When he heard Vivian calling, Hao Ren hurriedly grabbed Lily and ran over to join her. Before leaving, he casually stuffed the Data Terminal and that bumpkin terminal into his pocket. The Data Terminal was still complaining from inside: "Hey, hey, what are you doing? Can you not cram me in here with this bumpkin? Housing is so tight these days..."
Hao Ren immediately shot back, "If you don't like being cramped, then get out and fly yourself!"
Only after the two followed the communicator's directions and found Vivian did they discover that everyone else had arrived too. They were gathered in a circle, studying something.
"What's going on?" Hao Ren slowly floated over while holding Lily's hand. He discovered that this was a fairly broad area. Though it had already been occupied by a jungle of tentacles, one could still make out its former structure. It seemed to have been a warehouse, with many orderly platforms slightly raised above the ground nearby. Beneath the vines in the distance, traces of fixed supports could still be seen.
He looked up and found a large hole above them, though the opening had already been completely covered by crisscrossing tentacles.
"This seems to be directly beneath that huge cavern we entered through," Hao Ren said as he came to Vivian's side. "Did you find the way in?"
Vivian nodded and pointed at the things on the ground. "Look at these. They're the most severely weathered. Judging by their age, they seem to be even older than the surrounding tentacles."
It was a large, irregular piece of hide, with traces of red still faintly visible. Because so much time had passed, combined with the activity of the tentacles while they were alive, the hide had become tattered and ragged. Hao Ren stepped forward