Chapter 133: Spreading

Zuo Zhicheng dove underwater and swam over ten meters toward the location of that pitch-black cave. With Night Vision Mode activated, it became even clearer—it was indeed a cave, but something felt off. Zuo Zhicheng frowned and touched the stone wall in front of him.

‘It looks like there are man-made marks.’

‘So inside should lead somewhere.’

Thinking this, Zuo Zhicheng decided to hold his breath and go in to take a look.

‘I can hold my breath for about five minutes. If I don’t see the end in two and a half minutes, I’ll turn back.’

Once decided, Zuo Zhicheng moved his hands and swam quickly toward the cave entrance, just like a fish. Once inside, he noticed the cave was perfectly square and angular—clearly a man-made passage.

The passage had a square opening, about two to three meters in both length and width.

Zuo Zhicheng swam in and turned a corner, only to find iron bars blocking the underwater path. If this were his previous life, he would have been helpless against these iron barriers and would have had to go back to find underwater tools.

But the current Zuo Zhicheng already had a monstrously strong body.

He took a quick look, then gripped two of the bars and exerted force. Slowly, he pried them apart, soon creating an opening wide enough for one person to pass through.

Zuo Zhicheng squeezed through and swam another ten meters or so. After exiting the passage, he entered another large pool.

Seeing white light coming from above the water, Zuo Zhicheng narrowed his eyes slightly and swam slowly toward the surface.

Like a crocodile, he rose slowly from the depths, only revealing his eyes above the water. After adjusting to the white light, he surveyed the entire pool.

To put it simply, the scene before him was beyond his expectations.

This seemed to be a man-made cave, but unlike the outside, this one was entirely built of steel and concrete. The ceiling was covered with pipes of all kinds, whose purposes were unknown.

At the far end of the pool was a modern small dock, where two mini-submersibles were moored.

The white light Zuo Zhicheng had seen underwater earlier came from the light bulbs overhead.

‘Is this… an underground dock?’ Zuo Zhicheng let out a breath and swam slowly toward the dock. The white lights above, the bright paint on the walls, and the various equipment and instruments on the dock made it look like…

‘…it was still in use.’

Climbing out of the water, Zuo Zhicheng looked around the dock and casually picked up a Diving Suit from the ground. Looking at this modern Diving Suit, along with the flippers, scuba gear, and diving goggles on the ground, he found it all incredibly eerie, even though these were ordinary items in his previous life.

Even Zuo Zhicheng’s eyes showed a flicker of confusion.

‘What on earth… is going on? Why are these things here?’

Shaking his head, Zuo Zhicheng put down the Diving Suit and walked toward the two mini-submersibles. They looked like miniature submarines, and Zuo Zhicheng knew they were used for underwater operations, often for research purposes.

But after a quick check, he found that either they were out of power or there was a wiring issue—they wouldn’t start.

‘It’s been about fifteen minutes. I wonder how Jiang Qing is doing.’

Worried that Jiang Qing might be in trouble alone, Zuo Zhicheng had to dive back into the water, swim to Jiang Qing, and bring her back with him.

When Jiang Qing emerged from the water and saw the overhead lights and the modern equipment on the dock, her face showed amazement.

“What is this place?”

“I don’t know,” Zuo Zhicheng said as he climbed out and took off his goatskin diving suit. He thought to himself, ‘According to the information Qingyue Qiu provided, all Super Ancient Ruins in the world have suffered untold years of damage. By the time they’re discovered, they’re often already occupied by ancient factions for a long time, with tools and devices in disrepair.’

Thinking this, Zuo Zhicheng looked around at the submersibles, cranes, and even some instruments whose purposes he couldn’t guess, along with the overhead lights.

There were no signs of long-term disuse, no heavy rust or dust—it was as if the dock had been in use just moments before.

‘But how is this possible? It’s like going back to modern times.’

Though puzzled, Zuo Zhicheng still needed to inspect the surroundings for anything useful and see where the dock led.

Leaving Jiang Qing where she was, Zuo Zhicheng first headed toward the large iron door at the far end of the dock. It looked like a modern electronic door, about three meters high and two meters wide. On one side of the door was a small display screen, and below it, a small keyboard.

‘An electronic door?’ Zuo Zhicheng observed it. ‘Is it still running?’

Zuo Zhicheng gave it a slight push and found the door didn’t budge. Clearly, this steel door, of unknown thickness and weight, couldn’t be opened by human strength alone.

Moreover, if the electronic door was truly still operational, who knew what would happen if he tried to force it open?

Since the door wouldn’t open for now, Zuo Zhicheng wasn’t in a hurry. He turned back to the dock and started searching for anything usable.

First, he found two sets of Diving Suits and scuba gear that were still functional. After checking, he confirmed they should work. Then he found several glow sticks, underwater flashlights, spear guns, and other miscellaneous items like compasses, dive watches, and eye masks.

Just then, Jiang Qing suddenly pointed at Zuo Zhicheng’s neck and said, “A Zuo, what’s that red thing on your neck?”

“Red thing?” Zuo Zhicheng thought for a moment, then quickly took off his upper clothing. Starting from the cross-shaped wound on his shoulder, thin red lines, like threads or blood vessels, had emerged under his skin. They spread like tattoos across his entire shoulder and were starting to creep toward his neck, shoulder blade, and chest.

“What is this?” Jiang Qing stared at Zuo Zhicheng’s shoulder, recalling what Marie had said earlier. Anxiously, she asked, “Is this the Blood Curse that woman mentioned? What do we do? Could it be poisonous?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Zuo Zhicheng said calmly, in contrast to Jiang Qing’s anxiety. “All the Ghouls are on this island. We’ll find a way to deal with it. Besides, it doesn’t hurt or itch right now, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

Of course, Zuo Zhicheng was saying this to comfort Jiang Qing. Whether it was the name, Marie’s description, or its current appearance, it looked extremely dangerous.