“Splash, splash, splash...”
“Glub, glub, glub, glub!”
“Splash, splash!”
“Glub, glub, glub...”
The dormant demon beasts in the water were suddenly driven mad by the fragrance, attacking one another in a frenzy. Massive whirlpools stirred up in the water as severed flesh and giant bones ground and clashed against each other, affecting countless creatures.
Even Nan Zhi, who was clinging tightly to the stone wall, was caught in the crossfire.
A massive fish tail whipped past, coming fast and furious, slamming heavily against the stone wall!
“Rumble! Rumble!”
Giant rocks collapsed from the stone wall, and the entire waterway seemed to shake violently. A colossal wave crashed down, and some of the smaller fish-beasts instantly went belly-up!
Nan Zhi circulated her Hiding Art, using her divine sense to hastily hide inside a fish skeleton. Unluckily, however, the water ball trailing behind her for breathing was struck by a falling rock, bursting with a soft pop—
Oh no!
Nan Zhi's heart sank slightly. Within the range of her divine sense, the area was packed with giant demon beasts driven mad by the suddenly intensifying strange fragrance, tearing, biting, struggling, and dodging...
Whirlpools cropped up everywhere underwater, and the scent of blood filled the air. Giant fish devoured giant soft-shell turtles, giant soft-shell turtles devoured giant pythons, and strange shrimp swallowed water ghosts. It had practically turned into a slaughterhouse!
Fine water grass wrapped around severed chunks of flesh, and sturdy fish bones came hurtling toward Nan Zhi. With a nimble twist of her body, she tied herself to the skeletal remains at the bottom of the water using the Spirit Swallowing Grass, keeping her head down for a long time.
Only when the commotion above subsided did she extend her divine sense to “look” again.
I can't just stay here and wait to die!
Nan Zhi exhaled a stream of bubbles, untied the restraints around her waist, and kicked off, plunging straight into the chaos. Selecting a ten-meter-long water mosquito, she threw a punch right at its head—
“Boom!!!”
The immense force, wrapped in churning water, smashed through the water mosquito's skull. A burst of foul-smelling blood rushed right toward Nan Zhi's face, but she didn't retreat even half a step, searching for something with intense focus!
Soon, a colossal creature about a hundred meters long appeared in her field of vision.
Attracted by the scent of blood, a giant fish opened its massive maw and sucked in sharply. A powerful current rushed inward, drawing the water mosquito's corpse right to its mouth.
Seizing the moment while the giant fish was feasting, Nan Zhi kicked hard against the water. Like a cannonball, she shot straight into the giant fish's mouth!
Splash!
To a hundred-meter-long giant fish, swallowing Nan Zhi was like a human swallowing a sesame seed; it noticed nothing at all.
It opened its large mouth, devouring the flesh of the giant mosquito in a few bites. Feeling somewhat unsatisfied, it rammed against the stone wall a few times before continuing downstream toward the source of the fragrance—
The water mosquito's corpse was picked clean, leaving behind only half of a battered skull that drifted down to the bottom of the water.
For a long time, the underwater world returned to a dead silence.
Pitch black, quiet—so quiet that only the faint sound of flowing water could be heard.
...
Meanwhile, in an underground research institute built beneath Mount Hexue.
A middle-aged woman wearing a sterile suit and glasses hurried along, her expression anxious. As she turned a corner, she bumped right into a patrol of guards in black uniforms.
“Professor Liu.”
“Hello, Professor Liu.”
“Professor Liu.”
The woman ignored them, grabbing the leader and demanding loudly, “Where is Section Head Qin? Where is your Section Head Qin?”
“Reporting, Section Head Qin has been in charge of the Imperial Tombs project recently and is not at the base right now. Do you need us to contact her?”
The leading guard saluted and suggested, “If you have important information to hand over to Section Head Qin, you can have the base liaison notify her on your behalf.”
—The Mount Hexue 233 Special Investigation Bureau, formerly known as the Helan Snow Biological Research Base, was located at the eastern foot of Mount Hexue, directly beneath the ruins of the Western Xia Imperial Tombs.
“There's no time to go through the liaison. I need to speak with Qin Yue right now, immediately!”
The woman addressed as Professor Liu looked extremely anxious.
“The unknown magnetic field variations inside the Imperial Tombs' underground palace have started acting up again! This fluctuation is the strongest we've seen in years!
“If... this is the best opportunity... we can't miss it...”
“Understood! We will notify Section Head Qin immediately!”
Although the guard did not understand what Professor Liu meant, his expression instantly turned serious, and he whispered a few quick instructions into his subordinate's ear—
...
Qin Yue walked briskly into the research institute's conference room. Professor Liu was currently leading a group of students in operating instruments and monitoring data.
“You're finally here.”
Professor Liu let out a sigh of relief and immediately pulled her over to a large piece of equipment.
“Just half an hour ago, intense fluctuations appeared once again within the Imperial Tombs' underground palace. It's highly similar to the fluctuations that erupted during the excavation of Imperial Tomb No. 1 and Imperial Tomb No. 2, except this time, the fluctuations are significantly stronger.”
“Are you sure?”
Qin Yue knitted her brows.
—"Imperial Tomb No. 1" and "Imperial Tomb No. 2" actually referred to the two lifelike royal corpses previously excavated from the Western Xia underground palace.
During the excavation, these two corpses had suddenly come back to life, attacking humans in a frenzy. They eventually fled into the Western Xia Imperial Tombs, and it took heavy firepower to finally blast them to ashes.
At that time, the 233 Special Investigation Bureau—which was still the Helan Snow Biological Research Base back then—had captured a large fluctuation similar to a biological wave.
They suspected that the active cycles of those bizarre, black, humanoid creatures in the passages leading to the surface might also be related to this fluctuation.
“Look, just half an hour ago, when the fluctuation appeared, the frequency of the black monsters—or the 'Hell Hungry Ghosts' as you call them—emerging from the tunnel to the surface dropped significantly.
“According to our research, the closer we get to the peak of the wave, the quieter and less aggressive these black monsters become.”
Professor Liu pushed up her glasses, her tone somewhat heavy.
“The teams that previously went into the tunnel to explore were besieged by these hungry ghosts, and none of them made it back alive. Furthermore, once electronic equipment goes below fifteen hundred meters underground, it fails completely, indicating that there is definitely some kind of magnetic field underground affecting electronic devices.
“If we decide to go down and explore, we believe that right now, before the fluctuations completely end, is the absolute best time to head down!
“I suggest we skip the third round of the trial entirely. Led by the authorities, we should assemble a scientific expedition team to continue exploring downward. If we miss this fluctuation...”
“Understood. I can get ready to set off immediately.”
Qin Yue understood the unsaid implications and agreed without hesitation. “I will personally lead the team this time and guarantee the mission's completion.”
A major factor hindering the scientific expedition was the endless, highly active swarms of hungry ghosts underground. These things were tireless and had no fear of injury; if one died, a whole swarm would rush forward.
Even with heavy firepower to clear the way, they could only advance to fifteen hundred meters underground. Any further down, the magnetic field became chaotic, electronic equipment failed, and they couldn't make an inch of progress, leaving them with no choice but to rely on manual effort to continue downward.
If they could choose to sneak in while the hungry ghosts were inactive, they might get some unexpected harvest.
Seeing that Qin Yue did not hesitate in the slightest, Professor Liu couldn't help but smile.
“Don't worry, my research won't be wrong. I've already submitted my application report and written my last will. This time, I'm going down there myself to see exactly what is deep underground.”
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