Chapter 506 - 348: Cyber Bodhisattva, Underground Mission (2)

But Wu Liangchen didn't hesitate in the slightest. "Give me the coordinates and the map."

"Very good." A tentacle extended and handed him a small terminal directly.

"Once you're done, I'll grant you temporary top-level access, enough for you to look up the 'history' you want to know." Old K's voice turned cold and indifferent again, a clear dismissal.

Wu Liangchen gave a slight nod, then turned and left.

Watching his retreating figure, Old K mused for a moment before connecting his brain to the network.

A moment later, amidst the vast stream of data, Old K found a video clip and several photos.

"Wu Liangchen? Annihilated the Sun family of Qing Province all by himself, then got into a fight with the resistance on his way to Zhongjing. Interesting! Looks like you might actually be able to complete this mission for me," Old K muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Wu Liangchen had already returned to the hotel.

Although he had absolute confidence in his own strength, Wu Liangchen never went into a fight unprepared. He had to be especially careful this time, as he was heading into a region he had never set foot in before.

Looking at the map, which seemed to radiate a dangerous aura, Wu Liangchen was reminded of Skinny's warning and the horror of the rat tide.

'Abandoned underground structures? Relics of a bygone era?'

'What exactly are they?'

Wu Liangchen frowned in thought for a moment and even searched for it online, but aside from some vague and poorly-worded speculation, he found no useful information.

The night passed uneventfully. Early the next morning, Wu Liangchen went downstairs and saw the fat owner, Liangzi, sitting in a chair and fiddling with a brass hand-piece.

"Boss Liang, there's something I'd like to ask you. Here in the West Ninth District, are there any convenient entrances to 'the down-below'? The more hidden and inconspicuous, the better."

The smile on Liangzi's face faded slightly, his plump fingers unconsciously stroking the armrest. "Oh? You're interested in 'the down-below'? That's no place for fun and games."

He looked at Wu Liangchen. "To be honest with you, it's a complicated maze down there, and it's extremely dangerous. Mutated creatures, traps, and even some... things that are hard to describe. Every year, plenty of guys who go down there looking for treasure or trying to find a shortcut end up dead inside."

He paused, his tone turning serious. "If you're really determined to go down, I'd advise you to find a few experienced guides, or better yet, hire a team of mercenaries. Going in alone... it's too risky."

Wu Liangchen understood that Liangzi's warning was well-intentioned, and he knew it was the truth. But the purpose of his trip could not be revealed, and bringing outsiders would only introduce unnecessary complications.

"Thank you for the warning, Boss Liang. I know what I'm doing." Wu Liangchen handed over a low-value currency card. "A small token of my appreciation, for the information."

Liangzi looked at the card, then at Wu Liangchen's determined expression. He didn't press the matter, just sighed and accepted the card. "Alright then. Since you've made up your mind, I won't stop you. Be careful."

"There's a relatively hidden entrance in my hotel's backyard, left over from some old pipe maintenance. It's safer than the entrances out in the open."

"Thank you."

Following Liangzi's directions, Wu Liangchen went to a corner of the hotel's backyard piled high with junk. He moved aside a camouflaged iron plate and, sure enough, revealed a rust-covered circular entrance.

He didn't hesitate. He put on a gas mask, and with a swift movement, slipped inside.

As he entered the subterranean world once more, the familiar stench hit him—a mix of rot, dampness, motor oil, and unknown chemicals.

Wu Liangchen activated the small terminal Old K had given him. A three-dimensional map appeared, marking the path to the first target location.

Relying on the superhuman Perception Power of a Vein Opening Realm Martial Artist and the guidance of the map, Wu Liangchen moved swiftly through the web-like network of intersecting pipes and tunnels.

Sticky sludge was underfoot, and the air was filled with the sound of dripping water and faint scraping noises from the distance. Along the way, he encountered several waves of mutated rats and even some strange, moss-covered crawlers lurking in the dark, but he either dispatched or avoided them with ease.

The deeper he went, the more oppressive the environment became. The air was so foul it felt almost stagnant.

Most people would have broken down in a place like this long ago, but Wu Liangchen's will was like iron, and he strode forward without pause.

Finally, after about half an hour, he arrived at the first target location.

It was an abandoned underground sewage treatment plant.

The massive concrete structure lay dormant in the darkness like a slumbering beast.

The iron gate at the entrance was rusted through and ajar, like a giant maw waiting to devour anyone who dared enter. A stench, even more pungent and acrid than before, wafted out from within, nauseating even through his gas mask.

Wu Liangchen didn't hesitate and slipped straight inside.

The interior of the plant was enormous, filled with huge, abandoned sedimentation tanks, pipes, and rust-covered machinery. Many areas were coated in a thick, slick layer of sludge.

The target on the terminal pointed to the main control room in the center of the facility.

Wu Liangchen moved through the area at an extreme speed and soon arrived outside the main control room.

The door to the control room was made of a heavy alloy, but it was badly corroded. There was a huge hole in it, as if something had smashed its way through.

Wu Liangchen didn't enter directly. Instead, he first used his Perception Power to carefully scan the area.

The control room was a complete mess. Various instrument panels and consoles were destroyed, their screens shattered, and cables were strewn across the floor.

In the very center of the room sat a dust-covered console. The chip Old K needed was probably inside it.

However, just as Wu Liangchen was about to step into the control room, an intense sense of crisis washed over him! He stopped dead in his tracks, his sharp gaze sweeping toward a shadowy corner of the room.

The shadow squirmed, and then an indescribable "thing" slowly "flowed" out.

It was a large mass of viscous, slimy, sludge-like gelatinous matter, so enormous it took up nearly half the room.

It had no fixed form, constantly writhing and deforming, its surface glistening with an oily sheen. What was most horrifying was that on the surface of the gelatinous mass, twisted and pained human faces would appear!

The faces were male and female, old and young, their expressions frozen in the terror and despair of their final moments, as if they had been devoured alive and imprisoned within this foul flesh.

They flickered in and out of view with the creature's writhing, howling silently and creating a truly hellish sight.

"Hrrgg..."

A low, wet hiss emanated from the gelatinous mass. It seemed to have noticed the uninvited guest, Wu Liangchen.

The next moment, the massive slime lunged toward Wu Liangchen with astonishing speed. The ground sizzled and corroded where it passed, leaving behind a foul-smelling trail. At the same time, several tentacles made of slime shot out from its main body, lashing at Wu Liangchen like vipers.

Wu Liangchen's eyes narrowed. He pushed off his feet and shot backward in an instant, narrowly avoiding the lashing tentacles. The tentacles slammed into the wall, gouging deep pits into the solid concrete and splattering corrosive slime everywhere.

'Such immense power and corrosiveness!'

Wu Liangchen didn't dare to be careless. With his Qi and Blood surging, he threw a powerful punch that whistled through the air, aimed directly at the slime's main body.

However, his fist sank into the slime as if into an ocean, the slick, gelatinous substance absorbing most of the force. Although he blasted a large hole in the monster, the surrounding slime immediately flowed in to fill the gap, repairing the damage in an instant as if it had never been harmed.

"Interesting." Wu Liangchen's brow twitched slightly. 'This monster's self-healing ability... or rather, it has no concept of a vital point like a conventional creature. Physical attacks are barely effective.'

The monster, seemingly enraged by Wu Liangchen's punch, began to writhe even more violently. More faces surfaced, struggling and issuing silent curses.