Chapter 106: When the Snipe and the Clam Fight

Cao Fusheng had been walking underground for half an hour. Since he descended, he hadn’t encountered a single living creature. Whether it was because the environment was so harsh that not even corpses could survive, or for some other reason, he couldn’t tell. According to the route Chu Wei had given him, it would take about two more hours to reach the base of Tianzhu Mountain.

“This space... even if those people from the Northern Heavenly Kingdom dug tunnels, they probably deliberately avoided these underground pipes. This stuff couldn’t withstand an explosion. It seems their tunnels lead somewhere else entirely,” Cao Fusheng pondered quietly. Because he hadn’t encountered anything so far, his mind wandered, and he involuntarily thought of the Heavenly Kingdom’s tunnel troops.

“Drip… drip drip drip…”

Hmm? Why were the water drops falling faster now?

Cao Fusheng furrowed his brow and quietly looked up. Green droplets were slowly coalescing, hanging down directly above his head.

On an impulse, before the green droplets fell, Cao Fusheng deliberately took two steps forward. Then, right where he had just stood, a hole appeared from the dripping corrosion!

Corrosive liquid! What was this?!

A chill ran through Cao Fusheng’s heart. Without fully understanding the situation, the path he'd taken was fine just moments ago—how had this corrosive liquid suddenly started dripping?

Reaching the end of this section of pipe, Cao Fusheng looked up again, stunned by the thick sheets of green slime overhead.

This viscous green liquid formed a thick membrane, swaying back and forth on the pipe ceiling as if gravity held no sway here. Yet, as the membrane moved, it secreted copious amounts of liquid, which pooled and then dripped down.

So there was no path forward.

The route had been destroyed by this corrosive liquid, leaving only deep, unfathomable water.

“Is this left behind by some species? It looks disgusting, like stomach acid spat out from a mouth, emitting a strange, foul stench. This must be the source of the awful smell inside the pipe,” Cao Fusheng’s thoughts twisted and turned. He slowly stepped back a few paces and picked up his walkie-talkie.

“Chu Wei, when you and the others came down before, did you encounter any green membrane on the ceiling that kept dripping corrosive liquid? There’s a section inside the pipe that’s completely corroded and broken.”

“That can’t be. When we went in to clear it before, we didn’t see anything like that. It must have appeared only in the past few months. Captain Cao, you should come back out now. There are new uncertainties below, and I’m worried about you continuing forward…” Chu Wei’s voice was tinged with surprise and worry. If Cao Fusheng were to die underground, she would feel responsible—at least, she couldn’t bear the guilt.

Besides, Shen Dong and Gao Yi weren’t here. If something happened to Cao Fusheng, with just the two of them—both women—how long could they survive here? Just getting out of the city center alive would be a problem.

“I have a feeling we’ll have to take this route sooner or later. You and Shu Qing should stay outside and keep an eye on Shen Dong and the others. Don’t worry about this side,” Cao Fusheng said, then cut off communication. Truthfully, he wasn’t confident, but he dared not give up so easily.

He didn’t know what Shen Dong and Gao Yi were doing now, but Cao Fusheng was not one to just sit back, cross-legged, waiting for news on a pretty lap. He felt he wasn’t that pathetic.

Looking at the iron rod in his hand, he realized it had been corroded almost to the breaking point without him noticing—full of pits and holes.

He silently considered himself lucky that the slime hadn’t dripped on him; otherwise, he would have been pierced with holes.

The further he went, the more his heart pounded, as if something terrifying awaited him just ahead.

The dark, oppressive pipe was like a massive coffin—and Cao Fusheng was the one trapped inside.

But the most frightening thing was that he wasn’t the only one in the coffin.

“Squeak… squeak!”

“Squeak!!”

“Squeak… roar!”

Cao Fusheng’s eyes widened as he looked deep into the broken section. A giant rat, two or three meters tall, was swimming toward him. The corrosive liquid dripping from above did not damage its fur at all.

“Do all these mutant creatures have such thick skin?!” Cao Fusheng retreated to the corner. The situation was extremely unfavorable. Ahead was an abyss. Charging in could leave him completely corroded to bones.

The mutant rat struggled as it swam forward but was suddenly yanked back, pursued by something behind it!

Its eyes were red, but it showed no signs of decay. This meant it wasn’t the kind of “half-formed corpse beast” he’d encountered before—it was a bona fide mutant.

Though ferocious, it still retained self-awareness and human-level intelligence.

Cautiously, Cao Fusheng peeked around the corner. Behind the mutant rat was a huge green spiderweb woven into a rope, binding the rat’s tail and preventing it from moving forward.

It could only thrash about in the water. Fortunately, the corrosive water didn’t harm it; otherwise, by now, it would have turned to bones.

“This green membrane on the ceiling must be from some mutant spider. It’s trying to turn this pipe into its own territory. And what an unlucky coincidence that you’re blocking my path. If I can’t deal with this, when will I ever get through here?” Cao Fusheng sighed inwardly, then steeled himself to find a way to handle these two mutants.

For now, the best move was to watch from the sidelines and let these two fight to the point of mutual destruction.

This also explained why he hadn’t encountered any corpse beasts so far in the pipe—the mutants down here must have eaten them, acting as natural scavengers.

Based on Cao Fusheng’s observations and existing data, every animal mutated into a mutant gains different abilities. Even among rats, two could develop entirely distinct mutations.

This was due to genetic recombination and editing within individual species, unrelated to race, though abilities tended to align more with species—evolved on top of species-specific traits.

Much like fish cannot evolve legs.

The mutant rat’s struggle in the corrosive water was nearing its end. It seemed to realize further resistance was futile and simply lay still, using its thick skin to withstand attacks rather than exhausting itself.

The mutant spider lurking in the shadows finally revealed itself. Its face was covered with countless dense eyes, giving Cao Fusheng chills—it was a nightmare for anyone with trypophobia.

Wrapped entirely in green slime, it had grown more than a dozen legs. Its enormous abdomen continuously oozed green mucus thick enough to spin into silk.

Even the strength of the mutant rat was powerless to break free.

As the mutant spider cautiously approached the giant rat, the rat suddenly let out a fierce squeal and sprang upward, lunging in the opposite direction toward the spider. Its fur transformed into flying spikes, instantly turning the spider into a pincushion.

Cao Fusheng hastily withdrew his head. Several spikes whipped through the air, piercing the pipe walls directly.