Wasteland Border Inspector

Luokuke was taken aback, his probing motions stopped instantly, and he looked around, saying, "Is this Cotton Room this small? I don’t see any Immortal Object fragments, where did those Crab-men go?"

"Follow me!"

Although it was his first time entering the Cotton Room of the Demon Eye Sponge, but relying on the Intelligence Space’s analysis, Cheng Ye was already intimately familiar with its layout, walking as if he were returning to his own home.

This is the advantage of intelligence!

He didn’t waste time studying the runes on the walls, and directly led Luokuke towards the entrance to the second level.

A round indentation flush with the ground, its surface covered with faint silk patterns. The Ghost Water Cave Crabs previously entered the second-level cave through here.

Reaching the indentation, Cheng Ye slightly stomped his foot,

The ground immediately "came to life", the silk patterns wriggling quickly, and the indentation slowly sank.

Buzz!

An invisible ripple swept over the two, and the ground suddenly emptied beneath them, a sense of falling instantly came.

It felt a bit like a thrilling jumping machine in the Intelligence Space.

Experiencing it firsthand felt more like riding a "biological elevator", slowly transported by the internal structure of the Demon Eye Sponge.

About three to four seconds later, the light ahead became increasingly apparent, revealing a light purple water wave barrier below.

At the same time, a mysterious ripple entwined around the two.

Cheng Ye suddenly looked downward, astonished to find his body shrinking rapidly, his height of 1.8 meters deflating like a balloon, 80 centimeters, 50 centimeters, 30 centimeters... finally stabilizing at the height of an adult’s forearm, experiencing no discomfort, only as though passing through a warp-sized tunnel.

Bang.

A gentle push came from behind, propelling the two forward, straight through the purple water wave barrier.

A burst of fierce purple light exploded, prompting Cheng Ye to instinctively squint his eyes. Before his vision returned, an extremely fresh aroma rushed into his nose.

With just a gentle sniff, most of the exhaustion dissipated, leaving a sense of transcendent comfort.

"Are we in?"

Cheng Ye slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the remaining purple light.

Once his vision cleared, the scene matched the Intelligence Space exactly—a vast cave devoid of darkness and dampness.

Above is a faintly glowing rock wall, below lies soft moss, surrounded by peculiar plants taller than a person, with thick trunks piercing the sky as if hundreds of meters tall giant trees—a completely fantastical secret realm.

"Is this... inside the cave?" Luokuke was thoroughly stunned, his mouth agape wide enough to fit a fist.

Humans in the Post-Apocalypse Era had grown accustomed to desolation and decay.

Especially those living in Stone Province, although not lacking in green foliage, influenced by the Petrification Curse, these plants bore a heavy dead calm, never imagining such vibrant places existed, as though barging back to the Extraordinary Era of previous generations.

Cheng Ye did not respond, but first turned to look behind him, finding the purple light gate still standing in its place, directly reaching the top of the rock wall, assumed to be visible from anywhere.

After confirming the retreat was still there, he felt relieved, sinking his consciousness into the Intelligence Space, reopening the Commanding Silk Pattern analysis screen.

Comparing the positions, the current location matched exactly with where the Ghost Water Cave Crab first entered the second level.

"Proceeding now is simple, follow the Crab’s path, we’ll find the lake and Magic Conch."

Cheng Ye quickly marked several characteristic points in his mind, then closed the panel, shouted:

"Go!"

Luokuke immediately followed, their bodies halved in size but losing none of their physical prowess, running swiftly.

Through dense "forest", they ran about four kilometers, as the plants gradually thinned, and moist air mixed with fresh foliage scent surged forward.

A massive lake’s outline could be glimpsed through the gaps between trees, its fluorescent waters matching the Intelligence Space’s image perfectly.

After running several hundred meters further, the view opened wide.

With this shrunken perspective, the lake seemed like a boundless ocean, its surface calm and still, only fluorescence gently shimmering underwater, mesmerizingly beautiful.

Luokuke stood transfixed, murmuring absent-mindedly, completely unaware of Cheng Ye’s sudden grim face beside him.

His gaze locked onto the empty space above the lake, with not a trace of purple light visible anywhere.

Where is the Conch?

Where is the Ten Thousand Orders Land Conch floating above the lake?

The space above the lake was empty, with no shadow of the Ten Thousand Orders Land Conch.

Yet the Intelligence Space clearly indicated the Conch suspended over the lake’s center, how could it disappear?

Was the entry time wrong? Did they miss the Conch’s cycle?

Or is this Immortal Object capable of moving, roaming the cave like currents?

A flood of questions erupted in Cheng Ye’s mind, the unexpected outside intelligence sank his heart abruptly.

But soon, a more terrifying possibility surfaced in Cheng Ye’s mind.

He jerked his head towards Luokuke, who was staring blankly, purple light faintly reflecting in his eyes, his mouth hanging in a silly smile, captivated as if by something entirely.

Contamination?

Could it be they must be spiritually contaminated by the Conch to see its exact location?

Realizing this, Cheng Ye quickly reached out, tapping Luokuke’s head.

Regrettably, Luokuke showed no reaction, seemingly completely controlled, unresponsive.

"Damn!"

Cheng Ye’s heart sank sharply, abandoning thoughts of where the Conch had gone.

If Luokuke just died upon entering the cave, the ensuing exploration was solely on him.

"Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

He reached out, repeatedly slapping Luokuke’s face.

Sadly, protected by his Obsidian Battle Armor, such attacks weren’t enough to break the defense.

Do I need to destroy the armor directly?

Cheng Ye hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, opening his personal page.

Into the tiger’s den, there would be no getting the cub.

If only spiritual contamination by the Conch revealed its trail, the path left appeared singular.

His gaze fixed on the crimson Heart-Protecting Fire, then flashed to the bottom evaluation.

Given the panel’s suggestion of exploring more areas for more rewards, some sacrifices are considered worthwhile.

Cheng Ye took a deep breath, silently reciting uninstall.

Rushing sound.

The link with the Flame broke instantly as the Heart-Protecting Fire disappeared from the Skill Bar.

Disregarding the panel’s next prompt, Cheng Ye suddenly felt dizzy, as if freshly awakened.

Bereft of mental protection, his senses blurred, his mind frantically polluted.

He bit his lip, somewhat dizzily raising his head, gazing back at the lake.

The missing Ten Thousand Orders Land Conch indeed appeared at the lake’s center, colossal as several meters, like a purple sun.

Encircling the lake’s edge, densely packed Crab-men, bowing.

Like pilgrims, leaving only two rear claws swaying slightly.

...