Looking at the suddenly frenzied animals surrounding them, which had almost taken over the entire central area, Gou Fugui was caught in a fierce struggle of making a difficult decision.
The giant tree they are protecting is the core of the world; to save the world, they must protect this giant tree.
However, if this tree is to be restored to its original state and the core of the world is to be repaired, a sufficient amount of life force is needed, and apart from the plants they planted, the animals still alive in this underground world are probably the only remaining life force.
Killing these animals might save the giant tree, but it would mean salvaging the world's core. And if the world's core isn't repaired, even if the giant tree is saved, its ultimate fate will still be the same: being taken back—another form of death.
For a moment, Gou Fugui was caught in a dilemma.
When Wang Daqiang asked again whether it was possible to kill these animals, Gou Fugui closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and gritted his teeth to answer:
"Don't kill them!"
"Don't kill them!!"
"They must have been triggered by some sudden stimulus to act like this! As long as they don't attack us first, don't hurt them!"
"The elderly should take the children and leave this place to safety. Leave those who are capable of fighting and defending here..."
As Gou Fugui spoke, he couldn't help but sigh softly, a trace of weariness and helplessness appearing on his handsome face: "I'm sorry everyone, I brought you here, and now I may have to... lead you to your deaths."
However, at this moment, the survivors, who usually obeyed Gou Fugui's orders, stopped listening to him.
The elderly people did indeed protect the children within their embrace, but they did not take the children away.
Meanwhile, the strong and capable young men drove the animals away and used their nets to prevent them from crashing into the giant tree, while shouting to their fast-running friends to fetch more tools.
“Fugui’er, you’re wrong. What do you mean you led us to our deaths? It was you who led us to escape death.”
"If it weren't for your discovery of this underground world, we probably would have died from the heat and drought two months ago. How could we be alive now?"
Grandma Hua reached out and grabbed a rabbit that was trying to run into a tree. She quickly handed it to the little boy next to her, and the little boy and his younger siblings behind him took out a rope and tied the rabbit up.
"Grandma Hua is right. We don't know about other things, but if we don't understand the obvious fact that you saved us, then we are stupid, vicious, and ungrateful."
Although I don't know what important purpose this huge tree serves, I know at least you wouldn't harm us; everything you do is for everyone to survive!
Qiang Ge's voice rang out powerfully from Grandma Hua in the underground world right after, and everyone else nodded in agreement.
Even the sixty-odd animals that had charged forward with everyone shouted in unison at this moment, letting everyone, including Fugui'er and Meiren, understand their thoughts and determination.
The black cat and the lame wolfhound stood at the front; the two of them alone were enough to swat down a crazed rabbit with one paw, rendering it completely immobile and tied up.
The other cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, and geese also used their own unique abilities. In short, the animals took charge of one direction and effectively stopped the crazy animals.
Xiaoyun, the overly perceptive girl, glanced at the giant tree beside her and finally said, "I think... as long as we protect this tree and don't harm the animals here, we will definitely turn things around and get through this disaster."
This feeling was as if she had always believed that as long as she followed Gou Fugui and the other two, she and her father would be able to survive this disaster.
Therefore, even at this point, these survivors did not experience the fear, anger, or complaints that Gou Fugui had imagined; they were prepared to accept any outcome.
But this result can only be achieved after they have worked hard and left no regrets.
So, apart from the elderly and young children who were unable to engage in strenuous exercise, all 109 people who were able to help moved around the giant tree.
In the end, everyone formed a circle of about three layers, holding nets, cloth, and soft ropes, and stopped the animals that were frantically crashing into the giant tree one by one.
After stopping them, to prevent the animals from charging again, the people in the innermost circle tied their legs and feet so they could no longer crash into the trees.
When people do these things, they are not without fear or trepidation—
The enormous, azure serpent, capable of swallowing a person whole with its open mouth, stood tall in the deep pool not far away, its vertical pupils, deep yellow with a hint of light red, staring straight at them.
It seemed ready to pounce and devour people at any moment, yet it also seemed to be struggling as if it had some reservations.
Its mere presence alone exuded a terrifying aura that kept everyone from turning their heads to look at it, forcing them to bury their heads in catching rabbits, gophers, and some large insects.
Fortunately, apart from the blue dragon snake, the other animals were much smaller than humans and did not frighten everyone too much. With everyone working together, they managed to tie up countless crazed underground animals.
After the first three hours, the survivors managed to net and tie up all the rabbits and gophers that had rushed towards the trees.
When the last rabbit was thrown into the wire mesh that the wealthy beauty had pulled out in the chaos, all the survivors gathered around the giant tree breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh my god, I'm exhausted... So, have we... saved this tree?"
Master Pang plopped down on the ground. His arms, which usually didn't get tired even when holding heavy iron pots weighing dozens of kilograms, were now so tired that he could barely lift them.
"I guess so? It seems like all the other animals have stopped moving? But I've never seen so many rabbits and gophers before! I never want to see rabbits and gophers again in my life!!"
Wang Daqiang complained from the side while chugging down a bottle of water.
Everyone was exhausted after catching and tying up rabbits and ground squirrels for three hours straight, and they were all quickly drinking water and eating to replenish their strength and nutrients.
Even with the survivors protecting it, the ground beneath the huge, luminous white tree they were guarding was now covered with a thick layer of white leaves, the edges of which showed some new green but did not continue to expand.
This layer of shimmering white leaves, fallen on the somewhat dark ground, possesses a dreamlike beauty, like a carpet of glowing leaves.
It's a pity that no one has time to appreciate this beauty now. Although the rabbits, gophers, and some insects have all been caught and tied up, but—
The azure serpent was still staring at them, while the birds in the cave that had inflicted the most damage on the giant tree during the previous frenzied impact were still hanging upside down on the rock wall, watching them intently.
"Brother Fugui, I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but we've already netted and trapped these rabbits and gophers. But these birds and this snake are a real problem!"
Qiang Ge held an emergency scallion pancake in his hand, looking somewhat anxious: "I don't think they'll give up easily. Those birds are too agile when they fly around. If we don't kill them, I'm afraid we won't be able to stop them from crashing into trees or tearing leaves."
But the most troublesome thing is that huge snake with horns on its head! That snake looks many times larger than the largest python. What if it also goes berserk and charges towards this tree…”
Qiang wiped his face: "Even if I risked my life and all my strength, I still couldn't stop it."
"And this azure serpent could probably knock a leaf off this giant tree with just one powerful ramming.
If it were a little more aggressive, whistling through the leaves of this giant tree from bottom to top... it probably wouldn't take more than ten minutes for it to completely strip away all the beautiful leaves, right?
Gou Fugui was eating a compressed biscuit, his eyes fixed on the Golden Horned King, whose body was swaying more and more violently.
He noticed that the crimson color in the deep yellow bushes of the blue dragon was getting darker and darker, and that more and more of its body was protruding above the pool.
It's coming out soon.
It looks like the final boss that needs to be defeated in this world.
But Gou Fugui always felt that this serpent was not a destroyer.
He was still unsure why the underground animals had suddenly gone mad, and whether it was related to the sudden increase in Earth's temperature.
His intuition told him that this was a very important point.
This is a point that absolutely needs to be clarified.
"Mikawa."
Gou Fugui suddenly called out to Song Sanchuan.
Song Sanchuan, who was frantically slurping his instant noodles, suddenly looked up: "I'm here, what's up? What do you need me to do?"
Gou Fugui glanced at the frenzied animals around him and at the colorful mushrooms that had stopped glowing after falling, and said, "Go to the vertical passage and monitor the outside temperature in real time."
"I will keep my communication watch on. We can communicate over short distances here. When I call you, you must tell me the most accurate temperature change."
Is that okay?
Song Sanchuan slurped up the last few bites of instant noodles, wiped his mouth, and walked straight to the back: "Don't worry, even if rocks fall from the passage, I will still complete the mission."
Gou Fugui nodded solemnly.
He needs a test to confirm his suspicions.
At this moment, Xie Tianlang looked at the azure serpent that seemed to be getting increasingly out of control, slowly moved his wrist, and for the first time, his expression became extremely solemn: "...Give this serpent to me."
"You can't kill it, but you can keep it occupied."
"Go do what you want to do."
The wealthy and beautiful woman chuckled upon hearing his words.
"Isn't what I want to do and what you want to do the same thing?"
Therefore, they are not fighting alone.
"Before the giant serpent goes berserk, let's catch those birds that are eyeing us with predatory intent first."
Gou Fugui stood up, and as soon as he stood up, everyone who was still resting also stood up. Although everyone was also very tired, no one complained or gave up at this moment.
As everyone stood up, the various underground birds hanging upside down on the domed stone walls, whose feathers also emitted a faint glow, all cried out and swooped down from the sky.
Their target is not the humans standing under the tree, but to tear away this last hope with their sharp beaks and claws.
Their black pupils radiated a scarlet, fiery light.
At this moment, Song Sanchuan had already run to the passage under the No. 2 open space as fast as he could, and he began to monitor the real-time temperature of the ground.
[Rich boy! The current surface temperature is 110 degrees Celsius!]
Gou Fugui pulled out his fully charged portable megaphone from his spatial storage. He first shouted for everyone to cover their ears, and then, just as the birds were about to swoop down to the trees, he activated the Fugui Groundhog Bloodline Enhancement, took a deep breath, and then screamed!
"Aaaaaaahh ...
This was a soul scream that was almost unbearable for all life in the underworld, a scream that nearly broke its throat.
It was so terrifying that even though everyone obediently covered their ears, some people with weaker constitutions still shuddered and froze uncontrollably.
Even those who cover their ears can't withstand the sound, let alone the birds that don't cover their ears and have excellent hearing. With just this one sound, all the birds that were flapping their wings in the air froze and fell from the sky one after another.
"Holy crap!!"
Qiang Ge, Xu Lei, and many others couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
"My God, my boss has such a terrifying voice-activated weapon!!"
After shouting, Gou Fugui turned the loudspeaker around and yelled at the stunned people, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and net these birds!! You can even use a cloth to scoop them up!!"
So the few dozen survivors with the best physical abilities who were still able to move, without being stiff, quickly grabbed their clothes, nets, and even knotted pants to scoop up all the frantic birds that had landed.
Of course, they would make sure to leave a gap for the birds to breathe, so they wouldn't die.
Gou Fugui called out to Song Sanchuan while looking at his wristwatch.
A second later, Song Sanchuan's somewhat surprised and uncertain voice came through: "[This is a bit strange. The temperature seems to be dropping, but not noticeably... It's dropped! The current temperature is 105 degrees! It's dropped 5 degrees!]"
[But this change only happened once, so we can't be sure if it was a coincidence. What were you doing over there? No, can what we're doing down there affect the surface temperature?!]
Gou Fugui did not answer Song Sanchuan's question. He simply raised the horn again and screamed mercilessly at another wave of birds rushing over.
After doing this three times, the flock of birds, which Qiang Ge considered the most difficult to deal with, turned out to be much simpler and less strenuous than catching rabbits and ground squirrels. After gathering all these animals together, the most dangerous and last remaining crazy creature in this underground world was the serpent that had crawled out of the deep pool.
This is indeed an extremely terrifying and frightening dragon.
The pythons that humans are familiar with are at best considered cubs in comparison to it.
Its head alone is over two meters wide, and its huge mouth can swallow a person whole, whether it is horizontal or vertical. At this point, the part of it that has crawled out of the pool is over fifty meters long, so we can infer that its overall length may be over one hundred meters.
But that's not the scariest part.
While pythons exceeding 100 meters in length are terrifying, they generally don't defy common sense or imagination. But this "dragon snake" before us, besides its extraordinary size, possesses another aspect that will shock and deeply concern all Washington residents—
Besides the golden horn on its head, it also has four claws under its body.
Even though its four claws seemed disproportionate to its massive body and completely unable to support it, every Washingtonian who saw its body paled.
The enormous creature before them so easily reminded them of a certain entity.
"...This...this is a dragon?!" Lu Xuesi exclaimed in disbelief.
"It has horns on its head, scales on its body, and claws on its belly!! It's practically a living, breathing dragon!!"
Although everyone had seen the serpent on the very first day they descended into the underground world, at that time the serpent only showed its large head and the golden horn on its head, which looked like a decoration and was not real at all.
At that time, people did not think of it as a "dragon that can transform into a dragon," but rather thought it was more like a python monster from a disaster movie.
But now, looking at this serpent, everyone couldn't help but have a thought in their minds—if it were a serpent, would it one day... undergo tribulation and transform into a dragon?
Everyone stared blankly at the serpent. Fear mingled with a strange sense of fascination.
However, when the serpent's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot and it began to roar madly at everyone in front of it, all emotions turned to terror.
[Wow! The ground temperature suddenly rose above 120 degrees Celsius!! And it's still rising!!]
The long-haired youth's expression suddenly darkened, and he slammed his right hand into his left wrist, shouting:
"Everyone, retreat to the corner! Get as far away from the giant tree as possible! You can't get involved here!!"
The terrified crowd turned and ran, so only Xie Tianlang, who had been watching him the whole time, saw the young man's long black hair suddenly tinged with a dazzling seven-colored light.
Then a large roll of thick linen appeared out of thin air in his hand. He grabbed one end and threw the other end at Xie Tianlang.
Xie Tianlang firmly grasped the other end of the burlap, and the two of them leaped forward in perfect unison, using the two-meter-wide and more than ten-meter-long burlap to cover the head of the green dragon that was lunging at them with its mouth wide open!
"!!"
Almost instantly, Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang felt the tremendous impact from the burlap in their hands.
The force pulled the two of them, along with the giant python, towards the luminous white tree.
At this moment, the Azure Dragon's mouth and head were covered with burlap, preventing it from seeing what was in front of it.
Gou Fugui glanced at the giant tree almost right in front of him, then looked up and shouted, "Thank you, Tianlang!!"
In that instant, Xie Tianlang's arm muscles bulged, and with a loud shout, he pulled the burlap in his hands to the left.
However, even with his immense strength, when facing this colossal creature that far exceeded what humans could possibly contend with, he could only slightly deflect the Azure Dragon's head.
But just a slight deviation is enough.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gou Fugui leaped up and landed on the giant python's head.
He was still holding the sturdy burlap in his hand, and he covered the python's head with the burlap, then punched the python in the head!
This punch used up all of Mantis Shrimp Fugui's power.
And it directly triggered an extremely powerful combo.
A punch thrown by a mantis shrimp is comparable to a bullet, and when it comes to Gou Fugui, the power of that punch exceeds that of an ordinary bullet.
At the very least, a continuous attack could easily leave a green dragon dizzy and disoriented.
"Hiss... Roar!!"
The Azure Dragon let out an angry roar.
But it's also true that it was knocked unconscious. In this state, it was completely unable to distinguish directions. Whichever direction Gou Fugui's fist punched, its head would tilt and bang in that direction!
boom!
A deafening roar came from the mountain wall in the underground world; it was the sound of the Azure Dragon's head hitting the mountain wall.
By this time, the crazed azure dragon had already deviated from its original target—the giant, white tree whose leaves were still slowly falling.
But its anger caused it to start throwing tantrums and rampage throughout the underground world.
Seven-Colored Fortune rode on its head, its hands tightly gripping its golden horns, pondering what to do next.
Are we just going to keep riding the serpent around the cave like this?!
But how long can this last?!
Should I punch it a few more times to knock it unconscious? But what if I keep hitting the same spot and kill it?
As Gou Fugui was thinking, Xie Tianlang also leaped high, dragging the burlap that was rolling on the ground, and finally landed on the head of the Azure Dragon. At the same time, Song Sanchuan's voice came from both of their wristwatches:
[The temperature has dropped again! Just now, during that really big tremor! The temperature dropped from 120 to 110 degrees! What were you two doing just now? What are you doing now? The temperature is fluctuating wildly around 110 degrees.]
What exactly happened?!
Upon hearing Song Sanchuan's words, Gou Fugui finally confirmed a possibility:
"...These animals must live!"
The first time the temperature suddenly dropped was when he used his scream to shake the frantic birds down from the sky.
The second sudden drop in temperature also occurred when the Azure Dragon crashed into the stone wall.
The reason the temperature is fluctuating wildly is because he and Xie Tianlang are controlling the azure dragon, making it constantly struggle between madness and reason.
Therefore, the giant tree that seemed to reach the sky was the core of repairing the world, but the animals of this underground world were also indispensable.
They lost their minds because the temperature suddenly increased, which could also be interpreted as the Earth being pulled closer by the sun's power.
If they stop going crazy or regain their senses, the temperature will drop. Does that mean that Earth has moved away from the sun by its own power?
A silent gravitational pull is taking place between the Earth and the Sun.
The amount and strength of the Earth's core forces may determine the final outcome of this tug-of-war.
Thinking of this, Gou Fugui suddenly paused for a moment.
If whether the underground animals go mad or not directly affects the temperature and the amount of core strength, then... are these animals... still animals?
Just as he was lost in thought, Xiaoyun's voice came from the other end:
"Brother Fugui!! The animals have suddenly started rioting again! They're screaming at everything around them!!"
Gou Fugui's heart pounded wildly as he noticed that the azure dragon beneath his feet had also suddenly gone berserk.
He looked down at the Azure Dragon's still crimson eyes. Then, looking up again, he shouted to the survivors:
"Drag those animals away! Take them to the plants we planted!! Quickly, take as many as you can! Get them all to the plants!"
Xiaoyun and the others didn't understand why Gou Fugui said that, but everyone sprang into action. More than a hundred people were divided into two teams, each dragging, carrying, or shouldering a bag of struggling animals, heading deeper into the two passages.
Everyone initially expected the animals to struggle frantically, but miraculously, although they were frantic and struggling at first, they gradually calmed down when they reached the planted, yet not fully grown, underground plants and crops. Then, a scene that shocked and amazed everyone unfolded before their eyes—
The animals, now calm, circled the newly sprouted plants a few times. Then, whether it was the rabbit that glowed all over, the ground squirrel that only had its tail tip glowing, or the bird with fluorescent wings, they all chirped twice and then rushed straight into the ground!
Yes, it plunged headfirst into the earth.
Without digging holes or raising dust, when these animals plunged into the earth, their forms instantly transformed into specks of colorful fluorescence, disappearing into the ground.
Starting with the glowing animals that were taken away, and from the two passages at the edge, the light from the animals disappearing into the earth continued to linger throughout the entire underground world.
Those animals that remained in the central area, struggling to avoid being taken away, also disappeared into the middle of the central area after the other animals burrowed into the ground, filling the earth with colorful fluorescence.
However, this light was fleeting, like gently scattered fireworks, beautiful but without a trace.
As people lamented and felt lost at the disappearance, suddenly, they saw the various plants they had planted, which had only had time to sprout tips in the past two months, grow rapidly in the instant after the light faded!
Whether it's sturdy, lush shrubs, grasses with deep blue or green hues, or colorful flowers emitting fluorescence, these plants, which should take months or even years to grow, all sprouted in a short period of time.
As the plants grew, the once-amazing seven-colored light that had dissipated reappeared in this underground world, illuminating the entire world once more.
"Wow... Mom! The world is so beautiful!"
At this moment, in the center of this underground world, colorful fluorescence also emerged bit by bit as the plants grew.
The once fallen and shriveled colorful mushrooms transformed back into colorful spores and rose upwards.
Most of the fluorescence surrounded the giant, luminous white tree that seemed to connect to the underground world; suddenly, all the light rushed towards this giant tree.
It was at this moment that the previously crazed blue dragon suddenly tore apart the burlap covering its head and, to the astonishment of Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang, charged at the giant tree once more.
This time, however, neither Gou Fugui nor Xie Tianlang stopped it.
Not only because its pupils had returned to their deep yellow color, but also because—
Gou Fugui reached out and grabbed the golden horn of the azure dragon, exclaiming:
"I never expected... that you were also part of the world's core, right?"
Xie Tianlang's hand was also on that golden horn, his eyes showing a knowing smile.
When the long-haired youth uttered those words, the voice of the world consciousness, which had been silent for so long and had not responded to his calls, finally rang in his mind.
[Congratulations to the Saviors for finding and repairing the world's core. You will be leaving this world in ten seconds.]
After the voice of the world consciousness rang out, the azure serpent suddenly roared to the sky. Then, its originally weak and powerless four claws seemed to be filled with power again. Surrounded by colorful and dreamlike light bands, it hissed and took off into the air, flying towards the luminous white giant tree.
Five seconds later, Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang landed on the Azure Dragon and watched it wrap around the giant tree.
In three seconds, it transformed into Him. The Azure Dragon shed its azure scales and transformed into a pale golden dragon, soaring straight towards the dome below and into the sky.
In the final second, as Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang vanished from this world, they saw the giant, gleaming white tree's leaves turn a vibrant, emerald green the instant the blue scales fell. All the fallen leaves then grew back, and the magnificent tree was reborn with ultimate vitality.
The entire underground world began to shake and collapse.
[Oh my god!! Fugui and Boss, what have you done?! The ground temperature is dropping like crazy!! 120, 110, 98!!]
[Holy crap, the world core is fixed?! What on earth happened?!]
In the infinite universe, where humanity still remains ignorant and unaware, at the edge of that brilliant galaxy.
In the solar system, a world that is both extremely small and extremely large.
The sudden burst of power from the sun brought unknown disasters and changes to the planets throughout the solar system.
On the third orbit around this blazing star, the small blue planet, which had been gradually pulled away and almost had its orbit altered by the power of the solar eruption, suddenly seemed to regain the strength to persevere and live. After a faint dragon's roar, it seemed to take a step back with all its might.
It has returned to a safe track.
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