Chapter 245: The Cellar Reservoir
The alloy gate was pushed inward bit by bit. The friction of rusted metal emitted a dry, piercing screech that echoed back and forth in the sealed tunnel. The first thing to rush out was not the expected dry, stale scent of a storage room, but a thick, sticky odor of spores carrying the fishy stench of rotting vegetation. It was several times more concentrated than in the tunnel outside. A single breath caused a numb dizziness to immediately wash over their Sea of Consciousness.
The miner instinctively stopped, holding the glow stone up to illuminate the interior of the cellar.
The cellar was not large, a neat granite chamber roughly seven meters long and wide, with a ceiling height of less than three meters. Along one wall were stacked numerous rusted metal supply crates. Their surfaces were covered with grayish-green spore fungal patches, and most of the latches were rusted shut. In the exact center of the chamber, the floor dipped downward to form a shallow pit nearly two meters in diameter. The pit was half-filled with murky, blackish liquid. The surface was calm and undisturbed, with countless extremely fine spore threads floating and swaying gently within the liquid like water weeds.
This was the spore reservoir the ancient beings had buried here in advance.
The reservoir did not emit violent psychic resonance. Unlike the previous node that wove realistic illusions to deceive people, its method of erosion was softer, slower, and completely silent. As long as one stayed in this space, the spores would continuously seep into the Sea of Consciousness, gradually wearing down the mental barriers. By the time the victim realized something was wrong, their Sea of Consciousness would already be riddled with holes, leaving them completely defenseless against any subsequent psychic manipulation.
"Something's wrong." Lin Yan had barely stepped halfway through the door when the warning bells in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness rang out. He abruptly raised his hand to stop the others behind him from following. "Don't all come in. There's something inside."
The other four immediately halted, leaving half their bodies outside in the tunnel. Their gazes followed the glow stone's light to the dark liquid pool in the center.
"What is that?" the scout whispered. The wound on his upper arm was still throbbing dully. Blood loss had slowed his reactions, and merely looking at the pool made his heart inexplicably race with panic.
"A spore reservoir," Lin Yan said, slowly edging forward two steps to distance himself from the pool as his gaze swept across the surrounding walls. "It's not a trap that triggers explosively; it's a continuous erosion type. It doesn't create illusions to lure you in. It just continuously releases spores, slowly gnawing at the Sea of Consciousness. The longer we stay, the more likely we are to be completely incapacitated."
Gripping her short dagger tightly, the female support soldier frowned. "Then where is the communication equipment? The map indicates there is a backup communication terminal in the cellar. Is it soaking in that pool?"
Holding the glow stone, the miner bypassed the reservoir and carefully walked over to the stack of supply crates against the wall, examining the remaining numbered nameplates on each box. Most crates were labeled with ammunition and engineering consumables. Only the innermost one, a small sealed iron box welded directly onto the rock wall, had a blurred nameplate. Faintly, the words "Emergency Communications Unit" could be discerned. Fungal patches also clung to the exterior of the iron box, but the sealing rubber ring was still intact and had not been soaked by the liquid.
"The communication terminal is in that iron box," the miner signaled back. "It's not far from the reservoir, but it's not inside the pool."
Lin Yan's gaze shuttled back and forth between the reservoir, the communications iron box, and the three rock walls of the chamber. His Sea of Consciousness carefully expanded its perception. There were no hidden scaled beasts or secondary priests inside the reservoir; the ancient beings had not stationed any direct combat forces here. Their plan was simple: humans would fight to the death to reach the cellar, see the communication equipment, and inevitably stay behind to try and activate it to send a distress signal. As long as they remained in the chamber long enough, the spores from the reservoir could silently dismantle the squad.
The injuries sustained from the battles in the tunnel outside had already drained everyone's mental foundation. Lin Yan himself carried old wounds in his Sea of Consciousness, and the others had also endured illusions and brutal combat; their mental defenses were inherently fragile. This was a murder that required no claws.
"We cannot stay long," Lin Yan set the baseline, his voice pressed extremely low. "We have only one objective: open the communications iron box, extract the terminal, try to activate it, and send a distress signal. We have ten minutes at most. Regardless of whether the signal goes out within ten minutes, we must immediately evacuate the cellar and return to the tunnel."
"Ten minutes?" The military police officer frowned. "Old military emergency terminals are a hassle to debug, and we have to match the beacon frequencies of the frontline outposts. If the equipment is damaged, this amount of time isn't enough to even troubleshoot."
"There is no other way," Lin Yan shook his head, his gaze fixed on the black water. "If we exceed ten minutes, the damage caused by the reservoir spores will become permanent. Even if we manage to send the signal, we will become broken wrecks with shattered Seas of Consciousness. Even if reinforcements arrive, they won't be able to save us."
No one argued further. They quickly divided the tasks. The miner was responsible for dismantling the lock on the communications iron box; with his rock hammer and thin steel cable, he was the most adept at handling rusted latches. The scout and the military police officer stood back-to-back at the entrance of the chamber, guarding the tunnel outside while keeping an eye on the surface of the reservoir pool, just in case the ancient beings had other tricks up their sleeve. The female support soldier stood beside the miner, ready to support him at any moment, while monitoring everyone's condition. If anyone showed signs of dizziness or a blank stare, she would alert them immediately.
Lin Yan stood alone between the reservoir and the iron box, acting as a buffer. His Sea of Consciousness perception was the strongest, allowing him to capture abnormal fluctuations in spore concentration at the first moment. He also served as the last line of defense; if anyone's mind began to scatter, he could intervene to wake them.
Crouching down, the miner took out the thin steel cable and inserted its tip into the keyhole of the iron box, carefully prying at the rusted lock cylinder. Metal rust flakes fell like rain. The lock cylinder was severely jammed. After several attempts, it still wouldn't turn. Sweat beaded on his forehead. It wasn't just from exertion; the spores floating in the cellar were already taking effect. His head was growing heavy, and the edges of his vision were slightly blurred.
"A bit dizzy..." the miner muttered, shaking his head.
"Control your breathing. Slow down. Don't sync your rhythm with the spore dispersion," Lin Yan immediately reminded him, simultaneously sending a sliver of Sea of Consciousness power to gently push against the miner's mind, helping him stabilize. "Speed up."
Gritting his teeth, the miner put away the steel cable and used the tip of his rock hammer to lightly tap the edge of the latch, shaking loose the accumulated rust. After three light taps, the latch gave a crisp click and popped open.
The lid of the iron box sprang open slightly.
The glow stone shone inside. Resting quietly within was an old-fashioned portable shortwave communication terminal. Its casing was made of thick military-grade plastic, accompanied by a spare power cell and a roll of external antenna. A thin layer of dust coated the terminal's surface, and there were no obvious signs of water damage at the ports.
"The equipment looks intact," the miner said, a hint of joy in his voice. He carefully reached in and took out the terminal, placing it on top of a crate. He began connecting the antenna, aiming it toward the outside of the tunnel. "Power cell connected. Booting up first."
He pressed the power button.
The indicator light on the terminal blinked twice, emitting a faint green glow, and the main unit let out a subtle hum. It had booted up successfully.
But a second later, the joy on the miner's face faded. He turned the tuning knob. The screen displayed nothing but chaotic, jumping snowflake static. There was no stable frequency signal. The underground rock layer itself was a massive shielding barrier, and combined with the psychic barrier spread across the entire rift by the aliens, it was extremely difficult for signals to penetrate.
"It's being jammed," the miner said, his fingers spinning the knob continuously as he tried all six preset emergency frequencies. All of them returned only static noise. "The signal can't get out."
Time ticked away minute by minute in the stone chamber. Without a clock in this underground abyss, their sense of time relied solely on the countdown in their own hearts. Six minutes had already passed.
The scout began rubbing his temples frequently, his eyes occasionally glazing over briefly. The military police officer's hand gripping the short blade trembled slightly. "My mind feels a bit empty," he whispered. "It's like I don't want to think about anything at all." The spores from the reservoir were steadily eroding them.
Lin Yan bore the heaviest burden. Continuously absorbing the spores drifting from the reservoir, combined with the injuries from the layer upon layer of previous battles, the black spots in his vision multiplied. The wound on his waist throbbed in waves of pain, and the metallic taste of blood constantly surged toward his throat. Yet, he still forced himself to hold on, continuously monitoring the Sea of Consciousness fluctuations of everyone around him.
"Four minutes left," Lin Yan called out as a reminder. "Don't obsess over sending a voice signal. Try the terminal's built-in positioning pulse. No voice communication is needed; just broadcast the coordinate pulse signal outward. The barrier cities' large-scale detection arrays have a chance of catching the pulse beacon."
The miner immediately adjusted the mode, switching to the positioning pulse transmission setting, and pressed the launch button. A red indicator light on the side of the terminal blinked rhythmically. Short, sharp pulse signals diffused in all directions into the rock layers.
Whether the barrier cities could catch it was entirely up to luck. The rock layers were too thick, and no one knew if the aliens' psychic barrier could block the pulse.
The pulse continued to transmit.
In the center of the stone chamber, the black liquid in the reservoir suddenly rippled gently. The spore threads that had been floating quietly began to writhe frantically. Beneath the surface of the liquid, something was slowly floating upward.
Lin Yan's pupils constricted sharply. "Bad, there's something hidden inside the reservoir! Prepare to retreat!"
Before his words had even faded, the black water burst open. Several arm-thick, pitch-black, eyeless tentacles suddenly shot out from the reservoir, carrying slick black liquid, and lashed toward the miner, who was closest! The tips of the tentacles were covered with tiny, densely packed mandibles that opened and closed rapidly.
The reservoir was not just a spore generator; it was also a hidden hatching nest. The ancient beings had long cultivated a batch of lurking tentacle worms in the pool, waiting for them to activate the terminal and focus all their attention on the equipment before launching a surprise attack.
The miner threw himself backward violently, barely dodging the first lashing tentacle. The tentacle struck the metal crate with a brutal force, denting the casing. The remaining tentacles scattered simultaneously, pouncing individually at the five people in the chamber.
"Retreat! Head for the door!" Lin Yan shouted in a low voice.
The female support soldier swung her short dagger, stabbing into a tentacle. Black, foul-smelling fluid sprayed out. The tentacle writhed violently in pain but did not immediately sever; this type of worm cluster possessed extreme toughness, and a simple stab wound was not enough to kill it quickly. The military police officer and the scout, one in front and one behind, swung their blades to hack and slash, forcing the tentacles pouncing at them back.
The miner grabbed the communication terminal and the battery in one swift motion, clutching them tightly to his chest. He refused to leave them behind. Even if the signal might not get out, this terminal was their only hope of transmitting their coordinates to the outside world.
Lin Yan brought up the rear, his short blade hacking endlessly at the entangling tentacles. With every swing of his blade, the wound on his waist flared with unbearable pain. The weakness brought on by blood loss threatened to completely break him down. Taking advantage of his momentary delay, a tentacle whipped fiercely against his back. The massive force made him stagger, stumbling forward a few steps. A mouthful of blood burst from his lips, splattering onto the black stains on the ground.
"Lin Yan!" Seeing this, the female support soldier's heart tightened. She wanted to turn back to support him.
"Don't worry about me, get out first!" Lin Yan gritted his teeth and waved his hand. He swung his blade again, severing a tentacle lunging at him. Black fluid gushed continuously from the severed stump.
No longer hesitating, the group retreated toward the exit of the alloy gate. Tentacles poured endlessly from the reservoir, densely covering half of the stone chamber as they frantically chased after the squad. Clutching the terminal, the miner was the first to burst out of the cellar, followed immediately by the scout, the military police officer, and the female support soldier. Lin Yan was the last to cross the threshold. The instant he stepped out of the cellar, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Close the door!"
Outside, the miner immediately threw himself at the lock dial, turning the hand crank with all his might. The alloy gate slowly closed. Several tentacles that had charged the fastest were brutally clamped by the door panel. They burst with a massive amount of black fluid and were severed in the final moment before the door shut completely. The severed segments writhed frantically on the ground for a few moments before gradually losing their vitality.
Clang.
The lock engaged. The heavy alloy gate was sealed shut once more, locking the reservoir, the tentacle worms, and the dense spores inside the cellar.
The five of them squeezed into the narrow tunnel outside, their backs pressed against the cold rock walls, panting heavily. Everyone was splattered with black mucus. Wherever the liquid touched their skin, it caused a prickling, numbing sensation—the secondary spores were eroding their body surface.
The miner looked down at the communication terminal still cradled in his arms. The red pulse indicator light was still beating steadily.
"The pulse is still transmitting," he said, his voice hoarse. "I don't know if it can get out."
Lin Yan slid down the wall to sit, raising a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. His vision was somewhat unfocused. That heavy blow earlier had aggravated his already precarious internal bleeding. He remained silent for a moment, then raised his eyes to look in the direction of the shelter pod. "We can't stay here. We need to return the way we came and get back to Scholar Su and the others as soon as possible. We'll take the terminal back. If the pulse signal wasn't caught, we can think of other ways."
Deep within the cavern, the Spiderweb Ancient Being perceived the closing of the cellar gate. The tentacle worms had failed to keep their prey, and the pulse signal continued to diffuse outward. It could clearly sense that faint coordinate pulse struggling to penetrate the rock layers and the psychic barrier.
The pulse got out, the consciousness of the Spiderweb Ancient Being trembled slightly. It might be captured by the barrier cities' detection arrays.
The Beast Commander anxiously requested to mobilize all scaled beasts along the route, setting up a full-scale defense across the tunnel on the squad's return journey. It demanded they intercept and slaughter the squad at all costs, to seize or destroy the communication terminal.
The intent of the supreme ruler slowly descended.
Granted. Set up ambushes along the route. But there is no need to exhaust all combat power.
It wanted to see if the severely wounded Lin Yan, and this exhausted, injured squad, could fight their way back through this long road filled with lethal dangers. It wanted to see if they could carry that pulse of survival back to the shelter pod.
Deep within the tunnel, the scaled beasts that had been quietly lurking began to move along the side passages, heading toward the direction of the collapsed crevice.
The journey back was equally fraught with lethal dangers at every step.
End of Chapter.
The miner instinctively stopped, holding the glow stone up to illuminate the interior of the cellar.
The cellar was not large, a neat granite chamber roughly seven meters long and wide, with a ceiling height of less than three meters. Along one wall were stacked numerous rusted metal supply crates. Their surfaces were covered with grayish-green spore fungal patches, and most of the latches were rusted shut. In the exact center of the chamber, the floor dipped downward to form a shallow pit nearly two meters in diameter. The pit was half-filled with murky, blackish liquid. The surface was calm and undisturbed, with countless extremely fine spore threads floating and swaying gently within the liquid like water weeds.
This was the spore reservoir the ancient beings had buried here in advance.
The reservoir did not emit violent psychic resonance. Unlike the previous node that wove realistic illusions to deceive people, its method of erosion was softer, slower, and completely silent. As long as one stayed in this space, the spores would continuously seep into the Sea of Consciousness, gradually wearing down the mental barriers. By the time the victim realized something was wrong, their Sea of Consciousness would already be riddled with holes, leaving them completely defenseless against any subsequent psychic manipulation.
"Something's wrong." Lin Yan had barely stepped halfway through the door when the warning bells in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness rang out. He abruptly raised his hand to stop the others behind him from following. "Don't all come in. There's something inside."
The other four immediately halted, leaving half their bodies outside in the tunnel. Their gazes followed the glow stone's light to the dark liquid pool in the center.
"What is that?" the scout whispered. The wound on his upper arm was still throbbing dully. Blood loss had slowed his reactions, and merely looking at the pool made his heart inexplicably race with panic.
"A spore reservoir," Lin Yan said, slowly edging forward two steps to distance himself from the pool as his gaze swept across the surrounding walls. "It's not a trap that triggers explosively; it's a continuous erosion type. It doesn't create illusions to lure you in. It just continuously releases spores, slowly gnawing at the Sea of Consciousness. The longer we stay, the more likely we are to be completely incapacitated."
Gripping her short dagger tightly, the female support soldier frowned. "Then where is the communication equipment? The map indicates there is a backup communication terminal in the cellar. Is it soaking in that pool?"
Holding the glow stone, the miner bypassed the reservoir and carefully walked over to the stack of supply crates against the wall, examining the remaining numbered nameplates on each box. Most crates were labeled with ammunition and engineering consumables. Only the innermost one, a small sealed iron box welded directly onto the rock wall, had a blurred nameplate. Faintly, the words "Emergency Communications Unit" could be discerned. Fungal patches also clung to the exterior of the iron box, but the sealing rubber ring was still intact and had not been soaked by the liquid.
"The communication terminal is in that iron box," the miner signaled back. "It's not far from the reservoir, but it's not inside the pool."
Lin Yan's gaze shuttled back and forth between the reservoir, the communications iron box, and the three rock walls of the chamber. His Sea of Consciousness carefully expanded its perception. There were no hidden scaled beasts or secondary priests inside the reservoir; the ancient beings had not stationed any direct combat forces here. Their plan was simple: humans would fight to the death to reach the cellar, see the communication equipment, and inevitably stay behind to try and activate it to send a distress signal. As long as they remained in the chamber long enough, the spores from the reservoir could silently dismantle the squad.
The injuries sustained from the battles in the tunnel outside had already drained everyone's mental foundation. Lin Yan himself carried old wounds in his Sea of Consciousness, and the others had also endured illusions and brutal combat; their mental defenses were inherently fragile. This was a murder that required no claws.
"We cannot stay long," Lin Yan set the baseline, his voice pressed extremely low. "We have only one objective: open the communications iron box, extract the terminal, try to activate it, and send a distress signal. We have ten minutes at most. Regardless of whether the signal goes out within ten minutes, we must immediately evacuate the cellar and return to the tunnel."
"Ten minutes?" The military police officer frowned. "Old military emergency terminals are a hassle to debug, and we have to match the beacon frequencies of the frontline outposts. If the equipment is damaged, this amount of time isn't enough to even troubleshoot."
"There is no other way," Lin Yan shook his head, his gaze fixed on the black water. "If we exceed ten minutes, the damage caused by the reservoir spores will become permanent. Even if we manage to send the signal, we will become broken wrecks with shattered Seas of Consciousness. Even if reinforcements arrive, they won't be able to save us."
No one argued further. They quickly divided the tasks. The miner was responsible for dismantling the lock on the communications iron box; with his rock hammer and thin steel cable, he was the most adept at handling rusted latches. The scout and the military police officer stood back-to-back at the entrance of the chamber, guarding the tunnel outside while keeping an eye on the surface of the reservoir pool, just in case the ancient beings had other tricks up their sleeve. The female support soldier stood beside the miner, ready to support him at any moment, while monitoring everyone's condition. If anyone showed signs of dizziness or a blank stare, she would alert them immediately.
Lin Yan stood alone between the reservoir and the iron box, acting as a buffer. His Sea of Consciousness perception was the strongest, allowing him to capture abnormal fluctuations in spore concentration at the first moment. He also served as the last line of defense; if anyone's mind began to scatter, he could intervene to wake them.
Crouching down, the miner took out the thin steel cable and inserted its tip into the keyhole of the iron box, carefully prying at the rusted lock cylinder. Metal rust flakes fell like rain. The lock cylinder was severely jammed. After several attempts, it still wouldn't turn. Sweat beaded on his forehead. It wasn't just from exertion; the spores floating in the cellar were already taking effect. His head was growing heavy, and the edges of his vision were slightly blurred.
"A bit dizzy..." the miner muttered, shaking his head.
"Control your breathing. Slow down. Don't sync your rhythm with the spore dispersion," Lin Yan immediately reminded him, simultaneously sending a sliver of Sea of Consciousness power to gently push against the miner's mind, helping him stabilize. "Speed up."
Gritting his teeth, the miner put away the steel cable and used the tip of his rock hammer to lightly tap the edge of the latch, shaking loose the accumulated rust. After three light taps, the latch gave a crisp click and popped open.
The lid of the iron box sprang open slightly.
The glow stone shone inside. Resting quietly within was an old-fashioned portable shortwave communication terminal. Its casing was made of thick military-grade plastic, accompanied by a spare power cell and a roll of external antenna. A thin layer of dust coated the terminal's surface, and there were no obvious signs of water damage at the ports.
"The equipment looks intact," the miner said, a hint of joy in his voice. He carefully reached in and took out the terminal, placing it on top of a crate. He began connecting the antenna, aiming it toward the outside of the tunnel. "Power cell connected. Booting up first."
He pressed the power button.
The indicator light on the terminal blinked twice, emitting a faint green glow, and the main unit let out a subtle hum. It had booted up successfully.
But a second later, the joy on the miner's face faded. He turned the tuning knob. The screen displayed nothing but chaotic, jumping snowflake static. There was no stable frequency signal. The underground rock layer itself was a massive shielding barrier, and combined with the psychic barrier spread across the entire rift by the aliens, it was extremely difficult for signals to penetrate.
"It's being jammed," the miner said, his fingers spinning the knob continuously as he tried all six preset emergency frequencies. All of them returned only static noise. "The signal can't get out."
Time ticked away minute by minute in the stone chamber. Without a clock in this underground abyss, their sense of time relied solely on the countdown in their own hearts. Six minutes had already passed.
The scout began rubbing his temples frequently, his eyes occasionally glazing over briefly. The military police officer's hand gripping the short blade trembled slightly. "My mind feels a bit empty," he whispered. "It's like I don't want to think about anything at all." The spores from the reservoir were steadily eroding them.
Lin Yan bore the heaviest burden. Continuously absorbing the spores drifting from the reservoir, combined with the injuries from the layer upon layer of previous battles, the black spots in his vision multiplied. The wound on his waist throbbed in waves of pain, and the metallic taste of blood constantly surged toward his throat. Yet, he still forced himself to hold on, continuously monitoring the Sea of Consciousness fluctuations of everyone around him.
"Four minutes left," Lin Yan called out as a reminder. "Don't obsess over sending a voice signal. Try the terminal's built-in positioning pulse. No voice communication is needed; just broadcast the coordinate pulse signal outward. The barrier cities' large-scale detection arrays have a chance of catching the pulse beacon."
The miner immediately adjusted the mode, switching to the positioning pulse transmission setting, and pressed the launch button. A red indicator light on the side of the terminal blinked rhythmically. Short, sharp pulse signals diffused in all directions into the rock layers.
Whether the barrier cities could catch it was entirely up to luck. The rock layers were too thick, and no one knew if the aliens' psychic barrier could block the pulse.
The pulse continued to transmit.
In the center of the stone chamber, the black liquid in the reservoir suddenly rippled gently. The spore threads that had been floating quietly began to writhe frantically. Beneath the surface of the liquid, something was slowly floating upward.
Lin Yan's pupils constricted sharply. "Bad, there's something hidden inside the reservoir! Prepare to retreat!"
Before his words had even faded, the black water burst open. Several arm-thick, pitch-black, eyeless tentacles suddenly shot out from the reservoir, carrying slick black liquid, and lashed toward the miner, who was closest! The tips of the tentacles were covered with tiny, densely packed mandibles that opened and closed rapidly.
The reservoir was not just a spore generator; it was also a hidden hatching nest. The ancient beings had long cultivated a batch of lurking tentacle worms in the pool, waiting for them to activate the terminal and focus all their attention on the equipment before launching a surprise attack.
The miner threw himself backward violently, barely dodging the first lashing tentacle. The tentacle struck the metal crate with a brutal force, denting the casing. The remaining tentacles scattered simultaneously, pouncing individually at the five people in the chamber.
"Retreat! Head for the door!" Lin Yan shouted in a low voice.
The female support soldier swung her short dagger, stabbing into a tentacle. Black, foul-smelling fluid sprayed out. The tentacle writhed violently in pain but did not immediately sever; this type of worm cluster possessed extreme toughness, and a simple stab wound was not enough to kill it quickly. The military police officer and the scout, one in front and one behind, swung their blades to hack and slash, forcing the tentacles pouncing at them back.
The miner grabbed the communication terminal and the battery in one swift motion, clutching them tightly to his chest. He refused to leave them behind. Even if the signal might not get out, this terminal was their only hope of transmitting their coordinates to the outside world.
Lin Yan brought up the rear, his short blade hacking endlessly at the entangling tentacles. With every swing of his blade, the wound on his waist flared with unbearable pain. The weakness brought on by blood loss threatened to completely break him down. Taking advantage of his momentary delay, a tentacle whipped fiercely against his back. The massive force made him stagger, stumbling forward a few steps. A mouthful of blood burst from his lips, splattering onto the black stains on the ground.
"Lin Yan!" Seeing this, the female support soldier's heart tightened. She wanted to turn back to support him.
"Don't worry about me, get out first!" Lin Yan gritted his teeth and waved his hand. He swung his blade again, severing a tentacle lunging at him. Black fluid gushed continuously from the severed stump.
No longer hesitating, the group retreated toward the exit of the alloy gate. Tentacles poured endlessly from the reservoir, densely covering half of the stone chamber as they frantically chased after the squad. Clutching the terminal, the miner was the first to burst out of the cellar, followed immediately by the scout, the military police officer, and the female support soldier. Lin Yan was the last to cross the threshold. The instant he stepped out of the cellar, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Close the door!"
Outside, the miner immediately threw himself at the lock dial, turning the hand crank with all his might. The alloy gate slowly closed. Several tentacles that had charged the fastest were brutally clamped by the door panel. They burst with a massive amount of black fluid and were severed in the final moment before the door shut completely. The severed segments writhed frantically on the ground for a few moments before gradually losing their vitality.
Clang.
The lock engaged. The heavy alloy gate was sealed shut once more, locking the reservoir, the tentacle worms, and the dense spores inside the cellar.
The five of them squeezed into the narrow tunnel outside, their backs pressed against the cold rock walls, panting heavily. Everyone was splattered with black mucus. Wherever the liquid touched their skin, it caused a prickling, numbing sensation—the secondary spores were eroding their body surface.
The miner looked down at the communication terminal still cradled in his arms. The red pulse indicator light was still beating steadily.
"The pulse is still transmitting," he said, his voice hoarse. "I don't know if it can get out."
Lin Yan slid down the wall to sit, raising a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. His vision was somewhat unfocused. That heavy blow earlier had aggravated his already precarious internal bleeding. He remained silent for a moment, then raised his eyes to look in the direction of the shelter pod. "We can't stay here. We need to return the way we came and get back to Scholar Su and the others as soon as possible. We'll take the terminal back. If the pulse signal wasn't caught, we can think of other ways."
Deep within the cavern, the Spiderweb Ancient Being perceived the closing of the cellar gate. The tentacle worms had failed to keep their prey, and the pulse signal continued to diffuse outward. It could clearly sense that faint coordinate pulse struggling to penetrate the rock layers and the psychic barrier.
The pulse got out, the consciousness of the Spiderweb Ancient Being trembled slightly. It might be captured by the barrier cities' detection arrays.
The Beast Commander anxiously requested to mobilize all scaled beasts along the route, setting up a full-scale defense across the tunnel on the squad's return journey. It demanded they intercept and slaughter the squad at all costs, to seize or destroy the communication terminal.
The intent of the supreme ruler slowly descended.
Granted. Set up ambushes along the route. But there is no need to exhaust all combat power.
It wanted to see if the severely wounded Lin Yan, and this exhausted, injured squad, could fight their way back through this long road filled with lethal dangers. It wanted to see if they could carry that pulse of survival back to the shelter pod.
Deep within the tunnel, the scaled beasts that had been quietly lurking began to move along the side passages, heading toward the direction of the collapsed crevice.
The journey back was equally fraught with lethal dangers at every step.
End of Chapter.