Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The second layer of the underground city was similar to the first, but this level was clearly marked by scattered rubble and cracks along the stone walls.

A major earthquake had struck here over a decade ago. Although the aboveground structures had been left in ruins, the interior of the palace remained largely intact, leading Lin An to believe the underground city would not have been greatly affected.

However, the sight of scattered stones and the cracks in the walls now suggested that the lower they went, the more severe the damage appeared.

Lin An's expression remained composed, yet the hand he held grew increasingly tight.

Walking beside him, Shen Xiuzhe glanced at Lin An, whose inner turmoil was barely concealed, and asked, "Do you know how many levels this underground city has?"

"Hmm? It should be the ninth floor." Lin An's thoughts snapped back, and looking up at the oppressive, narrow corridor, he replied.

"I heard from the folks in Muling City that there are mechanisms inside here, but it seems we haven't encountered any." Shen Xiuzhe looked around, unsure where the mechanisms could be, though considering the dungeon had been abandoned for a long time, he guessed that they were probably no longer working.

Lin An didn't know where there might be mechanisms either; the map only showed the general directions.

Quickly, at the central point of the second floor, they discovered a skeleton. The clothes on the skeleton were very modern, likely belonging to someone who entered this place a decade or so ago.

On seeing the skeleton, Lin An's pace slowed, his body stiffening.

Shen Xiuzhe knew he was scared, frightened that the corpse might be the person he was searching for, so he let go and stepped forward first to carefully examine it.

"The clothing was popular among explorers a dozen years ago, and here's a knife—these were specially made, each explorer's knife unique. Thus, this was an explorer, cause of death unknown," Shen Xiuzhe analyzed calmly, noting that the cause of death was not discernible from the skeleton; the clothes, though tattered, showed no signs of injury, indicating the explorer did not die from external wounds.

His parents were historians, not explorers.

Having determined the skeleton's identity, Lin An finally stepped forward and crouched beside Shen Xiuzhe.

Shen Xiuzhe had stepped forward to reassure Lin An, but in fact, there were things he hadn't yet disclosed.

Typically, the bodies of deceased explorers are carried out by their companions for burial, but this body was left carelessly at the center of the second floor, suggesting that others could not attend to this explorer at the time, and the absence of burial rites might mean that no one made it out.

These were only Shen Xiuzhe's speculations; he didn't share them with Lin An, knowing that Lin An was already very nervous and that knowing these details would only make him more anxious.

Later, on the second floor, they discovered several more skeletons, all belonging to explorers, with no apparent causes of death.

So how exactly did they die?

Silence enveloped them, only their own footsteps could be heard.

As they continued forward, suddenly, a rustling noise came from behind. The sound was faint, but to the two with extraordinary abilities, it was distinctly clear.

They turned their heads toward the source of the sound at the same time, and from the cracks in the wall behind them, many small black bugs started to emerge. These bugs were tiny, the size of grains of rice, linked head to tail, crawling on the wall towards them.

The black bugs had a white spot on their backs, which looked like eyes, creating a particularly unnerving sight.

This was a rare type of tick, unlike ordinary bloodsucking parasites. This unique white-spotted tick from the depths of the forest was venomous, and a single bite could be fatal.

So, had all those who died been bitten by these venomous ticks?

More ticks surged out from the crevices all around, converging on the two of them.

Although their supernatural abilities made short work of the ticks, the sheer number of these pests remained unknown. As they kept emerging, it was prudent to shake them off quickly.

Exchanging a glance, Lin An took the lead, with Shen Xiuzhe following as they dashed towards the passage leading further down from the second floor.

During their flight, ticks continuously poured from the crevices along the path, while Shen Xiuzhe scorched those on the sides and behind them with fire as they ran.

The ticks, each equipped with wings, began to flutter chaotically once disturbed.

While Shen Xiuzhe handled the ticks from the rear and sides, Lin An used layers of mist to obstruct those ahead; the ticks' wings, dampened by the mist, hindered their flight.

Without exchanging a single word, their coordination seamless, they made their way to the passageway leading down from the second level.

The passageway on each floor resembled a vertical shaft with a round opening, where steep steps required the use of hands for descent.

Without a moment's hesitation, Lin An began the descent, with Shen Xiuzhe close behind.

As ticks swarmed in pursuit, the passageway entrance suddenly burst into flames, engulfing the entrance and incinerating any ticks that attempted to cross.

The ticks attempting to pass through were burned to death, their charred bodies falling down the shaft.

The remaining insects, daunted, did not continue their pursuit.

The third level of the underground city.

Proceeding with increased caution, they saw no corpses on this level. Navigating corridors and circling halls, they tread slowly, inadvertently stepping on a loose stone slab in a corridor with a circular arch.

Shen Xiuzhe immediately sensed something amiss; the underground city, seemingly hewn from a single colossal stone, should not have had any loose slabs.

Following the stone slab with his eyes, he spotted a huge round stone at the corridor's end, almost matching the corridor in size, which now began to rock slightly back and forth.

"What's happening?" Lin An also noticed the irregularity.

Both keenly attuned to danger, they halted upon sensing the anomaly beneath their feet.

"The slab we're standing on extends all the way to the end of the corridor, and the stone placed at the end has been levered. A slightest move from us, and it will come rolling towards us."

The corridor, shaped in an arch, had no alcoves or stone chambers on either side; there would be nowhere to hide if the stone rolled their way.

"There's a passage behind the stone," Lin An said with certainty, referring to the map indicating an entrance to the next level behind the circular boulder. The real conundrum now was how to move the stone and get past it.

"When I give the signal, we'll both run backward toward the corner," Shen Xiuze looked back along their route. They were still more than a dozen meters from the turn, and the stone was only three meters away; their legs could never outrun it, so they needed to create some obstacles to slow the stone's momentum.

Shen Xiuze removed several metal pieces from his wrist, waist, and legs—precautions he carried just in case.

They would make suitable obstructions.

He manipulated the metal to change shape, eventually forming barriers of various sizes and heights scattered across the ground.

The two retracted their feet and turned to run. The massive stone thundered towards them immediately.

In this race against speed, Lin An, with his naturally slow zombie sluggishness and poor stamina, was at a severe disadvantage and soon fell behind.

Had it not been for the metal barriers delaying the boulder's force, Lin An would have already been flattened into a zombie pancake.

Lin An was making an effort, but he truly couldn't run fast.

Shen Xiuze maintained the same pace as Lin An, and even deliberately slowing down, he found Lin An couldn't keep up. In the end, he had no choice but to scoop him up and sprint towards the corner some seven or eight meters ahead.

The giant boulder chased closely behind them, down the corridor nearly its size and on a gradient, threatening to crush them at any moment.

Lin An knew he was the one holding them back. If Shen Xiuze had not bothered with him and instead ran at full speed, he would have already reached the corner.

In a split second, Lin An lifted his hand to wield his power, directing a torrent of water at the boulder to slow its momentum.

They finally reached the end, and Shen Xiuze, with a sidestep, positioned himself at the corner's edge, while the boulder smashed into the wall with a colossal impact, causing even the surrounding walls to tremble, indicating the immense force of the collision.

The boulder came to a stop post-impact, now also partially blocking the corner, but fortunately, it left just enough gap for one person to pass, or they would have been unable to move forward.

Shen Xiuze set Lin An down, "Are you alright?"

Lin An nodded, thankful for the increased stamina he'd developed from navigating the forest lately, which prevented him from getting winded after just a few steps like before.

He admired Shen Xiuze, who, despite the rapid pace and the added burden, seemed unaffected, not even his breathing was disturbed.

Lin An envied him, "You have great stamina." He thought of how such physical prowess would have helped him stand up to those who had bullied him.

Shen Xiuze paused, a slight smile at the corners of his mouth as he saw the simple envy in Lin An's eyes, "Thanks for the compliment. Your stamina will improve too."

"I can't," Lin An admitted bluntly.

Setting aside his current state as a zombie and the uncertainty of reverting back, he had always been weak since childhood, unable to run fast or far, often ill, and always the first to succumb to a cold. His frequent illnesses made him a nuisance in the eyes of the orphanage staff who grew impatient with his need for care.

"It's unlikely to get better in the future, I guess."

"Don't worry, if possible, I'll help you train later," Shen Xiuzhe said, patting his head. He didn't continue the topic and instead tried to squeeze through the narrow gap between the boulder and the corner.

Lin An watched anxiously as Shen Xiuzhe attempted the risky maneuver; after all, a slight shift in the boulder's position could crush him.

He managed to get through with difficulty, his chest picking up a good amount of dust in the process.

Lin An, on the other hand, slipped through with ease.

Much slimmer than Shen Xiuzhe, he had no trouble navigating the tight space that Shen had just barely managed to pass.

Only upon traversing the corridor again did they discover that the original location of the boulder concealed two pulverized skeletons, previously hidden from view.

Shen Xiuzes restored a pile of flattened metal on the ground to its original shape and stored it in various pockets on his body. Without space-manipulating abilities, the existence of these metals was crucial, using some and recycling the rest.

The entrance to the next level was behind the boulder, right beside the two skeletons. Shen Xiuzhe also carefully verified that these remains were not Lin An’s parents.

The layouts of the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the underground were similar to the upper levels, also filled with various traps and the remains of explorers. As they encountered more bodies, Lin An’s expression grew increasingly solemn.

He knew that after so many years, his parents were likely gone. Yet, he clung to the last shred of hope that, as long as their bodies remained unfound, there was a chance they were alive. But with the continuous appearance of the bodies of fellow adventurers from a decade ago, his hope was fading.

On the sixth underground level, Lin An led Shen Xiuzhe for a long time without finding a passage downward.

The map on the palace's stone door was flat, with many routes overlapping. They had easily navigated the first five levels, but on the sixth, they had scoured every place without discovering the entrance to the lower level.

"It might be hidden. The ancient Mouus people wouldn't have made the entire underground city map available; they must have kept some secrets. We're lucky to have made it this far safely. From here on, we'll have to rely on ourselves to find the way," Shen Xiuzhe comforted.

Lin An closed his eyes; indeed, he had been too anxious.

There had to be a way down on this level. According to the information left by his parents, the Mouus City had nine levels in total; they must have overlooked something.

Shen Xiuzhe, too, hadn't discovered any clues about the passage. Recalling the layers they'd traversed, it seemed that the deeper they went, the more evident the damage from the ancient earthquake. Could the entrance have disappeared in the quake?

Sharing his thoughts with Lin An, Lin An also felt it was possible, but now the sixth floor was covered with scattered rubble, making it impossible to pinpoint the entrance.

Should they search again?

Lin An felt that using the conventional method to search again would yield the same result.

He suddenly looked up at Shen Xiuzes, his eyes shining: “I’ve got an idea.”

A faint mist spread throughout the sixth layer of the underground city, like a white gauze lingering around walls, crevices, and corners, invading every space with its presence.

Lin An closed his eyes, keenly feeling the sensations from all around, as if he too had turned into mist, filling every corner.

"Found it!" Lin An opened his eyes.

The naked eye couldn't see the path below, but the mist could find spaces beneath through narrow gaps, as air flowed freely. Where air could pass, there might be a passage to the lower levels.

Lin An located three such spots, with the closest one in the sixth-floor hall.

In the middle of the hall stood a stone pillar, unadorned and simple, devoid of any decorations or carvings.

Lin An felt the air movement originating from the very top of this stone pillar.

This pillar wasn't a support for the structure above; it was slightly separated from the ceiling, merely a decoy for outsiders.

Circling the pillar twice, Lin An tapped on it and found it to be hollow inside.

The tapping sound was crisp, indicating the pillar's outer layer was thin.

Lin An thought it could be shattered directly. Clenching his fist, he struck the pillar hard.

The pillar showed no cracks, while Lin An, gripping his punched hand with the other, stood silently aside.

He had overestimated himself; his hand throbbed with pain.

Shen Xiuzes couldn't intervene in time and saw Lin An unhesitatingly hammer the pillar.

He watched, amused yet sympathetic, as Lin An bravely held his hand, enduring the pain.

"Although it sounds brittle, the stones here are very hard. Even a thin layer can't be easily broken," Shen Xiuzes said and casually punched the pillar, causing it to crack like a spider web.

Lin An's eyes widened in amazement at Shen Xiuzes's strength, but the next second, he saw Shen retract the metal covering his hand.

Lin An: "..."

Alright, using his bare fists on the pillar was indeed foolish.

Together, they peeled off the pillar's outer layer along the cracks, revealing a circular hole at the bottom. The hole sloped steeply, rough and uneven, surrounded by smooth, concentric stone layers.

Lin An was about to descend when Shen Xiuzes stopped him.

"I'll go down first."

Unable to see the bottom from here and unsure of potential dangers, Shen Xiuzes volunteered to descend first. The slope was too steep for standing, so he had to sit and slide down slowly.

The two slid down the cave for a long time before finally seeing an exit.

Surprisingly, there was light at the exit.

They were deep underground, where the first six levels were pitch black. They could navigate only because of their strong night vision. So why was there light below?

The light was even bright and dazzling, like the sunlight from outside.

Faced with this situation, Lin An couldn't explain either. After all, the seventh, eighth, and ninth levels of the underground city were unknown territories to him.

Shen Xiuzes continued downward and finally emerged from the cave's mouth.

The blinding light made it hard for both, accustomed to the dark, to open their eyes. Once they adjusted, the sight before them made them both doubt if it was an illusion.

"Is this really the underground city?" Shen Xiuzes's tone was full of skepticism, almost believing they had somehow reached the outside world.

Gazing at the dreamlike scene before him, Lin An murmured, "This is the real Moues City."

In the first six levels, each was only about two meters high. But here, they found themselves in a space hundreds of meters tall, with a pyramid-like structure standing majestically amidst it. Its grand scale and magnificence were awe-inspiring. Surrounding the structure were stone houses similar to those above ground, but these were much more intact and newer.

Plants even grew around the stone houses and on the ground.

What puzzled Lin An most was the source of light, high up on the colorful, vibrant ceiling. Despite being centuries old, the vivid, lifelike patterns were perfectly preserved.

At the very center of the ceiling was a distinct light source, too far and bright to discern its composition.

From below, it resembled a small sun suspended above, illuminating everything in the space.

Could it be that Moues City had invented light bulbs thousands of years ago?

Lin An's mind was filled with questions.