The spring in Norzin was brief.

Or rather, it could be said that in this city of steel which lacked greenery, not a hint of spring could be felt in the outer areas of the Upper District, much less so in the slums where factories were densely concentrated.

Under the gloomy sky filled with thick black smoke, workers with pale faces and hurried expressions headed to factories filled with heavy smog every day of their lives.

Lin Jie reckoned he probably wouldn't get any customers today.

He eyed the empty bookstore pensively. While he was used to being alone, he still felt comfortable with the lively atmosphere when Mu'en and Joseph were still around.

Fortunately, Joseph only went out to bring some warmth to the refugees and the community and would be back soon...

Joseph had been like this recently, heading out to do his own thing as if he were the secretive and mysterious Batman.

Lin Jie guessed that it was probably related to Melissa, so he didn't interfere.

Now he was the only one left in this place... No, to be precise, there was still Blackie.

Lin Jie recalled the events that unfolded yesterday. Those slick-looking black tentacles reaching out from behind him and trapping the Witch of Life.

Hmm... Lin Jie rubbed his chin. Although tentacles were a traditional symbol of evil monsters, Blackie had originally been a human form shadow. It was worth looking into why it had chosen to take the form of tentacles.

Moreover, the target was a beautiful woman with a good figure and appearance... if the non-human qualities of flames on her body were ignored.

Lin Jie's thoughts wandered as he sat alone at the counter. Then, as if recalling something, he took a notebook out from the drawer.

There were familiar patterns on this notebook, and it was clear that this one originated from the same place as the notebook Lin Jie himself had, which was the Shendu Archaeological Institute of Cultural Relics.

The current notebook had been dropped by Maria. Unlike the previous one, this notebook seemed to have suffered little damage nor dirt and appeared quite intact.

Lin Jie hadn't gone through the notebook immediately after he got it because he felt some sense of unease. His intuition told him that this notebook might reveal the answers to the questions he had been pondering for a long time, but it would also make him face certain things.

After hesitating for a long time, Lin Jie took a deep breath and opened the journal.

A line of bold, familiar handwriting firmly caught his gaze.

"1st March, sunny."

"The results of the survey are out. If there aren't any issues, the area beneath should be a lost, ancient kingdom, and just writing these down makes me feel faint excitement.""But Professor Chen, who is in charge of the survey, says that there may be strange never-before-discovered magnetic fields down there which may have unknown effects on humans. Perhaps we will need to study it more before we can go down."

"But someone has to go down, right? And this is a ruin that we discovered first. What's the point if someone else steals the credit for all our years of hard work?"

"Professor Chen is a like-minded and truly good friend of many years. He doesn't want his years of hard work to be taken away by others as well. We quickly agreed to formally initiate the project and conduct excavation work, and the information about the magnetic field will be temporarily kept secret."

"Caiyong thinks that I'm overly burdened by my worries of late and am under great psychological pressure. She suggested increasing the dosage of my medication, but I told her not to worry. We've been through so many years, what could go wrong?"

"However, she's always like this. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I love seeing her worried about me, and it's great that her eyes are all on me."

Lin Jie's eyes widened when he saw the name Caiyong. That was his mother's name—Zhang Caiyong.

Just as he guessed, this archaeological team was the one his father, Lin Minghai, was a part of on his last archaeological project.

In other words, the owner of this notebook was his father, Lin Minghai.

"17th March, sunny."

"I underestimated the magnetic field influence in this area."

"My student, Wang Qi, has developed hysteria, perhaps due to excessive stress, or perhaps due to something else, but we cannot expose the issue about the magnetic fields. Otherwise, the project will come to a halt, and everything will all be in vain... I asked Caiyong to diagnose him with hysteria and send him to the hospital."

"I am upset... but research is something that us archaeologists must do. In other words, who else is willing to go through hell if not me?"

"I have explained the entire situation to the team members and any member that doesn't want to continue is allowed to quit immediately."

"Fortunately, no one wishes to pull out. They are all good colleagues and good students of mine. They are full of vigorous curiosity, and even urge me to continue. These are the flames of humanity. It is because of this curiosity that humans can decipher puzzles over and over, which move us forward."

"Caiyong suggests that we must have a means to vent; otherwise, the pressure of long-term high-intensity work will continue to increase, and more people will experience issues with their mental state of well-being."

"Thus, I've asked everyone to start documenting a journal, to record research results as well as to vent their thoughts. Even if we perish someday, these journals can let others know about our efforts. Even leaving something behind for future generations is good."

"27th March, sunny."

"Old Chen said that the geological conditions ahead are no longer suitable for exploration, but he doesn't want to give up and is researching methods to progress further."

"He seems very excited, but his eyes do not seem to be focused, which makes me rather uneasy… but perhaps that is just my imagination. We had a heart-to-heart talk, and I was able to understand what he envisaged. My goal is the same, so I decided to put aside my doubts and ensure the excavation progresses smoothly."

"Aside from that, Caiyong is feeling rather uncomfortable. She hasn't eaten breakfast and has been vomiting. This worries me a little."

"28th March, sunny."

"Old Chen's excavation team cleared the way ahead. Everyone was delighted and their faces were filled with renewed hope. I am gratified, and so are my students.""Move forward, we have to keep moving forward. I have a feeling that we will definitely make an immense discovery."

(Blood stains smeared the rest of the entry, making it unreadable.)

"29th March, sunny."

"We dug up a 'door.' At that moment, an ominous feeling came over me and I wanted to turn back. I wanted to ask Caiyong to go back, but she encouraged me to persevere, saying that Lin Minghai is someone who would stop at nothing for his ideals."

"She gazed at me like I was the only one in her eyes and that look was something I couldn't refuse. I love her."

"The excavation will go on."

"30th March, rainy."

"We managed to get in, but the door was permanently shut. What lay inside shocked and amazed me. It was a form of architecture we have never seen before. Although old and dirty, it was grander than any other building we had ever seen... Perhaps saying this might be an over exaggeration, but it was even more magnificent than the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor."

"It doesn't seem like something that humans could have built."

"Old Chen, who was leading the excavation team, was even more amazed than I was and immediately sent his students to investigate the structure. However, they came back and said that there wasn't even a single load-bearing column. Old Chen went crazy and even hit a student on the head with a shovel."

"It was too chaotic... strange... Everyone was trying to stop the fighting, but it ended up becoming a violent brawl and Old Chen was beaten to death."

"No one saw who did it, but someone pulled out Old Chen's tongue."

"We didn't have the strength to investigate nor bury Old Chen's body. His mouth was gaping and his eyes were wide open."

"At night, I thought to myself that perhaps the reflection in his eyes would reveal the killer's face, so I went to take a look."

"Ha, of course that's impossible. He's already dead. Only my face was reflected in his eyes."

"1st April, rainy."

"We slept in that underground building last night. When I opened my eyes, Caiyong was seated next to me. Seeing me wake up, her first words were, "Lin Minghai, I'm pregnant."

"The unpleasantness of the past few days was swept away in an instant. I've never been so happy before. We've been married for two years already, and finally, we are about to have a new addition to our family."

"No wonder Caiyong had been feeling nauseous all this time. She was pregnant after all."

"But Caiyong said the door has been closed and we might be trapped here forever. Living together and dying together was rather romantic too."

"Impossible! I kissed her forehead and comforted her, telling her not to be so pessimistic and that there will certainly be a way out if we keep moving forward."

"Caiyong nodded and said she would always believe in me. I touched her belly, which was round and bulging, making her look like she was almost five to six months pregnant. When I put my hand on it, I could even feel the baby's heartbeat."

"However, our supplies are running low. Rainwater has gotten into the dry food, making it moldy. If things continue, it will just be a dead end."

"Fortunately, Old Chen said that he had extra dry food that he could share. Now that our team isn't that large anymore, these dry goods are enough to go around."

"There's truly always a way out when one needs it."