The underground tunnel was longer than expected. The three of them broke into a near run and finally reached the end more than ten minutes later.
They were beneath the observation tower, where its foundation had been hollowed out into a vast underground chamber nearly a thousand square meters across. The walls were rough, still bearing the texture of natural rock. But what truly made their skin crawl was what covered an entire wall.
Dozens of "poop monsters" were stuck to it in neat rows, like a failed attempt at a relief sculpture.
Their bodies had shriveled, smaller than any they had encountered before. The mouthparts on their abdomens were sealed shut. They looked like husks drained of every drop of moisture and muscle.
"Looks like... the final test subject reabsorbed all its offshoots." Milluki stared at the imposing "specimen wall," his voice dry.
Bai Zhu said nothing. He walked up to the wall and pulled one off.
It weighed almost nothing, like a sheet of dried parchment.
With a slight tug, he tore open the creature's skin. There was nothing inside—not even a scrap of red tissue.
It seemed to confirm Milluki's theory.
Just then, Hisoka's languid voice came through Bai Zhu's earpiece.
"I've reached the top of the tower~"
"How's the view?" Bai Zhu asked.
"Boring." Hisoka sounded disappointed. "The top floor is completely sealed. Not even a window. There's nothing to see."
"But the little darlings inside the tower have been quite welcoming," he added. "At least thirty of them, all crowded into the middle and lower floors like they've been made to stand in the corner. None of them dares come near me."
"They're afraid of whatever's at the top," Bai Mu concluded at once.
"That's what I thought too." Hisoka chuckled. "But there's something even