Published: February 8, 2025
"I'm sorry for being late; this is a combined chapter, counting for yesterday. Thanks to Brother Qi He Zhuo Tian for the generous rewards, thanks to Brother Leng Qiu for the 600 rewards, and to everyone else like Old Phantom, and the many brothers and sisters including Lu Lu and Munan. Thank you all!"
This was a section of a building ruin that had not collapsed, and even with Ye Zhongming's keen observation, he initially thought it was just a crack in the wall.
However, it turned out to be a stone gate.
Inside, a young couple was anxiously waving at Ye Zhongming.
After a moment's hesitation, Ye Zhongming quickly dashed over and entered the stone gate. After he entered, the stone gate closed, and the area returned to looking like a normal wall with a crack.
“How did you get in? Did you survive since the last feast day?”
Once inside, Ye Zhongming kept his body on high alert. He discovered that behind the stone gate was a passage formed by countless ruins. Not far ahead, there was a bend in the path, making it hard to see far, especially as the sky outside grew darker and the inside was pitch black.
However, with Ye Zhongming's senses, he naturally knew the passage was safe and posed no danger.
As for the two people behind him, even though Ye Zhongming was not in the best condition, they posed no threat, which was why he dared to enter.
The young couple were both only three-star evolvers.
Hearing the young girl ask that question, Ye Zhongming quickly picked up on several clues.
First, it was clear that there were still living people in Linhai City, and they knew that the area surrounding Linhai City was blocked off by those mysterious mutated plants, preventing outsiders from entering.
Secondly, this blockade was likely relative, with a specific time called the feast day when entry was allowed; it was just unclear if one could leave afterward.
Seeing that Ye Zhongming didn’t respond, the two young people exchanged glances in the dim light, and then the man said, “Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Yang Yixi, and this is my girlfriend Mao Ying. We’ve been trapped here since the second feast day, and we are both three-star evolvers.”
At that moment, the sound of footsteps from the nearby corpses grew louder. Yang Yixi gestured for Ye Zhongming to be quiet and pointed toward the passage, leading the way with his girlfriend Mao Ying.
This left Ye Zhongming momentarily stunned. Were these two really willing to turn their backs to a stranger? Didn’t they fear encountering any dangers?
However, despite not understanding what the “second feast day” was, Ye Zhongming sensed that the two of them likely had a lot of information, so he decided to follow them.
The passage varied in width; there were places where all three could walk side by side, while in other spots, they could only crawl forward.
After walking for several hundred meters, Ye Zhongming realized they had reached the middle of a well. A rope was tied there, and Yang Yixi struck a match. He looked up at the top of the well, then down below. Not finding anything unusual, he whispered to Ye Zhongming, “Follow me; we’re almost there.”
With that, he began to descend along the rope, with Ye Zhongming trailing behind.
As they went deeper, the surroundings became nearly pitch black, making it impossible to see anything clearly. Even with Ye Zhongming’s six-star evolver strength, he could only make out what was just a few decimeters in front of him.
However, Ye Zhongming noticed that the three of them had surpassed the depth of the well, and the area they were in was completely artificially excavated.
Estimating, Ye Zhongming found that they had nearly reached a depth of two hundred meters underground!
Finally, the pace of the two in front slowed, and the rope swayed slightly as Yang Yixi jumped to the side.
By the time Ye Zhongming landed, there was already a flicker of firelight inside, revealing a two-meter-wide long passage illuminated with oil lamps spaced every ten meters.
“That’s the entrance to our camp up ahead,” Yang Yixi pointed forward.