Lu Yuan glanced over; the tips of the roots were tentatively probing toward the Great Ascendant’s wrist, recoiling whenever they touched the alloy surface.
It was very much in line with the style of the Ascension Society. He withdrew his gaze and did not press for more information.
The team passed the second fork, and the tunnel continued to extend upward. The air was much drier than below, the temperature was rising, and the hyphae on the rock walls were becoming increasingly sparse.
Adrian walked a few paces ahead of Lu Yuan. The old Archbishop’s face was still pale, but his pace had stabilized. The tome hovered above his shoulder, its holy light retracted to the minimum.
Agnes supported the nun as they followed behind Adrian, both of them breathing somewhat heavily.
Behind them, the Descendant formation followed the team upward in silence, the sound of mechanical joints operating echoing through the tunnel.
These were the ones who had been standing by in the rear earlier; they hadn't participated in the rear-guard action and were all retreating together. Their steps were perfectly synchronized, their black robes gathered tight in the narrow passage, and the cold white glimmer in their eye sockets illuminated the gravel beneath their feet.
Lu Yuan looked back the way they had come. The ghostly blue firelight was no longer visible, and the sound of the Descendants’ flamethrowers had completely vanished deep within the rock layers.
Those Descendants left behind to cover the rear had likely expended all their ammunition. They wouldn't be coming back.
At the end of the tunnel, the copper-plated floor of the pipe network layer’s vertical shaft reflected a dull metallic luster in the light of the march lamps.
They had arrived.
The shaft of the pipe network layer was even narrower than he remembered.
Four copper walls enclosed a small space. Above their heads was the ladder leading to the surface, and beneath their feet was the sealed copper plate. The team filed in from the entrance of the lower tunnel, with the Descendant formation at the very end. The entire shaft was quickly crowded. The light from the march lamps reflected back and forth off the copper walls, making Lu Yuan squint.
The Great Ascendant stood in the center of the shaft, looking around at everyone present. His silver-grey pupils lingered on the Descendant formation for two seconds.
“We need to check everything before we go up.”
As he said this, his gaze turned toward the ladder leading to the surface. Above them lay the surface, where the copper protective layers and sealing inscriptions were all made of copper.
If the Descendants were carrying that copper-devouring thing on them, bringing it up would be equivalent to sending the problem directly into the defense system.
Lu Yuan thought about it and agreed.
The Great Ascendant handed the writhing fragment of the Serpentine Amalgamation he had been dragging in his right hand toward Lake. The fragment was still feebly squirming.
“Help me seal this first.”
Lake’s expression did not change as he took it.
He pulled a containment cloth soaked in medicine from the inside of his coat and quickly wrapped the fragment tight, tying a knot. Once the fabric was taut, the squirming was largely suppressed, leaving only faint ripples.
The Great Ascendant turned to look at the Blue Knight and Agnes.
“You two go up first.”
The Blue Knight did not linger. She turned and walked toward the ladder. Her grey-blue cloak brushed against the edge of the copper wall as she grabbed the rungs and flipped herself up, her movements clean and efficient.
Agnes followed behind with the two nuns. The old Archbishop gave her a nod, and Agnes returned a look before helping the nuns climb up one by one.
Lake was the last to go up, clutching the wrapped fragment. His boots made a soft clinking sound as they hit the rungs, and he soon disappeared above.
The shaft suddenly became quiet, leaving only the Great Ascendant, Adrian, Lu Yuan, and the row of silently standing Descendants.
The Great Ascendant walked to the nearest Descendant.
The Descendant stood motionless, the cold white light in its eye sockets still operating. Upon receiving the signal of the Great Ascendant’s approach, it slowly turned around, presenting its back to him.
The Great Ascendant’s metal fingers found the seam in the middle of its back. With a forceful pry, the outer casing component made a dull snapping sound as he detached the entire piece.
The light from the march lamps shone into the Descendant’s internal structure.
Lu Yuan crouched down to get a closer look. Densely packed metal parts and gears were arranged inside the torso. The structure was no different from what he had seen below; the difference lay in the details.
Several copper parts had minute chips at their edges, their surface luster having become rough and dull. In some places, extremely shallow pits could be seen.
Lu Yuan reached out and touched one of the copper connecting pins. It felt rough to the touch. The density of the copper surface was a layer thinner than normal. The nearby iron and alloy parts also showed slight signs of rust, but the extent was nowhere near that of the copper.
The Great Ascendant disassembled a second one.
The situation was similar; the copper components had the same signs of erosion, though the area was small and the depth shallow.
Adrian stood nearby, his tome hovering above his shoulder, its faint golden halo illuminating the open back cavity of the Descendant.
The old Archbishop looked at the gnawed copper parts for a moment, his brow slowly furrowing.
“The alloy formula for the Descendants... even rank 3 pollution shouldn't be able to penetrate it,” Adrian said in a very low voice, his gaze moving from the pits on the copper connecting pins to the intact iron gears nearby.
“The copper was gnawed, but the iron is fine. This thing really only eats copper.”
The Great Ascendant did not respond, moving on to disassemble the third one.
Lu Yuan stood up and took a half-step back, his mind racing.
This group of Descendants had been standing by in the rear the entire time. They had never come into contact with the greater ghouls contaminated by the Forest Seed. The only thing they had touched was the corpse-rot fungus in the tunnel, having walked across the fungus mats for a stretch.
Just stepping on the corpse-rot fungus was enough to cause damage to the copper parts inside them. This meant the corpse-rot fungus itself had already taken on the copper-devouring trait of the Forest Seed. The two had merged underground—or rather, become symbiotic—with the corpse-rot fungus acting as a carrier for the Forest Seed.
Lu Yuan looked again at the intact iron gears nearby.
The degree of damage also indicated something else.
These copper parts had only had their surface layer gnawed away. It was nowhere near the level of the Descendant he had seen earlier—the one that had carried the wood-armored ghoul up—where flesh and metal had grown directly together.
Environmental contamination did exist, but it was much weaker than direct contact.
This information was useful. The next time they went down, copper weapons and equipment could not be brought along. Staying in that environment for too long would see the copper slowly eaten away. The equipment for subsequent personnel would have to be reorganized.
The Great Ascendant finished disassembling the last one and snapped the outer casing components back into place. The sound of the latches clicking echoed in the shaft.
“Some copper was gnawed, but it’s not serious.” The Great Ascendant straightened up and glanced at the two rows of Descendants. “They can go up.”
The Descendants began to climb the ladder one by one, their mechanical joints making rhythmic clanking sounds against the rungs as they ascended.
Adrian retracted the holy light of his tome and tiredly massaged his wrist before heading toward the ladder first.
Lu Yuan waited until the black robe of the last Descendant disappeared above before climbing up with the Great Ascendant. The copper walls narrowed behind him, and the spot of light overhead grew larger with every rung. The air was getting colder, the characteristic metallic chill of the copper walls pouring down from above, and the sound of the night wind drifted into the passage.
Old Council Square, sinkhole exit.
When Lake climbed out of the sinkhole, the night wind blew right into his face.
The air on the surface was a completely different world from below—dry, cold, and carrying the characteristic metallic tang of the copper walls.
He steadied himself and looked back at the sinkhole. The Blue Knight was already standing nearby, her grey-blue cloak swaying gently in the night wind.
Agnes and the two nuns had also come up. The nuns leaned against the low wall on the inner side of the cordon, their breathing not yet fully stabilized.
Glock was right by the sinkhole, leaning behind the low wall at the edge of the copper plates. When he saw Lake emerge, he stood straight, his gaze sweeping over the bundle of containment cloth in Lake’s hand. The fabric was wrapped tight, but the thing inside was still slowly rippling.
“Bring a containment vessel over.” Lake held out the wrapped fragment. A section of root was poking out from a gap in the fabric. “This thing is still alive. We need a formal containment vessel.”
Glock took a look without asking unnecessary questions. He turned and shouted toward the outside of the cordon, and an Iron Guard soldier ran toward the supply point.
Lake let out a breath and flexed his right knuckles, which had been clenched for too long. He looked up, intending to check the surrounding security deployment, but then he stopped.
Something was wrong with the sky.
In the direction of the Polymath Tower, scattered specks of light drifted high in the air. Multicolored fragments moved slowly in the night wind; some had grown dim, while others still emitted a faint fluorescence, intermittently spreading outward.
The density of the light specks wasn't high, but they were distributed over a wide area, stretching from above the Polymath Tower all the way to the edge of the inner city.
The Sea of Knowledge was leaking.
Lake stared at those light specks for a few seconds before looking around the square. Kraus was nowhere to be seen, nor was Hilde. Only Glock and the remaining cordon troops were at the exit.
A Nightwatcher nearby was leaning against a lamppost dozing off. When Lake’s gaze hit him, he quickly stood straight.
“What’s going on up there?”
The Nightwatcher followed Lake’s gaze toward the sky, a complicated expression on his face.
“There was an explosion earlier. Light came pouring out from the Polymath Tower. It seemed to be suppressed later, but it hasn't completely stopped.” He rubbed his hands together. “It’s been leaking intermittently until now.”
“Where’s Kraus?”
“The Vice Director took Hilde and headed toward the Polymath Tower. They were in a hurry.” The Nightwatcher shook his head. “They didn't tell us the specifics.”
Lake was silent for a moment. His gaze returned to the Polymath Tower. Inscriptions could faintly be seen flashing on the tower’s body, with pulses of dark gold light throbbing. The entire tower looked as though it were still under some kind of continuous pressure.
The Blue Knight stood by the sinkhole, her gaze also shifting toward the Polymath Tower. Her grey-blue eyes narrowed slightly in the night, but she did not speak.
Footsteps approached from the west side of the square as Margaret hurried toward the sinkhole. Her gaze first swept over the personnel near the exit, confirming the positions of Lake and the Blue Knight, before landing on the sky.
Almost simultaneously, Glock returned from another direction with an Iron Guard soldier. The soldier was carrying a sealed container—a thick-walled vessel made of glass-like material, with isolation inscriptions etched on its inner walls.
Rate on N.U.
