Chapter 195: Chapter 195: The Source of Black Hair
Translator: 549690339
The kerosene lamp hanging on Han Dong’s waist gradually lit up the bottom of the well.
Directly beneath the well opening, was a clear underground pond. Through the water, a large amount of black hair was growing from the bottom, with some broken strands floating in the pond.
There was also a space to land below, reachable through a ‘swinging’ movement.
The virus-infected G-1 body should be able to complete such a movement … as long as the right arm firmly grabs the spider silk, rocking it with waist and abdominal strength would complete the swing.
Thump!
Landing steadily.
Following suit, Mia’s agile body also landed. Observing the cavern beneath the well under the firelight, she couldn’t help but exclaim.
Mia exclaimed, “Wow! It’s huge down here!”
“Language (watch your words).”
“Hehe… So you can joke too. You were so stern with me during the ride here.”
At this point, Mia suddenly remembered something, and took out a detector with a scale marker from her waist.
“This was given to me by Classmate Winry. She said it can visually detect pollution concentration… However, I don’t know what the specific values mean. We should report the detected values to them later.”
The detector clearly marked a scale from 1 to 100.
The background color starts to deepen from the value of 5.
After the value reaches 30, the background turns completely black.
The current value in the cavern at the bottom of the well is 3.7, which seems to be within the safe range.
Mia stared at Han Dong’s open third eye, “The things underground must have been scared away by this eye of yours. Should we call them down?”
“Wait a minute, there could still be traps.”
Han Dong needed to eliminate all risks. After all, the direct exploration of the bottom of the well was his proposal.
Walking around the open area of the bottom cave.
Confirmed the circular structure of the bottom cave.
The middle part was a round underground water pond, surrounded by a shallow beach layer that was walkable… After a simple round of inspection, no hidden stone wall compartments were found, nor were there hidden passages leading to the Underground Area.
“Mia, wait for me here.”
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“Into the water.”
Without a hint of hesitation.
Han Dong grabbed the detector in one hand and jumped into the underground pond.
‘Bird Beak Doctor’s Outfit’ automatically adapts.
Its original robe shape instantly changed into a black wetsuit suitable for swimming.
The mask could provide a small amount of oxygen, allowing Han Dong to stay under water for approximately 10 minutes.
Thanks to the activation of the ‘Little Demon Eye’.
The hair floating in the water scattered on its own, daring not to approach Han Dong.
“As expected, my guess was correct.”
Finally, at the bottom of the underground pond, he discovered a hidden passage that led to another underground area.
Judging from the density of the growing black hair, its floating direction, and the straightly increasing pollution index.
This bottom water tunnel should be the pathway to the lair of the ‘Black Hair Wickedness’.
“The pollution index at the tunnel entrance has reached 9.7, there is definitely higher inside…”
As Han Dong was gazing at the tunnel at the bottom of the well, filled with black hair, a strange red balloon slowly floated out from the inside.
Pop!
The balloon burst midway. Han Dong abruptly shook his head, abandoning the idea of exploring alone.
Well opening.
Han Dong and Mia returned to the well opening.
“Make sure to prepare a diving suit that can cover your entire body because we need to dive deeper in the water below.
The index on the detector showed that the pollution index had reached as high as 9.7 at the entrance of the underwater tunnel, with estimated levels higher inside.
I suggest Winry and another person with relatively weak resistance, or not suitable for underwater activities, stay at the well opening and ensure that it isn’t blocked by outside forces.
At the same time, hold onto the spider silk wrapped around us tightly, to ensure we can exit the well at any time via the silk.”
Captain Abe suggested: “Dawu, why don’t you stay behind? You’re not suitable for diving, and it would help if you conserved some energy… There might be big trouble ahead, and we’ll need you to confront it directly.”
“Alright!”
“Winry, can you enchant our equipment to increase resistance to contamination?”
“…Yes! Give me all the diving gear you all have. I’ll need half an hour.”
Half an hour passed.
Each team member was tethered by a sturdy silk thread spun by Mia, held by Winry.
The magician, Dumps, wrapped his body in a special magic shield, able to both separate him from the water and resist contamination.
The moment Abe entered the water, protective structures similar to turtle shells grew from his knees, spine, elbows, and the back of his hands.
The white mist enveloping his body sometimes morphed into the image of a turtle.
‘Guard of the Spirit Turtle’ – increased Defense Power, enhanced resistance against various elements, able to use the ‘Joint Block’ skill.
As for Mia, she tightened her witch’s coat into a swimsuit that accentuated her figure.
When they saw the dense, black hair in the underwater tunnel, even Abe was taken aback, and he quickly stopped swimming.
If they were entangled by the black hair, it would be challenging to resist ‘contact contamination’.
However, Han Dong, leading the way, had no fear and continued swimming into the underwater tunnel.
“How is he doing this?”
As Han Dong swam in, the black hair in the tunnel seemed to ‘retreat on its own’, pulling back to the walls… as if it was afraid of this young man.
Shocked but relieved, Abe quickly swam to catch up.
The underwater tunnel was about twenty meters long.
Due to Han Dong’s presence, the black hair here didn’t dare to take action.
They successfully passed through the underwater tunnel, arriving at a similar pond… however, the sight at the bottom of this one stunned the team members.
“Where did all these corpses come from? Doesn’t Stuart Manor have a large cemetery in the open area between the hill and the small town?
Why are there so many corpses in the underground area…
Is it the same in the basement of our chosen residence? Did this manor have problems even before the ‘Dark Age’ arrived?”
Han Dong carefully observed the corpses at the bottom.
Perhaps because of the nature of the water, the corpses hadn’t entirely decomposed.
Especially the heads were extraordinarily preserved, the pores on the top of the heads enlarged, and there seemed to be little black points inside them, similar to sesame seeds… Han Dong discovered the ‘Anomaly Point’.
“These! These are… culture mediums!?” Han Dong finally discovered the origin of the black hair at the bottom of the well.
Someone is cultivating black hair.
These corpses at the bottom of the pond are excellent culture mediums for black hair.
In addition, unlike the previous well cave, this pond seemed remarkably ‘clean’. Besides the mass of corpses at the bottom, there was no black hair floating on the water.
Following Han Dong’s instructions, the entire team surfaced.
Having been underwater for a while, the area around the eyes of the three, except for Han Dong had shallow contamination lines.
Captain Abe exclaimed, “This is!! Just as you guessed, Nicholas… There really is a fully-fledged underground system within the manor.”
Above the pond.
This place is not a natural cave like the well bottom, but a man-made underground space.
Other than the orderly stone walls.
There were torches, decorations, and even some slightly noble paintings hung on the walls.
The water area where Han Dong and the others were located was a fairly large indoor pond… a pond used for hair cultivation.
Apart from this, there was a ‘master’ standing at the doorway.
A white candle held in his hand; black hair covering his face, trailing down to the ground.
An intense sense of danger swept over the team.
But the master with black hair seemed not to harbor any intent to attack. As the four surfaced, it immediately turned away.
Rustle rustle rustle… (The sound of black hair brushing against the stone floor)
Using the movement of the black hair to aid its own, it seemed to want to lead Han Dong and the others to a certain area.
It moved so quickly, not giving Han Dong and the others a chance to attack.