I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Linjiang, Huishuiwan Military Blockade Zone, 09:30 AM]

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky, and the river was shrouded in mist.

Several military assault boats painted in dark gray were moored in a triangular formation around the sand dredger, tightly surrounding the waters that were churning with eerie heat.

There were no media outlets or other unrelated individuals present.

This area has been designated as a "Level 1 Biochemical/Geological Disaster Site".

On the deck of one of the modified engineering vessels, four divers dressed in black special diving suits and carrying fully enclosed respirators were making final equipment adjustments.

Their armbands were embroidered with a golden dragon.

The "Jiaolong" Commando Unit of a special operations brigade in the Eastern Theater Command.

They are the ghosts of the water, the aces who specialize in handling maritime rescue, underwater bomb disposal, and... certain "unconventional" missions.

"Captain, the sonar indicates that the underwater terrain is extremely complex."

The observer in charge of communications stared at the screen with a furrowed brow. "The area around that heat source is filled with high-intensity magnetic field interference. Two of our underwater drones just went down, and both lost contact within ten meters of the wellhead."

"understood."

The man referred to as "Captain" was Lei Zhan. He checked the tactical dagger and underwater spotlight at his waist, his voice sounding particularly cold and hard through the bone conduction headphones.

"If drones can't handle it, then people will."

"Remember the mission objectives: First, confirm the nature of the heat source; second, collect samples; third..." He paused, glancing at the sand dredger still smoking not far away, "confirm whether there are any signs of 'large organism' activity."

"Yes!" the other three team members answered in unison.

"Get in the water!"

Thump. Thump.

Four black figures pierced the water like sharp swords and disappeared into the murky river.

……

[10 meters underwater, visibility: extremely poor]

The moment he entered the water, Lei Zhan sensed something was wrong.

Even wearing the most advanced temperature-controlled diving suit, he could still feel the changes in the surrounding water temperature.

It's not cold, it's hot.

The deeper you dive, the higher the water temperature becomes.

"Reporting to command, current depth 15 meters, water temperature 28 degrees Celsius," Lei Zhan reported. "This doesn't look like river water, it's like a hot spring."

"Continue descending. Remain vigilant," came the calm voice from command center through the headset.

As the depth increases, the light disappears completely.

Four divers turned on the powerful spotlights on their helmets. Four pale beams of light swayed in the murky muddy water, illuminating countless suspended particles.

Those were fragments of dead fish, and some... glowing green algae.

[Underwater depth 30 meters, visibility: 5 meters]

"Captain, look over there."

The team member codenamed "Stone" suddenly exclaimed in the channel.

Following the direction of the spotlight on the stone, Lei Zhan saw a scene that made his pupils shrink.

In the mud ahead, a huge black object lay across the road.

That wasn't the keel of a sunken ship, nor was it a pipe.

It was a thick, suffocating iron chain.

It extends from the bottomless darkness, plunging diagonally into the deeper riverbed.

The rust and barnacles that should have covered the chain were now completely clean. It was a deep, dark black, reflecting a cold, obsidian-like light under the spotlight.

"Is this the 'anchor chain'?" Lei Zhan swam over and reached out to touch it.

It was ice-cold to the touch, not as hot as I had imagined.

Moreover, it's too smooth.

This doesn't look like scrap metal that's been submerged for decades; it looks more like a precision instrument that just came out of the factory yesterday.

"Captain, there are words on this..."

Another team member approached the chain and began taking pictures using a specially made macro lens.

On the massive ring, there were some intricate patterns faintly etched. They were not Chinese characters, nor any kind of writing Lei Zhan had ever seen before, but rather a totem that resembled clouds, thunder, and the claw marks of some ferocious beast.

Cloud and thunder pattern.

Suppression talisman.

"Write it down." Lei Zhan suppressed his shock. "Continue following the chain. The source is down below."

……

[45 meters underwater, at the entrance to the Dragon Lock Well]

The water temperature was now close to 50 degrees Celsius.

If it weren't for the heat insulation layer of the special diving suit, an ordinary person would have been burned here long ago.

The surrounding river water was no longer murky; instead, it had become unusually clear due to the high temperature, but this clarity was tinged with an eerie red hue.

That light was coming from the deep pit ahead.

"arrive."

Lei Zhan made a hand gesture, and the four of them spread out in a tactical formation, hovering above the huge sinkhole.

At their feet, an ancient hexagonal wellhead made of bluestone stood out prominently.

The huge black iron chain, like a giant black python, was tightly coiled around the well opening, wrapping around it nine times before finally plunging deep into the ground.

The red light was gushing out from the gaps in the iron chains and from the bottomless well.

thump... thump...

Without needing to utter a sound, Lei Zhan felt his chest vibrate with the flashing red light.

It really does feel like a heartbeat.

Moreover, it was the heartbeat of some enormous being.

"Collect water samples," Lei Zhan ordered through gritted teeth.

Stone took out a titanium alloy sampling tube and carefully approached the wellhead.

Just as his hand was about to touch the red light emanating from the wellhead.

Om-! !

Suddenly, the black iron chain that had been silent all along trembled violently.

With just this tremor, the surrounding river water instantly formed a high-pressure shock wave.

"Be careful!"

Lei Zhan reacted quickly, grabbing the stone's strap and pulling it backward.

boom!

A visible shockwave of water grazed past the stone's helmet, shattering a huge rock behind it.

"Warning! Warning! High energy reaction detected!" The alarm on the diving suit screamed wildly.

Immediately afterwards, under the horrified gaze of four elite special forces soldiers...

From the red light emanating from the wellhead, a huge shadow slowly rose.

That is not a physical entity.

It was a translucent, red-flaming... "soul".

It has deer antlers, a bull's head, a snake's body, and eyes like two burning red lanterns.

It hovered above the iron chain, its emotionless eyes fixed on the four intruders.

[The Phantom Spirit - Tomb Guardian (Gu Qing Release Version) is now activated.]

[Passive Skill: Dragon's Gaze (Targets mental pressure).]

"ah!!"

A scream came through the communication channel.

It wasn't a physical injury, but a mental breakdown.

One team member clutched his helmet tightly, writhing in agony in the water: "It's watching me! It's watching me! My head's going to explode!!"

Lei Zhan also felt a sharp pain in his brain, as if he were being pricked by needles, but he managed to stay awake with his superhuman willpower.

"Retreat! Everyone retreat!!"

Lei Zhan grabbed the out-of-control team member and simultaneously pressed the emergency buoyancy airbag.

"This is beyond our control! Let's go!!"

The red "dragon soul" did not give chase.

It merely watched coldly as these tiny ants fled in disarray, then opened its mouth and let out a silent roar.

Roar--

The powerful current propelled the four of them toward the surface like cannonballs.

……

[On shore, command post]

"They're out! They're out!"

On the river surface, four red airbags suddenly burst out of the water.

Immediately afterwards, the four divers were thrown to the surface.

The rescue boat, which was already on standby, rushed over and pulled the four people onto the boat.

Lei Zhan took off his helmet and gasped for breath in the rain-soaked air. His face was as pale as paper, and blood was even flowing from his nostrils.

"Captain! How is it?" Chen Gang asked anxiously.

Lei Zhan remained silent.

With trembling hands, he pulled the sampling tube from the tactical pouch at his waist.

Even after leaving the bottom of the well, the river water in the pipe was still slightly boiling, emitting a faint red glow.

"blockade……"

Lei Zhan gripped Chen Gang's hand, his eyes filled with a deep fear—a look that even a battle-hardened warrior had never seen before.

"Let's fill in this river..."

"That thing down there... is alive."

"He is a god... and a demon."

……

[A tall building in the distance, Gu Qing]

Gu Qing looked at the special forces team retreating in a sorry state, and then at the [80,000 Faith Points] that had suddenly surged on the system panel.

All this confidence came from those four elite soldiers.

The credibility contributed by the elites is indeed of extremely high quality.

"Don't blame me for being too rough."

Gu Qing took a sip of tea, her eyes calm.

"If I don't scare you, how will you believe that what's down there is real?"

"If they didn't believe it was true, why would the country invest so many resources in research?"

"Only you have made progress in your research and discovered the 'spiritual energy' in that water sample..."

"The world's technology tree is just starting to go astray."

Gu Qing turned around and disappeared into the rain.