Chapter 354: Acquaintance

Captain Miller stepped forward, and he and several team members had already changed into special abyss protective gear.

Protective runes were engraved on the surface of the protective devices, and the filtration system built into the masks could purify the toxic gases of the abyss.

"Wizard Ralph, equipment check complete."

Miller's voice came through the magic communicator, carrying the steadiness unique to a veteran:

"However, I must remind you again that the danger level of the fourth layer far exceeds the previous layers. Even a veteran team like ours cannot guarantee absolute safety."

"I understand the risks." Luo En responded concisely, while checking his own equipment:

"And I have prepared sufficient emergency plans."

He stroked the storage bag at his waist, which contained the summoning runes given by Youteer, as well as various emergency potions and escape tools.

The 'Explorer One' golem had also completed final debugging and could replace him at any time for more dangerous exploration work.

They were currently standing in the core area of the observatory, and the huge descent platform was like an inverted pyramid.

Luo En witnessed this shocking architectural miracle with his own eyes for the first time and couldn't help but stop his steps.

The platform surface was covered with dense rune circuits, and every line flickered with a stable silver-blue light.

But these runes were not dead carvings, but rather contracted and expanded like blood vessels, as if this huge construct was performing some kind of deep breathing.

Besides this, twisted faces would occasionally emerge from those runes.

These were the rune craftsmen who had participated in building this facility; their souls had been permanently integrated into these runes, becoming the 'fuel' that maintained the facility's operation.

"Although I've seen this thing many times, it still feels fucking hair-raising."

A rough voice came from behind Luo En.

The speaker was a middle-aged man with a face full of scars.

His left eye had been gouged out by some abyss creature, and a rotating prosthetic eye was stuffed into the empty eye socket.

"Blake, watch your language."

Another older female wizard frowned: "There are other peers present here."

Blake shrugged indifferently:

"Facts are facts, Camilla. Back then, those lunatics 'consumed' over three thousand craftsmen alive just to build this thing. Look at those runes; they are still crying."

Luo En activated 'Extraordinary Identification'; under special vision, the entire platform was like a huge rune extension.

Countless painful souls were bound in the rune network, and their despair and fear had turned into part of the facility's power.

This was the essence of wizard civilization—for power and knowledge, any price was acceptable.

"This level of soul fusion technology..."

Luo En analyzed silently in his heart: "If I can master the principles within, it will be of great help to my substitute puppet project."

Feeling angry or sympathetic about things that had already happened was meaningless to a researcher.

What was important was to learn the technology from it and serve his own research.

"Can you feel it? That wailing from the dead souls?"

A gloomy voice sounded.

The speaker was a thin man in a black robe.

His hands were covered by strange silver gloves, and the surface of the gloves was covered with wriggling runes.

"I am the necromancer Modred, specializing in the application of soul energy." He reached out to Luo En:

"The design concept of this platform is simply a work of art in necromancy."

Luo En politely shook hands with the other party through a layer of magic grid, but remained vigilant in his heart.

The status of necromancers in wizard society was subtle.

Their technology was useful, but their personalities were often extremely twisted.

"Luo En Ralph." He introduced himself concisely.

"Oh? The genius who ranked second in the New Star Project?" Modred's eyes revealed a kind of morbid interest:

"I heard you have great achievements in bloodline modulation... any interest in collaborating? My undead servants need more complex stitching, and your technology..."

"I don't have plans in this regard for the time being." Luo En interrupted the other party coldly.

Just at this moment, Youteer's phantom emerged in the center of the platform.

But unlike the gentle image during private meetings, the old professor currently emitted a pressure that made people tremble, and the scattering silver light made people feel like they were carrying a giant mountain.

"Explorers, welcome to the Abyss Observatory."

Youteer's voice echoed throughout the platform:

"Before the descent begins, I must explain a few points to you."

His gaze swept over the twenty-plus explorers present, and everyone felt the invisible magic pressure from the Great Wizard.

"First, this descent device is maintained by my Void Skeleton power. Your life safety is completely in my hands."

The old professor's words carried cold facts:

"Any violation during the descent process will be executed immediately."

The platform fell into a dead silence instantly.

Several explorers who were originally whispering immediately closed their mouths.

"Secondly, the curse intensity starting from the fourth layer of the abyss is enough to make even Morning Star-level wizards hallucinate.

My shield can provide protection, but if anyone attempts any form of interference or detection during the descent..."

Youteer's phantom suddenly became ferocious, and the silver light turned into countless tentacle-like beams:

"I will personally feed them to deeper abyss creatures."

This naked threat made the atmosphere on the scene extremely oppressive.

Luo En noticed that several weaker explorers had already begun to tremble slightly.

"Very good, it seems everyone understands the rules."

Youteer's tone became calm again: "Now, let's begin this pleasant journey."

Following the old professor's operation, the runes around the platform began to flicker violently.

The souls integrated within let out silent screams, their pain converted into energy to maintain the shield.

"Anchoring current coordinates... Detecting abyss airflow... Adjusting descent trajectory..."

Youteer's voice became formulaic:

"During the rapid descent, you may see some things you shouldn't see. Do not try to understand, do not try to remember, let them flow naturally through your consciousness."

The platform began to descend slowly, and the reality around it began to distort.

………………

Just as he entered the first layer of the abyss, Luo En felt that indescribable sense of oppression again after a long time.

Through the translucent shield, he saw hair-raising scenes:

Endless blood-colored shallows extended in all directions; the scarlet liquid was not ordinary blood, but the materialized form of the fear and despair of countless creatures before they died.

Those 'blood waters' were flowing slowly, and twisted faces would occasionally emerge on the surface.

There were humans, aliens, and some alien creatures that were completely unrecognizable.

These faces all carried the despairing expressions of their final moments, their mouths opening and closing silently, as if telling something.

"It's always shocking to see this scene every time, right, Ralph?"

A somewhat familiar male voice sounded beside Luo En.

He turned his head and found that the speaker was actually Maxim.

This wizard with a somewhat terrifying face was the adjudicator who had certified his professional modulator qualification when he was at the Black Mist School.

"Master Maxim?"

Luo En was indeed surprised, but quickly adjusted his emotions: "I didn't expect to meet you here."

Compared to when he was at the Black Mist School, Maxim's abyss pollution level had obviously worsened. Silver scales spread from his hands to half of his cheek, and those fine scales flickered with ominous metallic luster under the light of the shield.

These scales were still wriggling slowly, as if something was crawling under the skin.

"Haha, the world is really small."

Maxim laughed heartily, but his laughter carried a trace of bitterness:

"I still remember when you were at the Black Mist School, you were just an apprentice full of curiosity about the abyss, now..."

He carefully sensed the magic power fluctuations on Luo En, his eyes revealing obvious shock:

"My god, is your magic power almost exceeding mine? It's only been such a short time... As expected of the runner-up of the New Star Project."

What Maxim felt were the magic power fluctuations that Luo En had already suppressed, probably less than one-third of his total real magic power.

"Just lucky." The young wizard replied modestly, while observing the mutated scales on Maxim's face.

Under the vision of 'Extraordinary Identification', these scales were actually some kind of parasitic abyss spores; they were slowly remodeling the host's physiological structure.

Although the process was painful, it did indeed bring an improvement in strength.

"Then, what are you here in the abyss for?"

Maxim asked curiously: "With your current status, you shouldn't need to take risks in this kind of place, right?"

"Collecting some special materials to prepare for breaking through to the Moon-level in the future." Luo En didn't tell the whole truth:

"What about you?"

Maxim sighed lowly, subconsciously touching the scales on his face:

"I came to thoroughly fuse with these damn things."

He shook his head and smiled bitterly:

"Although abyss pollution is painful, it is also the best catalyst. If I can't control them before the pollution spreads completely, I can only wait to slowly turn into a monster."

His tone became even heavier:

"To be honest, I originally thought I would stop at the Morning Star level in this life. But Lord Cassandra's conquest plan has brought new hope to those of us whose potential is exhausted."

Mentioning Cassandra, fanatical light burned in Maxim's eyes:

"I have seen active minerals brought back from the 'Crystal Civilization' with my own eyes; those things can self-iterate after being connected to each other and possess stronger analytical capabilities than ordinary wizards!"

Luo En listened silently, having a clearer understanding of the spread of Cassandra's influence in his heart.

The temptation of this conquest was indeed powerful; even semi-retired explorers like Maxim were attracted by it and returned to their old profession.

Just as the two were talking, the platform entered the second layer.

The blood-colored shallows here became even more twisted and dangerous.

Countless broken space vesicles were floating in the sea of blood, each vesicle containing different space-time environments.

Some vesicles burned with eternal flames, some were covered by absolute ice, and others were filled with wriggling tentacle-like creatures.

The most terrifying thing was that these vesicles would randomly fuse and split, creating an even more chaotic environment.

Occasionally, vesicles would burst, and their contents would pour into the sea of blood, immediately causing violent reactions.

"Second layer..." Maxim's voice became nervous, "Starting from here, even with Void Skeleton protection, we can feel the edge effects of the abyss curse."

Sure enough, Luo En began to feel a subtle spiritual oppression.

It was not a direct attack, but a subtle erosion, trying to plant some thoughts that did not belong to him in the depths of his consciousness.

He immediately activated 'Whispers of the Star Eater' for protection, and the cold power of the stars formed a solid spiritual barrier.

But other explorers were not so relaxed.

Luo En noticed that the necromancer Modred had already begun to tremble slightly.

………………

When the platform arrived at the third layer, the environment around it changed drastically again.

The blood-colored shallows disappeared, replaced by a boundless black desert.

The remains of countless creatures were weathered into powder, eternally circulating in this land of death.

The sky presented a depressing deep purple; there was no sun, only a few huge organ-like celestial bodies suspended in the high sky, emitting morbid fluorescence.

These 'celestial bodies' were actually the organs of some ancient existences; after being devoured by the abyss, they became the 'lighting facilities' of this layer.

"Third layer reached; passengers whose destination is here, prepare to get off."

Youteer's voice became serious:

"From now on, you will be directly exposed to the abyss environment. Remember, caution is the only law of survival."

This sentence looked like it was said to everyone, but in reality, it was his exhortation to someone alone.

The platform stopped steadily, and the shield began to dissipate gradually.

Instantly, the oppressive aura unique to the abyss rushed toward them.

It was a complex scent mixed with death, despair, and madness.

Even experienced explorers needed a period of time to adapt.

These scents were also mixed with a sweet and greasy stench; that was the 'fragrance' produced after countless corpses fermented in the abyss environment.

"Then goodbye, Luo En." Maxim patted him on the shoulder:

"My goal is to go to the sixth layer 'Labyrinth Domain' again; there is a special environment there that can catalyze breakthroughs."

His expression became even more serious:

"Remember my words: in the abyss, never trust any existence that looks 'friendly'. Every creature here, including those that look like humans, could be a lethal trap."

"I will remember." Luo En nodded solemnly, "And I wish you a smooth breakthrough."

Maxim's team included three bloodline-modified combat slaves and two mercenaries.

Although these people could only be considered decent in strength, they had rich survival experience in the abyss environment.

And Luo En's team was composed of the Miller team.

This veteran team had incomparable experience in abyss exploration, and every member was a veteran who had survived countless life-and-death tests.

"Maintain formation, do not act alone."

Miller's command experience appeared extremely valuable in this environment:

"These black sands can sense fear emotions; the more afraid you are, the easier it is to be attacked."

Sure enough, when the team stepped onto the black desert, those seemingly ordinary bone sands immediately began to wriggle.

They gathered under the feet of the team members like living things, making a subtle friction sound, as if tasting the life aura of those stepping on them.

Luo En activated his perception ability; in his special vision, a relatively safe path gradually became clear.

It was a winding path that cleverly bypassed most dangerous areas.

"Thirty degrees to the front left, avoid that area with darker color." He pointed into the distance:

"The density of bone sand there is higher, and it might hide some kind of predator."

Miller nodded trustingly and began to adjust the team's forward direction.

As a veteran explorer, he knew that in the abyss, any subtle abnormality could mean lethal danger.

After several hours of careful traversal, they successfully crossed the main dangerous area of the third layer.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 355 =====