"Alright, since it's so close to the spaceship, let's have Rei send two people over to check it out, just to make sure there aren't any anomalies..."

"But, they don't have the technology or experience for walking on extraterrestrial bodies. Wouldn't it be risky to send them out so abruptly? It's just a hole, isn't it? Captain, are you being overly cautious?"

Deputy Captain Maximilian said.

Tony directly rebutted him, saying:

"They are astronauts selected with great care, and their theoretical knowledge is absolutely solid, so that's not an issue. As for experience, did you have any before coming here? Everyone needs a chance, and they're no different."

After finishing, his expression became more solemn, continuing:

"Moreover, don't forget our mission here is to explore Longinus' Spear. The Moon's magnetic field is so weak, yet in this area it is unusually intense. Don't you sense something fishy about it? With such an environment, one can never be too cautious."

"Alright, you're the Boss, your decision stands."

The black deputy captain shrugged.

Soon, the spaceship received the order, and two astronauts equipped themselves and left the cabin, heading to the target area for investigation.

After about ten minutes, a reply came through Tony's communication channel.

"Captain, this hole seems very deep. We've extended the probing equipment to its maximum length of thirty meters, but still haven't reached the bottom. If we need to keep exploring, we might have to go back to the spaceship for the exploration robot."

"What? That deep!?"

Next to him, surveyor Rayden Abbott's face showed shock.

He originally thought it was just a normal small hole but didn't expect it to exceed thirty meters deep, surpassing all expectations.

"Could it be, there's actually a giant cavern below?"

Abbott started to get excited.

As a geologist studying celestial bodies, he was incredibly passionate about such unusual discoveries.

"Deploy the exploration robot..."

Tony, upon learning the result, also fell into contemplation.

The exploration robots have very strong anti-interference abilities, each exceptionally precious, originally intended for exploring Longinus' Spear.

Moreover, due to the harsh lunar environment and technical reasons, these robots, once used, become consumables, diminishing their numbers upon each usage.

Now, asking him to immediately deploy one for just this hole caused Tony to hesitate.

However, when uncertain, consult the command center; Tony promptly reported the intelligence back to the Space Aviation Center for a decision.

Lune, who hadn't left the command center for two days, received Tony's report first and attached great importance to the matter.

Logically speaking, just a naturally formed cave shouldn't warrant such a fuss.

But considering that place makes it different.

Longinus' Spear may hold secrets of the Moon's far side, an extraordinarily important secret. Lune was unwilling to give up any possibility.

"Perhaps, this is the place we've been searching for..."

Lune murmured to himself.

He recalled a philosopher named Ointostanin once said.

"Every seemingly insignificant corner that you overlook may be an entrance to the truth."

"Tell them to investigate immediately; this intelligence is valuable, and I hope they continue maintaining such caution!"

Soon, orders from the aviation command center were transmitted.

Tony, upon seeing the orders, also breathed a sigh of relief. Out of a certain inner intuition, he preferred investigating that area.

Setting up the exploration robot took some time; the group spent about an hour configuring the parameters.

Another hour was spent moving the robot from the base to the cave entrance, completing the preparations.

This time, it was the black deputy captain Maximilian who escorted the robot.

The upcoming work would be guided by him on-site, assisted by two other astronauts.

In reality, the on-site work didn't require much manpower.

Most of the exploration tasks were carried out by Swaro Old, the engineering expert operating the robot from the rear.

The only thing the deputy captain needed to do was to widen the cave entrance to allow the robot to enter smoothly.

However, when dealing with the lunar environment, even this seemingly simple excavation task became very difficult.

Fortunately, the Space Aviation Center had anticipated this possibility, equipping them with special devices.

This allowed Maximilian to wear a heavy spacesuit and dig on the Moon, where gravity is only one-sixth of Water Blue Star.

The work progressed slower than expected, with the speed even slower.

Even at the fragile sections, they were plagioclase, hard to excavate effectively under such space conditions.

The three of them ultimately took more than two hours, changing spacesuits six times, successfully expanding the entrance sufficiently to accommodate a robot.

The robot resembled a spider, with a body width of 2.5 meters, equipped with four pairs of mechanical legs. It contained a balance stabilization structure allowing movement on 70-degree cliffs.

After placing the spider robot, the trio returned to the spacecraft, while safety officer Ottos initially planned to accompany them.

But as Moon rover 3 loaded the spider robot and Deputy Captain Maximilian, there was no room left for Ottos, so he temporarily stayed behind.

At the base, through screens, Tony and the others observed the spider robot moving downward.

Under the light, a sloping downward passage was visible, seemingly endless.

The spider robot moved slowly, especially in dangerous environments, requiring extra caution.

Fortunately, the passage remained wide without narrowing, allowing the robot to proceed smoothly.

"How long have we been moving? Why is this passage so deep? Could there really be something below...?"

Ottos voiced his query as he watched the robot continue down the seemingly endless passage on the screen.

He felt the spider robot had already been traversing the unseen passage for over ten minutes.

Yet the scene ahead remained unchanged, as if it had never moved.

"We've been moving for eight minutes, covering over sixty meters, but there still seems no end in sight."

The chubby engineering expert Aode said.

Contrasting with his calmness, surveyor Rayden Abbott showed an expression full of puzzlement.

"It shouldn't be... it shouldn't... how could there be such a long passage..."

"In theory, although layered areas may have fragile surfaces, their interiors are typically solid. Unless triggered by crustal shifts, such situations wouldn't occur..."

"But this is the Moon, the interior should've cooled down by now, no crustal movement possible... could it be a remnant from a long time ago? Or were our assumptions all wrong...?"

The professor, nearly fifty, spoke to himself with disbelief, seemingly sinking into deep self-doubt.

In the cave, the spider robot continued stepping steadily, moving downward.

Eighty meters.

One hundred meters.

Two hundred meters.

...

Eventually, even Aode, the engineering expert, began to lose composure.

No one had anticipated that beneath this seemingly insignificant cave entrance, the depth stretched beyond expectations.

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