Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 635 Submerged Ruins (3)

Han Zu continued forward with steady steps. The little mouse on his head, seemingly still recovering from the fierce battle, remained curled up in his hair, only daring to peek out half of its wet little eye, warily surveying its surroundings. The high temperature in the seawater gradually subsided with the death of the giant creature, but tiny bubbles continued to seep from the corroded holes in the walls on both sides of the corridor, emitting a soft "hissing" sound that was particularly clear in the still underwater world.

His energy perception spread out like a fine net within a radius of several dozen meters in front of Han Zu. After the fierce battle just now, he deliberately restrained his excessively violent power to avoid overstimulating any potential creatures. Just after he had walked about a hundred meters, his perception network suddenly encountered a dense cluster of life signals. These signals varied in strength, but all carried a clear aura of activity, and had a faint connection to the dormant skeletons on the bone wall.

Han Zu slowed his pace and looked ahead. The corridor suddenly widened, and the walls on both sides were covered with irregular indentations. Within these indentations, dozens of strangely shaped creatures were dwelling. They were not large, only about half a meter long, with streamlined bodies covered with a layer of fine, silvery-gray scales that shimmered softly in the firelight. Most peculiar were their heads, which had compound eyes similar to those of shrimp and crabs, but also three pairs of slender tentacles. The tips of the tentacles shimmered with a faint fluorescence, like underwater glow sticks.

When Han Zu's gaze fell upon them, the little creatures were clearly startled, shrinking their bodies deeper into the recessed area, their tentacles trembling rapidly. But they didn't immediately flee; instead, they cautiously observed Han Zu and the little mouse above his head through their compound eyes, their tentacles occasionally touching, as if exchanging some kind of information. Han Zu stopped, remaining still. He could sense that the energy within these creatures was very gentle, without the slightest hostility, but rather a pure curiosity.

The little mouse seemed to sense the creatures' friendliness and grew a little bolder, peeking out from Han Zu's hair and squeaking twice at the little guys. Surprisingly, upon hearing the mouse's squeak, a slightly larger creature slowly crawled out of the depression. Its movements were very gentle, as if afraid of disturbing Han Zu, its tentacles swaying gently towards the little mouse, as if in response. Immediately afterward, several more creatures followed, circling around Han Zu's feet and gently touching his body with their tentacles. When they sensed the significant temperature difference between Han Zu's relatively high body and the seawater, they quickly withdrew their tentacles, making soft chirping sounds, looking quite endearing.

Han Zu's smile softened slightly; he could clearly sense the goodwill of these creatures. Their body structures almost perfectly matched the small skeletons on the bone wall, clearly indicating they were of the same kind as the creatures that built the bone wall. However, the skeletons on the bone wall had long since lost their life-giving temperature, while these little guys before him were full of vitality. He crouched down, deliberately lowering the temperature of his skin, allowing the boldest creature to crawl its tentacles onto the back of his hand. The tentacles carried the coolness of the seawater, their touch as smooth as silk.

Just as Han Zu was interacting with these friendly creatures, his energy perception suddenly detected movement on the other side. In the darkness ahead in the corridor, a much larger group of creatures appeared. They were significantly larger than the smaller ones before him, standing over a meter tall, with cylindrical bodies covered in a thick carapace covered in sharp protrusions, giving them a rather intimidating appearance. Their heads were hidden beneath their carapaces, revealing only two pairs of small, scarlet eyes, which were fixed intently on Han Zu and the friendly little creatures.

Unlike the friendly creatures, these crustaceans emanated a clear sense of alertness. They were neatly arranged in a row, their bodies lowered, their shells slightly open, revealing sharp pincers beneath, clearly wary of Han Zu, this unfamiliar intruder. When Han Zu's gaze swept over them, the crustaceans immediately retreated several meters, maintaining a safe distance, but they didn't leave completely. They formed a semi-circular encirclement in the distance, their scarlet eyes constantly observing Han Zu's every move.

Han Zu didn't approach them directly; he understood that the creatures' wariness was not without reason. In this isolated underwater corridor, they might have never seen beings like humans before, and keeping their distance was their instinct for self-preservation. He continued to interact with the little creatures at his feet, hoping to lower the crustaceans' guard in this way. However, no matter how the little creatures tried to signal the crustaceans with their tentacles, the crustaceans remained unmoved, cautiously holding their ground.

Just then, a muffled rumbling sound suddenly came from the depths of the corridor, accompanied by a strong energy fluctuation, filled with obvious violence and hostility. Han Zu's expression changed slightly, and the energy within his body became frenzied again. Sensing this hostility, the little creatures at his feet quickly scrambled back into the recesses in the wall, while the shelled creatures in the distance became even more tense, their pincers opening and closing at a noticeably faster pace, making a "click-clack" sound.

In the darkness, several enormous shadows rapidly approached. They were also fusion creatures with characteristics of multiple organisms. Their main bodies resembled the torso of the giant creature Han Zu had just slain, but they possessed three pincers similar to those of a carapace-like creature. Their heads were bizarre shapes covered with compound eyes, each gleaming with a bloodthirsty red light. There were five or six of these fusion creatures. They moved extremely fast in the seawater, leaving trails of murky water in their wake, as they charged towards Han Zu.

Without the slightest fear, Han Zu stepped forward to meet the attack. The foremost fused creature launched the first attack, its three pincers opening simultaneously with the force to tear through the seawater, grabbing towards Han Zu's body. Han Zu dodged to the side, simultaneously raising his right leg, which blazed with flames, and slammed it hard into the fused creature's torso.

With a deafening crash, flames collided with the pincers, sparks flying. The fused creature let out a painful roar, its body sent flying backward, crashing into the corridor wall and shattering the dent instantly. But it didn't fall; instead, it quickly scrambled to its feet, black smoke billowing from the scorched parts of its torso, yet it charged forward once more, fearless of death.

Han Zu's eyes turned cold, and he no longer held back. He suddenly accelerated, his body shooting towards the fused creature like an arrow released from a bow. His right fist, crackling with fine red lightning amidst black and red flames, slammed down hard on the creature's head. This punch had no fancy techniques, only pure power and an aura of destruction.

With a crisp "crack," the compound eyes on the fused creature's head shattered instantly, gushing out dark red blood. Its body twitched a few times before collapsing stiffly into the seawater, utterly lifeless. The surrounding seawater was stained dark by its blood, emitting a stench even more intense than that of the previous giant creature.

Seeing their companion instantly killed, the other four fused creatures didn't retreat; instead, they became even more ferocious. They simultaneously opened their mouths, spewing out streams of dark green liquid. This liquid rapidly spread through the seawater, creating strange foam wherever it passed, clearly indicating its strong toxicity and corrosiveness. Han Zu frowned slightly, flames engulfing his body and suddenly surging, forming a ring of fire that blocked the surrounding seawater and the dark green liquid. The liquid sizzled as it hit the fire wall, instantly evaporating into toxic gas, but quickly dissipating under the pressure of the nearby seawater.

Taking advantage of the gap created by the wall of fire, Han Zu flashed into the encirclement of the four fused creatures. His movements were agile beyond belief for someone possessing such immense strength, weaving through the gaps in the fused creatures' pincers. Each strike was accompanied by a scream of agony from one of the fused creatures. Some had their pincers snapped off, some had their torsos pierced, and others had their heads smashed to pieces.

The entire process took less than a minute. All four fused creatures collapsed into the sea, their remains floating on the surface, constantly oozing dark red blood. The crustaceans in the distance, witnessing this, their crimson eyes filled with terror, retreated hastily, their previously tense bodies stiffening, clearly utterly terrified by Han Zu's brutal suppression.

Han Zu ignored the shelled creatures and walked to the remains of a fused creature, examining it closely. The fused creatures had very strange body structures; parts of different creatures were joined together extremely awkwardly, as if forcibly fused together by some force. He poked the fused creature's torso with his finger and could feel that the internal tissues were very chaotic and filled with unstable energy.

"The fused creatures existing in this area are indeed not naturally formed." Han Zu pondered to himself, recalling the suspected human leg remains he had found in the giant creature's stomach, which deepened his doubts.

The little mouse on the roof finally dared to fully peek out, staring at the fused creature's remains floating in the water, squeaking as if it were hungry. Seeing this, Han Zu casually tore off a relatively intact piece of the remains and offered it to the little mouse. The mouse immediately pounced and began to devour it. Meanwhile, the friendly little creatures hiding in the depression, seeing the fused creature dealt with, slowly crawled out, surrounding Han Zu, their tentacles gently touching his arm, as if expressing gratitude.

After the battle, the previously wary crustaceans made way for Han Zu as he approached, though their eyes remained alert. However, they were just creatures and didn't attack Han Zu, so he naturally didn't bother them.

The corridor still seemed endless, with peculiar patterns occasionally appearing on the walls on both sides. These patterns seemed to be naturally formed, yet also bore traces of artificial carving, appearing and disappearing amidst the fluctuations in the water level.

As Han Zu ventured deeper, he encountered an increasing number of creatures. There were winged beings covered in a transparent membrane, gliding freely in the seawater. They were filled with curiosity about Han Zu, always following him closely, gently touching his body with their transparent wings before quickly darting away. There were also disc-shaped creatures, as large as millstones, clinging motionless to the walls. Their bodies were covered in suckers, allowing them to firmly adhere to the walls, seemingly oblivious to Han Zu's presence—clearly, they were extremely gentle creatures. Then there were vine-like creatures, twining around the corridor's ceiling, their bodies adorned with glowing buds that provided a faint ray of light to the dark corridor. These creatures, too, showed no hostility, simply growing quietly.

Among these creatures, there were also some that remained vigilant. For example, there was a creature that looked like a lizard but had four legs and a pair of fins. They always lived in groups at the corners of the corridor. When Han Zu passed by, they would immediately dart into the cracks in the wall, only showing their two eyes to observe Han Zu, and only dare to come out after Han Zu had gone far away. There was also a small, agile, arrow-shaped creature. They were extremely fast and could travel dozens of meters in the sea in an instant. When Han Zu approached, they would quickly disperse, forming a huge encirclement and maintaining a safe distance, and only regroup after Han Zu left.

Of course, there are also some hostile fused creatures that appear from time to time. The energy within these fused creatures is extremely violent, clearly indicating that they have lost their minds after being forcibly fused by some force.

Han Zu showed no mercy to these hostile fused creatures. Each time he encountered one, he would suppress it with lightning speed. Sometimes he would smash its core with a single punch, sometimes he would incinerate it with flames. These fused creatures varied greatly in strength; some were even comparable to the giant creatures he had encountered before, forcing Han Zu to take them seriously, but ultimately they all met their demise. Their remains were either consumed by the friendly creatures or fed to the little mouse by Han Zu. During this time, the little mouse seemed to have grown larger, its fur becoming shinier, clearly having adapted to the environment and food.

Han Zu noticed that the deeper he went into the corridor, the more numerous and powerful the fused creatures became. At the same time, the artificial traces on the walls became increasingly apparent. The originally irregular walls became smoother, even revealing obvious chisel marks, and the patterns on the walls became clearer, resembling some kind of ancient writing or design. These discoveries further convinced Han Zu that this underwater corridor was not naturally formed, but rather built by some intelligent being, and that the appearance of the fused creatures was likely related to the intelligent being who constructed the corridor.

The underwater corridor seemed endless, so much so that Han Zu grew somewhat weary of walking it. He simply floated in the seawater, allowing his internal energy to leak slightly, making himself move like an underwater propulsion device, while he closed his eyes to rest, relying solely on his senses to observe the surroundings. About an hour later, the number of creatures in the vicinity gradually began to decrease; they seemed to have sensed something.

Suddenly, an extremely intense hostile energy emanated from the depths of the corridor. This energy was stronger than any of the fused creatures they had encountered before, and even carried a trace of the ancient aura of the giant creatures from before. Han Zu immediately opened his eyes, stopped moving, and began to observe the direction from which the energy was coming.

From the darkness, a colossal figure slowly emerged. This fused creature far surpassed any of the previous ones in size. Its main body resembled a giant octopus, but it possessed ten thick tentacles, each covered in sharp barbs and ending in claws similar to those of a gigantic creature. Its head was a massive fleshy tumor, densely covered with countless eyes, each gleaming with a scarlet light and radiating a suffocating killing intent. On either side of its body grew a pair of enormous wings, covered in a layer of black scales, remarkably similar to the wings of the previous gigantic creature.

A flicker of excitement flashed in Han Zu's eyes. He could sense the terrifying energy contained within this fused creature; this was the fierce battle he had been eagerly anticipating. The little mouse, startled by this intense hostility, immediately scurried into Han Zu's other trouser pocket, trembling. However, due to its significantly larger size, the remaining pocket was somewhat cramped for it, making the little mouse's huddled-together body look rather comical.

The surrounding creatures sensed this terrifying aura. The friendly creatures hid in the recesses and crevices of the walls, while the wary creatures vanished without a trace. The entire corridor instantly became deathly silent, with only the heavy breathing of the giant fused creature remaining.