Great, we're doomed now!

You Lian shook her head: "The terrifying mutation of flesh and blood is spreading among the people like a plague. Even I tremble when I see those horrifying and bizarre things, but they are oblivious to it and even regard it as proof of evolution."

...Organic organisms change themselves to adapt to their environment; perhaps this truly is 'evolution'.

Ye Shou nodded slightly after listening, then asked in return, "What is your purpose in telling me all this?"

"I hope you can change all of this."

Yu Lian calmly said, "Or destroy it."

"I?"

Ye Shou chuckled: "So many giants couldn't change the status quo, yet you have a lot of confidence in me!"

Even if it really worked, why should I listen to you and risk my life for these good-for-nothings?

Ultimately, Ye Shou might not even be able to save his own world...

"You don't need to save anyone, our civilization is already extinct!"

Yu Lian said earnestly, "Even if the black mist that shrouded the world miraculously disappeared from this moment on, human civilization has effectively become a thing of the past... I'm begging you to help the giants."

"……giant?"

"Irreconcilable contradictions have arisen within them, and they will soon split again. The one I support, the one you met earlier... will likely be defeated in the battle."

Yu Lian said sadly, "He should leave this planet... We can't let the giants perish with us, because there must be other civilizations in this universe that are also under the threat of darkness."

Humanity chose to give up, but giants can find a new mission in the universe...

So please… only this golden radiance of the soul can pull that giant out of darkness!

Chapter 232 This light stick is the wrong size.

The ruins of R'lyeh, which were buried at the bottom of the sea in later generations, now stand majestically on the earth, with a bright light flowing on its shield that is extremely conspicuous in this era. Even the monsters that roamed in the ancient times would consciously avoid this place.

They revered the temple just as much as humans, but for completely different reasons.

But beneath this seemingly magnificent pyramid lies a deeply corrupt interior. The toxins of decadence flow through pipes and canals throughout the system, while the wicked human heart uses language and violence as its medium. Beneath the gleaming gold lies the most filthy side...

At this moment, at the most spacious ejection exit number one, someone walked in openly through the energy shield's identity verification, and walked alone in the huge passage that was hundreds of meters wide and stretched straight into the dark depths, as if it were prepared for the gods.

Wearing an inconspicuous gray robe, with silver paint on both sides of his face to blur his features, perfectly in line with the style of the era, he silently slipped into the interior of the R'lyeh Temple.

The floor beneath his feet should have been made of metal, but it felt more like some kind of rock... To be precise, everything he saw was "petrified," the rough surface seemed to outline primitive lines, completely lacking the refinement and beauty that a high-tech civilization should have.

Leaving the passageway, we officially entered the pyramid from its middle level.

As soon as the door opened, a strange smell, a mixture of rust and fishy odor, along with some indescribable, rotten biological tissue, hit you.

This made him subconsciously slow his pace and sharply scan his surroundings.

This place is completely different from the once sacred and solemn temple described by Yu Lian:

The wide passageway was flanked by walls that should have been smooth, mirror-like, silvery-white alloy, but were now covered with a dark, seemingly active substance. Its surface was covered with irregular bumps and wrinkles, and felt cool to the touch yet strangely elastic, like the inner wall of the abdominal cavity of some giant creature.

At the junction of the walls, floor, and ceiling, thick, dark purple veins, like blood vessels or tree roots, meander and extend beneath the surface, invisible to the naked eye, pulsating slightly.

Some interconnected nodes emit a faint bioluminescence, providing the only light source for this desolate space.

Above, what should have been a neat lighting system and ventilation ducts are now covered by a thick, carapace-like black substance. Metal and organic matter are interlocked, and the joints are blurred, as if they have been melted and then cooled down, so tightly intertwined that they are indistinguishable from one another.

Some hatches were sealed shut by this substance, while some walls were inexplicably corroded with holes of various sizes, allowing one to see what was behind them and even enter directly.

...No wonder Yu Lian said that the structural diagram data was not very useful. If similar things had filled the entire temple, they would form a huge and complex honeycomb structure that would extend into the darkness at the end of the field of vision, so deep that it seemed to have no end.

Actually, she herself probably doesn't understand the internal situation either, right?

While avoiding the occasional traces on the ground that resembled dried slime, Ye Shou gently touched the "wall" beside him with his finger. The resilient and warm sensation at his fingertip, like the texture of hardened flesh, made him hesitate and withdraw his hand, his brows furrowing.

This place is less like a temple and more like a living, malevolent nest.

Ye Shou cautiously ventured deeper, his field of vision narrowing, but he did not release his mental energy to perceive the surrounding environment—otherwise he would hear various faint noises from all directions, like people talking, but upon closer listening, they were meaningless syllables randomly pieced together.

So he kept his mind focused, ignored the special substances that were half metal and half biological, and continued forward despite his nausea.

No wonder You Lian didn't come in by herself... In this kind of environment, the spirit will be 100% corrupted. The stronger a person's mental strength, the clearer their perception, which makes them more prone to accidents.

As he passed through a circular hole, his skin felt the warm, moist air, and a slippery, sticky feeling of nausea rose up. Ye Shou subconsciously swallowed and immediately felt an indescribable nausea.

After pausing for a moment, he took out VR glasses and headphones from his "pocket" and observed the outside world through virtual projection.

This naturally cannot stop the invisible erosion of his spirit, but he mainly relies on the ghost brain suggestion ability of the [King Ghost Appearance] to ignore the noise from the outside world, while the virtual image is an auxiliary.

After walking for an unknown amount of time along a dilapidated, downward-sloping passage, a breathtakingly vast space suddenly opened up before us—

A huge "deep well" that seems to lead straight to the earth's core!

The diameter of the "well" is difficult to measure precisely, but it is probably around a kilometer. The top is not visible above, only a chaotic darkness, with something seemingly wriggling inside. The bottom is shrouded in thick fog, and the view extends to the very end without reaching the bottom.

The good news is that the lighting here is not bad. Something resembling a miner's lamp hangs on the stairs, drooping like the fruit of a plant, emitting a hazy, pale white light.

The well walls were not smooth rock, but a composite material covered with countless tiny holes. Every few steps, there were rows of thick pipes extending from the walls, twisting and turning. The material was similar to the active substances he had seen before, only thicker, connecting the upper and lower parts.

If you touch it, you can feel a slight vibration, as if some substance is being transported at all times.

laugh--!

A burst of scorching white steam suddenly erupted from a cracked pipe joint not far below, carrying a strong smell resembling a mixture of sulfur and rust. It made a piercing sound in the silent space, and within seconds it oxidized to a rusty red, slowly condensing into fine ash that fell to the ground.

Ye Shou used his fingertip to rub a pinch on the railing; the texture was like coarse flour.

laugh!

Right beside him, a crack opened up. Ye Shou quickly dodged to the side, and scorching steam blew past his eyes. In a daze, the sharp hissing sound entered his ears like the cry of a baby.

"..."

Ye Shou frowned, lowered his head and walked around. As he gradually climbed the zigzag staircase, he compared the scene before him with You Lian's map and realized that this was probably part of a water circulation system that had long been abandoned but had not completely stopped operating.

These interconnected and dizzyingly complex networks of pipes, like the veins of a monster, crisscross the entire inner wall of the "deep well"... It's easy to lose your bearings and get lost in them at a glance.

As we gradually ascend to higher altitudes, the "well opening" begins to shrink, and different scenery appears around us.

Ye Shou's gaze followed the well wall and landed on the dense holes that resembled an ant nest.

These caves, carved into the walls of wells covered with active material, vary in size; some are only large enough for one person to crouch down, while others resemble open platforms. By the dim light of the streetlights and the occasional sparks from leaking pipes, Ye Shou could vaguely see figures moving inside the caves.

Those were the humans who lived here... or rather, the beings who were once humans.

Like a primitive tribe living in caves, they dwell in the holes of this giant "beehive," clinging to life in the depths of this temple, which has been completely eroded by darkness.

……wrong.

This statement is not entirely accurate, because from their own perspective, it is not a matter of merely prolonging their lives, but rather a relatively happy one.

It was after entering the "living area" that Ye Shou began to see the budding beauty of Qi Jiela...

They were planted in earthenware pots with a simple device to collect steam, and every now and then water droplets would fall, soaking the soil made of rust-red powder. The energy was provided by lamps.

Because the area doesn't receive sunlight, the activity of the cigela is very low. It's clear that the residents have put in a lot of effort; the roadside is covered with yellow flower buds and colorful plastic pipes, and it looks like it's been carefully maintained, which is quite aesthetically pleasing.

He continued forward along the increasingly narrow passage, hearing intermittent, hoarse voices emanating from the caves on either side—like babbling in a dream, or the incoherent ramblings of someone with a low-grade fever. He treaded lightly, not wanting to disturb the swaying figures inside, occasionally pausing to listen, but ultimately shaking his head.

It contains no useful information; it's just a random string of meaningless syllables pieced together.

The light was dim. He turned the corner and saw a woman in a tattered robe squatting on the ground, carefully tending to a beautiful and clean potted zigela. The yellow petals were the only warm color in the environment, making them appear extremely pure.

Her movements were slow, and her exposed palms were withered and pale, with an unnaturally slippery sheen on the surface of her skin.

Hearing footsteps, the woman looked up and smiled at Ye Shou in a friendly manner, to which Ye Shou nodded slightly in response.

As I walked by, in the dim light from the wall, I could see half of her face—covered with a layer of tiny, dark blue fish scales, some of which were curled up at the edges. She seemed oblivious, or rather, indifferent, and quickly lowered her head again, intently fiddling with the dark red soil in the flowerpot, burying tiny worms inside.

Ye Shou glanced at them and left. Along the way, he saw many more people like them. Some had scales on their necks, some had thin webbing between their fingers, and some had bulging, dull eyes like fish.

They didn't exchange many words, each slowly going about their simple tasks, or simply sitting there. Ye Shou didn't stop or try to talk, observing everything before walking step by step through this living area that resembled an alien nest.

These "humans" have no ill intentions; they neither attack each other nor have any interest in him, an outsider. They are relatively safe, but Ye Shou has no desire to stay here.

The further you go, the heavier the humidity in the air becomes, and later a thick fog spreads, so thick that you can't see your hand in front of your face. It seems that the white fog is concentrated at the top and bottom of the middle layer, while the middle area is relatively thin enough to be habitable.

Above, the icy moisture clung to his robes, bringing a heavy chill. Even with Ye Shou's eyesight, he couldn't see the road ahead, and his mental perception was useless; he could only rely on the path beneath his feet and the vague outlines of the surrounding railings to discern his direction.

Despite this, he felt neither uneasy nor afraid. This might be due to his strong inner strength, or perhaps his trust in the [Treasure Hunter] and the [Unlucky Constitution].

In such a place, the most unfortunate thing is to discover "treasure" and "the truth"—Ye Shou has always been very confident in his luck at such times.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the fog gradually thinned, and he felt as if he had stepped onto some kind of elevator platform, which was rapidly ascending.

Ten seconds later, we finally emerged from the suffocating fog and officially entered the upper area!

The view before me suddenly opened up, and looking into the distance, it possessed a kind of desolate grandeur.

This appears to be a town built against the outer wall of a pyramid, with an extremely vast space. The most striking feature is the giant stone statues scattered throughout.

Ye Shou was immediately drawn to them, staring intently at them... Most of them were broken and dilapidated, like severed arms, toppled bodies, and fallen heads, half-buried in the rubble, their original appearance unrecognizable.

Many people used these stone statues as dwellings, going in and out of the hollowed-out chest and abdomen cavities, or building simple sheds on the broad shoulders of the statues.

On the still intact stone statues, small pits are carved out, and a tiny Zigera flower is planted inside. Even without light, the pale yellow flower blooms in patches on the gray stone statues, creating an eerie yet beautiful landscape.

The population here is more dense than that of the middle class. There are many people on the streets of the town, but it is unusually quiet. It seems that they have all lost the ability to speak. They do not speak unless necessary, and even their breathing is regular and slow.

Many people knelt directly by the roadside, facing the town center, with their hands crossed over their chests, praying motionless with a blissful expression that anyone who saw them could see as devout.

—They don't have many mutations, except for the peculiar patterns and designs on their skin.

The most common way is to draw starlight or some kind of written symbol on the forehead.

Ye Shou suddenly realized that the R'lyeh Temple was divided into two main parts, above and below ground. He entered from the middle level of the pyramid above ground... What was the lower level, the underground part, like?

Judging from the population size on these two levels, it was far less than ten thousand; the area further down must have been where most of the survivors lived.

...Never mind, he's not here to investigate the living conditions of people in the ancient times.

Ye Shou raised his gaze, looking past the praying crowds and broken stone statues, towards the very center of the town, and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

We finally found it! The thing Yu Lian was talking about!

There, a spire made entirely of some kind of dark crystal stood tall, its straight body piercing through the dimness of the pyramid's interior. Its tip seemed to touch the top of the pyramid's inner wall, emitting a faint and cold luster.

And this spire also seems to be the direction that the town's residents worship—

Spark Prism Tower

—The Beacon of Light that once summoned all giants!

Chapter 233 The new human is named "Zoga"!