Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 631 Returning to the Old Place (7)

Han Zu's gaze lingered on the spot where the ship had been moored for a while. He could feel the mist on the sea surface churning before his eyes as if it were alive, completely obscuring the empty sea. He slowly withdrew the energy he had released, and the amplification of his vision brought by his night vision and X-ray vision gradually faded. The dark red halo in his eyes disappeared, and soon his eyes returned to their normal dark brown color.

Ships don't disappear without a reason. He quickly reviewed the events in his mind: when the ship stopped, the anchor that had sunk to the bottom of the sea had forcefully turned the hull, which had been facing the dock, sideways. Although the anchor showed signs of rust, it was still sufficient to secure the ship. There were no obvious currents or signs of storms in this area; the waters near the dock were calm, with virtually no ripples except for the thick fog. Furthermore, given Han Zu's perception range, he couldn't have been unaware of any external force moving the ship. The only possibility was that the person who had been operating the ship in the wheelhouse, or something else, had returned to the ship and steered it away from the dock. If that was the case, given the strange nature of that entity, it should have been able to sail the ship away without Han Zu noticing.

Without boats, Han Zu had temporarily lost his way out. He looked up at the foggy sky; the sun's outline was blurred by the increasingly thick fog, making it impossible to judge the time. He took a deep breath of the salty air and noticed that besides the smell of the sea, the fog also carried a faint, almost imperceptible, rotten odor, somewhat similar to the smell he had encountered in the Gothic architecture.

"Maybe I should go back and take a look."

On the way back, the fog seemed to thicken, and the stone path underfoot became slippery. He had to consciously adjust his center of gravity with each step to avoid slipping on the moss and breaking the stone slabs, making too much noise. The outlines of the houses along the way became increasingly distorted in the fog, and the broken window frames looked like empty eye sockets, silently watching him, the intruder.

Returning to the side entrance on the side of the building, the small symbols on the stone doorframe were faintly visible in the mist. Han Zu didn't enter directly, but instead walked around the perimeter of the building. The walls were constructed of massive bluestone blocks, the mortar between them long since weathered, revealing small cracks in some sections. From these cracks sprouted several tenacious seaweed plants, swaying gently in the sea breeze. He stopped in front of a wall on the north side of the building, tapping the surface with his fingertip. A dull sound indicated that the wall was not solid. But he didn't rashly damage it; instead, he noted the location and turned to enter through the side entrance.

Compared to before, the interior of the building was much dimmer, and a significant increase in the amount of mist seeping in through the pointed arch windows, forming flowing pillars of light in the air, within which countless tiny dust particles floated. Han Zu didn't go to the second floor or the attic first, but went straight to the stone counter on the east side of the hall. The parchment fragments he had found here earlier confirmed that this had once been a tax office; such institutions usually had hidden spaces for storing files or valuables. He crouched down and carefully examined the floor beneath the counter. The cracks in the bluestone slabs were filled with dust and cobwebs. One slab had an edge slightly higher than the others, and there was no moss in its cracks—indicating that this slab had been moved.

Han Zu gripped the edge of the stone slab with both hands, applying slight pressure. The slab weighed several hundred pounds, but it felt as light as a feather in his strength. He slowly moved the slab aside, revealing a square cellar about half a meter deep. Inside, a layer of moisture-proof oilcloth was laid, upon which lay a dozen or so pottery jars and several tattered leather scrolls. He reached out and picked up a pottery jar; the wax seal on its opening had long since cracked. Opening it, he found it contained some dark red powder. He brought it close to his nose; it had no obvious odor, but his fingertips could feel a faint coolness upon touching it. He poured a little powder into his palm, channeling his internal energy to test it. The powder instantly turned into a wisp of green smoke and dissipated into the air.

Clearly, these powders were no ordinary items. Han Zu resealed the earthenware jar and placed it back in the cellar. He then picked up a leather scroll; the leather had become brittle. He carefully unrolled it, revealing intricate patterns drawn with some kind of black pigment, resembling a simplified city map. The map marked the locations of docks, churches, markets, and other landmarks with symbols. The Gothic building was marked with a complex pattern, with a downward arrow below, seemingly hinting at hidden space beneath it. Han Zu carefully put the map away, intending to check out the marked locations later, but there was no rush.

In the following time, Han Zu began a systematic search of the building. He started from the first-floor hall, examining each stone pillar one by one. The vines and flowers carved on the pillars were exquisite, and some of the carvings concealed tiny grooves. He traced these grooves with his fingertips and discovered that the grooves on three of the pillars could be connected to form a triangular outline. However, no matter how much pressure he applied or how much energy he channeled into the pillars, they did not react. On the west wall of the hall hung several tattered tapestries. The wall behind the tapestries was smooth, and he found no trace of a hidden door.

As he ascended to the second floor, the creaking of the stairs grew louder than before, as if they might collapse at any moment. Han Zu slowed his pace, carefully placing each step on a weight-bearing point. He had already roughly explored the rooms on the second floor before, and this time he focused on the inconspicuous corners. In the largest manager's office, he re-examined the stone desk, scraping away the ink stains and engravings with his fingernail. He discovered a line of tiny characters carved beneath the surface, belonging to the same system as the symbols he had seen inside the door frame. He tried to infuse the characters with the energy from his fingertips, using the same method he had used to activate runes, but nothing happened. The characters seemed to have lost their original function due to their age.

Han Zu continued his search, heading to the servants' quarters on the west side of the second floor. This room was even smaller; the simple wooden bed was rotten to the bone, splinters falling at the slightest touch. Based on the bed's angle and his own X-ray vision, Han Zu discovered a hidden entrance beneath it. He pushed the bed over, the floorboards hitting the floor with a dull thud that echoed through the empty building. There was a clear circular mark on the bluestone slab. He stepped on the center of the mark, and the slab slowly slid to one side, revealing a staircase leading underground. The walls on either side of the staircase were embedded with long-extinguished torches, and the surface of the stairs was covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly indicating that no one had used it for a long time.

Han Zu didn't immediately descend. Instead, he extended his left hand, gathering energy into a flame, which ignited on his index finger. With his night vision, Han Zu didn't need the flame for illumination; he was using it to gauge whether there was any other energy within the stairs. After observing for a moment, he found no fluctuation in the flame, indicating that no other energy was affecting it, and therefore there shouldn't be any energy-based traps. Confirming safety, Han Zu stepped down. The stairs weren't very long; after about a dozen steps, he reached the bottom. Before him was a narrow passage, its walls constructed of rough stone, with fine water droplets seeping from them, and the stench of decay in the air was even stronger.

At the end of the passage was a stone door, carved with a massive rune more complex than any he had ever seen before. At its center was an eye-like pattern, seemingly watching over everyone who approached. Han Zu reached out and gently touched the center of the rune with his fingertips. Suddenly, the rune emitted a dazzling blue light, and the stone door slowly opened to the sides. A gust of cold wind, carrying a fishy stench, rushed out, causing him to involuntarily frown.

Behind the door lay a spacious underground space, twice the size of the first-floor hall. The ceiling was an arched structure supported by dozens of stone ribs, upon which dried vines coiled. Scattered on the ground were numerous skeletal remains, their shapes extremely bizarre, unlike any land or sea creature he knew. One larger skeleton, about three meters long, had a pair of enormous, curved horns on its head, and its surface was riddled with tiny holes, within which remained some blue crystals. Another smaller skeleton had long, slender limbs, with sharp, claw-like finger bones, and a far greater number of vertebrae than in ordinary creatures, arranged in a twisted shape.

Han Zu crouched down, carefully examining a relatively intact skeleton. The skull was unusually large, taking up a third of the body. Its eye sockets were deep-set, there were no obvious nostrils, and the mouth was filled with fine, triangular teeth with sharp, knife-like edges. He gently touched the surface of the skull with his fingertips; the bone was exceptionally hard, the touch similar to metal. He tried to pick up the skull, but found it incredibly heavy. Although it was relatively light compared to his strength, he estimated that the skull weighed at least as much as a train carriage.

Scattered among the wreckage were broken artifacts: strangely shaped pottery jars, metal fragments engraved with runes, and stone tools of unidentifiable purpose. Han Zu picked up a metal fragment; the runes on its surface were identical to those found on the shipwreckage earlier. He placed the fragment in his palm, infused it with a wisp of energy, and the fragment emitted a faint blue light, consistent with its previous reaction. This further confirmed his suspicion that these non-human creatures had a close connection to this city, and even to the later Old City.

He walked slowly through the underground space, examining each skeleton and scattered artifact one by one. On the east side of the space was a stone platform, upon which rested a large stone box. The box's surface was carved with the same runes as those on the stone door. Han Zu tried to open the box, but found it tightly connected to the platform, as if they were one single unit. He pushed the box with all his might, but it wouldn't budge; clearly, a specific method was required to open it. Scattered around the box were several complete rolls of parchment, covered with writing in gold ink. The script was different from the medieval Latin he had seen before; it resembled an ancient hieroglyphic script, none of which he recognized.

Han Zu carefully put away the parchment and continued searching the underground space. He discovered that the remains were not randomly distributed, but rather formed a peculiar array, as if they had died suddenly during some kind of ritual. In the center of the space, a huge circular rune array was carved into the ground. Some dark red substance, resembling dried blood, remained within the lines of the rune array. At the center of the rune array was a groove, the shape of which perfectly matched the bottom of the stone box, indicating that the stone box had originally been placed in the groove.

He crouched beside the rune array, touching the inner wall of the groove with his fingertips, sensing a faint energy fluctuation. This fluctuation was remarkably similar to the one he had felt at the altar in the old city, only more ancient and purer. He realized that this underground space was likely a sacrificial site of this medieval city, and those non-human skeletal remains might have been the objects of the sacrifices, or the creatures that participated in them.

However, these were merely Han Zu's guesses, and not necessarily accurate, because apart from the skeletal remains and the illegible writing, he found no other valuable clues. There was no specific description of the remains, no record of the formation of the sea fog, and no explanation of the environment. Han Zu stood up, surveying the empty underground space. His doubts hadn't lessened; in fact, they had deepened. Where did these non-human creatures come from? What was their connection to the city's abandonment? What secrets did that stone box hold?

He attempted to activate the rune arrays on the ground with energy. The moment the energy was injected, the rune arrays emitted a dazzling red light, and the scattered bone fragments also glowed with a faint red light. The energy fluctuations in the air became intense. However, after only a few seconds, the red light quickly extinguished, and everything returned to normal. Clearly, the nodes of the rune arrays had been damaged due to moisture and time, rendering them inoperable. Unless Han Zu could find a way to repair the rune arrays, which seemed unlikely at the moment, the solution would be impossible.

Unable to obtain further clues, Han Zu decided to temporarily leave the underground space. Upon returning to the first-floor lobby, fog had seeped into every corner of the building, reducing visibility to less than three meters. Han Zu didn't linger, heading straight for the building's back door. While exploring the building's perimeter earlier, he noticed that the walls near the back door seemed different from other areas; more water droplets seeped from the cracks in the walls, and they carried a distinct seawater smell. He speculated that the back door might be near the sea, where he might find other exits or clues.

The back door of the building was a simple wooden door, long since rotten, which collapsed to the ground with a gentle push. Outside the back door was a small courtyard, its walls mostly collapsed, the ground covered with pebbles and weeds. At the end of the courtyard was a slope leading down to the sea, the soil on the slope mixed with seawater, making it extremely muddy. Han Zu walked down the slope, each step sinking deep into the mud, his pace slowing considerably.

Upon reaching the bottom of the slope, he discovered that the seawater here was deeper than near the dock, its color a deep black. Tiny bubbles floated on the surface, making a soft hissing sound as they burst. Below the courtyard wall was a submerged opening, its edges constructed of stacked stones, clearly man-made. The opening was about two meters high and wide enough for a person to pass through; seawater had already submerged half of it and was continuously pouring into it.

Han Zu walked to the cave entrance and observed it for a moment. Simple runes were engraved on the walls of the cave entrance, the same runes he had seen earlier inside the door frame. Bending down, he entered the cave and found it to be a narrow passage. The walls on both sides were made of smooth, stacked stones, and water droplets seeping from the walls dripped into the seawater, making a crisp sound. The seawater gradually increased in depth; when he was halfway through, it was already above his waist. However, the seawater wasn't as cold as Han Zu had imagined. While it wasn't warm either, even a normal person could adapt to this temperature and stay inside for a long time.

At the end of the passageway was a spacious basement, approximately one hundred square meters in area, with a flat ceiling constructed of reinforced concrete—a stark contrast to the medieval style of the rest of the building, clearly indicating it was constructed later. Most of the basement was submerged by seawater, about one and a half meters deep, its surface as still as a mirror, reflecting the dim light from above. The basement walls were riddled with cracks, from which seawater constantly seeped, and the surface was covered with a layer of green moss, emitting a strong, fishy odor.

Han Zu walked slowly through the basement. The seawater was above his thighs, and he had to be careful with every step to avoid stepping on the pebbles hidden underwater. To the left of the basement were piles of old wooden crates and iron barrels. The crates were swollen from being soaked in seawater, and the barrels were covered in rust. Some of the barrels had collapsed, their contents long gone. He bent down to examine a relatively intact crate. A blurry mark was engraved on its surface, resembling a company emblem, but the design was illegible due to the prolonged immersion.

Just as he was about to inspect another metal drum, he suddenly heard a sharp cracking sound overhead. He immediately looked up and saw a new crack appear in the concrete of the basement ceiling, with loose stones falling from it. Then, the walls began to shake, and more cracks quickly spread, with stones and concrete fragments breaking off and falling into the sea, creating huge splashes.

The wall was collapsing faster and faster, and a huge piece of concrete was hurtling towards his head. Han Zu didn't dodge; he simply raised his hand and swung it away. With a loud "bang," the concrete fragment was sent flying, crashing into the opposite wall and shattering into countless small pieces.

Immediately afterward, several more pieces of rubble and concrete fragments hurtled towards him. Han Zu simply waved his hand, deflecting or shattering the debris. After a few minutes, the wall's collapse finally stopped. He looked up at the site of the collapse and discovered a huge gap in the once intact wall, behind which lay a downward staircase. The staircase was paved with bluestone slabs, covered with a thick layer of dust, clearly having remained undiscovered for a long time. There were no handrails on either side of the staircase, leading directly into the darkness below, its destination unknown.

But this wasn't something Han Zu cared about. In his opinion, since he was already here, he should definitely go down and take a look.