298: Chapter 298 First Exploration of Hell

The dark red, viscous air, carrying the heavy scent of blood and putrefaction and flowing slowly as if it were alive, filled the narrow, damaged cabin of "The Ark".

Every breath felt like inhaling scalding pus mixed with rust and bits of viscera, burning the throat, irritating the nasal cavity, and bringing a strong sense of suffocation and an urge to vomit.

Ling Ye leaned his back against the twisted and deformed metal bulkhead, slowly, inch by inch, attempting to move his body out of the recessed "pilot seat" that had almost pinned him to death.

Every exertion of his muscles triggered deep, bone-marrow-aching pain throughout his chest, back, and limbs, as if he had been repeatedly crushed by heavy machinery.

A pale golden, blood-streaked energy shimmer flickered on his skin—a sign that his internal energy was nearly exhausted, his injuries were severe, but "the key" mark was still barely maintaining his most basic life cycle.

He gritted his teeth, and his gums bled once again, mixing with the dried blood at the corners of his mouth, dripping onto the tattered clothing on his chest and staining a small, dark red patch.

His forehead, cheeks, and neck were covered with fine, bone-deep wounds caused by violent energy impacts and spatial distortions.

Now, under the erosion of the polluted air, they burned with a strange, itchy, stinging pain.

It took a full ten minutes before he finally succeeded in "pulling" himself out of the deformed metal structure.

He staggered, almost falling, and had to press his hand firmly against a protruding, still-intact metal plate nearby to barely steady himself.

His lungs heaved violently like an old bellows, every breath carrying the smell of blood and a stinging pain in his lungs.

He closed his eyes, forcing himself to regulate his breathing and guide the last, faint remnants of energy to the most critical injury sites on his body for basic hemostasis and pain relief.

At the same time, he concentrated his mind, attempting to establish a deeper connection with "the key" mark on his chest, trying to squeeze out even a sliver of the thinnest energy from the depths of that nearly dry mark to repair this body that was on the verge of its limit.

The effect was minimal.

But at least, the intense pain was slightly alleviated, and the dizziness had lessened somewhat.

He had barely regained the most basic, shaky control over his body.

Then, he immediately turned around and looked behind him.

Old Shi was still firmly fixed to the bulkhead by those flexible energy conduit outer skin Materials, its posture twisted, head bowed, making it impossible to see its face.

But Ling Ye could clearly "perceive" its state—its vital signs were still weak, but more stable than when they were violently impacted in the "gap".

The ice-blue isolation layer on its right arm and shoulder-neck area had dimmed significantly, and even showed some fine cracks; clearly, it had withstood tremendous pressure during the recent Transmigration and impact.

And those hideous black cracks, blocked by the isolation layer, now seemed abnormally "active" under the stimulation of the surrounding, extremely dense flesh-and-blood pollution.

Their color had become darker and deeper, faintly exuding an ominous, heart-palpitating fluctuation that seemed ready to ooze viscous black liquid, creating some unspeakable, deeply unsettling, synchronous, and faint "resonance" with the writhing, dark red flesh-and-blood environment around them.

But at least, the isolation layer had not completely collapsed.

Old Shi's breathing, though weak, was still continuing.

For now, Old Shi could still hold on.

But this place was not suitable for a long stay.

This dense scent of flesh-and-blood pollution was undoubtedly a huge stimulus and "nourishment" for the pollution inside Old Shi.

He had to leave this exposed, damaged "The Ark" as soon as possible, find a relatively "clean" or "safe" place to replenish energy for the isolation layer, and treat his own injuries.

Ling Ye's gaze swept sharply across the interior of "The Ark".

The cabin was severely damaged, torn in many places, and could no longer provide effective physical protection, let alone energy isolation.

Moreover, this metal "coffin" scattered in such a bizarre environment was like the most conspicuous target in the dark of night.

He had to leave this place, immediately.

He walked to Old Shi's side and, using his still-functioning left hand, laboriously untied those fixing Materials.

Old Shi's body slid down limply, and he caught it in time, half-supporting and half-holding it in his arms.

It felt icy to the touch, with an abnormal, subtle stiffness that felt as if countless small insects were wriggling under the skin.

That was a sign of pollution erosion deep into the bone marrow.

Ling Ye's heart sank, but he did not stop his actions.

He draped one of Old Shi's arms over his shoulder and, using all his strength, supported it, staggering toward a relatively large tear in the side of "The Ark".

Outside the gap was that dark red, writhing, malicious, unknown Hell of flesh and blood.

He stopped at the edge of the gap, not stepping out immediately.

Instead, he pushed his perception to the limit, carefully "listening" and "observing" the movement outside.

Apart from the eternal, subtle hissing of the viscous air flowing, and the faint, chaotic whimpering in the distance that sounded like painful groans, he did not detect any obvious signs of threatening life activity for the time being.

But the omnipresent, impossibly dense mental pollution pressure, as if billions of malicious eyes were watching from the shadows, was like a tangible tide, constantly washing against his barrier of will, attempting to drill into his mind and induce madness and despair.

He took a deep breath (although the air was nauseating) and mobilized the last remaining, faint trace of Order energy from "the key" mark.

Mixing it with his own stubborn will, he barely constructed a pale golden energy film around them—thin as a cicada's wing, almost transparent, but carrying the dual resistive attributes of "Order" and "Freezing".

This film could not completely isolate the pollution, but it could at least significantly weaken the impact of the mental pollution and provide a basic layer of filtration for physical pollutants (such as spores and mucus in the air).

Then, he hesitated no longer.

Supporting Old Shi, he took a step, stepping out of the damaged "The Ark" and onto that "ground"—dark red, warm, slippery, and feeling as if he were stepping on the surface of fresh viscera that had just been stripped from some huge creature and was still pulsing slightly.

"Squish..."

Beneath his feet came an extremely uncomfortable, viscous sensation, as if sinking into semi-solid jelly, along with the slight sound of liquid being squeezed.

Dark red, viscous liquid, like diluted blood, slowly oozed out from around his footprints, emitting an even stronger stench of putrefaction.

Ling Ye suppressed the churning in his stomach and the discomfort under his feet, his gaze quickly scanning his surroundings.

The place where "The Ark" had crashed seemed to be a relatively open but irregularly shaped space, like a chamber inside some huge organism.

All around were dark red, fleshy cavity walls that were slowly writhing, their surfaces covered with thick, dark purple "blood vessels" and nerve-like protrusions, curving upward and closing to form an irregular dome about a dozen meters high.

On the dome were many holes of various sizes, like gland openings or breathing pores, constantly opening and closing, dripping viscous liquid.

The ground was also made of writhing flesh, rugged and uneven, covered with folds, gullies, and some objects half-buried in the flesh that emitted a faint metallic luster but were mostly corroded, twisted, and covered with thick flesh-and-blood tissue—seemingly the remnants of the original structure of "Silent Point - β".

The air was stifling, humid, and filled with the scent of blood and decay.

The light was dim, coming from a faint, ominous, dark red phosphorescence, like bioluminescence, emitted from the fleshy cavity walls and those holes.

This place was like the inside of some visceral organ belonging to a living monster that was unimaginably huge, completely eroded and alienated by pollution.

He had to leave this open chamber as soon as possible.

There was nowhere to hide here, and once discovered by the "indigenous inhabitants" of this Hell of flesh and blood, they would have no power to fight back.

Ling Ye's gaze locked onto one side of the chamber, at a relatively narrow, dark red, fleshy passage that led into deeper darkness but seemed to be a natural exit from the "chamber," resembling an esophagus or intestine.

At the entrance of the passage, the flesh writhed more violently, and viscous dark red liquid constantly dripped from above, forming a small, foul-smelling "water curtain."

But at least, the passage looked wide enough for them to pass through, and it led into the unknown depths, perhaps offering more cover, or... finding a way out.

Supporting Old Shi, he tried his best to avoid the areas on the ground that looked particularly sticky or were constantly swelling and writhing, trudging with unsteady steps toward the passage entrance, moving with difficulty.

Every time he lifted his foot, it pulled up sticky threads of flesh and dark red liquid, making a nauseating sound.

A mere few dozen meters felt like trekking across thousands of mountains and rivers.

The dual pressure on his body and mind left him almost collapsed.

Old Shi behind him was becoming heavier and heavier, and its breathing was becoming more rapid and painful; clearly, the erosion of this environment on it was continuously intensifying.

Finally, they reached the entrance of the passage.

Dark red, warm, viscous liquid with a pungent, fishy smell dripped onto them continuously, instantly soaking their already tattered clothing and bringing an even more uncomfortable slipperiness and burning sensation.

Ling Ye did not pause for a second.

Gritting his teeth, he supported Old Shi and dived into that dark, narrow, constantly writhing, and even more foul-smelling fleshy passage.

Inside the passage, it was even darker, with only the faint, dark red phosphorescence emitted by the fleshy cavity walls barely illuminating the few meters ahead.

Underfoot, it was even wetter and muddier, and the fleshy cavity walls on both sides wriggled and contracted from time to time, bringing a heart-palpitating sense of compression, as if they would be swallowed and digested by this "living" passage at any moment.

The air was permeated with an even stronger, suffocating stench of flesh and viscera that had completely rotted, as if fermented for billions of years, along with a more direct, crazier whisper of mental pollution that attempted to assimilate everyone who entered.

Ling Ye felt his consciousness was like a lone boat in a storm, likely to be completely submerged and sunk by this endless darkness, stench, slipperiness, compression, and crazy whispers at any moment.

But he guarded the last bit of clarity in his mind, using his iron-like will to fight against everything, just staring fixedly at the dark, writhing depths of the passage that stretched out ahead, illuminated by the faint phosphorescence, moving forward step by step, laboriously yet exceptionally firmly.

He did not know where this passage led.

He did not know if what lay ahead was an even more terrifying dead end, or a possible glimmer of hope.

He only knew that to stop was to die.