Thinking that he might be smashed to death the next moment, Mo Li despairingly closed his eyes. But unexpectedly, after falling for a while, he did not feel himself slam into hard ground. Instead, he landed on something soft and yielding.
The thing felt like a huge sponge. It was not particularly elastic, but it provided excellent cushioning. Mo Li opened his eyes in confusion, then saw a scene that left him stunned. This was a Giant Underground Cavity so vast that he could not see its boundaries. The entire underground cavity emitted a gentle, pale-white glow. Though not as bright as sunlight, it was enough for Mo Li to see the scenery around a hundred meters away.
Wei Dengke was lying beside him and opened his eyes in confusion as well. Like Mo Li, he looked around, bewildered. They were sitting on a gigantic, pale-yellow Round Object. Its surface was covered with fine fuzz, but it felt very soft. However, the thing was simply too large. From where Mo Li and Wei Dengke were, they could not tell what it actually was.
The two exchanged a glance and then stood up one after another. However, the thing beneath their feet was far too soft. As soon as they stood, their feet sank into it, nearly making them fall. Fortunately, they reacted quickly and supported each other, preventing another tumble.
They slowly made their way forward, one step deep and the next shallow. When they reached the edge of the object, a huge, curved slope appeared before them. The two sat down again and slid down the slope.
Once their feet touched solid ground again, both of them gave bitter smiles. The thing they had just been on felt unbearably unpleasant, and it was impossible to exert any force with their feet. If they had not supported each other, they probably would have had to crawl to reach the slope.
They had been higher up before, so they had only seen the scenery at a higher elevation. Now that they had descended, they finally saw what the underground cavity looked like. It was filled with strange spherical objects. Some were yellowish-brown, some dark green, and others pale red. From their appearance alone, it was impossible to determine what they were. If they were plants, the two of them had never seen plants like this. But if they were not plants, these things were growing from the ground, and the two even saw things spreading out like tree roots.
They instinctively turned around and glanced at the thing they had slid down earlier. Although its tremendous size meant they could see only part of it, they could still judge from its general outline that the huge object was the same kind of thing as the strange objects around them.
"What the hell is this?" Mo Li frowned and reached out to touch the huge object again. It was incredibly soft to the touch, as if he were feeling a lump of fermented dough.
Wei Dengke walked up to a relatively small strange object, crouched down, and grabbed it directly from the ground. The things resembling roots did not grip the ground very tightly, so Wei Dengke barely had to exert any force.
Holding the strange object, Wei Dengke began examining it. He seemed to have completely forgotten about hearing Zhong Lichun's scream earlier. Mo Li had no ability to identify these objects, so he walked over to Wei Dengke and asked, "What the hell is this thing?"
"Based on my analysis, this should be a type of fungus," Wei Dengke replied.
"A fungus? Like a mushroom? Mushrooms can grow like this?" Mo Li had only an elementary-school education, so he did not really understand what Wei Dengke was saying.
"A lion's mane mushroom is round, isn't it? The growth shape of fungi is related to their own growth characteristics. They can be round, and there are even five-pointed-star-shaped ones." Wei Dengke pursed his lips.
"...Anyway, I never studied seriously. I'm not as knowledgeable as you guys." Mo Li could naturally hear the sarcasm in Wei Dengke's words, but he was not angry. Instead, he gave a bitter smile. He knew exactly how capable he was and naturally did not take offense at something like this.
Wei Dengke ignored Mo Li. After fumbling around on himself for a while, he somehow produced a thin needle. He placed the object in his hand on the ground, then carefully pushed the needle into it.
"What are you doing?" Seeing Wei Dengke's actions, Mo Li immediately grew nervous. His education might be limited, but he still knew that unknown objects often came with extreme danger. Seeing Wei Dengke actually poking the thing with a needle made him panic.
"Don't be nervous. If this thing were really dangerous, something would have happened when we touched it earlier. I can feel that the inside is hollow, so I'm curious about what's inside. Back away a few meters." Wei Dengke's eyes were practically glowing, as if he were a child who had discovered a new toy.
Seeing Wei Dengke like that, Mo Li realized that trying to stop him would be useless, so he began slowly backing away. When he had retreated about four or five meters, Wei Dengke finally made his move. He carefully gripped the end of the long needle and pulled it straight out.
At the same moment the needle came free, the hole it had pierced in the sphere suddenly spurted a stream of gas. It came out too quickly for Wei Dengke to dodge, spraying him directly in the face.
"Cough, cough, cough! Damn! What is that smell?" Wei Dengke fell onto the ground, then frantically waved his hand in front of his face.
Seeing Wei Dengke fall back, Mo Li hurried over, helped him up, and asked worriedly, "Are you all right?"
"Cough, cough! The smell is so strong I nearly suffocated!" Wei Dengke continued waving his hand in front of his face, then rolled his eyes as he spoke.
The smell had not completely dissipated yet, and Mo Li caught it too. It was extremely pungent and thick. Smelling it was like... the stench of a fart.
Acting instinctively, Mo Li covered his nose with one hand and said irritably, "I told you not to mess with it, but you just had to take the risk."
"At least I confirmed that there's gas inside, and that it's a mixed gas. Its composition can't be detected. Looks like we'll have to take it back for further study." Wei Dengke smiled, then actually picked another fist-sized spherical fungus off the ground and stuffed it into the pocket of his windbreaker.
Mo Li paid him no attention. After releasing his hold on Wei Dengke, he turned to look around, then frowned and said, "Zhong Lichun must still be here. Let's find her first."
"This place isn't small. Finding one person won't be easy. Tomboy! Where are you? We're here to find you!" Hearing Mo Li, Wei Dengke also looked around. After muttering, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted.
Before you continue