Chapter 97: The Gloomy Maze, the Whisper of Corruption, and the Faint Glow of Star Dust

Copper Whiskers' figure was like a burdened boulder, struggling through the shadows of broken walls and the lingering smoke. With every step, his injured left leg sent piercing, bone-deep agony through him; the chest wound torn open by Sister Ai Li's claw-light burned with a fierce, stinging heat, and purple-black corrosive energy clung like a parasite to his bones, gnawing ceaselessly at his vitality. His mechanical prosthetic arm let out ominous creaks from overload and damage, its red light flickering faster and faster.

On his left shoulder he carried Lin Mo's scorched body; under his right arm he clutched the unconscious Wrench, whose arm was twisted at a sickening angle; and cradled tight against his chest was Xiang Lingna, her breath as faint as a gossamer thread. The weight of three companions and his own wounds made every step feel like wading through a mire. Sweat, mingled with blood and pus, dripped unceasingly from his blackened cheeks and gnarled beard.

Behind him, the greedy shriek of the rotting wyvern drew closer and closer! The whistling of its wings beating the air was like the drumbeats of doom! The beast had clearly read Copper Whiskers' weakness and burden, and had marked them as the easiest prey.

"Damn... you... flat-feathered bastard..." Copper Whiskers gasped, his mechanical eye laboriously scanning the chaotic ruin-terrain ahead. The direction Sister Ai Li had indicated was a shambles—collapsed building debris, twisted metal frames, and burning thornwood formed barrier after barrier. He had to find that "Old World underground conduit entrance" as fast as possible!

Hmm...

Just as Copper Whiskers was nearly crushed by the agony and exhaustion, a faint yet cool breath came from the spot where Xiang Lingna, in his arms, was pressed against his chest. It was the Jade Heart shard she wore at her breast, its luster completely gone. Though the shard itself was drained of energy, the trace of natural affinity still lingering within Lingna—vanishingly faint—seemed to seep out unconsciously, like the gentlest breeze, briefly soothing the worst of the burning in his wounds and lifting his spirits.

At the same time, the pure star-dust crystal on the chest of Lin Mo, slung over his shoulder, kept giving off a soft, milky-white glow. The light was not strong, but it drove back the lingering stench of decay in the surrounding air with an unusual steadiness, and faintly wove itself into a thin energy field over Copper Whiskers and the companions he bore, slowing the rate at which his wounds corroded.

These two faint powers, like fireflies in the darkness, held up Copper Whiskers' will on the brink of collapse.

Screech—!

A shrill sound of something tearing through the air came from above! The rotting wyvern could hold back no longer and dove! Its sharp claws glinted coldly, trailing a sour, putrid stench, and slashed viciously at Copper Whiskers' back! It meant to kill in a single strike and seize that scorched body (Lin Mo) emanating such a tantalizing energy!

Copper Whiskers didn't even have time to turn! He lurched forward in a sudden stumble and threw himself down! At the same time he shielded Lingna in his arms and Wrench under his armpit with his own body, meeting that lethal claw with his broad back!

Riiip—!

The expected agony came! The wyvern's claws savagely tore open the already-ruined armor and flesh on Copper Whiskers' back! Blood mixed with purple-black pus spurted out once more! But Copper Whiskers used the momentum of that lunge to tumble and crash, crawling as he went, into a gap in a half-toppled ruin of massive concrete conduits and metal struts!

The wyvern, having landed its strike, shrieked in excitement and tried to dive again to finish the prey for good. But when it tried to plunge into that narrow gap in the ruins, its wings were caught and jammed by the crisscrossing giant pipes and metal struts!

Screech! Screech!

The wyvern shrieked and thrashed in fury, churning up clouds of dust from the ruins.

Copper Whiskers had no time for the fresh, terrifying wound on his back; his ragged gasps were like a broken bellows. He struggled to sit up, his mechanical eye rapidly scanning the dim surroundings. This seemed to be a space formed by the collapse of a junction of large Old Era conduits, its structure relatively stable. By the faint daylight filtering through the cracks, he saw it! Behind the piled rubble and rusted metal mesh, a half-buried circular metal manhole cover, a full three meters across! In its center, a faded gear-and-wrench emblem—the mark of the Old World municipal conduits—was just barely legible!

That was it! The underground conduit entrance!

A spark of hope flared in Copper Whiskers' heart! Bracing against the agony, his massive mechanical hand plunged into the rubble burying the manhole cover and began to dig with all his might!

Creak! Creak!

Outside, the wyvern was still battering and tearing madly at the obstacle jamming it; chunks of stone and rusted metal rained down. Time was running out!

"Open... for me!" Copper Whiskers roared, and his mechanical hand exploded with a final burst of strength!

Boom!

The heavy metal manhole cover was wrenched open by sheer force, revealing a bottomless darkness below that reeked of thick rust and damp mold! A cold breath of stale air surged up from beneath.

Copper Whiskers did not hesitate for a moment! First he carefully lowered Lingna from his arms down through the shaft; below was a soft pile of silt. Then the unconscious Wrench. Finally, he hauled Lin Mo onto his shoulder, clenched his teeth, and with his gravely wounded body, painfully climbed down the metal rungs set into the shaft wall.

Just as his body vanished into the shaft—

Boom!

The giant pipe that had been jamming the wyvern was finally smashed aside! The wyvern's crimson compound eyes instantly locked onto Copper Whiskers and Lin Mo, still climbing down!

"Screech—!" A shriek brimming with greed rang out! The wyvern thrust its head down, its sharp beak stabbing viciously at the shaft opening!

Copper Whiskers' pupils shrank! He shoved Lin Mo's body downward in a sudden push! At the same time he let go of the ladder and crashed heavily onto the silt pile below!

Thud!

The wyvern's beak stabbed hard at the edge of the shaft, sparks flying! Several chunks of stone were sent tumbling down!

Copper Whiskers landed so hard he saw stars; the agony of his wounds nearly made him pass out, but he immediately struggled to his feet, his massive mechanical hand gripping the edge of the manhole cover, and with the last of his strength, slammed it upward!

Clang—!!!

The heavy metal cover slammed shut, sealing the wyvern's hideous head and crimson compound eyes out completely! From outside came the beast's furious battering and the tortured groan of the metal cover under the strain.

Beneath the cover, a deathly silent darkness, broken only by a few people's ragged breathing. The cold smell of mold and rust filled their nostrils.

Safe, for now.

Copper Whiskers leaned against the cold, damp wall of the shaft, gasping violently, each breath tasting of blood. The wounds on his back and chest, once he relaxed, sent him a tearing, heart-rending pain. His mechanical eye lit up with a faint scanning-blue glow in the darkness, observing the surroundings.

This seemed to be a long-abandoned main conduit, more than five meters across, its floor a thick layer of black silt giving off the stench of decay. The walls were coated in heavy rust and slick moss, and many stretches had caved in and clogged, leaving only a winding, deep, and narrow gap whose destination was unknown.

He looked at his companions: Lingna was still unconscious, her small body cold. Wrench too was out cold, his twisted arm a sickening sight. Lin Mo's scorched body lay in the silt; the star-dust crystal on his chest gave off the only light—that faint blue-white glow looked so precious in the absolute darkness, steadily holding its own against the Dark Purple Mark that still pulsed unwholesomely over his right arm.

Just then—

Hiss... hiss...

A very faint, strange sound, like countless grains of sand rubbing together, drifted from the darkness deep in the conduit. The sound was weak, but carried a skin-crawling, sticky quality.

Copper Whiskers' mechanical eye instantly locked onto the direction of the sound! In faint-light night-vision mode, he saw a sight that made his scalp prickle—

Out of the thick black silt on the conduit wall ahead, countless tiny, earthworm-like purple-black worms were burrowing forth! They swarmed in a dense carpet, writhing across the surface of the silt like a tide! These worms had no eyes on their heads—only a round mouth that kept opening and closing, lined with fine, sharp teeth! Drawn by some scent, they were surging toward where Copper Whiskers and the others lay!

Was it the faint smell of blood from Lin Mo's wounds? Or the lure of the pure energy from the star-dust crystal? Or... the same-source aura emanating from the Corrupted Claw Mark on his right arm?

Whatever it was, this was definitely not good news!

"Damn it... it just never ends!" Copper Whiskers cursed under his breath, struggling to stand, but the agony in his wounded leg and the weakness from blood loss made his movements sluggish.

The worm-tide moved faster than he'd imagined! Like a purple-black carpet, it spread rapidly toward them—less than ten meters away now! The sight of that dense, writhing mass and the hissing sound would be enough to make the bravest warrior's scalp explode!

Despair, like the cold darkness in the conduit, crept in once more.