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Following up on Extra 5:
A massive pit and a mysterious force suddenly appeared in Chernobyl, leading to the secret construction of a research institute. The world's top scientists gathered to study this mysterious force!
With the sudden disappearance of oil worldwide, the research task became even more urgent.
At this time, Zhang Hongwen from China and Grisha from Ukraine put forward a relatively reliable hypothesis.
So, an experiment was immediately designed. Two white mice in similar conditions were lowered into the 500-meter and 1000-meter deep pits using steel cables, and then retrieved after one hour for observation.
Soon after the two white mice were retrieved, it was discovered that the one placed in the 1000-meter pit had a significantly increased appetite and was emotionally unstable.
Three days later, the white mouse placed in the 1000-meter pit was noticeably larger than the one in the 500-meter pit, and its emotions were even more volatile.
The white mouse placed at 15,000 meters turned into a monster shortly after being retrieved.
All the white mice placed below 15,000 meters could not be retrieved. For some reason, the steel cables snapped, and the boxes containing the white mice disappeared.
By studying the cross-sections of the broken steel cables, it was discovered that some seemed to be burned by high-voltage electricity, some by high temperature, and some were corroded.
At this point, everyone roughly understood that the illusory ocean should be located about 15,000 meters underground.
After multiple, multi-faceted experiments, it was proven that Zhang Hongwen and Grisha's hypothesis was basically reasonable: the illusory ocean could make creatures stronger, but current creatures could not withstand such powerful forces.
Now that there was a hypothesis to explain the illusory ocean, the next step was to further understand or utilize it.
The first problem facing everyone was sampling. It was difficult to perform any operations at a depth of 15 kilometers underground, and it was clear that all currently known materials were insufficient to collect the illusory water.
However, after discussions, a solution was quickly found. At this time, China's 'artificial sun' project had made some progress. Scientists believed that the force field controlling nuclear fusion could be used to try to control the illusory water.
Moreover, sampling could be done during 'high tide'! This would shorten the sampling distance.
This experiment began in full swing. The first problem to be solved was the huge power demand of the force field, which could not be sustained by a large diesel engine.
So, after inspecting the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, these two reactors were restarted.
In fact, after the Chernobyl disaster, the other reactors continued to operate normally for some time, some even for about 20 years.
The nuclear power plant was completely shut down only when Ukraine could no longer maintain the nuclear reactors.
Restarting the reactors by adding nuclear fuel at this time posed huge safety risks, but there was no better solution at present.
So, with intensive preparation, everything was ready for sampling in just about ten days.
At the moment of another 'high tide,' the instrument generating the force field at a depth of 3 kilometers underground immediately began to work, but soon, contact with the instrument was lost.
It took a full ten minutes before the signal between the control room and the instrument was re-established.
Because there was no time to establish a relevant triggering device, it was not clear whether the sampling was successful.
Subsequent operations were handed over to the intelligent computer, because according to previous information, people could not directly look at the illusory water.
The extremely large device for the force field, under the control of the intelligent computer, was sent into a specially vacated laboratory using pre-laid tracks, and a sealed space was formed after the metal door was closed.
Soon, according to the computer's analysis, there was a liquid-like structure in the force field.
Everyone in the institute cheered. The sampling was successful!
Subsequent research was carried out intensively. The first research was on the sample's weight, density, basic structure, and so on.
Unexpectedly, the weight of the sample was very unstable. Sometimes the weight was 0, and more often the weight was constantly changing, from 1 gram to 326 grams.
People exclaimed: 'These are truly amazing materials!'
...
Russia, Second Baku Oilfield.
After the disappearance of oil deposits, the oil workers here left one after another.
For more than half a month, only a few gatekeepers remained in the vast oil field area.
Rumble~
Suddenly, a huge sound came from underground, as if a behemoth was about to break out of the ground.
The several gatekeepers of the oil field area came out of the rooms in their respective areas, looking for the source of the sound.
Old Galey, one of the gatekeepers, saw an oil pump not far from him trembling, as if a force was about to push it forward.
Old Galey cautiously checked from a distance and called his superior to report the situation here.
Bang~
At the moment of making the call, a stream of black liquid erupted near the oil pump!
"My God!" Old Galey exclaimed: "That's oil! It's just spraying out like this!"
But soon he realized something was wrong. The oil was getting bigger and bigger, forming a huge fountain!
Moreover, there was obviously something wrong with this oil. There were objects with strange lights flashing in the black liquid.
Old Galey sensed a huge danger. He turned and ran, but he was quickly caught up.
The oil wrapped him up as if it had a life of its own. In Old Galey's screams, he turned into a black liquid and continued to flow forward with the oil.
...
One hour later, the Chernobyl Research Institute learned everything that happened at the Second Baku Oilfield.
Five hours later, samples of the ejected oil, as well as samples of objects with strange lights, were sent to the Chernobyl Research Institute.
Along with these samples came a preliminary investigation report.
According to eyewitnesses, at first, the oil seemed to have life, killing living things. All creatures wrapped in oil also turned into black oil.
But after coming to the ground for about a minute, the oil lost its 'life'.
As for those objects with strange lights, they were more terrifying than radioactive materials.
Although no radiation or harmful substances could be detected, if you were within ten meters of them, your emotions would be significantly affected. If you were within one meter of them, you would go crazy in just three seconds and turn into a twisted monster!
So, they were collected with a mechanical arm more than ten meters long, put into boxes, and during subsequent transportation, personnel kept more than ten meters away from the boxes.
This sudden event completely disrupted the institute's research plan. All the researchers were very clear that this meant the illusory ocean underground had begun to overflow in small amounts on the ground, and many people must have been affected.
So, more scholars and scientists were invited here, and some routine experiments were skipped to start live experiments directly.
White mice were brought into contact with the ejected oil, the substances with strange lights, and the samples collected from the illusory ocean, respectively.
Because the white mice would definitely turn into monsters, the experiment was carried out in a steel-structured sealed space. There were offensive weapons in the laboratory, as well as an observation window made of bulletproof glass for easy observation.
Through several rounds of experiments, it was confirmed that the ejected oil no longer had many harmful substances, and the white mice did not have any severe adverse reactions after coming into contact with it.
Soon, further experiments were carried out with war refugees, further proving that the oil no longer possessed bizarre destructiveness after coming to the surface for a period of time.
However, those substances with strange lights still made the white mice go crazy and turn into irrational monsters.
Further experiments with war refugees also proved this point, and the monsters that these refugees turned into possessed some wonderful abilities. Some could make their bodies emit light, and some could create lightning out of thin air.
Fortunately, the experimental site was strong enough, and these lights and lightning failed to break through the barrier of the steel frame structure and were burned to ashes by the electromagnetic weapons prepared inside.
After multiple rounds of experiments, researchers could even determine that those strange lights could give the experimental subjects the ability to emit sunlight, and those could give the experimental subjects the ability to generate lightning.
As more strange substances gushed out from underground and were sent here, experiments continued to be used to determine their capabilities.
Experiments on those illusory water currents were the most thrilling. White mice that came into contact with the light-emitting substances would at most turn into monsters that were a circle larger than their bodies.
But contact with these illusory water currents could instantly turn them into monsters the length of an adult's arm with strong attack power.
Everyone dared not conduct further experiments, fearing that they would create uncontrollable monsters.
As experiments continued to unfold, there were finally means to detect these strange forces. Only by monitoring the activity of microscopic particles could the existence of this force be monitored.
In the monitoring equipment, it could be seen that those strange light-emitting substances formed a small twisted vortex, while the collected illusory water flow was a huge twisted vortex.
But the experiment had to continue, because their ultimate goal was to utilize these strange substances.
...
Late at night, Grisha had just finished a video conference. According to official information from Russia, there had been multiple monster attacks in the country, and the situation was getting more and more urgent. The institute had to achieve results as soon as possible.
Holding materials such as 'Research on Re-oiling of Dried-up Oil Fields,' he left the conference room somewhat tired. He had seen too many human experiments in the past two days and was physically and mentally exhausted.
At the end of the corridor was a huge glass grandstand. Grisha saw Zhang Hongwen standing alone on the grandstand, looking down.
He quickly came to Zhang Hongwen's side: 'Continuing human experiments is not a good idea.'
Zhang Hongwen gave an 'um' and said, 'Everyone knows this.'
His eyes were fixed on the deep pit: 'Do you feel it? There seems to be a voice from the ground.'
Grisha nodded: 'Many people have mentioned this. In dreams, unintentionally, there seems to be a voice from the ground hoping to communicate with us.'
'Perhaps, we still lack a channel,' Zhang Hongwen retracted his gaze.
Grisha immediately said: 'Friend, I know what you want to do, but that's useless. You'll instantly become a madman.'
Zhang Hongwen shook his head: 'These days, I have been carefully studying the reactions of those whose minds have been affected. I have found that their initially incoherent words are not meaningless.
'It's just that they are limited by their own knowledge and don't understand what they are experiencing, so they seem incoherent.'
He looked at the Russian friend in front of him: 'Actually, many people have thought of this, right?'
Grisha took a deep breath: 'But no one is willing to say it.'
'The higher-ups don't seem to care about human experiments at all.'
'Buddy, I know you've always been against human experiments.' Grisha suddenly felt a little uneasy: 'But... but... okay, most people know that human experiments are meaningless.'
Zhang Hongwen took off his glasses and said, 'No, you don't understand. If there is a chance, I will invite you to the Northeast to visit the evidence exhibition hall of the Japanese invaders in China.
'We are different from you. We still remember that painful history.'
He wiped his glasses and put them back on: 'In my opinion, it is a little nobler to volunteer to be a test subject than to let others be test subjects.'
Grisha's eyes were red as he grabbed Zhang Hongwen's arm: 'Friend, you... maybe, maybe we can also teach those refugees some theoretical knowledge...'
'There's no time.' Zhang Hongwen smiled: 'In this unknown disaster, we are too weak. If we want to know the truth, we must pay some price.
'If we don't try, how can we know if it is because of limited knowledge and information that we have not been able to obtain too much useful information.'
He paused and said seriously: 'This may be our last chance.'
Grisha was silent, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Zhang Hongwen's experiment was immediately approved, which also made everyone realize how serious the situation had become.
After multiple awards and commendations, Zhang Hongwen was sent to the laboratory. He chose to directly contact the illusory water flow taken from the ground.
However, the contact distance was determined by himself, so there were communication microphones inside and outside the laboratory.
The illusory water flow was still under the control of the force field and was approaching the laboratory using the track. When it was thirty meters away, even with several thick steel plates in between, Zhang Hongwen said that he had heard some strange whispers.
When it was twenty meters away, Zhang Hongwen's emotions were obviously more irritable. He seemed very angry, why couldn't he still hear those whispers clearly?
As the illusory water flow came to the laboratory where he was, he suddenly said, 'Stop.'
At this time, Zhang Hongwen already looked a little abnormal. With every movement he made, layers of hair fell off, his skin turned gray for a while, then white again, and his eyes were bloodshot red.
'It comes from the distant past.' Zhang Hongwen said with a painful face, 'Very, very distant, it existed before the formation of the universe!'
The institute director immediately asked, "What exactly is it? What is its purpose?"
Zhang Hongwen seemed not to hear the director's question and continued, "It doesn't seem to like me very much."
"It gave me too much information; I can only describe the useful parts!"
This was the difference between him and the other test subjects; he knew which information might be useful.
Grisha snatched the microphone from the director, "Old Zhang, just relay everything it 'says' to us."
"It prefers those who wear crosses." Zhang Hongwen's bloodshot eyes were somewhat blurred; as his hair fell out, his skin began to peel off in patches. "What we captured wasn't that illusory ocean.
"That illusory ocean is indivisible; these are just some oil deposits that have undergone qualitative changes because of the illusory ocean.
"This is a substance we've never discovered before, existing between reality and illusion. There are six portions of such a substance on Earth, and only this illusory ocean has an entrance in the real world.
"The illusory water flow is different in nature from the luminous substance. These illusory water flows are difficult to tame with human will, but humans can utilize the luminous substance relatively easily.
"But this path will inevitably be very tortuous. We have to do many experiments, and there will be many sacrifices."
Zhang Hongwen's flesh was twisted at this point, making him tall and thin, with the monster component being excessively human-like.
He continued in a hoarse voice, "A great being is about to awaken. I see, humanity still has some hope. Yes, as long as we are not destroyed, there is still hope.
"It, it says, it doesn't like the Taoist robe on me. It prefers you people who wear crosses.
"The only, the only, no, not the only hope, the hope to control that illusory ocean, is at the bottom of the pit.
"We can do it, yes, we can do it.
"Heh, what a wonderful ocean... an ocean..."
Zhang Hongwen suddenly looked outside the laboratory. At this point, all his skin had peeled off, his whole body was blood red, his muscles were wriggling, he was fully three meters tall, and his eyes were more like those of a beast.
The moment they saw these eyes, everyone was stunned, their eyes blank, as if they didn't know why they were there.
Suddenly, the scientist closest to the laboratory door seemed to receive some kind of order, and with dazed eyes, he pressed the button, and the laboratory door was opened just like that.
"Zhang Hongwen" immediately came out of the door, and with a slight wave of his hand, the observation room was filled with dark clouds.
Crack~
Several thunderclaps sounded, and six people were struck dead on the spot, and many others were paralyzed by the lightning.
The remaining people woke up as if from a dream and fled, but they were all jammed at the door for a while.
"Zhang Hongwen" opened his arms, as if embracing the sun.
Blazing sunlight appeared in the sky above the doorway, and a scorching sunbeam was about to shine into the crowd, burning most of them to death.
"Old Zhang!" Grisha, whose body was numb from the lightning strike, struggled to get up and shouted.
Zhang Hongwen suddenly froze, and the sunlight above everyone's heads gradually disappeared.
The whole world seemed to be quiet for a second or two. At this moment, Zhang Hongwen suddenly rushed to the door, and several researchers who couldn't dodge were knocked away.
Grisha struggled to chase after him. When he came to the corridor, he saw Zhang Hongwen smashing the glass of the grandstand and then jumping onto the windowsill.
He turned his head, showed Grisha a smile, and then leaped down.
Grisha shouted with a cry, "Old Zhang!"
The director limped over at this time and said, "Zhang Hongwen was very brave, but our research must continue, who will be the next..."
Rumble~
At this moment, the institute suddenly shook, and everyone looked at the flickering lights above their heads, and for a moment, they had a bad feeling.
More than half a minute later, the company commander in charge of maintaining order came over and said, "Retreat quickly! Reactor No. 1 has exploded violently!"
These devices from more than half a century ago finally couldn't bear the burden and suffered a serious failure.
The first thing Grisha and others thought of was not to escape, but to look at the device carrying the illusory water flow.
Buzz~ Buzz~ Buzz~~ Buzz~
The force field stopped working, and the metal wall outside the force field immediately turned black and liquefied at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Grisha quickly turned his head away. He knew he couldn't look directly at the illusory water flow.
The company commander realized the seriousness of the problem and immediately ran to the button with the glass cover not far away, smashed the glass with a punch, and then pressed the button hard.
An urgent alarm sounded immediately. At this moment, all the exits of the institute were automatically closed, and an engineering company outside would completely seal all the exits with concrete after receiving the corresponding notification.
This was an emergency plan determined long ago to prevent the monsters in the institute from escaping to the outside world.
At this time, the illusory water flow had successfully "escaped" from the container. For a time, some people turned into pools of oil, and some people turned into monsters similar to Zhang Hongwen.
More people were fleeing in a panic.
Grisha followed the director and others to the institute's emergency shelter.
This place even had nuclear protection functions, temporarily blocking the monsters.
The monsters obviously had limited intelligence and were chasing the researchers who had failed to escape here, so it was still safe here.
After the director reported the experimental results and the current situation here to Moscow using the emergency communication system, he took out a pistol and committed suicide.
Despair filled the crowd. Everyone knew they couldn't get out.
Grisha sat in the corner, not speaking, not drinking water, and not eating anything.
About a day or two later, he said with bloodshot eyes, "You must wear a cross, you must have enough determination, to be able to use that illusory ocean."
An Englishman next to him said, "It's useless, there's no hope, we have no hope."
"Yes!" Grisha said firmly, "Zhang Hongwen has found hope for us!"
He glanced at the Englishman, only to see despair in his eyes. Looking down, he saw the Englishman writing some disordered words in his notebook:
"What exactly happened? The doctor turned into a pool of black oil in front of me!
The outside has sealed off this institute... no one can leave, no one can leave...
Only we are still normal, but our food is running out.
I seem to be hallucinating. There seems to be a sound coming from underground. It's calling me, He's calling me..."
Grisha suddenly smiled, struggled to get up, and walked out, saying, "The matter is actually very simple. It's a substance that makes humans stronger, but the price is that they will become crazy.
"It is different from all the elements we have discovered so far, even without substance, even not in the real world..."
As he spoke, he opened the door of the shelter.
No one stopped him, but after he went out, someone quickly closed the door again.
Grisha saw that the emergency lights outside were still on, but it was a mess. There were clumps of oil on the ground and on the walls.
It seemed that all the monsters had eventually turned into oil.
Grisha continued as he walked, "In the future, we will definitely be able to control this power, yes, we will..."
Although there were no listeners, he continued, "But before that, we must have enough determination! We must believe that we can do it."
As he spoke, he came to the glass grandstand.
Whoosh~
Without the obstruction of the glass, the wind from the deep pit blew up, making him feel colder than ever before.
Grisha looked down with his upper body, the deep pit was dark and the bottom could not be seen.
He slowly climbed onto the windowsill, "Old Zhang, you have the determination, and so do I!"
After speaking, Grisha jumped down, he knew that this jump was likely to be fatal, but his eyes were firm, and Zhang Hongwen's smile when he jumped into the deep pit seemed to Blink before his eyes again.
Rumble~
At this moment, the surrounding area vibrated violently.
Grisha saw that the deep pit had collapsed on a large scale, and the institute had also collapsed in half, part of it falling into the ground with him.
The illusory ocean expanded at this time, more violently than ever before!
Grisha saw what seemed to be an infinite number of colors in the infinite ocean, "What a beautiful ocean..."
He fell into it silently, losing consciousness.
Time seemed to become eternal. Grisha had a very long dream. He dreamed that the outside world was badly damaged by the sudden extraordinary power.
But humans really survived. They underwent serious mutations. Some became blood clans, some became elves, some became werewolves, and some became giants.
One day, he finally woke up.
In a void, he looked at his hands and instantly understood many things.
Next to Grisha was an ancient stone slab with 22 potion formulas on it.
He realized that as long as these formulas were spread more widely, humans could better control the extraordinary.
So he took the stone slab, turned into a stream of light, and returned from the ground to the location of the laboratory.
This place had long been turned into ruins. After feeling a little emotional, he passed through the thick concrete wall by stealing space and came to the outside world.
It was pitch black outside, and he wanted to see what kind of changes had taken place outside.
So he said, "Let there be light!"
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