Solving Middle Age Crisis by Intelligence System-Chapter 599 - 400: An Ordinary-Looking Stone (Double-Length)

Chapter 599: Chapter 400: An Ordinary-Looking Stone (Double-Length)

3:00 a.m., by the lake.

De Gaulle had already donned his diving gear; he was going to personally take a look at the city under the lake.

Initially, Qi Yun also planned to go down for a look, but he was unanimously opposed by Brother Quan and Xiao Wu, as he had no prior diving experience, and the depth of thirty to forty meters posed a significant danger.

Moreover, there was only one set of diving gear left; they couldn’t go with him and couldn’t ensure Qi Yun’s safety.

After some discussion, they finally decided that Brother Quan would go instead.

The spotlight by the lake illuminated the water’s surface brightly. With the experience from the previous night, De Gaulle didn’t wait for the moon to shine on the center of the lake and submerged into the water ahead of time.

Once the two swam a certain distance, sure enough, the lake surface began to rise with a bluish mist that spread slowly along the water surface, soon enveloping that area.

"Professor, why does this kind of mist only appear at specific times?" Qi Yun turned his head and asked Ignacio beside him.

Ignacio, his gaze fixed on the blue mist spreading on the lake, thought for a moment and replied, "I speculate there are two possibilities."

"The first is the temperature difference. At this time, the lake surface has the lowest water temperature, and the stone walls of the city under the lake may contain heat-absorbing substances. The meeting of hot and cold air will form mist, resulting in what you see now."

He paused and added, "The second possibility is related to microorganisms in the water. The blue spots in the video might be a kind of luminescent plankton that may only float to the surface at certain times."

"When these organisms gather in sufficient quantities, their phosphorescence colors the mist blue."

"I see..." Qi Yun nodded thoughtfully.

As the two spoke, De Gaulle and Brother Quan’s figures vanished from the lake surface.

Qi Yun glanced at his watch, then sat on the rocky beach to wait patiently.

After this exploration, he planned to leave this place tomorrow. Having uncovered its secrets, there was no need to disrupt its balance further.

Recalling those fearless little animals observed in the forest during the day, and what Ignacio said about a closed ecosystem, he suddenly felt that not being disturbed was the best conclusion for this mysterious realm.

The mist on the lake surface gradually dissipated, and everything returned to tranquility.

The oxygen tanks Brother Quan and the others brought were not large and could be used for only forty to fifty minutes in the thirty-meter-deep environment at most.

Just as it neared 4:00 a.m., there was suddenly movement in the water, and then Brother Quan’s head emerged, followed closely by De Gaulle, gasping heavily.

His expression looked somewhat complicated, neither as excited as anticipated nor disappointed, more like a peace that comes when the dust settles...

As soon as they got ashore, Brother Quan began reporting the situation below: "There is something strange above that city. As soon as you approach the wall’s top, you are pushed away by an undercurrent, and it’s impossible to swim over."

"We swam around the perimeter and could only see the rough outline of the city. The overall structure is indeed shaped like eight lotus flowers."

Ignacio, listening nearby, clenched his fist in excitement: "It’s indeed Jialoba City! This is indeed Shambala!" His speculation was confirmed.

Qi Yun wasn’t overly excited and merely patted Brother Quan’s arm: "Thanks for your hard work, go rest now."

Brother Quan nodded, glanced at De Gaulle and his group, and headed toward the camp.

Qi Yun also turned to De Gaulle, who was removing his diving suit: "Since the result is confirmed, let’s leave tomorrow."

De Gaulle paused his movements, and after a few seconds of silence, slowly nodded: "Alright."

Qi Yun said nothing further and led Xiao Wu and the others back to the camp.

Upon returning to his tent and lying down, Qi Yun involuntarily recalled the process of searching through map clues, from Lop Nur to Genghis Khan’s Tomb, to Kunlun Mountain.

Although the secret of immortality was ultimately a chase born from misunderstanding, at least the mystery was solved, and they reached the legendary Shambala...

"Boss!"

At this moment, Brother Quan’s low voice suddenly came from outside the tent.

Qi Yun came back to his senses: "Come in."

Brother Quan lifted the tent flap and entered, holding something in his hand.

"Why aren’t you resting? Is there something?" Qi Yun asked, turning on the light.

"Yes." Brother Quan opened his hand and handed over a stone. "I found this at the city under the lake. At that time, this stone was placed on a stone pillar outside the city wall. I saw it seemed to be glowing blue, and thought it was quite unusual, so I brought it out."

"Hmm?" Qi Yun looked surprised, reaching out to take the stone.

The stone was round and about the size of a ping-pong ball, but it was much lighter than it looked, possibly less than one hundred grams.

"What is this thing?" Qi Yun examined it closely under the tent’s emergency light, noticing its exterior was richly colored, interwoven with pale yellow, brown, and black-grey patterns.

The material seemed somewhat like... jade?

It felt very smooth to the touch, and there were no signs of artificial polishing on its surface.

Beyond that, nothing else seemed unusual.

Brother Quan shook his head: "I don’t know if this thing is useful either."

Qi Yun stared at it for a moment, then looked up and said: "Alright, go rest. Later, I’ll have the professor take a look to see if he can identify it."

"Okay." Brother Quan replied, turned, and left the tent.

Qi Yun didn’t dwell on it, placed the stone on a nearby small stool, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

...

In the morning, the group packed up their equipment, cleaned up all their trash, and began to head back along the path they came.