Chapter 127 Long Zi and the Server

A huge tentacle pierced through the surrounding rock layers of the cave, lying across a deep trench. It was almost two meters in diameter, its black skin covered with dry, cracked lines, its shape resembling a bizarre train. Hao Ren recognized at a glance that this tentacle was part of a Long Zi (progenitor): he was far too familiar with this thing.

"As expected… the worldview of the virtual world is based on reality. The real Zohm planet holds traces of the goddess's creations slumbering beneath," Hao Ren jumped down into the deep trench, cautiously touching the seemingly completely withered Long Zi tentacle. "… This tentacle should be dead, but I wonder if there are any living organisms deeper underground."

Vivian looked around, her face showing unease: "This is a Zohmite shelter, and the Long Zi's tentacles have invaded even this kind of place…"

"In any case, it seems the Zohmite did survive: at least in the virtual world." Hao Ren patted his hands as he spoke, standing up and once again carefully observing the massive cave. This cave was connected to the previously seen artificial superalloy corridors, appearing to be a pre-existing underground cavern structure. The cave's ceiling was reinforced with massive alloy grids and beams, and traces of synthetic materials injected into the surrounding rock layers could also be seen. It was these strengthening measures that had allowed these caves to persist to this day, enduring until the final collapse even as the planet slowly disintegrated.

As the group ventured deeper along the underground tunnel, they encountered more than one such cave. Some were natural, others were man-made. Some of these caves had been converted into residential-like areas, while others had been piled with large quantities of supplies and equipment, like the one before them. Inside it, one could see many empty platforms and metal frames. This seemed to have been a warehouse, but the items stored here had long since rotted away, leaving no trace.

It was unknown how long it took the Zohmite of yesteryear to transform such a vast shelter, but judging from the shelter's form alone, they didn't seem to have initially planned to immerse themselves in the virtual world for the rest of their lives—the large number of underground settlements indicated that many living people had once lived here. Something must have happened later, causing them to collectively dive into a deeper, safer place: the virtual space.

Hao Ren based his own speculation on these facts: "Probably the Long Zi invasion led them to completely abandon their physical bodies in the end."

Lili didn't say anything after hearing this, but curiously went to observe the Long Zi tentacle's appearance. She saw that this tentacle seemed to have invaded the cave through a specially left opening: on the cave wall, there was a large metal-crafted gate, resembling a sewer drain, through which the tentacle had entered. Moreover, the tentacle itself lay in a ditch that seemed to have been deliberately dug. She scratched her chin: "Why do I get the feeling this tentacle was deliberately let in by the Zohmite?"

"What would they let a Long Zi tentacle in for?" Hao Ren also noticed the arrangement around the tentacle at this time. "Did they want to study it?"

The others looked at each other, unable to solve the puzzle. At this moment, another tremor came from deep underground. The vibration and loud noise reminded everyone of the planet's critical situation. They could only put the Long Zi matter aside for the time being and continue to move forward along the navigation map sent by the data terminal.

In the following tunnels, halls, and caves, they saw more Long Zi tentacles, and the state of these tentacles became increasingly incomprehensible.

Upon entering a massive artificial cavern, Hao Ren finally couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "This is…"

This was a neatly shaped underground shelter, as large as several football fields, its dome reaching a hundred meters in height, the interior unusually spacious. A large number of light-emitting minerals inlaid at the top of the shelter provided faint illumination, allowing everyone to barely see the situation inside. Hao Ren saw that this vast space was filled with metal cylinders resembling buildings. They were arranged neatly, their color black, and one could vaguely see the metal texture on their surface and what might be maintenance hatches. Around these giant cylinders, a large number of cables and pipes could be seen. These cables and pipes were unusually thick and sturdy, crisscrossing in the air like a spider web, making one think of the cable arrangement in some kind of machine room.

The huge and complex cable network, coupled with the neatly arranged cylinders, made Hao Ren and the others feel that they had found the location of the "server."

However, these "servers" were intertwined with a huge number of tentacles… or rather, they were symbiotic.

A large number of dark Long Zi tentacles hung down from the cave ceiling, descending straight to a height of more than ten meters above the ground. They were arranged neatly, uniform in scale, almost like standard products coming from a factory, and around each such tentacle, a large number of cables could be seen connected to it. The standard, unified connection method was definitely not accidental. Hao Ren threw a light source generator into the air, and the diffused light allowed one to clearly see the interception state of those tentacles and cables. He saw that the cables and tentacles were connected by a metal connector. One part of the connector was fixed to the cable, and the other part was buried in the tentacle.

"This doesn't look like… an invasion…" Lili muttered to herself, straining her neck upwards.

She saw that the cave ceiling was arranged with neat metal hoops, each with a tentacle hanging down from it. Even a husky's intelligence could see that this was the result of artificial planning.

Elizabeth ran to a metal cylinder in the distance. The cylinder seemed to have been damaged in the earthquake, and part of its outer shell had cracked open. The little imp curiously glanced into the crack and immediately yelled: "There's something inside these 'servers'!"

After Hao Ren and the others went over, they found that the metal cylinders did not contain the server components they had imagined. There were no hard drive arrays or CPUs inside, only a large, damaged glass container. The container seemed to have once been filled with liquid, but it was now dry, and a withered Long Zi tentacle protruded from it.

Lili ran to a complete metal cylinder and carefully cut a slit in the outer shell with her claw blade. Inside, there was indeed a glass container, and this container was still intact. It was filled with a pale red liquid, and a huge black tentacle was immersed inside, its life or death unknown.

Hao Ren was stunned and muttered to himself: "Is this the fusion of artificial machines and Long Zi…"

"What is this place for?" Vivian frowned. "A biochemical base for studying Long Zi?"

"These things couldn't possibly trap a Long Zi," Hao Ren said as he studied the ancient equipment. Although he didn't understand the principle structure of these things, he could at least roughly judge their technical level. "… This was transformed like this with the Long Zi tentacle's active cooperation."

Then he pointed to the tentacles hanging down from above: "Look at those tentacles, have you ever seen such growth structures on a 'natural' Long Zi? They are obviously actively adjusted to this. At the same time, these surrounding devices are also specially manufactured according to the Long Zi's form and physiological characteristics. This is the result of close cooperation between the two sides, without hostility, with perfect understanding—although it's incredible, this is the only way to explain these things."

Lili came out from behind a metal cylinder, her face serious: "And these facilities are still running, at least some of them are still running."

Hao Ren raised an eyebrow: "How can you tell?"

Lili turned around, revealing her tail, which had been blackened by smoke: "There's electricity!"

Everyone: "…"

Vivian narrowed her eyes and carefully sensed the life force around her: "Not only are the devices running, but there is also weak life activity in those tentacles. Everything here is still alive."

A thought Hao Ren couldn't suppress floated into his mind: "Is this what we're looking for?"

At this moment, the underground tremor came again, and a cloud of dust fell from the cave. The data terminal contacted everyone again: "Partner! Sunrise is in half an hour! Sunlight is already appearing on the horizon, how is it on your side?!"

"I… I've found something here," Hao Ren took over the communication with some hesitation, then placed a series of sensing devices on the nearby cables and metal cylinders. He didn't know what these cables and cylinders were for, but the intelligent sensing devices should be able to analyze useful things from them. "I'm transmitting the signals from here to you now. They come from the shelter's cable system. Analyze them."

After a moment, the data terminal transmitted a happy voice: "Oh, oh, it seems to be the server's data flow. You should be at a key node. Following the main cable should lead you to the storage…"

"There's a problem," Hao Ren interrupted the terminal. "The storage isn't a bunch of hard drives, but a Long Zi—or strictly speaking, the server itself is a Long Zi. The Zohmite live in the Long Zi's dream."