Chapter 184: Chapter 161: Earth Vein Magma, a Terrifying Existence (Part 2)
The next moment, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
...
Pain...
Dizzy...
His head ached and spun.
It was as if his brain had been bludgeoned with a wooden stick, sending waves of throbbing pain and dizziness through him.
Han Ning tried to sit up.
But the neural commands from his brain seemed to be cut off; his body felt like it was no longer under his control.
He struggled to open his eyes.
In the haze between sleep and wakefulness, all he could see was pitch black.
Before he could get a clear look at his surroundings, a powerful wave of vertigo washed over him, and he fell unconscious again.
...
An unknown amount of time passed.
Unsure if he was dreaming or awake, Han Ning dazedly felt like he was trapped inside a tumbling washing machine, everything shaking and spinning around him.
The faint sound of an indiscernible conversation reached his ears.
The dizziness in his head seemed to ease slightly.
Consciousness was slowly returning.
The waves of throbbing pain in his head actually helped to clear his mind.
Finally, as his awareness grew sharper, Han Ning’s eyes opened naturally.
His vision was blurry at first, then sharpened into focus.
Before his eyes, everything still had a subterranean style.
Even the air was scorching hot.
There were no tables, chairs, or beds. The room was completely empty, with no furnishings whatsoever.
Even the door—no, it wasn’t just the door. Several dozen feet away stood a few ugly-looking Insect-men.
He realized he was in an underground cavern.
To his left... was a cave entrance glowing with a faint red light.
Two more ugly Insect-men stood guard at the entrance.
The scorching heat radiating from the stone floor told Han Ning this was no dream.
Looking at the familiar yet strange surroundings, Han Ning, who had seen his fair share of TV shows, knew exactly what was going on. He was, in all likelihood, imprisoned.
A prison without cells.
He got up and staggered forward a few steps.
WHOOSH!
A Flowing Jade of swirling Flame suddenly materialized before him, blocking his path.
The Insect Servant outside glanced at him, then looked away.
Clearly, this was a way to prevent escapes.
With no other choice, Han Ning peered through the faint, fiery currents and looked to his left and right.
A few meters to his left, a small hall about a dozen square meters in size had been carved out.
In the hall stood a round stone table.
Beside the table sat a humanoid creature about 1.7 meters tall, with slightly reddish skin and a mess of short, dark hair.
He wore a short-sleeved shirt embroidered with a red-and-white pattern. His lower garment resembled the bottom half of a long robe, tied at the waist with a white cloth strip to keep it from falling.
On his feet were deep-black shoes that looked to be made from the hide of some creature.
At that moment, this Insect-man was propping his cheek up with one hand, his head bobbing as he drowsed off.
To his right was another "prison" burning with faint flames.
Han Ning was surprised to find someone in the "cell" diagonally to his right!
The person was lying sprawled on the ground, their eyes shut tight. They had green scales on their cheeks and, instead of antennae, a pair of small, pointed horns on their forehead.
Their arms were covered in a hard, green carapace, similar to a beetle’s shell.
The person’s appearance was about seventy percent human, and it was clear at a glance that they weren’t an Insect Servant, but something more akin to an Insect Master.
’Another Insect Master?’ Han Ning thought as he got a clear look at the person. A mix of worry and relief washed over him.
He was worried because, in his current situation, it would be difficult to contact anyone from the academy—and even if he could, it would be useless.
He was relieved that he wasn’t alone. He had a fellow prisoner, which meant the Insect Masters outside hadn’t decided to kill them all.
Han Ning lowered his head and looked at his own hands.
Thankfully, they still had the form of barbs. The sharp hooks gave off a faint purple glow, radiating an aura of danger.
He touched his cheeks, feeling the hard plates embedded there.
’Good... My human appearance hasn’t been exposed.’
’Is that... perhaps why they didn’t kill me?’ Han Ning guessed internally.
TAP, TAP, TAP...
The sound of footsteps abruptly broke the silence.
’It’s coming from the left...’
Han Ning’s ears twitched. He backed up a few steps, then curled up on his side on the floor, facing the passageway, and closed his eyes.
As the footsteps drew closer and passed by his "cell," Han Ning furtively opened his eyes and peeked out of the corner of his vision.
The same black boots, the same white robe hem.
Suddenly,
a thousand unnerving legs followed, filling his vision.
Then, Han Ning saw the pale red legs in front of him stop moving.
They bent down.
A pair of eyes, gleaming with a sinister green light, met his peripheral gaze.
It was a gigantic millipede, at least six meters long.
Just when Han Ning thought something was about to happen,
"HSSSSS..."
The millipede made a low sound, turned, and disappeared from Han Ning’s sight.
’Right. I’m already locked in a cell. There’s no reason for it to do anything more to me.’
Han Ning mocked himself inwardly, closing his eyes to consider his next move.
First, he tried to use his Spiritual Power to enter his Soul Beast Space and contact Yin Yi.
However, the moment the thought crossed his mind, a sharp pain shot through his brain. He couldn’t even connect to the Spiritual World, let alone enter his Soul Beast Space.
’They won’t even let me summon my Soul Beast...’ Han Ning’s heart sank.
’All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm, can you hear my call?’ Unable to use his Spiritual Power, he could only call out to the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm in his mind over and over.
But his calls were like stones sinking into the ocean; there was no response. Although the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm in his body was maintaining his Insect-man appearance, it, too, seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber.
