1156 Down in the Cave

It was quiet in the cave; Yun Meng didn't feel any abnormal vibe or a strange scent. So, she walked into the largest tunnel. As she moved forward, she felt the tunnel leading downward. About half an hour later, she entered another large round room.

She spent about three hours moving downward and made a few circles in the underground cave, but still didn't find anything unusual. At last, the road in front of her ended. It seemed to be a fault. In front of her was a cliff, and over ten meters down the cliff was an underground river, wide and deep.

Only after approaching the cliff did Yun Meng sensed a faint vibe that was strange and coming from the river. She squatted by the cliff and carefully looked down. She couldn't see colors; in her eyes, the river water which was supposed to be translucently gray was pitch dark.

Why was the water black? Was there some problem with the river? Was that why those underground gorillas ran out?

Yun Meng stared at the river, trying to figure out what it had to do with what had happened. She had spent three hours walking through so many tunnels, but no unusual signs were found until she saw the river. The river gave out an indescribable vibe, which was so mysterious that she couldn't even tell what it belonged to.

She looked around. On both sides of the river were vertical cliffs, with no places to land feet on. Therefore, she inserted her claws into the cliff and slowly crawled down to observe the river water more closely.

Of course, she would not jump straight into the river.

Thankfully, her body became very nimble and flexible after she turned into a zombie, and she often climbed walls and trees.

She easily crawled down the cliff and approached the river water. With one hand holding the rock face, she turned and touched the water surface with the other hand. Then, she scooped a little of the water with her hand and put it under her nose. Instantly, she sensed a pungent smell.

"Oh my!" Yun Meng threw away the water in her hand once she smelt it, then swiftly climbed back onto the cliff. Something was indeed wrong with the water. The water even had such a sharp smell! Also, no signs of living creatures were detected from the river.

However, a smelly river wasn't bad enough to make all those underground gorillas run out of their cave, was it? Yun Meng knitted her brows with confusion.

After climbing on the cliff, she spent quite a while observing the surrounding area. Except for the river, everything else looked normal. So, she turned and started moving toward the outside.

She went out of the cave, hopped onto a building, then made a whistle. Soon, a few figures showed up before her.

"You guys guard in here. I'll make a trip back to the base," Yun Meng said to the few zombies in front of her. Standing before her were a few zombie leaders, who nodded at her when she gave her words. Next, she turned and went back to where her troop was stationed, found a car, and drove back to the base.

The first thing she did back in the base was to go to Base Number One and see Yuan Tianxing.

"Deputy Chief!" Yuan Tianxing, who was reading files in his office, heard someone knock on his door. He raised his head to see Li Zheng standing by his door. "Yun Meng's back." Then, a young girl walked into his office.

Seeing her, Yuan Tianxing stopped short and asked, "What's wrong? Why did you come back at this time? Is something wrong over there?"

He looked at the time and found that it was almost midnight.

Even though Lin Qiao had told him that those underground creatures were no longer a threat before she left, Yuan Tianxing still didn't fully relax his vigilance against them. Now, as Yun Meng came straight to his office from the cave area, the first thought occurred to him was those creatures were probably attempting something bad again.

However, Yun Meng came back herself, meaning that whatever was happening in the cave area did not need her to deal with. So, it shouldn't be too bad.

Yun Meng walked in and sat down on the couch, then said to Yuan Tianxing, "There is a situation indeed. But, I think those underground gorillas aren't the cause."

Yuan Tianxing quickly sorted the files in his hands, then stood up and walked to the armchair near Yun Meng. As he sat down, he said to her, "There's a situation, but not related to those creatures? What happened?"

"Midday yesterday, those creatures all ran out of the cave and stayed outside for a whole night. Now, they're heading to another direction for hunting. I took the chance to get down into the cave and found a river deep down there, with funny smelling water. It was a pungent smell for me, but I don't know what it's effect is for you humans. But, I guess the smell is what made those underground gorillas run out of the cave."

Yuan Tianxing quietly heard her statement, then asked a question, "How do you know something is wrong with the water? Have you been down there before?"

"No," Yun Meng shook her head and said, "It was my first time down there."

Yuan Tianxing thought for a moment, then said, "Perhaps… the water is always like that? It might seem strange to you, but we don't know for sure if it has any effects on those underground creatures. Have you found anything else that's unusual?"

Yun Meng carefully thought about what she had seen in the cave, then shook her head and responded, "No. I instinctively felt that something is wrong with the river water. Apart from that, everything else in the cave seems normal."

"Aren't those things coming to our base?" Recalling that those underground gorillas attempted to attack the base last time, Yuan Tianxing asked with concern.

"No, they're moving in another direction. Don't worry, what Chief said was true," Yun Meng shook her head and said, remembering those underground gorillas hopping toward the zoo area. Then, she stood up and said, "Alright! I'm just here to tell you about this. If anything else happens, I'll send someone back here to let you know."

After saying that, she waved at Yuan Tianxing and left.

Watching her leave, the latter knitted his brows. It was a good thing that those underground gorillas didn't come to the base this time. However, they came out of the cave under the threat of the daylight, meaning that they were probably scared by something down underground.

The funny smell of the river water that Yun Meng mentioned might be what caused them to leave, but it could also be something else.

They were afraid of mere water? That didn't make sense.

Was there something in the water? Or, did the water deliver a signal of danger?