Three beams of blue light shot into the dark passage, instantly dispelling the darkness. Inside, everything was just as ordinary as outside.
Except for the corners where the flashlight beam couldn't reach, this passage looked like an ordinary underground passage.
My doubts deepened. If this place is so simple, why did those Haru people rush over to protect the stone house despite the burning mushroom field?
There must be something wrong here. I don't believe those Haru people simply have a grudge against us.
After about twenty minutes, I felt that the time was almost up. So I asked Dante to pull back the rope that was tethering the bird and check on the bird's condition.
The rope was only about twenty meters long, and Dante quickly pulled it all out of the passage. Then I noticed the bird that was still tied to the rope was flapping and struggling.
Aside from being frightened, I didn't see any signs of weakness or poisoning on the bird.
"That's strange... The air quality is fine too."
I muttered to myself, pondering the reasons behind it.
Perhaps there are hidden ventilation holes inside to prevent the air quality inside from deteriorating.
It seems we'll have to go inside and take a look to find out the truth.
I immediately shared my thoughts with the leader, who frowned, as he knew nothing about the passage either.
In addition, the terrain inside is narrow, so if they really encounter something, they probably won't be able to use their beast skills very well.
There are still some risks involved in going in, but after further consideration, the leader decided to let us risk going in to investigate.
The chief wanted to come in with us, but his people stopped him. He was, after all, the king of the tribe, the pillar of their society.
The tribe can't be without a chief now, and secondly, the chief is too big. If he goes in, we'll probably all be crawling at a snail's pace behind.
Finally, at the chief's request, two slightly shorter and more wiry warriors from the Asaida tribe entered the passage with us.
The leader and his men were waiting at the stone slab exit to help us get out; that was all he could do for now.
We entered the pitch-black passage by the light of our flashlights. Just in case, I had Dante carry the live bird that we used to scout ahead.
Every so often, we would release the bird to scout ahead and make sure the air we were breathing was safe.
The passageway wasn't wide, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. To ensure everyone's safety, Dante and I walked at the front.
I have a shotgun. In this tunnel where there's almost no way to dodge, as long as I fire a shotgun blast, even if the opponent is the King of Heaven, they'll be riddled with bullets.
After we went down into the tunnel, we found that the tunnel was not short. It was at least 1.8 meters high, probably between 1.9 and 2 meters, because we could easily touch the top of the tunnel with our hands.
We scanned the passage again with flashlights to make sure there was no danger before continuing deeper into the passage.
Unlike the hot climate on the ground, the temperature inside this passage is almost constant. Not only do you not feel hot, but you also feel a bit cool after walking for a while.
By the light of my flashlight, I looked around and could see that it was a very old man-made passage. As for when it was dug out, that is impossible to verify.
The dark, slightly whitish marks on the cave walls suggest that this place has a history of at least several hundred to several thousand years.
Along the way, apart from hearing each other's pounding heartbeats, this place seemed just like the situation we encountered in that carnivorous plant forest.
However, this is a tunnel, so such situations are quite normal. It's just that as time goes on, a sense of oppression inevitably arises in people's hearts.
Dante, seeing that he still couldn't see the end of the passage after walking for so long, was somewhat puzzled.
"Sir, where does this place lead? We've been walking for so long and we still can't see the end."
At this moment, I also felt a little puzzled. What exactly were these Haru doing? As far as we were concerned, there was nothing strange about this passage; it was just an ordinary passage.
But continuing like this isn't a solution. We've been in this passage for over two hours, and who knows how much longer it will go?
We didn't expect things to turn out this way. Our current preparations don't allow us to continue exploring, so we have no choice but to turn back.
After the situation below the passage was explained to the leader, everyone looked puzzled. However, since it concerned Haru, the leader dared not be careless.
After we got back, we prepared fresh, ready-to-eat dry food and water, and everyone even brought a few animal hides with them for sleeping.
Once we re-entered the passage, we had food supplies and no longer needed to worry about anything.
The passage was so long that we couldn't perceive how much time had passed inside until our hunger instinct kicked in, allowing us to roughly estimate our current time using this creature.
It's been a long time since we last ate together, and we're feeling hungry now. It must be evening outside.
After the five of us ate some dry rations, we felt that our strength was still okay, since it was dark inside and outside anyway.
Besides, we hadn't found anything dangerous after walking for so long, so we decided to continue walking for a while.
Although it's underground, just as I suspected, there must be hidden ventilation holes, so we didn't feel stuffy at all while walking through it.
The torch burned normally after being tested several times inside, and the bird seemed normal except for being a little hungry.
Everything remained the same, without any change.
After walking for a while, the previously narrow passage ahead became much wider.
Previously, the passageway could only accommodate two people side by side, but now it has been widened to the point where it can accommodate about ten people.
However, only the channel size has been expanded; nothing else has changed significantly.
Just then, Su Su, who was shining her flashlight around, was attracted by some dark, strip-like objects in the corner. Su Su called out to us:
"Master, come and take a look at this. What is it?"
Upon hearing the sound, I quickly went to Su Su's side with the others. Following the direction of Su Su's flashlight beam, I saw those black, strip-like objects scattered near the corner of the rock wall.
Once I got closer, I quickly realized what it was. I couldn't help but frown deeply because I saw traces of seeds on it.
At this moment, Dante was also curious and was about to reach out to pick up the thing and examine it. Seeing this, my pupils contracted sharply, and I quickly stopped him.
"Don't touch it! Don't touch that, Dante. That must be Harula's shit, it's been dried up for ages!"
Dante froze instantly, his face darker than the passage itself. Damn it, it was that thing!
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