Chapter 82

In the tunnel.

The excavator was still roaring.

The human officer glanced at the excavator.

Countless tentacles immediately stretched out, crushing the excavator into a pile of scrap metal.

The sound disappeared.

Everything returned to silence.

Only then did the human officer speak: "If you hand over the Book of the Dead, I can tell you many secrets, and even exchange other abilities from the Realm of Death with you."

There was still no response.

The human officer waited quietly for a few breaths.

Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of him.

"The Hand of Death..."

The human officer muttered.

The hand quickly drew lines on the wall, forming words:

"You must answer me one question first."

"Ask away," the human officer said.

The hand continued to write:

"Please tell me, when your impolite demands are rejected by a handsome human youth, can you remain calm, composed, and elegant?"

The hand finished writing and pointed at the human officer, then at the wall.

It meant: Answer me!

The human officer looked at the words, silent for a moment.

In the tunnel.

The countless tentacles hanging down suddenly lashed out violently, as if trying to turn the area upside down.

The entire tunnel was struck and whipped by the tentacles.

—But they found no target.

The human officer stood coldly in place, growling, "Very well, I will make you know the terror of death."

Boom!

Tentacles like a tidal wave fell from the ceiling, filling the entire tunnel.

However, when the hand appeared and began writing the question on the wall, Wu Xiaode had already led the commander to the end of the tunnel.

The dirty magic hand finished writing the question.

He and the commander had already reached the end of the tunnel, near the soil where strange things were buried.

Looking back.

The entire tunnel was filled with dense tentacles.

There was no way out.

The two huddled in a corner, quickly exchanging information.

The commander wrote on Wu Xiaode's hand:

"Earth Escape."

She pointed to the soil that had been dug up by the excavator.

Wu Xiaode hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

After all, this was the only way to leave now.

And there seemed to be some secret underground.

The commander took out a talisman and led Wu Xiaode toward the soil.

Wu Xiaode released more Silent Mist, covering the entire area.

Wait.

He thought for a second, and a thought crossed his mind.

Through the long tunnel, on the other side, a misty hand quietly appeared.

This was another magic hand.

It picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the door hard.

Clang!

A deafening sound.

The human officer turned his head sharply, his voice hoarse, "Want to run? No, you will die."

All the tentacles in the tunnel seemed to go mad, surging toward the door.

The magic hand disappeared instantly.

On this side of the tunnel, the commander took the opportunity to stick the Earth Escape talisman on the soil.

The talisman glowed.

The soil turned into quicksand, spreading to the sides under the cover of the mist.

The two drilled into the soil and walked forward quickly.

The soil ahead turned into quicksand, clearing a path.

Behind them, the quicksand quickly turned back into soil, sealing the way they came.

After a while.

A steel object appeared ahead.

Wu Xiaode and the commander took turns touching it.

Wu Xiaode couldn't figure out what it was, but he noticed the commander's face had changed.

"What?" he wrote on her hand.

"It's a steel passage, buried for a long time," she wrote.

"Damn," he wrote.

Yes, this passage had been buried here for who knows how many years, and was probably useless now.

Wu Xiaode thought for a moment and wrote two more words:

"General."

The commander nodded.

Yes.

If there was no hope in the soil, why would the general come to dig?

He must be looking for this steel passage!

Wu Xiaode continued writing on the commander's hand:

"Continue forward."

"Okay," the commander said.

The commander took out another Earth Escape talisman and threw it forward.

The soil turned into quicksand and spread out.

The two moved forward.

After a few dozen steps, the path ahead opened up.

There was actually an open space here—underground!

The commander looked around and saw that this seemed to be a large terrace, with the walls no longer made of soil but of steel.

—Perhaps this was what the general was looking for!

Wu Xiaode stopped, squatted down, and gently touched a piece of steel.

In the darkness.

A glow appeared, forming a few small words:

"92027 Advanced Humanoid Combat Unit is on standby."

The commander turned to look at Wu Xiaode, her eyes full of unspoken words.

Wu Xiaode himself was also stunned.

In this dark space, there was actually a mobile suit!

There was the 92026, and now there was a 92027.

—These robots were buried underground!

He wrote on the commander's hand:

"Continue forward, see what's ahead."

"There's a question."

"What?"

"Your sister seems to be researching these."

"She gave me all the designs, so I know some."

"But why are they here?"

"I don't know, I only know she was researching the 92025 Advanced Humanoid Combat Unit."

"What do we do next?"

"Activate it, we need to open the incubation pod... which is actually the cockpit."

Wu Xiaode thought for a moment and continued to explain:

"It's a bio-mechanical suit, using some strange creature's body combined with steel, so the cockpit is also called an incubation pod."

He reached out and felt around, found the valve, and pulled it hard—

The glow illuminated Wu Xiaode and the commander.

A new line of small words appeared:

"Environment, race, and world conditions verified, you are the current owner of the mech."

"Generating the optimal solution for you."

"Countdown to incubation pod opening in five seconds."

"Opening the incubation pod will alert the monsters."

"You need to enter the incubation pod as quickly as possible to safely activate the spatial teleport and escape from here."

"5,"

"4,"

"3,"

"2,"

"1!"

The seamless steel opened with a deafening roar.

The commander looked at Wu Xiaode.

Wu Xiaode shook his head and pulled her to one side.

The secret below hadn't been fully explored, how could they just leave?

The other world was getting more dangerous every day.

They had to get information!

More importantly—

The Reaper would definitely hear the noise here.

"Escape, 92027 Advanced Humanoid Combat Unit, this is an order," Wu Xiaode said softly.

A gentle electronic voice immediately sounded:

"Order received."

"Executing escape plan."

Suddenly.

The surrounding soil began to shake violently.

It seemed something was coming—

The mist around Wu Xiaode became even denser.

He held the commander's hand, and the two moved to a safer place.

Finally, the 92027 Advanced Humanoid Combat Unit sounded a gentle voice again:

"Teleportation will begin in five seconds."

Boom—

The soil behind them was pushed open by countless tentacles.

A figure shot forward.

"Want to run?" the human officer sneered.

He landed directly on the 92027 Advanced Humanoid Combat Unit and punched the cockpit.

A loud bang.

The cockpit was smashed open, and he immediately jumped in.

But there was no one inside—

Nothing at all.

The human officer was stunned.

The 92027 Advanced Humanoid Combat Unit gave a final electronic prompt:

"Teleport!"

Buzz—

The space flashed.

The robot and the Reaper broke through the void and disappeared into the darkness.

—They had teleported away!

As the human officer left, the tentacles immediately sensed it.

They scanned the area, found nothing, and slowly retreated.

After a while.

The commander couldn't help but grab Wu Xiaode's hand tightly.

"Thank goodness you were right and didn't enter that mobile suit," she said softly.

"I'm still breaking out in a cold sweat thinking about it," Wu Xiaode said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

If they had taken one wrong step, they would have been finished.

After all, the mist could only create "illusions" and couldn't withstand the full-range attack of the tentacles.

If they had stayed in the cockpit of the 92027 Advanced Humanoid Combat Unit, even the mist couldn't have saved them.

The Reaper's punch had destroyed the entire cockpit.

Fortunately, it had been teleported away.

Who knows where it went.

Wu Xiaode stood at the edge of the terrace, looking into the darkness.

He could see nothing.

The commander walked over, took out a red feather arrow, and placed it on the bowstring, drawing it to a full moon.

Whoosh—

The arrow shot through the air.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

No echo.

Wu Xiaode and the commander were stunned.

The arrow had not returned any sound, proving the underground space was vast.

The commander took out a talisman, folded it into a paper crane, and whispered:

"Southern Ming divine bird, lend me your power, ignite."

The paper crane flew out from her hand, heading into the darkness.

After a few breaths.

Whoosh—

The paper crane suddenly ignited, transforming into a giant bird in mid-air, radiating intense light.

The darkness was instantly dispelled.

A huge black church appeared before their eyes.

In the square in front of the church was a blood pool, surrounded by countless corpses, and black candles everywhere.

"The evil ritual of the Holy Church," the commander frowned.

"What is it used for?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"To summon the Heavenly Ladder," the commander said.

"Damn, why don't the countries of the world ban such a religion?" Wu Xiaode said.

"Can't be eradicated, even in the other world," the commander said.

Seeing the traces of the Holy Church in this other world, both of them had mixed feelings.

"Shall we go down and take a look?" the commander suggested.

"Wait."

Wu Xiaode remembered the encounter in the church basement, picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it toward the square with all his might.

Thud!

The stone landed on the square—

In a flash, the countless corpses lying on the ground stood up, emitting sharp screams.

They seemed to be alive, opening their eyes and looking around wildly.

Wu Xiaode clearly felt the commander's body tremble.

This couldn't be blamed on her.

Despite her powerful abilities, she was still just a young girl.

To be honest, Wu Xiaode himself found it quite terrifying.

The mist gently surged, enveloping the two of them.

"Avoid them, and find out what's going on," Wu Xiaode whispered.

"Okay," the commander said, biting her lip.