Chapter 477: Chapter 170 Phantom Train_2
Upon seeing Kak and the members of the White family arrive at the camp, Catherine Carter guessed that her identity might have been exposed and chose to descend into the pit without delay.
The four of them began their descent.
Leonard Churchill was on high alert, his face partly transformed into a werewolf’s beneath his gas mask.
His senses were heightened to the extreme.
So far, no Pioneer Hunter had ever returned alive.
No one dared to be careless.
The dark fog at the bottom of this pit gave off an impression that a terrifying entity was hiding within.
Furthermore, after the seal was broken, numerous undead creatures appeared amongst the ruins of the city above.
Everyone presumed that the most significant danger lying in this deep pit were these monstrous creatures.
Unexpectedly though, this group of pioneer hunters didn’t encounter any trouble during their descent.
Leonard had not sensed any movement from any monsters at all.
It wasn’t until they were far into their descent and the city lights above were no longer visible, that they encountered an anomaly.
Suddenly, a wave of black fog swept over them.
As if a specific condition had been triggered, an anomaly occurred.
“Oh… Officer in charge of communication, what’s up? Why are you silent?
“Not good! The rope… The rope has broken!’
“Old Clinton, you climb up and check!”
“Captain, this is bad, Old Clinton has disappeared as well!
They seemed to have been trapped.
This strange occurrence suddenly threw the entire team of pioneers into a state of tension.
Originally, at every ten or so meters on the rock wall, a communicator was placed to relay their progression cues.
They were also tethered to steel ropes.
However, suddenly, the hunters were horrified to discover that they had lost contact with the communicators above.
Some hunters frantically attempted to climb up, but halfway, the rope snapped, and they vanished into the mist.
The other hunters, who came down risking their lives for the concealed treasure of the An family, were thrown into a panic at the turn of events.
The rock wall was filled with panic-stricken cries.
From the beginning, Leonard and his team had come with a spirit of adventure.
Faced with this situation, they were not surprised at all.
They gathered and began to discuss their strategy.
Catherine Carter, after all, was a lady hailing from an influential family and had a strong knowledge reserve. She analyzed their surroundings and said, “From the looks of things, it seems to resemble the Spatial Overlap Barrier super shield. As soon as one enters a particular area, technically, one might have already entered a unique environment in an Alternate Dimension.’
Leonard Churchill nodded in agreement, adding, “It seems the Pioneer Hunters who disappeared earlier must have entered this place.”
After chatting for a while without any leads, they instinctively turned to Elder Clinton.
But seeing him looking even more confused than they were, Leonard and Catherine knew they couldn’t count on him.
Since they came to explore the ruins, the four did not hurry to find an exit.
There were other hunters still attempting to ascend above.
Meanwhile, they continued their descent along the rock wall.
They initially thought that after encountering the strange situation, danger might befall them.
Surprisingly, their journey was smooth and they soon reached the bottom of the pit.
The environment here was still enveloped in a dense fog.
However, having solid ground under their feet brought some relief.
To their surprise, they discovered well-preserved man-made structures down here.
Wait, was that… an ancient train station?
No sooner had they descended then the magical lamps on the platform lit up.
The light banished the fog on the platform.
Only then did Leonard have a clear view; this indeed was a train station. It didn’t bear the desolation of ruins, yet, devoid of any life, it exuded an ineffable sense of desolation.
There were a couple of words written in Taren’s Classic on the signboard: Skyless Platform-Summer Shepherd City
Before them, there were a set of twin railway tracks.
What was strange, though, was that the tracks were immersed in water that was so clear it seemed devoid of impurities.
As they looked further along the tracks, they saw nothing but clear water. Upon seeing this arrangement, an impression occurred to Leonard: railway tracks inside an underground river?
His brows furrowed thoughtfully.
The calmer it was, the stronger the feeling it gave – a sense of immense danger lurking beneath the calmness.
But given the circumstances, they had no clear way forward.
No monsters appeared, no signs of life were present; only the four of them were there.
They resembled ordinary travelers waiting for a train at the station.
As Leonard digested the situation with his thoughts racing, he suddenly heard a “plop,” the sound of water.
Turning his gaze, he found Elder Clinton had purposelessly kicked a small stone into the water.
This tiny act triggered a bizarre sequence.
Upon hitting the water, the stone react as if it had fallen into a strong acid. Instantly, it emitted white smoke with a fizzing sound as it was corroded and vanished before his eyes.
Elder Clinton let out a terrifying scream, “There’s something wrong with this water!”
Leonard and the others rolled their eyes.
It was obvious to anyone with a clear sight that this water was not normal.
The ripples created by the stone’s splash immediately subsided.
And the water returned to its crystal-clear state.
At this moment, Catherine Carter seemed to have figured out something. She walked to the edge of the platform and dropped a goose feather into the water.
All eyes followed the feather’s descent.
Registered with no resistance when it touched the water, the feather sank very much like it would in the air.
Despite being corroded briefly, Catherine seemed to have understood something and said, “The goose feather sinks, light and darkness coexist, it’s heavily contaminated and corrosive… this seems like the mythical ‘Stygian River Water.’ Legend has it that the souls must cross this bizarre stream that only the dead can traverse to reach the underworld.”
As she spoke, her expression turned solemn.