funbook-pk Chapter 228 The Laboratory (1)
Chapter 228 The Laboratory (1)
Despite noticing the strangeness of the door, Gu Nanfeng and Ji Lang still followed their original plan, each carrying a long rope, and entered the sand-filled laboratory.
If it weren't for the protective suits and masks borrowed by Lu Yuan, Gu Nanfeng and Ji Lang might have had their mouths and noses covered by the yellow sand as soon as they entered, and would have been gloriously sacrificed within minutes.
However, even with protective masks and powerful flashlights on protective suits, visibility was still very low in the raging sandstorm.
The two people entered the door together, but as they walked, they lost sight of each other.
"Captain Ji, what's the situation on your end?" Gu Nanfeng's voice came through the protective mask, and the people outside the door could also hear it. Clearly, Ji Lang and Gu Nanfeng had been forced to separate.
"It's all yellow sand, I can't see anything else." Ji Lang brushed the yellow sand covering his mask with his hand. He had to do this every ten seconds, otherwise the yellow sand would cover his mask and he wouldn't be able to see anything.
"How many meters have we walked?" Gu Nanfeng asked again, but this time he was asking Pei Sihao and Lin Yun outside the door.
“A little over a meter,” Pei Sihao replied immediately.
"What?" Ji Lang was incredulous. "I feel like I've walked at least ten meters."
“Yes, I feel the same way.” Gu Nanfeng thought for a moment and continued, “This space must be an illusion. Let’s take us back.”
As soon as Gu Nanfeng finished speaking, he felt the traction rope around his waist move, and then he was suddenly pulled out by a force. The whole process took only two or three seconds, and he could feel that he was moving very fast.
Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, he had already left the room and appeared in the corridor of the underground laboratory with Ji Lang. The two of them were covered in yellow sand, which made Lu Yuan feel sorry for them. He was worried about his protective suit, wondering if the starship cleaning system could clean it properly, or if it would clog the cleaning system.
Completely unprepared, Ji Lang lost his balance when he was pulled out and bumped directly into Yang Xiao, who was standing in front of Lin Yun helping to pull the rope. Surprisingly, this time Yang Xiao didn't say anything and stepped back to the side after seeing that Ji Lang was alright.
After Gu Nanfeng came out, he didn't say anything. Instead, he went to the laboratory next door, wandered around inside, and then returned to the door of the laboratory where the others were.
"The area inside should be the same, but for some reason, people's perception is shrunk after they go in, making us feel like we are in a vast desert." Gu Nanfeng said, carefully wiping the sand off his protective mask, and then asked Lu Yuan for a rope just like the one he was wearing.
“I’ll go in again. This time, Captain Ji will pull the rope.” Gu Nanfeng said as he hung the two ropes on the same spot on his left and right sides of his waist. Then he continued to say to Ji Lang, “If I go astray, you pull the rope on the corresponding side.”
Ji Lang initially disagreed, believing that it should be either him or Lin Yun who went in. However, after hearing Gu Nanfeng's words, he knew that Gu Nanfeng must have a solution, so he didn't stop him. In any case, if any emergency occurred, he and the others outside could quickly pull him back.
"Don't worry." Patting Gu Nanfeng on the shoulder, Ji Lang grabbed the two ropes. Behind him, Lin Yun and Pei Sihao each held the latter half of one rope, so they could help immediately if anything went wrong.
As Gu Nanfeng was about to re-enter the room, Lu Yuan, who had been watching the commotion from the side of the door, gave him a thumbs-up and then maintained a polite smile as he looked at him.
Realizing that Lu Yuan must have seen through his thoughts, Gu Nanfeng said nothing, smiled back at Lu Yuan, and then walked directly into the sandstorm inside the door.
Just like when he came in, there was still a sandstorm. His protective mask was quickly covered by the sand, but this time he did not wipe it off immediately. Instead, he walked forward with determination.
After walking about ten steps, he felt the rope around his right waist tug, so he stopped, adjusted his direction, and waited until both ropes around his waist were taut before continuing to move forward.
"How is it?" Ji Lang's voice came through.
"How far have I gone?" Gu Nanfeng asked in return.
“It’s about three meters long,” Ji Lang said.
"Okay, sure." Gu Nanfeng said this and then fell silent.
Ji Lang clearly sensed that Gu Nanfeng had walked a distance, judging from the rope in their hands, it was about a meter long, and then he stopped.
"Aren't you leaving?" Pei Sihao, who was behind Ji Lang, saw that the rope hadn't moved for a while, so he peeked towards the door.
"Have we reached the end?" Lin Yun and his team had been to all the laboratories, so he was quite familiar with the general layout of this laboratory. In terms of horizontal length, this laboratory was about six or seven meters long, and in terms of vertical width, this side of the floor was about four or five meters wide.
Since it's a laboratory for storing data and conducting small-scale experiments, the area of this floor's laboratory isn't very large. Gu Nanfeng's rope is currently only four meters long, so he's probably already at the very back of the laboratory.
"Brother Gu?" Pei Sihao called out tentatively. He had been holding back his words, afraid of distracting Gu Nanfeng.
"Yes, I'm here," Gu Nanfeng's voice came back, indicating that everything was alright.
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Ji Lang suddenly pulled on the two ropes in his hands. However, the ropes had already come loose, and there was nothing at the other end. Gu Nanfeng untied the ropes.
Pei Sihao saw Ji Lang's actions and realized what had happened. However, the four-meter rope was quickly pulled back, but Gu Nanfeng at the other end of the rope had disappeared.
"Gu Nanfeng!" Ji Lang and Pei Sihao's voices rang out at the same time, and even Lu Yuan, who was watching the commotion, peeked out from the doorway and looked into the yellow sand.
But Gu Nanfeng did not respond this time. In the vast sea of sand, it was as if no one had ever been there before, and nothing seemed to have changed.
"I'll go in." Ji Lang said, and as he followed Gu Nanfeng's instructions, he tied the two tow ropes around his waist. Lin Yun also took on the role that Ji Lang had just played.
Pei Sihao originally wanted to go in by himself, but now Ji Lang clearly wouldn't agree, so he could only watch the sandstorm inside the door with worry while sticking to his post, still holding onto one of the ropes.
Yang Xiao wanted to pull on the other rope, but although he had great strength, he was lightweight and easily pulled back. So he nudged Zhong Qiang next to him and asked him to go up and help.
Zhong Qiang had no experience and initially pulled the rope very tight, which almost caused Ji Lang, who was in a hurry to go in, to be pulled back halfway. Fortunately, Lin Yun pulled a few times first, and Zhong Qiang finally reacted.