C725 The Black Shadow
In a confined space filled with nothing but ice and water, the feeling of wandering alone is unsettling. It's even worse when you enter a passageway and find it so tangled and complex that you can't choose a path.
Woo Zhengyang was experiencing this exact feeling. The more passageways he explored, the more he realized the vastness of the ice and water. Initially, he thought finding the way back would just be a matter of time. They could take turns searching and resting, and if needed, they could call for help from their strongest ally. But the more passageways he traversed, the more he felt that hope of finding the right one was slipping away.
There were many passageways, some large, some small, and some that seemed normal. When they first entered, they were so caught up in their antics that they only had a vague idea of the path. They hadn't even noticed if there were any forks along the way. Even if they found the original passage, they might not recognize it. And if there was a fork, they could easily choose the wrong one.
Despite the slim chances, Woo Zhengyang refused to give up. He continued to swim through each passageway, pondering any possible way to escape. His strongest ally was nearby, but Woo Zhengyang judged that the ice above was too thick. They might even be beneath a glacier. Waking his ally now would likely be futile, so he decided against it.
One of the most powerful moves must be the Invincible Cannon Car. However, Woo Zhengyang clearly remembers Lee Yuanye once saying that the Invincible Cannon Car should never touch water. Lee mentioned a bunch of things that Woo Zhengyang didn’t quite understand, but he did recall that the protective shield of the Invincible Cannon Car isn’t waterproof because water isn’t inherently aggressive. Lee also said something about water getting into the Invincible Cannon Car and causing it to explode.
Woo Zhengyang could set up a waterproof shield, but such a shield requires special materials, which neither he nor Bing Yue have on hand.
While Woo Zhengyang was racking his brain, he suddenly saw a black shadow flash by ahead. This discovery startled him. Although there are fish and shrimp in the water, there aren’t any large beasts. Bing Yue had also mentioned that many people have studied this water, confirming there are no beasts in it.
The shadow that just flashed by was about the size of a person. Woo Zhengyang couldn’t tell if it was human or beast, but it definitely wasn’t a fish or shrimp. Seeing that shadow, Woo Zhengyang, who was about to enter a passage, stopped in his tracks.
With Woo Zhengyang’s soul energy, illusions typically don’t occur unless someone intentionally creates them. This means that the shadow that just swept by was either real or someone was deliberately trying to lure Woo Zhengyang over.
No matter what it was, Woo Zhengyang was ready to take a look.
Before long, Woo Zhengyang arrived at the spot where he had just seen a shadow pass by, discovering it was another entrance to a passageway. He marked the spot and swam into the passage.
It was a fairly ordinary passage, similar to the one they had entered earlier. Woo Zhengyang was thrilled, wondering if fate was somehow guiding him back on track.
However, it wasn't long before Woo Zhengyang sensed something was off. Although he and Bing Yue had been playfully bantering, it hadn't been for long. Once they realized they had entered a network of intersecting waterways, they quickly became aware of their surroundings.
In reality, the distance from where they broke through the ice to this waterway was quite short. The ice where they entered was thin enough that even a faint light could easily reveal it. But now, after traveling for quite some time, Woo Zhengyang hadn't found any thin spots, and the timing and distance just didn't add up.
Still, Woo Zhengyang didn't turn back, as the passage had no branches, ensuring he wouldn't get lost. With that in mind, Woo Zhengyang decided to keep going. Even if he couldn't find a way out, he could at least figure out what the shadow was.
So, Woo Zhengyang continued to swim.
Half an hour passed.
An hour passed.
Two hours passed.
For a full two hours, Woo Zhengyang hadn't reached the end of the passage, nor had he encountered any forks. He just kept swimming, as if the passage had no end.
If it were anyone else, they would have turned back by now, realizing that continuing would only take them further away from the entrance. But Woo Zhengyang was inherently skeptical and didn't turn back; he pressed on.
Another hour passed, and Woo Zhengyang had lost track of how far he had traveled. He was unsure of how deep he was within the ice layers, yet the passage continued to stretch ahead.
Just as Woo Zhengyang was becoming numb from wandering, he suddenly felt warmth enveloping him. He had stumbled upon another body of water. Like the previous one, this was a convergence point of streams beneath the ice.
This waterway was significantly larger than the last, with countless channels branching out in all directions. Woo Zhengyang was stunned. After all the time and effort spent, he had ended up in such a place. They hadn't even finished exploring the previous area, and now there was no time to delve into this one, not to mention the uncertainty of where these passages led.
As Woo Zhengyang was about to turn back, he noticed something unusual. The water in this area felt warmer than before, and it contained more energy. Although the energy was still weak and absorbed much slower than the ambient energy, it was of little use. Otherwise, Bing Yue wouldn't need to enter the Star World to recuperate, and they wouldn't have to worry about exhausting their strength.
However, the sudden change in the water was certainly unusual. Woo Zhengyang didn't rush back but instead took a moment to carefully observe the area. He mentally marked the passage he had just come through, knowing that if he and Bing Yue couldn't find their way back, they'd be in real trouble.
As Woo Zhengyang wandered around the water, he noticed nothing unusual about the surroundings. However, the bottom formed a funnel shape, getting deeper toward the center. Similarly, the deeper the water, the higher the temperature, and the more energy it contained...
