The ground in that area suddenly arched upward! Countless thick, resilient vines, gleaming with a faint green light, burst forth from the earth like awakened giant pythons! They lashed and entwined frantically, instantly shredding the foremost few Fungus Skeleton Warriors into metal and mycelium debris! Simultaneously, the spore cloud in the air violently churned, forming visible turbulence with a pale green glow. Like an invisible barrier, it stubbornly resisted the mental shockwaves emanating from the diamond-shaped core! The entire ruined battlefield ground trembled slightly, as if a behemoth was stirring deep underground!

After being attacked, the plant network began an autonomous, violent counterattack! No longer silent, no longer passively enduring! Its target was the Fungus Dome that was trying to forcibly control it! It refused to be controlled, whether by the Fungus Dome or Xu Shuangyao!

The three-way melee instantly transformed into a four-way struggle! Humans (Pei Du, Xu Shuangyao), the Fungus Dome Order, the wild refugees, and the awakened plant network! The battlefield was completely boiling, caught in an unpredictable vortex of violence!

"Opportunity!" Pei Du's eyes were bloodshot, but suddenly a fierce light burst out from his eyes in desperation. Chaos is the best cover! The Fungus Dome was restrained by the counterattack of the plant network, and the "Wild Fang" was also somewhat confused by this sudden change. He picked up the almost exhausted Xu Shuangyao, half-carrying her on his shoulders, and roared to the only two remaining "Raven" members who could still stand: "Follow me! Charge out! Target - the underground pipe entrance on the east side!" There was an abandoned maintenance passage they had previously discovered that might lead to deeper levels and was not completely blocked for the time being. It was the only way to survive!

"Kill!" The two wounded "Ravens" burst out with their last bloody courage, one wielding an alloy sword that had cut a hole in the wall, and the other firing wildly with a heavy shotgun, using their flesh and blood to tear open a short bloody path for Pei Du and the others.

Pei Du, carrying Xu Shuangyao, charged like a wounded beast, amidst a hail of bullets, whipping vines, tangled mycelium, and the frantic howls of refugees. The Crown of Thorns burned against his forehead, forcing waves of cold, violent power into his exhausted body, sustaining him as he squeezed every last ounce of potential. The dagger in his hand transformed into a scythe of death, each swing sending up a puff of blood or metal fragments. Xu Shuangyao slumped over his shoulder, her consciousness dazed. The dark red light of the Crown of Thorns flickered in her hair, each flicker causing her body to spasm painfully, as if absorbing something at an accelerated rate.

Time was infinitely stretched and compressed in the chaos. Every breath carried the scent of gunpowder and spores, and every footstep landed on sticky blood or broken limbs. The crimson countdown numbers danced wildly in Pei Du's peripheral vision, mercilessly cutting into their slimy chances of survival:

122:11:03… 122:11:02… 122:11:01…

It's getting closer! The rusty round metal manhole cover, hidden by a half-collapsed wall, is less than twenty meters ahead!

"Cover!" Pei Du roared.

The sole remaining Raven member, the burly man holding the shotgun, roared wildly, swung his rifle around, and unleashed the last of his magazine of steel balls at the Fungus Warriors and several Wild Fangs attempting to outflank them. The dense explosions temporarily stalled the pursuers, but also completely exposed him.

"Puff puff puff!" Several crossbow arrows and several scorching mycelium rays penetrated his body in an instant!

"Go...go quickly!" The big man screamed with his last bit of strength, and his burly body fell down like a mountain, blocking the way of the pursuers.

Pei Du's teeth were almost broken. Without looking back, he used up his last bit of strength to rush towards the manhole cover and kicked open the heavy rusted cover, revealing the dark entrance to the passage below, which exuded a strong smell of mold and engine oil.

"Jump!" Without hesitation, he hugged Xu Shuangyao and leaped into the bottomless darkness! The feeling of weightlessness instantly enveloped his body, and only the whistling sound of the wind in his ears and the explosions and roars from above quickly faded away.

The icy sewage instantly reached their waists, the biting chill causing both of them to shiver. Pei Du steadied himself and lifted the choked Xu Shuangyao out of the water. A faint light shone through the wellhead overhead, illuminating the vast, long-abandoned maintenance pipeline. The rusted walls were covered in slippery moss and faintly phosphorescent bacterial plaques. The air was thick with the stench of decay.

Safe...for now?

Pei Du gasped violently, the cold sewage draining away his body heat. The wounds on his neck and hands stung in the filthy water. He looked down at Xu Shuangyao in his arms. She coughed and spat out a few mouthfuls of dirty water. She regained consciousness slightly, but her face remained frighteningly pale. The light of the Crown of Thorns flickered faintly.

"That...that memory..." Xu Shuangyao spoke weakly, her voice echoing in the empty pipe, "It's fake...right? The fungus dome...implanted..." She looked at Pei Du, with a look of confirmation and a hint of fear in her eyes.

Pei Du was silent for a few seconds, dirty water dripping down his angular jaw. In the darkness, his eyes were dim and unclear. "It's fake." His voice was low and hoarse, with a coldness that cut through the past. "My father... died long before I can remember. Drunk, fell into the river." He paused, then added, his tone as flat as if he were telling someone else's story, "He drowned."

The truth was so simple, so cold. Junqiong dug into the fear deep in his memory, using the vague concept of "father" to fabricate a desperate illusion of being betrayed and sold by his closest relatives, precisely breaking down his psychological defenses.

Xu Shuangyao looked at the lingering coldness and subtle fatigue in his eyes, and her heart felt like it was blocked by something. She reached out, and her cold fingers gently touched the edge of the wound on his neck, which was still bleeding from the scratch of the chainsaw blade.

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