Chapter 430: Departure, the Final Mystery of the Ancient City

Ning Fei stood in the underground ancient city, looking up. Everything seemed somewhat eerie.

In the Lop Nur of the past, the rivers stopped flowing, the lakes dried up, and slowly, only boundless wind and sand remained.

The people of cities like Loulan and Jingjue all chose to abandon their homelands and move their capitals elsewhere.

Only the people of Peacock City chose to stay and guard this place for generations.

Ning Fei looked at that ancient city.

History was indeed cruel.

"The people of this city exceeded my imagination."

"It's already been two thousand years, yet they are actually still here."

"Are those anthropoid apes really ape-men?"

This was the first time Ning Fei had encountered such a strange scene.

What exactly were they after, these people who built their own city into a tomb and willingly let the sand bury them?

Ning Fei squatted down to investigate.

"These vines have been growing for many years. Everyone can see that there are more vines in the shaded areas, indicating that this plant does not really like sunlight."

"Moreover, the water source in this place is quite abundant."

"Perhaps there is another possibility. Back when the Peacock River and Tarim River dried up, there was still an unknown water source deep within Peacock City."

"Relying on this water source, the people of Peacock City could survive. Therefore, they chose to seal the city."

With water, plants, and certainly no lack of sunlight in the early days of Peacock City, the only problem for survival was that the endless sand would gradually bury the city.

"From a geographical standpoint, the elevation here is relatively low."

Ning Fei spoke up again.

At this moment, the light overhead suddenly began to dim until it was pitch black once more.

Looking up, the light in the underground world had completely vanished again.

"It was the sandstorm just now. It probably blew away a large swath of sand, exposing the top."

Ning Fei looked up and muttered to himself.

Everything plunged into darkness once more, leaving only the light from the drone shining on him.

The netizens had been in constant shock.

No one could have imagined that such a terrifying scene would appear underground!

Ning Guan master and Professor Lin had actually found such a place!

The First Huaxia Archaeological Team isn't a joke!

Yeah, with Professor Lin's team and Ning Guan master, I wouldn't be surprised no matter what they discover!

This is definitely going to make the news, leaving a mark in history!

Haha, this is the first time I've known the news before the national broadcast.

The netizens began a heated discussion.

This matter quickly climbed the trending search rankings.

Not long after, Lin Tao led his team over to this side.

"Ning Guan master, did you find anything?" Lin Tao asked, wearing a headlamp.

"When the sandstorm passed just now, light fell from above. My initial guess is that the ceiling is made of something like glass or a mirror, but it has been buried by the sand again," Ning Fei explained.

Hearing his words, Lin Tao was deeply surprised.

Lin Tao looked up at the pitch-black dirt above, nodded, and said, "It should be Peacock City's lighting source."

"This was a city built to survive underground."

Ning Fei agreed, "That's right. Even when the environment was so harsh back then, they refused to leave. Their attachment to their homeland was deep."

"Ah!"

Just at that moment, a sudden cry of alarm rang out from behind.

"That's Xue Fang's voice!"

Lin Tao whipped his head around to look.

"What happened?"

"Look over there! There's a dark human figure!"

Xue Fang cried out in shock.

Everyone looked in the direction Xue Fang was pointing and saw that, sure enough, there was a dark human figure behind the vines.

"Ning Fei."

At this moment, Lin Tao turned back and gave Ning Fei a meaningful look.

Ning Fei understood perfectly. He spoke to the netizens in the live stream:

"I'm sorry, everyone. Please wait for the official announcement for the upcoming news. I can't broadcast anymore right now."

With that, he turned off the live stream signal.

Ah! Why is the screen black!

Why did Ning Guan master stop the stream?

Looks like they found something?

Good heavens, I was just getting into it!

Ahhh, please turn the stream back on, Ning Guan master!

The netizens cried out one after another.

The live stream was packed densely with bullet comments, everyone begging Ning Fei to resume the broadcast.

But Ning Fei knew that the upcoming matters could no longer be broadcasted.

However, not long after, this underground city would be developed by the local Government and turned into a cultural relic museum like the Terracotta Warriors.

Countless people would come to visit out of admiration, which could be considered as fulfilling everyone's wishes.

At this moment, Ning Fei and Lin Tao stared at the figure behind the vines.

It was a child.

To be precise, it was a human child who had remained in the underground world for an unknown number of years.

Actually, earlier on, both Ning Fei and Lin Tao had realized that the anthropoid apes from before were not apes at all. They were the descendants of Peacock City who had survived in the underground world for who knew how many years.

This underground city was completely isolated.

Occasional rays of light would cast down, satisfying the survival needs of these underground creatures.

They had lived underground for generations.

Just like children raised by wolves, their living habits had completely changed.

These humans had also become thorough savages.

"More than two thousand years ago... If we count one hundred years as a generation, that's still twenty generations."

"Perhaps the later generations always believed the world was only as big as the underground. They never thought of going out to take a look."

"Maybe these people sensed something, so they started digging outwards, and it wasn't until recently that these underground humans finally walked out."

Ning Fei sighed.

He felt deeply moved.

This world was even more wondrous than he had imagined.

At this moment, not far away, two more humanoid creatures appeared. Both sides watched each other nervously.

"We mean no harm!"

Lin Tao waved his hands.

Those two humans simply ran to the child's side, staring at them cautiously.

"Captain, what should we do? Should we catch them first?"

A member of the archaeological team asked.

Lin Tao nodded secretly and said, "It depends on the situation. If they show a lot of aggression, we'll catch them."

Listening from behind, Ning Fei frowned slightly.

He had never liked getting involved in this kind of thing.

The three underground humans didn't seem to know how to speak, only letting out 'ah, ah' sounds.

"They mean no harm."

"They are just wondering where we came from."

"If any of you have beef jerky or biscuits or something, just give it to them."

At this moment, Ning Fei suddenly spoke up.

The archaeological team glanced at Ning Fei.

To the archaeological team members, the most important thing in an expedition was to ensure their own safety. All potential dangers had to be eliminated promptly.

But Ning Fei's words interrupted their thoughts.

"Do as Ning Guan master says," Lin Tao stated.

Then, everyone found some dried meat and tossed it to them.

This scene looked somewhat bizarre.

A group of humans in expedition gear were feeding food to a few savages covered in body hair.

If this scene were seen by ordinary people, it would definitely cause a wave of panic.

The underground humans picked up the beef jerky. They looked confused, then ate it, and immediately became extremely excited.

"Ning Guan master, your method was quite good," Lin Tao praised Ning Fei.

Ning Fei didn't respond. He simply felt that these people shouldn't be harmed.

Afterwards, the situation with the several underground humans gradually stabilized. Before long, the local armed police forces would also arrive to secure the scene.

What remained was a matter of scientific research, which Ning Fei had no interest in. He greeted Lin Tao and planned to leave.

"You're leaving already?"

Lin Tao urged him to stay.

"Yeah, the sandstorm was so huge, who knows where the car got blown to. I have to go find my car," Ning Fei said with a shrug.

"How much was your car? If it's lost, you can seek reimbursement from the Government," Lin Tao added.

"Around ten million or so," Ning Fei replied.

Lin Tao: "..."

"I'm off, Professor Lin." Ning Fei waved again and left.

Lin Tao watched his retreating back, his expression turning meaningful.

"This young man is far from simple."

"Perhaps there's something miraculous about him as well."