Chapter 453: Chapter 453 Wasteland Arc (15)_1 Chapter 453: Chapter 453 Wasteland Arc (15)_1 “Don’t waste time.”
Seeing Fu Qian standing still, Gerard immediately urged with a dark expression.
“The action has probably already started on their end, we need to meet up as quickly as possible.”
Although his words were not polite, Gerard’s feelings toward the man before him had become even more complicated.
He had read the report; Fu Qian’s series of actions after leaving were truly flabbergasting.
The strength he had displayed was equally hard to believe, and Gerard couldn’t help but doubt his motives for joining the previous exploration.
Not to mention, this guy had even become entangled with the Ji Family now.
In Gerard’s view, whether or not Fu Qian was related to Lazaro’s death, such an unstable factor should simply be handled directly for that reason.
There was absolutely no need to let him enter the underground ruins again, unnecessarily increasing the risk.
But since the leadership had made that decision, he could only bury his thoughts and follow orders.
So right now, his only task was to bring Fu Qian to the underground ruins as quickly as possible, to get it over with and all would be well.
“Alright then, lead the way.”
Fu Qian, who could understand the other’s feelings, immediately withdrew his gaze and spoke in an amiable tone.
The terrain in the swamp area was complex; vehicles like cars were totally useless, and they had to proceed on foot from here on.
Seeing that Fu Qian wasn’t causing any trouble, Gerard gave a signal with his eyes, and Gary on one side nodded his head and quickly ran to the front to lead the way, the rest of the people following in succession.
Fu Qian naturally walked in the middle of the team.
Upon truly entering the swamp, they could increasingly feel the eeriness of this place.
Even the paths that looked passable would not feel solid underfoot.
Not only did various colored fluids ooze softly in all directions, but they could also feel the ground twitching subtly.
Fu Qian very much understood Nora’s reluctance to delve in further at that moment.
Of course, Gerard and the others felt the same, each with a grave expression.
Especially Gary, who was leading the way. Although he clearly knew the route, his brow was still deeply furrowed, treading carefully with each step.
After about fifteen minutes of walking in this manner, the team had penetrated deep into the belly of the swamp.
The strange, pungent smell in the air had become even more intense, and even the temperature had risen quite a bit.
As Fu Qian was curious about where this heat was coming from, Gary, who was walking in front, suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.
Fu Qian followed his gaze and saw not swamps blocking the path ahead, but rather a basin-sized area on the ground in front was tearing and bulging, swelling into a small mound.
“Turn back and take another route, quickly!”
After staring for a few seconds, Gary’s face changed dramatically, and he shouted to signal a retreat.
The others seemed not to understand what had happened but complied smoothly, each stopping and turning back.
However, it was still a step too late.
In just that brief moment, the raised mound had grown to half the height of a person, and through the torn surface, they could see countless entangled root-like structures.
The next moment, accompanied by a boiling-like noise, a near-crimson steam burst forth from the gaps between the roots.
Like a volcanic eruption, the terrifying column of air spouted upward more than ten meters, scattering a rain of blood around it.
Damn!
At the back of the team, Gary cursed out loud, seeing the inevitable envelopment, he sharply turned, not letting his face be exposed to the outside.
The next moment, specks of red droplets descended, like a rain of blood had begun.
The heat rolled, and the temperature soared more than ten degrees in an instant.
A groan came through, and Gary, who was soaked in blood rain on one side of his body, almost hopped forward a few steps, a charred smell already emanating from him.
Meanwhile, he frantically started to strip off his clothes and throw them to the ground, followed by crazily tearing at his own hair.
The force was so strong that one might suspect he was trying to rip off his scalp—and indeed, he had.
Fu Qian watched helplessly as the man tore off large chunks of curly hair along with the scalp, and there were even ulcerated marks on his head.
This thing is pretty formidable!
Amidst his contemplation, Fu Qian glanced to the side.
After the eruption, the ground at the location of the small mound had been completely torn apart, and at that moment, it was a pool of red and white mire.
“Change the path, and make it quick!”
Gerard, who was walking at the back, naturally couldn’t have been drenched, and after staring at Gary for a long while and confirming that the latter hadn’t lost his ability to move, he immediately gave the order.
…
Finally, after more than half an hour’s journey and two more bouts of eruptions, the group finally arrived at their destination.
It was a deep pit slanting downward, different from other parts of the marsh in that it didn’t contain any nauseating viscous liquid. It was quite dry, in fact.
All around the pit were densely packed, nearly petrified roots, which stretched down into a passageway.
A few people who were clearly Sirens were guarding nearby, and as the leader, Gerard, with a cold expression, explained their purpose and then directly signaled Fu Qian to walk in front.
Fu Qian naturally didn’t refuse and immediately took the lead, walking into the eerie place, possibly the Angel Dungeon.
…
The first person to discover this place must indeed have had a considerable amount of courage.
As Fu Qian descended, he casually observed his surroundings.
The passage was quite deep and twisted in all directions, leaving one utterly clueless as to where it might lead.
It was hard to imagine how long a person might persist without a purpose.
Continuing downward, a stone door, already open inward, eventually appeared in front.
Behind the stone door lay a flat, straight path, clearly man-made, and further in, it appeared to lead to another world.
It truly was an underground relic—this forsaken land is really eerie!
Fu Qian nodded silently to himself.
At the entrance to the relic, a group of people were either sitting or standing, seemingly resting briefly.
As soon as Fu Qian and his group entered, these people all looked up.
And Fu Qian’s mask, undoubtedly, attracted the most attention.
He didn’t mind the stares and, after scanning the area, surprisingly found a familiar figure in the corner.
Isn’t that Ailina from school?
A dark jacket and sculpting long pants, even in this kind of place, her snow-white shirt remained spotless. Ailina, now changed into a new outfit, was sitting silently in the corner.
Compared to during that deadly fight, this Saintess who killed her own father looked a lot neater, yet her aura was more somber than ever.
Indeed, what a small world.
It seems it’s not that easy within the large organization, being assigned to do such dirty work.
Fu Qian couldn’t help but sigh at the moment.
Judging from her appearance, the chances she was here to supervise were slim; more likely, after an incident, fodder was hard to come by, so they had to send their own.
Moreover, for some reason, compared to the last time, Fu Qian felt there was an indescribable change about her.