Chapter One: The Dragon's Bones

  Jiangsu Province, Taizhou City.

  This is a city flooded with rain in the plum rain season, June day, South Bus Station, a white Chevrolet Cruze stands out among many taxis, but the mud and dirt accumulated on the body and wheels tell people that it has been shuttling in the wind and dust for countless days and nights.

  A young man with short hair got out of the car, medium height, black leather jacket, white flat shoes, his footsteps were a bit hasty, walking towards the south station corner, his mouth slightly pursed, he had long been accustomed to this in recent days and nights.

  Xiao Yi clenched the black notebook in his hand, a black fountain pen was clipped in the middle, and the pages were slightly curled up, which was his own masterpiece. The same hand, a black digital camera was pinched by him, squeezed together with the notebook.

  Xiao Yi is a journalist, who has been in the industry for two years. Most of his days are spent on the road, witnessing fires, explosions, jumpers, and 110 emergencies, leaving his mark in many places. However, this kind of life makes him feel deeply exhausted. Often he wonders what his future will be like. Two years ago, his seniors who had just graduated told him to cherish the last days of innocence, but at that time, he didn't understand. Now that he has become a part of it, he finds himself no longer wanting to understand.

  "Hurry up! The bus is about to depart, just waiting for you!"

  Suddenly, a loud and clear voice interrupted his thoughts. Xiao Yi looked up to see a young man with a cyan backpack waving at him from a distance. Beside the young man, a white Dongfeng Citroen was starting to move, with four big characters "News Interview" on its body.

  Young man named Qin Chuan, is Xiao Yi's colleague. This 27-year-old appears to be very capable and has a wealth of experience, having started his career three years earlier than Xiao Yi. He was the one who initiated this interview with Qin Chuan beckoning to Xiao Yi, even when urging him, there was still a smile on his face.

  "Hurry up, Xiao Yi, there's not much time left before our appointment with Professor Han."

  Xiao Yi got into the car and was interviewed by the crew. Inside, apart from Qin Chuan, there were two other people - a man and a woman - both veteran journalists from the newspaper company. They were relatively older, with the man, Qi Yong, already in his thirties, slightly plump, while the woman, Shu Jing, was also nearing thirty but looked slender due to good maintenance. However, her gaze was dull, perhaps because she wasn't familiar with Xiao Yi or maybe it was just her personality. Xiao Yi didn't mind, after all, it was just an interview and there was no need to think too much about it.

  The interview car is speeding along the highway, and this time the interview is very interesting. An archaeologist in a water town in Taizhou has excavated a dinosaur fossil, which also led to the discovery of an ancient cave. According to initial identification, it may have been buried since the late Triassic period of the Mesozoic era, with a history of nearly 230 million years.

  To be a journalist, the most important thing is to grasp the clue, to know the most advanced information before the crowd. For two years, Xiao Yi's thoughts have been focused on this, every day after the interview, he has to think about the topic for the next day, repeating this process, he became numb and got used to it. Life is like that, many times you can't control your own life, charisma is not something everyone has, it requires a price to pay.

  Yueyang Town is a famous tourist town in Taizhou, with a 5A-level wetland park that attracts a large number of tourists every year. It also has the reputation of being the "Number One Lotus Boat in the World". However, for Xiao Yi, who was born in Yueyang, what he remembers most deeply is the thousand-year-old locust tree that is said to have witnessed the story of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy Maiden. In the past, people also said that a thousand-year-old snake spirit lived on it, and over time, it became a place of great incense and prosperity, with many people going there every year to worship and pray, but how many wishes actually came true is unknown.

  "This time, the excavation site of dinosaur fossils is on a small island in the wetland scenic area of Xixi Town. Professor Han said over the phone that it was a nearly complete skeleton fossil of a Tyrannosaurus rex, with a very long history that can be traced back to the late Triassic period, or even earlier. Perhaps this time, it can be proven that the emergence of dinosaurs occurred in an era even earlier than the late Triassic period."

  The news van was driving along when Qin Chuan excitedly explained: "This is a big piece of news, it may even shock the whole nation!"

  Xiao Yi sank into thought, and after receiving the news last night, he carefully searched for some data, which showed that dinosaurs first appeared in the late Triassic period of the Mesozoic era. The Mesozoic era is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. Dinosaurs survived until the end of the Cretaceous period before becoming extinct, disappearing along with the Mesozoic era. This process lasted for nearly 160 million years. In contrast, human civilization has only been recorded for about 10,000 years, and in earlier times, humans lived a life close to that of wild beasts, eating raw meat and drinking blood.

  Tyrannosaurus, also known as the violent dragon, is considered the strongest carnivorous animal in the world. It appeared at the end of the Cretaceous period. If this verification result is confirmed, it will be a huge shockwave in both domestic and international archaeological circles. The discovery of Tyrannosaurus fossils, which are almost as old as the Mesozoic era, raises questions about how many unknown secrets remain hidden in human history.

  However, Xiao Yi didn't mind this too much. Compared to some dull interviews in the past, this one was full of fun. The Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil, the king of the dinosaur tribe, was a first for the Taizhou area.

  The interview car arrived quickly, and under Qin Chuan's urging, it took less than an hour to arrive at the Xihu Scenic Area. The group entered the wetland park unimpeded, got off the bus, boarded a speedboat that had been waiting at the dock, and sped towards a small island in the center of the lake amidst the roar of the engine, with two waves splitting apart.

  The lake is the Magpie Lake, with clear water. According to legend, every year when the Cowherd and Weaving Maiden meet, the magpies in the lake will fly up to build a bridge, connecting their fates for three lifetimes. Xiao Yi's thoughts were a bit scattered, but he quickly recovered as they approached the island in the center of the lake. At the ferry terminal, an old man in his sixties with glasses was already excitedly shouting.

  "What a great discovery! A cave, it's incredible! Quick! Follow me!"

  The old man was Professor Han, a well-known archaeologist in the country. He could be ranked among the top three in terms of dinosaur research, but at this moment, he was also somewhat discomposed. The two archaeological team members who were following him wanted to support him, but were brushed aside by him.

  The speedboat docked, and Xiao Yi and three others quickly disembarked. Qin Chuan exclaimed excitedly, "Professor Han, what cave is this? What else have we discovered?"

  "Go! Come with me quickly!"

  Professor Han turned around and ran quickly, his work uniform covered in dust. He didn't seem to notice at all. Xiao Yi was a bit surprised. Such a well-known domestic expert, after years of accumulation, had an air and state of mind that was not trivial. What could make them lose their composure like this? It must be some earth-shattering discovery.

  Four people followed Professor Han into the wetland. For several days, Lake Heart Island had been completely sealed off and tourism projects temporarily suspended, so along the way, except for the calls of water birds, it was quiet. After walking about a kilometer, Xiao Yi saw a huge pit in a flat area of the wetland where people rarely set foot. The pit was at least 40 meters square and nearly 10 meters deep. As they approached, they saw a grayish-white giant skull protruding from the ground.

  Tyrannosaurus Rex Fossil!

  Especially when viewed at close range, it is a huge shock. The massive skull has empty eye sockets as large as millstones, and the open mouth reveals rows of sharp and ferocious dragon teeth. Usually three or four people can enter with ease.

  "This is Tyrannosaurus Rex, it's huge!" Zhi Yong exclaimed in admiration, and with his experience, he had never seen one before.

  Apart from the skull, more than half of the Tyrannosaurus Rex's fossilized bones were still in the pit. Judging by this, the T-Rex was about 14 meters high and nearly 30 meters long. The massive fossilized bones appeared before Xiao Yi's eyes, accompanied by a faint smell of rot. Xiao Yi estimated that such a large T-Rex was unheard of. Regardless of other factors, just the completeness and size of these fossilized bones were enough to cause a global sensation. Moreover, on the forehead of this fossilized dragon skull, Xiao Yi discovered an opening that went all the way through from front to back. What was it? It seemed to be caused by some kind of sharp object.

  Down the soft ladder to the bottom of the pit, a cool and desolate air rushed into my nostrils, close to the earth in the early days of the Middle Ages. The smell that permeated the air was not rotten, but desolate. Even during the day, the sunlight at the bottom of the pit was blocked by the dragon bones, making it somewhat dark. The surrounding soil walls were wet and dripping, but what's strange is that except for this tyrannosaurus fossil in the stone pit, there wasn't even a single scattered bone fragment.

  "Professor, the cave entrance has been tidied up. After ventilation, it's been detected to be non-toxic and won't cause any chemical reactions."

  A voice came, and behind the dragon bones, a excavation worker covered in dust was walking towards Xiao Yi and others while fiddling with some detection instruments. At this time, Xiao Yi and the other three walked a few more steps before discovering that behind the dragon bones, which had blocked their line of sight, a pitch-black cave entrance about 1.5 meters in size appeared. The inside of the cave was dark and gloomy, without a single ray of light. The desolate atmosphere grew even thicker, and if Xiao Yi's sense of smell wasn't so keen, everyone would have felt the same way. Compared to the modern world, the Middle Ages were vastly different, and it was clear that this place had been sealed for over a billion years without needing any testing.

  "It's right here, do you know what we've found?" Professor Han said as he took out a few flashlights and led Xiao Yi and the others to the entrance of the cave, shining them inside.

  Hiss!

  Xiao Yi and the other three were shocked at the same time, taking in a breath of cold air. They saw many things that shouldn't exist, it was simply unbelievable. In that era, how could such things exist?

  Only where the bright yellow light shone, there were ancient bronze swords, broken stone spears, dark iron shields, and many pieces of greyish-white stones, about the size of a baby's fist, semi-transparent, with no luster. Even four people saw several suits of dark red armor, only to find that they were cracked all over, as if they would turn into dust at the slightest touch.

  "At least it's been preserved since the Middle Ages, is this what they call an ultra-ancient civilization?!" Qi Yong took a deep breath.

  Xiao Yi was also focused, this might be the most valuable news he had participated in for two years since entering the industry. The giant tyrannosaurus fossil, suspected to be a relic of an ultra-ancient civilization, perhaps with further exploration, even more valuable things could be discovered.