Here is the English translation:
**Chapter 2179 – The First Expedition Team Annihilated**
Near the mine within the Holy Roman Empire, at the Infinite Obelisk Research Society’s camp, high-level researchers stood on the observation deck, monitoring the situation at the mine.
Not long before, the first expedition team had entered the mine shaft. They were skilled individuals, equipped with excellent gear, prepared for their initial probing. All researchers watched the first exploration team closely.
Beside them stood a bearded man adorned with gold and silver. He was the owner of this mine, who had ordered his subordinates to evacuate after discovering something amiss.
A few miners, wearing suspender overalls, their faces smudged with coal dust and safety helmets on their heads, stood nearby. These were the previous excavators of this mine and survivors of the supernatural event.
They had all been called over for questioning but were still shaken, fear etched on their faces. They dared not even look in the direction of the mine shaft.
“Don’t be afraid. It’s daytime, and even if there are ghosts, they won’t come out of the mine shaft. Tell us, what exactly did you encounter in the mine before?” the Master asked the miners, holding the mine’s structural diagram provided by the owner.
It seemed the miners were still thoroughly spooked. They hesitated for quite a while until the Master offered a silver coin for providing information, and then they were willing to speak.
“Something very bizarre happened in that mine. At first, someone heard a baby crying. Some debated that it was just the wind, but the crying continued for days, and when they went to investigate, they found nothing,” one miner began, trembling.
“Then people started disappearing mysteriously. They’d vanish without a trace. But later, some returned, and they were already mentally unstable when found,” another miner added.
“I sent the mentally unstable miners to the hospital, and you all saw them,” the mine owner said, somewhat fearfully. The memory of those deranged miners made him tremble.
“Yes, I’ve already examined them at the hospital. They are indeed insane, seemingly having suffered some sort of mental shock that caused their rationality to collapse. These miners have a tendency for self-harm and need to be restrained. I tried using suggestive questioning to extract some information,” said the leader of the Third Research Group, cloaked in black.
“They kept saying they saw demons and also that the tunnel suddenly disappeared, and no matter how they climbed up, they couldn’t find their way back. But their speech was incoherent, a jumble of confused words. I need to sift through their fragmented language to find useful intelligence.”
At this moment, my fly was eavesdropping on their conversation. Giselle had already encountered similar situations to what those miners who disappeared and reappeared had described: suddenly changing mine tunnels, an entrance/exit like a ghostly wall, and monsters attacking from all directions. If she hadn’t been strong enough, she might not have gotten out.
What interested me most wasn’t the situation in the mine, but the spy I saw that day, the Witch Society. What was their purpose? And who were the people Giselle encountered underground who didn’t look like miners?
Just then, the Communication Magic Apparatus suddenly transmitted urgent shouts: “Unidentified personnel ahead! Unidentified personnel ahead, prepare for contact, ah!?”
“We’re being attacked by the dead! Counterattack! Attack quickly!” a teammate from the first expedition team shouted. Then, a series of gunshots came through the apparatus.
The Infinite Obelisk Research Society’s Communication Magic Apparatus could display images in real-time. The researchers saw the familiar scene: in the darkness, they heard crying. Following the lights, they found a headless corpse, which then lunged at them, attacking.
A barrage of bullets rained down on the corpse. Although the headless body thrashed about, it didn’t fall. It tackled an operative, clawing at him relentlessly.
“Ah, it seems I severed this person’s head. They’re not even dead yet?” Giselle remarked as she watched the broadcasted image. “Attacking like this is useless. You need to use magic to destroy their internal bodies to make these things stop.”
The first expedition team quickly realized this. They stopped shooting. A young captain raised his hand, and the headless corpse, as if gripped by an invisible force, was lifted into the air.
Then, another person raised their hand, aiming at the headless corpse. A powerful electrical current shot towards it, sparks flying. Currents coursed through the headless corpse, and it was electrocuted into a charred mess before falling to the ground.
As the first expedition team of the First Research Group, they were the frontline combat unit specializing in the recovery of Sealed Objects. They were not only well-trained and experienced, but many also carried Magic Apparatuses or Sealed Objects, possessing significant combat capabilities.
But the mine’s strangeness was unpredictable. Soon, a scream erupted from the rear of the team. A team member discovered that a member at the very back of the formation had mysteriously disappeared at some point.
The team immediately turned back to look for him. But upon returning, they found that the mine tunnel was no longer as it was when they had passed through. It had become a downward passage, and the tunnel was almost completely blocked by overgrown Origin Stones.
That person must have been dragged away by long arms. Giselle had experienced a similar scene. Unfortunately, although we knew, we couldn’t tell the first expedition team. And they didn’t have Giselle’s keen senses or strength, allowing them to be dragged away silently.
The first expedition team encountered increasingly bizarre phenomena, some of which even Giselle hadn’t experienced. For instance, a pit suddenly appeared beneath their feet, and someone fell in.
There was also the case where the Origin Stones ahead became smooth and transparent, like mirrors, allowing them to see themselves. Then, a person exactly like themselves emerged and attacked everyone.
The morale of the first expedition team plummeted to an all-time low. Some exhibited signs of madness, shouting and attacking their teammates. The captain repeatedly shouted into the communication device, requesting support. They were no longer capable of retreating on their own; they had also encountered a Ghostly Wall.
The Master’s face had turned as dark as ink. He hadn’t expected such an unfavorable start. Now, he was powerless to rescue the first expedition team, and the team at the mine entrance receiving them didn’t know how to break through the Ghostly Wall.
Finally, a large number of monsters launched an assault. Teammates were wounded and fell one after another. The captain of the first expedition team fought bravely. He used a Sealed Object capable of generating telekinetic force and a long carbon steel saber to fend off multiple monsters.
But in the end, he was backstabbed. Turning around, he saw that the attacker was the team member who had previously disappeared. The image on the Communication Magic Apparatus froze on his terrified, contorted face.
The initial probe ended with the complete annihilation of the first expedition team.
