Jin Zhuyuan walked past it, the scene was in front of him, and his face was pale.
"Concentrate and prepare to land!" Zhou Yu's shout made him come back to his senses.
The height of the three of them fell, and the distance from the lake where the aquatic dragon inhabited became farther and farther away, and they gradually disappeared.
They landed on the tree, Zhou Yu lowered his head to observe the ground situation and then landed, Wu Yun also followed, the two of them leaned back against each other and drew their guns.
Their only newcomer in the team, Jin Zhuyuan, also landed, and he immediately came to Zhou Yu and Wu Yun's side to form a triangular formation.
Wu Yun glanced at the locator on his wrist. All researchers will have a positioning device on the ankle, and the signal sent by the locator is received, and the position of the outgoing researcher can be determined.
The locator showed that the two researchers were not far away.
Wu Yun made a gesture, the newcomer followed Wu Yun with a gun, and Zhou Yu kept his back against them, guarding their backs.
In front of them is an ancient tree, their roots growing out of the ground and intertwined.
Wu Yun stopped, and the newcomer beside him had to step forward, but was stopped by Wu Yun.
"Be careful, that's no ordinary tree."
All plants without animal nerves are classified as E-class creatures, that is, the safest creatures.
Jin Zhuyuan turned his face to the side and saw that among the twisted roots of the tree in front of him, a researcher's body had been penetrated into it. He has become the nourishment of that tree.
"My God..." Jin Zhuyuan showed a surprised expression.
This was not the first time Zhou Yu had seen such a situation. The last time he and Mo Ye were in the primeval forest, they had also seen a vine that attracted the prey with the scent of fruit, and then wrapped the prey around to absorb nutrients.
His body didn't tremble at all.
"How do we... get him out?"
Wu Yun shook his head: "It's impossible... I can't save it..."
The researcher seemed to hear their conversation, opened his eyes slightly, his eyes were eager, his lips parted.
"What is he talking about?" Jin Zhuyuan asked.
"He's saying 'please kill me'," Wu Yun replied.
He was in pain, every second was torture.
Wu Yun raised the gun, and no one stopped him. But it wasn't the researcher he hit, it was the tree.
"Bang—" The bullet sank into the tree trunk, and the neurotoxin began to spread. The tree quickly withered, cracked in the middle, and fell with a bang.
Zhou Yu took a step aside, and the tree fell on his side.
Wu Yun came under the broken tree root, and the pained expression of the researcher gradually became calm due to the infiltration of neurotoxins.
Wu Yun saw that he was still holding the sampler in his hand, so he took it out, sealed it and put it in his backpack, and then took off his research recorder from his wrist.
"Is he over?" Zhou Yu asked.
The end means that the researcher is dead. In this world, death is sometimes a relief.
"Yeah." Wu Yun nodded.
He walked towards Zhou Yu, looked at the locator on his wrist and said, "It is estimated that another researcher will not be much better."
At this time, Zhou Yu suddenly pulled the trigger, and the bullet was shot against Wu Yun's shoulder. Wu Yun quickly avoided it, and the newcomer also opened the gun, which was especially loud in the dead virgin forest.
Wu Yun turned his head and saw that the deceased researcher was shaking and stood up. His eyes were out of focus, and his eyes suddenly turned white. The limbs damaged by the tree roots were hanging there, and he was about to step towards Wu Yun step by step. .
"What's the matter? Our bullets can't kill him!"
Jin Zhuyuan stepped back step by step, he had emptied the magazine.
The researcher came to him and opened his mouth to bite him, as if he could see the rhizomes of some kind of plant from his mouth.
At this time, Zhou Yu took out the dagger from his waist, flew out, and stuck it on his head.
Jin Zhuyuan has never seen such a scene: "This... is this a zombie?"
Wu Yun pulled him back: "It's not a zombie... It's that he was parasitized before he was caught by the roots of the ancient tree."
They looked down and saw something extending into the soil beneath the researcher's feet.
"We hit him, but not the parasite in his body."
Wu Yun aimed at his feet, and before he had time to shoot, something suddenly grew out of the muzzle of his head, cracked his skull, and rushed towards the sky.
"It's mistletoe!"
The voice fell, and the mistletoe fell to the side because there was no tree it was clinging to.
Zhou Yu shot without hesitation. Mistletoe quickly withers and rots.
The newcomer exhaled.
Wu Yun raised his chin: "Go?"
"Let's go."
"There is another researcher, who wants to see people in life, and corpses in death." Zhou Yu continued to move forward with the gun in his hand.
Along the way, they saw many old trees. These ancient trees seemed quiet, but Zhou Yu seemed to hear their breathing.
At the root of an ancient tree, Zhou Yu saw some fragments of the camouflage uniform, which must have been left by the guards who had protected the two researchers. These ancient trees have offensive power, but now they are so silent, they are waiting.
Once Zhou Yu and the others go deep into it, they will launch an attack, so that Zhou Yu and the others have no chance to escape.
They seem to be the watchmen of this land, firmly protecting something.
Zhou Yu looked at Wu Yun, and Wu Yun nodded. The three of them took out breathing filters and put them on the nose and mouth. Wu Yun took out what looked like a grenade and threw it into the sky.
The grenade made a whining sound, and the pale yellow gas quickly spewed out in all directions, spreading out in the air.
The trees were about to move, their roots slowly pulling up from the soil, and attacking them as if they were dying.
Zhou Yu and Wu Yun were calm, but Jin Zhuyuan was a little nervous. Now he no longer has the initial pride, Wu Yun has experience, Zhou Yu has instant judgment, he must keep up with their pace to survive.
The effect of the nerve anaesthetic was at its strongest within ten minutes, and the tree's response gradually ceased. This was also specially prepared by the researchers before Wu Yun's mission.
It seems that the people who came here before did not expect such a situation.
In Nibelungen, everyone lives on the experience of others. And these experiences often come at the cost of life.
Wu Yun made a "forward" gesture.
According to the direction of the locator, they came to a cave.
"Ha... You said he was dragged in by dangerous creatures, or because he was afraid to hide?" Wu Yun raised his eyebrows.
Zhou Yu turned on a strong flashlight to shine in.
The hole is very deep, and the light from the flashlight shines directly for more than ten meters without bottom.
"Are we really going to go down?" Jin Zhuyuan looked at Zhou Yu and Wu Yun.
In just a few minutes, from the helicopter being attacked by the aquatic dragon, to the face of the ancient trees that use living creatures as prey, and the mistletoe that grows from the human body, he has not had time to breathe, and he has to take a breath. Are you in danger
"Did Song Zhi say why he sent a researcher here?" Zhou Yu asked. At this point, Zhou Yu must figure out what they are facing.
"Because there is an A-level creature growing here, Elpis. It has biological nerves, and it can even think and respond to the external environment. According to the prediction of the research department, there is an Elpis fruit that is about to ripen. They are here to get the fruit." Wu Yun replied.
"Apart from the two researchers, how many guards are there?" Zhou Yu asked.
He didn't like this kind of incomprehensible task the most.
"The 12-person escort team." Wu Yun's brows furrowed, "This number is quite large, but no one has contacted the base. They should have all been attacked by ancient trees. The kind of ancient tree we saw just now is the Guardian of Elpis. There are two kinds of Elpis fruits. One kind of seed will be brought nearby by special animals that live around Elpis, and if it falls into the soil, it will grow into the ancient we see. Trees, once they grow, they will launch a deadly attack on all creatures that try to invade the realm of Elpis. Another kind of seed, the seed that Elpis only produces once in a thousand years, will multiply the Elpis Pease's offspring. When the young tree grows, it sucks all the nutrients from the old tree, and the old tree dies."
"So they came to get the most special kind of fruit?" Zhou Yu asked.
"Yes." Wu Yun looked at the newcomer, "Hey, you just stay outside the cave, just in case."
"Wait, what if those guardians attack me?"
"You just shoot." Wu Yun said simply, "Or are you going down with us?"
Looking at the cave that had no light at all, Jin Zhuyuan hesitated for a few seconds and then nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll stay outside."
Zhou Yu and Wu Yun nodded, and they turned on the flashlight and went in.
"Are you afraid?" Wu Yun asked aloud.
"What do you think is in the cave?"
They're still within reach of the sun just barely.
"Elpis is inside." Wu Yun said, "but have you heard of trees growing in caves?"
"This is Nibelungen, and anything is possible."
When the darkness completely drowned them, Zhou Yu couldn't even see Wu Yun, who was closest to him.
The road under your feet is rough and bumpy, and you can step on something like a plant root at any time, and you will fall over if you are not careful.
In the darkness, Zhou Yu said, "While we haven't approached the core of this cave, can you tell me why you must complete this mission?"
Wu Yun's footsteps stopped.
"Isn't this what we should accomplish? We are entrusted by others to be loyal to others. Juli Group pays, and we work hard. We will find whatever they want." Wu Yun's voice was in the darkness. Kind of cool taste.
"Really? Is there any mission higher than life? We are now about to enter a very dangerous situation. In fact, you could have gone back like this and told the Juli Group that all the researchers and guards were killed by the guardians of Elpis. Even if we are dead, even we can't get close to Elpis. There are only three of us and the 12-person escort can't do what we don't do, Song Zhi can't blame us for anything. Unless Song Zhi I gave you a death order, and for some reason, you must execute this death order." Zhou Yu calmly analyzed.
"...I do have reasons why I have to complete the mission. What I said in the helicopter today is that I'm a fool, because I'm not used to telling others what is on my shoulders."
"What you carry will not become what I carry because you tell me."
Wu Yun chuckled lightly: "Zhou Yu, that's why I like you. You are direct, honest, and occasionally tell some hurtful truths. My wife has never messed with anyone, on the contrary, our relationship is very ok. she was in a car accident when she was eight months pregnant, she passed away, the doctor saved the baby with an emergency cesarean... a daughter. Just like you spared no effort to protect Zhou Qing, my daughter is my everything. But she is eight was diagnosed with lupus erythematosus at the age of
"Then Juli Group found you." Zhou Yu continued to walk forward.
"Zhou Yu, if you are in danger, don't worry about me and withdraw immediately." Wu Yun said.
"I won't do pointless things. You'll die if I try, and of course I won't waste my life."
"...You really hurt people." Wu Yun's voice sounded aggrieved but with a smile.
"You just said that you like my straightforwardness and hurtful truth."
They walked all the way, and Wu Yun's locator showed that the missing researcher was still more than 100 meters ahead.
"Is this cave too deep?" Wu Yun murmured.
"It's not so much a cave, it's more like a tunnel to somewhere."
Wu Yun was about to move forward, but was grabbed by Zhou Yu: "Be careful!"
When the flashlight lit up, Wu Yuncai realized that there was a vertical downward pothole in front of him.
The gravel fell, making a crackling echo.
If you fall from this height, if you don't die, you're not a human being.
"Go on?" Wu Yun asked Zhou Yu for advice. After all, Zhou Yu can quit right now.
This mission is too dangerous. From a rational point of view, Zhou Yu knew that he should withdraw and should also stop Wu Yun.
But there was an inexplicable desire in the back of his mind.
The darker and bottomless a place is, the more secrets there are to be discovered.
And that secret is like scratching Zhou Yu's heart.
"Go down and have a look." Zhou Yu took out the rope.
Because they glide down in flying squirrel suits, they don't carry much equipment.
"If the length of the rope is not long enough to reach the bottom, we will give up the mission and go back." Wu Yun knew very well why Zhou Yu chose to continue the mission.
With the rope secured, they slowly descended.
Zhou Yu pinned the flashlight on his shoulder and adjusted the light.
As they went down, they could see the traces on the cave.
Zhou Yu's palm covered it. Although he didn't understand geology, he had a feeling that this cave was not formed naturally, but was excavated by something.
When they came to the bottom of the rope, Zhou Yu turned down the flashlight and found that they had come to the bottom.
"This height is just right?" Wu Yun was a little puzzled.
They looked up subconsciously and found that where they came down, there were many lights.
Wu Yun became nervous, and when they came down, there was clearly nothing!
"What creature is that?"
"It's the eyes." Zhou Yu replied, "Do you remember what Elpis relies on to spread its seeds?"
"People in the research team said it was some kind of small creature."
"It is estimated that these creatures are."
Their eyes flashed blue in the dark, with a hint of magic and gloom.
"It's like being calculated. It's like they waited until we got down here on purpose..."
As soon as Wu Yun's voice fell, the ropes they fixed above the cave were untied and fell down.
"Damn—" Wu Yun really wanted to take out a gun and invite them to eat bullets.
"Let's move on." Zhou Yu put the rope that fell down around his waist.
"Aren't you afraid? This is a trap." Wu Yun asked curiously.
"Song Zhi said that Nibelungen is a place with a fairly strict hierarchy. If there are no S-class creatures in this area, then Elpis, who is an A-class creature, rules this ecosystem, I said right?"
"Theoretically so. So what?"
"So whether it's the 'guardians' outside the cave, or these small creatures that spread the seeds for Elpis, they all bow down to Elpis. Elpis is a creature with a mind, it must be through the Somehow to control these creatures, right?"
"I heard people from the research team say that it seems like this. So we have to be careful, Elpis may also control us in some way." Wu Yun became worried.
Their mission was really sloppy, and many things couldn't be figured out. But why don't those in the scientific research department use them as experimental mice to test Elpis
"If Elpis ordered these creatures to kill all humans who invaded its realm, what do you think those small creatures would do?"
"… untie the rope when we're halfway down the rope. You and I will both fall to our death."
"But they don't untie the rope until we come down. Their purpose is not to kill us, but not to give us a chance to go back. Their ruler, Elpis, may really want to see us." Zhou Yu's The footsteps have also calmed down a lot.
Wu Yun was stunned for two seconds, sometimes he really had to work hard to follow Zhou Yu's thinking.
It may seem absurd and conjecture, but it often proves him right.
"I think you and Nibelungen are very destined." Wu Yun said.
"What fate?" Zhou Yu's flashlight found that there was another hole at the bottom of the cave, and the hole was just high enough for him and Wu Yun to walk in.
This kind of coincidence made Zhou Yu feel that, to Elpis, they were more like carefully invited guests than intruders.
"You know the way of thinking of the creatures here." Wu Yun also found the entrance, and made a gesture of "enter" to Zhou Yu.
Now that they want to go back the same way, those creatures guarding the entrance of the cave will definitely not agree, and they can only bite the bullet and go on.
Wu Yun was about to step forward, but Zhou Yu walked to the front.
Zhou Yu held the pistol in his right hand, and held the flashlight in his left hand, pressing it on top of the pistol, and walked forward.
The journey was not long, and he could see a pale blue light glowing from the entrance of the cave.
Zhou Yu's expression was calm, and if there was any danger, he hoped that Wu Yun would still have time to leave.
Wu Yun understood Zhou Yu's plan, and just whispered: "I can die, but you must not die."
Zhou Yu's fingers tightened slightly, and he suddenly thought of his vice-captain Chen Chong, the young Zhao Cheng, and the faces that no longer existed.
After this journey, Wu Yun's status in his mind was no less than Chen Chong's.
Last time, he didn't protect it well, this time he must protect it.
When he walked to the entrance of the cave, the sudden light in front of him made his pupils instantly widen.
No one would have imagined that there would be such a vast space underground!
In the center of this space is a giant tree growing upward in a spiral shape, its branches and leaves covering almost the entire ceiling of the cave. The trunk and branches were translucent, and he could see blood vessels flowing inside, intertwined, and some more slender networks like nerves.
The leaves at the bottom are very large, and attached to the leaves are the blue-light fireflies that Zhou Yu had seen in the video! Zhou Yu still remembered how the researcher in the video died tragically under this seemingly beautiful creature.
This tree also has some huge white flowers, which are not as fragrant or too enchanting as the flowers of those dangerous creatures. There is a bit of magnolia grace. But in the hearts of those white flowers, there is a swordbone butterfly.
Between the branches and leaves, Zhou Yu could still see the devil's vine lingering like a giant python.
Devil's vine is dangerous to ordinary creatures. Even a thousand-year-old tree that is entangled in the devil's vine will soon be sucked dry, but it is obvious that this Elpis has no tendency to be exhausted at all.
Taking a breath, Zhou Yu knew that these dangerous creatures were raised by Elpis.
They absorb the nutrients of Elpis and protect Elpis at the same time.
"What's the matter?" Wu Yun saw that Zhou Yu was motionless, walked to Zhou Yu's side, and was stunned, "My God, is this a whole set of underground ecosystems?"
On the side of this Elpis tree, you can see a subterranean pool of water, which flows quietly along the cave wall, but the pool water does not overflow, indicating that the bottom of the pool also leads to another place. . And this pool of water may be the source of Elpis' water.
The pool water trembled for a while, and he saw a young El Nino aquatic dragon jumping out of the water, which made Wu Yun retreat subconsciously.
In such a closed place, if they were attacked by El Niño aquatic dragons, they would surely die.
The space is too big, and the tree is too big to estimate how long it has existed.