Descent

Night had just passed when Lu Yuan arrived at the Alchemy Workshop.

He took out a bottle of perfect-quality Sanity Potion from the wall of the Alchemy Workshop, uncorked it, and tilted his head back to gulp it down.

[Sanity: +10...89/120]

Take a quick bite while it's still light.

The Inscriptionist was already there at the entrance on the first floor.

I gave a brief introduction to Glock last night.

The old man was named Bolen, and the young man following behind him was his apprentice, named Kael.

At daybreak, Bolen had Kael move the Toolbox to the edge of the Collapse Pit.

When Lu Yuan arrived with Bolen, Kael was already prepared.

Seeing this, Bolen didn't hesitate. He squatted down at the edge of the cave entrance, placed his cane horizontally on the ground, and pressed his right hand against the bronze floor.

The fingers moved slowly along the ground.

Kael squatted down beside him, silently handing him the tools.

"How is it?" Glock, who had come with them, stood behind, arms crossed.

The old man ignored him.

The finger slid for about a meter before stopping.

"It's broken." His voice carried a hint of solemnity.

"What's broken?" Glock took two steps closer.

"Conduction structure." The old man stood up and dusted off his knees.

"The runes on the city wall needed to be transmitted, and there was a copper Conduction Network beneath it that carried the energy from the wall to all parts of the city. When the wall collapsed, this section of the conduit was severed."

He pointed with his cane to the edge of the cave entrance, where the bronze floor had turned black and discolored.

"The copper is still there, but it's 'dead copper,' meaning it's no longer infused with energy and will have a much weaker effect on Ghoul."

Glock's expression changed.

Can it be connected?

"The ones on the ground should be able to catch it." The old man turned to look at the cave entrance.

"But the roots of the network lie deeper."

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Further down."

After saying that, he turned around and squatted back down by the cave entrance, placed his hand back on the copper ground, and then started touching it.

Glock looked at Lu Yuan.

"The number of Ghoul that came out last night was unusually small," Lu Yuan said.

"Let's go down there today while they're still hiding down there."

"Four to five hours at most. You must be out before sunset."

Glock nodded.

You can arrange the manpower.

Lu Yuan turned to look at Boer.

Boer was already standing there; without a doubt, his expression said, "If you say go, I'll go."

"Me, Boer, and three more Night Watcher." Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then looked at Bolen. "You and Kael count as two too."

Bolen didn't even look up. "Hmm."

"There's one more thing." Lu Yuan's gaze swept past the crowd and looked towards the rear of the position.

The nuns are tidying up the Holy Light artifacts from last night.

The lead nun noticed his gaze and slowly turned around.

"There's no sunlight underground," Lu Yuan told Glock. "The density of Carrion Fungus underground is even higher than on the surface. Without Purification methods, you can't even walk."

Glock understood. "I'll go and coordinate with the church."

Half an hour later, Glock returned.

"The Church has agreed to send three nuns with the team down. The leader is named Agnes, and she will personally lead the team." He glanced at Lu Yuan. "The remaining nun will stay on the surface to maintain the Holy Light barrier around the cave entrance."

What are the conditions?

"One rule is that if any unusual Mental Pollution Source is discovered below, the nun has the right to order the entire team to evacuate immediately."

Lu Yuan nodded.

"Can."

Nine o'clock in the morning.

The team has assembled.

Lu Yuan, Boer, three Night Watcher, Bolen, Kael, and three nuns.

There were ten people in total.

The equipment list is simple.

Each Night Watcher carries a Short Shotgun or Revolver, with ample ammunition.

Boer brought an extra Copper Powder container and two Alchemy Grenade.

Lu Yuan's ammunition belt was loaded with Silver-Plated Bullet, and Eeriebane Potion, Invisibility Potion, and High-Efficiency Healing Potion hanging from his waist.

Bolen only brought his Toolbox and cane.

Kael carried another, larger box on his back, his steps steady.

The nuns were not carrying any weapons.

Their weapon is themselves.

Agnes walked up to Lu Yuan.

"I'll set the pace for the Purification. You're in charge of battle command. If I say retreat, then retreat."

"Clear."

"And another thing," Agnes glanced at him.

"The aura emanating from you is complex; I won't concern myself with it for now, but underground, do not do anything that might trigger a resonance."

She turned and left after she finished speaking.

Lu Yuan stood still, his eyes slightly darkened.

"But what is resonance?"

Boer came over and handed him a rope.

"Tie him up; we don't know what the terrain is like down there."

Lu Yuan took the rope and tied it around his waist.

Ten people approached the Collapse Pit one by one.

A ten-meter-wide opening gaped in the ground, with the copper floorboards at the edges cracking and sinking inwards.

Lu Yuan's gaze swept over the edge of the cave entrance and he saw the traces left from last night.

Five deep scratches, each half a finger deep, twisted and deformed the Copper Plate from the grip, the raised metal edges gleaming coldly in the morning light.

That's what that big guy left behind.

No one mentioned what happened last night.

But everyone avoided those scratch marks.

The sunlight shone down from above, illuminating the area several meters in front of the cave entrance.

But as it went deeper, the light was completely banished.

Lu Yuan looked down at the cave entrance.

A vast, dark expanse.

Moreover, the stench here is much stronger than what you can smell from a distance.

"Before we go down," Agnes suddenly spoke.

She took a small brass box from the inside pocket of her nun's robe and opened it.

Inside was a layer of grayish-white paste, emitting a faint pine scent.

"Apply it to the sides of your neck and wrists." She unscrewed the cap and handed over the copper box. "Breath-Hiding Salve, used by the church to enter Contamination areas. It suppresses body temperature and blood flow fluctuations in living people, lasting about two hours."

She glanced at the people present.

"Those creatures hunt by scent; for them, a living person going down there is like ten balls of fire."

Nobody wasted words.

The copper box was passed around among ten people.

The cream has a cool, refreshing feel, and after applying it, it feels like a thin film is covering the skin.

Lu Yuan glanced at his wrist again.

Where Breath-Hiding Salve was applied, a very faint grayish-white layer appeared on the skin's surface, almost invisible.

But a line of text popped up at the edge of my field of vision.

[Status: Life force suppressed... Duration: Long...]

"I'll get off first." Lu Yuan checked the Revolver over and put it back on his waist.

He didn't jump into the cave immediately, but stared at the darkness below and waited a while longer.

[Environmental Perception: Very few Source of Pollution detected...]

Lu Yuan gestured to the people behind him, indicating that it was safe, but they should remain silent.

Then he grabbed the rope and began to descend.

The movements are very slow.

Before each step, test the foothold with the toe of your boot to ensure it is stable, and only shift your weight after confirming there is no looseness.

The rope slid silently through the glove.

The cave walls are covered with grooves left by Ghoul climbing up, densely packed, and in some places the bronze surface has been scratched deep by fingernails.

Lu Yuan tried his best not to touch the edges of the grooves to avoid making unnecessary noise.

Boer followed behind him, two meters away.

The Short Shotgun gun was slung diagonally across his back, his hands gripping the ropes, his face tense.

Everyone was controlling their breathing.

No one spoke.

Every movement was deliberately slowed down and made gentle.

A distance of twelve meters, which usually takes only half a minute to complete.

This time it took almost ten minutes.

Bolen was an exception. He used his cane as a fulcrum in the cave wall, grabbed the rope with one hand, and descended faster than the young man.

But it was very quiet.

The old man's every movement was so precise that there was no unnecessary sound, as if he had been doing this his whole life.

Kael followed closely behind, carrying the box on her back, her steps steady.

The nuns were the last to come down.

Before their feet even touched the ground, Holy Light shone forth.

But it's not the kind of light film that covered a large area like last night.

They were three extremely concentrated golden orbs of light, their brightness reduced to the minimum, each hovering above a nun's shoulder, illuminating only a blurry outline within a radius of three or four meters.

Just enough to see the path beneath my feet.

The moment Lu Yuan landed, he felt a sticky sensation on the sole of his boot.

I looked down.

Carrion Fungus.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of grayish-green fungus, denser than anywhere else I had ever seen on the ground.

The thickness is at least two to three centimeters.

Its surface is covered with velvety protrusions, which wriggle slightly under the Holy Light.

Not just the ground.

It was also on the cave walls.

Spreading from the feet to the top of the head, the gray-green fungal layer enveloped the entire space like a thick skin.

In some places, it's so thick it hangs down, forming translucent curtains that sway gently in the air.

The stench was so strong it was almost suffocating.

This is the territory of Carrion Fungus, and also the Ghoul' favorite lair.

The thin Fungal Carpet on the ground is just the tip of the trail that spreads out from here.

Lu Yuan looked around.

The space was irregularly shaped, about the width of a large room.

Some things were scattered on the ground.

Bone.

Incomplete, gnawed down to fragments.

Fragments of fabric.

It had been partially digested by the bacterial layer, and all that could be seen was that it was originally clothing.

There were also dark brown, dried-out marks.

They're everywhere.

On the ground, on the walls, and even on the mushroom curtains hanging overhead.

Blood.

Lots of blood.

Boer's face turned very pale.

The broken bones and dried blood on the ground said it all.

Agnes raised one hand, and a ripple of Holy Light emanated from her palm.

The moment the light wave touched the fungal layer, the villi trembled violently, then quickly withered, turning from grayish-green to grayish-white, and from grayish-white to powder.

The Purification range expanded outwards from her, covering a radius of approximately three meters.

The ground beneath our feet was revealed.

It was soil and gravel.

"Purification one step at a time." Agnes's gaze swept over the surrounding fungal layer.

"The density of Carrion Fungus here is much higher than on the ground; it's impossible for me to clean the entire space in one go."

"What about speed?"

"No problem with normal travel. But if I need to perform high-intensity Purification for more than an hour continuously, I will need to rest."

One hour.

Lu Yuan did some mental calculations.

Including the time spent Breath-Hiding Salve, it took approximately one hour to advance.

"Continue."

The line began to move forward.

Agnes walked slightly forward of the center, and with each step she took, the layer of fungus beneath her feet receded a circle.

Two other nuns stood on either side of the group, with orbs of light on their shoulders illuminating their left and right views.

Lu Yuan walked in front, with Boer following closely behind.

The three Night Watcher were positioned at the middle and end of the procession.

Bolen and Kael were caught in the middle of the nun's Purification zone.

After walking about thirty meters, the road forked ahead.

There are not two paths.

There are five.

Five dark, gaping passageways, varying in size, extend in different directions from the space in front of us.

The largest one is located slightly to the left of the front, and it is tall enough for a person to walk upright.

The smallest one is only half a person's height, and you have to bend over to get in.

The walls of each cave entrance were covered with Carrion Fungus, and the depths were pitch black.

Lu Yuan walked to the largest passage entrance, where the gray-white sign remained unchanged.

This place is relatively safe.

However, there were sounds coming from further down the passage.

It was very slight, like something wriggling.

It must be Carrion Ghost.

Lu Yuan turned to the oldest of the three Night Watcher, who had a stubble beard and was missing half of his little finger on his left hand.

"You take one person to guard this place. Set up tripwires and Copper Powder barriers at the other entrances; block as many as you can. If anything comes out of any entrance, immediately sound the alarm."

The Night Watcher nodded.

"Clear."

"The rest of you, take the main passage."

Boer took out a Copper Powder canister and several pieces of tripwire from his backpack.

The two Night Watcher began making arrangements quickly.

Copper Powder was sprinkled on the ground at the four small passage entrances, and tripwires connected to bells were placed half a meter above the entrances.

It's very basic, but it's barely enough for a quick fix.

However, Lu Yuan didn't care; the gray-white notification was the best warning.

After the arrangements were completed, two Night Watcher were left to remain on duty.

The remaining eight people entered the main passage.

Lu Yuan walked at the forefront, at the edge of his field of vision, when the gray-white text flashed briefly.

[Environmental Perception: Fewer Source of Pollution detected...]

The amount of Contamination is still very small.

But that's not right.

Hundreds of Ghoul crawled out of this cave last night, and the cave walls were covered with them.

Where did all those things go?

The passageway was wider than expected.

The two walked side by side without feeling crowded.

But the Carrion Fungus on the ground and walls was thicker.

It's so thick that it has a noticeable elasticity when you step on it, like stepping on a layer of rotten cotton.

In some places, the bacterial layer on the wall exceeded five centimeters.

Agnes's Purification speed began to change.

It's not that it slows down; rather, with each step of Purification, the Carrion Fungus react more violently.

When it withers, it releases a pungent odor.

"Cover your mouth and nose." Lu Yuan didn't turn around.

Everyone did as instructed.

The Night Watcher covered the lower half of his face with a scarf, and Bolen pulled up the collar of his robe.

The nuns were not covered.

The Holy Light filters out the surrounding spores, making the air much cleaner, at least within half a meter of them.

Keep moving forward.

The passage began to slope downwards.

The slope is not steep, about 15 to 20 degrees.

But after walking for a few minutes, Lu Yuan looked back at the way he came and could no longer see the light of the entrance.

Behind them, on the Purification road surface, Carrion Fungus had begun to spread again.

The speed is slow, but visible to the naked eye.

Grayish-green down extends from both sides of the passage toward the middle, like two hands slowly closing together.

Lu Yuan noted this down.

We walked for about five more minutes.

Bolen suddenly stopped.

"Wait a moment."

He crouched down and used his cane to part a particularly thick layer of fungus at his feet.

The cane hit something hard.

"Kael, brush."

Kael took a copper bristle brush from his Toolbox and handed it to him.

Bolen took it and began brushing the floor.

The Carrion Fungus hissed and contracted as if scalded when they came into contact with the copper bristles.

After brushing for about half a minute, a section of metal surface was revealed.

Copper.

But it's not a copper plate from the ground.

It's a pillar.

It is about the size of a person's embrace in diameter, and it is inserted diagonally into the ground from the mud wall on the left side of the passage, with only a very short section sticking out.

Most of it was buried in soil and fungal layer, with only the section dug out by the Ghoul exposing it to the air.