Chapter 287 - Underground Beast
“Why go through all that suffering?”
As Meng Chao watched Lu Siya dry heaving with her back bent but not managing to vomit anything and tears trailing down her face, he could not help but say, “I’m a student from Monster University. This case will affect all the people working in the monster production line. It’s also connected to my university. I have an unshirkable duty to find the truth.
“You could have stayed in your mansion in comfort and enjoyed the profits of the first mining rights to the Red Radiance Jade mine. Why did you run to this place and go against your constitution of a Spirit Sensor?”
“I… Urk…”
Lu Siya felt a little frustrated that Meng Chao saw how pathetic she looked, but she could only take the anti-bacterial wet wipe he handed to her and wipe the corners of her eyes and lips.
She gritted her teeth and said, “If I want to find the culprit who caused Lin Chuan’s death and find the mastermind who modified the White Spirit, I must climb up the ranks of the abnormal beast research department. And if I want to climb up, I must do things personally.
“If I hand over the clues to someone else while I wait at the rear, I will definitely be able to stay in comfort and be safe, but someone else will gain the achievements, be promoted, obtain the trust of the powerful people, and gain the right to get in touch with more of the core secrets.
“Besides, I told you before that I want to fulfill Lin Chuan’s dying wish as well as change Dragon City’s current state, but I’ll do it in my own way. I won’t… urk… be stopped by this bit of trouble!”
Meng Chao’s expression changed a little.
Regardless of whether Lu Siya was just an ambitious woman who wanted to climb up the ranks of both Sky Pillar Corporation or the abnormal beast research department or whether she really wanted to take revenge for Lin Chuan and create Dragon City’s future, at the very least, she had managed to take the lead and do her own work when it came to the mine exploration last time and the investigation this time.
“The truth is right before our eyes.” Lu Siya pressed down on her chest. After she calmed down a little, she sucked in a deep breath in refusal to admit defeat. The stench made her face turn pale, but she endured the feeling of her stomach and chest churning while she spoke with great difficulty.
“As long as we find one of the Giant Sandworms who lost control and find the mutated rabies virus in their bodies, we will be able to prove our previous assumption that Jin Yongqiang spread the virus in Trash Site 4 and Blessed Paradise in order to cause the pets to lose control and defame Spirit Creations Creatures. This was an order he received to help Heavenly Works Machines get an incredibly profitable deal.
“With this, we will have solved most of the case.
“I must go down. You stay here and act as my sentry as well as coordinate with me.”
Meng Chao hesitated for a moment.
The dark entrance of the drainage pipe made him remember the strange nightmare he had last night.
He remembered seeing a huge Giant Sandworm who looked like a demon opening its mouth. It looked like it could swallow everything underground, and it had even invaded the foundation of a skyscraper, which led to countless buildings collapsing. Before the citizens could react to it, many of them had already died under the debris.
Meng Chao’s eyes stung.
[Increased progress for the Mystery of the Supernatural Entities by 2%. Current progress: 4%. Increased contribution points by 1,000.]
Meng Chao’s heartbeat quickened.
His quest progress had only been at 2%, but now, it jumped up by 2%. Could it be that he would be able to find the key to the quest in the drainage pipe?
What sort of connection did the out-of-control Giant Sandworms have with the terrifying Supernatural Entities? Could it be that after they were injected with the mutated rabies, one of them turned into a Supernatural Entity? But that was way too simple and crude of a method for someone to turn into a Supernatural Entity!
After thinking about it, Meng Chao blurted out, “I’m going with you.”
Lu Siya looked at him deeply before she nodded. She bent her back and entered the drainage pipe.
Normal people would definitely need to wear a full-set of protective gear and even have oxygen tanks on their backs if they wanted to enter the same drainage pipe. It had not been maintained for years and multiple parts of it had collapsed.
Meng Chao and Lu Siya, however, had both awakened to supernatural abilities. Their nasal mucosa, alveoli, and blood cells had been strengthened and upgraded after being nourished by spirit energy.
Even if the pipes were filled with fatal methane, they would just feel a little dizzy.
They went down along the drainage pipe that had a downward slope with their backs bent. They walked for three minutes before they passed by a turn and saw a place where the pipe had collapsed.
The damaged part was connected to a long, thin, and twisted crack. It was black, and the end of the crack could not be seen. They shouted inside, and based on the echoes, they believed that the space inside was huge.
Uncle Li had told them that a long time ago, the place was attacked by underground monsters.
Later, it was invaded and further damaged by creatures like Giant Sandworms. It was now practically a 3D maze.
Fortunately, once they entered deep underground, the stench of trash from the surface grew weaker, and Lu Siya could activate her dual ability. She was both a mine explorer and Spirit Sensor and could identify the scents of the excrements from the Giant Sandworms deep in the crack.
She placed her palm gently on the crack while mumbled under her breath. Spirit tattoos showed up on her arm and danced in a bewitching fashion, as if they possessed a life of their own. But they also looked like ripples from a stream that slowly flowed deep into the crack.
Something amazing happened the next moment.
The stones by the walls of the crack turned into gravel. It fell down with rustling sounds, and the crack expanded nonstop. The sharp corners smoothed out, and the wall became as smooth as a mirror. It was wide enough for two adults to move through it.
They left the drainage pipe and crawled deep underground.
There were no crystal mines here, which meant that there was no faint light. Wherever they looked, it was just darkness. They could not even see their own toes. The only thing they could do was close their eyes and focus. It was only by doing this that they could sense spirit energy ripples forming a complicated and mysterious world around them.
Lu Siya discovered more tracks of Giant Sandworms crawling around the area. There were also a few cracks against which the Giant Sandworms had rubbed fiercely.
“These Giant Sandworms are really huge. Their diameter should be close to three meters.” She gasped in amazement. “Are the Giant Sandworms modified by Spirit Creations Creations really that insane?”
“I don’t think so.” Meng Chao dug through his memories. “Normal Giant Sandworms have a diameter of around 1.5m to 2m. Their length is controlled and limited to 20m. Even if they are genetically modified creations, the difference in size shouldn’t be too great. It should be impossible for a super Giant Sandworm with a diameter of 3m to exist.
“Thank goodness Giant Sandworms are rather docile creatures by nature.”
Lu Siya paused for a moment before she suddenly said, “What’s that?”
Dozens of savage, red sparks suddenly shone in the darkness.
It was a rat horde.
Dozens of rats widened their red eyes and stared at them.
Lu Siya scoffed coldly and released a powerful killing intent.
The rampaging spirit energy magnetic field from a Heaven Realm elite was not something normal rats could resist. They screeched and fled.
Meng Chao acted quickly. His chain sabers flew, and he captured two rats.
One of them was dissected on the spot. Just as he expected, its organs had mutated by varying degrees. It was the symptom of it being infected by mutated rabies.
The other one he placed in a mithril-based stabilizing fluid to bring it back for further examination.
“There’s something ahead,” Meng Chao said. “The rat I just dissected has meat in its esophagus and stomach, which means it was eating moments ago. But the meat has signs of decay. They should have been eating over there. We have to be careful of our footsteps.”
“I smell it,” Lu Siya said softly. “This should be the stench of a rotting Giant Sandworm.”
They found the carcass of a Giant Sandworm not far away.
More accurately speaking, it was a skeleton.
Based on the degree of decay, the Giant Sandworm had died at least a week ago. It had almost been completely eaten by pests, and only a few parts of its skeletal frame were left. This was not something that an annelid should have, but this particular Giant Sandworm had grown it after being genetically modified. There were also control chips embedded in its nerve bundles.
Meng Chao used a clamp to carefully pick the chips.
He used his phone to shine a light on them and saw the words [Spirit Creation Creatures] carved into the chips.
This proved that it was one of the missing Giant Sandworms.
Of course, it had been eaten to the point that only bits of flesh was left, so they could not tell whether it had been infected by mutated rabies.
Besides, Meng Chao did not know what sort of symptoms would appear in annelids after they were infected by mutated rabies.
He could only do his best to gather up the rotten flesh and seal it up so that he could bring it back for examination.
At that moment, a slight tremor came from deep underground.
Meng Chao and Lu Siya became alert.
“An earthquake?”
Both of them looked at each other in puzzlement.
“I think this should do it.” Meng Chao shook the ziplock bag in his hands. “We’ve found the carcass of a Giant Sandworm. We’ve also found rats who look like they were infected by mutated rabies after eating its carcass. Next, if we find a virus in the carcass, we’ll find concrete proof.
“We don’t have to look for the other Giant Sandworms. These creatures are born tunneling experts. With just us and no professional team or equipment, even if we look for them until tomorrow, we might not be able to find them.”
Lu Siya hesitated for a moment.
“Don’t forget that the last time you decided to act wilfully, two mine exploration teams were nearly entirely wiped out,” Meng Chao reminded her.
Lu Siya’s face turned red, and she gritted her teeth. “I wasn’t acting wilfully! It was Lin Chuan and the White Spirit!”
“Lin Chuan and the White Spirit made use of your willfulness,” Meng Chao said. “I think you should have learned your lesson and believe in my instincts. Didn’t you just say that you do?”
Lu Siya thought about it for a moment, then nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll listen to you. We’ll go back.”
They changed direction and started going back.
After taking only a few steps forward, they froze at the same time.
“Your instincts are very accurate,” Lu Siya said airily. “… Way too accurate.”
At some point in time, their exit had been blocked by an incredibly large Giant Sandworm.
This monster had a diameter of at least three meters, and due to it expanding at an unusual scale within a short time, its body was covered in ring-shaped spots. Bumpy tumors grew between the spots, though they were quite flat and looked incredibly sturdy. There were signs of the formation of a corneous substance.
Its teeth that it used to crush trash and rocks were also sharper and denser than of normal Giant Sandworms. Even if they were in the dark underground, its teeth shone with a bone-chilling light.
When the ten rings of teeth spun and trembled at the same time, no one would doubt that it could crush the sturdiest rock or the skull of a powerful fighter, then eat it.
Meng Chao saw a series of broken up numbers at the front and side of the super Giant Sandworm. Those numbers had sunken into its skin due to coloring.
They were part of the numbering system used on biochemical beasts by Spirit Creation Creatures to manage their creations.
It also meant that this creature was one of the Giant Sandworms who went missing.
In just half a month, it had grown to a terrifying extent!