novelnext Chapter 100 The Village Located Underground
Chapter 100 The Village Located Underground
"Stop! Don't go any further!" Commander Negan shouted, stopping Captain Martin. His wand remained firmly pointed at the members of the Twelfth Squad, his eyes filled with suspicion.
Martin froze, looking at Negan in confusion.
At that moment, Captain Eric and Captain Natasha reached out and pulled him back, signaling him to wait and see.
Ronald and his teammates stopped and stood stiffly a dozen meters away, staring intently at Negan. The look of surprise on their faces seemed to freeze, making them appear somewhat rigid.
"Commander Negan..." Ronald began, his voice unmistakably his, but it sounded as if there was a layer between them, lacking the expected emotional fluctuations. "We... are alright."
"Nothing's wrong?" Negan's tone was icy. "Then why were communications cut off? No reports for six whole days?"
Ronald slowly raised his hand, pointing somewhat hesitantly to the law enforcement team badge on his chest:
"It... is broken, the communication function... has stopped working."
"Yours is broken, and all your teammates' badges are broken too?" Negan pressed, his gaze sweeping over the other four members of the Twelfth Squad.
In an instant, they nodded in unison, like puppets on strings.
This sight sent chills down Li Ang's spine. He was certain that these people were suspicious.
"How did you get in? Since you're alright, why didn't you try to get back into the tower? What about the villagers of Langkawi?" Negan's questions came like a machine gun.
Ronald's lips twitched upwards very slowly, forming an extremely strange smile:
"When we came in... there wasn't that boulder. It... blocked the way. The villagers... are fine, they're all up ahead."
Negan paused for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject, asking a seemingly unrelated question:
Why does the sun rise?
This is one of the codes used by the law enforcement team to verify identities.
Ronald paused for a moment, blinked his slightly vacant eyes, and then answered:
"Let's have stew tonight."
The code...that's it.
But Negan's sense of unease did not disappear; instead, it intensified.
He slowly lowered his wand, a relaxed expression appearing on his face:
"I see... It's good that you're alright. Take us to see the villagers."
"Okay...please follow us." Ronald turned around and, along with the other four team members, led the way with slightly stiff steps.
Negan gave the three captains a wink, signaling them to be on high alert.
The team maintained its defensive formation, silently following behind the twelfth squad.
Li Ang never relaxed. The nauseating aura emanating from the members of the twelfth squad, which originated from the depths of the cave, was extremely faint, yet it clung to him like a persistent ailment, constantly stimulating his senses.
He subtly tugged at Elisa's sleeve, signaling with his eyes for her to remain vigilant.
Although Elisa did not understand the specific reason, she had no doubt about Leon's judgment and silently gripped her wand tightly.
Led by the 12th squad, the group passed through a relatively wide passage, and the view suddenly opened up before them.
A huge underground space appeared before them, and in the center of the space stood a village!
"This..." Captain Natasha gasped, "This is exactly the same as the village of Langkawi on the ground?"
Commander Negan's sharp eyes swept across the layout of the entire village. The style of the houses, the direction of the streets, and even some of the iconic public facilities were exactly the same as the deserted village they had searched before.
He asked Ronald in a deep voice, "Ronald, what's going on? Why is there an identical village underground?"
Ronald didn't turn his head, his voice flat as he spoke:
"The mine over there... has dried up. The villagers moved here... because it's easier to mine here."
The mineral vein is depleted? Li Ang instantly grasped the question in the words.
They carefully inspected the mine shafts on the ground when they arrived, and found that the reserves of wind essence stones were still abundant and showed no signs of depletion.
This flawed answer caused Commander Negan and several captains to turn pale.
Even Martin, who was initially quite excited, now realized that something was wrong.
Commander Negan subtly gestured with his hand behind his back, signaling everyone not to act rashly.
He followed up on Ronald's words and asked, "Oh, I see... What about the villagers? Are they all safe?"
"They're all here..." Ronald stopped, turned around, and that strange, stiff smile reappeared on his face.
As he spoke, the wooden doors of the village houses, which had been silent, creaked open from the inside.
One by one, the villagers came out of their houses.
Their eyes were vacant, their faces expressionless, and they gathered on the street as if sleepwalking.
Hundreds of people quickly gathered, and the number did indeed match the total number of missing villagers.
Commander Negan looked at the white-haired old man at the head of the crowd, recognizing him as the old village chief recorded in the village archives, and asked:
"You're the village chief? What happened with the villagers you reported going missing?"
The old village chief bowed stiffly, then raised his head, his face expressionless.
"My lord wizard... it was... I was mistaken. They were just... here to build a new village."
Negan nodded, trying to keep his face calm:
"It's good that everyone is alright. Now that the missing members of the 12th squad have been found and the villagers have been confirmed safe, our mission is complete. We need to return to the tower to report."
Commander Negan made a tentative remark, but to everyone's surprise, as soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding villagers and members of the 12th squad immediately and silently gathered around.
This subtly surrounded their exploration team.
The old village chief stepped forward and said in his flat, monotone voice:
"It's getting late. Perhaps we should rest in the village for the night and leave tomorrow."
Ronald and his teammates stepped closer and began to speak, their voices overlapping and carrying an eerie quality:
"Yes... let's rest for the night... and leave tomorrow..."
Commander Negan's gaze swept over the people with empty eyes and stiff movements, and then looked at the growing number of villagers around him. He knew that a forced breakout would likely trigger an immediate change and conflict.
He pondered for a moment, then nodded:
"Alright, then we'll stay the night and leave tomorrow morning."
"Very good..." The old village chief seemed to try to force a smile on his stiff face, but in the end, only the corner of his mouth twitched. He assigned a villager, "Take...the wizards to...the guest rooms to rest."
The man nodded stiffly and led the exploration team to a two-story building in the center of the village.
"This place...is spacious. Gentlemen...please rest here."
Commander Negan thanked him, led his team into the small building, and gestured for the last member to enter to close the door.