Above The Sky

The exit that Qingchao and the others took, on the map recorded on the silver chip, was not actually for people to go, but the freight entrance and exit.

If the transport tower hadn't been raised, it would have taken a long time to swim from there, and no one knew where it would be.

But think about it carefully, the people on his side are either crew members or pirates, and there are several sublimators. As long as there is no storm outside, they will not be drowned with their water.

And to be honest, because it is a cargo entrance and exit, it is safer.

On the other hand, Ian and the others walked, although it is said to be the main entrance of the serious children, but the road is much more dangerous.

After all, this is a 'main gate' that is basically a den of monsters and ancient traps along the way.

"Is there something wrong with the natives, putting so many traps here at the exit of their holy land?!"

When dismantling the eleventh induction-type gas trap that he was in charge of, the pirate captain Andor couldn't help but complain loudly: "Do they want to go out or not!?"

In fact, eleven is already too few. Most of the monsters wandering here have been destroyed for many years, and only a few caves and toxin traps that can be reused and have a relatively long shelf life still exist.

"It's not surprising. After the first battle with the brain-devouring worms, the Sequoia natives probably lost control of the core of the ruins, and then they lost their living environment and had to fight with the monsters released from various places. The so-called holy land, but A place to live after they lost their settlement."

Compared with Andor, who still needs tools and hands to disarm the trap, Ian's method of solving the trap is much simpler - he only needs to raise the water gun from time to time and fire it at a few places, the mechanism inside the trap or The inscription will be destroyed and corroded.

"These traps are estimated to be used by the natives to deal with the monsters in the ruins."

Looking around, Ian felt that it was almost cleaned up, and then led the way forward for everyone.

As he walked, he sighed with emotion: "In the end, these traps are very primitive. It can be seen that the Sequoia natives at that time have lost a lot of technology..."

Others don't have Ian's psionic power, and naturally they can't be like him. They just look back and piece together the entire history of the Sequoia people gradually becoming the Sequoia natives.

For them, Sequoia and Brain Eater fought and eventually had to leave the base, lose their technology, and become the ancestors of today's Sequoia natives. This reason is completely sufficient.

The Sequoia people locked the entire ruins before leaving, so that the brain-devouring worms could not get high-quality brain parasitism, so they weakened. recovery.

At this moment, everyone is walking in a cave area with no traps, all the way up and spiraling forward.

The water vapor is getting thicker and thicker, making the mist hazy. With the faint light around, everyone can see that there is a vast hall and the ruins of the gathering place at the end of the corridor ahead. It covers an extremely wide area and is quite intact. It looks like It's like a small village.

When I got closer, it was indeed a small village, made of rocks and a peculiar waterweed, with more than a dozen large camps in a circle, and a portrait of a 'radiation protection suit' like the one in the main control room was enshrined in the middle. , you can still see some traces of sacrifices.

The fog filled the air, making this ancient underground village and town ruins look a bit gloomy, especially in some camps where there are still many deformed human skeletons. If it wasn't for the fact that everyone had just killed the brain-devouring worm nest, they might have already begun to feel Some hearts are hairy.

But now, I just feel the history of the Sequoia people.

"Wait, how are these deformed human bones so familiar?"

After watching for a while, Ian felt that something was wrong. He got closer to observe, and was surprised to find that in some camps, there were actually some kind of cultivation warehouses that he saw at the entrance of the cave where he first entered the ruins.

Unlike the areas where parasitic aberrants live, these cultivators are no longer maintained and have long ceased to function.

These human bones were surrounded by the cultivation warehouse, and even piled up into hills, but it was astonishing that there were even traces of shaved flesh on these human bones.

"Cannibals? They are short of food, have they started cannibalism?"

"When resources are scarce, simply eating human flesh is not a crime, only slaughtering people as livestock is."

Both Master Gosse and Bishop White Mist have come to this conclusion

However, Ian saw faint visions as he saw the silos and piles of human bones.

Time seems to cross.

Two tall figures stood in front of the training warehouse and initiated a heated discussion.

[The biomass is not enough. The hunted alien creatures have either been parasitized or cannot be fully utilized. Their flesh and blood are difficult to use to cultivate clones... After all, does it really make sense for us to persist like this? 】

[It’s hard to use, if we don’t replenish the population, when we reach the outside world, we will not only be wandering sequoia survivors, but humanoid beasts that will be swallowed by nature... Not only technology can’t be passed on, we can’t even deal with those outsiders Mutant creatures! 】

[Remainders... Haha, can we still call ourselves remnants now? Look at those clones, because they grow too fast and their mental development is not fully developed, they will have to wait at least one or two generations before they can regain their stable thinking ability. ? 】

【What are you mad at me for? As survivors, we can't give up hope in any way - what's more, what about low intelligence? When our ancestors were still apes, they could work together to pass on various primitive skills. At most, these clones could not understand some more complicated concepts. Their bodies, like ours, were all transformed new humans... ...they have enough potential to become healthy and intelligent beings like us, and it is we who have helped them become what they are...]

[...Sorry...but what should I do? There are no more than twenty survivors with Sequoia technology, and all the others are clones. Even if our generation took them to survive from the outside world, what about our descendants? How can we pass on this knowledge, this history? 】

[...with a ceremony]

【ceremony? 】

【Um. In this situation, there is no way to pass on the knowledge of the teacher to the students. Because of the rapid development, these clones cannot understand the complex concepts of civilization, inheritance and glory, but they can use the roots of fear, sacrifice and ritual. Induced by something in instinct]

【Wait, you mean... 】

[We want to become priests, priests, shamans and prophets - don't look at me like this, just with our current productivity, do you still want to pay attention to quality education? Use rituals to teach them how to control these complex instruments, use dogma to teach them what to eat and what not to touch, use oaths and taboos to restrict their actions, and use the concept of family and tribe to give them a sense of belonging]

[However, we are Sequoia people, we have inherited the knowledge of Terra civilization, we can't... can't call out these primitive echoes that have long been wiped out by our ancestors...]

【idiot! No more Sequoias! Sequoia and Terra civilization have long since perished! We are the last survivors of Sequoia, and we can only escape the bereaved dog in our hometown! 】

[I, I know, but... I am so painful... Weima, I, I, I am really... I am really not reconciled... Why did it become like this... Why did we fall to this point...]

[...Don't cry...heh, who knows. Humans have no way to stay sane all the time. The ancestors were locked in this cage for hundreds of years, enough time for a dynasty to collapse. It is not surprising that they are crazy.]

[Okay... um. But then again, even if the flesh and blood of these alien species is debugged, it is difficult to create normal clones. Most of them are distorted, and some even die just after they are separated from the culture tank... There is not enough food. We can't really let them eat people, even if it's just cloned corpses, right? 】

[…The question of cloning materials, I have an idea, didn’t my father’s generation ask the elderly and fallen fighters to donate their bodies? But it doesn't seem to be enough now. I think, I have to add a ceremony]

【What exactly is the ceremony? 】

[Sacrificial ceremony. Everyone cuts off part of their own flesh and blood as biomass to piece together the raw material for a clone... Our companions should have no opinion, but for those clones, the process is more painful, and they must be given a Reason, even if it is false]

[...There is no way to do this, let's just say that this sacrifice can please the spirit of the ancestors and get protection... After the sacrifice, adjust the temperature, and then send more monster meat. With our physical quality, regeneration and healing can't be used. a few days]

[Well, just do it. As for the name of the ceremony...you have to think of a better, simple and easy-to-understand name]

[How about pure sacrifice? 】

[Well, a good name—the Pure One sacrificed his own flesh and blood to create a brand new companion... Sure enough, the name still needs to be nicer.]

The illusion dissipated.

Ian shook his head slightly. He didn't show anything on the surface, but in his heart, he felt a sense of absurdity.

"It turns out that this is the origin of the indigenous sacrificial tradition and sacrificial shaman culture... Because of the lack of population, a large number of clones with incomplete brain development have to be copied as the basic population. Back to normal human."

In this way, it is completely understandable how the Sequoia people became a group of Sequoia natives entrenched in Nanling.

The so-called murder and sacrifice can be traced back to the original source, but they each take a part of their own body as the biological basis for cultivation, so the probability of distortion is relatively small, so it is called "purity".

"The best and highest quality biomass is needed to cultivate the most complete clones, so it is called pure sacrifice."

Staring at the cultivation warehouse in front of him, Ian didn't need to use his vision to know that the ancestors of the indigenous people used the corpses of various monsters and their own flesh and blood to replenish a large number of people, and then left the Sequoia Base.

As for how this ceremony evolved into this kind of killing sacrifice and living sacrifice ceremony in later generations...

Time flies, in the face of time, nothing is immortal... There is no need to say more about people's hearts.

The portrait in the radiation protection suit was already covered with mottled moss, and Ian looked past it and saw the 'gate' at the back of the village.

This gate is made of a peculiar crystal, with a very artistic shape. There are seven star-shaped crystal lamps inlaid on its top, swirling with swirling light, and there are inscriptions in it.

"[Purifying the air] [adjusting the temperature] [sterilizing] [removing odors] [invigorating] [video recording] and [glowing]."

Ian whispered to himself, and he saw that these seven crystal lamps were inscription utensils made into decorations by the pre-epoch civilization to serve everyone who walked through this door.

I have to say, this is really perfect. If it is running at full strength, this gate with a faint crystal halo is like the portal of heaven. As long as you walk through it, you will be refreshed, get rid of the odor, and enter An underground base with extremely suitable temperatures.

This is also the last level the Sequoias retreat to after losing all their skills and being forced to leave their settlements, and it still serves as such.

The Great Elder may be wrong about everything, but there is only one thing that is right, that is, living in the Sequoia Base is definitely countless times more comfortable than suffering and developing on the ground...

No wonder no one wanted to accompany him to the ground.

Not to mention, the tropical climate of Nanling and all kinds of poisonous insects, compared with the days when the Sequoia base still has air conditioning, there is no need to describe, everyone knows how to choose.

Of course, the fact that the bugs inside the base are much more ferocious than the mosquitoes needs to be discussed separately.

"The door appears to be completely sealed and requires a key to open."

Just as Ian was observing the crystal lamp on the gate, Master Gosse was also studying the crystal door, which was more than five meters high. He knocked on the door and said in surprise, "This is not an ordinary door - this is a four-defense door. The door, with a quadruple structure, can isolate radiation, biochemistry, psionic energy and temperature changes..."

"It's outermost layer is a man-made perfect crystal, with extremely high strength, and it is integrated with Morion steel, which can be repaired by itself, and the inner... actually uses adamantine alloy?!"

Master Gosse was still stunned, even he had never thought of using pure gold for doors—even low-content alloys.

This kind of thing is not to say that it is the best use of it, at least it is a waste of time.

"Did the pre-epoch civilization master the technology of artificial fine gold?" He was so doubtful.

And Ian stepped forward, observed for a while, and said, "Now I am the master of the labyrinth, and I can open this door."

Of course, this is not the credit of the Lord of the Labyrinth, but the highest authority held by Ian. If the Sequoia people did not have four key cards, they could not open the door blocked by the highest order, but after all, no one knew this. , he can push everything to the Lord of the Labyrinth.

Indecisive, Lord of the Labyrinth.jpg

buzzing...

The dust fell from the top of the gate, like petals blooming, and like the closed sawtooth retreating one by one, the four-layer interlocking gate slowly opened, like a giant beast opening its huge mouth that has been closed for thousands of years. .

Just then, a fresh sea breeze came.

"Wow, this taste..."

At this moment, Isengard couldn't help but let out a sigh - although the interior of the Sequoia Base is well ventilated, it is far from the real air in nature.

Even Ian took a deep breath, although the place was still a certain distance from the sea level and the wind was quite clammy and cold, but there was an energetic freshness that was refreshing.

——They have indeed left the ruins... and came to the real outside world.

"Come on, there is no danger."

After scanning it with psionic energy, Ian felt that it was not necessary, after all, Bishop White Mist was next to him.

Although the old man didn't speak, as long as he was in danger and encountered a trap, he would definitely help.

He took the lead out of the gate of the Sequoia Base.

Then, he came to another indigenous 'Holy Land'.

At the exit of the gate of the Sequoia base, there is a very bright cavity, inlaid with many fluorites, and there is no need to light a lamp, but also a bright light.

Under the light yellow fluorescent light, it can be seen that there are a large number of altars and totem murals on both sides of the cavity outside the door, and in the center of these altars is a figure wearing a radiation protection suit - just now, Ian is still I don't understand why the natives use such portraits as objects of worship.

But after recalling the exchange between the two figures, Ian had a clear understanding: "If we say that the initial portrait is just a 'reminder', reminding them that they are the 'maintainers of the ruins'."

"Then the follow-up portraits are really commemorative - these portraits wearing protective clothing actually represent the ancestors of the Sequoia natives."

"Those, the symbols of the people who once lived, multiplied, and maintained the entire base in the Sequoia Base!"

"Represents... the real Sequoias, not the 'Redwood natives'."

This holy place is obviously a later generation. When the Redwoods were at their peak, they returned to their 'hometown' to worship their ancestors. They did not collect all four key cards and could not open the gate, but they did not want to go back, because the ancestors must have It also left them with legends like parasites and demons.

The posture of the figure in the center of the Holy Land is different from the figures in other places. In the past, something should have been placed in his right hand to accept the sacrifices of all people, but it was taken away in the future.

"Ian, look, there seem to be some strange corpses here?"

Isengard took a few steps forward. He just wanted to see where the wind was blowing, but he saw a simple campfire camp in front of the native altar.

There were many corpses in armor and familiar uniforms around the camp, which made him a little confused: "These clothes... I seem to have seen them at Uncle Ailes..."

"what?"

Hearing this sentence, for some reason, a strange emotion suddenly rose in Ian's heart.

He turned and walked slowly towards the direction where Isengard was standing.

The boy of Bai Zhimin passed the blond boy, he stared at the row of skeletons in front of him, and saw those human figures wearing familiar armor and fabrics.

"This is the armor and uniform of the Harrison Harbor escort . . . the escort that went missing in the first great storm fourteen years ago."

Ian muttered to himself, he lowered his eyes, glanced at all the bones in front of him, his eyes could not help but flicker: "Could it be..."

Isengard noticed that something was wrong with Ian's state, but before he could open his mouth to care, the boy heard Ian's footsteps stop in front of a corpse.

Then he leaned down and uttered a word that shocked Isengard to the point of stunned.

"Father……"

Ian stared at the corpse in front of him, then gently stretched out his hand, stroking the armor and the bones behind the armor: "Sure enough."

"You are right here."