Chapter 333 The Metallic Layer That Does Not Belong to the Moon

Chen Ge sat in the control room, looking at the crack that stretched across the slope on the far side of the moon.

After the probe's cable broke, the depths of the crack returned to their deathly stillness.

But the more this is the case, the more chilling it becomes.

Everyone felt that movement just now.

There's something down there.

......

Chen Ge remained silent for half a minute before speaking: "The second option."

The technician hesitated for a moment: "Captain, shall we continue?"

"Professor Wang's order is not to enter the three-kilometer line, not that we should do nothing."

Chen Ge glanced at the edge of the crack.

"The mission is not over until the person is found."

The two rescue vehicles slowly reversed and re-anchored 600 meters from the edge of the crack.

Eight lunar pressure anchors were driven into the lunar crust again.

The array master deployed a temporary shielding array outside the vehicle. The icy blue array patterns spread out along the black moon dust, like a nail driven into the dead shadows by humankind itself.

Lateral drilling.

Chen Ge said.

"Do not go directly below the crack. Drill an inclined shaft along the left rock ridge. The angle is 37 degrees, avoiding the red light area."

The technician quickly calculated.

"That would hit the edge of the barrier layer."

"What I want is the edge."

What if the edges are also contaminated?

Chen Ge glanced at him.

"That proves it's not just a point, but an entire layer."

No one spoke anymore.

The portable drilling core was reassembled.

The black drill bit slowly unfolded.

It is engraved with dense rock-cutting patterns, each of which has undergone special noise reduction treatment to minimize the spread of spiritual pressure fluctuations into the depths.

"start."

The drill bit bit into the lunar crust.

No sound.

Only the vibration curve on the dashboard inside the car gradually climbed upwards.

One kilometer.

Two kilometers.

The rock strata are functioning normally.

The deep basalt on the far side of the moon is extremely hard, but still within the range that the drill bit can withstand.

After 4,000 meters, the temperature curve began to show abnormalities.

It's not an increase.

Instead, it declined.

The technician frowned: "The temperature near the drill bit is dropping. The concentration of yin cold pressure is four times higher than expected."

The array master immediately increased the pressure resistance array patterns.

"continue."

Chen Ge did not look away.

Five thousand meters.

Six thousand meters.

The rock cuttings samples returned by the drill bit began to turn black.

It's not just ordinary lunar soil black.

Instead, it's a deathly black color, as if it had been burned by extremely high temperatures and then frozen and cracked by extremely low temperatures.

Jiang Xiu stood to the side, holding the bone talisman.

The bone talisman was not cracked.

But the color is getting grayer and grayer.

8,000 meters.

Nine thousand meters.

The drill bit speed slowed down significantly.

The technician stared at the curve: "The rock density is increasing. We may be approaching the edge of an unknown obstacle."

Chen Ge raised his hand.

"Everyone, lower your spiritual pressure."

The two Golden Core guards withdrew their sword energy.

The array master turned off half of the external array patterns.

The lights in the rescue vehicle were also turned down to the lowest setting.

The drill bit continued downwards.

Nine thousand six hundred meters.

Nine thousand seven hundred meters.

Nine thousand eight hundred meters.

Just as the drill bit broke through the last layer of basalt, the entire rescue vehicle suddenly shuddered slightly.

It felt like someone tapped the table with their knuckles from a great distance.

thump.

Everyone held their breath at the same time.

On the instrument panel, the drill bit pressure curve straightened out instantly.

The technician turned pale.

"I ran into him."

Chen Ge's voice was calm and steady: "Feedback."

"It's not a rock formation. It's extremely hard; the drill couldn't penetrate it. The surface is very smooth."

"How smooth is it?"

The technician's Adam's apple bobbed.

"The error is less than 0.3 millimeters."

The carriage fell silent.

10,000 meters deep.

A flat structure with an error of less than 0.3 millimeters.

This shouldn't be located beneath the lunar rock layers.

Even natural metal veins cannot have this level of surface precision.

The array master leaned closer to the screen and whispered, "Could it be an ancient array plate?"

Chen Ge did not answer.

He stared at the pressure curve for a few seconds.

"sampling."

The technician was taken aback.

"I can't get in."

"shave."

Chen Ge said.

"If you can't scrape off a whole piece, just scrape off a layer of powder."

The drill bit tip is switched to micro-grind mode.

The psionic rock-cutting array pattern slowly lit up, but was suppressed to its lowest power.

The drill bit, pressed against that unknown structure, began to rub extremely slowly.

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

The feedback curve remained almost unchanged.

That thing is too hard.

The drill bit was like trying to scrape a piece of celestial iron with a fingernail.

Ten minutes later, the collection capsule finally transmitted a faint reading.

"Samples have been collected."

The technician's voice was strained.

"Only 0.03 grams."

That's enough.

Chen Ge immediately gave the order.

"Recycle the drill bit."

The drill core has begun to be recovered in reverse.

Nine thousand meters.

7,000 meters.

Five thousand meters.

Just as the drill bit reached a height of 3,000 meters, the darkness outside the vehicle suddenly lit up slightly.

Not in the direction of the rift valley.

It's further away, at the location of the second relay pile.

That touch of dark red flashed briefly, like an eye opening.

Chen Ge did not turn around.

"Don't look."

Everyone in the carriage lowered their eyes.

The drill bit was retrieved.

Two kilometers.

One kilometer.

500 meters.

Finally, the drilling chamber closed.

The technicians quickly locked the sample chamber, implementing triple physical isolation, plus two layers of soul-suppressing array patterns.

The sample chamber was sent to the temporary analysis table.

The amount of powder was so small that it was almost invisible.

However, when the scanning beam fell, a large, glaring blank area instantly appeared on the element map on the screen.

The technician was stunned.

"How could this be...?"

Chen Ge frowned: "Speak."

"The element ratios don't match."

"Which element?"

"None of them match up."

The technicians quickly retrieved the lunar rock database, as well as the Earth alloy database, meteorite sample database, and deep space meteorite database.

No match found.

The metal composition in the sample is not complex.

However, its isotope ratio is completely abnormal.

It doesn't resemble anything that originated from the moon.

Unlike Earth.

It doesn't resemble a meteorite.

Lin Feng's remote communication was connected at this time.

There is a slight delay in the video feed.

"Transmit the original spectral lines."

The technician uploaded it immediately.

A few seconds later, Kyoto also fell silent.

Lin Feng's face gradually darkened.

"It's not a lunar-associated mineral."

Chen Ge asked, "Are you sure?"

"able."

Lin Feng's voice was cold.

"The Moon lacks this isotopic environment. It's also difficult for such a ratio to form naturally within the solar system. Unless it has experienced high-dimensional energy radiation that we cannot simulate, or..."

He paused for a moment.

He didn't continue.

Chen Ge finished his sentence for him: "Or maybe it wasn't even part of the solar system to begin with."

The communication channel was completely silent.

Jiang Xiu stood next to the sample chamber and suddenly let out a muffled groan.

Everyone immediately looked at him.

The bone talisman he carried close to his body had developed a charred ring around its edge at some point.

Jiang Xiu's face was pale as he stared intently at the speck of metal powder.

"It has no yin energy."

"It has no soul either."

"But it is remembering us."

The technician's face paled: "What do you mean?"

Jiang Xiu looked up, his voice hoarse.

"We were just looking at it."

"It seems to be watching us now."

Chen Ge did not hesitate.

"Seal the sample. Evacuate."

The technician immediately engaged the physical lock.

The sample chamber was placed into a lead-black isolation box.

The external anchor points of the rescue vehicle have begun to be retrieved.

But just then, the last vibration came back from deep within the borehole.

It was a very short rhythm.

thump.

thump.

thump.

Three times.

It was exactly the same sound I heard when the probe descended to 10,000 meters.

The technician's face turned pale: "Captain, there's an echo in the borehole."

"Seal the hole".

The formation master immediately activated the Taiyin Anti-Pressure Anchor to forcibly freeze and seal the borehole.

The black moon dust was compacted, and the array patterns pressed down layer by layer like cold chains.

The vibrations disappeared.

But nobody felt safe.

Chen Ge looked at the external images.

In the distance, that dark red spot was still glowing.

The location of the second relay pile was like someone lighting a lamp in the darkness, quietly waiting for them to approach.

"All vehicles, reverse."

"Return to the first relay station along the original route."

"No stopping is allowed midway."

The rescue vehicle was started.

The tracks rolled over the black moon dust and slowly retreated.

The tense atmosphere in the carriage only eased slightly when the blue light of the first relay pile reappeared in sight.

The young rescuer leaned against the bulkhead, his body drenched in cold sweat.

"Captain, should we continue searching for the Deep Detective Team?"

Chen Ge did not answer immediately.

He looked at the isolation box.

There were only 0.03 grams of powder in it.

But even this little bit of information was enough to overturn their assessment of the moon.

After a moment, he spoke.

"Keep searching."

……

Kyoto Joint Control Room.

After the sample data was transmitted back, Wang Mingyuan stood in front of the screen for a long time.

Lin Feng magnified the diagram to its limit.

"The surface of the metallic layer is abnormally smooth, and its hardness exceeds that of lunar titanium steel. The low-frequency echoes exhibit active feedback characteristics. Preliminary judgment suggests that it is not a natural mineral layer."

The court president leaned on his cane, his voice deep and resonant.

"What is that?"

Lin Feng slowly raised his head.

"It's more like an outer shell."

No one responded in the meeting room.

shell.

This word is far more terrifying than "mineral vein".

If there is a layer of metallic shell that does not belong to the moon buried 10,000 meters below the far side of the moon, then all their previous mining, drilling, station construction, and refining were like hammering and banging on the surface of a giant tomb.

Wang Mingyuan finally spoke.

"Block the far side of the moon."

"All non-essential operations are suspended."

"Guanghan Base has entered Level II combat readiness."

The logistics minister asked in a low voice, "What should we say to the outside world?"

Wang Mingyuan stared at the metallic spectral line on the screen that didn't belong to the solar system.

"Let's talk about the escalating risks of deep geological formations."