Chapter 568: Are There Others Inside?

"That god is a lump of black mud."

Ying Duo recalled the one he saw last time in Luo Jinyou's Consciousness Space and thought Xi Ren Sheng's speculation was probably off.

As for why it happened to be this identical Ying Guang Lu…

Yang Yixie knew that the Gloomy Fluorescent Stone, which is the main Mutation Source of Ying Duo's current body, appears to have been illegally mined in the Eternal Silent Abyss by the Dome through unknown means.

Thus Tianmian City cannot trace the origin of the Gloomy Fluorescent Stone's production; while everyone still regarded the Eternal Silent Abyss as a major problem to be solved, someone had already turned it into profit.

Since this place is the production site of the Gloomy Fluorescent Stone, these mushrooms surely would not ignore such a pure Mutation energy source.

Do you still remember the properties of the Gloomy Fluorescent Stone?

High purity, low dispersion.

Aside from its appearance, the Gloomy Fluorescent Stone is unremarkable, yet its interior concentrates a rather terrifying Mutation.

And as they pressed further, they discovered that the greenish‑glowing "wound" was only the beginning.

They were countless vesicles hanging from the Dome's rock walls, varying in size, each pulsing with a glowing green.

They are not inanimate.

Ying Duo merely deployed a small reconnaissance robot, letting it slowly step into the area ahead.

As if squeezed by an invisible hand, glowing spores dripped from the vesicles, shooting precisely toward the sound source.

The robot's surface was quickly covered, at a visible speed, by a layer of luminous green fungal mat, emitting a sizzing corrosive sound.

This is only the robot's preliminary test result; it's hard to imagine the devastation if an entire battalion stepped in.

Countless green "fireworks" would bloom overhead in succession, bringing destruction rather than blessing; amid the flickering green light, they would embrace the Mutation.

【Spore Pod】

【Description: Hanging translucent vesicles, each like a water balloon; approaching with sound above a certain decibel level makes them burst, showering a high‑density spore rain.】

【High Danger! Please keep away!】

This is a dead end.

At the very least, this could never be the route their main force would take.

Ying Duo and Xi Ren Sheng marked this spot as high danger with a red exclamation mark on the mini‑map, then saw a message in the Team Channel that Shen Zexi and others had completed the transfer.

After everyone successfully transferred into the tunnel, Luo Jinyou used his ability to completely seal the passage, preventing spores from seeping in through the entrance.

Nevertheless, they still chose to press on, taking a short rest on a side path away from the entrance.

This place should connect to somewhere outside; although underground, the deep cave occasionally stirs a faint breeze.

Luo Jinyou's recent effortless movement among the spores caught everyone's eye; though no one said anything, they instinctively kept their distance.

Qi Hengyu sat down beside Luo Jinyou, holding the dry rations he had prepared.

"Won't you have some?"

Or, after becoming an Aberrant Species, you no longer need to eat?

Qi Hengyu wasn't sure what being an Aberrant Species entailed, but the Aberrant Species he had seen before didn't seem to go without food.

"... Thank you."

Luo Jinyou lifted his hand to take the food Qi Hengyu offered; in fact, he paid more attention than others to the mutations on his body, because after becoming an Aberrant Species he is more sensitive to them, making him cleaner than most.

He pointed to a hard‑to‑see spot on Qi Hengyu's arm; Qi Hengyu looked down and brushed off all the spores that had stuck.

Although he couldn't avoid contact entirely, the sight of it was nauseating.

"Aren't they coming back?" Xie Jingyan looked at the Team Channel, where Ying Duo had merely marked their message as read and said nothing more.

"They're on their way back; looks like they hit a wall."

Meng Kexin said lightly that Xi Ren Sheng and Ying Duo were retracing their steps on the mini‑map, but had left a danger marker on the path they had just taken, fearing something unpleasant lurked there.

Shen Zexi felt a throbbing headache upon hearing that; the situation was far from optimistic. Although they seemed safe, there were only three junctions in total, and one had already been deemed impassable by Ying Duo's group.

That left only the other two routes.

One upward, one downward.

Qi Junyi busied himself directing the whole situation; after Fang Zhiyan disappeared from the Dome side, everyone almost obeyed Qi Junyi's orders without question.

Perhaps they also knew Fang Zhiyan's character, being surprisingly quick to accept being abandoned.

Shen Zexi, still beside Qi Junyi, saw a vaguely familiar figure, yet he was certain he had never met the person before; where did this sense of familiarity come from?

He only heard a faint rustle coming from the other side.

"Y-you... are you reinforcements?!"

A desperate voice rose from deep within the lower passage.

The nearby Butterfly Whisperer blinked slightly at the tunnel entrance, convinced he was already at the farthest edge, meaning there were others inside.

Qi Junyi rushed over, glanced at the Butterfly Whisperer and the Sand Island Peak, chose to ignore them, and spoke toward the tunnel interior in a voice neither loud nor soft.

"We are an exploration unit dispatched jointly by the Church and the Dome; who are you?"

After Qi Junyi's question left his mouth, the person inside fell into a brief silence.

Perhaps they hadn't expected the Church and the Dome to ever cooperate; in the past, such words would have been a joke.

"S-save... save us..."

The voice sounded again, this time tinged with desperation, as if murmuring to itself.

"Anyone... please save us...!"

Qi Junyi frowned at the words, about to ask further, when a scream came from inside.

"Ah! Don't come! Monster...!"

The scream inside lingered for a while before fading; the sound almost drove Qi Junyi to rush in, but Su Jingming pulled him back, preventing him from charging forward.

"The situation's off."

Su Jingming's usually good‑natured face wore a rare seriousness as he stared into the depths, his eyes dim and clouded.

"Are there any Special Ability Practitioners skilled in reconnaissance? Send someone to check the situation."

Su Jingming spoke to Qi Junyi beside him; Qi Junyi nodded and immediately went to find several Special Ability Practitioners who had come specially to assist.

Shayu Feng watched from not far away, especially the scene of Su Jingming and Qi Junyi interacting familiarly; his dark-red eyes swept over Su Jingming's hand.