Chapter 10

“What is that?! … ‘Rust’?” Someone in the room had gone pale and blurted it out.
It couldn’t be rust—but in that moment it was the only word that came to mind.
In the photos, almost the entire lobby was covered in that black, unknown substance—floor, walls, ceiling, everything.
And everyone in the room had already seen the satellite images.
That inexplicable black “ring” around the mountain and the hotel.
No one had any colour left in their faces.
“Look closely at these objects.” Wei Yuan zoomed in on each one: the cash register on the desk, the chairs and tables, and a square object in the corner that was no longer recognizable.
Rust was an oxidation reaction that only affected metal. Apart from the cash register, nothing in the hotel was metal—chairs, tables, luggage. How could any of it “rust”?
The drone footage had also captured an antique clock on the wall.
Wei Yuan said, “Cash register, telephone, wall clock, marble floor… Different objects show different degrees of ‘erosion.’”
Erosion—they would call it that for now.
No one in the room spoke or objected to the term.
The drone images were high resolution. When enlarged, the amount of black substance on each object did differ significantly.
“What does that prove?” An older man in the front row frowned, his voice authoritative. He was the only one besides Wei Yuan who remained calm.
Those objects had nothing obvious in common. Even if the degree of erosion varied, what did it mean?
Wei Yuan slowly turned his wheelchair to face the room.
“What I’m about to say is only my hypothesis.” He looked at them—each one a leader in their field, all staring at him. “The only link between these objects is how old they are.”
The room went utterly silent. No one seemed to breathe.
The conclusion had stunned everyone.
“The telephone was invented in 1860. The first computer in 1946. The clock on the wall was donated by a nearby church two centuries ago. Marble has existed in the earth’s crust for hundreds of millions of years.”
Wei Yuan spoke slowly, his voice calm, describing a conclusion that sounded absurd: “In the photos, the most advanced equipment—the computer—is almost completely covered by the ‘erosion.’ The dial telephone still has some shape. The clock on the wall—when the images came back, its pendulum was still moving. The only things in the lobby that still look like themselves are the marble floor and the original cave walls.”
“As for those piles of ‘dust’ on the floor—they’re the remains of the first drones we sent.”
“All our most advanced reconnaissance fails in that zone—so I propose an experiment. Take only the most basic supplies. No electronic devices. Use the most primitive transport. Go into the mountains and search.”
“I’ve already compiled all my research from these years into manuscripts and submitted them. If I don’t return, you can continue my work.”
He had effectively given everything. No one in the room spoke.