Super Zoo

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The Hell's Gate Mine was no more than five kilometers away in a straight line from the plain where the Lure People were currently living; one could gaze at the mountain outline of the mine from outside the tents, several kilometers away. On foot, it would take at most just over an hour to get there, and one could also enjoy the scenery along the way.

At first, Suming didn't understand Alayi's intention and thought he didn't want to walk too much due to his old age.

He couldn't help but sigh to himself. Just a few days ago in the mountains of Iraq, they had been chased by IS like rabbits over the rough terrain for several hours, followed by a day or two of fierce fighting. The High Priest had not uttered a word about being tired, but now, having settled down for mere days, his spirit for enduring hardship and struggling valiantly seemed to be fading.

It is true that one is born in adversity and dies in comfort; without the pressing pressure, even the wise old man Alayi began to crave comfort.

But after all, it was simply a matter of riding in a car, which could hardly be deemed corrupt or luxurious. Alayi was, after all, an elderly man, perhaps not accustomed to the relatively cold environment. Suming felt a slight pang of sympathy but didn't think much of it.

They temporarily borrowed a military vehicle from the Engineering Corps, declined the offer from the commanding officer to send soldiers for protection, and Suming, Alayi, along with Amir and two other gun-carrying Lure youths, drove to the mine.

The road to the mine had been abandoned for many years, rugged and difficult to traverse, with numerous slopes and streams. Fortunately, the fierce off-road capability of the "Ox Dragon" military vehicle that the Russian Military had imported from Huaxia, rugged and durable, meant they never dropped below thirty miles per hour en route and arrived outside the mine in no time.

Seeing the entrance to the mine on the mountainside in the distance, Suming finally realized why Alayi insisted on driving instead of walking.

Most people think of a mine as a hole in the mountain, with miners pushing carts or automated treadmills, with mine carts entering and exiting the mine.

But upon seeing the 'Hell's Gate' mine in front of him, Suming knew his concept was woefully outdated.

The entrance to the mine, should hardly be described as a "hole." It was at least forty to fifty meters wide and as tall as a four- or five-story building! From a distance, the mine entrance on the mountain looked like a giant beast sprawled on the horizon, with its massive jaws open.

A concrete road wide enough for five or six vehicles to drive side by side started dozens of meters from the mine and led straight into its depths.

Not far from the mine entrance, several discarded machines were scattered around, including heavy machinery such as cranes.

Further away, there lay ruins that no longer resembled their original form; one could only roughly guess from the scale that this had been the residence of miners and technical staff when the mine was still in operation decades ago.

Suming shook his head with a wry smile, realizing he still hadn't seen much of the world. With a little thought, it was clear that the Hell's Gate Mine, which delved down over ten thousand meters, was practically an underground palace, if not a small underground city. An entrance of such size was for the machinery to pass through and operate inside the mine.

Such a massive subterranean structure, with only a visible entrance that was just part of what lay hidden in the tens of thousands of meters of complex and multiple branched caves underground. If they were to rely on their legs alone...

Alayi must have known about the situation in advance, which was why he suggested driving there, not out of a desire for comfort.

"The young man who came to scout the place went down for over two hours and almost got lost," Alayi said with a wry smile.

"Lucky you reminded me to drive here, otherwise we would have returned empty-handed," Suming shrugged.

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With those words, his spiritual power surged out, covering an area of several hundred meters around the mine.

In a tundra forest, he found two Millet Sparrows and a family of five reindeer.

The reindeer were of no immediate use, but the Millet Sparrows were what Suming was looking for.

Similar in size to sparrows, these small birds boasted a distinctive tuft of bright yellow feathers on their chest and a tiny crown-like cluster of feathers on their heads, much more attractive than the drab sparrows.

Not only were they pretty, but the meat of the Millet Sparrows was also very delicate, considered to be the most delicious among avian species. In Stephen Chow's movie "The God of Cookery," the last dish presented by a chef covered in pustules during the initial culinary competition, the "Universe Roast Goose," was prepared by wrapping Millet Sparrows inside the goose before roasting.

This bird's vision was extraordinary and it possessed a very practical ability: "Night Eye."

The two Millet Sparrows circled above the off-road vehicle, chirping as if they were begging for food. Suming crumbled a small piece of bread, placed the crumbs in the palm of his hand, and the Millet Sparrows landed steadily, pecking at the food with their little beaks.

"Let's go."

Once the two little guys had almost finished eating, Suming tossed his hand, sending the Millet Sparrows into the sky, then he gently pressed on the accelerator and the off-road vehicle started down the concrete road, entering the mouth of Hell's Gate Mine.

The space inside the mine was still very spacious, enough to comfortably fit several vehicles side by side, and every hundred meters or so, there were even street lights along the road, though they were no longer lit. After driving a few hundred meters down the sloping concrete road, the light gradually dimmed around them. Suming turned on the off-road vehicle's searchlights, casting a bright beam that lit up the path several dozen meters ahead.

In the darkness, the two Millet Sparrows silently led the way and brought up the rear. Through his Soul Attachment Ability, Suming could clearly make out the surroundings.

Following the mountain road-like spiraling path further underground, signs of human excavation were everywhere. Often, entrances to branching mine tunnels appeared on both sides of the road, dark and inscrutable.

The cave was incredibly quiet, devoid of the 'devil's roar' of legend. The only sound was the off-road vehicle's engine, which became the sole melody. In such circumstances, it was inevitable to feel tense and oppressed. Amir and the two Lure soldiers gripped their guns tightly, peering out the windows with vigilance, as if a devil might leap out of the surrounding dark cavities at any moment.

"Amir, you must hold firm in your faith. With the Divine Envoy beside us, what devil could possibly harm you?" Alayi wasn't worried at all.

"Please forgive my cowardice, Father," Amir said, glancing at the composed Suming and speaking to Alayi with evident shame.

Suming drove while surveying the area through his Soul Attachment Ability. Terrifying as it was, he saw nothing amiss along the way. He even sent a Millet Sparrow into one of the branching tunnels to check it out. The tunnel contained nothing but some abandoned tools and decomposed makeshift rooms. Beyond that, there was nothing, not even a single imagined skeleton.

The greatest fear comes from the unknown, and the most terrifying thing is a sudden, ghastly face appearing out of nowhere. Thus, in most horror films, once the 'ghost' actually appears, the atmosphere of terror greatly diminishes, leaving only tension. With Suming's Soul Attachment Ability, he had nearly full control over every corner within a few hundred meters; the 'unknown' did not exist for him, and without it, there was simply no fear—only a focused awareness of the environment.

The off-road vehicle maintained a low speed and drove for an hour before the terrain ahead finally leveled out again. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire

They had reached the bottom of the ten-kilometer mine.