"Mu Chen! We found something… this isn't a normal mechanism!"
A handheld radio lying on a wooden table suddenly lit up and buzzed. A woman's voice came through it, connected through the radio network to reach the man inside the research tent.
"Mu Chen! Are you there?"
Mu Chen, a 26-year-old man with short black hair and a long-sleeved outfit full of pockets, walked over and picked it up. He leaned against the edge of the table as he spoke.
"I'm here. What is it?" Mu Chen asked.
"We found a massive stone door. It's completely sealed with some kind of ancient locking mechanism."
An ancient locking mechanism?
"None of the archaeologists down here can open it out."
He let out a quiet breath, turning around to look at the stacks of files on the table, all conclusions from reconstructed artifacts. Some had been successfully restored, while others had failed due to missing components.
Mu Chen had never expected that a cave on a remote island, revealed by the receding lake water, would hold records of an ancient civilization.
Maybe all these unmapped, mysterious artifacts… maybe they were leading him to something hidden inside that chamber deep within the cave.
"Alright. I'll head over. Tell half the team to return and secure everything they've found," Mu Chen said.
"Understood."
Mu Chen and a team of twelve researchers had been sent by an independent archaeological institute in Shenzhen to investigate this mysterious cave.
The sudden appearance of an island in the middle of the lake had become headline news across TV stations. Everyone was making guesses, but no one knew the truth.
He gathered his gear for descending into the cave, including an oxygen tank and a specialized suit. His steps slowed when he passed the bedside table. A photo of his family sat there.
His younger sister, Mu Fei, had disappeared six years ago. No one knew why. The police had tried everything, but found nothing.
The last trace of him was a trip to a mountain. His friends had returned safely. Only Mu Fei had vanished.
That alone had always bothered Mu Chen.
I don't know where you gone, Fei'er. But I won't stop searching for you.
After staring at the photo for a moment longer, Mu Chen left the tent and walked toward the cave entrance.
One of the men nearby turned and greeted him. He was responsible for monitoring the entry and exit of the archaeologists.
"Chief Researcher Mu Chen," he said.
Mu Chen gave a brief nod.
From inside the cave, a group of four emerged carrying large cases filled with artifacts and ancient items they had recovered from below. They handled them carefully, afraid they might break something valuable.
"Give those to Nan Yue. Tell her to organize everything properly on my work table," Mu Chen instructed.
They immediately complied.
Once the four of them had gone up, it was Mu Chen's turn to head down. He took a flashlight and began lighting his way toward Yunxi's location.
The cave floor was slippery and damp. The walls were cold and black. Being submerged underwater for thousands of years had significantly changed its structure and composition.
Relying on the mapped navigation, Mu Chen raised his head and spotted Yunxi ahead. There were still three people standing before a massive stone door, about four meters tall and six meters wide.
"Mu Chen."
He stopped. The sound of his breathing echoed inside his helmet. His gaze remained fixed forward.
"The mechanism is over here," Yunxi said, pointing to a different spot.
Mu Chen turned and followed her. What she said was true. In front of them was a mechanism that looked surprisingly advanced for its era.
"Do you recognize the script on this carving?"
"Not yet. But it feels familiar," Mu Chen replied.
He pressed a button on the side of his helmet, activating the camera, and asked Nan Yue to begin identifying the script through the system's image analysis.
"Identification complete… it belongs to the Xie Huang civilization."
Xie Huang?
One of the oldest civilizations, still heavily debated in historical records. But after years of exploration and excavation, some of their script had finally been identified.
Mu Chen began working on solving the puzzle. After several attempts, he finally cracked the mechanism.
The massive stone door opened with a deep, heavy sound. Everyone stepped back carefully, shining their flashlights forward.
The chamber inside was much larger, circular in shape, with three enormous statues of unknown deities. None of them had ever seen anything like it.
"What kind of gods are these?"
"Be careful, Yunxi. Don't act recklessly," Mu Chen said firmly.
Yunxi nodded.
Mu Chen focused his attention on the center of the chamber. There, on a stone altar, was an ancient black cauldron bound by three chains, each connected to one of the three statues.
He crouched down and shined his light across the surface of the cauldron. There were carvings depicting a place, figures, and cosmic constellations.
In the silence, a red light suddenly lit up beneath the altar.
Mu Chen flinched and turned his head. Yunxi had touched one of the statues.
"Sorry. I got curious, so I just touched it a little," Yunxi said nervously.
"What did you do? That could've been a trap!" Mu Chen snapped.
A violent tremor shook the ground, throwing them off balance. Mu Chen lifted his head as a strange red aura appeared around the chained cauldron.
The cauldron began to tremble and rise into the air, as if trying to break free. It felt almost… alive.
The sudden change threw everyone into panic. Yunxi and the others scattered, trying to escape. Mu Chen turned and ran as well.
"Mu Chen! The door is closing on its own!"
Too late.
The massive stone door slammed shut, trapping Mu Chen and the others inside, including Yunxi. Fear spread across their faces.
Mu Chen felt it too. In all his years leading archaeological expeditions, this was the first time he had faced death so directly.
Yunxi tried to contact the surface team, but the signal was gone.
Mu Chen kept staring ahead as the cauldron grew more violent.
CLANG!
The chains snapped.
The cauldron shot into the air, spinning wildly. Mu Chen's panic deepened. He had no idea what to do.
A powerful force began pulling everything toward it. Yunxi and the others lost their footing and were dragged into the air.
"Help us, Chief Mu Chen!"
"MU CHEN!" Yunxi screamed as she was pulled in.
"YUNXI!" Mu Chen shouted back.
His eyes widened as he watched his team get swallowed one by one as the cauldron expanded. His face turned pale. Cold sweat covered his body.
"What… is that?!" His voice broke.
Suddenly, the cauldron stopped.
It floated quietly in the air. The room was in ruins. The three statues had collapsed into rubble.
A burning sensation surged in Mu Chen's chest. He looked down and saw his family necklace glowing with a golden light.
What… is happening?
He pulled off the necklace and held it in his hand. Moments later, it floated on its own and attached itself to the surface of the cauldron, merging perfectly with it as a blinding golden aura erupted.
"Could it be… my family's artifact is resonating with it?"
In seconds, the cauldron turned completely golden, spotless and pristine.
Then it shot forward, leaving a trail of golden light, and slammed into Mu Chen's body, slowly merging with him.
A burning pain exploded in his chest, as if his body was being torn apart. Mu Chen screamed, his eyes turning red as golden veins lit up across his body.
"AAAKKKKHHHHH!"
Gradually, the golden cauldron disappeared, fully fusing into him. Mu Chen collapsed to his knees, gasping, clutching his chest.
The stone altar beneath him glowed gold, filled with mysterious runes.
He was too weak. Too much pain.
He collapsed onto the altar.
Blood spilled from his mouth, staining the inside of his helmet. He realized that his life was truly in danger.
Am I… going to die?
His vision blurred. His body grew weaker, unable to hold itself up.
He fell face down onto the altar, letting fate decide his end.
But even then, Mu Chen felt a deep unwillingness.
Dying like this… he refused to accept it.
As his consciousness began to fade, a deep, ancient voice echoed in his mind.
"Finally… a worthy successor."
Mu Chen's eyes widened faintly… then everything went dark.