Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 636 Submerged Ruins (4)

The colossal fused creature launched the first attack, its tentacles lashing out with the force to tear through the seawater, sweeping towards Han Zu. The barbs on its tentacles gleamed coldly, its claws outstretched, as if to rip Han Zu apart. Han Zu pushed off the ground, leaping upwards to dodge the tentacle's attack. Simultaneously, he swung his right hand, unleashing a massive burst of flame from his arm, hurtling towards the colossal fused creature's head.

The flames struck the fleshy tumor on the giant fused creature's head, producing a deafening roar. Several eyes on the tumor shattered instantly, and dark green blood gushed out. However, this fused creature possessed incredible resilience; instead of retreating after the attack, it became even more ferocious. It opened its mouth and spewed out a massive stream of energy, a dark green stream mixed with countless tiny, spark-like fragments, which swept towards Han Zu. This energy stream instantly evaporated the seawater in its path, creating a vast vacuum.

Han Zu's expression changed slightly; he could sense the eerie danger contained within the blackish-green energy flow. He immediately adjusted his posture, unleashing his full power. Black and red flames intertwined with red lightning, forming a massive shield. The black flames struck the shield, producing a piercing sound and sending sparks flying. Han Zu was thrown backward by the impact of the flames, crashing heavily into the ceiling of the corridor. The rock at the top shattered instantly, and rubble rained down like raindrops.

"interesting."

Han Zu blasted away the rubble and crawled out of the collapsed pile of stones, his smile becoming even more ferocious. He showed no fear, only greater excitement. He charged towards the giant fused creature, the flames and lightning around his body growing ever stronger, forming a massive, scorching vortex. Seeing this, the giant fused creature once again swung its tentacles, attempting to block Han Zu's attack. But this time, Han Zu was incredibly fast, weaving through the gaps in the tentacles and quickly reaching the giant fused creature.

Han Zu raised his right hand, gathering all the energy within his body into his fist. The black and red flames almost solidified, and red lightning crackled and leaped within them. Without the slightest hesitation, he slammed it down hard on the fleshy tumor on the head of the giant fused creature.

With a deafening crash, Han Zu's fist slammed into the tumor. The tumor shattered instantly, blackish-red blood and brain tissue splattering everywhere. The giant fused creature let out a bloodcurdling roar, its ten tentacles flailing wildly a few times before falling limply to their sides. Its body swayed a few times before crashing to the ground, its massive form creating a huge crater in the corridor floor, causing the seawater to surge violently.

Han Zu stood at the edge of the deep pit, the flames and lightning on his body slowly receding. Since entering this sea-submerged corridor, the continuous battles had indeed consumed a lot of his energy, but they also made him feel incredibly refreshed. He looked down at the little mouse curled up in his pants pocket. The little guy seemed to be gradually adapting to the violent surge of energy around him during Han Zu's battles, though its body was still trembling slightly. Han Zu extended two fingers and gently scratched its little head, indicating that it was safe and also to soothe the little mouse's emotions.

Just then, Han Zu suddenly noticed that when the giant fused creature collapsed, its body slammed into the wall at the end of the corridor. That wall looked like a collapsed structure made of countless rubble and debris; Han Zu had previously assumed it was a natural collapse of the corridor and hadn't paid it any attention. But under the impact of the giant fused creature, a huge crack appeared in the wall, and a faint ray of light shone through the crack, accompanied by the unusual sound of flowing water.

Han Zu's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stepped forward. He carefully observed the wall and found that although the collapsed debris looked chaotic, it was piled up very neatly, as if someone had deliberately done it to hide the space behind it. He reached out and touched the cracks in the wall, and could feel a fresh stream of water behind it, completely different from the seawater in the corridor, without any turbidity or stench.

"Could this corridor actually have an end?"

Han Zu took a few steps back, then kicked the wall hard. With a deafening roar, the wall shattered instantly, debris flying everywhere, and the seawater churned wildly from the shockwave. The space behind the wall was finally revealed by the force of the kick—a huge natural cave. The cave's ceiling and sides were made of natural rock, covered with various luminous mosses and plants, illuminating the cave as if it were daytime. Fresh water, completely different from the seawater in the corridor, flowed inside the cave. It seemed as if a transparent wall separated this natural cave from the corridor. Some aquatic plants he had never seen before also grew on both sides of the stream.

On the cave walls, there were several obvious signs of human excavation, and in some places, ancient patterns and characters were carved, similar to the patterns on the corridor walls. Han Zu could sense a rich life force filling the cave, along with a faint energy fluctuation, which was very gentle and made him feel incredibly comfortable. He roughly guessed that he had finally reached the end of the underwater endless corridor, and at least this natural cave was likely one of the forks in the path leading out of the corridor.

Just as Han Zu was about to enter the cave, several fused creatures suddenly rushed out from the entrance. These fused creatures were smaller than the ones they had encountered before, but there were quite a few of them, numbering in the dozens. Their bodies were formed by the fusion of the cave's luminous plants and some small organisms, and their bodies were covered with a luminous membrane. They could spray poisonous sap from their mouths. Clearly, these fused creatures were the guardians of this cave.

"In the way."

Black and red flames danced across his body, forming several enormous arms that each swing claimed the lives of several fused creatures. While these fused creatures were not weak, they were utterly powerless against Han Zu. In no time, all the fused creatures were killed by Han Zu; most of their bodies were burned or vaporized by the flames, their remains scattered throughout the cave entrance.

The little mouse finally crawled out of Han Zu's pants pocket again and returned to his head. Having not eaten for a long time (from when it hid on Han Zu until now), it immediately poked its head out after smelling the aroma of food (the remains of fused creatures roasted by Han Zu's flames). It swam on all fours to the remaining remains and began to devour them. Han Zu, meanwhile, rested and recovered his energy while observing the situation inside the cave. The depths of the cave were pitch black, with no end in sight, but Han Zu could sense an even stronger energy fluctuation there, and a faint, almost imperceptible exit.

The little mouse quickly finished its food, licked its lips, swam back, climbed onto Han Zu's head, and rubbed its little head against Han Zu's cheek, as if expressing goodwill. Han Zu reached out and stroked its head, a rare gentleness appearing on his face. He glanced into the depths of the cave. Based on his current experience, Han Zu believed that the energy fluctuations deep within the cave might indicate more dangers to come, perhaps even something more powerful than the giant fused creature he had encountered before. But whether it was to leave this place or to explore the secrets of this area, Han Zu had no choice but to continue forward.

As Han Zu ventured deeper into the cave, he discovered that the space was much more spacious than at the entrance, and the terrain was complex, riddled with various branching paths. The number of luminescent plants also increased significantly; besides the moss on the rock walls, there were some luminescent plants that resembled trees, their branches laden with glowing fruits, illuminating the entire cave as if it were daytime. The seawater in the cave smelled remarkably fresh, unlike the salty and foul odor of the seawater in the corridor. Instead, it carried a faint floral fragrance, clearly emanating from the cave's plants.

Han Zu unleashed his full energy perception, meticulously examining the surrounding environment and life signals. He discovered many creatures he had never seen before living in the cave. Most of these creatures were naturally formed, showing no signs of fusion, and were very gentle in nature. There were colorful fish swimming freely in the stream, their bodies shimmering with various colors of light, like rainbows in the water; there were small amphibians climbing the rock walls, their fur soft, their eyes as bright as jewels; and there were aquatic insects moving on the bottom of the water, their bodies almost completely transparent, their exoskeletons covered with luminous patterns, like glowing minerals.

These creatures were filled with curiosity about Han Zu's arrival, swarming around him. Some crawled at his feet, some swam above his head, and some climbed onto his body and shoulders. These strange little creatures gently touched him with their tiny heads. Han Zu, feeling only curiosity and no malice towards these creatures, though some of them were somewhat frightening in appearance, did not harm them. He was simply very curious about their existence. After observing these creatures for a while, Han Zu gently removed them from his body and continued moving forward.

As they ventured deeper, the signs of human intervention within the cave became increasingly apparent. The patterns and inscriptions on the rock walls grew clearer, recording ancient stories and information. Although Han Zu couldn't decipher the meaning of the writing, the patterns revealed that a highly advanced intelligent species had once inhabited this place. They had constructed the underwater corridor and this natural cave, and had also raised numerous other creatures. The patterns also depicted strange rituals and scenes, seemingly related to biological fusion, which further convinced Han Zu that the fused beings he had encountered earlier were created by these intelligent beings.

In a spacious hall within the cave, Han Zu discovered a colossal statue. Carved from a type of white rock he had never seen before, the statue depicted a humanoid creature with a tall body, long limbs, three eyes on its head, and a pair of enormous wings on its back. The base of the statue was covered with ancient text and patterns, seemingly recording the history and civilization of this intelligent being. Han Zu could sense a faint energy fluctuation emanating from the statue, similar to the energy fluctuations within the cave, clearly indicating that the statue was maintaining the energy balance within the cave.

Han Zu circled the statue, observing it with curiosity. He could imagine the former glory of these intelligent beings; they could construct such massive projects at such depths and master the technology of biological fusion, their civilization far surpassing anything outside could comprehend. But what puzzled Han Zu was: where had these intelligent beings gone? Why were only these ruins and fused creatures left behind? And what was their connection to the old city outside, or rather, its predecessor?

However, after careful consideration, Han Zu gradually rejected the idea that this underwater area was related to the old city above, or rather, its predecessor, the medieval city.

Inside the city, although Han Zu had seen many dilapidated statues, the remaining parts of those statues revealed that they were not the same as the colossal statue before him. The runes, or rune-like objects, seen throughout the city, while similar to those nearby, showed distinct differences in their arrangement and the style of the characters or symbols. Perhaps there was some connection between the two, but this connection might have gradually faded, and even the city above might not be aware of the existence of such a space below.

Moreover, based on observation, although this hall, which was also flooded, looked cleaner than the corridor just now, although Han Zu could not accurately identify the age, based on past experience, he could roughly confirm that the statues carved from the white rock and the surrounding buildings were also older than the long corridor outside.

"Now that I think about it, those rubble and debris blocking the natural cave might really just be remnants of a collapse, and the cave should have been sealed off before the corridor was built. But how did those fused creatures get into the corridor outside? Some of the larger creatures couldn't possibly squeeze through the cracks in the walls."

Thinking about this, Han Zu believed that this area, which was sealed in a natural cave, might have other exits, and those exits might be connected to other parts of the corridor. During his movement, Han Zu did discover some side paths, but most of them were blocked, and his senses did not detect any energy reactions in those side paths that would pique his curiosity.

"Um?!"

As Han Zu floated in the seawater, deep in thought, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a clear human figure out of the corner of his eye. He immediately looked up, trying to confirm what it was, but as soon as his gaze reached the location of the human figure, the space suddenly became empty.