The others were taken aback: "Yes, why didn't we think about this from a different perspective?"...
"I'll try it now!" Wei Dong quickly turned back to begin.
"But even if we break it down into ghost characters, we still can't decipher its meaning," Shao Ling said.
"We don't need to decipher the meaning. As long as we prove it can be broken down into ghost characters, and the broken-down ghost characters have parts that overlap with the ghost characters on the rock wall, then it proves that the symbols on the rock wall are part of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*," Ke Xun said.
"Does that mean the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* on our bones isn't the complete picture?" Yue Cen also keenly identified the problem.
Ke Xun stroked his chin, pondering, "Could it be because...we and this rock platform are actually one entity? So a complete 'Classic of Mountains and Seas Map' is distributed across the rock platform and our bodies, and these symbols carved on the rock walls are actually—the rock's 'bone structure'?"
"This idea has a unique perspective," Mu Yiran said thoughtfully. "It's like a jade pendant; two pieces of jade together form one pendant. According to this idea, our bone structure is one piece of jade, and the rock platform is another. Only when the two are combined do they form a complete pendant, a complete original version of the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas Map.'"
"Our bone structure, when pieced together, forms a map pointing to the Nalenggele Canyon. Could the symbols on this rock platform, when pieced together, also form a map?" Ke Xun asked.
"That's possible," Mu Yiran nodded.
"But where does the rock platform's map point to? Isn't the Nalenggele Canyon the final destination?" Shao Ling questioned.
"We can only know the answer to this question when we completely piece it together," Mu Yiran said.
"The creator of the Mountain and Sea World is truly incredible," Hua Jiqiu sighed softly. "Using 'ghost script,' which possesses the power of spirits and gods, one can piece together images to depict the Mountain and Sea World. These images can then be used to create a complete map pointing to a specific destination. Therefore, I still believe that the universe exists with a very meticulous and intricate logical structure."
Everyone knew that his last sentence was a reference to *Schrödinger's Cat*, but no one had time to delve into the question of whether the universe had any laws. Everyone immediately threw themselves into the work of dissecting the skeletal Mountain and Sea Map, even Mu Yiran joined in.
Ke Xun came out of the tent and went to the trunk of the car to find ropes.
Fortunately, besides Mu Yiran bringing quite a few ropes, Luo Yi, a seasoned outdoor enthusiast, had also brought many.
After checking the number and length of the ropes, Ke Xun nodded and then went to find the others: "Tonight, we might need to clear out the symbols high up on the rock face. Drive all three vehicles to the rock face, and everyone stand on them to clear them. Be quick. No one needs to keep watch tonight; there haven't been any other dangerous situations these past two nights. Everyone should clean the rock face—so eat plenty of meat later, so you'll have the strength to work well."
"Okay," everyone agreed.
As darkness fell, Wei Dong had already gotten the results—the bone structure diagram of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* could indeed be deciphered to reveal "ghost script," and some of the symbols did indeed overlap with the "ghost script" on the rock face!
"Let's try to clear out the remaining ghostly symbols tonight," Shao Ling said, looking at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran. "The top of the rock platform depends on the two of you."
As night fell, the group, having made all the necessary arrangements, took shelter in their tents from the raging tornado, as usual. When the wind subsided and the sandstorm died down, they all came out of the tents to check. They saw that the long ropes Ke Xun had placed at the rock platform's location hadn't been lifted up by the platform; instead, they were deeply embedded in the rock, with only the ends sticking out.
Ke Xun frowned: "Luckily, we didn't stand in this position at the beginning. Otherwise, when the rock platform appeared, wouldn't we have been embedded in it?"
The group felt a wave of fear, but there was no time to think about it now. They quickly began to act according to the daytime plan.
Zhu Haowen and Luo Yi tried to film the top of the rocky platform using a telescopic pole with a fixed camera, but the image transmitted to their laptops was just static. Mu Yiran and Ke Xun immediately prepared for climbing, gathering their gear, carrying their tools, setting up a ladder on the roof of the vehicle, and climbing to the top.
The others stood on the roof of the vehicle, quickly clearing the brittle surface of the rocky mountain with entrenching tools.
Although this rocky mountain was much shorter than a real mountain, its surface was extremely brittle, multiplying the difficulty of climbing. A slight misstep could result in a direct fall.
Mu Yiran was relatively experienced, but even he climbed with great difficulty and slowly, let alone Ke Xun, a novice. He even fell when he first started climbing, but fortunately, he hadn't climbed too high, and there was a vehicle below to catch him. He landed on the roof and did a side roll to absorb some of the impact; otherwise, he would have broken a bone or sprained his ankle.
Ke Xun himself didn't seem to feel anything amiss. After jumping up, he climbed back up with renewed vigor, startling those watching. "Ke'er, if you can't manage, climb slower," Wei Dong said, pressing his chest. "You'll be scared to death by these ghosts, if not by them. If you can't manage, we can stretch out blankets below to catch you."
"No need," Ke Xun looked up at Mu Yiran above. "Yiran will throw a rope down to catch me after she gets to the top. I'll just climb slower."
He said this, but his movements didn't slow down. He was still worried about the dangers at the top of the rock and didn't want Mu Yiran to go ahead alone, so he desperately chased after him from below.
Zhu Haowen, who kept glancing up at him, couldn't help but admire his athletic talent once again. Once his potential was unleashed, he seemed to have divine assistance, and in the end, he and Mu Yiran barely managed to climb to the top of the rock platform at the same time.
"Call us anytime if anything happens!" Zhu Haowen called out to remind him.
However, there was no response from the two above.
"Ke Xun?" Zhu Haowen called out tentatively again, but still no reply.
"Ke Xun! Can you hear me? If you can, reply!" Zhu Haowen's heart sank, and he cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted as loudly as he could.
The others also noticed something was wrong and quickly gathered around, all looking up.
"This is bad." Zhu Haowen frowned.
"Let's try calling Ke'er together!" Wei Dong said anxiously, "I'll count to three, one—two—"
"Ke Xun!" Everyone shouted at the top of their lungs, their voices seemingly filling the entire canyon in the deathly still night.
However, it was as if there was some invisible barrier above the rocky mountain that could absorb and block sound; the sound went in as if it had sunk into the sea, and there was still no response.
"Ke'er! Ke'er!" Wei Dong cried out anxiously, clutching his head and staring helplessly at the top of the rocky platform. "What do we do? What do we do? Are they in danger? Are they waiting for us to rescue them? Who—who can climb? Luo Bo, can your drone carry an adult?"
"Calm down." Fang Fei reached out and pushed his forehead, making him lean back. "If the situation up there is something even the two of them can't handle, we'll be just as helpless if we go up. They're smart, strong, and carrying weapons and all sorts of equipment—that's top-tier gear. We'd only be a hindrance."
"You...you're right, I have to calm down, calm down, calm down..." Wei Dong slapped his face hard. "Then what do we do? We can't just leave them up there!"
"Radish, let's try filming again with the telescopic pole." Zhu Haowen and Luo Jin jumped out of the car to retrieve the equipment. The two set up the camera on the platform, but the image transmitted back to the laptop was still just static.
"What do we do?!" Luo Jin and Wei Dong anxiously pulled at their hair.
For a moment, everyone looked at each other, suddenly feeling a sense of bewilderment and helplessness, like a group of people
without a leader. This was a situation they had never encountered before.
"Everyone, don't panic," Hua Jiqiu, the elder, was the most composed, gesturing downwards with his hand. "Xiao Fang is right. If even Xiao Mu and Xiao Ke can't handle the situation up there, we'll only cause trouble if we go up. All we can do now is wait. And regardless of the outcome, we can't stop what we're destined to do, nor can we abandon this task just because we've lost one or two companions. Everyone, time is of the essence. Rather than waiting helplessly, we should continue our work. Progress is always better than no progress."
"Director Hua is right," Shao Ling, relatively calmer, added. "In this situation, we need to make as much progress as possible, even if it seems ruthless, it's the best option."
Everyone knew Hua Jiqiu and Shao Ling were right, so they continued clearing the rock wall with great anxiety, occasionally glancing up at the situation above.
But as time passed, their anxiety only grew stronger.
"What if they still haven't made a move when the time comes for the rock platform to disappear?" Wu You was so anxious she wanted to tear her hair out. "What if, what if they disappear with the rock platform… what do we do?"
"That rocky platform might be our final destination," Zhu Haowen's emotions had returned to normal calm. "They just went up there first.
"If they don't come back, then we'll continue with our work, photograph all the symbols, piece them together into a complete diagram, and then take the next step according to the diagram's instructions.
"Our goal is to uncover as many clues as possible, to gain as much control as possible, and ideally, to find all the answers before we have to climb the rock platform.
"And regardless of whether we find all the answers, there will always be a moment when we stand on that platform and see them again.
"Let's continue."
Zhu Haowen's almost cold calmness infected everyone, or perhaps the already predetermined, perhaps not optimistic, outcome made them feel that worrying was useless, so they remained silent and continued with their work.
As a thick, chilling fog, carrying the scent of death, quietly spread through the canyon, Shaoling called a halt to the group.
They drove the car a certain distance away from the rock platform and watched helplessly as it was enveloped by the fog and gradually disappeared from sight.