I changed the world.

Page 161

At this point, the Ammani resort area had been completely sealed off by the military, and tourists within the resort were being taken into custody by the military according to their nationality, ostensibly for medical examinations.

The official explanation for the incident involving these tourists is that an abnormal gas leak occurred at the Bindalai volcano, causing dense fog and a relatively serious incident of widespread unconsciousness. Experts have preliminarily determined that it was caused by volcanic geological activity. As for whether there will be any physical harm to the tourists, staff, and local residents present, further observation is needed.

For those in the Ammani resort area, the official explanation was largely accepted, and most people's first reaction was to go home. After all, the presence of toxic gas, especially one capable of causing three days of unconsciousness, left everyone feeling terrified. As for the dead, they were also attributed to volcanic gas poisoning.

Similarly, the lockdown of the entire Ammani resort area was not lifted immediately. Instead, the entire area was designated as a long-term military restricted zone because the leakage of toxic gas had not completely stopped, and the area posed a significant danger to ordinary people, so entry was prohibited.

A response to public opinion was also underway. At 10:00 a.m. on the 11th, a public opinion response team composed of local government officials, experts, and military representatives held a press conference to address the media's questions. Of course, the overall message remained consistent: there was a leak of toxic gas from the volcano.

As for the reporter's mention that many people observed unusual celestial phenomena in the area, the experts brushed it off with a vague and cryptic meteorological theory...

Although some people on the internet still have doubts about this, at least on the surface, most media outlets have used the official explanation.

That afternoon, everyone in the resort area and surrounding villages was evacuated to a temporary shelter at the Sulu Naval Base for further medical examinations and a week of psychological counseling.

At this point, the entire resort area and surrounding villages were completely taken over by the military. Subsequently, a large number of specialized vehicles and equipment began to enter.

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Dozens of soldiers wearing closed protective exoskeletons are searching in combat formation in an indigenous village next to the Ammani resort area.

In their ranks, two "Heavy Armor Type 4" fire support vehicles were slowly advancing.

If someone familiar with military operations were present, they would certainly notice that these soldiers' actions did not resemble disaster relief in a colony at all, but rather a search mission in enemy-occupied territory.

They are elite soldiers belonging to the Marine Corps. Before carrying out the mission, their superiors repeatedly reminded them through the mission briefing not to be careless. If any abnormal situation is found, they can open fire directly without asking for permission.

Although they didn't quite understand why a simple task similar to disaster relief was being treated with such great alarm, since the superiors had given such instructions, it must not be without reason, and all the soldiers subconsciously became more vigilant.

Chapter 268 Search

Nearly half an hour had passed since they entered the village, and they had almost finished searching all the houses. Apart from finding some more highly decomposed corpses, they had not found any other valuable items.

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"Sir, we've discovered a cave, and there are some items that appear to be religious objects scattered around it," came the report from a subordinate through Commander Deng Shu's helmet.

"Stand by, mark your positions," Deng Shu ordered. Immediately, a new location beacon appeared on his portable terrain computer.

About five minutes later, Deng Shu arrived at the location of the beacon, accompanied by a fire support vehicle and more than ten soldiers.

At this moment, a combat squad was guarding the cave entrance. When the captain saw Deng Shu arrive, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute and introduce the situation.

Deng Shu carefully observed the paper strips and wooden plaques hanging at the cave entrance, which were inscribed with many local-style talismans.

Before coming here, the mission briefing mentioned that if anything related to "sacrifice", "talismans", "mysticism", or "religion" was found, extra caution was needed.

Although the briefing did not specify what exactly to be wary of, Deng Shu still decided to release two micro-drones into the cave to conduct terrain scanning, map the cave's interior, and carry out preliminary reconnaissance.

Soon, information about the cave's interior began to be transmitted, revealing no danger. However, the drone made some discoveries deeper within the cave…

After confirmation, Deng Shu ordered the team to begin advancing into the cave.

Deep inside the cave, it was pitch black without any lights, so the soldiers would set up lighting and monitoring equipment at intervals.

Apart from a few startled bats flying around, we encountered no other accidents along the way.

About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the depths of the cave, where there was a huge cavern with an altar-like structure inside.

Judging from the style of this altar, it should have been carved out over many years on the basis of a natural cave. There are faint traces of smoke and fire on the surrounding cave walls, as well as some murals and other patterns.

What alarmed the soldiers most was the large number of corpses on the altar. Some soldiers had already stepped forward to examine the clothing and physical characteristics of these people. Soon, a report came through Deng Shu's helmet. The soldiers initially judged that most of them seemed to be local villagers.

Their wrists and ankles had been cut open, and dark red blood flowed onto the altar, then flowed into the center of the altar through some hidden channels. At this time, a layer of blood plasma, which had already turned amber, had accumulated in the altar.

"This is truly outrageous..." Deng Shu arrived at the altar, carefully observed the surrounding situation, and then instructed his subordinates to film everything and send it back to the rear.

Soon, the soldiers discovered numerous traces of what appeared to be a battle within the cave.

At the same time, they also photographed the surrounding murals and transmitted them back to the rear as data.

Soon, Deng Shu received the latest orders from his superiors, instructing them to set up defenses on the spot and to keep all items inside the cave as they were, as relevant experts would soon arrive for further research.

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Just as Deng Shu and his team were conducting various inspections in the cave, another group of soldiers were carefully searching the surrounding area in the dense forest not far from the Bindalai volcano.

Not far from them, a tiltrotor jet was slowly circling, with two unmanned fire support platforms hovering around it, ready to provide them with strong fire support at any time.

"According to the pre-arranged plan, expand the search area gradually, centering on the target location, and make sure nothing is missed!"

"Yes!"

"Report: Multiple traces of human intervention have been found at our location."

"Collect information thoroughly and don't overlook any details."

"Yes!"

"Report, we've spotted two people dressed as tourists..."

The soldiers found Wei Chengguang and Zhu Yingwei, who hadn't gone far. In fact, the two of them were exhausted and it was impossible for them to cross the dense forest again along the same route, as it was far beyond their physical capabilities.

Therefore, after discussing it beforehand, the two decided to rest on the spot first, then turn onto the main road to see if they could hail a taxi or something, and then they could leave. In any case, their biggest goal had already been achieved.

However, they had just finished resting and before they could find a way out, they were discovered by soldiers who were on a search mission.

For these soldiers equipped with thermal imagers, finding them in the dense forest is not too difficult.

After a brief inquiry, Wei Chengguang and Zhu Yingwei naturally wouldn't admit that they came to "seek immortality," but simply said that they were two hiking enthusiasts who got lost while traversing the dense forest.

However, they later admitted that they had seen some things that were "beyond imagination".

So the two were flown to a rear base by the soldiers, who were overjoyed with their discovery.