World Fragment

The heatwave seeped into the skin inch by inch.

The cavity fell completely silent. The bitter, burnt smell settled in the air; one breath made my lungs feel dry and astringent.

Lu Heng stood at the bottom of the cavity and looked around.

The battle was over. The ground was littered with lifeless, desiccated corpses, lying haphazardly, some still in their attacking postures, their joints stiffened at the angle of their thrusts. A large amount of grayish-white powder, formed from Mycelium, covered the ground, submerging boots, and felt soft and yielding when stepped on.

The underground lair was breached in the war of attrition. Most of the top collapsed, the fresh, white cracks in the rock layers were exposed, and the entire area collapsed downwards, forming a huge pit with a diameter of tens of meters. The pit walls were steep, the rock surface was smooth, and the height was estimated to be over thirty meters.

Lu Heng looked up at the pit opening. Night was seeping in through the circular gap, like an overturned well.

It's impossible to climb out with bare hands.

He lowered his eyes and looked at his arm.

The dark red Blood Armor stood close to his body, its surface shimmering with a matte finish, rising and falling slightly with his breath. Deep within the armor, a faint consciousness timidly reached out its tentacles, awaiting his judgment.

Lu Heng had an idea and transmitted it through the mental link.

To test the waters.

The consciousness within the Blood Armor responded immediately, obeying without the slightest hesitation. Dark red Mycelium extended from the edge of the armor, climbing upwards along the rock wall, constantly splitting, intertwining, and thickening, weaving into a long rope as thick as a thumb. The Mycelium seeped into the crevices of the rock, secreting a kind of acidic viscous fluid, which solidified and became firmly attached to the rock.

The rope extended upwards section by section, firmly securing itself in the crevices of the pit wall's rocks.

After it took shape, it fell steadily to Lu Heng's feet.

He reached out and tugged at it.

It remained completely still. Its toughness and load-bearing capacity exceeded expectations.

Lu Heng loosened the rope, but his gaze lingered on it.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

The Blood Taisui was originally the dominant Aberrant in this area. It had entrenched itself underground for countless years, absorbing nutrients and accumulating its essence. Since it's a boss, could its lair contain treasure chests?

He transmitted this question to Blood Taisui via a mental signal through the link.

The consciousness of the Blood Taisui immediately provided a response.

Without hesitation, without ambiguity. A clear and affirmative response.

have.

A barely perceptible glint appeared in Lu Heng's eyes.

Guided by the consciousness of the Blood Taisui, Lu Heng walked to a hidden rock wall depression at the bottom of the cavity.

The depression was sealed by a layer of grayish-white fungal membrane, almost blending into the surrounding rock wall. The Mycelium on the Blood Armor extended outwards, and the fungal membrane automatically peeled away, revealing what was inside.

A treasure chest that is entirely dark red.

Fine Mycelium patterns flowed across the surface, like the slow pulsation of a living organism's blood vessels on the box. Lu Heng raised his hand, and the scanning beam from his Wristband fell, causing a panel to pop up:

[Blood-Colored Treasure Chest]

[Description: This treasure chest, a collection of artifacts from the overlord of this fragmented World Fragment, is a treasure held by the ruler of this shattered space.]

[Original owner: Blood Taisui]

Lu Heng looked at the text on the panel, his gaze lingering for a moment on the three characters "Blood Taisui".

So that's what this overlord was all about.

The overlord of this World Fragment.

He crouched down, pressing his fingertips against the surface of the treasure chest. It was warm, trembling slightly with the pulsation of the Mycelium patterns, like pressing on a slowly beating heart. The Mycelium on the Blood Armor extended out, and the moment it touched the treasure chest, the patterns on the surface of the chest suddenly lit up, and a residual aura belonging to an overlord, far exceeding the Black Iron Tier, seeped out from the patterns.

The Mycelium on the Blood Armor instinctively retracted for a moment.

Lu Heng didn't move. He exhaled a slight wave of heat from his fingertips, dispersing the remaining aura, and pressed it back onto the box. Only then did the Mycelium of the Blood Armor re-emerge, wrapping around the box and completely enveloping it.

A flash of red light, Blood-Colored Treasure Chest was stored in the Storage Space.

Lu Heng stood up, his expression unchanged.

But his hand hung at his side, and his fingertips curled up almost imperceptibly.

World Fragment.

These four words circled in his mind.

Heaven, earth, the zombie horde, the Blood Taisui, the Greedy Wolf Star —all were just fragments within a single piece. He thought he was surviving in a world, but he never imagined it was actually shattered.

Silence lingered in the cavity for about three breaths.

He then suppressed that tremor deep within his heart, showing nothing on his face.

The consciousness of the Blood Taisui resounded once more, tinged with an eagerness as if seeking credit.

besides.

Besides the Blood-Colored Treasure Chest treasured by the overlord, there are other treasures hidden here. Following the directions, Lu Heng found the remaining three treasure chests in different hidden corners of the lair.

One silver, two Bronze.

All income was collected through the Wristband.

The spoils have been inventoried.

Lu Heng returned to the bottom of the pit and grasped the rope woven from Mycelium.

Without him exerting any effort, the Blood Taisui drove the Mycelium, and the rope itself transmitted a stable upward pull, supporting his weight and steadily lifting him off the ground. The rock wall slid rapidly down beside him, and the wind rushed down from the pit opening, causing the Mycelium patterns on the surface of the Blood Armor to undulate slightly.

In less than half a minute, the darkness of night had already descended upon the 30-meter-deep pit.

As Lu Heng emerged from the pit, the moment his boots touched solid ground, the Mycelium automatically loosened, retracted to the edge of his Blood Armor, and disappeared back into the armor.

He turned around.

Behind them was a huge, deep crater, from which darkness surged up like a half-closed eye.

It was already completely dark.

The wind blew across the open field, carrying the pungent smell of earth and humus. Lu Heng stood at the edge of the pit, looking up.

The night sky was covered with countless stars, densely packed, cold and bright.

Among countless stars, he spotted that one at a glance.

Greedy Wolf Star.

He could clearly sense that the gaze from the starry sky was falling on him.

Cold, distant, and carrying a certain scrutinizing quality.

The faint blue light dormant in his eyes shone uncontrollably for a moment, resonating briefly with the starlight. Deep within the Blood Armor, the faint consciousness belonging to the Blood Taisui also trembled, like the gaze of a subject looking towards his king.

Lu Heng lowered his eyes, suppressing the two restless emotions deep within.

The stars are still overhead.

He stood there for a long time before turning and leaving.