176: Ouroboros

"Oh... my... god..."

Wang Dalong's voice trembled, his neck craned back so far it seemed about to snap, his mouth agape in an "O" shape.

The rifle in his hand was unconsciously pointed at the massive turbine fan overhead.

Each stationary blade resembled the giant blade of a guillotine, exuding a terrifying sense of oppression.

"These lunatics... dug an aircraft carrier out of the mountain?!" Wang Dalong muttered to himself.

"Stay alert!"

Stone growled in a low voice, suppressing the same shock, "Check for life signs and air readings!"

A Technician snapped back to reality and quickly operated the tactical terminal.

"Report! Oxygen content at 20.8%!"

"Radiation levels normal!"

"Infrared and sonar detection... no life signals detected!"

Dead silence.

Absolute dead silence.

The entire base was a massive metal tomb buried deep within the mountain.

"They weren't destroyed by explosions; they evacuated."

Lin Feng's voice was calm as he looked down at the pristine alloy floor beneath his feet.

"This was a planned, orderly retreat," he concluded.

Wang Dalong leaned in, lowering his voice, "Brother Feng, a retreat? They just abandoned such a huge operation? Where are they going?"

"To where they should be."

Without further explanation, Lin Feng raised his eyes, scanned the area, and based on his memory of military base layouts, pointed his flashlight toward one of the corridors.

"Let's go, to the command center."

He was the first to step forward.

"Follow! Maintain formation!" Stone immediately ordered.

The footsteps of the five became the only sound in this dead kingdom, eerily echoing through the empty corridor.

The corridor they walked through was wide enough for two main battle tanks to pass side by side.

Along the way, they passed room after room with German signs.

Laboratories, armories, archives... every door was wide open, but inside, there was nothing.

All equipment, weapons, documents... everything had been cleared out, leaving only empty metal desks and cabinets.

The discipline of this unit was meticulous to a terrifying degree.

"Holy..." Wang Dalong felt his back soaked with sweat, "Brother Feng, these Germans are ruthless, scraping the earth clean! They didn't leave a single thing behind!"

"There's a difference," Lin Feng replied without turning his head. "Detonation is for destruction."

He paused, his voice drifting slightly.

"But clearing out is for... relocation."

Relocation?

Wang Dalong and Stone exchanged glances, both seeing confusion and unease in each other's eyes.

Where could such a massive base be relocated to? The moon?

As they spoke, they arrived at a massive double-door alloy gate.

Directly above the door, a black metal plaque was engraved with a line of German text.

"ZENTRALE KOMMANDOSTELLE."

"Central Command Post," Lin Feng uttered the five words.

This was it.

The core brain of a base.

"Break it open!" Stone waved his hand.

He and another Team Member immediately stepped forward, wedging specialized crowbars into the door seam and applying force simultaneously.

Creak—!

After a piercing sound of metal twisting, followed by a dull thud, the thick alloy door was forced open.

The sight inside the command post stunned everyone once again.

A massive circular hall, ring-shaped consoles, with a deactivated holographic sand table at the center.

But unlike outside, here, everything had been thoroughly, violently destroyed.

All screens were smashed to pieces.

The consoles were charred black, countless wires brutally torn out.

Any equipment that could leak information had been completely destroyed.

"Damn it, we're too late!" Stone punched the doorframe in frustration.

However, just as everyone felt disappointed, Lin Feng's gaze bypassed the wreckage, fixating on the main wall at the deepest part of the hall.

It hadn't been destroyed.

On the wall, only one thing was painted.

A massive, eerie symbol drawn in blood-red paint.

It was a snake.

A snake frantically devouring its own tail, its entire body twisted and coiled, forming the mathematical symbol for "infinity" (∞).

Ouroboros!

It lay coiled quietly on the wall, the blood-red color seeming not yet dry, carrying a nauseating scent of blood.

It had no eyes, yet everyone felt as if they were being stared at by a pair of eyes filled with endless malice in the darkness.

"What the hell is this?!" Wang Dalong bristled instantly. "Some cult symbol? It's too creepy!"

Stone and the Technician beside him also wore grave expressions; they could clearly sense the madness and distortion behind this symbol.

Only Lin Feng remained silent.

As if entranced, he stepped forward slowly, one step at a time.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats.

He stopped before the wall, looked up at the massive blood-red symbol.

Then, he reached out his hand.

His fingertip lightly touched the cold metal wall.

The moment he made contact!

Hum—!

The long-dormant system notification suddenly blared in Lin Feng's mind!

[Ding!]

[Critical historical imprint detected: Core emblem of the 'Ancestral Heritage Society' (Ahnenerbe)!]

[System database initiating forced association... match found!]

Boom!

An image he had long sealed away as garbage information instantly exploded in his mind!

A distant England, the study of Earl Cavendish!

While searching for the Fountain of Youth, he had scanned all of the earl's private collections.

Among them was a fragment of a map about geological exploration in North Africa during World War II!

At the time, he only focused on place names, ignoring other information.

But now, the image of that map was retrieved with crystal clarity by the system!

In an inconspicuous corner of the map, a miniature mark drawn in pencil was clearly visible!

Exactly the same!

An Ouroboros twisted into the "∞" symbol!

That coordinate... that coordinate he casually discarded!

"So that's it..."

"So that's it!!!"

Lin Feng's pupils contracted sharply; he turned abruptly, his emotions surging uncontrollably!

"No! I've seen it before! Not here!"

His urgent tone and intense emotional fluctuations startled both Stone and Wang Dalong!

"Sir?!" Stone stepped forward swiftly, hand on his gun. "What did you discover?"

Lin Feng had no time to explain, his mind fixated on one thought!

That coordinate!

That coordinate he overlooked!

This base, the 'Ancestral Heritage Society,' the North African map—all connected through this blood-red symbol!

"We leave here immediately! Right now!!"

Lin Feng strode back the way they came, his voice carrying a commanding tone and a slight tremor.

"Back to the Hotel! Retrieve all the documents I scanned earlier immediately!"

"Huh?" Wang Dalong was completely bewildered, quickly catching up. "Brother Feng! What's going on? Did the snake come alive to bite us?!"

"Ten thousand times worse than that!"

Lin Feng's voice came from the dark end of the corridor, filled with suppressed excitement.

His figure had already vanished around the corner without hesitation.