Chapter 48: Unveiling the Subterranean Truth

Su Yingning asked, perplexed, “What do you mean? There are clearly only three passages, and the vanguard exploration team already surveyed them. They’re professional explorers; even in reality, they wouldn’t make such an egregious mistake.”

“Explorers? What are explorers? Are they so impressive?” I scoffed. “Steady yourself. I’m about to… *ahem*, it’s time to reveal the truth those explorers failed to perceive!”

“The truth those explorers failed to perceive?”

“Precisely.” I smiled mysteriously. “Now, look beneath our feet. If you peel back this thin layer of turf and clay, you’ll discover a stratum of hard, white limestone… I can tell you with absolute certainty that we are currently standing on a seabed from 350 million years ago.”

“A sea… seabed?!” Su Yingning was stunned. “Alright, even if that’s true, what does it have to do with the passages?”

“After small organisms died, they settled to the seabed. Over time, they compressed and fused, ultimately forming the expanse of limestone terrain we see before us… or, more precisely, a limestone valley.” I raised a single finger, my expression conveying that only one truth could exist. “I’ve encountered this kind of valley topography in one particular place: the Yorkshire Dales in England! Once, after I assassinated the Queen of England, I spent three years evading the British military deep within the Yorkshire Dales. Leveraging the Dales’ geographical advantages, I single-handedly eliminated one thousand two hundred and fifty-seven members of the Royal British Special Forces with just a dagger. Consequently, I am intimately familiar with this extraordinary valley terrain…”

“Dales? You’re saying this is a Dales terrain? But it’s completely bare here; there are no streams or valleys at all… And as an NPC, is it really appropriate for you to spin such outlandish tales?” Su Yingning pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation. “You’re just like my brother—bragging is one thing, but I can’t even be bothered to refute those utterly unrealistic boasts…”

“Hmph, hmph. Mortal wisdom… is truly limited! Dales, Dales. Who told you that Dales must always be visible on the surface?” I dismissively wagged a finger. “Our destination is surrounded by mountains on all sides, yet it’s a small basin… A basin, by its very nature, is concave like a bowl, possessing a significant capacity for water retention. However, the map you hold shows only a few small lakes within this basin, with no excessive accumulation of rainwater… So, the question arises: if the surrounding area is entirely composed of hard, impermeable limestone, where has all the water in the basin gone?”

Su Yingning instantly grasped my meaning, her eyes lighting up. “You mean… subterranean rivers?”

“Precisely! Due to continuous rainfall, the rainwater contains weak carbonic acid. Over time, just like the Yorkshire Dales, the underground here would have been eroded by the rain, forming intricate networks of stalactite caves and subterranean rivers. And among these subterranean rivers, at least a dozen must lead to the area beneath the small lakes in the center of the basin…”

‘If this game’s level of realism is truly so profound, then much of the obscure knowledge I accumulated in my previous life, which ordinary people would never encounter, will become my ultimate trump card in this game!’

‘A truly top-tier assassin isn’t some weakling who only knows how to use a sniper rifle and a dagger!’

“On our way here, I noticed a small river. That river must be a branch of a subterranean river. If we locate its source, we’ll find the entrance to the underground world…”

“The underground world?” Su Yingning seemed to realize something, her hand unconsciously reaching for her system inventory—within it lay a mining pick, an essential tool for everyone.

“Precisely: an unknown underground world, unguarded by anyone, leading directly to the center of the basin, and completely unexplored!”