bioinnovel Chapter 36 The Voice from the Depths of Hangzhou
Chapter 36 The Voice from the Depths of Hangzhou
Lin Yuan did not linger at the entrance.
The crowd was too dense and the noise too loud; the monsters had long been scared away.
He carried Zidian and walked slowly into the depths of the forest, following the route he had taken the previous evening.
After walking for about twenty minutes, the surrounding candidates gradually thinned out, and most of them chose to huddle together at the edge of the safe zone.
They scavenged low-level monsters in small groups on the outskirts, steadily accumulating points.
Lin Yuan's ideas were different from theirs.
The monsters on the outskirts are of too low rank; a level 1, level 3 gray jackal only costs 1 point, and you can't accumulate many points even if you kill them until nightfall.
Moreover, with more people than monsters, it's too inefficient for several teams to compete for a single monster.
What he wants is a deep place, with few people, many monsters, and high-ranking monsters.
As for danger?
He solo-killed a Tier 2, Level 2 Rock Armored Bear yesterday evening.
There are only a handful of things in these hills that could pose a threat to him.
After walking for about forty minutes, there were no more candidates in sight.
Lin Yuan found a clean rock to sit on and took out his phone.
The signal was down to one bar, but that was enough for him to open the official app of the Superpower Association and bring up a detailed map of this Class D danger zone.
It's clearly marked on the map.
His current location is a small blue dot on the map, located on the outer edge of the danger zone.
As you continue westward, the rank of the monsters will gradually increase, shifting from predominantly rank one to predominantly rank two.
At the westernmost end of the map, there is an area marked with a red diagonal line, next to which is written "Level 3 and above, entry is strictly prohibited".
Immediately afterwards, Lin Yuan shouldered Zidian and headed west.
Unbeknownst to him, a completely different dialogue was taking place some unknown depth beneath his feet.
Deep beneath Hangzhou lies a place that the Chinese government has never officially marked on any civilian map.
The Abyss Demon Cave.
The reason Hangzhou was built here is not because of its beautiful scenery or convenient transportation, but because of this thing underground.
From the very first day of its founding, the entire city of Hangzhou has been a giant sealing array pressing down on the entrance to the Abyss Demon Cave.
The locations of the three buildings—the combat base in the west of the city, the Superpower Association building in the city center, and the city defense army camp in the east—were not chosen randomly.
They formed a triangular suppressive barrier, firmly locking the entrance to the Abyss Cave below.
The Demon Cave is divided into nine levels, corresponding to the nine levels of superpowered individuals.
The first to third levels are low-level areas, inhabited by monsters of levels one to three.
The fourth to sixth layers are the intermediate level region, from fourth to sixth order.
The area above the seventh level is a high-level zone, containing monsters of rank seven and above. The deepest level, the ninth, is said to be inhabited by a rank nine demon—the Abyss Wolf King.
The monsters in this demon cave belong to only one race.
Shadow Wolf.
They possess intelligence, language, a strict social structure, and hunting skills and supernatural cultivation methods passed down through generations.
Low-level Abyssal Wolves are similar to ordinary wolf-like monsters, fighting with their claws and instincts.
However, once they reach the fourth rank or higher, the Abyss Wolf will awaken its racial talent, Shadow Travel, which allows it to teleport short distances in the shadows.
It is said that once they reach the seventh rank or above, they can transform into human form.
At this moment, on the fifth level of the Abyss Demon Cave.
A pack of wolves stood around a giant dragon head pattern on the ground.
At the very front were three Abyssal Wolves, significantly larger than their kind, with a shoulder height approaching two meters.
The fifth-tier Abyss Wolf has awakened a complete ability to traverse shadows, and its combat power is equivalent to that of a fifth-tier human ability user.
Behind them were a dozen or so fourth- and third-tier Abyss Wolves, arranged in a semi-circle, their heads bowed in a respectful posture.
Opposite them were three humans.
He was wearing a dark gray overcoat and a red hood on a hot day.
They were dressed exactly like the three people Lin Yuan had seen on the streets of Hangzhou yesterday evening.
The leader had his hood pulled low, revealing only the lower half of his face, with pale skin and almost bloodless lips.
Of the three fifth-tier Shadow Abyss Wolves, the leader spoke.
The voice was deep, with the guttural sounds typical of animals, but it spoke human language.
"Is everything ready? The chief has granted your request."
The man in the red hood slowly raised his head.
Beneath the shadow of the hood, deep within the pupil of his left eye, a dark red, inverted eye pattern was slowly rotating.
Bloodshot eyes, exactly like the rune master in Donghai City.
"Don't worry." His voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
"This time it will be foolproof. We have united all the forces that can be united within a hundred miles of Hangzhou: the Scaled Pythons of Heize, the Crimson-Eyed Fox Clan of Qingqiu, and the Iron-Spine Rhinoceros Herd of Woniu Mountain. In total, there are more than 30,000 of them, with those of the second rank or above accounting for 30%."
He paused.
"At that time, we'll be attacked from both sides."
The lead Shadow Wolf remained silent for a moment, its eerie green pupils fixed on the man in the red hood for a long time.
"What does your Blood Eye Cult want?"
The man in the red hood had a cold, unfeeling smile curving his lips.
"We helped you break the sealing array of Hangzhou, expanding the exit of the Abyss Demon Cave from Tier 1 to Tier 5. Your Shadow Abyss Wolf clan has been imprisoned underground for hundreds of years. The feeling of being unable to leave at the higher levels must be unpleasant, right?"
The Shadow Wolf did not answer, but a low vibration came from its throat.
"In exchange," the man in the red hood said, extending a pale finger.
"We need something from the ground. You don't need to know what it is."
A fifth-tier Shadow Abyss Wolf took a step forward, its claws leaving several new marks on the stone slab.
"Humans, if you're lying to us..."
The man in the red hood interrupted her.
"Rest assured, the Blood Eye Cult never lies; we only conduct business."
Shadow Wolf stared at him for a long time.
Then she took a step back.
"Three days later, the sealing array will be at its weakest point—on the night of the full moon."
The man in the red hood nodded and turned to walk into the shadows of the cave.
The three figures in red hoods twisted and disappeared in the shadows.
Three Tier 5 Shadow Abyss Wolves stood in place.
"Sister," the smaller abyssal wolf on the left spoke, "Do you really believe them?"
Her voice lowered: "The leader said that this time, we must get that thing no matter what!"
......
On the ground, deep within a Class C danger zone in the western suburbs of Hangzhou.
Lin Yuan was completely unaware of these underground conversations.
He was intently counting money—no, counting points.
Three hours after entering the danger zone, he killed eleven monsters.
Two Tier 7 Blue-Maned Wolves, 5 points each, for a total of 10 points.
Three Tier 1, Level 8 Ironback Porcupines, 5 points each, for a total of 15 points.
One Tier 9, Nine-Layer Thorn Python, 5 points.
A second-order, single-shadow cat, 10 points.
Two Tier 2 Rock Armored Lizards, 10 points each, for a total of 20 points.
One Tier 3, Triple Wind-Striped Leopard, 12 points.
The Wind-Striped Leopard is fast and has a higher rating than other monsters of the same rank.