A Difficult Choice

Vivian's mind was in complete chaos.

Linsey laid bare the stark reality before her, leaving the young girl completely bewildered and unsure of what to do.

She could only stare at the scene before her and force herself to accept the cruel reality.

Meanwhile.

Linsey also has his own issues to consider.

First and foremost are the humans who are domesticated like livestock.

Linsey absolutely cannot leave them here to fend for themselves.

Out of basic human conscience, we should bring them back to our homeland, take good care of them, and try to cultivate their humanity.

Problems then arose.

These people, without food or water, cannot possibly last long here.

If Linsey were to focus her attention here and help them return to the Civilization world, it would certainly take a lot of time.

Under these circumstances, Linsey had no time to hunt down the Mutated Ones who destroyed the underground tunnels and fled deeper underground.

This is equivalent to letting them all go.

But if Linsey disregards everything and ventures deep underground to pursue those beast-like humans...

Linsey looked at Vivian beside her, and a big idea popped into her head.

How about we hand these people over to Vivian?

Linsey turned to look at those inhuman humans.

Normally speaking, even 100 pigs wouldn't be something a young girl could carry to the ground on her own.

Moreover, this is a dangerous underground place, and we might encounter danger at any time.

The situation seems to present a dilemma.

If Linsey wants to take care of these humans, it seems she has to abandon the pursuit plan and escort them back to the enemy.

Perhaps this is also the reason why the Mutated Ones kept these humans.

"But... I have plenty of other methods."

Linsey sneered inwardly.

Other awakened individuals would probably have no solution to the current situation.

But Linsey is different; he's a Game Player!

So he rummaged through his baggage, found a piece of equipment he hadn't used in a long time, and then put his arm around Vivian's shoulder, saying to the young girl:

"Vivian, I have a task for you."

Although Vivian was in turmoil, she remained sensitive to Linsey's instructions:

"Please speak!"

Linsey pulled out the Snow Wolf Staff and the Jungle Commander Scepter.

He canceled the summoning of the Little Wild Man in the Plant Shop far away in the Banyan Forest, and summoned a Snow Wolf and a Little Wild Man nearby:

"Vivian, I require you to ride the Snow Wolf and quickly return to the surface to inform everyone of the situation here. Then, with Mill as the center, have them go deep underground and bring these people back to the surface. You, on the other hand, continue riding the Snow Wolf towards the Insectoid Canyon."

"Once we get there, order the craftsmen to build roads as quickly as possible, extending them this way. At the same time, to ensure the survival of these people, resources and supplies must be transported in a timely manner, understand?"

"I understand!" Vivian nodded immediately, then the girl realized something. Linsey herself wasn't even mentioned in the task Linsey had assigned!

"Mr. Linsey, but you..."

Linsey patted Vivian's head.

He would usually try to smile when speaking to the child, but today he couldn't manage a smile and could only speak in as steady a voice as possible:

"Someone did this to our fellow citizens."

"Even if I had a thousand reasons, I would never give up today!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Linsey left behind two summoned creatures and walked into the depths of darkness.

Vivian straddled the Snow Wolf's back.

As she watched Linsey's figure gradually disappear into the distance, she called out one last time:

"Mr. Linsey, I will definitely complete the mission!"

"Please make sure you come back safely!"

"..."

Linsey waved, then sped up and disappeared into the darkness.

The two figures, one tall and one short, then went their separate ways.

Vivian rode the Snow Wolf and, escorted by the Little Wild Man, quickly returned to the ground.

After a few seconds of wandering, Linsey arrived at a dark tunnel leading underground.

"..."

He frowned.

After the tremor, soil and rocks collapsed from the tunnel, completely sealing off the area below.

Linsey calmly switched modules, activating both the [Map] and [Clue Collection] modules simultaneously.

"Go down 120 meters from here... then it's blocked off again... then go left and down 40 meters, there's another turn..."

As Linsey confirmed the route, she also replaced the [Eternal Imprint] on the back of her hand.

The ability is then activated.

Linsey's figure vanished from the ground in an instant.

It's like a piece of iron falling into water, plummeting vertically downwards at top speed.

This pursuit was relentless; Linsey went all out.

With less than half of the 15-minute Earth Escape time limit gone, Linsey once again saw Red Marker symbolizing hostility on the map.

He changed direction deep in the earth and rushed straight towards the tunnel where the other party was.

In the dark underground, a group of Mutated Ones are evacuating.

Just then, a strange 'splashing' sound seemed to come from the nearby wall. After a few seconds, one of the Mutated Ones pressed its head against the wall and discovered what sounded like something flowing in water.

Boom--

In an instant, the dark underground was illuminated by the firelight.

The Mutated Ones, who were just moving, were suddenly pierced through the body by a flaming spear, and fell to the ground, turning into scattered campfires.

Linsey stepped out of the wall, her feet treading on the flames.

He picked up the Mutated Ones had been pressing his head against the wall, and their eyes met. He saw the murky, lifeless green pupils.

"Roar--"

The Mutated Ones roared at Linsey.

The foul odor was mixed with Corruption Poison.

"Tch, another one without any brains."

Linsey shoved her arm away in annoyance.

The Mutated Ones slammed against the wall, shattering into pieces like a broken apple, and was quickly consumed by the flames.

Then, Linsey charged forward again.

In the pitch-black tunnel, the slender human figure had completely turned into an afterimage, with only the rushing wind remaining to prove that something had just passed through.

At the next tunnel entrance, Linsey saw several more Mutated Ones.

These guys are also lacking in intelligence.

But unlike the ones he had just killed, they seemed to have received some kind of command and were activating something at the top of the tunnel.

"Don't even think about blocking the road this time!"

Linsey immediately realized what was happening.

He snorted coldly, and a bow and arrow appeared in his hand.

The next second, several rockets pierced the darkness, pinning all the Mutated Ones to the wall.

Linsey approached the corpses of several Mutated Ones.

He found the tool that the taller Mutated Ones had used to destroy the underground tunnel in the hands of one of them.

[Consumable: Flesh Bomb]

[The Flesh Bomb, Smelting using the Living Corpse techniques of the Mutated Ones, will immediately unleash a powerful shockwave once activated with Essence.]

The production of a single Flesh Bomb requires materials from at least 10 people, and its value is moderate.