Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 643 The Secret of Bastinburg (2)

Han Zu's heart tightened, and he quickly dodged to the side, clutching the little mouse. In that instant, the monster's enormous claw slammed heavily onto the spot where he had just stood, shattering the skeletal structure of the ground and sending fragments of bone flying. Han Zu realized that this monster was different from the mindless creatures he had encountered before; it was clearly aggressive and capable of locking onto its target. He circulated his internal energy, pressing his palm against the passage wall to absorb its energy while simultaneously observing the monster's movements.

Seeing its attack miss, the monster charged at Han Zu again, spewing out a cloud of dark red mist. Han Zu, still holding the little mouse, quickly retreated. The mist landed on the passage wall, instantly corroding a large hole in the muscle tissue. He realized the monster's attack was highly corrosive and he couldn't afford to be hit by the mist. Just then, he noticed an area on the monster's abdomen without a layer of keratin, where the exposed muscle tissue appeared pale pink. Seizing the opportunity, Han Zu swiftly dodged to the side as the monster charged again, simultaneously gathering his energy in his palm and slamming it into the monster's abdomen.

The moment the hand touched the monster's abdomen, a powerful surge of energy flowed into its body. The monster let out a painful roar, its body convulsed violently, and then it lost momentum, crashing heavily to the ground. Its body twitched a few more times on the ground before becoming still, dark red liquid continuously oozing from the wound in its abdomen. This liquid was quickly absorbed by the flesh and blood tissue on the ground. Just as the monster was defeated, the patterns on the tunnel walls returned to their normal light, the vibrations ceased, and the sloughed muscle tissue began to slowly wriggle, re-covering the skeletal structure.

Han Zu breathed a sigh of relief and continued forward, still holding the little mouse. The little mouse peeked out from his arms, curiously examining the monster's corpse on the ground. When it saw the corpse being absorbed by the ground, it tilted its head, seemingly deep in thought. At the end of the passage was a small, circular space with a spiral staircase in the center. The staircase was made of flesh and blood, its surface covered with anti-slip bumps. The walls on either side of the staircase were covered with luminous patterns, providing ample lighting for the ascent.

Han Zu carried the little mouse up the spiral staircase, which was quite long, about a kilometer long. With each step upward, the surrounding energy intensified. After about half an hour, he finally reached the top. At the top was a small platform with a circular entrance in the center. The entrance was covered by a thin membrane, beneath which a soft white light emanated.

Han Zu reached out and gently parted the mucous membrane. Behind the entrance lay a vast domed space, far larger than any he had encountered before, at least 500 meters high and over 1,000 meters in diameter. At the top of the space was a gigantic luminous body, emitting a blinding white light like the sun, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime. The space was surrounded by mountain-like structures of flesh and blood, their surfaces riddled with enormous holes from which a silvery-white liquid flowed continuously, forming massive waterfalls that eventually converged into a huge lake at the bottom of the space.

The lake's surface was as still as a mirror, its silvery-white liquid shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight. At the center of the lake stood a colossal palace constructed of flesh and blood, its roof a massive dome dotted with countless star-like points of light, emitting a faint glow. Around the palace, numerous small bridges connected to the lake's shore; these bridges, also made of transparent flesh and blood, had smooth, mirror-like surfaces that clearly reflected the surrounding scenery.

In this space, a vast number of monsters floated, their forms varied greatly. Some resembled giant birds, soaring through the air with wings of flesh and blood; others were like fish swimming in water, floating above lakes, their bodies surrounded by a transparent film of water; still others were like upright-walking giants, levitating in the air by the air currents they exhaled from beneath their bodies, wandering aimlessly. Although these monsters were numerous, none of them showed any aggression, simply moving within their respective areas. Occasionally, a monster would lose its levitation ability and fall into the lake or onto the ground, where it would be absorbed by the flesh and blood tissue. Soon after, new monsters would be born from the surrounding flesh and blood structures.

Han Zu, carrying the little mouse, slowly walked along the lakeside path. The path was made of flesh and blood, with a perfectly flat surface. On both sides grew fleshy plants that resembled flowers. The petals of these plants were translucent pink, and at their centers grew luminous structures like stamens, emitting a faint fragrance. The little mouse peeked out from Han Zu's arms, curiously observing the surrounding scenery. When it saw the bird-like monsters, its eyes filled with curiosity, and it gently waved its little paws, seemingly trying to imitate the monsters' flight.

After walking about a kilometer, Han Zu arrived at a small bridge. This bridge connected the shore to the main gate of the palace, and was about two hundred meters long and five meters wide. He stepped onto the bridge and found that although it was made of transparent flesh and blood, it was exceptionally sturdy and very stable to walk on. The surface of the bridge had a thin layer of mucus, which served as a non-slip surface. When he reached the center of the bridge, the silvery-white liquid in the lake below suddenly began to churn violently, and then a huge monster emerged from the lake.

The monster's head resembled a giant tortoise shell, its surface covered in a hard layer of keratin. On either side of its head grew a pair of enormous eyes, which gleamed green. Most of its body was hidden in the lake, with only its head and several thick tentacles visible. The tentacles ended in large suckers, capable of easily grasping prey. Once its head emerged from the water, the monster let out a deep, muffled roar, its eyes fixed intently on Han Zu, seemingly regarding him as prey.

Han Zu's heart tightened, and he quickly ran towards the other side of the small bridge, clutching the little mouse. Just as he ran, a tentacle of the monster suddenly shot out from the water, reaching for him. Han Zu, with his agility, swiftly dodged to the side. The tentacle slammed heavily onto the bridge, creating a large dent in its surface, which quickly returned to normal. Seeing its attack miss, the monster extended its tentacles again. Han Zu continued to dodge on the bridge, simultaneously observing the monster's weaknesses.

He discovered that although the monster's eyes were enormous, they were completely unprotected, a clear weakness. When the monster extended its tentacles to attack again, Han Zu no longer dodged. Instead, he gathered his energy in his palm and slammed it down towards the monster's eyes. The instant his palm touched the monster's eyes, a powerful surge of energy flowed into the monster's body. The monster let out a painful roar, its body plunging into the water, creating huge ripples on the lake's surface. After a moment, the lake's surface returned to calm. The monster's corpse did not float to the surface; it had clearly been absorbed by the flesh and blood tissue in the lake.

Han Zu breathed a sigh of relief and quickened his pace to reach the other side of the small bridge, arriving at the palace's main gate. The main gate was thirty meters high and about twenty meters wide, consisting of two enormous flesh-and-blood doors. The surfaces of the doors were covered with relief-like patterns depicting strange designs that seemed to tell the history of the complex. In the center of the gate was a huge circular recess, inlaid with a heart-shaped red crystal that was slowly pulsating, radiating a powerful aura of energy.

Han Zu walked to the door and gently touched the red crystal. The crystal's pulsation suddenly accelerated upon contact with his finger, and then two enormous fleshy doors slowly opened to reveal an inner passage. The walls of the passage were covered with glowing patterns emitting a soft blue light, and the floor was covered with a carpet-like layer of fleshy tissue, making it very comfortable to walk on.

Upon entering the passage, Han Zu discovered numerous statue-like fleshy structures lining both sides. These structures varied in form, some resembling humans, others animals, and still others creatures he had never seen before. The surfaces of these statues were covered with intricate patterns, emanating a faint aura of energy, seemingly undergoing some kind of slow transformation. At the end of the passage was a vast hall, in the center of which stood a colossal throne composed of flesh and blood, its surface inlaid with numerous luminous crystals that emitted a dazzling array of colors.

The hall was surrounded by pillar-like structures of flesh and blood, their surfaces riddled with holes from which a silvery-white liquid flowed, running down the pillars to the floor and then through the floor's veins to the throne. Floating within the hall were several enormous monsters, resembling giant lions, their bodies covered in golden mane that shimmered with a faint light. Their limbs were thick and powerful, allowing them to move freely in the air. When they noticed Han Zu, they merely glanced at him indifferently before continuing to wander the hall, showing no aggression.

Holding the little mouse, Han Zu carefully approached the throne and gently touched its surface. The throne was icy cold, a stark contrast to the warm flesh and blood he had encountered before. When his fingers touched the crystals on the throne's surface, the crystals suddenly emitted a dazzling light, and a complete stream of information flowed into his mind. This information contained the origin and function of this flesh-and-blood architectural complex. He finally understood that this complex was a massive energy conversion device, responsible for transforming the energy in the surrounding environment into higher-level energy, providing energy support for some unknown entity.

Just as Han Zu was absorbing the information flow, the hall suddenly began to shake violently. The surrounding pillars started to crumble, and silvery-white liquid gushed out. A huge crack appeared in the ceiling, and large amounts of flesh and blood fell from the crack. The monsters floating in the hall became restless, running around frantically. Occasionally, a monster would be hit by falling flesh and blood, then absorbed by the ground. Han Zu realized that he had likely touched the core of the throne, causing instability in the entire space.

He clutched the little mouse and ran quickly towards the exit of the hall. The passageway at the exit had begun to collapse, with flesh and blood constantly falling from the ceiling, blocking his path. Han Zu circulated his internal energy, pressing his palm against the collapsing flesh and blood. The energy slowly seeped into it, melting it and creating a passage. He carried the little mouse and moved quickly along the passage. The sounds of collapse behind him grew closer, and large amounts of silvery-white liquid gushed out from the walls on both sides, forming torrents that blocked his way.

After a difficult trek, Han Zu finally escaped the palace and returned to the shore of the lake. The entire domed space was now in chaos. The surrounding fleshy mountains began to collapse, the massive waterfall transformed into a raging torrent, and enormous waves surged across the lake's surface. Countless monsters were smashed down in the chaos and then absorbed. The luminous object at the top of the space flickered erratically, its light flashing as if it might extinguish at any moment.

Han Zu didn't linger. Holding the little mouse, he quickly ran along the lakeside path towards the spiral staircase he had previously encountered. Along the way, flesh and blood kept falling from above, which he dodged with his agility, while simultaneously absorbing energy from the surrounding walls to replenish his energy reserves. When he reached the entrance to the spiral staircase, it had already begun to collapse. Without hesitation, he crawled inside and quickly ran down the stairs.

The stairs collapsed faster than he expected; the steps behind him vanished continuously, turning into flesh and blood that fell down. Han Zu quickened his pace, his internal energy surging, propelling him forward at high speed. The little mouse in his arms kept its eyes tightly shut, afraid to look at the scene behind it, clinging desperately to Han Zu's skin. After more than ten minutes of frantic running, Han Zu finally reached the bottom of the stairs and returned to the rectangular space he had been in before.

The rectangular space was also affected; the surrounding "bookshelves" began to collapse, scattering flat, fleshy objects across the ground, which were quickly absorbed by the surrounding flesh. The monsters floating in the space became restless, constantly ramming into things. Han Zu, carrying the little mouse, quickly traversed the chaotic space and ran towards the previous passageway. The passageway had already begun to shrink, and Han Zu slipped inside before it completely closed, returning to the previous vertical space.