Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Chapter 202 Fog

The gate of the ruins slowly opened, and an ancient and mysterious atmosphere came to the face, as if a giant beast that had been sleeping for a thousand years finally woke up. Gao Xingchen and Nan Li stepped in carefully, but the scene in front of them surprised them.

They originally thought it would be a magnificent palace, or a secret room filled with treasures, but what appeared before them was just a narrow and deep passage. The walls on both sides were mottled and engraved with strange symbols, exuding a gloomy and weird atmosphere.

"It seems that we have underestimated the difficulty of this relic," Nan Li whispered, and the hand holding the dagger tightened involuntarily, "These symbols look like some kind of ancient writing, which I have never seen before."

Gao Xingchen also frowned. Although he was a lively person, he was not a reckless person. The strange scene before him made him realize that this adventure was not as simple as he had imagined.

Fortunately, they were well prepared. Before leaving, Gao Xingchen specially consulted the famous ancient book researcher in the star field, Scholar Chen. Although Scholar Chen's ability was mediocre, he was quite knowledgeable about ancient relics and texts, and could be regarded as an authority in this field.

"Mr. Chen, what do these symbols represent?" Gao Xingchen pointed at the symbols on the wall and asked. Scholar Chen adjusted his glasses and carefully identified them. After a while, he slowly spoke: "If I am not mistaken, these should be a kind of pictographic writing from ancient times. Each symbol represents a different meaning. When combined together, they may form some kind of information, or even... some kind of warning."

"Warning?" Gao Xingchen and Nan Li looked at each other, and an ominous premonition arose in their hearts.

"Yes, a warning." Scholar Chen said solemnly, "According to my experience, the older the ruins, the more likely it is to have various traps to protect the secrets. We must be extremely careful and never touch anything, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li nodded solemnly, and the three of them moved slowly along the passage, taking every step with extreme caution.

At the end of the passage is a huge stone door, which is also engraved with dense symbols and looks mysterious and ancient.

"Behind this door should be the core area of the ruins." Scholar Chen pointed at the stone door and said, "If we want to unlock the secrets of this ruins, we must open this door."

"But there is no keyhole on this door. How can we open it?" Gao Xingchen walked around the stone door but didn't find any mechanism button.

"These symbols may be the key to opening this door." Nan Li pointed at the symbols on the stone door and said, "If we can decipher the meaning of these symbols, we may be able to find a way to open the door."

"But these symbols are so complicated, we can't understand them at all!" Gao Xingchen looked embarrassed.

Scholar Chen carefully observed the symbols on the stone gate again, his brows furrowed, and he seemed to be lost in thought.

As time went by, Gao Xingchen and Nan Li tried various methods but still could not open the stone door. This dealt a certain blow to their confidence and made them more curious about the secret behind the stone door. What secrets did this seemingly simple stone door hide?

Gao Xingchen frowned and paced back and forth, his anxiety spreading in the small space. He tried to push it with brute force, tried to burn it with fire, and even tried to pry it with a dagger, but the stone door remained motionless, as if it had merged with the entire mountain.

"Are we just giving up like this?" Gao Xingchen looked at Nan Li with some frustration, his tone full of unwillingness.

Nanli did not speak, but observed the symbols on the stone door more attentively. Her slender fingers gently stroked the uneven lines, trying to find a clue from them.

Scholar Chen was also thinking hard, flipping through various records about ancient relics in his mind, hoping to find relevant clues. But unfortunately, most of the relics he knew were simple in structure and crude in mechanism, which was incomparable to the exquisite relics in front of him.

Just when they were about to give up, Nan Li suddenly exclaimed, pointing to an inconspicuous corner at the bottom of the stone door and said, "Look, isn't there something strange here?"

Gao Xingchen and Scholar Chen hurried forward and saw that at the bottom of the stone gate, between those complicated symbols, there was actually a tiny groove hidden. If you didn't look carefully, you couldn't find it at all.

"Could this be the key to opening the stone door?" Gao Xingchen's eyes lit up and a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart.

"It's very likely!" Scholar Chen also became excited. "In ancient times, mechanical designs often used some hidden details. This groove is likely a mechanical button or a keyhole."

Gao Xingchen couldn't wait to try it, but was stopped by Nan Li: "Don't worry, we don't know the specific function of this mechanism yet. If you touch it rashly, it may trigger some dangerous trap."

Nan Li's words calmed Gao Xingchen down. He took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and asked, "So what should we do now?"

Nan Li pondered for a moment, pointed at the groove and said, "If my guess is correct, an object of a certain shape should be placed here to activate the mechanism."

"Objects of a specific shape?" Gao Xingchen looked around, hoping to find some clues, but he saw nothing except the cold walls and those mysterious symbols.

"It seems that we have to find the 'key' to open the mechanism first." Nan Li's tone was calm, but there was a hint of determination in his eyes.

What secrets are hidden behind this seemingly ordinary stone door? Can they find the "key" to open the stone door? Gao Xingchen and Nan Li carefully searched every corner of the stone room, hoping to find clues related to the "key". Scholar Chen tried to crack the secret of the mechanism based on the symbols and patterns on the stone door. As time passed, their hopes gradually decreased.

Just when they were about to despair, Nanli suddenly found a piece of metal with a strange shape in a pile of rubble in the corner of the stone room. The surface of the metal block was mottled, as if it had been eroded by a long time, but it was vaguely visible that there were some complex patterns carved on it, which were somewhat similar to the symbols on the stone door.

"Maybe this is what we are looking for!" A hint of joy flashed in Nanli's eyes. He carefully picked up the metal block and looked at it carefully.

Gao Xingchen and Chen Xuejian also gathered around and carefully observed the piece of metal, their hearts full of anticipation.

"Let's give it a try!" Gao Xingchen said impatiently.

Nanli nodded and slowly inserted the metal block into the groove at the bottom of the stone door.

As the metal block was embedded, the symbol on the stone door suddenly lit up with a dazzling light, and the entire stone chamber began to tremble slightly. Gao Xingchen and others held their breath, staring at the stone door nervously, waiting for what was about to happen.

After a loud rumbling sound, the stone door slowly opened, revealing a dark and deep passage.

"Success!" Gao Xingchen said excitedly and took the lead to step in.

However, before he could gain his footing, countless sharp arrows suddenly shot out from the walls on both sides of the passage and flew towards them.

"Be careful!" Nan Li reacted quickly and grabbed Gao Xingchen. The two of them quickly dodged to the side and narrowly avoided the arrow attack.

"There really is a mechanism here!" Scholar Chen said in shock.

Gao Xingchen looked around and found that the passage was not long, but there were different mechanisms and traps at regular intervals. If one was not careful, the mechanisms would be triggered and he would be in danger.

"It seems we have to proceed cautiously." Gao Xingchen said in a deep voice.

The three of them moved forward cautiously, and Gao Xingchen successfully avoided most of the traps with his agility and calm mind. However, just as they were about to reach the end of the passage, a secret compartment hidden in the wall suddenly opened, and a sharp poisonous stinger shot out like lightning, piercing Gao Xingchen's arm.

Gao Xingchen groaned and staggered back. Nan Li quickly supported him and quickly took out the antidote from his arms to treat his wounds.

"How are you?" Nan Li asked with concern.

"I'm fine, just a superficial wound." Gao Xingchen said gritting his teeth, but his pale face betrayed his pain at the moment.

They realized that this exploration was much more difficult than they had imagined, and they were filled with anxiety. At this moment, a faint noise came from outside the passage, as if someone was approaching this side...