209: Chapter 209 Horror of the Insect Nest

The weak beam of the flashlight, like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, stirred up only a small, blurry halo of light in the viscous darkness of the side passage before being swiftly swallowed.

The continuous "rustling" sound was infinitely magnified in the silence, as if countless tiny mouthparts were rubbing together, or like damp scales scraping against rock.

The path of the main tunnel was clear, but the strange noise and slightly stronger sense of contamination from this side passage were like a thin thorn hidden in a boot—it had to be removed.

Leaving an unknown, potentially threatening flank unchecked was a major taboo when venturing deep into dangerous territory.

Ling Ye's eyes were as sharp as an eagle's in the darkness.

He slowly adjusted his breathing, further lowering his presence until even the rhythm of his heartbeat seemed to merge with the surrounding damp silence.

He pushed his "Energy Perception" to the limit, like the most sensitive spiderweb, extending it toward the source of the dense life signals deep within the side passage.

The perception was blurry, but two things were certain: first, those life signals were extremely weak, individually almost negligible, but their sheer numbers, when gathered together, formed a discernible "presence"; second, they seemed to be in a relatively stationary or slowly moving state of dormancy, and the "rustling" sound was more like collective, unconscious friction rather than the agitation of predation or vigilance.

Was it a nocturnal underground swarm? Or some kind of symbiont dependent on darkness and dampness? Was their weak reaction to the "abyssal eye" contamination a result of active absorption or passive infection?

He had to confirm it with his own eyes.

He did not immediately step into the side passage. Instead, he first fished out the leftover piece of paracord from his side backpack pocket, picked up a loose piece of gravel from the ground, tied it to the rope, and fashioned a simple "pathfinder stone."

Then, he retreated behind the corner of the main tunnel, laid the rope against the ground, slowly fed it into the entrance of the side passage, and with a flick of his wrist, gently tossed the stone at the end of the rope deep into the side passage.

"Tap... tap... rumble..."

The stone bounced and rolled a few times on the damp ground, the sound echoing in the narrow space.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle—!!!"

Almost the instant the stone landed, the continuous "rustling" suddenly intensified and became sharp! It was as if a giant boulder had been thrown into a calm pool of water! Countless dense, scalp-tingling sounds of friction, wriggling, and even the extremely faint "click-clack" of carapaces opening and closing merged into a chaotic wave of sound that surged from the depths of the side passage!

But it lasted less than three seconds.

The sound wave quickly subsided, returning to the previous slow, continuous "rustling," as if the commotion had just been a brief, instinctive awakening that didn't trigger a real attack or large-scale movement.

As expected, it was some kind of group organism that was sensitive to vibration but didn't seem very aggressive (or hadn't been thoroughly provoked). They had been disturbed, but they didn't immediately rush out.

Ling Ye had a preliminary judgment in his mind. He retracted the rope and then made a bolder attempt.

He took out his high-intensity flashlight and switched it to strobe mode. Then, he suddenly leaned half his body out from behind the corner and flashed the strobe light three times in rapid succession toward the depths of the side passage!

"Zzz! Zzz! Zzz!"

The blinding white light, like three sharp bolts of lightning, instantly tore through the thick darkness of the side passage! Where the light reached, Ling Ye saw a sight that made his pupils shrink—

The side passage extended inward for about seven or eight meters before becoming even lower. The end seemed to be piled with a slippery, dark brown substance that resembled a giant honeycomb or fungal aggregate, its surface riddled with holes.

Around those holes, and on the nearby ground and walls, were densely covered with strange, fist-sized insects that looked like woodlice but had dark blue carapaces, too many pairs of thin legs, and unusually developed mouthparts! They were scrambling around in panic, avoiding the sudden strong light, and some even bumped into each other, their carapaces rubbing together to make a teeth-gritting "click-clack" sound.

They were mutated woodlice! And the number was staggering! That brown aggregate seemed to be their nest or food source? It emitted a faint sense of "incoordination" that was more pronounced than the surrounding environment, as if it had been slightly contaminated by the power of the "abyssal eye," becoming a gathering point and... a source of contamination for these insects?

The strong light went out. The side passage plunged back into darkness, but the "rustling" sound became agitated and chaotic; clearly, the swarm had been thoroughly disturbed.

Ling Ye quickly pulled his body back. He did not leave immediately but waited quietly. The swarm remained agitated for about half a minute before slowly returning to that slow "rustling" sound, but it seemed more uneasy than before.

It seemed that the strong light could effectively interfere with or even harm them (the dark blue carapaces might be sensitive to specific light). But there were too many of them, and the side passage was narrow. Once thoroughly provoked and they swarmed out, even with a gun and the strong light, it would be difficult to escape unscathed, and he would completely expose his position, alerting other things that might exist deeper in the main tunnel.

This insect nest was trouble. But it was blocked deep in the side passage, and as long as he didn't actively disturb it or try to pass through, it didn't seem like it would actively attack the main tunnel for the time being. The question was, would this side passage intersect with the main tunnel ahead? If it intersected, would the swarm spread to the main tunnel and become an obstacle on his path forward?

Ling Ye pondered for a moment. He decided not to clear the insect nest (the risk was high, and it might be unnecessary), but he needed to confirm the direction of the side passage.

He took out the piece of paracord again. This time, he tied the old-fashioned mechanical watch to the end of the rope. He set the watch to luminous mode (the hands emitted a faint green fluorescence), and then, again, he laid the rope against the ground and slowly fed it into the side passage. But instead of throwing it, he, like fishing, let the watch drag extremely slowly on the ground about three or four meters from the entrance, tracing a very small arc.

By the extremely faint fluorescence of the luminous hands, in the absolute darkness, he could barely see the blurry trajectory of the watch's movement. At the same time, he concentrated all his energy, sensing the extremely subtle vibrations caused by the watch's movement, as well as the tactile feedback transmitted back through the rope.

The watch moved slowly, rubbing against the ground. The swarm's "rustling" became more rapid again, but not as violently as when the stone landed earlier. The trajectory of the watch's movement showed that the side passage was fairly straight near the entrance, but soon there was a steep downward slope, and it seemed that not far ahead, there was a sharp right turn, turning toward a direction roughly parallel to the main tunnel, but it was impossible to judge whether they intersected.

He carefully retracted the watch. The information was limited, but at least he knew that the side passage didn't lead directly ahead of the main tunnel but turned quickly. The threat might lie more in the swarm breeding within it, and other potential connection points parallel to the main tunnel (such as vents or cracks).

For now, it could be regarded as a flank threat that required vigilance but did not need to be cleared. As long as he didn't actively approach its nest area, kept quiet, and passed through the main tunnel quickly, the risk should be controllable.

He hesitated no longer. He took one last look at the dark side passage from which the uneasy "rustling" sound came, turned around, raised his gun, switched his flashlight back to the lowest spotlight setting, and began to continue deeper down along the main tunnel.

The slope under his feet became steeper, and the ground was slippery, so he had to be more careful. The smell in the air, a mixture of rust, silt, and a faint "abyssal eye" contamination, was getting stronger. Occasionally, he could hear louder dripping sounds from afar, as well as a low "rumbling" sound, as if water were surging in some huge pipe, seemingly coming from deeper within the earth's crust.

The main tunnel seemed to have no more branch roads, leading all the way down. After walking about fifty or sixty meters, at the end of the flashlight beam ahead, a more open space appeared, along with a vertical shaft opening downwards, the edge of which was surrounded by rusted iron railings. Beside the shaft, fixed to the wall, was an almost completely rusted, incomplete metal ladder extending downward into the bottomless darkness. And that "rumbling" sound of water was clearly coming from below the shaft.

On the map, this should be a larger transfer shaft, connecting to the deeper sewage trunk line. According to Zhao Haichuan's map, by passing through this shaft and continuing along the main pipeline, he would be able to approach the southwest edge of the "Dark Nest" radiation zone.

But the situation in the shaft looked terrible. The ladder was severely rusted, and many rungs were missing or twisted. The shaft walls were slippery, covered in slimy moss. Looking down, the flashlight beam was swallowed by the thick darkness; he could only see a faint glimmer of water reflection about ten meters below, and deeper than that, it was pitch black. The sound of water echoed in the shaft, making a sound like muffled thunder.

Climbing down directly was extremely risky. If he slipped or the ladder broke, falling into the unknown deep water below would mean certain doom.

He needed a safer method. His gaze swept over the area around the shaft. On the other side of the shaft opening, several thick, rusted cast-iron pipes were fixed, extending downwards along the shaft wall; they seemed to be the drainage trunk lines from back in the day. The pipes were thick enough, and although the surface was slippery, perhaps he could try to climb along the pipes?

Or, were there some protruding brick structures and residual metal brackets on the shaft wall that could be used as auxiliary points for climbing?

He had to make a choice. Should he risk using that rusted ladder? Or try the more difficult but potentially more stable pipe or rock wall climbing?

Just as he was assessing the risks and looking for the best path, a hint of an unusual sound seemed to mingle with the sound of water below the shaft—a slimy "zzzt" sound, as if a huge body were rubbing against the shaft wall, slowly coming from the depths of the darkness below, from far to near!

Something was crawling up along the shaft wall!

Ling Ye's hair instantly stood on end! He abruptly turned off his flashlight, pressed his body against the wall next to the shaft, held his breath, and aimed his rifle muzzle dead at the bottom of the shaft! His "Energy Perception," like a taut bowstring, was cast toward the source of the sound.

A cold, slippery "presence" with a thick, fishy smell of water and a distinct sense of "incoordination" was rapidly approaching from below! It was not small in size! And it was fast!

Was it a mutated creature inhabiting the water under the shaft? Or a predator attracted by the commotion just now (the swarm's agitation?)?

"Zzzt... zzzt..."

The friction sound was getting closer and clearer. He could even smell the nauseating, fishy stench that was surging up with it.