Deep in the Living
Chapter 288 - 276 Falling into the Abyss

Chapter 288: Chapter 276 Falling into the Abyss

The female demon related to the Sequence faction in front of us, based on her appearance and physique, leans more towards humanity. In Luo Di’s aesthetic opinion, she is more pleasing to the eye and more amiable than Spine.

White hair over the ears.

The girl’s facial skin is a sickly pale white, and her eyeballs do indeed have demonic characteristics—pure black irises enveloping tiny, ghastly white pupils.

A high nose bridge is pierced by a steel tube, seemingly capable of performing more important functions beyond breathing.

Her lips are coated with a metallic black lipstick, or perhaps that’s just their natural color. Her mouth is also always closed, without any signs of breathing.

In terms of facial features, it’s very much in line with human aesthetics; if one disregards the metal decorations, the eyes, and the lip color, it’s easy to associate her with a Nordic girl.

But beneath this approximately twenty-year-old female facial expression, there is an exaggerated physique.

She is covered in a Pitch Black Leather Jacket exclusive to the Sequence faction, sans any metallic structures like studs or Hooks as seen on Mr. Hook.

This is purely a combat leather outfit, smooth and with a subtle metallic sheen.

The high collar fits snugly, accentuating the muscle contours of her entire body.

Such a robust physique unavoidably reminds Luo Di of an old comrade—Anna, with a great similarity in their body shapes.

Apart from muscle lines, the most striking feature is her neck, embedded with seven tiny air Iron Pillars arranged in a ring, serving as her breathing apparatus, or perhaps her entire respiratory system.

Looking at the air Iron Pillars embedded in her neck, as well as the giant iron rod in her hand.

Her metallic characteristics are undoubtedly directly related to such metal pillars, which are quite different from the Hook used by Mr. Hook for torture and torment, likely corresponding to direct physical destruction.

Moreover,

Luo Di could faintly hear a subtle metal clashing sound, as if it originated from within the woman’s body.

Some kind of engine-like mechanism caused tiny iron rods to collide inside her body.

The female affiliated with the Sequence is strong, and from her first entry into the store for a search, it might just be to hunt down this "rat."

Since the other party is professional, Luo Di quickly formulates the most effective collaboration plan in his mind.

Their eyes meet, and Luo Di’s voice carries over like a whisper:

"I might be able to locate the source of these rats."

The white-haired girl shows a surprised expression, clearly distrusting "strangers."

But considering she could command the Crow Colt, and she also bears the mark of a messenger from Chaos Nest City, plus the most important, the metal characteristics belonging to the Punishment Room.

She ultimately chooses to trust.

"They’ve already hidden away, nearly impossible to find... One minute! If we can’t find them, we must leave this place. Endless swarms of rats can gnaw through metal, and the shadow of Evil Play will completely devour us."

"Let’s head to the mid-level area of this inn first."

After a brief conversation,

The black creatures gathered by the rat horde had already given chase.

Lacking large-scale lethal methods, Luo Di, who is only skilled in one-on-one combat, chooses to flee desperately in the face of the oncoming rat swarm.

Unexpectedly, the woman raises the giant iron rod in her hand high.

Click!

Luo Di’s tongue snaps sharply, hastily recalling the crow flock into his coat and pressing himself against the wall.

The iron rod strikes down with oppressive force!

Even though the iron rod is not aimed at Luo Di, it still makes his knees slightly bend.

Boom!

The pursuing rat creatures are completely crushed, and the shattered corpses are impaled with tiny Iron Pillars to prevent regeneration.

Not just that.

The floor made of special stone is shattered, and the two follow the falling rubble down to the next level.

"Hm? Is this how we go downstairs?"

Luo Di, looking at the large hole broken above him, can’t help but nod.

Just like that—the woman continues swinging her rod tirelessly, forcibly taking the two of them from the top floor (13th floor) to the mid-level (7th floor).

The rat swarms they encounter along the way either get smashed or are sent flying.

Luo Di also gradually realizes that this monstrous strength isn’t just pure force; it’s the combined effect of some kind of iron pillar power source within her body.

At least she is amazingly strong in terms of physical combat.

"We’ve reached the seventh floor, it’s your turn to seek."

The iron rod retracted, the girl observes the young man in front of her with skepticism. If he doesn’t present any special method, she will abandon him at the first opportunity and flee the inn.

Her physical energy is limited, but the rats here are endless. The longer they stay, the more likely they are to be eaten away to nothing.

However,

Her tiny pupils witness a strange scene.

The gray-haired young man did not perform any release of Perception,

nor did he make any perceptual movements, such as detaching his eyeballs or pressing his ears against the wall.

He simply picks up an ordinary mouse.

"You..."

The moment the white-haired girl wanted to ask what the significance of such an action might be,

a breath is released from the young man.

An aura she had never seen before,

An aura that did not belong to Hell.

Ding ding ding~ The metal structures inside the girl began to collide; she even instinctively took a step back, her iron rod ready to strike.

The grey-haired young man before her seemed to have turned into some kind of monster, an unknown creature that could threaten her life.

The next second.

A smear of grey flashed by.

The rat in Luo Di’s hand was not killed; he vaguely caught sight of tentacle-like structures burrowing into the rat’s mouth, seemingly trying to take root within.

Pop!

The rat in his hand suddenly exploded; Luo Di’s palm, holding the rat, was injured by the blast, and the shattered tentacles dissolved into grey smoke and dissipated.

"What?!"

Luo Di frowned.

For the first time,

his color mark failed to locate its target.

According to Luo Di’s plan, these rats were all related to the entity behind them; releasing a color on one rat should have marked the hidden presence.

Yet, the whole inn was faintly exuding grey; all the rats, the building materials, were marked, unable to pinpoint the true source.

"Sorry, my mark is ineffective..."

The white-haired girl did not blame him; she clearly understood the nature of the entity they were faced with, which had already made preparations during their sleep. It wasn’t going to be easy to find.

The ability Luo Di displayed was already stunning;

the rats in the entire inn were retreating in fear because of the appearance of grey, not daring to approach even now.

"Escape... come back to the Great Monastery with me. We can hardly deal with what’s here, we just need to confirm that the Wanted Criminal is hiding here."

"All right."

The white-haired girl continued in the same manner, smashing through the floor, successfully getting them back to their initial entry point into the inn,

The reception desk and the inn’s heavy Iron Gate were located here.

Bang!

The iron rod heavily struck the middle of the door, completely destroying the internal locking mechanism.

"Help me push the door!"

"Hmm."

One on each side.

Luo Di also unleashed all his strength, even turning the Pig Slaughter Knife into a pigskin structure to enhance his power; strands of grey tentacles wound around his muscles as well, with the spine firing up his whole body.

Creak!

The heavy Iron Gate slowly opened.

But what lay outside was not the storm scene they had anticipated; there was not even a whisper of wind.

Pitch darkness, as if an Abyss.

Squeak squeak crunch crunch~

A wave of strange rat noises came from the depths, simultaneously echoed by the rats within the entire inn, even those crushed by the Iron Pillars.

The sound penetrated the space, disturbing the mind.

The door directly in front began to veer off,

the entire space rotated 90°,

from horizontal to vertical!

While pushing the door, the two were briefly locked in thought because of the rat’s screeching, and when they came to their senses, they were already falling into the depths of the Abyss...

Without any walls to support them, no way to decelerate.

After plummeting approximately a hundred meters,

Pop!

They thought they would hit hard, but instead, they landed in a smelly, sticky swamp filled with a mixture of broken organs and rat droppings.

The intense smell penetrated their respiratory tracts as if the stomachs were being shredded by a swarm of rats.

But Luo Di’s gaze was attracted by a spectacle at the bottom of the Abyss.

A huge door,

a door built from a pile of the corpses of numerous inn guests,

a door exuding the aura of Hell.

"This is... the Gate of Demon Ascension!"

Luo Di had only heard of the concept before, but upon seeing this door, he immediately concluded; it seemed that as a Spine, as a creature from True Hell, he didn’t need understanding to know the concept of the door.

But this Gate of Demon Ascension did not belong to him; it was someone else’s.

Once it’s fully constructed and one passes through this door, the *great Demon Ascension* will be realized.

Just as the two were captivated by the sight of the [door],

within the fetid, sticky depths of the swamp, something was rapidly surfacing...