They say I'm a world-destroying anomaly.

Chapter 24 Exploration Team and Special Crystals

In fact, as staff members stationed on Golun Star, Liang Lin and Bi Yan were unaware of Cheng Xu's true identity, nor did they know what kind of turmoil he had stirred up in the Anomaly Management Bureau.

They only saw Cheng Xu's name and position on the identification device at the refugee camp, realizing that the long-awaited rescue had finally arrived.

"Hello. May I ask who is in charge of the dispatch point...?" Cheng Xu and Liang Linbi shook hands politely.

He recalled the information he had seen before setting off; the Chengmingxing branch stationed at Golunxing should have four people.

In addition to engineer Liang Lin and logistics staff member Bi Yan, there is also a station chief and an anomaly researcher.

However, neither of these two names were mentioned in Liang Lin's introduction.

Looking at Liang Lin's expression, Cheng Xu seemed to have guessed something, and lowered his head, remaining silent.

Liang Lin bit his lower lip hard: "Station Chief Guo and Researcher Yang sacrificed themselves in the anomaly of the Crystal Rock Tomb."

Cheng Xu took a deep breath. He had already guessed this fact, but when he heard Liang Lin say it himself, his chest still felt tight and constricted.

Fields, standing behind him, opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

Then, looking exhausted, Liang Lin briefly recounted the incident to Cheng Xu.

On that day, the Crystal Tomb, which had been in a stable state, suddenly changed. They only had time to send a message to the branch office before all communication equipment was paralyzed.

According to the original emergency plan, after the disaster occurred, they should have evacuated to this refuge point as soon as possible and wait for subsequent rescue.

Liang Lin and Bi Yan went ahead, while the station chief and researchers decided to use the observation equipment at the station to conduct a quick observation of the core area of ​​the Crystal Tomb, so they set off a little later.

"They said that we must try to figure out what exactly happened in the core area so that the branch office support personnel can take targeted measures to prevent the anomaly from having a devastating impact."

Liang Lin is a middle-aged man of similar age to Hu Zhou, but his voice trembled with emotion when he recounted his experiences.

"But when Bi Yan and I drove the emergency transfer vehicle and got some distance away, when we looked back, the post had been submerged by lava."

The two later successfully reached the shelter and activated the various protective and life-sustaining equipment in the facility.

After a long wait, Station Chief Guo and Researcher Yang still did not arrive.

"well……"

Cheng Xu had heard many cases of people sacrificing themselves due to unusual disasters during training sessions at the branch office, but none of these cases had as much impact on him as Liang Lin's story.

For the first time, he truly realized that the work of the Anomaly Management Bureau was a path fraught with danger and unexpected events.

The unusual events that ordinary employees like him encounter in their daily work are merely the safest link in the entire chain.

Countless people within the Administration are fighting on the front lines against the anomaly, facing life-or-death crises at any moment.

After taking several deep breaths, Cheng Xu calmed his chaotic thoughts and looked at the people standing quietly to the side.

According to Liang Lin, in addition to himself and Bi Yan, there were members of two exploration teams in this shelter, totaling twelve people.

They wore gray-green protective suits, the thick fabric stained a mottled earthy yellow by rock powder.

In a corner of the shelter sat twelve square-shaped sampling bags, their corners worn white and their metal buckles covered in stone dust.

They wore goggles, the lenses covered in fine dust. Windproof face shields hung on their chins, revealing their faces, tanned dark red from years of outdoor work.

Some people had bulging leather tool bags hanging from their waists. Others carried exploration power picks, the handles of which were soaked dark brown with sweat, and the picksheads were covered with fresh rock fragments.

When Cheng Xu recalled Liang Lin mentioning that they came from the Interstellar Mineral Research Institute during the introduction, an image of a diamond-shaped head instantly flashed into his mind.

"You wouldn't be the ones Director Kagaga was talking about..."

Upon hearing this, the exploration team members immediately erupted in chaos and surrounded Cheng Xu.

"You know our director?! Have you ever met him?"

"How's the research institute doing?"

"Are the director and the others alright?"

Cheng Xu was getting a bit dizzy from the noise, so he raised his hands and shouted, "Stop! I know everyone has a lot of questions, and I'll answer them one by one."

From the attitude of everyone just now, he naturally understood that the people in front of him were the two exploration teams that Kagaga had mentioned that had lost contact.

"Thanks to Director Kagaga's timely response, although your research institute was destroyed by the Crystal Rock Golem, all personnel are safe and sound."

The exploration team members cheered.

Cheng Xu's voice softened as he recalled the diamond man who had been brought back by Director Xue Zijing and insisted on staying on Golun Star.

"Everyone else has evacuated safely—except for Director Kagaga. He's still on Golun Star, supposedly trying to find you who have lost contact."

After a brief silence, a man with slightly graying hair pursed his lips and said:

"That's just how the director is. He always cares about his subordinates, and we receive a lot of help from him."

Others echoed the sentiment:

"Yes, the director is a really good person."

"We are so lucky to have a leader like this."

After learning about the situation inside the research institute, the previously tense explorers were relieved.

Upon inquiry, Cheng Xu learned why the exploration team was also in this shelter.

The two exploration teams received their assignments that day, and after arriving at the designated excavation and mining site, they were about to split up and explore to the sides when disaster struck unexpectedly.

The communication equipment malfunctioned, and the nearby, safe crystal rock people suddenly went berserk, almost causing casualties among the exploration team.

Left with no other choice, the two teams had to take refuge in the underground mine tunnels near the exploration site.

They encountered a similar predicament to Cheng Xu and Fields.

Unable to venture to the surface due to the threat of the Crystal Rock People, and with limited supplies, the team could only sustain themselves for two days at most.

After discussion, the two teams decided to leave two people behind to wait for the rescuers, while the others explored the unknown area at the end of the mine tunnel.

Not long after, the exploration team unexpectedly discovered traces of man-made structures on the ceiling of a cave passage—

They later learned that they had been lucky enough to dig near the building where the Anomaly Management Bureau's refuge was located.

It was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Bi Yan and Liang Lin, who were in the refuge, also discovered the presence of the two exploration teams. They quickly used the equipment in the shelter to create a passage and bring the exploration teams up.

The two people who were waiting for rescue at the scene were also successfully brought to the shelter to await rescue.

When talking about this experience, the exploration team members all spoke up.

"That was terrifying. If I hadn't been lucky, I probably would have starved to death in the wild."

"The mine tunnels were pitch black; I always felt like a monster might suddenly jump out..."

"Thank you, Brother Liang; thank you, Brother Bi; thank you to the Administration Bureau for building a shelter here."

"Speaking of which, during our exploration, we discovered a small cave filled with crystal rock varieties we had never seen before."

"I was terrified when I passed by there, worried that the crystal rocks on the side would suddenly come to life and turn into stone men to attack us."

A special crystal rock I've never seen before?

Cheng Xu seemed to have an antenna standing up on his head, and his whole demeanor turned serious.