The wind whistled past her ears as Gu Lian fell in a state of free fall. Everything around her was pitch black. If she hadn’t been backed into a corner, she never would have dared to jump down like this.
Spreading her five fingers to reveal sharp tips, Gu Lian crossed her hands over her chest. In an instant, her claws left a series of afterimages as they pierced into the stone wall.
*Screech—*
The black claws carved ten vertical lines down the stone. As sparks flew, a wave of intense pain shot through her hands. Gu Lian’s teeth ground together with a series of clicks. She pressed her feet against the wall, kicking up a cloud of dust, and her descent speed slowed significantly.
With a loud crack, Gu Ye’s hands drove into the stone wall. The tips of her beast-like feet dug deep into the rock, bringing her to a complete halt.
‘I survived…’ Gu Lian let out a sigh of relief, but her expression quickly turned solemn again. The sound of rotating blades echoed from above. Flashlights clicked on at the front of five drones as they slowly descended.
“Did I steal your family’s dinner or something?”
Gu Lian let out a frustrated laugh. Five beams of light hit the walls of The Sinkhole. The lights acted like scanning devices, meticulously sweeping the area above her head.
Should she knock them down?
Gu Lian withdrew one black claw. Her fingertips, already a bloody mess, moved in front of her face. She shook her head and gripped the rock wall again.
The drones were flying in the center of The Sinkhole. Knocking them down was simply unrealistic. Furthermore, The Sinkhole grew wider the further down it went. Rather than engaging in a pointless struggle, it was better to hide.
With that thought, Gu Ye did not intend to stay there. Her hands and feet acted like climbing picks, allowing her to crawl rapidly along the stone wall like a gecko.
Crawling down with agility, Gu Lian soon reached the very bottom of The Sinkhole. In the darkness, she could only vaguely make out her surroundings.
She gently rubbed her eyes. Gu Lian felt an overwhelming sense of weakness, hunger, exhaustion, and pain spreading throughout her body.
If the drones weren’t still hanging over her head like the Sword of Damocles, she would have broken down in tears. She really just wanted to live a good life. Why were they constantly hunting her?!
Was it just because she was a Weiyi?
Is there no justice in this world?!
*Grumble—*
“Hi…”
Gu Lian rubbed her stomach. ‘Should I try eating a stone?’
She reached out, snapped a small piece of rock from the wall, and popped it into her mouth. With a crunch, the stone shattered. The sand-like texture made Gu Lian want to spit it out immediately.
However, considering she might not have anything to eat for a long time, she swallowed the mouthful with tears in her eyes. Food was food; it was better than starving to death!
After eating one or two stones, her hunger subsided significantly. Gu Lian leaned her palm against the wall, using her claws to pry off another piece of stone to eat. At the same time, she began to explore the bottom of The Sinkhole using her keen hearing and sense of smell.
She continued her exploration through the darkness. The light from the drone flashlights above gradually vanished. Gu Lian wandered around The Sinkhole until, suddenly, a faint blue glow appeared before her. Straight ahead was a tunnel decorated with fluorescent specks.
Walking closer, she discovered that the glow in the tunnel came from a type of Fluorescent Algae. Occasionally, some crustaceans could be seen crawling over it.
Gu Lian propped herself up and sat on the soft-looking Fluorescent Algae. By the dim light, she saw that her body was covered in blood and filth, though the injuries she had sustained earlier had already healed.
If it weren’t for the faint, lingering pain near the old wounds, Gu Lian would have doubted she had ever been hurt at all.
“Just because I’m a Weiyi? Heh…”
Gu Lian shook her head self-mockingly. She reached out and broke off a piece of stone covered in Fluorescent Algae, putting it in her mouth. As she bit down, the texture of the stone blended perfectly with the softness of the algae.
Though it didn’t taste great, a subtle, elegant sweetness remained in her mouth.
Gu Lian’s eyes lit up instantly. She broke off dozens of stone pieces and piled them beside her. This way, she could gnaw on one whenever she got hungry.
After eating ten pieces, Gu Lian lay back lazily on the Fluorescent Algae and closed her eyes to rest. She… was too tired.
***
As Gu Lian escaped to the bottom of The Sinkhole, the days went by. Thirty-seven drones were dispatched into the Sinkhole-Labyrinth. As time passed, the TFV was forced to withdraw its personnel. The encirclement and suppression mission ended in failure.
Deploying a massive amount of manpower for a single Weiyi whose status was unknown was an unwise choice. Rather than keeping resources tied to a half-dead tree, it was better to disperse the personnel to combat other supernatural threats.
Besides, the Hunters were already busy enough. Weiyi in uninhabited areas still needed to be cleared by them, and they couldn’t afford to increase their workload further. After all, the world needed the Hunters to protect it.
***
Sinkhole-Labyrinth
In the vast underground space, only Gu Lian remained, still deep in sleep upon the Fluorescent Algae. In her dreams, she saw many things.
A Humanoid Beast, covered in hair with a hideous face, was the protagonist of this “dream of glory.” This protagonist was shrouded in Gray Fire, and his life of combat drifted by like passing clouds.
The surroundings were peaceful, filled only with the sounds of nature. Looking out, she saw rolling mountains, green fields, and clear river water. A few white clouds floated in the azure sky. Fragrant grass bloomed, swallows danced, and clear, sweet streams flowed through the entire forest.
In this world full of vitality, a pitch-black hole opened. Cold mist and grayish-white embers drifted out from the opening. As the mist and embers spread across the world, the sky and the earth seemed to be shrouded in gloom.
Under the disaster, countless lights fled toward the outside world. Despair, unwillingness, and hatred festered, seeming to fuel the disaster’s power. It wasn’t until the Humanoid Beast descended that the despairing creatures actually knelt before him.
The scene shifted. The Humanoid Beast roared, his claws slashing at a monster covered in tentacles.
A single eye in the middle of the tentacles fired a beam of light that struck the Humanoid Beast, but he ignored it completely. With a surge of strength in his palm, the tentacle monster was crushed into a pile of mangled meat, eventually turning into grayish embers that drifted from his hand. Beneath the Humanoid Beast, these embers had already piled into a small mountain.
The Humanoid Beast suddenly looked up, staring into the distance as an infinite darkness surged forward. The vision ended there.
The image changed again. The Humanoid Beast sat upon a throne. Inside a crumbling hall, embers slowly fell. Just as he lowered his head, appearing as if his life was nearing its end…
The ruined doors of the hall were pushed open. A man carrying a long knife, with a red glow emanating from the center of his pupils, walked in slowly. Sparks drifted from the hem of the man’s clothes. Accompanying him was a reaper dressed in a black suit and a clergyman who looked very punchable.
The Humanoid Beast slowly raised his head, and his blood-filled mouth, packed with sharp teeth, broke into a smile. The smile was terrifyingly hideous. At the same time, he turned his head, his lifeless eyes seeming to see through the world itself.
At that point, the images in Gu Lian’s eyes vanished completely, and her vision returned to darkness. In the real world, her body was curled into a ball, and crimson patterns had spread across her entire form.
In her sleep, she felt an incredibly comfortable sensation for some reason, as if her body were enveloped in a hot spring. Her stomach no longer felt as hungry as before.
“Eh? Why is there someone lying here?”
“Hmm, should we take her with us?”
“We should probably take her. Look at the stone shards around her. She started eating rocks; she must be starving.”
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