Chapter 28: Underground kingdom

Jin Zhuyuan swayed from its side, this scene is close at hand, his face is white.
"Focus the attention, prepare to land!" Zhou Yu's shouting made him come back.
The heights of the three of them landed farther and farther away from the lake where the aquatic dragons lived, and they could not be seen.
They landed on the tree. Zhou Yu lowered his head to observe the ground conditions and landed. Wu Yun also followed up. The two men leaned back against each other and pulled out the gun.
Their team's only newcomer, Jin Zhuyuan, also landed. He immediately came to Zhou Yu and Wu Yun's side to form a triangle.
Wu Yun glanced at the locator on his wrist. All researchers have a positioning device on the ankle, and the signal sent by the locator can determine the location of the outgoing researcher.
The locator showed that the two researchers were not far away.
Wu Yun made a gesture. The new man held a gun with Wu Yun's side. Zhou Yu kept his back against them and guarded them behind him.
In front of it is an old tree, whose roots are out of the ground and are intertwined.
Wu Yun stopped his steps, and the newcomers around him had to step forward and were stopped by Wu Yun.
"Be careful, that's not an ordinary tree."
All plants without animal nerves are classified into e-class organisms, which are the safest creatures.
Jin Zhuyuan leaned over his face and saw the twisted roots of the tree in front of him. A researcher's body has been penetrated and earned. He has become the nutrition of the tree.
"My God..." Jin Zhuyuan showed a surprised expression.
Zhou Yu is not the first time I have seen such a situation. The last time I met with the night in the virgin forest, I also saw a vine that the prey with a fruity aroma and then wraps the prey to absorb nutrients.
His body did not tremble.
"How can we save him?"
Wu Yun shook his head: "Impossible... I have not saved it..."
The researcher seemed to hear the voice of their conversation, opened his eyes slightly, his eyes were a desire, his lips opened and closed.
"What is he talking about?" Jin Zhuyuan asked.
"He is saying, 'Please kill me.'" Wu Yun replied.
He is very painful, every minute is tortured.
Wu Yun raised the gun and no one stopped him. But he didn't hit the researcher, but the tree.
"Oh--", the bullets fell into the trunk, and the neurotoxins began to spread. The tree quickly withered, split from the middle and crashed down.
Zhou Yu took a step toward the side, and the tree fell to his side.
Wu Yun came to the root of the break, and the painful expression of the researcher gradually became calm because of the infiltration of neurotoxins.
Wu Yun saw that he still held the sampler in his hand, so he took it out, put it in his backpack after being sealed, and then took his research recorder from his wrist.
"Is he over?" Zhou Yu asked.
The end is that the researcher has died. In this world, death is sometimes a relief.
"Yeah." Wu Yun nodded.
He walked to Zhou Yu, and while walking, he looked at the locator on his wrist and said, "It is estimated that another researcher will not be good."
At this time, Zhou Yu suddenly pulled the trigger, and the bullets were shot by Wu Yun’s shoulders. Wu Yun quickly evaded, and the newcomers did not break the guns. They were particularly loud in the dead forest.
Wu Yun looked back and saw that the dead researcher stood up and stood up. His eyes were out of focus, the eyeballs suddenly whitened, and the limbs damaged by the roots were hanging there. Step by step, they would cross Wu Yun. .
"What happened? Our bullets can't beat him!"
Jin Zhuyuan stepped back step by step, and he had already emptied the magazine.
The researcher came to him and opened his mouth to bite him. From his mouth, he could see the roots of a certain plant.
At this time, Zhou Yu took the dagger from his waist and flew out, just in his head.
Jin Zhuyuan has never seen such a scene: "This... is this a zombie?"
Wu Yun took him back: "It’s not a zombie... it was already parasitic before he was captured by the roots of the old trees."
They bowed their heads and saw something under the feet of the researcher extending into the soil.
"We hit him, but did not hit the parasites in his body."
Wu Yun aimed at his feet, and had not had time to shoot. Suddenly something emerged from the muzzle of his head, cracking his skull and rushing into the sky.
"It is mistletoe!"
The voice fell, and the mistletoe fell to the side because there was no climbing tree.
Zhou Yu did not hesitate to hit a shot. The mistletoe quickly withered and rotted.
The newcomer breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Yunyang raised his chin: "Walk?"
"Go."
"There is also a researcher who wants to see people and die to see the dead." Zhou Yu held the gun and continued to move forward.
Along the way, they saw many old trees. These old trees seem to be quiet, but Zhou Yu seems to hear their breathing.
At the root of an old tree, Zhou Yu saw a part of the camouflage shards, which must have been left by the guards who had previously protected the two researchers. These old trees are attacking, but now they are so quiet, they are waiting.
Once Zhou Yu goes deep into them, they will launch an attack and let Zhou Yu have no chance to escape.
They are like the watchmen of this land, and they are firmly protected.
Zhou Yu looked at Wu Yun and Wu Yun nodded. The three of them took out the breathing filter and put it on the nose and mouth. Wu Yun took out something like a grenade and threw it at high altitude.
The grenade made a squeaking sound, and the pale yellow gas quickly spurted out in all directions and spread out in the air.
The trees are eager to move, and the roots slowly pull up from the soil, as if they were dying and struggling to attack them.
Zhou Yu and Wu Yun are very calm, but Jin Zhuyuan is a little nervous. Now that he has no initial pride, Wu Yun has experience, Zhou Yu has instant judgment, he must keep up with their pace to survive.
The effect of the neuroanaesthetic was the most powerful in ten minutes, and the response of those trees gradually stopped. This was also specially prepared by the researchers before Wu Yun’s mission.
It seems that the people who came here before did not expect such a situation.
In Nibelungen, everyone is stepping on the experience of others to survive. And these experiences are often at the expense of life.
Wu Yun made a "forward" gesture.
According to the orientation of the locator, they came to a cave.
"H... you said that he was dragged in by dangerous creatures, or was he afraid to hide in?" Wu Yun raised his eyebrows.
Zhou Yu opened the glare flashlight into it.
The hole is very deep, and the light from the flashlight is not more than ten meters.
"Do we really want to go down?" Jin Zhuyuan looked at Zhou Yu and Wu Yun.
In just a few minutes, from the helicopter attack by the aquatic dragons, to the ancient trees that used creatures as prey, and the mistletoe that grows from the human body, he has not had time to breathe, he has to Is it dangerous?
"Does Song Zhi say, why did you send a researcher here?" Zhou Yu asked. At this point, Zhou Yu must figure out what they are facing.
"Because there is a kind of a-class creature - Elpis. It has biological nerves and can even think about it and react to the external environment. According to the prediction of the research department, there is a fruit of Elpis that is about to mature. They are coming to take the fruit." Wu Yun replied.
"In addition to the two researchers, how many guards are there?" Zhou Yu asked.
He least likes this task of unclear status.
"The guards of the twelve people." Wu Yun’s brows started. "There are a lot of people, but no one is in contact with the base. They should all be attacked by ancient trees. The old tree we just saw is The guardian of Erpis. There are two kinds of fruit in Erpis. A seed will be brought to the vicinity by special animals that live around Elpis. When it falls into the soil, it will grow into the ancient we see. Trees, once they grow, will launch a deadly attack on all creatures that attempt to invade the field of Elpis. Another seed, a seed that is only one thousand years old, will be produced by Earl. The descendants of Pis. When the tree grows up, the nutrients of the old tree are sucked away, and the old tree is dead."
"So they are coming to take the most special kind of fruit?" Zhou Yu asked.
"Yes." Wu Yun looked at the newcomer. "Hey, you will stay outside the cave, just in case."
"Wait, what if those guards came to attack me?"
"You shoot and shoot." Wu Yun said very simple, "Or you go with us?"
Looking at the cave that had no trace of light at all, Jin Zhuyuan hesitated for a few seconds and nodded and said, "Okay, then I will stay outside."
Zhou Yu and Wu Yun nodded, and the two opened the glare flashlight and went inside.
"Afraid?" Wu Yun asked.
"What do you think is inside the cave?"
They are still in the range that the sun can barely reach.
"Erpis is inside." Wu Yun said, "But have you heard that the tree grows in the cave?"
"This is Nibelungen, everything is possible."
auzw.com When the darkness completely drowned them, Zhou Yu couldn’t even see the nearest Wu Yun.
The road underfoot is rugged, and you can step on something like a plant root, and you will fall if you accidentally.
In the darkness, Zhou Yu said: "Let's we are not close to the core of this cave. Can you tell me why you must complete this task?"
Wu Yun’s footsteps stopped.
"Isn't this what we should do? It is the loyalty of the people. The Juli Group pays, we sell our lives. They must have something, we will go looking for something." Wu Yun’s voice is in this darkness. A little bit of cold taste.
"Yes? Is there any task that is higher than life? We are about to enter a very dangerous situation now. In fact, you could have gone back and told all the researchers and guards of the Juli Group to be killed by the guardians of Elpis. Dead, even we can't get close to Elpis. We only have three people, and the guards of twelve people can't do anything. Even if we don't do it, Song can't blame us. Unless Song Zhi Give you a death order, and for some reason you must execute this dead command." Zhou Yu calmly analyzed.
"...I do have a reason to complete the task. I said in the helicopter today that I am embarrassed because I am not used to telling others what I am carrying."
"What you are carrying will not become what I am carrying because you told me."
Wu Yun chuckled: "Zhou Yu, this is why I like you. You are direct, when, and occasionally say some hurt the truth. My wife has never been chaotic with anyone, but our feelings are very Well, she had a car accident eight months pregnant, she died, the doctor saved the child through emergency cesarean surgery... It was a daughter. Just like you spare no effort to protect Zhou Qing, my daughter is everything to me. But she When I was eight years old, I was diagnosed with lupus, and then..."
"The Juli Group then found you." Zhou Yu continued to move forward.
"Zhou Yu, if you are in danger, you don't need to take me out immediately." Wu Yun said.
"I won't do things that don't make sense. If I work hard, you will die. Of course I will not waste my life."
"...you are really hurting." Wu Yun’s voice sounded aggrieved but with a smile.
"You just said, like my straightforwardness and the big truth of hurting people."
They went all the way, and Wu Yun’s locator showed that the missing researcher was still more than a hundred meters ahead.
"This cave is too deep, right?" Wu Yun whispered.

It’s not so much a cave, it’s like a tunnel leading to a place.

Wu Yunzheng has to continue to move forward, but Zhou Yu grabbed it: "Be careful!"
With a flashlight, Wu Yuncai found himself in front of a vertical downward hole.
The gravel fell and made a whispering echo.
This height falls, and if it doesn't die, it is not a human.
"Is it still going?" Wu Yun asked Zhou Yu for advice. After all, Zhou Yu can quit this.
This task is too dangerous. From a rational point of view, Zhou Yu knows that he should withdraw, and should also stop Wu Yun.
But in his mind, there is an inexplicable kind of .
The darker the more the bottomless place, the more secret it is worth to be discovered.
And that secret is like scratching the heart of Zhou Yu.
"Go look down." Zhou Yu took out the rope.
Because they are gliding in a flying squirrel suit, there are not many equipments to carry.
"If the length of the rope is not enough to reach the bottom, we will give up the task and go back." Wu Yun knows clearly why Zhou Yu chose to continue the task.
Once the ropes were fixed, they slowly went down.
Zhou Yu put the flashlight on his shoulder and adjusted the light.
As they go down, they can see the traces on the cave.
Zhou Yu's palm is covered. Although he does not understand geology, he has a feeling that this cave is not naturally formed, like being excavated by something.
When they came to the bottom of the rope, Zhou Yu took a flashlight down and found that they came to the bottom.
"This height is just right?" Wu Yun had some doubts.
They looked subconsciously and found that there was a lot of light in the place where they came down.
Wu Yun was nervous. When they came down, they knew nothing!
"What kind of creature is that?"
"It's an eye." Zhou Yu replied, "Do you remember what Elpis relied on to spread its seeds?"

The people in the research team say it is a small creature.

"It is estimated that these creatures are."
Their eyes flashed blue in the dark, with a hint of magic and coldness.
"There is a feeling of being calculated. They seem to be deliberately waiting for us to come here..."
Wu Yun’s voice just fell, and the ropes they fixed above the cave were untied and fell.
"Mom--" Wu Yunzhen wants to shoot out the guns and ask them to eat bullets.
"Let's move on." Zhou Yu will drop the rope off his waist.
"Are you not afraid? This is a trap." Wu Yun asked curiously.
"Song Zhi said that Nibelungen is a place where the hierarchy is quite strict. If there is no s-class creature in this area, then Elpis, a class-a creature, rules the ecosystem, I said right?"
"In theory, this is the case. So?"
"So whether it's the 'guardian' outside the cave, or the small creature that spreads seeds for Elpis, they all bow down to Elpis. Elpis is a creature with thoughts, it must pass Some way to control these creatures, right?"
"I heard from the research team that it seems like this. So we have to be careful, and Elpis is likely to control us in some way." Wu Yun worried.
Their task was indeed too sloppy, and many things were not clear. But why are those in the scientific research department not using them as experimental mice to test Elpis?
"If Elpis ordered these creatures to kill all the humans who invaded it, what do you think of the small creatures just now?"
"...when we went down the rope halfway, we untied the rope. So I and you all have to fall to death."
"But they waited until we got down and got rid of the ropes. Their purpose is not to kill us, but to give us a chance to go back. Their ruler, Elpis may want to see us." Zhou Yu's The pace is also calm.
Wu Yun stunned for two seconds. Sometimes he really had to work hard to keep up with Zhou Yu’s thinking.
It seems a bit ridiculous, and it is just a guess, but it often proves that he is right.
"I think you have a good relationship with Nibelungen," Wu Yun said.
"What fate?" Zhou Yu's flashlight found another hole at the bottom of the cave. The height of the hole was just enough for him and Wu Yun to walk in.
This coincidence makes Zhou Yu feel that they are not like invaders for Elpis, but more like guests who are carefully invited.
"You know the way of thinking of the creatures here." Wu Yun also found the entrance and made a gesture of "inside" to Zhou Yu.
Nowadays, they want to return to the original road. Those creatures who are at the entrance to the cave will definitely not agree. They can only go on their heads.
Wu Yunzheng was going forward, but Zhou Yu went to the front.
Zhou Yu’s right hand held □ □, and the left hand crossed the flashlight and pressed it over the □ □, heading forward.
This section of the road is not long, he can see the cave's mouth with a light blue light.
Zhou Yu’s look is heavy, and if there is any danger, he hopes Wu Yun still has time to leave.
Wu Yun understands Zhou Yu’s plan and just whispers: "I can die, but you must not die."
Zhou Yu’s fingers were slightly tight, and he suddenly thought of his vice captain Chen Chong, the young Zhao Cheng and the face that no longer exists.
This way down, Wu Yun’s position in his mind is no less than Chen Chong.
The last time, he was not guardian, this time he must hold.
When he walked to the hole, his eyes suddenly opened up and his pupils were instantly enlarged.
No one thought that there was such a vast space in the ground!
In the middle of this space is a giant spiral-shaped giant tree that grows up and covers almost the entire top of the cave. The trunks and branches are translucent, and they can see blood vessels that flow like blood, intertwined, and some more slender, nerve-like networks.
The bottom of the blade is very large, and the blue light firefly that Zhou Yu has seen in the video is attached to the blade! Zhou Yu still remembers how the researchers in the video died in this seemingly beautiful creature.
The tree is still carrying some huge white flowers. Unlike the flowers of dangerous creatures, it is so tempting or too enchanting. The flowers of Elpis are simple and elegant, and the temperament of the valley of the valley is leisurely. There is a bit of a graceful magnolia. But in those white flowers, the sword bone butterfly is inhabited.
Between the branches and leaves, Zhou Yu can still see the devil vines that are like the giant pythons.
Devil vines are dangerous for ordinary creatures. Even a thousand-year-old tree wrapped up by the devil vines will soon be sucked dry, but it is clear that this Elpis is not exhausted at all.
Taking a breath, Zhou Yu knows that these dangerous creatures are raised by Elpis.
They absorb the nutrients of Elpis and also protect Elpis.
"What's wrong?" Wu Yun saw that Zhou Yu was still moving. He went to Zhou Yu's side and looked at it. He also stayed. "My God, is this a whole set of underground ecosystems?"
On the side of this Elpis, you can see a pool of underground water, a stream of water flowing quietly along the wall, but the pool is not overflowing, indicating that the bottom of the pool still leads to another place. . And this pool of water may be the source of water for Elpis.
When the pool of water trembled, he saw an El Niño aquatic dragon jumping out of the water and was shocked to retreat.
In such a closed place, if they encounter the attack of the El Niño Aquatic Dragon, it will die.
This space is too big, and the tree is too big to measure how long it has existed.