Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 640 Submerged Ruins (8)

Han Zu fully extended his senses, meticulously exploring this vast space. The bottom of the space wasn't flat; instead, it was riddled with trenches of varying depths, through which flowed clear seawater. Small, luminous creatures, no bigger than grains of rice, emanated a faint green glow, like tiny sparks drifting slowly in the water, adding a touch of life to this mysterious space. These luminous creatures seemed to have formed a symbiotic relationship with the fleshy structures. When they approached, the cilia on the structures' surfaces would tremble slightly, releasing a foamy liquid. Once this liquid dispersed, the luminous creatures would swarm around it, greedily absorbing it. Han Zu's gaze lingered briefly on these details before swimming towards the central giant structure—the source of the most concentrated energy fluctuations. The structures along the way became increasingly dense, connected by narrow "bridges" made of the same fleshy substance. These "bridges" had exceptionally smooth, translucent surfaces, through which one could clearly see the intricate, vein-like patterns within, through which flowed a dark red liquid. Slender "vines" hung down from both sides of the bridge. These "vines" were not green, but dark red, and their surfaces were covered with tiny suction cup-like structures. Adorning the vines were small, bud-like balls that would occasionally open slowly, releasing tiny, shimmering blue particles. After floating in the air for a moment, the particles would be attracted by the fine hairs on the surface of nearby buildings. The little mouse, perched on Han Zu's head, watched the swimming, glowing creatures and the particle-spitting vines. Its curiosity grew stronger, and its little paws couldn't help but twitch slightly, wanting to reach out and touch the floating blue particles. However, remembering the oppressive feeling from the surrounding buildings, it quickly withdrew its paws, only observing everything with even more focused eyes.

Han Zu stopped as he crossed a bridge connecting two organ-shaped structures. He noticed a huge gap in the wall of a small building beside the bridge. The fleshy material at the gap appeared to have naturally detached, with unusually clean edges and a smooth, blade-like cut, clearly revealing the internal structure. This seemingly soft fleshy structure was not hollow inside, but rather contained honeycomb-like pores, each uniform in size, about the size of a fist. Each pore was filled with a translucent gel-like substance, pale red in color, with fine, capillary-like veins on its surface. Within these veins flowed extremely subtle, dark red liquid, emitting faint energy fluctuations. Between the gel-like substances were thicker, bone-like, white, hard structures. These structures intertwined, forming the supporting framework of the structure, allowing the seemingly soft fleshy material to maintain its stable shape. The gel-like substance at the edge of the gap is moving extremely slowly, gradually spreading towards the center of the gap. This is clearly the building's self-healing mechanism at work, but the repair speed is extremely slow, and it is estimated that it will take several dozen days to completely close the gap.

Han Zu reached out and touched the exposed flesh and blood. The texture was unusually peculiar; the outer "skin" had a leather-like resilience, and when pressed, the elasticity of the internal gel-like substance could be felt, only to be released and slowly return to its original shape. Upon closer inspection, he could detect an extremely rich life force within these substances, a life force possessing an ancient quality, as if it had remained vibrant despite eons of time. His fingertips stirred slightly with energy as he tentatively touched the internal gel-like substance. The substance trembled slightly, the flow of its fine veins increasing slightly before returning to normal. The little mouse on the top of his head, seeing Han Zu's action, curiously poked its head out, sniffing the flesh and blood. When it smelled the peculiar scent of earth and wood, its little brow furrowed slightly, and it quickly withdrew its head, clearly disliking the smell.

After advancing a short distance, Han Zu discovered more similar gaps. Some gaps were small, only half a meter wide, with the flesh around the edges already partially repaired. The newly grown flesh was pale pink, contrasting sharply with the surrounding dark red old tissue. Other gaps were larger, as wide as three meters, seemingly formed by a powerful impact. The flesh around the gaps was slightly charred, but even so, the edges were slowly healing, and pale pink new tissue was slowly spreading beneath the charred parts. He also discovered small, vine-like structures extending from the main structure, clinging to nearby rocks. The suckers at the ends of the vines clung tightly to the rocks, but without eroding them. Occasionally, a small amount of transparent liquid would seep from the suckers, dripping onto the rocks and forming a thin film that would then gradually dry without leaving any trace. This controlled growth was completely different from the indiscriminate expansion of flesh structures he had seen before, adding to the eeriness of the situation.

The building's surface "skin" undulates slightly with the flow of seawater, like the breathing of a living organism. With each undulation, the surface texture expands or contracts. The hanging vines and tendrils slowly adjust their posture according to changes in the light from the crystals above, aligning their tips, buds, or suckers towards the brighter light. This adjustment process is extremely slow, often taking half an hour to complete a single, minute angle change. The holes in the building's surface subtly adjust their contraction and expansion frequency based on changes in the speed of the seawater flow. When the flow speeds up, the intervals between the hole contractions shorten, and more seawater is drawn in, as if regulating the internal pressure balance. The little mouse watched the vines slowly adjust their direction, its little head turning slightly in sync, its curiosity growing stronger. It noticed how the suckers on the vines adhered to the rocks and couldn't resist mimicking Han Zu's hair with its tiny paws, as if feeling the suction. When it saw the holes drawing in seawater, its little nose twitched, seemingly trying to guess the function of these holes. Every subtle change in the building filled this little creature, possessing the wisdom of an adult, with a thirst for exploration.

Han Zu reached out to a relatively small building nearby, resembling a twisted giant python, and gently placed his palm on its "wall." The instant his palm touched it, he could clearly feel a gentle energy emanating from the wall. Simultaneously, the wall surface slightly dented, less than a centimeter deep, before slowly returning to its original shape. There was no aggression, no rejection, not even a noticeable stress response; it was as if a resilient sponge had simply been pressed. The little mouse felt the slight vibration from Han Zu's palm and curiously raised its head, following Han Zu's arm to his hand, then looking at the python-shaped building. It tilted its head, seemingly pondering the connection between the two. Seeing that the building had only slightly dented and then returned to normal, its wariness lessened somewhat, but the solemn aura emanating from the building still kept it from relaxing, its small body remaining tightly pressed against Han Zu's head.

Han Zu withdrew his hand, his gaze continuing to wander among the buildings, observing the structural differences between the various structures. The structures that coiled like giant pythons had denser, scale-like patterns on their surfaces, brighter dark red dots between the patterns, and a deeper, crimson color in their internal gel-like substance. Their energy fluctuations were also more intense, and the thicker, more tightly packed white supporting frames inside clearly served to transport energy and provide structural support. The structures that resembled organs had larger honeycomb-like pores inside their "bodies," and the gel-like substance was thinner, appearing pale pink. Their surface tendrils and buds were denser, and the buds emitted blue light particles at a higher frequency, seemingly responsible for absorbing and converting energy. The giant structure in the center, resembling a half-open flower bud, had a clearly regular distribution of pores on its surface. Larger pores were mainly distributed at the base of the "petals," while smaller pores were distributed at the tips of the "petals." Inside each "petal" was a thick, vein-like pattern, and the dark red liquid flowing through the pattern moved faster than in the other structures, exhibiting the strongest and most stable energy fluctuations. It was clearly the core of the entire complex.

Han Zu approached the central colossal building, and the closer he got, the more intense the energy fluctuations became. The building's "petals" were layered upon each other, each petal's surface covered with intricate patterns. These patterns intertwined, forming a vast network that covered the entire surface of each petal. Dark red liquid flowing within these patterns gleamed oily under the blue light, moving faster than in other buildings, like a slowly flowing river. Each petal's edge was edged with a ring of white cilia, longer and denser than those on other buildings, vibrating slightly faster. Around the holes in the building's surface, besides tiny "eyelash"-like structures, were rings of tiny, gear-like protrusions. These protrusions rotated slightly as the holes contracted and expanded, rotating silently. As Han Zu drew nearer, the little mouse's curiosity overcame some of its unease. It no longer merely peeked out, but dared to fully peek out, its eyes wide as it observed the details of the colossal building. Upon seeing the dark red liquid flowing on the "petals" and the rotating gear-like protrusions, its little mouth opened slightly, revealing a surprised expression. Its tiny paws instinctively patted Han Zu's hair, as if wanting to share its discovery. However, the solemn aura emanating from the building still instilled some fear in it, so it simply lay quietly on Han Zu's head, not daring to make a sound, for fear of disturbing this mysterious structure.

At the base of the colossal structure, Han Zu discovered a massive entrance. The entrance was an irregular oval, approximately twenty meters in diameter, with exceptionally neat edges, clearly precisely sculpted. Surrounding the entrance was a ring of even thicker vines, thicker than those on the rest of the structure, their surfaces covered in scale-like protrusions, arranged neatly like a curtain. The tips of the vines were not flower buds, but rather had suction cup-like structures that clung tightly to the "petals" at the entrance's edge. A transparent liquid slowly seeped from around the suction cups, firmly binding the vines to the "petals." The interior of the entrance wasn't pitch black, but emitted a faint, dark red glow. This light came from tiny luminous dots embedded in the interior walls, similar to the dots on the building's surface, but much brighter, illuminating a small area within the entrance. Upon seeing this enormous entrance, the little mouse's small body began to tremble slightly again. The light emanating from within and the intense energy fluctuations made it instinctively sense a hint of danger. It buried its little head even deeper, its claws almost digging into Han Zu's scalp. Only after feeling Han Zu's steady gait did its fear ease slightly. It dared not look into the entrance, but simply closed its eyes tightly, curled its body into a ball, and clung firmly to Han Zu's head.

Han Zu, with the little mouse on his head, swam straight towards the entrance. As soon as he entered, an even stronger, more peculiar odor assaulted his nostrils, dispelling the dampness of the passage. Inside the entrance was a vast hall, over fifty meters high and several thousand square meters in area. The hall's "walls," "floor," and "ceiling" were all composed of the same fleshy substance, a deeper, more profound dark red than the exterior. The surface was exceptionally smooth, without any holes or vines, only fine, slowly writhing lines resembling capillaries on human skin. At intervals along the walls were irregularly shaped small patches emitting a dark red glow. These patches, like congealed blood beads, emitted a soft yet stable light, illuminating the entire hall. Hanging from the ceiling of the hall are stalactite-like fleshy structures, ranging in length from several meters to over ten meters, with sharp ends and surfaces covered with tiny holes. Occasionally, a drop of dark red liquid drips from these holes, quickly absorbed by the fleshy material on the ground without leaving a trace. On the floor of the hall are shallow, river-like grooves, about half a meter wide and less than ten centimeters deep. The dark red liquid flowing in these grooves seeps from the patterns on the walls, forming a complex network that eventually converges into a large "pool" in the center of the hall.

This "pool" is approximately ten meters in diameter and three meters deep, filled with a dark red liquid. The surface of the liquid is unusually calm, without a ripple, yet it radiates an extremely rich life energy. A very thin, oil-like, transparent substance floats on the surface, shimmering with iridescent colors under the dark red light. Around the edge of the pool is a ring of low, fence-like fleshy protrusions, their surfaces covered with tiny cilia that constantly sway gently, keeping the surrounding seawater out and preventing it from flowing into the pool. In the center of the pool stands a massive, pillar-like fleshy structure, about five meters in diameter and reaching the ceiling of the hall. Its surface is covered with spiral patterns, within which flows the dark red liquid at a faster speed than elsewhere, like a rushing river. The pillar's surface is not smooth but covered with scale-like protrusions, each topped with a tiny luminous point, echoing the luminous blocks on the walls. The tops of the stone pillars connected to the stalactite-like structures on the ceiling of the hall. A large amount of transparent, gel-like substance held them firmly together, and within this substance, countless tiny interwoven lines formed channels for energy transfer. The little mouse perched on Han Zu's head had opened its eyes, marveling at the sight in the hall. The hanging stalactite-like structures and the flowing network of liquids fascinated it. When it saw the iridescent oil film on the surface of the pool, its little eyes lit up instantly, and it couldn't resist reaching out its tiny paw to touch it, but then stopped mid-air, simply staring at the oil film with curious eyes, its little head filled with questions.

Han Zu's gaze swept across every corner of the hall, finally settling on the intricate structures on the walls. These structures, resembling human breathing holes, were evenly distributed, each about a centimeter in diameter and surrounded by a ring of fine white cilia. Every few minutes, these holes would gently open, drawing in seawater from the hall, creating a faint airflow that caused a slight movement in the surrounding water. When they closed, they expelled a filtered, lighter-colored liquid, which dripped into grooves in the floor, mixing with the dark red liquid to form a peculiar, translucent liquid. This liquid exuded a more concentrated energy aura and flowed faster than the plain dark red liquid. Han Zu observed for a moment and discovered that the opening and closing frequency of these holes was perfectly synchronized, like a precisely controlled machine. The amplitude of each opening and closing was also perfectly precise. This accurate regularity contrasted sharply with the seemingly bizarre shape of the fleshy structure. The little mouse also noticed the breathing holes on the wall. It stared curiously at the opening and closing of the holes, its little head bobbing gently in rhythm with the movement, as if imitating them. When it saw the discharged liquid mix with the liquid in the groove, its little nose twitched, as if trying to discern the smell of the mixed liquid.