Chapter 160 - 54: [Insect Path Ecology and Underground Secrets]

Chapter 160: Chapter 54: [Insect Path Ecology and Underground Secrets]

The massive doors stood wide open to facilitate ventilation. Beyond them lay a lofty dome. The inconceivably large rock structures resembled industrially cast towers, mixed with solidified gray concrete to form sturdy support pillars that cast indistinct silhouettes in the shadow-shrouded, dark space. Dark air currents surged from the doorway, carrying a suffocating chill.

Scattered shadows of ferns dotted the space behind the doors, swaying faintly in the ventilation currents like ghosts.

The Exiles’ camp had just finished relocating. The clearing in front of the doors was littered with tents, fur rolls, crude adobe stoves, and dining plates. The aroma of heated hardtack and cured meat wafted through the camp, while salted meat and bean soup simmered in pots.

The Exiles gathered together, sharing food and taking a brief rest after their labor, celebrating the successful completion of this phase of their engineering project.

Seven or eight Sword and Shield Undead, clad in Knight Armor and Bell-shaped Helmets, half-led and half-carried the Dwarf Horses into the Insect Path. Although the rotting stench of the Undead made them a bit uneasy, the Dwarf Horses—modified as Magical Beast chimeras—adapted to the dim environment very quickly. They pawed at the soil in the Insect Path area in front of the camp, searching for edible tender leaves from the vegetation.

Samael dodged a swaying, lantern-shaped Fluorescent Grass Ball overhead—a semi-parasitic, semi-symbiotic illuminating plant. It could attach itself to any plant or fungus using its tubular roots, and in extreme cases, it would even latch onto animals and humans to suck their blood. However, its faint light attracted some bugs in the tunnel, which in a way benefited the insectivorous plants and small insectivorous Magical Beasts nearby.

He walked through the Insect Path, wandering among the campsites. He carefully bypassed the people in the camp and headed toward the large Nether Copper Cage where the Demon Insect larvae were kept.

To prevent the four Demon Insect larvae from burrowing around unsupervised and destroying buildings, they had all been locked in the cage. Wrapped in blankets, they were drowsy amidst the cold properties of the Nether Copper.

Talia sat by the cage, resting while keeping an eye on the larvae inside.

CLANG. Samael sat down beside Talia, leaning against an arm-thick Nether Bronze Cage Pillar.

Talia looked up, chewing a mouth full of cured ham and hardtack with a CRUNCH CRUNCH sound. Holding half a piece of bread and a soup bowl in her hands, she gazed at Samael.

"Is everything going well?" Samael asked.

"Smoothly enough," Talia smiled. "However... there are many suspicious things about this land."

"What’s wrong?" Samael looked at the Exile Camp in front of him, illuminated by the firelight and the faint glow of the flora and fauna in the Insect Path.

"First is the environment. Gwyneth said there might be a problem with the soil here. The seeds they brought are adapting quite slowly, and some simply can’t handle the environment of the Heart of the Remains at all—they died shortly after being planted."

"I just saw that the ecology in the Insect Path is quite rich—" Samael hesitated.

"Those are the flora and fauna that can adapt to the environment, but their numbers are still too small," Talia shook her head. "There are far fewer species than in a normal Underground City’s Insect Path. We need to find a way to introduce more local flora and fauna resources to enrich the ecology, otherwise it’ll be hard to sustain a normal life.

"That includes food. The Insect Path’s ecology has just begun to form. A single ecological model is quite fragile and easily destroyed. We can’t use it as our main food source just yet."

Samael fell silent for a moment.

"I’ll negotiate with my other kin to see if we can gather some flora and fauna resources from their territories to add to our Underground City ecology," he finally replied.

"I don’t really want you getting too close to the other Ghost Knights," Talia curled her lips. "They probably won’t be a good influence on you."

"Think about it from another angle, Talia. Maybe I can be a good influence on them." Samael shrugged.

"You’re always like this." Talia leaned against his shoulder armor, staring blankly. "But that’s also why my feelings for you..."

She stopped mid-sentence, hummed softly, and pressed her slightly flushed face against his armor.

"Also, there might be some strange things underground here," she lowered her voice.

"Hmm?"

"During the excavation of the Insect Path, there were faint echoes coming from far underground," Talia whispered. "I suspect there are natural subterranean caverns in the nearby rock layers, or Divine Era Ruins—the extremely massive kind.

"Furthermore, when the Demon Insect larvae were drilling, besides traces of mineral veins, they occasionally dug into some strange natural tunnels with bizarre excavation marks. At those times, the larvae acted as if they were frightened, suddenly turning back and running around frantically. It took a long time to soothe them."

"Were they left by the Necro Earth-Devouring Demon Insect?" Samael asked.

"No, they shouldn’t be. A Demon Insect’s burrowing marks don’t look like that at all," Talia shook her head slightly. "It was likely some enormous mollusk that left behind extensive signs of corrosion and slow scraping as it dug. The tunnel walls are very smooth and have a small amount of shell-like enamel supports. There are no scale threads or tusk excavation pits.

"If we continue excavating, it’s highly likely we’ll discover something unknown," she added, gazing quietly at Samael.

"Are the underground excavation marks fresh?" Samael asked.

"No—they are very old. More than half of the shell enamel has already shattered, and some small bioluminescent organisms and algae have grown over it. It must have been left behind a long time ago," Talia shook her head. "If we keep digging, we might find things that are unimaginably huge."

Samael pondered, recalling the scan description of the Earth-Devouring Demon Insect from before.

[Drilling Artificial Biological Type 1. Tier 6 technological creature, can be driven as industrial biochemical machinery and excavation biochemical machinery. Used for mining, digging, and building the prototype of an Extraterrestrial Underground Colony.]

He thought, "Type 1... Since there is a Type 1, there will probably be a Type 2, a Type 3, or even more. Perhaps it is another kind of large-scale artificial creature used for digging and constructing underground projects. Since there are artificial creatures used for drilling and underground construction, there is likely some sort of ancient leftover engineering project beneath us here."

"Should we continue digging deeper?" Talia asked softly. "We might disturb something that has been slumbering for a long time."

"We’ll slow down the excavation progress for now," Samael decided. "We’ll prioritize the construction of the existing underground space. If we need to dig further, I will scout the way first."

"Maybe we shouldn’t explore too much?" Talia chose her words carefully. "All races and factions in the world are deeply secretive about the Battle of the Heart of the Remains. The relevant information is chaotic, and to this day, there is no definitive account. The underground of the Hai Xin Plain very likely buries many dangerous things. Too much curiosity will bring disaster."

Samael remained silent for a moment.

"But if we don’t actively explore and bravely break new ground, we may never learn the truth," he replied. "Of course, safety must be our top priority. Once we are fully prepared, we’ll try to explore the underground secrets.

"The most pressing matter right now is to build the ecology and basic living facilities inside the dome, as well as solve the food problem. I have to go negotiate with my other kin. Perhaps they aren’t as difficult to get along with as we imagine."

"I hope so," Talia shook her head slightly.

Samael leaned against the Nether Copper Cage, staring blankly.

He mused, "I once played a game called *Dwarf Fortress*. The Dwarves in the game frantically dig downward to find precious minerals and build their homes. However, if they are too greedy and dig too deep, they disturb the demons and Forgotten Giant Beasts deep underground, who will then destroy everything they have worked so hard to build.

"If there’s anything I’ve learned from the adventurers, the first lesson is probably not to be overly greedy and that safety comes first. Steadiness and caution are the keys to staying alive.

"Food and flora and fauna resources... Further negotiation with the other Ghost Knights is inevitable. At the very least, I should first make a trade request and see if the problem can be resolved peacefully.

"Maybe I should start with Anshiba? Based on Lahador’s evaluation of him, Anshiba is probably an honest and loyal Knight who doesn’t like to lie."

Having made up his mind, he stood up and headed toward the surface.