Chapter 428 - 206: Deep into the Labyrinth, Fierce Battle with the Corrupt Eye
Chapter 428: Chapter 206: Deep into the Labyrinth, Fierce Battle with the Corrupt Eye
"The toxicity and radiation from those Source Crystals are on a completely different level from what you encountered at the training camp."
"Don’t get careless. You have to take every precaution. Otherwise, even Martial Artists of our level will get poisoned if exposed to high concentrations of radiation for too long. It could even lead to genetic collapse."
Lin Ye took the gear without a word.
Of course, he didn’t need any of it.
But he took it anyway to avoid suspicion.
Once he was suited up, Hu Dahai glanced at the members of Kunlun who were already on the move. He suggested in a low voice, "This godforsaken place is called the Painful Labyrinth. We’ve never been here before, and according to the rules, neither we nor Kunlun would have received any advance intel on this fissure."
"But you can tell by the name it’s no paradise. I suggest we stick together. At least until we get a handle on the situation, we shouldn’t split up."
Lin Ye was once again struck by the difference between Xinhuo and Kunlun.
After Yin Liulan announced the start of the competition, the vast majority of Kunlun’s members had chosen to go it alone, heading straight into the underground labyrinth.
The members of Xinhuo, on the other hand, mostly moved out in small teams of five or six so they could watch each other’s backs.
"I’m used to working alone."
Lin Ye declined Hu Dahai’s offer, but then added, "However, if a situation comes up that requires teamwork, I’ll join you guys."
"Alright. Just be careful."
Hu Dahai didn’t press the issue, just gave Lin Ye a firm nod.
"I’m going on my own, too."
Dongfang Zhen spoke up from the side. "I’m just here for the experience. I won’t tag along with you Xinhuo folks. I’d rather not break any rules."
Dongfang Zhen was still technically a member of Kunlun.
He just hadn’t accepted the mission issued by Kunlun this time.
His sole purpose for entering was to train and seek a breakthrough.
He wasn’t fighting for either side.
Zhang Daoxuan nodded as well, even though he had accepted Xinhuo’s mission.
But whether it was because of Zhang Daoming or because he was just naturally withdrawn, it was hard to say.
Lin Ye could sense his Spirit was in a much worse state than it had been back at the training camp.
But that was a personal demon he had to overcome himself; it wasn’t Lin Ye’s place to interfere.
Seeing this, Hu Dahai didn’t press them any further. He waved to the Xinhuo members behind him.
"Let’s move out!"
The group quickly vanished over the edge of the chasm.
In the blink of an eye, the huge camp was left with just Lin Ye and the other two, along with the military personnel in charge of logistics and officiating.
Lin Ye glanced at the bottomless chasm, then nodded to Dongfang Zhen and Zhang Daoxuan in farewell.
The next moment, he shot into the air without the slightest hesitation. Transforming into a streak of black light, he moved far faster than anyone before him, plunging headfirst into the profound darkness!
...
At his maximum speed, the ten-plus-kilometer distance took Lin Ye only a few breaths to cross.
After passing through the chasm’s dark entrance, the scene before him changed abruptly.
Innumerable pipe-like structures of varying thickness and unknown material crisscrossed in a dense network, filling his entire field of vision and forming a bizarre, phantasmagorical subterranean world.
As Lin Ye drew closer to one of the wider passages, he realized it wasn’t a pipe at all, but a structure resembling the corridor of an ancient tomb.
The walls of the passage were built from a pale, bluish-white stone and covered in a dark green moss that gave off the damp, foul reek of decay and earth.
So this planet wasn’t truly devoid of life.
It was just that all life seemed to have migrated from the surface underground.
Lin Ye chose a passage at random and flew inside.
The passage’s internal structure was constantly changing. At times it was narrow and cramped, with barely enough room for one person to pass, while at others it would suddenly open into a massive cavern the size of a soccer field.
He pressed deeper and soon discovered a pile of skeletons in a corner of the passage.
Some had bizarre skeletal structures, and he couldn’t identify the creatures they belonged to.
But a few of them were unmistakably human.
The skeletons were all intact, curled up in the corner. It didn’t look like they had been torn apart and killed by some alien creature. Rather, it seemed they had run out of supplies in the endless labyrinth, eventually getting trapped and dying, unable to ever find their way out.
Lin Ye was finally beginning to understand why this place was named the "Painful Labyrinth."
In an environment like this, one’s sense of direction would gradually fade. Deeper in, it might even become impossible to tell up from down.
So it was no surprise that people could get trapped here and die.
PLIP!
PLIP!
The crisp sound of dripping liquid came from overhead.
A chill ran through Lin Ye, and he took an instinctive step back.
The instant he moved, a fist-sized glob of green liquid fell from above, landing exactly where he had just been standing.
"SIZZLE—!"
Acrid white smoke billowed up. The hard, bluish-white stone floor had been instantly corroded by the liquid, leaving a terrifyingly deep, bottomless hole!
’So corrosive!’
SWOOSH!
Before he had time to think, another whistling sound shot out from the shadows to his side!
This time, Lin Ye got a clear look.
A green shadow slithered across the moss-covered wall at extreme speed. Eight jellyfish-like tentacles clung firmly to the stone, while its body was made entirely of translucent green ooze.
It was about the size of a full-grown adult. And in the center of that mass of ooze, in the most conspicuous spot, was a single, enormous, bloodshot, and cloudy eyeball!