Lei Wenjun disembarked nearby the cave, so once he regained his energy, it didn't take long for the group to arrive inside the cave.

Upon reaching the cave, Lei Wenjun instructed his assistant to set up the equipment at the edge of the deep pit, preparing for the upcoming survey.

The setup process was not simple; fixing the instruments and calculating the irradiation angles were not easy tasks.

Taking advantage of this gap, he went to the inner side of the cave entrance to carefully study the rocks near the entrance.

He first touched the surface of the sandstone with his hand.

Whereas an ordinary person might just blurt out, "No cracks," at this rock wall, Lei Wenjun saw it as a sample providing a wealth of information.

This is the difference between an insider and an outsider, much like how a seasoned expert can spin a film script from just a handful of letters and numbers.

Lei Wenjun then picked up a small tungsten-steel sand drill and started drilling a non-load-bearing part of the rock wall.

Crack, crack, crack—

The drilling lasted for about two minutes, with the bit reaching about twenty centimeters in.

Then Lei Wenjun set down the equipment and switched to a set of precision probes.

After another five minutes.

Lei Wenjun stood up and said to Lin Ziming:

"Colonel Lin, the blow count is just over 50, the stratification of the rock wall is very clear, and there's no obvious sign of core fragmentation. This is standard medium weathering."

Lin Ziming promptly asked:

"Medium weathering? Is there a specific reference year?"

Lei Wenjun thought for a moment and pointed at a maiden being gently swayed by the breeze outside the cave entrance:

"Although the arc-shaped top of this cave is a typical vent structure, the entrance is oriented to the side of the prevailing wind direction, so it won't be particularly exposed to wind.

So combining these judgments...

The signs of weathering likely began around 60 or so years ago."

"60 years?"

Upon hearing this figure, Lin Ziming and Patriarch Wei exchanged a look and thoughtfully said:

"Patriarch Wei, it seems your speculation is correct."

According to the Mo Family Tree.

Mo Shaonan was born over two hundred seventy years ago, possessed by Mo Peidong at seventeen, and disappeared during his travels near ninety.

Thus, his disappearance year would be roughly over one hundred eighty years ago.

This year differs by about thirty years from the C14 results done by Wang Jun and others, suggesting that 'Mo Shaonan' most likely meditated in seclusion for around thirty years before dying.

Although this possessed third patriarch of the Mo Clan still has many unresolved issues concerning his cause of death.

For instance, theoretically, a Fifth-Layer Core Formation Realm cultivator should live over two hundred years, not die naturally so early.

But those are events occurring within specific nodes, unrelated to the timeline.

According to Patriarch Wei's previous speculation...

The Tier Three Cloud Concealment Talisman lost its effect after being deprived of spiritual energy or Spirit Stones, which caused the cave to be exposed.

Lei Wenjun's detection results essentially provided data support for this speculation.

Then Lei Wenjun conducted sampling at various points within the cave and ultimately confirmed that the cave was exposed around sixty years ago.

Although human identification might not be as precise as mechanical analysis, theoretically, there is a margin of error.

But even if the error is substantial, it couldn't be as exaggerated as a hundred years—after all, surface weathering can manifest differently for various reasons, but the rock core rarely poses issues.

After confirming this information, Lei Wenjun followed Lin Ziming and the others to the edge of the deep pit.

At this moment.

A device somewhat resembling a dental chair had been installed above the entrance, and Lei Wenjun's assistant, Feng Yuhua, was rapidly typing data into a keyboard.

If we must say, such typing speed could easily churn out a minimum of thirty thousand words daily if used for novel writing.

Approaching the pit's edge.

Seeing the related equipment still being fine-tuned, Lei Wenjun crouched down to visually inspect this deep pit.

Lin Ziming looked at Lei Wenjun and, half-jokingly half-warning, said:

"Old Lei, be careful; if you fall into this pit, you're done for."

Lei Wenjun nodded and suddenly made a soft exclamation.

Then, the entire person laid on the ground, reaching down with his right hand.

Crack—

A stone about fifty centimeters deep from the pit's edge was gently pried off by him.

Then Lei Wenjun withdrew his hand, examined the stone, and then frowned, saying:

"Something's not right… This stone is different from the rocks at the entrance and inside the cave, completely different."

Lin Ziming looked at him and asked:

"What do you mean?"

Lei Wenjun first pointed to the entrance and the cave top, where he indicated standard brown rocks, and said:

"The rocks inside the cave and at the entrance are common schist and basalt, with some gneiss on the surface—these are common both locally and in the Damo Realm, conventional types evolved due to oxygen content and planetary gravity."

Then he showed the stone in his hand to Lin Ziming, pointing out the protrusion and saying:

"But this stone is different; it resembles ultramafic intrusive rock.

Colonel Lin, did you notice its granular block-like texture?

This indicates high metal content—it's either iron or magnesium.

And upon arriving, I checked this area; it is a standard sloping terrain, impossible for metal ore veins to exist."

Lin Ziming looked at him, contemplating:

"So, Director Lei, are you suggesting… it was placed here by someone? Or even man-made?"

Lei Wenjun was silent for a while, then shook his head:

"Hard to say, just that it's possible since it's only one sample.

The Damo Realm is mysterious and unpredictable; it wouldn't be surprising to encounter geological structures beyond our understanding."

He then looked at his assistant Feng Yuhua and asked:

"Yuhua, is the rangefinder ready?"

Feng Yuhua quickly nodded, responding:

"Director Lei, both the data and the inclination angle have been fine-tuned."

This time, Lei Wenjun and the team brought an ultra-long-range laser rangefinder, which is over four times more powerful than Lin Ziming's.

This rangefinder is currently the furthest measuring equipment outside astronomical devices—astronomical principles are entirely different, incomparable.

This detector is essentially designed for ultra-long-range detection under extreme conditions.

After all, the Damo Realm is different from home; after daylight passes, it's 168 hours of night, and without some powerful equipment, normal outdoor work is impossible.

In fact, when headquarters initially prepared this machine, one potential application considered was 'conducting deep exploration of unknown pits.'

After all, field exploration is indeed challenging, yet theoretically, there are only a few types of projects, easily listed exhaustively.

According to its initial design.

Under normal conditions, this equipment can probe up to a 100km range.

Roughly the distance from Chongming Island to slightly shorter than Songjiang.

Then Lin Ziming confirmed that the generator brought was sufficiently powerful to support the detector's maximum output, saying to Lei Wenjun:

"Director Lei, begin."

Lei Wenjun was already beside the control panel, nodded at the words, then said to Feng Yuhua:

"Yuhua, start the machine!"

Feng Yuhua's hands once again blurred across the keyboard while speaking succinctly:

"Measuring inclination angle 7.29°, output power starting increment at 500mW, pull the red mark to the far left, begin!"

In the next second.

The laser rangefinder received the command and instantly emitted a faint red light.

Whew—

Everyone knows the speed of light is 299,792.458 kilometers per second.

And at the extreme power of this device, the irradiation distance is 100km, meaning it reaches the limit in less than a blink of an eye.

Yet what sent a chill down everyone's spine was…

Several seconds later, the screen still showed a blank.

This meant that the pit's depth exceeded 80 kilometers, or 80,000 meters.

Lei Wenjun's eyes stayed fixed on the screen. After a while, he suddenly said:

"Yuhua, prepare the rope; I'm going down the pit!"

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