The city was drowning in the monsoon season, its streets slick with rain. At the South Bus Station, a white Chevrolet Cruze stood out amidst a swarm of unruly taxis. Yet, the layer of mud caking its body and the grime lodged in its wheel wells spoke volumes—it had been on the road for countless days and nights.

A young man with short hair stepped out of the car. He was of average height, clad in a black leather jacket and white sneakers. His steps were hurried as he made his way toward a corner of the station. His lips curled slightly; after all these days and nights, he had grown accustomed to this pace of life.

Xiao Yi tightened his grip on the black notebook in his hand, a black pen tucked between its slightly curled pages—his own handiwork. In the same hand, he clutched a black digital camera, its edges pressed against the notebook.

Xiao Yi was a journalist. Two years into the profession, he had spent most of his days on the road, chasing fire alarms, explosions, suicide attempts, and police reports. His presence had been etched into numerous crime scenes. But this lifestyle exhausted him. He often found himself questioning what his future held. Two years ago, his seniors had told him to cherish his remaining days of freedom. Back then, he hadn't understood. Now that he was entrenched in this life, he no longer wanted to understand.

"Xiao Yi! Hurry up! The car's about to leave—we're waiting for you!"

A loud voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. Xiao Yi looked up to see a young man waving at him from not far away. He carried a navy blue shoulder bag, standing beside a white Dongfeng Citroën with the words "News Interview" emblazoned on its side.

The young man was Qin Chuan, a colleague of Xiao Yi's. At 27, Qin Chuan was sharp and capable, having started in the industry three years earlier. He was the one leading this particular assignment. Even as he urged Xiao Yi to hurry, he wore a warm smile.

"Come on, Xiao Yi! We don't have much time before our appointment with Professor Han."

Xiao Yi climbed into the interview car. Apart from Qin Chuan, there were two others inside—a man and a woman, both senior reporters at the agency. The man, Qi Yong, was in his early thirties, slightly overweight. The woman, Shu Jing, was nearing thirty but had maintained herself well, her figure graceful. Her gaze, however, was distant—perhaps due to unfamiliarity with Xiao Yi, or simply her personality. Xiao Yi didn't care much. It was just another assignment; there was no need to overthink it.

The interview car sped down the highway. This particular assignment was an intriguing one. An archaeologist had recently uncovered a set of dinosaur remains in Qintong, a water town in Taizhou, along with an ancient cave. Preliminary analysis suggested that the fossils might date back to the Late Triassic period of the Mesozoic era—approximately 230 million years ago.

As a journalist, the key was always to stay ahead of the public in obtaining cutting-edge information. For the past two years, Xiao Yi had devoted himself to this pursuit. Every day, after finishing an interview, he would already be considering the next day's topic. The cycle was endless, and he had become numb to it. He had also learned to accept that life often left no room for personal choices. Not everyone had the courage to break free—it came at a price.

Qintong was a well-known tourist destination in Taizhou, famous for its 5A-rated wetland park, which attracted numerous visitors each year. The town was also renowned for its annual Qintong Boat Festival. However, for Xiao Yi, who had been born and raised there, his most vivid memory was of the ancient locust tree that had supposedly witnessed the love story of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy. Legends even spoke of a thousand-year-old snake spirit residing within its branches. Over time, the site had become a place of worship, with many visiting in hopes of having their wishes granted—though how many of them actually came true was anyone's guess.

"The excavation site is on a wetland island within the Qintong scenic area. According to Professor Han, they've unearthed a complete Tyrannosaurus skeleton, dating back to the Late Triassic period—possibly even earlier. If confirmed, this could prove that dinosaurs existed before the Late Triassic period."

Qin Chuan's excitement was palpable as he explained, "This is major news—it could make national headlines!"

Xiao Yi remained pensive. After receiving the tip-off last night, he had done some research. The earliest known dinosaurs were believed to have appeared during the Late Triassic period of the Mesozoic era. The Mesozoic era itself was divided into the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, with dinosaurs thriving until their extinction at the end of the Cretaceous—coinciding with the end of the Mesozoic. Their reign had lasted roughly 160 million years, while human civilization, as recorded in history, spanned only a few thousand years. Before that, humans had lived much like wild animals, primitive and untamed.

Tyrannosaurus rex, also known as the "tyrant lizard king," was hailed as the most formidable carnivorous dinosaur known to science. It had emerged in the Late Cretaceous period. If the current findings were verified, it would send shockwaves through both domestic and international archaeological circles. A T. rex fossil predating the Mesozoic era? Just how much of history remained undiscovered?

However, Xiao Yi wasn't particularly overwhelmed. Compared to the mundane assignments of the past, this one at least piqued his interest. A T. rex fossil—king of the dinosaurs—this was a first for the Taizhou region.

The interview car made good time, arriving at the Qin Lake Scenic Area in under an hour. With permission, they drove directly into the wetland park. After disembarking at a dock, they boarded a waiting speedboat. The engine roared to life, sending twin sprays of water behind them as they sped toward a small island in the lake's center.

The lake was known as Magpie Lake. Legend had it that every year, when the Cowherd and Weaver Girl reunited, the magpies in the lake would rise into the sky to form a bridge, binding their fates across three lifetimes. Xiao Yi's mind wandered through these old tales but quickly refocused as they neared the island. At the dock, an elderly man wearing glasses—likely in his sixties—was waving at them excitedly.

"A major discovery! A cave! This is incredible! Hurry! Come with me!"

The elderly man was none other than Professor Han, a renowned domestic archaeologist and one of the top experts in dinosaur research. Yet, in this moment, even he had lost his composure. The two accompanying excavation team members tried to steady him, but he shook them off in his excitement.

The speedboat docked. Xiao Yi and the others quickly disembarked. Qin Chuan eagerly asked, "Professor Han, what is this cave? What did you find?"

"Come! Quickly!"

Without further explanation, Professor Han turned and ran, his work uniform covered in dust, though he seemed oblivious to it. Xiao Yi was taken aback. A scholar of Han's caliber, with years of cultivated composure, wouldn't lose control like this unless the discovery was truly astonishing.

As they followed him, they soon reached a massive excavation site. In the center of a rarely visited wetland plain lay a forty-meter-wide pit, nearly ten meters deep. And there, half-buried in the earth, was a colossal grayish-white skull.

A Tyrannosaurus skeleton!

Even from a distance, it was breathtaking. The enormous skull, its eye sockets as large as millstones, its gaping jaws lined with serrated teeth—the entire structure was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

"That's the T. rex—it's enormous!" Qi Yong marveled, his tone filled with awe. Despite all his experience, this was the first time he'd laid eyes on such a colossal specimen.

Beyond the skull, most of the T. rex's remains lay embedded in the pit. By all accounts, this behemoth stood about 14 meters tall and stretched nearly 30 meters in length. One gigantic bone after another came into view, exuding a faint, decaying odor. Xiao Yi estimated that the sheer completeness and enormity of this fossil alone could send shockwaves around the world. Moreover, at the junction between the dinosaur's forehead and the brow, he noticed a narrow, cleanly cut slit—almost as if it had been made by a sharp, deliberate instrument.

They descended a makeshift ladder down to the pit's floor, where a chill, melancholic aura instantly enveloped them. The air, thick with the ambiance of the early Mesozoic era, wasn't merely rotten—it was imbued with a deep, somber desolation. Even under daylight, the pit's base, shrouded by the massive bones, remained dim and shadowed. The damp, slick walls offered a stark contrast, and curiously, aside from the intact T. rex fossil, not a single stray fragment of bone was to be found.

"Professor, the entrance to the cave has been cleared. After proper ventilation, tests confirm the air is non-toxic and poses no chemical hazard," reported a voice. Emerging from behind the pile of bones was an excavation worker, covered in dust and busy with his instruments. As he approached, Xiao Yi and his companions noticed—obscured by the dinosaur remains was a pitch-black opening, about half a meter wide. The darkness inside was absolute, and the desolation that hung over the area grew even more intense. It was unmistakable: the Mesozoic world was worlds apart from today, and without any instruments, they could tell this place had been sealed away for billions of years.

"This is it—do you know what we've discovered here?" Professor Han announced as he retrieved several flashlights. He led the group to the dark aperture and shone the beams into its depths.

Whoosh!

In that instant, all four of them gasped, drawing in icy breaths. Before their eyes, in the narrow circle of pale yellow light, lay artifacts that defied belief—objects that simply should not exist in that era. There, they saw an ancient, unadorned bronze sword; a shattered stone spear; a dark, worn iron shield; and several pieces of stone roughly the size of a baby's fist—translucent, dull gray-white, devoid of luster. They even caught sight of a few pieces of dark red armor, its surface marred with cracks, as though it might crumble into dust with the slightest touch.

"Artifacts from the Mesozoic—could this be what they call an ultra-ancient civilization?" Qi Yong murmured, taking a deep, measured breath.

Xiao Yi fixed his gaze on the scene before him, realizing that this might be the most significant story of his two-year career—a colossal T. rex fossil accompanied by relics that hinted at an ultra-ancient civilization. Perhaps, if they pressed further into the darkness, even more extraordinary discoveries lay in wait.