12dz Chapter 355 Ghost!
Chapter 355 Ghost!
Judging from this situation, it is indeed as Wang Ergou said: this is not exploration, but the team is going to set up camp and start mining.
Upon seeing the two arrive, Director Zhao immediately waved for them to come over.
"Perfect timing!" Director Zhao exclaimed, beaming. "The team is almost ready. Let me introduce you. This is Captain Zhang of the exploration team, Zhang Guodong. These two are the technicians leading the team into the mountains, Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou..."
After Director Zhao finished his introduction, a burly middle-aged man in his forties extended his hand: "Hello, I'm Zhang Guodong, in charge of this exploration. I heard you've been to Forest Farm No. 17, that's great! With you leading the way, we feel much more at ease."
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou shook hands with him and exchanged pleasantries, and then Zhang Guodong led them to meet the other team members.
"This is our geological expert, Professor Wang; this is our surveyor, Engineer Shen; and these are our workers..."
After the introductions were completed, Zhang Guodong clapped his hands: "Alright, everyone knows each other now. Now, let's check the equipment one last time to make sure nothing is missing, and let's go!"
A dozen or so people got to work, each checking the equipment they were responsible for. Li
Xiangyang and Wang Ergou were also assigned tasks to inspect daily necessities and weapons.
An hour later, everything was ready.
Two trucks fully loaded with supplies slowly started up, drove out of the forestry bureau gate, and headed towards Forest Farm No. 17.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou sat in the first truck, responsible for giving directions to the driver.
Along the way, the convoy traveled along rugged mountain roads, crossed several small hills, and passed through dense forests.
As the altitude increases, the surrounding scenery gradually becomes desolate, and the vegetation changes from dense broad-leaved forests to sparse coniferous forests and shrubs.
"The entrance to Forest Farm No. 17 is just ahead," Li Xiangyang said, pointing to a path almost entirely covered by vegetation.
The driver frowned: "The road is so narrow, I doubt a truck can get through."
Li Xiangyang pondered for a moment: "Then let's unload the supplies and move them by hand."
The convoy stopped at a small intersection, and everyone got out of the vehicles to begin unloading supplies.
Fortunately, we brought a lot of workers with us, along with some simple moving tools, so moving the supplies wasn't too difficult.
After a flurry of activity, all the supplies were neatly packed and transported by workers using trolleys or by carrying them on their shoulders.
"Let's go, I'll lead the way." Li Xiangyang took the lead and walked into the path, followed by the group.
The path narrowed and the trees on both sides grew denser, blocking the sunlight and making the forest dark and gloomy.
After walking for about two hours, Li Xiangyang suddenly stopped and raised his hand to signal everyone to stop.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Guodong asked in a low voice.
Li Xiangyang didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took out a compass, looked up at the sky, and finally turned to the crowd: "From now on, we have entered an area affected by the magnetic field. Everyone needs to be extra careful, especially those with electronic devices, as there may be abnormal situations."
As soon as he finished speaking, the carbide lamps in the hands of several workers suddenly flickered, and some even went out.
"What...what's going on?" a young worker asked in a panic.
“Don’t worry, this is normal,” Li Xiangyang explained calmly. “The magnetic field here is rather unusual and can interfere with electronic devices. We’ve all brought kerosene lamps and matches; if the carbide lamps don’t work, we’ll switch to kerosene lamps.”
The group exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions clearly revealing unease.
“Also,” Li Xiangyang continued, “from now on, everyone must stay close to the group and not stray from it. It’s easy to get lost here, and we might encounter some…strange phenomena. But no matter what you see or hear, don’t panic, just follow me and Er Gou.”
Zhang Guodong glanced at his watch and noticed the hour hand was strangely spinning counter-clockwise. He couldn't help but gasp, "This place is really eerie!"
Professor Wang observed his surroundings with great interest: "Interesting. This kind of strong magnetic field is very rare in science. It's very valuable for research; we might even discover some rare metals."
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou exchanged a glance, but said nothing.
They knew very well that there were indeed rich mineral resources here, not only iron ore, but also gold mines that they had not reported.
"Let's keep going." Li Xiangyang adjusted his backpack and led the way again.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, the surrounding environment became increasingly strange.
The trees were twisted and contorted; the moss on the ground formed eerie patterns; and occasionally, small animals, as if startled by something, would frantically break through the procession and disappear into the dense forest.
What was that sound?
After walking for about an hour, a worker suddenly stopped and looked around warily.
Everyone stopped to listen, and sure enough, a sound like a low wail came from deep in the woods. It was faint, but enough to send chills down one's spine.
“It might be the sound of the wind passing through the valley,” Li Xiangyang explained calmly.
Although he wasn't entirely sure himself, he had to provide a reasonable explanation in order not to affect the progress.
"Let's go, don't stay too long," Wang Ergou urged. "It's getting late, we need to find a place to camp before dark."
The group continued forward, but the atmosphere became noticeably more tense.
Everyone was on edge, vigilantly observing their surroundings.
Suddenly, a figure flashed through the bushes ahead, moving so fast that it was almost invisible.
"Someone's here!" a worker exclaimed.
Li Xiangyang quickly raised his gun and aimed in that direction, but saw nothing.
“It might be your imagination,” Zhang Guodong comforted him, though his voice trembled slightly.
Just then, the figure reappeared, this time closer to the group, and everyone could see it clearly.
It was a man dressed in ancient clothing, his face was blurry, and his body was almost translucent.
"A ghost!" someone screamed, and the group instantly fell into chaos.
"Don't panic!" Li Xiangyang shouted, his voice carrying an undeniable authority. "This is just an illusion caused by magnetic field interference! We've seen it before; it won't harm us!"
Although Li Xiangyang said this, he wasn't sure what it actually meant.
They had indeed seen a similar phantom before, but that only happened during a thunderstorm.
It's quite unexpected that such a mirage would appear when the weather is clear.
"Calm down, everyone!" Zhang Guodong called out to reassure the troops. "We must trust science and not be intimidated by strange phenomena. Keep moving forward!"
After the two calmly reassured him, the group gradually regained order and continued moving forward.
The ghostly figure did not reappear, but the eerie environment and the strange noises that came from time to time still kept everyone on edge.
Finally, as dusk approached, they arrived at a relatively flat open space.
"Let's set up camp here," Li Xiangyang said after looking around and confirming that there was no obvious danger.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and got to work.
Some people set up tents, some started fires to cook, and some organized equipment, creating a lively scene.