Just as the two were about to burst out of the hole—
A huge, ancient, and boundless will, precipitated by the silent spread of billions of plant roots underground, instantly enveloped the area like an invisible deep sea!
Plant Network's "Watching"!
This "gaze" was devoid of warmth, hostility, or kindness. Like an absolutely rational observer, it swept coldly over Pei Du's slowly "extinguishing" and smoking mutated arm, over the fusion crown atop his head, its light dimmed by the excessive drain of power, its thorns seemingly shrunken, over the torn, carbonized, and still slightly twitching fragments of activated roots on the ground, and finally, it fell upon Xu Shuangyao, who had barely escaped the hole and collapsed to the ground.
No attack, no block.
Only an extremely faint thought wave, like the rustling of leaves in the wind, yet extremely clear, resounded directly in the consciousness of all living (or half-dead) in this area:
"Symbiosis...Curse..."
"The key... is worn..."
"Container... one missing from three..."
The information was fragmented and blurred, carrying an incomprehensible, ancient rhythm, like a riddle. The thought flashed through Pei Du and Xu Shuangyao's collapsing consciousness, without explanation or pause. It was like a routine annotation after recording the observation data.
The next second, at the edge of the massive hole blasted open by Pei Du, the remnants of activated roots, still blazing with dark red embers of energy, began to squirm and multiply frantically, as if receiving some silent command! More dark purple vines emerged from the ground and the walls, like countless revived pythons, intertwining and entwining once again with greater speed and tenacity, rapidly filling the hole! They once again isolated the furious roar of the fungus leader, the footsteps of the fungus puppet army, and the suffocating pressure of the fungus master!
The passage was sealed again, but it was no longer a dead end. The plant network had its own way of "dealing" with the chaotic area, temporarily blocking the threat. It offered no assistance, nor did it add insult to injury, simply apathetically maintaining a certain... balance? Or perhaps, was it waiting for something?
“Plop!”
“Plop!”
Two dull thuds of landing.
Pei Du and Xu Shuangyao fell almost simultaneously onto the cold, hard ground outside the hole, covered in rubble and dust. This was somewhere deeper within the city ruins, where the buildings were even more dilapidated. Huge cracks tore through the earth like scars. The air was filled with an even stronger smell of gunpowder and a strange, burnt smell, reminiscent of ash.
They escaped the enclosed environment of the activated pipelines and pumping stations, escaped the pursuit of the fungus puppets, and were temporarily isolated from the threats behind them by the plant network. But the price they paid was so heavy that it was immeasurable.
Pei Du lay faceup, gasping for breath, each breath carrying a heavy stench of blood and searing pain in his lungs. His completely disabled, mutated right arm lay limply at his side. From fingertips to shoulder blade, the skin cracked, carbonized, and peeled, revealing dark red muscle and fascia beneath, as if molten and then solidified, emitting the foul stench of burnt protein. Around the edges of several larger wounds, dark red, irregular gem-like crystals clung, gleaming with a faint, sinister light. Though the dark red mutated lines had ceased their rampant spread, their color, as dark as dried blood, clung to the small right side of his chest and neck, causing a constant, itching, and burning pain that penetrated deep into his bones. Most terrifying of all, he could no longer feel the arm, only a sharp, empty pain and a strange, cold, and distant feeling between him and the mutated limb. The light of the fusion crown dimmed to the extreme, and the thorns seemed to have shrunk a little, but the severe pain deep in the spine and the feeling of life slipping away did not ease.
Xu Shuangyao huddled not far from him, her body convulsing uncontrollably from the intense mental backlash and the pain of the symbiotic connection overload. Her face was a deathly pale, her lips bloodless. The blood streaks from her seven orifices stood out against her dust-covered face. The crown of thorns sat askew on her head, its light almost gone. Her consciousness drifted in a vortex of intense pain and confusion. The symbiotic connection, with both parties on the verge of collapse, had become extremely unstable, intermittent, and each weak connection brought a stabbing pain and a cascade of chaotic information.
Safe for now? Perhaps.
But the cold, immensity of the Fungus Master's will still hung heavy over the ruins like an invisible, leaden cloud. Its whisper, though weakened by distance and the isolation of the plant network, remained unchanged, lingering and lurking like a cancer on the brink of shattered consciousness.
"Defective product...struggle...in vain..."
"Blends in...perfectly..."
"The pain... the end..."
Like a cold, poisonous snake, whispers continued to lick Pei Du's nerves, attempting to drag him once again into the abyss of despair. Meanwhile, new fragments of illusion began to grow: no longer the cold rain alley and the fear of being dragged, but the brilliance of the incubator's interior. The sleeping "self" slowly opened his eyes! A pair of cold, empty, emotionless eyes, yet filled with a sense of superior judgment! Those eyes, piercing the barriers of time and space, fixed their gaze on him, a shambled and broken figure amidst the ruins! As if silently declaring: Behold, this is true perfection. And you, merely scraps waiting to be recycled.
"Uh..." Pei Du closed his eyes in pain, trying to dispel the poisonous sting of mental pollution, but the severe pain in his mutated limbs and the extreme weakness of his body made it extremely difficult for him to concentrate.
Elsewhere, Xu Shuangyao's condition was equally dire. The vague message from the plant network ("Symbiosis... Curse... Key... One of the three containers missing...") echoed like a mantra in her chaotic mind, bringing immense confusion and unease. Even more painful was the erosion of her mind: completely unfamiliar, distorted, and fragmented images flashed uncontrollably through her mind—not Pei Du's memories, nor her own! It was the view of giant, writhing roots slithering through the darkness underground... the dripping sound of cold metal instruments dripping green liquid... the image of countless spores flickering like stars in the universe of consciousness... These images bore the strong hallmarks of plant perception, yet were filled with the cold traces of data streams! Were they fragments of the plant network's memories? Or were they the distortions of her brain caused by the fungus master's contamination? She couldn't tell! These fragments severely interfered with her thinking, causing her to suffer a splitting headache, and her perception of her surroundings became distorted, as if she were looking at the world through frosted glass.
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