...

Before 1984, Daniel Capecci was engaged in research elsewhere and couldn't get away, so he politely declined Cole Mormont's request and did not participate in the Mormont expedition.

Later, Daniel heard about the Mormont expedition's misfortune and was deeply saddened by the loss of his friends.

The Z Organization approached Daniel at this time, hoping he could help them find the expedition that had disappeared in the Himalayas.

Without hesitation, Daniel joined the Z Organization's search and rescue team.

The team was ostensibly for search and rescue, but in reality, it was still investigating the secrets of the Himalayas and that eerie Devil's Col.

During this process, Daniel discovered some unknown truths about the Himalayas—

Once, in the cellar of a village at the foot of the mountain, he found a large stone engraved with unknown characters, said to be left behind by a tribe that lived there long ago.

Daniel began to study the stone. With the help of locals and linguistic experts, it took him several years to decipher its contents. The stone recorded a passage from five thousand years ago:

"The Lipo tribe once discovered a mountain peak in the Himalayas that emitted a yellow-green light.

The Lipo tribe considered green an ominous sign, so they avoided it.

However, the surrounding tribes believed it to be an auspicious sign, that a god had descended upon that mountain. They did indeed witness some miracles and began to migrate there.

...

Later, a group of people came down from the mountain and began to wage wars and plunder everywhere, winning every battle. All the people from the tribes they defeated were escorted to that mountain.

As for what happened after going to the mountain, no one knew, because no one who went there ever came down again.

The Lipo tribe fled everywhere to escape the war and finally ended up here."

The location of the "mountain peak" recorded on the stone was in the area of the Devil's Col.

Daniel didn't think this was a coincidence.

Later, Daniel officially joined the Z Organization and devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work. He quickly rose through the ranks.

Relying on the organization's power, he obtained those top-secret materials, witnessed the miracle of the so-called "droplets," and discovered the existence of the underground palace. All of this further confirmed his guess—there really were gods in the mountains, and his friend Mormont's disappearance might have been related to some divine phenomenon.

Curiosity drove him to study the legends of the Himalayas and the secrets of the Devil's Col day and night.

This careful research lasted nearly twenty years.

Perhaps due to prolonged熬夜 (áo yè - staying up late), irregular schedules, and the harsh environment of the Himalayas, Daniel noticed discomfort in the little finger of his left hand. This discomfort gradually spread to his entire palm. He returned to the United States for treatment and went to the hospital for examination. The doctor diagnosed him with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).

The doctor said that he would gradually become paralyzed within five years and eventually die due to muscle atrophy. The doctor advised him to rest and start treatment.

Daniel refused. He wanted to unravel the secrets of the Devil's Col before he died and also wanted to use the miracles in the mountains to treat himself.

After that, he became even more frenzied and unscrupulous in exploring and researching the Himalayas, seeking the location of the "gods."

Daniel used every means to decipher the "droplets," used every means to find the entrance to the underground palace, and used every means to find clues from the descendants of the original expedition.

Because of that "s.o.s" signal from the Devil's Col after the expedition disappeared, Daniel was convinced that someone must have come out of the "droplets" alive, and that he must hold the key to unlocking the secrets of the Devil's Col.

Daniel believed that this escapee had transmitted all the secrets to the outside world in some way.

Initially, the Z Organization only sent people to monitor the descendants of the deceased expedition members, hoping to find evidence to corroborate Daniel's conjecture, but after more than twenty years, they had achieved nothing.

But Daniel couldn't wait any longer. He began to intensify his efforts, and his mentality became increasingly twisted.

Through Zoey Mormont's betrayal, he found the descendants of the deceased expedition members, resorting to torture and killing to obtain those secrets that might not even exist. The descendants of those three American expedition members were all subjected to severe torture before their deaths, but the Z Organization obtained nothing.

After discovering Zoey's betrayal, the Z Organization immediately began to take action.

For Zhao Chengguang, Fatty, and Han Yu, they were undoubtedly lucky.

After all, China is not like the United States, where the Z Organization has its headquarters. At that time, the Z Organization's forces in China had been severely cracked down upon by the government, leaving very few people. And it would take time to redeploy personnel from overseas.

Zoey successfully exploited a time difference and rescued Zhao Chengguang, Fatty, and Han Yu from the Z Organization.

Just when Daniel was at his wit's end, heaven still favored him. He unexpectedly caught four people who had delivered themselves to his doorstep. And what Han Yu said during the negotiation rekindled his hope.

...

After entering the underground palace, Daniel did not immediately pursue the four who had escaped.

Although he only found one entrance sealed by the "droplets," his years of research and investigation had not been without gains.

Except for certain areas affected by the "droplets" that could not be explored, he still had a good grasp of the other areas. He knew roughly where the place he wanted to go was located.

Of course, he didn't tell Han Yu about these things.

"Why not let them be guinea pigs and explore the way first?" Daniel thought to himself, his lips slightly raised.

However, Daniel never expected that after crossing a long tunnel at the beginning, he would directly encounter the boss of the underground palace—the starved "Zambiga."

The "Zambiga" was originally chasing Zoey, Fatty, and Han Yu. Zoey's accidental fall into a hole instantly reduced the team to two people.

When the "Zambiga" heard the sounds of six people moving, it did not hesitate and decisively abandoned Fatty and Han Yu to hunt those six people.

The "Zambiga" did not give Daniel and the others a chance to breathe, as it had done with Fatty and the others.

It launched a sudden attack from behind Daniel and the others, decapitating one of the poor guards with lightning speed.

The sudden appearance of the black monster and the separation of their teammate's head from their body instantly frightened everyone in the narrow space. In the chaos, no one knew who fired the first shot at the black monster.

From then on, the room was filled with screams and gunshots, lasting for four or five seconds.

Finally, the "Zambiga" was injured and successfully driven back. One of its legs was broken. It dragged two relatively complete corpses (food) away in a panic.

On Daniel's side, all five guards were killed by the "Zambiga." Daniel's left arm was torn off, blood splattering everywhere, and he was dying.

The broken leg of the "Zambiga" was lying next to Daniel, greedily absorbing Daniel's blood as if it were alive, wriggling frantically in Daniel's blood. Following the direction of the blood flow, it found the wound on Daniel's shoulder and suddenly thrust itself into the wound—the intense pain caused Daniel to faint.

He didn't know how long had passed, but Daniel woke up and found that a monster's leg had grown where his arm had been severed. At first, he was shocked and frightened, but later he found that he seemed to be able to control this leg.

Many black tendrils extended from the junction of the monster's leg, constantly drilling and digging into Daniel's body.

He felt as if a force was gradually awakening within him. At the same time, his consciousness began to dissipate, and his memories began to fade.

A voice echoed repeatedly in his ear.

Was it a hallucination? It didn't seem like it.

—"Whatever you want, I can give it to you. Come, come, come to me..."

Seeking all kinds of tickets, seeking collection and reading, I bow down and thank you!