Livestock

Swoosh—

In the darkness, a jet-black arrow plunged into the Abyss.

It traversed a distance of nearly 100 meters and pinned a distant Mutated Ones to the spot.

There were originally four Mutated Ones on the rocks here.

They are like guardians of the Underground World, crouching here, watching what lies ahead.

At that moment, he watched as one of his companions was shot and killed by an arrow.

The other Mutated Ones reacted immediately.

Unlike wild beasts, they don't get angry or scared; they simply flip over and jump off the rocks, disappearing into the depths of the earth under the cover of the terrain.

"..."

"..."

A dozen seconds later, the flames approached from a distance.

Linsey stepped onto the rock, pulled the arrow from the corpse, and explained to Vivian as he did so:

"Vivian, did you see that?"

"There are only a few Mutated Ones left here, clearly monitoring our movements. And even when one of their kind dies, the other Mutated Ones simply flee immediately, which reflects the rationality and efficiency of their actions."

Vivian sounded confused:

"These... they're behaving completely differently than when we were chasing them in the mine!"

"It's like, becoming smarter?"

Linsey made the following deduction:

"Perhaps their intelligence does not come from themselves, but from their manipulators. The closer we get to the mastermind, the more reactions we can make, and the more detailed and specific they will be."

As she spoke, Linsey put away the Mutated Ones's corpse.

At the same time, open the Strategic Map.

Apart from the tunnel that had been explored, there was still no sign of any other survivors.

"Well--"

Linsey sighed.

He could only accept the fact that these people were likely to die, and then transformed the Strategic Map into Adventure Map.

The skill has taken effect.

In an instant, the surrounding terrain transformed into a clear 3D map.

Linsey and her companion had already covered more than half the distance from where they first stepped into the underground fissure.

But this also applies as you go deeper into the location.

The scene Linsey saw on the Adventure Map left her momentarily bewildered.

Vivian noticed Linsey's expression and immediately shook his arm:

"Mr. Linsey, what's wrong?"

Linsey's tone was subtle:

"This... situation is a little different from what I expected."

Deep underground, more markers began to appear on the map.

But besides the hostile Red Marker of the Mutated Ones, there were also hundreds of neutral Yellow Marker hidden underground.

The fact that these Yellow Marker are surrounded by numerous Red Marker further underscores their dangerous situation.

So, are there other people trapped in the Underground World?

Linsey shook her head—how could that be!

Even the entire original inhabitants of the mine, plus the messengers he sent, couldn't possibly number that many.

Moreover, some of his subordinates might be among them.

Theoretically, it would also be marked with a green friendly symbol, rather than yellow, which symbolizes neutrality.

These neutral units, perhaps like the Insectoid Tribe in the canyon, or is there something else going on?

Just as Linsey was wondering, he noticed another detail.

A Yellow Marker on the map has disappeared.

The reason he disappeared was that the Red Marker surrounding them moved inwards, and one of the Mutated Ones made a move, quickly killing the Yellow Marker.

Linsey's eyes changed:

"Vivian, come here, we need to speed up."

The investigation of enemy positions has turned into a rescue of lives.

These two things are completely different concepts.

The next second, Linsey pulled Vivian, who had leaned in, into her arms. Then, she pushed off with her feet and dashed away like lightning.

Along the way, there were still Mutated Ones keeping watch.

But this time they had no chance of survival.

When Linsey first entered the Underground World, she had some hidden strength, hoping to lull the mastermind into a false sense of security.

Now, he only intends to make himself more efficient.

Whenever an enemy appeared on the road, Linsey would simply flash a spark in his hand, and then his javelin, encased in a Lavafire Ring, would arrive in an instant, pinning the enemy to the ground, and even their corpses would be burned to ashes.

Linsey traveled at full speed, so her pace was naturally extremely fast.

Before long, he successfully arrived underground by following the route shown on the map.

When we were about 1 kilometer away from the target location, the markers on the map started to change again.

As the Mutated Ones continue to die.

The enemy deep underground seemed to have received news that Linsey was approaching.

They decisively abandoned the massacre of the neutral units and then retreated to one place, quickly disappearing completely like the receding tide.

"They escaped?"

Linsey raised an eyebrow.

Given the actions taken by these Mutated Ones, their decision to flee at this point is understandable.

In addition, there is another piece of good news.

Those neutral markers, abandoned by the Mutated Ones, just stood there blankly.

Based on the information on the map, they did not resist or take any other actions, and it seemed that they were safe.

At Linsey's speed.

Even with Vivian by my side, the kilometer distance can be covered very quickly.

But before he reached his destination, an unusually pungent stench wafted towards him from the enclosed, dark underground environment.

The smell was unbearable, as if it were mixed with all sorts of filth.

"Waaah..."

Linsey could still bear it, but he felt Vivian twitch in his hands.

Although the child is determined, the physical pain is not something that someone her age can endure through sheer willpower alone.

Linsey took out Filtering Cloth and put it on Vivian:

"Vivian, don't try to hold it in. Tell me if you feel any discomfort."

Vivian nodded gently:

"I see."

With the Filtering Cloth, the two of them could barely tolerate the foul stench.

As they continued forward, the dark cave was illuminated by the light of the torches.

What appeared before Linsey and Vivian was something neither of them had expected.

Human beings.

The Yellow Marker underground are not demi -Demi-human, but hundreds of real, living humans!

They are just different from the people struggling to survive on the Wasteland.

The humans here wear no clothes or anything similar, and their eyes radiate pure, primal desire. On their filthy bodies, which have never been cleaned, disgusting green pustules are growing.

At that moment, Linsey came over holding a torch.

Faced with the firelight, these 'humans' first reaction was fear and dread, and Shrinking Ground back. Groups of people huddled together, trembling.

"..."

Vivian was almost stunned by what she saw, and couldn't form coherent words:

"Mr. Linsey, they, they..."

Linsey was deeply shocked.

But his years of adventure had quickly steadied his mind, and he finally adopted an unusually serious attitude, speaking in a tone tinged with anger:

"Livestock."

"These people are probably trapped here from birth and domesticated like livestock."

"That's why it turned out this way."