"Splash, splash, splash..."
"Glub, glub, glub, glub!"
"Crash, crash!"
"Glub, glub, glub..."
The demon beasts lurking in the depths were suddenly driven into a frenzy by the overwhelming fragrance. They began attacking each other like madmen, creating massive whirlpools. Severed limbs and giant bones ground against one another in the water, affecting everything in the vicinity.
Even Nan Zhi, who was pressed tightly against the stone wall, was caught in the chaos.
A massive fish tail whipped through the water, coming fast and hard, slamming heavily against the stone wall!
Rumble! Rumble!
Boulders collapsed from the wall, and the entire waterway seemed to shake violently. A monstrous wave surged through, causing several smaller fish-like beasts to instantly flip over, their bellies floating upward.
Nan Zhi activated her Hiding Art. Using her divine sense to perceive her surroundings, she quickly dove into a cluster of giant fish skeletons. Unfortunately, the water sphere she had been using for air was struck by falling debris and burst with a sharp pop.
This is bad!
Nan Zhi's heart sank. Within the range of her divine sense, the area was filled with giant demon beasts driven mad by the suddenly concentrated, strange fragrance. They were tearing, biting, struggling, and fleeing...
Whirlpools formed throughout the underwater passage, and the scent of blood grew thick. Large fish devoured giant soft-shell turtles, the turtles ate giant pythons, and strange shrimp swallowed water ghosts. It had turned into a literal slaughterhouse!
Fine aquatic plants tangled with severed flesh as thick fish bones smashed toward Nan Zhi. She twisted her body nimbly, using some Spirit Swallowing Grass to lash herself into a thicket of white bones on the bottom, refusing to emerge for a long time.
Only when the commotion above died down slightly did she extend her divine sense again to "look."
She couldn't just stay here and wait for death!
Nan Zhi exhaled a few bubbles, untied the restraints at her waist, and kicked off with all her strength. She plunged straight into the chaos, picked out a ten-meter-long water mosquito, and threw a punch directly at its head—
Boom!!!
Her immense strength, bolstered by the water's resistance, smashed through the water mosquito's skull. A cloud of foul-smelling blood sprayed toward Nan Zhi's face, but she didn't retreat a single step, searching for something with focused intensity.
Soon, a colossal creature about a hundred meters long appeared in her vision.
Attracted by the scent of blood, the giant fish opened its massive maw and took a sudden, powerful gulp. A thick current of water rushed in, and the carcass of the water mosquito was swept toward its mouth.
Taking advantage of the giant fish's feast, Nan Zhi timed her move perfectly. She kicked off the water, launching herself like a cannonball straight into the giant fish's mouth!
Plop!
To a hundred-meter-long giant fish, swallowing Nan Zhi was like a human swallowing a single sesame seed; it didn't notice a thing.
It opened its mouth wide, stripped the flesh from the water mosquito in a few bites, and unsatisfied, slammed against the stone wall a few times. Then, following the source of the fragrance, it continued to swim downstream against the current.
The water mosquito's carcass was picked clean, leaving only a tattered half-skull to drift down to the bottom.
After a long time, the underwater world returned to a deathly silence.
It was pitch black and quiet, with only the faint sound of the current.
...
...
At the same time, inside a research facility built deep beneath Mount Hexue.
A middle-aged woman wearing a sterile suit and glasses hurried along, her expression anxious. As she turned a corner, she ran straight into a patrol of guards in black uniforms.
"Professor Liu."
"Good day, Professor Liu."
"Professor Liu."
The woman ignored the greetings, grabbing the leader of the patrol. "Where is Section Head Qin? Where is your Section Head Qin?"
"Reporting, Section Head Qin has been overseeing the Imperial Tombs project lately and isn't at the base right now. Do you need us to contact her?"
The lead guard gave a salute and suggested, "If you have important information for Section Head Qin, you can have the base liaison notify her."
—The 233 Special Investigation Bureau of Mount Hexue, formerly known as the Helan Snow Biological Research Base, was located on the eastern foothills of Mount Hexue, directly beneath the site of the Western Xia Imperial Tombs.
"There's no time for the liaison! I need to speak with Qin Yue now! Immediately!"
The woman known as Professor Liu was visibly frantic.
"The unknown magnetic field in the Imperial Tombs' underground palace has 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 personally at once!"
Though he didn't fully understand Professor Liu's urgency, the guard's expression immediately turned serious. He whispered a few instructions to his subordinate.
...
Qin Yue walked into the research facility's conference room with a sense of urgency. Professor Liu was there with a group of students, 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, another violent fluctuation occurred in the underground palace. It's very similar to the fluctuations that broke out during the excavations of Imperial Tomb No. 1 and Imperial Tomb No. 2, but this one is significantly stronger."
"Are you sure?" Qin Yue asked, her brow furrowed.
—"Imperial Tomb No. 1" and "Imperial Tomb No. 2" referred to the two lifelike royal corpses that had been excavated from the Western Xia Imperial Tombs.
During the excavation, those two corpses had suddenly come back to life, attacking humans in a frenzy. They eventually fled back into the Western Xia Imperial Tombs, and it had taken heavy firepower to blast them into ashes.
At that time, the 233 Special Investigation Bureau—then still the Helan Snow Biological Research Base—had captured a large-scale fluctuation similar to a biological wave.
They suspected that the activity cycles of the eerie, black, humanoid creatures in the tunnels leading to the surface might be related to these fluctuations.
"Look. Half an hour ago, when the fluctuation appeared, the frequency of the black monsters—the ones you call 'Hell Hungry Ghosts'—emerging from the tunnels decreased 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 adjusted her glasses, her tone heavy.
"The previous teams that entered the tunnels to explore never made it back alive under the assault of those hungry ghosts. Once electronic equipment reaches fifteen hundred meters underground, it fails completely. This proves there's a magnetic field down there that interferes with electronics."
"If we're going to explore, we believe that now, while the fluctuation is still ongoing, is the best time to go down!"
"I suggest we skip the third round of the trial. The authorities should lead the way and form a scientific expedition team to continue the descent. If we miss this fluctuation..."
"Agreed. I can be ready to leave immediately."
Qin Yue understood what she was implying and agreed without hesitation. "I'll lead the team myself this time to ensure the mission is completed."
A major factor hindering the exploration was the endless, hyper-active swarms of hungry ghosts. These things were tireless and felt no pain; if one died, a dozen more would pounce.
Even with heavy firepower, they could only push to fifteen hundred meters underground. Beyond that, the magnetic field became chaotic, electronics failed, and they couldn't advance an inch. They could only rely on human power to continue downward.
If they could slip in while the hungry ghosts were inactive, they might actually make a breakthrough.
Seeing that Qin Yue didn't hesitate for a second, Professor Liu couldn't help but smile.
"Don't worry, my research won't be wrong. I've already submitted my application and written my final will. This time, I'm going down there myself to see exactly what is at the bottom of that hole."
Rate on N.U.
