be in the safe zone now. If we go about 50 meters further in, it's hard to say. Hmm, what do you think? How are we going to get into the tower when we arrive? Where is the entrance?"

  I took over Wen Long's telescope and looked at the Tianditu Tower. It is about 40 meters high. The top is a small semi-circular shape like a mushroom, about 5-6 meters high, representing the ancient concept of round sky. The bottom is a square building, more like a platform, with something densely arranged on it, but it's too far to see clearly. That platform should be a square city wall, estimated to be at least 5-6 meters high, with a human-shaped statue in the middle, which is the most striking part of the Tianditu Tower.