This was a vast and barren planet. Ding Meng was sure that he was on a planet because he could see the horizon. Due to the barrier surrounding the base, he could not see the horizon. Since he could see the horizon, it meant that he was standing on the ground. He was in a real world.
However, this real world looked even more unreal because there were as many as five Scorching Suns hanging in the sky. These five suns were all above the horizon, and they emitted different colors of light from five different directions: azure blue, fiery red, brownish yellow, lavender, and milky white.
These five colors of light intertwined, and not only did they illuminate the entire planet, they also dyed it into a grotesque world.
Ding Meng counted again to make sure that he was not mistaken. There were really five Scorching Suns shining on this planet.
At this moment, many of the inexplicable phenomena now had the most logical explanation.
Why was the base so hot, but the airless basements were cool at night? That was because the entire planet was exposed to the sun.
Why was the base always sunny and never raining? That was because the high temperature had completely evaporated all the water.
Why was there a pool in the main mining area, PC35?
That was because the evaporated water had gathered underground.
Why were the tentacle monsters in the pool afraid of light?
That was because the surface temperature was too high for them to survive. These primitive creatures had been in the underground world for too long, and they had long evolved into monsters that were afraid of light.
Why did the barrier exist?
If there was no barrier, the entire Black Gold Base would be roasted to a crisp.
...
All the strange phenomena in and out of the base were caused by the unique celestial position of this planet. At the same time, one thing was certain — the barrier was not natural, but man-made. Its purpose was to reduce the light and heat, and to create day and night. It created all kinds of illusions for the workers working here: this was a remote but normal planet with day and night, and the four seasons alternating. If you contributed to the base, you could even leave this place...
In fact, this colorful planet was a Purgatory Furnace in the true sense.
It was only now that Ding Meng finally understood Bamboo Pole's words, "Everything you see is an illusion."
Little Rascal said, "Ding Meng, hurry up and move. The temperature outside is still rising, you won't be able to hold on for long."
According to the bamboo pole, the distance between the yellow dot and the barrier was only 8 kilometers. But in fact, this 8 kilometers of road was not easy to travel. The terrain outside was a bit like the Gobi Desert. There were a lot of bumpy faults, and the surrounding slopes were a bit undulating. Many of the high slopes were erected with jagged rocks that looked like lighthouses, giving people an uncomfortable feeling.
Little Rascal continued to provide data. "Current temperature: 575 degrees. Distance: 1,233 meters. That should be the location of those trees."
As far as the eye could see, a few tree trunks could be faintly seen on the distant mountain ridge. No matter what kind of tree it was, as long as it could grow in Purgatory, it proved that it was alive.
However, when Ding Meng ran up the mountain ridge, he discovered that there was a huge pit below. The skeleton of an animal was lying in this pit. The 'tree trunks' he and Little Rascal saw were just a few bones on the skeleton's back.
The skeleton was as big as a mountain. Ding Meng, who was on the mountain ridge, was so small in front of this giant skeleton that he could not even be compared to an ant.
Looking further ahead, the desert in the distance was full of skeletons like this. Some were intact, some were loose, some were broken, and some were piled up like cotton. They were densely packed together, forming a mountain of corpses and a sea of bones.
If he had not seen it with his own eyes, Ding Meng really could not imagine how huge these creatures were when they were alive.
He also could not imagine what caused these creatures to become skeletons.
Little Rascal said, "These should be the original organisms of this planet. I wonder what kind of power killed them.
Virus?
Radiation?
Contamination?
Battle?
Powerhouses?
But these don't look like them. "
Ding Meng did not answer her. His telekinesis vision could now clearly see a metal tunnel buried in the ground of this giant skeleton.
This tunnel was clearly different from the one leading to the experiment hall. Other things aside, the steel plates on the walls were exquisitely coated with laser light. There was a very conspicuous symbol engraved on them: Two daggers crossed together by a steel ring.
Little Rascal said, "This is definitely not the warship on the other side of the barrier. Look at this metal, there are no signs of corrosion at all. Also, these steel plates are made of multi-element alloys. The facilities here are obviously more advanced than the warship on the other side. It's at least a hundred years ahead."
Little Rascal's judgment was correct. At the end of the tunnel was a real command hall. As soon as Ding Meng stepped in, the lights in the hall automatically lit up.
This was a completely silver-white metal palace. All kinds of simple but not simple facilities, smooth and gorgeous lines, a dazzling array of technological devices … everything pointed to another spaceship.
In the middle of the hall was a large conference table. Ding Meng had seen this before, so he knew that it wasn't a real conference table. Instead, it was the main control panel of many interstellar spaceships. It was the core of the command center of the spaceship. The captains and first officers would study the route and issue orders on this table.
Ding Meng walked forward and pressed his palm against a notch on the side of the table. The control console lit up as expected. At the same time, the system's voice rang out.
"Crew members detected. System activating …"
"Insufficient energy detected. System recharging …"
"Reception source malfunctioning. Recharging not possible …"
…
Ding Meng frowned. "What's the meaning of this?"
Little Rascal hesitated. "My initial judgment is that this spaceship's activation device is the light source recharging system. It's currently buried underground and can't receive sunlight, so it can't automatically recharge. This situation is similar to the one on the other side. It's probably using the remaining backup energy."
Ding Meng thought to himself. No wonder Bamboo Pole wanted him to come here to send the signal. It turned out that he already knew that this spaceship couldn't take off.
At this time, the control console was fully activated. The four corners of the console lit up to form a screen on the table. On the screen were rows of neatly arranged command options.
1. Energy System; 2. Flight System; 3. Weapon System;
4. Supply Storage; 5. Inspection Cycle; 6. Signal Transmission;
7. Auxiliary Functions; 8. Command Repair; 8. Database;
…
There were a lot of options, but the problem was that only "Signal Transmission" and "Database" were green available. The other options were all dim. Ding Meng also knew that this situation was usually due to either insufficient energy or insufficient authority.
Ding Meng reached out and pressed on the "Database" column. The interface changed again. This time, it showed:
1. Map Information; 2. Character Information; 3. Flight Route Information …
Except for the map information that was lit up, the large row of options behind it were all dark. Therefore, Ding Meng only clicked on "Map". This time, an extremely exquisite virtual 3D map was erected on the platform with a "swish swish swish" sound.