After further exploration by scanning and small drones, the reconnaissance team discovered that this black spire above the vast snowfield was not alone.
There are several large-scale temple-like buildings around the minaret. However, in the initial scan, these temples, which are very low compared to the minaret, were covered in heavy snow and therefore escaped. Remote photography from satellites and drones.
Ignoring the military's heavy dissuasion, the scientists who came to Corbin IV with the Second Fleet were eager to excavate this unprecedented alien ruins.
After wearing scientific research exoskeletons that could help them withstand the severe cold, dozens of researchers who volunteered formed an archaeological team on the spot. Under the escort of the mechanical army, they took a vertical take-off and landing transport aircraft and landed on a god that was not completely covered by snow. near the temple.
Thanks to the surging heat spurted out by the transport plane's thrusters, which quickly melted the ice and snow at the landing site, the ruins of the temple that had been frozen for countless years were finally revealed to the light of day.
After several people were sent to collect samples for analyzing the age of the ruins, the head of the archaeological team, a senior archaeologist affiliated with the group's scientific research department, exhaled hot air from his helmet and rubbed his hands excitedly, as if he You can feel your own body temperature through the constant temperature system built into the exoskeleton.
Ignoring the low-temperature warnings that kept popping up on the helmet display, archaeologist Baron Howard-Walter put his hand on the temple column with only a small section left in front of him, looking at the complex and gorgeous outside of the column, which was carefully carved. The religious patterns were completed, and his breathing became a little rapid.
With his own hands, he brushed off the ice-water mixture that had not completely melted on the fracture surface, and felt the bumps and coldness reflected back from the touch sensor on his palms. He sighed in the communication channel: "Three centuries ago, my ancestors also wiped it with their hands. Dusted off the tiles of the pyramid, received by Queen Victoria for it, and the title of baronet has been handed down to this day, and now it is mine."
However, the scientific researchers who landed with Howard on the ground were obviously not the first time they heard him mention these old almanacs, so they all joked: "That's right! With Baron Howard, who has rich experience and profound family knowledge, by our side, this time The mission is definitely guaranteed!"
Although they kept talking, their actions of extracting samples and taking photos did not slow down at all. The only difference from working on Earth is that their movements are gentler with exoskeleton support. Because all the archaeological team members were afraid that they would accidentally destroy this cultural treasure that could be recorded in history.
Moreover, this place is far away from the earth. If any fatal mechanism is accidentally triggered due to carelessness during the mission, they will not have a second life to waste.
Before the fleet set off, Yang Tianyi also warned these scientists who might fall into a state of frenzy at any time - the medical cabins carried by the fleet are used to quickly heal the lightly or seriously injured, not to resurrect corpses.
Especially in this kind of cross-galaxy expedition, facing unknown dangers in alien ruins, serious injuries and disappearances mean death. It is impossible for the group to put the entire fleet in danger for one person. For this reason, the archaeological team members signed their names on the confidentiality agreement before boarding the ship, just to avoid a situation that no one wanted to see happen.
Perhaps during the journey, some scientists felt a trace of regret, regretting that they should not have joined this expedition that may have no return based on some myths and legends.
But now, when the large-scale alien ruins come into view, none of the members of the archaeological team regret it, and some are just grateful for the decision they made earlier.
While walking among the ruins of the temple, which still retains a religious atmosphere even though it is damaged, Baron Howard secretly thought to himself that if he rejected the invitation from the group, he would definitely regret it after knowing the truth and be upset about having to deal with alien civilization. The opportunity of close contact was wasted by me.
As the only male of his family's generation, Howard, who is still unmarried, often begs for forgiveness in front of the portraits of his ancestors, hoping that the deceased elders in the family will not blame him for being too obsessed with scientific research and thus having no extra energy to focus on continuing the family line.
"If you love a woman, don't let her be sad because of you. Even if she is wrong in every way, bad, and has countless shortcomings that will make you feel helpless and bored in the end. As a man, you can't leave silently. It’s about giving the other party a decent ending.”
The baron, who had had several relationships, always kept his father's words in mind, so he made the decision not to marry for life after careful consideration. He was thirty years old that year.
Now Howard is over forty, and it has been a long time since he joined the Star Group as an archaeological consultant. Without this expedition, the Baron might soon have a second youth due to the recovery of physical functions brought by the medical cabin.
Unfortunately, when an opportunity arose to stand shoulder to shoulder with his ancestors in terms of achievements, the ice that had just begun to melt in Howard's heart solidified again.
Career and love, he chose career again. Only this time, no one gave him advice or helped him choose. The baron was simply attracted by the religious relics that only appeared in myths before him, and he had no time to care.
Before Howard could take a good look around the temple ruins next to the landing site, the researcher responsible for collecting and analyzing samples made a new discovery.
As everyone has guessed, the building material of the temple is not ordinary stone, but some kind of organic material with simple ingredients but strong and durable. It is precisely because of this that the many exquisite reliefs on the outer walls of the temple can still be lifelike and detailed after being blown by strong winds for hundreds of thousands of years.
Moreover, when they were built, these reliefs once had brilliant colors, but after being washed away by storms and snows over the years, they all lost their former splendor and turned into the dull, dull gray they are today.
With the inspection of the temple temporarily coming to an end, the Second Fleet, which confirmed the safety situation around the landing site, also sent a large number of reinforcements to the archaeological team, including thousands of Z-1 robots used to clean up the ruins and protect follow-up The manta ray quadruped robot that landed on the force.
Densely packed mechanical workers soon turned the ruins of temples into bustling construction sites. The roar of construction machinery and the heavy footsteps of manta ray robots suddenly brought some people to this silent snowfield that had been quiet for an unknown period of time.
With these forces as backup, the archaeological team immediately boarded the armored transport vehicle without stopping and marched along the road leading to the central tower outside the ruins of the temple. Don't stop when you encounter a large and well-preserved temple along the way. Instead, you drive straight along the broad road towards the black spire in the center of the building complex that almost reaches into the sky.
For these archaeological madmen who "like the new and hate the old", the temple is just an appetizer, and the minaret, which obviously plays an important role, is the main meal worth savoring.
After driving on the empty road for more than ten minutes, the heavy armored transport vehicle that kept moving at a constant speed slowly stopped. In front of the convoy was the bottom of the black spire marked as its destination.
At the same time, in the warm carriage, dozens of archaeological team members who were enjoying lunch quickly put down the compressed food in their hands, put on their helmets and started the exoskeleton's constant temperature system. After releasing all the reconnaissance drones, they couldn't contain their excitement and filed out of the car door one by one. They looked at the deep hole outside the spire that should be the gate with affectionate eyes.
Baron Howard stepped forward immediately and was surprised to find that the doorway, which was more than ten meters high, had been firmly sealed by a thick layer of ice, leaving no gap for them to pass through.
Realizing that time was precious, the Baron had no other choice but to order over the channel: "Start the top turret of the armored vehicle. We must melt the ice block blocking the doorway to create a passage large enough for people to enter! Also, Turn the power of the red laser emitter to the minimum, I don’t want to see any artifacts destroyed in the process of making the passage!”
The weapons operator who received the accurate instructions nodded to the baron who was tapping the window outside the car, indicated that he understood, and then pressed the button of the laser transmitter. Due to the reduced power, the originally dazzling laser beam seemed a little weak at this time, but the high temperature enough to melt the alloy armor still easily opened a large hole as high as a person in the ice.
After finding a few team members who were not afraid of death to follow him, Baron Howard held an ice ax in one hand and a laser pistol for self-defense in the other and got into the ice passage full of water. It was not that the Baron did not want the robot to go in first. It was only his pride as an archaeologist that drove him to open his legs.
After walking hard in the extremely slippery passage for about two or three minutes, the baron's originally dark vision suddenly became wider.
Although there are no lights, the bottomless and topless spire hall still gives people a sense of sudden enlightenment. The strange sculptures and unknown devices distributed in all directions represent aesthetic concepts that are completely different from humans.
Howard was not a timid person, but the densely packed hall and the strange chair-shaped equipment still made him feel a little uneasy. Especially after observing one of the devices closely, he found that the appearance of these devices resembled human torture devices in ancient times. The only difference was that there were no dried blood stains or scattered blood-stained hair on their surfaces.
Just when he couldn't stand the weird atmosphere in the hall and wanted to go back the way he came, an ethereal voice sounded from the center of the hall, and along with it appeared a formless sea-blue light.
Because this is an alien language with weird pronunciation and difficult for humans to understand, even if a professional translator analyzes and compares the words spoken by the voice word by word, if you want to decipher a language in just a few seconds, even if it is just The most basic words and grammar are also extremely difficult.
However, this is not a problem for Yang Tianyi, who is monitoring the movements of the archaeological team in real time through video equipment. With his system, he is more proficient in the native languages of each race than all linguists in the galaxy.
Perhaps in the ears of many people, the ethereal voice echoing in the steeple hall at this time is very obscure, but he is certainly not one of them.
After closing his eyes and organizing the order of words, Yang Tianyi connected his communication with Baron Howard and relayed in a deep voice: "Travelers from far away, are you here to receive the gift of the God of Enlightenment?"
"If so, please lie down on the confession chair and wait for a while, and I will perform the ceremony for you."
Seeing that Howard and others had no response, perhaps thinking that the travelers from far away did not trust them, the ethereal voice slowly explained in an operatic tone: "Please believe me, as long as you are willing to confess your crimes, He will Grant all confessors the blessing of forgetfulness, and teach them not to be tortured again by painful memories.”
After saying this, the light from all over the center of the hall also successfully condensed together, forming an enlarged version of a slug that looked similar to an Earth slug, except that the size of the former was almost the same as that of a human. .
I saw this large slug squirming in front of Baron Howard who raised his pistol, and comforted him in a soft and gentle voice: "Everyone, please don't be afraid. I am the holographic priest left by the Envoy Sa'aria of the God of Enlightenment, who specializes in Perform confessional rituals for travelers from across the Star Sea. Hear their confessions and provide spiritual healing."
This time, with Yang Tianyi helping to translate, Baron Howard's nervousness was obviously relieved. Seeing that the attitude of the slug priest was quite good, he asked tentatively: "Besides us, are there other travelers who often visit here?"
"Retrieving visitor records..."
As the slug's eyes flashed, it answered the Baron's question meticulously.
"You are right, because this is a rare place of mediation and shelter in the universe, so travelers often come here to seek help from the Envoy of Enlightenment. In addition, my central processor told me that it has been a long time since the last time a guest visited One thousand one hundred and thirty-seven years have passed. If you are not in a hurry, please allow me to clean the dust in the temple first."
As the slug priest spoke, he twisted his body and disappeared into the darkness, but a moment later it returned to the baron and the others, with some disappointment in his tone.
"I'm really sorry, all the travelers who have come here to seek the blessing of forgetfulness, I have some sad news to tell you. The temple's cleaning drone cannot work properly due to its age and disrepair. I'm afraid you have to clean the confession chair by yourself. .”
After nodding thoughtfully, Baron Howard narrowed his eyes slightly, stopped the slug priest who was about to leave again, and said with a smile: "Master Priest, I have many friends who want to seek the blessing of forgetfulness and are still waiting outside the temple. . If you think it’s okay, I can ask them to help clean up the dirt in the hall, so that the glory of the God of Enlightenment will not be covered with dust.”
After Howard played a deception trick passed down from his ancestors, the slug priest was immediately deceived by the sweet words and was stunned. Not only did he take the initiative to disable the defense mechanisms of the temple that were most likely to be ineffective, he also said that devout believers like the Baron were exactly what the God Envoy needed, and were the best people to help him maintain the operation of the temple on weekdays.
Baron Howard, knowing that he had won the jackpot, excitedly put his pistol back into its holster, and led the slug priest who called himself the "Servant of the Enlightenment" to the most important sacristy room in the entire temple for cleaning.
As for his "friends", the archaeological team composed of a large number of robot troops and human scientists will soon follow his pace, officially settling in and outside the temple, and through some trivial cleaning work, they will become devout believers in the eyes of the priests.
Lewen
