?Chapter 986: 306. ck Pupa_3


    Time passed tediously as the tunneling progressed.


    Nnd Lee’s cautious nning before taking action had paid off.


    In the process of tunneling straight downward, he encountered no resistance.


    But when the depth approached 2000 meters, an unexpected encounter forced him to hit the pause button.


    “Sssss…”


    “Click, ck…” <div>


    ...


    In the dark, confined space, Nnd Lee and the Rock Spirit entered a state ofplete stillness.


    A barely perceptible noise lingered in Nnd Lee’s ears.


    It was somewhat like the rustling of leaves in the evening breeze, and a bit like the sound of fingernails scraping across a ckboard.


    The noise echoed in the cramped underground space, making it hard for Nnd Lee to determine its exact direction.


    He cast “Earth Shield,” using the Pang Family’s secret codes to enhance the shield’s defensive power.


    He called up the Personal Panel in his mind and looked at the status bar.


    There were no negative effects disyed.


    “So, this is just noise and not some kind of magic spell?”


    Nnd Lee spected silently, considering whether to throw out a “Detect Geomancy Energy” spell to see what was messing around.


    Due to the spell fluctuations of “Detect Geomancy Energy,” which could trigger alerts from magic instruments, Nnd Lee had refrained from using this spell the entire way.


    Now, the noise in his ears and the darkness before his eyes gave Nnd Lee a creeping sensation.


    For safety’s sake, he might have to risk being discovered by magic instruments and throw out a “Detect Geomancy Energy” spell.


    While Nnd Lee hesitated, a very faint vibration came from the ground beneath his feet.


    “Sssss… Click, ck…”


    The noise grew louder and much clearer.


    Nnd Lee looked down towards the source of the noise; it was indeeding from directly below him.


    “It seems like someone is doing the same thing as me.”


    Nnd Lee’s face took on a peculiar expression.


    He recognized it; this was the noise of tunneling through the ground…


    “Could it be that I’ve encountered a Mole Man underground?”


    Nnd Lee stroked his chin, contemting the information he had about these extraordinary creatures.


    It was said that about six years ago, the area of Barren Stone Quarry was a mountainous region covered with jungles.


    An extraterrestrial space pollution incident erupted here six years ago, followed by the emergence of the Barren Stone vein and the Mole Men that fed on Barren Stone.


    In a certain sense, Human Wizards werepeting with Mole Men for sustenance.


    Mole Men consumed Barren Stone to reproduce and strengthen themselves.


    To strengthen themselves was easy to understand; the more Barren Stone the Mole Men ate, the more protective hardened nodules they developed on their bodies, and the more hits they could withstand.


    As for reproduction…


    That was quite peculiar.


    The Wizard Advancement Association discovered:


    Within the Mole Manmunity, those with powerful spell casting abilities and an extraordinary resilience were all male.


    After extensive research and dissection, the Wizard Research Association finally concluded:


    Mole Men were born “female.”


    Mole Men that ate a considerable amount of Barren Stone could develop a special physiological structure, evolving into “male,” thereby earning the right to seek a mate.


    Nnd Lee wasn’t particrly interested in the so-called “special physiological structure.”


    All he wanted to know was whether the creature digging upwards beneath him was indeed a Mole Man.


    Nnd Lee activated “Life and Death Tracking,” staring intently downward.


    Everything remained pitch ck, with no blood-red outlines appearing in his field of view.


    The dark yellow color that symbolized corpses and the blue lines that symbolized Undead also did not appear in his Magic Vision.


    Nnd Lee’s heart sank slightly, realizing he might have encountered an extraordinary creature that was neither a living being nor an Undead.


    It was likely a Magic Servant or a magic puppet, a magical creation.


    If that was the case, it meant that he wasn’t the only Wizard tunneling through this oppressive underground area.


    This Wizard was probably hidden in a far distant ce, controlling their magic puppet through a Magic Circle, remotely excavating a cave.


    After analyzing the situation, it was likely that the person was a member of the Quarry, probably engaging in preliminary reconnaissance for the construction of a mining path.


    This was one of the scenarios Nnd Lee least wanted to encounter.


    “Now we’ve got trouble. I can’t cast Deconstruction through the soil. Without seeing the true face of that thing below, I can’tunch Deconstruction on it, so I can’t know its origins…”


    Nnd Lee frowned in thought:


    “Maybe, I can create an ident, cause a copse, and trap that thing underground, then take the opportunity while it’s paralyzed to control the Rock Spirit to find another way…”


    The more Nnd Lee thought about it, the more viable he found this method, which was both covert and convenient, without negating all the work he had done on the tunnel so far.


    He crouched down, passed his hand over the Blood Gathering Array on the back of his left hand, and took out the Ground Drilling Mechanism.


    After Nolin’s modifications, the Ground Drilling Mechanism’s drilling capability had been significantly enhanced, able to proceed underground at two meters per second.


    Nnd Lee ced it on the ground, its drill bit aimed downward.


    He performed “Mind Control,” directing the Ground Drilling Mechanism to bore into the hard rock.


    “Shasha shasha… kaka kaka…”


    Perhaps the noise of the Ground Drilling Mechanism was detected by something directly below it.


    The noiseing from directly beneath grew markedly louder and was moving towards the location of the Ground Drilling Mechanism.


    Nnd Lee steeled his mind, ready to detonate the self-destruct Array within the Ground Drilling Mechanism at any moment to initiate the copse.


    “Shasha shasha… kaka kaka…”


    The noise transmitted to Nnd Lee’s ears through the Ground Drilling Mechanism’s Sound Collection Array.


    The source of the noise was about to meet the Ground Drilling Mechanism.


    Although Nnd Lee didn’t need to breathe, he still subconsciously held his breath.


    He stared intently at the Magic Vision, focusing on what was directly in front of the Ground Drilling Mechanism.


    “Hu~~”


    The Ground Drilling Mechanism’s drill bit broke through ayer of wall and entered a rtively vast underground space, sessfully meeting the mysterious creature.


    “Damn… what are these things?! Could these be the Underground Demons causing trouble in the quarry?”


    Nnd Lee’s brows twitched, and he inwardly eximed.


    In his Magic Vision, about a dozen strange, eerily shaped monsters appeared.


    They were made neither of flesh and blood, nor of metal and Earth Magic creations.


    A glowing ck viscous substance, simr to oil, constituted their irregr bodies.


    Every so often, several pale human faces would protrude from the surfaces of their bodies.


    These faces had their mouths wide open, expressions of agony, as if they were enduring tremendous torment.


    The noises that Nnd Lee had heard before wereing from the faces opening their mouths wide.


    And these creatures, which trapped the faces, were shaped like shadow pupa cocoons of the underground pupas.


    Startled by the sudden appearance of the Ground Drilling Mechanism, their viscous ck bodies twitched.


    One of the creatures spat out a mouthful of dark mucus with a “pfft” sound, lunging at the Ground Drilling Mechanism.


    The perspective of the Ground Drilling Mechanism was immediately plunged into darkness.


    Sizzling corrosion sounds came from various parts of the Ground Drilling Mechanism, entering Nnd Lee’s ears.


    A sinister will, dark and maddening, passed through “Mind Control” from the Ground Drilling Mechanism to Nnd Lee.


    Layers of noise, like a high-pitched horn, cycled in Nnd Lee’s mind.


    [Warning!]


    [You are under psychic attack from the “shadow pupa cocoon”!]


    [Please disconnect your mental link with the Ground Drilling Mechanism promptly to avoid substantial mental damage!]


    Nnd Lee was equipped with a Mental Shield.


    But faced with the System warning, he always yed it safe.


    Without a second thought, he terminated “Mind Control,” and abandoned the Ground Drilling Mechanism.


    Of course, before stopping the spell, he didn’t forget to cast Deconstruction on the “shadow pupa cocoon.”


    But before he could check the Deconstruction Results, a gust of ck wind tinged with the stench of putrefaction blew out from the narrow Cave Entrance below.


    “Hoo~~~”


    The wind sent a chill through Nnd Lee’s heart.


    Those shadow pupa cocoons, lurking a hundred meters below, seemed to be crawling up through the passage drilled by the Ground Drilling Mechanism.


    Nnd Lee immediately issued an order to the Rock Spirit:


    “Seal the passage mouth drilled by the Ground Drilling Mechanism, hurry!”