Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Han Zu's fingertips gently touched the rusted surface of the metal rod. A cool touch carried a faint tremor, as if this long-abandoned conductive device was still resonating with some distant energy. His internal energy slowly seeped into the metal rod through his fingertips, tracing the black markings along the lines, attempting to capture more traces of the unknown energy source. The internal structure of the metal rod had long been fragmented by the erosion of time and the impact of energy. The remaining energy fluctuations were chaotic and disordered, like a candle flame flickering in the wind, fleeting. But Han Zu, with his keen perception, still managed to detect a characteristic from this chaotic fluctuation that matched the description in the research log—an energy that was both violent and eerie, possessing both the destructive force of destruction and the seductive power to penetrate consciousness, originating from the same source as the mental interference aura permeating the air.

He withdrew his hand, the lingering energy fluctuations in his palm confirming his suspicion that this metal rod was no ordinary conductive device. It had not only carried the power of an unknown energy source, but after the source went out of control, it became a conduit for the spread of abnormal power, continuously releasing energy repercussions throughout the small town of Pljevlja for countless years, maintaining the eerie state of the "Silent Corridor" instance. Han Zu activated the contractor's equipment's scanning module, and a complex energy graph immediately appeared before his eyes. The fluctuations he had detected when he touched the metal rod were precisely recorded, transforming into a striking red curve that flashed continuously within the graph.

Under Han Zu's command, the contractor's equipment initiated a full-range energy signal scan, centered on the current location and covering the entire city to search for remnants of similar energy fluctuations. The energy characteristics of the metal rod were set as the search benchmark. The scanning module operated at full capacity, and countless invisible probe waves spread out to every corner of the small city. The graph on the screen refreshed continuously; the interface, which originally only had a single red curve, quickly became filled with densely packed dots of light, each dot representing a remnant signal similar to the energy characteristics of the metal rod.

Han Zu's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the counter in the corner of the virtual screen—three hundred and seventy-two. This number far exceeded his expectations. The entire small town was filled with so many residual energy signals, which meant that after the energy experiment went out of control back then, the power of the energy source was not concentrated in the clock tower, but swept through every corner of the city like a tidal wave, permeating buildings, soil, and even those long-decayed objects. These residual signals varied in strength; some, like the metal rod on the top of the clock tower, could be clearly seen on the graph; others were almost blended into the background energy in the air, and would have been impossible to detect if the contractor's equipment hadn't been so powerful.

“Three hundred and seventy-two remnants—where exactly is the true energy source?” Han Zu muttered to himself, his brow furrowed. These residual signals were like a fog, completely obscuring the true location of the energy source. Checking each of these remnants one by one would not only be time-consuming and laborious, but also extremely risky, as the Griffin Faction soldiers were still deployed outside the city, and there might be scattered patrols inside. However, he knew very well that to unravel the root of the dungeon's anomalies and find the target the Griffin Faction coveted, he had to find that out-of-control, unknown energy source, and these residual signals were undoubtedly the only clue to the truth.

He packed up the contractor's equipment and turned his gaze back to the small town below the platform. Night deepened, and the mental interference in the air grew stronger. The whispers around him sounded like countless ants crawling, interspersed with the faint sound of the bell from the void, keeping his mind constantly on edge. But Han Zu's will was as firm as steel. His internal energy circulated rapidly, forming an invisible barrier around him, isolating him from all interference. He took a deep breath, leaped, and jumped from the top platform of the clock tower. His body moved as lightly as a falling leaf, tracing a smooth arc in the air before landing steadily on the street below without making a sound.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Han Zu sensed something amiss. In the past, when venturing deeper into the town, he would always encounter creatures mutated by the energy source in the streets and alleys—most of them were twisted, their skin a strange dark color, their eyes bloodshot—if those things were indeed eyes, they exuded a ferocious and bloodthirsty aura, probably the same monsters Han Zu had encountered when eliminating the Ferdinand family soldiers. Normally, at this time of day, these mutated creatures should be roaming the town like ghosts, searching for any living thing, but the streets were unusually empty. Apart from scattered corpses and rubble, there were no mutated creatures to be seen, only those black energy imprints writhing on the walls and ground, emanating an eerie aura.

Han Zu's alertness instantly heightened. He darted behind the corner of an abandoned building, maximizing his senses to meticulously detect every movement around him. A moment later, he keenly sensed several faint auras emanating from an alley at the end of the street. The auras carried a familiar ferocity and decay—the mutated creatures. He slowly peered towards the source of the auras and saw several twisted figures huddled in the shadows at the alley entrance, like frightened wild beasts, warily scanning their surroundings, seemingly wary of something.

What puzzled Han Zu was that these mutated creatures didn't seem to have noticed him, yet their demeanor was filled with unease. Their bodies trembled slightly, and they occasionally emitted low whimpers, a stark contrast to their usual bloodthirsty and belligerent nature. Even stranger, when Han Zu subconsciously took a small step forward, attempting to get closer to observe, the mutated creatures seemed to instantly sense something. Their previously curled-up bodies tensed abruptly, and they raised their heads to look in Han Zu's direction. Their eyes, devoid of their usual ferocity, were replaced by pure fear. Instead of attacking, they reacted as if encountering a natural enemy, immediately turning and rushing into the shadows deep within the alley, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye, leaving only a few blurry black shadows and a series of hurried footsteps.

"They can't avoid it at all costs?" Han Zu's doubts deepened. He had previously seen several patrol teams from the Griffin Clan and had encountered these mutated creatures a few times. He knew their nature well—once they sensed the presence of living beings, they would attack without hesitation, and would never back down even if the difference in strength was too great. But the reaction of these mutated creatures just now completely contradicted their nature. They seemed to have an extremely strong fear of him, and didn't even dare to approach him.

He didn't immediately give chase, but stood there, carefully pondering the reason. Was it because his energy aura was similar to the energy source, instilling awe in them? Or was some more powerful force controlling them, causing them to deliberately avoid his location? Han Zu leaned towards the latter. The fear shown by those mutated creatures wasn't instinctive, but rather an emotion forcibly instilled by some external force. Although their escape was chaotic, it carried a deliberate order, unlike simple panicked flight.

To verify his guess, Han Zu started walking again, retracing the direction in which the mutated creature had fled. His footsteps were extremely light, trying to make no sound, and he deliberately concealed his energy aura, leaving only a faint fluctuation, making him appear like an ordinary living being. The streets along the way remained empty, with only a few fresh black marks occasionally visible, clearly traces left by the mutated creature. Han Zu followed these marks, soon arriving at the depths of a maze of alleyways.

Just then, he sensed the presence of several more mutated creatures at the crossroads not far ahead. Han Zu immediately stopped, his figure flashing as he hid on the roof of an abandoned building nearby, observing the commotion below. In the center of the crossroads, a dozen or so mutated creatures were gathered, pacing anxiously and emitting low whimpers. Their eyes were filled with fear, and they frequently glanced around, as if wary of something. When their gaze inadvertently swept towards the roof where Han Zu was, their bodies froze instantly, their fear intensifying. They retreated, fleeing in different directions; some disappeared into nearby alleys, while others hid in the shadows of abandoned buildings, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

This time, Han Zu saw it much more clearly. These mutated creatures weren't unaware of him; rather, upon sensing his presence, they were gripped by extreme fear, daring not to linger and fleeing for their lives. Moreover, their escape routes were erratic, scattering throughout alleyways, shadowy corners of buildings, as if anywhere away from him was safe. This unusual behavior filled Han Zu with a surging tide of doubt. He was certain he had never had a large-scale conflict with these mutated creatures, nor had he deliberately targeted them. Why were they so afraid of him? More importantly, this unified fear couldn't have been spontaneous; some force must be manipulating them, causing them to deliberately avoid him.

"What exactly is controlling them?" Han Zu muttered to himself, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. He thought of the unknown energy source. Perhaps it was the power of the energy source that was controlling these mutated creatures? But if that were the case, why would the energy source make them avoid him? Could it be that the energy aura on his body posed a threat to the energy source? Or perhaps, it wasn't the energy source itself that was controlling these mutated creatures, but something else entirely?

Han Zu wanted to immediately capture a mutated creature and force it to reveal the truth, but he quickly abandoned the idea. He glanced at the energy fluctuations and detection signals displayed on the contractor's equipment. Although he was currently well-hidden, the Griffin Faction soldiers outside the city were equipped with advanced detection devices. If he used his own strength to capture the mutated creature, it would inevitably trigger a strong energy fluctuation, which would likely be detected by the soldiers outside the city, thus exposing his whereabouts. The Griffin Faction was already panicked due to the loss of contact with many patrol teams. If they discovered his whereabouts again, they would definitely send a large force to surround and annihilate him, which would completely disrupt his exploration plans.

Weighing the pros and cons, Han Zu decided to temporarily abandon the idea of ​​capturing the mutated creatures. He leaped off the roof, landing on the ground, and scanned his surroundings. Since capturing the mutated creatures wouldn't provide answers, he would try another approach—analyzing their escape routes to find what they considered safe locations, or pinpointing the hideout of the manipulators. After all, for the manipulators to control these mutated creatures, they would inevitably need a stable energy source or signal relay station, and the direction the mutated creatures were fleeing would likely lead to that location.

Han Zu chose an abandoned office building on higher ground. The building had over ten floors, and its rooftop offered a panoramic view of the surrounding streetscape. To avoid detecting his energy signal, he abandoned the idea of ​​flying directly to the rooftop and instead quickly climbed the abandoned staircase. The steps were rotten and creaked with every step, as if they might collapse at any moment. However, Han Zu's steps were unusually steady, landing precisely on the weight-bearing parts of each step without putting any extra pressure on the staircase. Along the way, numerous pieces of office furniture and documents were scattered throughout the floors. The walls were covered with black energy markings, and occasionally, a few decaying corpses could be seen—clearly the remains of people trapped there years ago, or soldiers who had been there some time ago.

A few minutes later, Han Zu arrived at the office building's rooftop. The rooftop railings were rusty and partially collapsed, revealing the dark streets below. He walked to the edge of the rooftop and, relying on his night vision, looked around at the surrounding streets. The small town in the night resembled a giant maze, with crisscrossing alleys like passageways within it. Countless dark figures darted quickly through the streets—the mutated creatures fleeing in all directions. Han Zu's gaze was fixed on these figures, carefully noting their escape routes and final hiding places.

However, as time went on, Han Zu's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. The escape routes of these mutated creatures were completely illogical. Some ran towards the outskirts of the small town, some disappeared into abandoned buildings in the city center, and some even wandered back and forth through several alleys, seemingly lost. Their final hiding places were also extremely scattered, scattered throughout every corner of the city, from abandoned factories on the outskirts to residential buildings in the center, and then to the depths of those narrow alleys, with almost no discernible pattern. Some mutated creatures hid in the same building, yet remained isolated from each other, never interacting; others huddled alone in the shadows of alleys, trembling with fear.

Han Zu observed for nearly half an hour, recording the escape routes of hundreds of mutated creatures, but found no commonalities. These routes, like chaotic lines, intertwined on the map of the small town, couldn't point to any specific location. This result disappointed him; he had originally thought he could find clues to the manipulator through the escape routes, but now it seemed that the plan had completely failed.

"Was the manipulator deliberately disrupting their escape routes, or do these mutated creatures simply lack a fixed safe zone?" Han Zu pondered, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. If it was the former, it meant the manipulator's strength far exceeded his expectations, not only controlling hundreds of mutated creatures but also precisely disrupting their movements, making them impossible for him to track. If it was the latter, then the mutated creatures' fear might truly be some kind of instinctive reaction, rather than being deliberately manipulated. But neither of these guesses could perfectly explain the phenomenon before him.

Han Zu put aside his thoughts, no longer dwelling on the mutated creature's escape route. Since this lead was blocked, he could only return to his original plan—to check each of the energy signal remnants one by one, and find the one closest to the energy source from the 372 remnants. He turned and left the rooftop, slowly walking down the stairs of the office building, returning to the ground.

The mutated creatures on the streets had become increasingly rare, most hiding in secluded corners, afraid to come out easily. Han Zu began to explore the alleys one by one. Whenever he reached a location with a strong residual energy signal, he would stop and use the contractor's equipment to conduct a detailed scan. At the same time, he would touch the object where the residual energy was located with his fingertips to feel the energy fluctuations within it and compare them with the energy characteristics of the clock tower's metal pole.

He first arrived at a small alley not far from the clock tower, where the residual energy signal strength ranked among the top twenty of all residual points. The residual signal originated from a broken tile on the alley wall, its surface covered with black marks and emitting faint energy fluctuations. Han Zu crouched down, gently touching the tile with his fingertips, allowing his internal energy to seep into it. The residual energy inside the tile was chaotic and weak, similar to the energy characteristics of the clock tower's metal rod, but its purity was extremely low. It was clearly just the aftershocks left by the diffusion of the energy source's power, not a trace of the energy source itself. He recorded the energy data here using the contractor's equipment, then stood up and walked towards the next residual point.

For the next few days, Han Zu moved like a ghost through the streets and alleys of the small town, checking one energy signal remnant after another. These remnants were scattered throughout the city; some were attached to discarded furniture, some seeped into the soil, and some remained in broken walls. The energy fluctuations of the vast majority of these remnants were extremely weak and of very low purity, merely traces of the energy source's power dissipation, and had no research value. Only a few remnants had stronger energy fluctuations and relatively higher purity, more closely resembling the energy characteristics of the clock tower's metal rod. However, after careful examination, Han Zu discovered that these remnants were mostly left by auxiliary equipment from the energy experiments of that year, not the hiding place of the energy source.

The exploration was not without its challenges. Although most of the mutated creatures deliberately avoided Han Zu, occasionally they encountered some slow-reacting creatures who failed to detect his presence until he was close. Whenever this happened, these creatures would instantly fall into extreme fear, frantically fleeing, some even crashing into walls or falling into the ruins of abandoned buildings with dull thuds. Han Zu paid no attention to this; as long as the mutated creatures didn't attack him, he wouldn't waste time chasing them, focusing instead on clearing out any remaining traces.