The fury nearly overflowing from him made his body tremble slightly, and even his breathing became rapid and heavy. Starlight had never seen Po Kong this angry before and couldn't help but feel a surge of concern.
“Are you alright, Po Kong?” Starlight quickly approached and asked with concern.
“I’m fine...” Po Kong took a deep breath, struggling to calm his emotions. “Let’s find a way out of here first. I can’t wait to drag out the bastard hiding in the shadows!”
His voice squeezed slowly through his gritted teeth. Although the rage on his face had gradually softened, his eyes still flickered with a flame-like light.
Starlight knew exactly who Po Kong was referring to. The tragic scene before them had deeply affected him as well, leaving his heart heavy for a long time.
But as Po Kong said, the primary task now was to find a way out and escape this foul-smelling sewer.
“Considering these monsters crawled out of those pipes, I think we can try taking the largest pipe on the right. While you were fighting, I used my soul power to do a rough scan, and that pipe currently seems safe.”
Seeing that the two were in a bad mood, Noah closed his pages after dropping those words and drifted back to Starlight’s waist, falling silent.
“In that case, let’s not delay any further. Little Star, let’s go.” Before Starlight could even speak, Po Kong had already retracted his clenched fists and strode toward the pipe Noah had indicated.
Seeing this, Starlight said no more. He threw a light orb into the pipe to ensure there was no danger ahead, then followed closely behind, stepping into the unknown passage together.
The pipe they chose was the thickest one in the entire room, large enough for even a tall man like Po Kong to walk upright.
However, due to the year-round dampness and cold, the pipe was covered in dense moss, making every step they took exceptionally difficult.
Just as Noah had said, the two walked along the slightly upward-sloping pipe for a while without encountering any danger. The only trouble was that after all this chaos, the map in Starlight’s hand had become completely useless, and they were now unable to determine their exact position.
“How is this pipe so long... how much longer do we have to walk in this hellhole before we can leave the sewer!?”
After another ten minutes or so, Po Kong, who was leading the way, finally couldn't help but complain. However, as time passed, his emotions had gradually stabilized.
“Don’t be in such a hurry; we’re just walking slowly. If you really think about it, we haven't actually gone that far. Besides, this place is much better than that foul room full of monsters, right?” Starlight smiled helplessly, doing his best to comfort Po Kong.
As for whether the path ahead was a dead end, Starlight wasn't actually worried.
This was because Noah had already analyzed it with him in his mind: this thickest pipe likely connected to the main sewer system beneath the entire District One.
As long as they kept following this pipe, they would eventually find an exit. For now, they just needed a bit more patience and perseverance.
Sure enough, after a while, the two discovered a fork above their heads, with a pipe—clearly a size smaller—leading straight upward.
“I can feel a slight draft of air here. It seems this really does lead somewhere else, but the top looks like it's blocked by something... how are we going to get through?”
Starlight looked up at the end of the sealed pipe. Just as he voiced his doubt, he saw Po Kong beside him already glowing with a pale yellow light.
“Wait! Po Kong, you’re not planning to—”
Before Starlight could finish his sentence, Po Kong had already pushed his battle qi to the limit. He leapt up suddenly, crashing into the passage above like a cannonball.
With a loud bang, the obstruction sealing the pipe was smashed to pieces by Po Kong’s immense strength. A moment later, Starlight heard Po Kong’s urging voice.
“It’s all clear! Come up quickly, Little Star!”
Hearing Po Kong’s shout, Starlight shook his head helplessly. He buffed himself with wind elements and climbed up through the opening Po Kong had made.
The pipe above was longer than Starlight had imagined. He didn't have Po Kong’s robust physique or incredible leg strength to jump to the top in one go.
Fortunately, some cracks had appeared in the side walls of the water pipe due to years of neglect, providing him with several handholds.
By the time he laboriously climbed out using the cracks in the pipe wall, he found that the two had indeed returned to the tombs of District One. Beside him, Po Kong had already drawn his weapon, assuming a defensive stance.
Seeing this, Starlight also looked back into the depths of the tomb. Immediately after, he heard a blood-curdling scream echoing from the deep darkness, followed by the sound of several frantic and hurried footsteps.
Reacting instantly, Starlight threw a light orb toward the sound. Several panicked figures rushed out of the distant darkness under the illumination of the light orb.
“Help... Help! There are monsters! There are ghosts!!” Seeing the two people under the light source, those figures immediately rushed over as if grabbing onto a life-saving straw, crawling and rolling toward them.
Only then did Starlight see their faces clearly. Although it was just a fleeting glance, he could be certain these people were the adventurers who had entered the tomb earlier.
Every one of them was suffering from significant injuries. One type of wound looked like it had been sliced open by a sharp blade and was emitting a faint black mist, while another type involved parts of their bodies being covered in thin frost, showing varying degrees of frostbite.
Having escaped the surrounding darkness, the group seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief, collapsing onto the ground. However, their bodies were still shivering uncontrollably, as if they had been severely traumatized.
“Calm down! Are you the adventurers who came down before us? What exactly did you encounter?!” Seeing their dazed state, Po Kong grabbed one of them and asked.
The adventurer looked at Po Kong with hollow eyes and said in a trembling voice, “They’re all dead... the dozen or so brothers who came down with us... they’re all dead!! We won’t escape either! Inside... it’s all... all ghosts and monsters!”
Hearing this answer, Starlight and Po Kong exchanged a glance. They both understood in their hearts that what they had feared had already happened—the kind of monsters they had just encountered were far more numerous than the few they had seen.
“Quick, tell us the situation in detail! How many people are left inside? Are you the only ones left?” Po Kong asked urgently, his tone carrying a hint of unquestionable authority.
The adventurer he was supporting finally calmed down a bit after seeing the black badge on Po Kong’s shoulder, which symbolized his rank. Covering his face, his voice trembled but remained steady as he slowly began to speak.
They were a temporary adventurers group and were among the first batch to get the news and enter the tomb.
Relying on a map they had purchased at a high price from a street vendor, they had successfully entered the fourth underground layer, encountering almost no danger along the way.
However, once they reached the fourth layer, things became eerie. Three teammates vanished silently during the march, as if swallowed by the darkness.
Just as they intended to turn back and search, they were ambushed by a terrifying, centipede-like monster with a human head.
That monster was almost invulnerable. They paid a heavy price but couldn't cause any substantial damage to it. Helpless, they could only flee forward following the vague markings on the map, their hearts filled with fear and despair.
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the entrance to the fifth layer.
Hoping for a way out, they rushed in, only to find that the situation in the fifth layer was far worse than they had imagined.
Soon, they were swarmed by countless ghosts. These ghosts had no physical form, and ordinary physical attacks couldn't harm them at all; even attacks infused with battle qi could only temporarily force them back.
In just a few minutes, their team was reduced by half. Finally, only these few managed to fight their way out while the ghosts were busy feasting on their fallen comrades.
They fled aimlessly through the darkness for several minutes until light appeared ahead, prompting them to rush toward it like a beacon of hope, where they happened to run into Starlight and Po Kong who had just escaped the pipe.
“Those disgusting monsters... ghosts... and that mysterious person who summoned skeletons... what on earth is going on?” After hearing these descriptions, Starlight rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with thought.
Rate on N.U.
