Chapter 428: Resurfacing! The City Lost in History!

What exactly is this place?

How could something like this exist?

Another Loulan?

The viewers in the live stream were dumbfounded, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Ning Fei shined his light ahead, allowing everyone to clearly see that the oppressive shadows looming in the distance were actually rows of houses!

Rows of houses actually existed in this underground world beneath the Lop Nur desert!

"A discovery!"

Lin Tao sounded a little excited.

"There really is an underground city beneath Lop Nur!"

"When people found Loulan back then, they assumed it was the only city in this region."

"But they didn't know that besides Loulan, another city had vanished into the river of history."

"And that city is Peacock City!"

Peacock City?

Hearing this name, the viewers were full of doubts.

'I know there's a Peacock River out there, but what kind of place is this Peacock City?'

'Probably only archaeologists know about it!'

At this time, Ning Fei said, "Peacock City was once the capital of a small ancient state. Back then, Loulan was powerful and successively annexed states like Xiaowan, Jingjue, and Qiemo. Peacock City was among them."

"It's just that historical records concerning this minor state are incredibly scarce."

"Ancient texts only briefly mention that Peacock City was considered a city of good omen at the time, blessed with great fortune. The kings of many major states even went there to pay homage."

"Later, the king of Loulan decided to conquer Peacock City and wiped out its royal family."

"Not long after that, the Peacock River stopped flowing. Loulan gradually dried up, forcing the entire nation to relocate its capital, leaving behind the abandoned Ancient City of Loulan and the Ancient City of Jingjue."

"Meanwhile, Peacock City simply faded away into the river of history."

Hearing his explanation, Lin Tao shot Ning Fei a surprised look.

The rest of the archaeological team also showed expressions of admiration.

Ning Fei looked to be in his twenties, with a handsome and gentle appearance. They hadn't expected him to possess such extensive knowledge.

The viewers found the scene in the live stream highly amusing.

'Haha, lecturing an archaeologist on history. Ning Guan master is truly the number one popularizer of science.'

'Good lord, Ning Guan master is genuinely incredible!'

'The great god Lin Tao is completely stunned!'

'There's only one word for it: awesome!'

"Let's go check out those houses and see if this really is Peacock City!"

Lin Tao said.

The group moved forward, aiming all their flashlights ahead.

Ning Fei continued to bring up the rear, with the drone following closely behind him.

The path broadened significantly after they passed through the tunnel. They had been heading downward this whole time, and the ceiling above them was composed of a very stable mixture of hard rock and compacted sand.

Right then, Ning Fei suddenly sensed something was wrong.

His Danger Perception skill was warning him once again.

There was something behind him!

Ning Fei turned his head. He caught a whiff of a foul, fishy stench just before a dark silhouette lunged violently straight at him!

'Ah!'

Seeing the black shadow, the viewers in the live stream couldn't help but scream out loud!

The more timid ones broke out in a cold sweat, instantly leaping up from their sofas in terror.

Ning Fei reacted quickly. He pivoted and delivered a swift kick, landing it squarely on the dark figure.

He hadn't used much force, but the shadow was still sent flying backward for quite a distance.

Immediately, the figure turned and fled, vanishing out of sight in the blink of an eye!

'What the hell was that?'

'My god, there are actually things this terrifying living underground?'

'That scared the crap out of me just now!'

'Could it be a subterranean human?'

'Is this archaeological dig really this scary?'

The live stream chat absolutely exploded!

Hearing the commotion, the archaeological team immediately looked back, but they only caught a fleeting glimpse of the shadow escaping before it disappeared completely.

"What happened? Was it an ape?"

Lin Tao hurriedly ran over and asked.

The two middle-aged men on the team pulled out daggers and long batons, adopting defensive stances.

Ning Fei had managed to get a slightly clearer look at it by the light.

"Something like that. A humanoid creature covered in long hair, with a rather foul stench on it."

"We still need to be careful."

The expedition members nodded.

"Apes will attack unprovoked. Everyone, stay alert!"

Lin Tao warned.

"I'm going to contact the local Government first. We've discovered ancient ruins here, and they need to be protected."

With that said, the team continued their advance toward the rows of houses.

Ning Fei cast a glance into the distance.

He could sense that several pairs of eyes were staring at him from the pitch-black darkness.

"The world is full of unimaginable wonders. To think a place like this actually exists."

"Humanoid subterranean creatures, an underground city."

"This is getting interesting."

The archaeological team drew closer and closer to the rows of buildings.

As soon as they entered the structures, they put their archaeological expertise to work and began gathering data.

"Looking at the structural design, it matches the architectural characteristics of the period from 50 BCE to 200 CE."

Liu Wu said, examining the discarded bricks and tiles of one building.

"Judging by the sediment layers in the houses, these structures have been here for at least two thousand years,"

Xue Fang added.

An archaeologist's job was simply to study the past.

Ning Fei, on the other hand, wasn't very interested in the historical value of these items. He was far more curious about why this underground city existed in the first place.

"We've now entered the underground city. The soil layer overhead is incredibly solid; it looks artificial,"

Ning Fei slowly explained to the drone.

"There's definitely a secret hidden here."

The viewers had been on edge this whole time.

'Ning Guan master, what exactly is the deal with this city?'

'Why is there a city underground?'

'What was that dark shadow? A monkey?'

'It couldn't be a ghost, could it?'

'Don't scare me like that!'

Everyone was burning with curiosity.

Ning Fei observed the houses. They were on the verge of collapsing, their structural integrity extremely fragile.

He quickly abandoned the idea of leaping onto the roofs to search for clues.

"First, I need to figure out what these creatures rely on to survive."

"No matter what they are, food and water are essential for any living thing."

Ning Fei muttered to himself.

"Professor Lin, I'm going to take a look up ahead."

Having made his decision, Ning Fei called out to Lin Tao.

"We're going to be studying this spot for a while anyway, so take your time, but be careful!"

"Don't worry!"

Ning Fei waved his hand and set off, heading past the back of the houses.

He walked along the path, observing his surroundings.

An underground city truly had a unique atmosphere of its own.

"How Peacock City managed to be preserved so perfectly intact is a fascinating mystery."

Ning Fei continued forward.

The deeper he went, the more oppressive the atmosphere became.

It seemed these rows of houses were just the outer ring of Peacock City.

The true heart of the city lay further inside.

He passed through the residential area and navigated another underground passageway.

Then, something completely unexpected happened.

At the other end of the tunnel, there was light.

How could there be light in an underground world?

In that moment, everyone was dumbfounded, unable to believe what was unfolding before their eyes.