Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 638 Submerged Ruins (6)

Han Zu took a breath, his energy depleted considerably. He glanced at the blocked passage, frowned, then mobilized his power again, evaporating most of the fused creature's corpse and the nearby seawater, clearing a path. The little mouse then swam back from its hiding place and perched on his head once more. Han Zu reached out and patted its head before continuing deeper into the cave.

As they ventured deeper, the water flow in the cave became increasingly gentle, and the light grew dimmer. The number of bioluminescent plants on the rock walls gradually decreased, replaced by dark red moss that, while lacking fluorescence, could only reflect faint light. Han Zu remained vigilant, sensing that the surrounding environment was becoming increasingly eerie, with a faint smell of blood and decay permeating the air.

Soon after, the cave ahead forked, with two entrances side by side, each with a different water flow direction. The little mouse swam to the fork, hesitated for a moment, and then chirped a few times towards the left entrance. Han Zu probed the left cave with his senses and found the water flow relatively gentle, with some peculiar plants growing on the rock walls; he didn't detect any obvious danger. In the right cave, however, the water flowed rapidly, and his senses were blocked by a powerful energy fluctuation, preventing him from going any further.

"The left?"

After a moment's hesitation, Han Zu decided to trust the little mouse's intuition. He swam towards the cave entrance on the left, and as soon as he entered, he felt a chill. The temperature inside the cave was much lower than outside, and the seawater was much more murky, with visibility less than five meters. The rock walls were covered with sharp stalagmites, and one could easily get cut. However, for Han Zu's abnormal physical abilities, the sharp stalagmites were probably no different from soft sponges.

After advancing for several hundred meters, the cave suddenly opened up, and Han Zu finally left the cave complex. Ahead lay a vast seabed plain. The seawater here was exceptionally murky, with visibility less than a meter, and the temperature variations were enormous, sometimes bone-chillingly cold, sometimes unbearably hot, as if he were in a world of extremes. Han Zu's senses were severely limited in this area, only able to detect a radius of a few dozen meters around him.

"I must have reached the depths of the ocean, but where exactly am I?"

Han Zu, filled with doubt, cautiously advanced across the seabed plain. The seabed surface was uneven, covered with a thick layer of silt, which emitted a strong, putrid stench. He tried putting his feet into the silt, but found that it seemed abnormal; walking in it would make his progress extremely slow. So Han Zu left the silt and continued to swim.

Just then, a sudden commotion arose near Han Zu. He immediately stopped moving, tensed his body, and prepared for battle. Suddenly, a gigantic claw emerged from the mud, its claws covered in sharp nails, and lunged at his feet. Han Zu reacted with lightning speed, his feet jerking upwards while simultaneously creating a small shockwave using energy, using the shockwave to propel himself away from the claw's attack. Looking down, he saw a colossal creature emerge from the mud, revealing its true form.

This creature was the size of an elephant, with an oval-shaped body covered in a thick, gray carapace riddled with tiny holes, perhaps for breathing or sensing its surroundings. Its head was small, but its eyes were enormous, taking up most of its head, and gleaming with an eerie green light. Its limbs were short and stout, with incredibly sharp claws that allowed it to easily dig through the mud. Most remarkably, it possessed a pair of fin-like structures on its back, clearly evolved for aquatic movement.

Han Zu had never seen such a creature before. It was neither a fusion organism nor any kind of marine life he knew. He could sense a powerful life force within it, and its behavior was very regular, clearly indicating that it had its own lifestyle. Just as Han Zu was observing this creature, several more of the same creatures emerged from the surrounding mud, forming a circle that surrounded Han Zu and the little mouse.

"It seems this is their habitat."

Han Zu thought to himself that he didn't want to clash with these creatures. It wasn't that he couldn't defeat them, but his goal was to find the humanoid silhouette, not to waste time here. He tried releasing a gentle energy to show that he meant no harm. Sensing the energy Han Zu released, the creatures stopped attacking, tilting their heads to look at him, seemingly trying to gauge his intentions.

Just then, a loud noise suddenly came from afar, like some kind of creature fighting. The creatures surrounding Han Zu immediately became alert upon hearing the sound and looked in the direction from which it came. Han Zu's heart stirred; he could sense a powerful energy fluctuation coming from the direction of the sound, and this fluctuation carried a familiar aura—the faint aura left behind by the humanoid silhouette from before.

"Found it!" Han Zu was overjoyed. Ignoring the creatures around him, he rushed towards the direction from which the sound came. The creatures tried to stop him, but were driven back by the flames emanating from Han Zu's body. To avoid being pushed off Han Zu's head by the water, the little mouse quickly wrapped its tail around Han Zu's neck and gripped his hair firmly with its two front paws.

After swimming several hundred meters in the direction of the sound, Han Zu witnessed a shocking scene. In an open area, two enormous, bizarre creatures were locked in fierce combat. One of them resembled a giant spider, its body several meters in diameter, covered in a layer of black, shimmering hair. Its eight legs were thick and powerful, ending in sharp claws capable of easily tearing apart its prey. Its head had eight eyes, each facing a different direction, allowing it to survey its surroundings from all angles.

The other creature resembled a giant earthworm, its body tens of meters long and over a meter in diameter. Its surface was covered in smooth, dark red skin, beneath which pulsating blood vessels could be faintly seen. Its head lacked prominent eyes and a mouth, instead featuring a massive sucker covered in tiny barbs, clearly used for sucking up prey. Its body was incredibly agile, allowing it to dart quickly through the mud and launch surprise attacks.

The two creatures fought fiercely, the spider-like creature relentlessly attacking the earthworm-like creature with its claws, trying to tear it apart; while the earthworm-like creature constantly coiled its body around the spider-like creature, attempting to suck it up with its suckers. The surrounding silt was churned up by their battle, forming huge whirlpools, and many small, eerie creatures scattered in all directions, fearing they would be caught in the fight.

Han Zu hid behind a huge rock, carefully observing the battle. He could sense that both creatures were incredibly powerful, in no way inferior to the giant fused creatures he had encountered before. He also discovered that this area was inhabited by many different kinds of bizarre creatures, forming a complete food chain. Small creatures fed on microorganisms in the mud, medium-sized creatures preyed on small creatures, and large creatures like spider-like and earthworm-like beings were the apex predators of this area.

"These strange creatures are actually able to support an independent ecosystem."

Han Zu sighed inwardly. He had never imagined that such a vibrant area existed at such a depth. He released his senses again, carefully searching for the aura of the humanoid silhouette. Soon, he detected that familiar aura at the edge of the battle zone; the aura was very faint and was gradually fading away.

Han Zu immediately moved in the direction from which the aura was coming, bypassing the two fighting creatures and arriving at a relatively calm area. Low-lying aquatic plants grew in the mud here, their leaves dark red and covered in silt. His senses scanned the area repeatedly, finally discovering a faint trace of residual energy at the base of a plant—the very energy left by the humanoid silhouette.

Han Zu stopped and carefully observed the plant. There was a small indentation at the base of the plant, within which a faint glow remained, clearly left by the humanoid silhouette. He could sense that this glow contained a peculiar energy capable of shielding perception and sight, which explained why he had been unable to accurately pinpoint the other party's location before.

"It seems the other party has already gone far away."

Han Zu felt somewhat disappointed, but he didn't give up. After all, this energy was very special; as long as he followed this residual energy aura, he would definitely find the other party's trace. He immediately gathered his energy and quickly chased after the direction where the energy aura had disappeared.

For the rest of the journey, Han Zu traversed an area filled with unnaturally collapsed structures. The rocks here were broken very cleanly, clearly not naturally formed, but rather the result of a powerful external impact. The collapsed rocks piled up to form massive stone walls, with tenacious aquatic plants growing in the gaps between them. Han Zu could sense an ancient energy fluctuation within these collapsed structures, seemingly caused by some powerful weapon.

As Han Zu passed through a collapsed stone wall, he noticed some strange marks. There were blurry patterns carved into the wall, somewhat similar to those on the base of the statue in the hall, but simpler, seemingly markings left in some kind of emergency. He examined the patterns closely and discovered they seemed to indicate a direction—the very direction he was now heading.

"Could these patterns be the remains of that humanoid silhouette?"

Han Zu guessed what was going on and quickened his pace. He could feel the surrounding temperature rising, the seawater becoming increasingly murky, and visibility less than half a meter. A strong smell of sulfur filled the air, indicating the presence of some kind of high-temperature geological structure ahead.

After advancing for about an hour, Han Zu suddenly felt a powerful heat wave coming from ahead. He immediately stopped moving, and the fire energy within his body surged involuntarily, resonating with the heat wave. He slowed down and carefully swam forward a few meters, parting the murky water in front of him, and saw a scene he would never forget.

Ahead lay a vast underwater volcanic site. The volcano's body had largely collapsed, leaving only a massive crater. Inside the crater, remnants of dark red magma still clung, tiny bubbles rising from its surface, radiating intense heat. The surrounding rocks were charred black by the magma, exhibiting a glassy structure. The seawater was thick with volcanic ash, severely reducing visibility and making the temperature extremely high; even Han Zu could feel a strong burning sensation.

Han Zu's gaze was drawn to the rock walls at the edge of the crater. Near the magma surface, there was a massive entrance, about ten meters high and seven or eight meters wide, irregularly circular in shape. The surrounding rock was polished very smoothly, clearly carved out by hand. The entrance was pitch black, emanating a mysterious aura. Han Zu could sense a powerful energy fluctuation within, a fluctuation remarkably similar to the energy left by the humanoid silhouette.

"Could that guy have gone inside?"

Han Zu was incredibly excited. He knew that since this entrance wasn't naturally formed, there must be a huge secret hidden behind it, and the humanoid silhouette was very likely inside. The little mouse perched on his head was also very excited, waving its tiny paws incessantly.

The high temperature of the crater and the radiation from the magma were not a problem for Han Zu. He had experienced even harsher environments before. In fact, if necessary, he could even rush directly into the magma without any problem.

But what Han Zu didn't notice was that the little mouse perched on his head, which had just undergone mutation, was not affected by the high temperature and radiation. In fact, even the little mouse itself didn't realize it.

Han Zu stopped before reaching the entrance. He could sense that a huge architectural structure was hidden inside, but the chaotic energy in the vicinity interfered with his perception, preventing him from figuring out the details inside. However, it was precisely this unknown situation that drew him in to explore.

However, Han Zu did not immediately enter the entrance. Instead, he moved to the vicinity of the lava. Since arriving at Bastienburg, the battles he had experienced had depleted his energy, and he had not had any opportunity to recover before reaching the volcanic ruins. He planned to absorb some of the lava's radiation to recover.

After a period of time, Han Zu's energy returned to its peak. Once he was ready, Han Zu swam towards the entrance.