Tomb Raiding: The Bloodline of Dragons and Snakes, Starting from the Kunlun Divine Palace

"However, after this experiment, the workers who had their hands contaminated with nuclear materials reportedly experienced some changes in their physical condition."

As Aesthetica finished speaking, she glanced regretfully at Big Steel Teeth.

"Actually, Big Steel Teeth was one of those workers back then. Young and fearless, he insisted on using his hands to handle nuclear materials to complete the experiment, and later his right hand became diseased."

"Yeah, my hand was injured anyway, so if it exploded, it exploded." Big Steel Teeth looked nonchalant. "Compared to those comrades who gradually sacrificed themselves in the following years, I think I've lived a full life."

It turns out that most people exposed to close contact with nuclear materials would not survive more than five years, as they would die due to the gradual spread of nuclear radiation in their bodies and the development of more serious diseases.

Big Steel Teeth miraculously survived.

Moreover, his right hand possessed immense power; it was just unexpected that the Golden Spear Master's golden spear was so powerful that it could shatter his iron gauntlets.

"If I could dodge Golden Gunner's armor-piercing bullet, I would have punched him so hard I would have flattened him!"

"Because this experiment would endanger the lives of people around them and cause some irreversible damage to the environment, the senior leaders suggested that they move their research base to a more secluded and desolate area in western Xinjiang."

Aimee then explained, "Firstly, we want to block the news from the outside world, so that countries like the United States don't know about our scientific research progress and avoid being attacked by them even more. Secondly, it also reduces the damage of nuclear radiation pollution to the environment and humans."

"Oh?" Xu Zhengyang said thoughtfully. "So, the nuclear power plant test site from the past few years might have been located near the foot of the Kunlun Mountains?"

“That’s right.” Amy nodded and said, “I think they can take advantage of some local folklore and the influence of these legendary forbidden areas on the local herders to deter them, thus better keeping secrets and ensuring safety.”

"But what you're talking about is from the 70s onwards, while the Mantis Man happened in the early 60s. How are the two related?"

“No, I don’t see it that way,” Lieutenant Li waved his hand and said, “I believe there must be some connection between the two.”

"Based on the information we have gathered so far, the Kunlun Mountain Mantis Man incident in 1962 only involved the discovery of one mantis man by the expedition team. Therefore, many people believe it may be a fabricated legend. In the following ten years, many expedition teams went to the area to search but found nothing."

"But in the late 70s and early 80s, we obtained more mantis-man samples, and more eyewitnesses claimed to have seen mantis-men, and not just one or two, but even a whole nest or more!"

"You mean the Mantis people discovered by the expedition in 1962 were roughly the earliest generation, possibly developed by absorbing the energy of a nuclear explosion..." Xu Zhengyang analyzed, "However, the nuclear waste from the nuclear explosion had a short-term and unsustainable effect on them. So in the following ten years, no Mantis people were discovered because there was no energy to allow them to reproduce and grow."

"In the 80s, after nuclear power plant research organizations moved into the vicinity, a continuous stream of nuclear materials was introduced into the area, affecting some underground organisms."

“That’s right.” Lieutenant Li nodded. “I have specifically studied the western Xinjiang region, especially its arid Gobi and desert biological environment.”

"Presumably, in order to reduce the impact of pollution on humans and the biological environment, the nuclear power plant test site will be located in a desert area that is not only sparsely populated but also almost devoid of flora and fauna."

“That’s right, then there’s basically no chance of nuclear contamination causing animal mutations.” Xu Zhengyang thought so too.

"However, I discovered that there is a creature in western Xinjiang called the desert mantis."

Lieutenant Li took out a picture book and showed it to everyone.

"The desert mantis is a small, terrestrial mantis; the male is only 2 centimeters long, and the genitals are less than 3 centimeters long."

"In addition, their bodies have camouflage, making them difficult for humans to detect when they are lurking in the sand."

"They run fast, and because they have long mid and hind legs, they keep their bodies as far away from the scorching sand as possible, which is why they are well adapted to the hot desert climate."

"Both male and female of this species have degenerated wings, are completely terrestrial, and rarely appear on low shrubs."

"What's really interesting is that this species of mantis doesn't emerge from its shell while hanging upside down, but rather while standing."

"The desert mantis's terrestrial habitat and large eyes reveal its high sensitivity and aggressive hunting behavior."

"Of course, according to our investigation, this desert mantis is not a native species of our country."

"And they come from countries near Batam. They can survive in extremely hot and extremely cold deserts. Of course, for a creature that is only two centimeters long to mutate to 1.7 or 1.8 meters tall, reaching the size of a human, is still inconceivable."

Chapter 82: The escort team returns to Kunlun Mountain to reunite with the film crew.

"That year, Mr. Liao returned to Beijing from Xinjiang to report to the senior leaders. But when he opened the blueprints and spread them on the ground, he knelt down and pointed at the blueprints while giving his report."

Aimeishen recalled, "At the time, we thought he might be sick, but we later learned that it was a work habit he developed in that special working environment."

Obviously, in desert areas, it is often difficult to find tables and chairs to lean on, and even a rock to replace a table or chair is hard to find.

Of course, it is also possible that the body has indeed developed a disease.

"The senior leader had a waiter bring him a stool and said, 'You will all outlive me and will take on more responsibilities.'"

"During the briefing, senior leaders raised their most pressing concerns: the safety of nuclear power plants and the disposal of waste."

"In fact, Mr. Liao's team had conducted related research for three years, but found that some bottlenecks were limited by the technology at the time and were difficult to overcome, so they changed their direction."

"Starting in 1973, they conducted a year of experiments and technical verifications on this new direction, ultimately proving its feasibility. Recalling this episode, Mr. Liao reported to senior management with considerable distress that they had taken a detour and spent 300 million RMB. Upon hearing this, the senior management waved their hand and said, 'The 300 million is gone; consider it a lesson learned.'"

Everyone gasped in astonishment upon hearing this, and they also guessed the other reason why Mr. Liao was kneeling on the ground pointing at the blueprints and reporting.

“In the early 70s, the country had not yet revitalized its economy, and it was much poorer than it is now.”

"The average wage of people across the country is only 50 yuan a month, or 600 yuan a year. 300 million yuan is equivalent to the annual wages of 5000 people."

"Not only was it a waste of money, but it also probably caused some pollution leaks due to problems in pollution control."

"However, the higher-ups told them not to blame themselves too much, believing that in the deepest part of the western desert, no one has lived here for decades or even centuries, and there are no animals or plants. As time goes by, this impact should be erased."

"After hearing what the senior leaders said, Mr. Liao finally felt relieved. After the meeting, Mr. Liao and his entourage returned with a lot of gains: the senior leaders approved their plan to build a pressurized water reactor and also agreed to allocate 8000 million RMB to the 728 team for subsequent scientific research and construction work."

"At the time, this was an unimaginable amount. It was equivalent to the wages of all the workers in the largest steel mill!"

"Later, when Mr. Liao visited our northern base and discussed technical cooperation, he often mentioned this incident, saying: 'Even now, I can't forget the unreserved trust and support that the top leaders gave to the nuclear power plant project during those difficult years.'"

"And then what happened?" Xu Zhengyang asked, somewhat curious.

"Mr. Liao is still the head of Team 728. He has rebuilt a large and safe nuclear power plant test base in the western Xinjiang region. However, the original nuclear power plant base from many years ago should have been buried in the desert and is impossible to find." Aimeishen shrugged and sighed. "But even if we could find it, would you really want to dig it up?"

“I can skip the details of this matter. I just want to use the location of this nuclear power plant to deduce where these mutated mantis-men might be.” Xu Zhengyang pulled out a map of Western Xinjiang from his notebook.

“Oh, that’s relatively simple. We have a general idea of ​​the location.” Amy pointed to the map with her finger. “It’s in the vicinity, but it’s only a few hundred square kilometers. The old base may have been buried deep or disintegrated. If we go there, we’ll probably only find some wreckage.”

“I understand.” Xu Zhengyang nodded. “I’m saying that for the mutated beasts I know, nuclear pollution doesn’t directly supply them with energy; it only alters their genes, allowing them to grow larger, have stronger shells, be more agile, and have better endurance, and so on.”

"And in order to grow and grow strong, it still needs to rely on consuming biological energy, just like other ordinary beasts."

"In other words, the most likely place for the Mantis People to originate and grow strong should be the area with plants and animals closest to this abandoned nuclear power plant."

“East of the Kunlun Mountains, after spring, the streams and rivers formed by the melting snow and ice nourish the land. Some animals here may become prey for predators.”

"Isn't this the direction our film crew is heading?" Little Jewish stared wide-eyed, a sense of foreboding washing over him, and he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.

"Relax, little Jew, don't be so nervous," Fang Zhanbo comforted her. He felt that little Jew was quite similar to Ah Xiang, both of them having some premonition and stress response to dangerous factors.

Ah Xiang felt a sense of terror and oppression, seemingly stemming from a curse from an ancient legend.

Little Judea, on the other hand, acts like a natural detector, a barometer of danger.

"Alright, everyone, stop making wild guesses." Fang Zhanbo said to everyone while calming them down. "Look how scared Little Jew is, he almost had a heart attack. Everyone should rest. We'll go to the film crew tomorrow to meet up with Brother Tian and the others."

“Alright.” Xu Zhengyang nodded. “Miss Ruan Mei, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

"It's okay, it's okay." Little Jewish said after recovering and taking a sip of water to calm himself down. "I'm fine now. I already have a heart condition, it's not that you scared me."

They exchanged glances and reached a tacit understanding: it was best not to share any overly bizarre or terrifying analyses with Little Jew.

So everyone went to rest.

Aside from Aimeishen planning to heal and upgrade the equipment of the Northern Base Headquarters of the Steel Teeth Society, the others will go to Kunlun Mountain to find Wu Yutian's team and explore more unsolved mysteries together.

Of course, Amy and Steel Teeth didn't want to waste this opportunity. If they had time, they planned to upgrade their equipment and then come to Kunlun to find other people to explore with.

******

On the other side, Wu Yutian called over Chu Yi and asked, "Chu Yi, which direction should we go next?"

"Northwest, it's about a half-day's journey to the northwest."

"The Northwest?" Wu Yutian pondered to himself. This seemed like bad news, but it was also good news.

The bad news is that the northwest is also westward, which overlaps with the ominous energy in the west that I observed during my nighttime celestial observations.

The good news is that northwest is not the same as the west that Chu Yi mentioned. The direction he pointed to was clearly different from the direction he judged to be extremely unlucky.

If calculated based on a half-day trip, the difference is even greater.

So there's no need for me to worry unnecessarily.

Chapter 83: The Divine Eye of Treasure Appraisal! A Dark Shadow Discovered Spying From Within

However, the place I'm going to is itself an extremely dangerous place.

Along this journey, even to this day, they probably haven't yet entered the territory of the Kunlun Demon Kingdom.

I must be fully prepared to deal with any potential dangers that may arise in the future.

"Brother Tian, ​​what's wrong?" Chu Yi asked curiously when he saw Wu Yutian looking thoughtful.

Although Chu Yi is a native of this area, his thinking is much simpler.

He has lived in a grassland tribe on the border of Tibet and Xinjiang since birth.

In his mind, the world was a picture of blue skies, white clouds, grazing cattle and sheep, and galloping horses...

Of course, there's also the last one: the legends of ghosts and monsters that the tribal elders often mention, but which they themselves have never actually seen.

Because we do not know, we are not afraid.

"It's nothing. By the way, Chu Yi, tell me what it's like over there." Wu Yutian asked, pointing to the northwest.

"Over there?" Chu Yi scratched his head thoughtfully for a moment, then continued.

"Things over there are a bit strange."

"What strange thing did you say? Tell me about it." Wu Yutian was quite interested.

For some reason, Yang Qian'er also held Wu Yutian's hand and leaned against him, as if she felt safer that way.