Lu Yuan ran over quickly.
The thing the Insect Tide had carried out had rolled to the outer edge, more than twenty meters from the nearest fighting. No one had the attention to spare for it, so he lowered his body and ran over.
The Swarm Insects' coverage rapidly receded behind him. Beneath his feet, the writhing gray gave way to cold gravel.
The moment he left the Insect Tide, the surroundings suddenly grew much quieter. The sounds of battle became muffled through a wall of insects.
That thing was only a few steps away.
Lu Yuan crouched down but did not reach for it. A faint, strange aura seeped from the Wooden Man's surface. He could not tell what it was, but his instincts warned him not to touch it directly.
Its kneeling posture was exactly the same as the one he had seen in the Underground Hall beneath the warehouse, though it was a size smaller than he remembered. Fine bark-like patterns covered its surface, and the angle of its kneeling was rigidly fixed.
The Insect Tide's transfer had not damaged it at all. Its surface was clean and intact.
At the edge of his vision, Gray-White Text appeared.
[Target detected: Unnamed (lignified)]
[A Source of Pollution that introduced special knowledge and caused the body to mutate. It seems to have a certain connection to some kind of existence...]
Lu Yuan took another look.
The last time he had seen the result in the Ruined House, it had said, "Infected with some strange substance." This time, it had changed: "introduced special knowledge," "has a certain connection to some kind of existence."
Most of that aura had dried up, leaving only the last faint residue clinging within the gaps of the bark-like patterns.
Lu Yuan hesitated.
He closed his