On the Moon, the exploration mission of the New Apollo Team is still ongoing.
An hour later.
"Bo, Boss... it's already three hundred meters deep, should we continue?"
In the Moon Base, the chubby engineer Audel hesitantly asked.
They had been controlling the spider robot for several hours, and the current depth had already reached three hundred meters, but they still hadn't reached the bottom.
Beside him, Tony was staring intently at the screen, his gaze resolute:
"Continue! We've come this far, we can't just give up; we must at least figure out what's beneath us."
"But, but... due to the magnetic interference in this area, our signal is getting weaker and weaker. It's estimated that if we descend another thirty meters, we will completely lose all signals..."
Hearing this, Tony gritted his teeth and then said:
"Thirty meters, huh? Then let's descend another thirty meters!"
"Alright, I'll give it a try..."
Engineer expert Audel wiped the sweat from his forehead, then cautiously started operating the spider robot.
The area they were exploring was no longer as gentle as at the start; the slope extending downward was getting steeper, almost reaching ninety degrees.
The robot was still able to keep going thanks to its excellent capabilities, preventing it from falling.
Beside them, the middle-aged geologist Abbott kept muttering something to himself.
From his fragmented murmurs, it could be deduced that he was calculating the structure of this subterranean space.
But so far, the more he calculated, the more alarmed he became, and they still hadn't reached any conclusion.
In the NASA Aerospace Command Center, a large group of scholars and experts were also analyzing the situation on the Moon.
Like Abbott, they too hadn't reached any effective conclusions.
"A passage this narrow extending such a distance downward in a layered rock area, it could very likely be the result of tectonic movements from hundreds of millions of years ago..."
"But that can't be right... if that were the case, after all these years of meteor impacts, the sections extending to the surface shouldn't be intact..."
"Moreover, this passage is too smooth, not like it's a result of the crust splitting... Wait! Stop!!"
Abbott was speaking when he suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, startling Audel, who was attentively controlling the robots.
"What happened? Professor Abbott, did you discover something?"
Tony looked at him puzzled.
Abbott didn't respond immediately, but continued gazing at the screen in contemplation.
No one present urged him.
They knew this companion probably had made a discovery and were waiting for his response.
A moment later, Abbott finally made a move, speaking slowly:
"From the beginning, there have always been parts of this passage that don't feel right to me... but because this is the Moon, I didn't think more about it..."
"But now, as the robot explores deeper, those traces seem to become more numerous, more obvious... so now I have to start considering a most unbelievable direction..."
His words were somewhat fragmented, and everyone was a bit confused about what he meant.
Security officer Osto asked puzzledly:
"Traces? What traces? Professor Abbott, what are you talking about? Can't you just tell us directly?"
Beside him, Captain Tony seemed to be lost in thought.
Soon after, as if realizing something, his expression suddenly changed.
"Well, initially, I didn't take it too seriously either, until later when they increased, I noticed it; look here..."
Abbott sighed, then pointed to a specific place on the screen.
That was the bottom of the passage, outlined with fine, thread-like lines on the rock wall, looking insignificant.
"Initially, I thought these were just natural patterns on the rock, but after observing, the patterns shouldn't be this chaotic..."
"Additionally, there are slight signs of disturbance on the surrounding layered rock walls, but I've always been unable to find a suitable explanation for this..."
"So, I boldly speculate, these striped lines might not be just patterns, but traces of some biological activities..."
"If that's indeed the case, then some previous suspicions can be explained... This tunnel... was not formed by tectonic movements... it was newly excavated..."
As soon as he said this, everyone was taken aback, even Tony, who had been mentally prepared, was no exception.
"Newly excavated!? What do you mean? We are on the Moon! What could dig here!?"
Security officer Ottos exclaimed, eyes wide.
"Moreover, that's plagioclase, you're saying some creature could burrow through such hard rock and make it hundreds of meters underground!?"
His words echoed the thoughts of everyone present, who all looked at Abbott in silence, waiting for the answer.
However, the geologist didn't retort but instead let out a bitter laugh, saying:
"Ottos, you're right, I don't want to believe it either... After all, we're on the Moon, and if what I said was true, I know exactly what that implies..."
"But even if I don't want to believe it, I still have to voice my judgment, even though it sounds rather absurd and laughable... but... this is what I've seen..."
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