The Holy Hall ruins, constructed from ancient brick and stone, were embedded in the rocky stratum and buried under rubble and sand. Beyond the ruins lay a complex network of tunnels and underground caverns.
Contrary to Samael’s expectations, the deep underground was not a dark, barren wasteland, but rather a thriving subterranean jungle.
Rocks, soil, glowing fungi, and a plethora of bizarre, primitive plants grew throughout the tunnels. Some plants hung with translucent, bubble-like gelatinous fruits, while certain mushrooms puffed out plumes of blue spore smoke when touched. Green fern leaves and fungal fruiting bodies dotted the labyrinthine underground passages. The ground had been reinforced by some kind of plant roots, making it as hard as stone brick. Surprisingly, there was no accumulation of fallen leaves or rotting vegetation; it could even be considered clean. According to Samael’s scanner interface, the oxygen content in the air was high, emitting the fresh scent of moist soil.
Talia dragged her hammer spear along, silently leading the way with an air of dejection and loss.
The Ghost Armor, Samael, on the other hand, looked around with great interest, orbiting Talia like a satellite. He would occasionally poke at the plants on the cave walls, walk backward to inspect the path they had just traversed, or trip heavily over a rock with a loud CLATTER, only to get back up, kick the rock away, and hurry to catch up with her. He single-handedly managed to liven up the atmosphere.
"Are you always this lively?" Talia finally couldn’t help but smile. "What kind of Undead Creature are you? You have more energy than a living person."
"In my original world, I was like the morning sun, bursting with vitality! I’ve just arrived in this alternate world, and everything is so fresh and new to me!" Samael raised his arms high, striking the "Praise the Sun!" pose from *Dark Souls*. He then leaned his bronze helmet close to the cave wall, rapping his knuckles against the striped excavation marks on the surface. "Is this tunnel man-made? How many miners would it take to dig such a massive underground passage?"
"The ruins are embedded deep in the stratum; these paths couldn’t have been dug by human hands. These are Insect Paths, accidentally left behind by wild Earth-Devouring Demon Insects traveling through the rock," Talia explained. "Humans also call them Eyeless Demon Dragons or Demon Monarch’s Carriages. They are the creators of the underground labyrinths in the Barren Land. They possess drill-shaped mouthparts as hard as diamonds, tough threaded scales, and incredibly massive, powerful bodies. They are also the core and starting point of the Underground City and the subterranean ecosystem."
Samael activated his scanner and scanned the striped excavation marks on the wall for a moment.
[Excavation Marks of a Drilling Artificial Organism] An analytical description popped up on the virtual UI screen, accompanied by a holographic image of a giant beast.
It was a colossal worm, as massive as a train, looking like a cross between a Sand Worm from *Dune* and a Cybertronian mechanical worm from *Transformers*. Its entire body was covered in threaded scales that gleamed with a metallic luster. Its head featured enormous, curved, dragon-fang-like mouthparts that interlocked to form a drill, while the inside of its mouth was packed densely with sharp teeth arranged in a circular, meat-grinder-like pattern.
[Drilling Artificial Organism Type 1. Tier-6 Technological Creature. Can be driven as industrial and excavational biochemical machinery, used for mining, digging, and constructing the prototypes of an Extraterrestrial Underground Colony.]
[Methods of control include but are not limited to: Ethereal Spiritual Signal (i.e., Spiritual Energy signals of Space Sub-Humans), Spiritual Implant modifications.]
"The Demon Race has a special innate talent that allows us to use Spiritual Energy to control many unintelligent lower races. That includes the Earth-Devouring Demon Insects," Talia said. "However, Earth-Devouring Demon Insects are incredibly strong. Controlling them is a difficult task that requires exceptional Spiritual Energy talent and proper training. I haven’t tried it yet. According to the traditions of the Demon Race Monarchs, an heir to the Monarch is supposed to tame an Earth-Devouring Demon Insect during their coming-of-age ceremony to prove their capabilities. But that year, my parents passed away... Many things were just..." She sighed.
"Could you tell me more about the Earth-Devouring Demon Insects? Did you say they are the core and starting point of the Underground City?" Samael’s armor trotted along with a CLANK CLANK, circling to Talia’s other side to change the subject.
"Yeah... my father taught me some things about them. The underground Insect Paths made by the Earth-Devouring Demon Insects serve as the prototype for Underground Cities and labyrinths," Talia recalled. "These subterranean spaces create a habitable environment for glowing fungi, Demonized Plants, and other lifeforms. Once the initial ecosystem of an Insect Path is established, it attracts various low-level creatures to settle inside. The biological activities of these creatures imperceptibly alter and adapt the environment within the Insect Path."
She suddenly paused, breaking off her sentence.
"What’s wrong?" Samael asked instinctively, but Talia suddenly smacked her hand against his helmet.
"Shh," Talia gestured softly. She raised her hammer spear. With a whistling SWISH that tore through the air, she swung the hammer into a patch of ferns by the side of the tunnel.
SMACK!
The ferns were shredded by the wind of the strike. A small, football-sized creature hiding in the foliage was sent flying by the hammer spear. It slammed against the adjacent cave wall with a wet SQUELCH, squashed flat and pinned against the stone, its tiny legs and claws struggling in vain.
"That’s a Rot Root Ball. It’s a low-level demonic creature. Different plant biomes produce different forms of Rot Root Balls. The ones found in this barren wasteland biome take on a rhizome form, so they’re also known as ’Potato Pups’." Talia used her hammer spear to poke the creature off the wall. "Rot Root Balls are among the first creatures to be attracted by underground Insect Paths... They are plant outgrowths twisted and corrupted by the Spiritual Energy overflow of the Barren Land. Once they detach from their host plants, they run around digging holes. Rot Root Balls use their roots to absorb and decompose animal corpses, fallen leaves, and dead fungi in the Insect Paths. They reinforce the tunnels with their excess roots and also dig small drainage channels to guide excess water into the lower soil, keeping the underground Insect Paths clean and maintaining a relatively comfortable environment."
Impaled on her hammer spear was a giant, withered-yellow, potato-like thing. It had tiny claws and feet that resembled moldy potato sprouts. It had no eyes, and its skin was coated in dirt. Talia’s hammer strike had already smashed it to a pulp, shattering it like a watermelon to reveal the hard, pale yellow flesh inside.
"Oh! So that’s why the tunnels are so clean. They’re pretty amazing, aren’t they?" Samael leaned in and activated his scanner.
[Plant-Type Artificial Lifeform, Barren Land Subspecies. Decomposer, Tier-0 Technological Creature. Used as cleaners, environmental maintainers, minor excavators, and basic slave labor. Capable of crafting and using low-level tools. Controllable.]
[Methods of control include but are not limited to: Ethereal Spiritual Signal, Spiritual Implant modifications.]
[Lacks swarm intelligence when population is under 20; requires a population of over 50 to undertake relatively complex tasks.]
[Non-toxic, edible.]
[Scan complete. Relevant technological blueprints have been updated. This technological creature is now unlocked.]
[Can be artificially catalyzed and manufactured. Required biological materials: living plants from a specific biome ecosystem, humus containing bacterial colonies.]
[Spiritual Energy Reserves: 5.3 units.]
Talia stared at the impaled Potato Pup for a long time before finally letting out a sigh.
"I’m really starving, so let’s just eat some of this first," she said wearily. "There used to be a lot of these things running around my father’s Underground City, acting as little porters and miners, digging holes and carrying things everywhere. Father said they were edible, but I’ve never actually eaten one. He spoiled me. The thought of eating something like this would have been almost unimaginable to me in the past, but now..."
With a flick of her hand, she ignited a cluster of pale flames and held the Potato Pup over the fire, rotating it slowly.
The firm, pale-yellow flesh of the Potato Pup began to sizzle and release a roasted aroma. It gradually turned a golden yellow, dotted with a few charred spots. Under the high heat, it slowly cracked into smaller chunks, giving off the warm, earthy fragrance of a root tuber and revealing a dense, slightly crispy starchy texture.
Talia took off her Demon Horn Helmet and set it aside. She sat cross-legged on the ground to rest, tossing the roasted chunks of the Potato Pup into her mouth and chewing them.
"Is it good?" Samael squatted beside her in a classic toad-like crouch, watching her eagerly.
"I wouldn’t exactly say it’s delicious," Talia mumbled, her mouth stuffed full of Potato Pup. "But... it isn’t too terrible, either."
Even though Samael was just a possessed suit of armor, the intense craving for food practically radiating from the shadows of his visor slits still made Talia a bit uncomfortable. She casually broke off a piece and handed it to him.
"Do you... want to try a piece?" Talia asked after swallowing her mouthful of roasted Potato Pup chunks.
"Ooooh! Thank you, my liege! I have wandered half my life without a worthy master. If you do not spurn me, I shall pledge my eternal loyalty to you!" Samael excitedly accepted the chunk of Potato Pup and shoved it right into the slit of his helmet.
With a metallic CLATTER, the potato chunk tumbled out from a gap beneath his chest plate, perfectly intact.
"..." Talia fell silent, trying her hardest to hold back her laughter.
"Why... why..." Samael choked back imaginary sobs. He slid to his knees, leaned over to cradle the fallen chunk of potato, and howled at the heavens. "I want to eat too! Why! No! My sun... my sun has set!"