Chapter 33 Whisper in the Stone

Seventeen meters underground, at the entrance of the alley.

Bana leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, listening to the small sounds in the environment, her mind moving with the beating in her chest.

This is not the first time she has explored the dark and silent underground space.

As early as when I was on Gudu Star, I had been to underground caves more than once. The environments of mine tunnels and caves were similar.

A similar condensed emptiness.

Walking in a huge cave will make people feel insignificant and powerless. Everything will be silent within a few meters.

Like the deep starry sky.

The size of the mine tunnels is far less than that of the caves, and the tunnels excavated by the Mojie people are also smaller. The dull tunnels seem to have no air circulation, making people sensitive.

In this narrow and intricate underground mine tunnel network, any slight movement will be amplified countless times by the crisp echo.

"Tap...tap...tap...click"

A faint sound vibrated along the wall, and Bana pressed her ear against the mountain, holding her breath to listen.

Always remember your responsibility to monitor roadway safety.

"Chi~zi"

Suddenly, the terminal hanging on the back also made a messy signal noise.

Bana frowned and pulled out her personal terminal.

Previously, in order to facilitate receiving communication signals from teammates, signal reception was kept on.

But the sudden noise disturbed the quiet environment.

[Searching for signals...]

On the personal terminal, a few large characters remained the same as before, and no communication was connected.

"Zi~knock..."

There was another irritating noise.

Bana took two steps back toward the anchor network channel, and her personal terminal was muted for an instant.

"Is it radio frequency noise from ground work equipment?"

Thinking of this possibility, Bana stood back at the intersection of the mine shaft and the tunnel, and a buzzing sound began, but this time the volume was much weaker.

"It's strange. It wasn't there when I first came in. What is interfering with the communication?"

Doubts welled up in her mind. Bana thought about it carefully, first looked back at the alleyway, then stuck her head into the vertical mine shaft, and looked around.

The lights in the tunnel are brightly lit, and the part of the mine that leads to the surface is equally bright, with miners' lamps hanging all over it.

Only the direction under the mine is an unexplored area, like an abyss with no light.

Could it be some kind of natural noise?

Then what was it that I heard just now against the wall?

Thoughts flashed through her mind, and Bana observed the stone pile obstacles in the alleyway with vigilance.

"Tap...tap...tap"

This time the sound was more obvious, you could hear it even without your ear against the wall.

Holding the robotic arm on her right arm, Bana held her breath and continued to listen, trying to identify the source of the sound, wondering whether to report it in time.

"beep."

The communicator on the waist sounded a beep and the communication was connected!

"Hahaha! Warden Bana, we are back!"

The familiar voice of Han Pi came from both the communicator and the alleyway, making her sigh in relief.

"It turned out to be footsteps, but they were distorted because they were too far away."

Bana wiped away the cold sweat from her false alarm.

She almost thought it was dirt. There was a sound of loose stones and dust being smashed into the ground. Fortunately, nothing caused any trouble.

Not long after, two figures walked towards the end of the alley.

Xing Lai walked in front with hurried steps and something in his hand, while Captain Aisha walked leisurely behind.

"Is the operation going well?" Bana relaxed her posture and put on a calm expression again.

"Of course!" Xing Lai chuckled and was the first to answer.

"If possible, I would like to get the answer from the captain, not from the frightened fool who cries,"

Bana squinted and sneered, condemning someone's shameful behavior.

"Hey! I'm not crying! I was just shocked."

Xing Lai opened his mouth to explain angrily, but when he saw Bana's expression of "I won't listen to your explanation", she looked at Aisha for help.

The expression in Kazilan's big eyes was complicated, revealing the charm of grievance. The grievance was a little angry, and there was a trace of sadness hidden in the anger.

Aisha could only shrug helplessly and replace her name. "She really didn't cry."

When Xinglai heard the captain's clarification, he glared at Bana with a fake look.

But in the next sentence, he was immediately brought back to his original form.

"It's just that I'm a little too scared."

Xing Lai suddenly felt like crying, and the captain's explanation was better than no explanation at all.

"I was just startled, not afraid!"

Bana gave her a strange look and acted perfunctorily.

"Ah, yes, yes."

"Just like we will be frightened by other people popping up quietly, we are just startled, not afraid!"

"Ah, yes, yes."

"..."

Elsa covered her mouth and snickered. Seeing that Xinglai was turning into stone and saying goodbye to the world, she quickly changed the subject.

Pointing to the stars and the sparkling crystal on his hand, he began to talk about the experience just now.

"There are still many collapsed sections in the entire tunnel, and the places that are suspected to connect the tunnel and the coal mining layer are blocked by gravel. We searched all the passable tunnels and only found this thing."

"Here, crystal palm."

Xing Lai cooperated in presenting this ‘crystal handicraft’.

The whole body is crystal clear and as colorful as splashed paint. The whole body is composed of five fingers and a palm. Every detail of the palm prints and fingerprints is visible.

The wrist seemed to have been violently broken. The crystals in the fracture were uneven, and crystal meridians of different colors could be seen.

It's more like exaggerated line art.

The blood vessels of the Mojiehu Kegan people will never be like this, at least the hands of humanoid creatures cannot grow like this.

"This artifact was found on the skeleton of a Mojie man. Judging from the fracture, the crystal palm was knocked off from a more complete artifact."

"The internal meridian lines of the translucent crystal are very fine. The Mojie people will never be able to make crystal sculptures of this level."

“This may be the biggest gain from our walk through the alleys—the incomplete artwork of an unknown civilization.”

Bana held the crystal in her hand and touched it gently, rubbing the broken area with her fingers.

Even if she has never been an artist, she can still feel the exquisite craftsmanship of the craftsmen and carvers. It is simply a masterpiece that combines reality and artistic processing.

Facing the light, it exudes colorful and fantastic colors.

"It's so beautiful, Bana, do you know what material this is made of?"

Xing Lai beside him suddenly asked with a hint of interest in his heart, Bana had been to the underground world of Gudu Star many times before, and she should know something about many minerals.

Ask for the name. I will also play with this kind of craft when I have time. The light and shadow are gorgeous and sparkling.

Add a display cabinet next to the firearms exhibition wall to place beautiful crystals, and add a light below to illuminate it.

It looks cool!

Thinking about the picture of the left pistol and the crystal in the right hand, Xinglai's eyes glowed faintly.

"It needs instrument testing. The color is too mixed, but the outside is probably quartz."

Bana shook her head and said regretfully.

The colorful patterns in the crystal make her elusive of the material. She prefers the 3D printing technology of alien artists to natural formation.

"Captain, shall we go directly underground next?"

"Go back first, return this piece of art, and replenish Xinglai's backpack."
To be continued...