Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 644: Chapter 436: How Are You Here?

Keke, frightened by the sudden sinking, clung tightly to Xu Xin’s calf.

Upon seeing the scene before her, she let out a small cry and wanted to run deeper into the corridor.

But Xu Xin grabbed her by the back of the neck and lifted her onto his shoulder.

”Don’t run around; it’s very dangerous here!” Xu Xin warned.

Indeed, it’s very dangerous here.

Because these cells, or cages, are not empty.

Behind each metal bar are a pair of blood-red eyes.

Every cage houses an underground creature!

Xu Xin glanced behind him.

His current position was not the start of this prison corridor, but the middle part.

Because behind him is another corridor, with countless cells and cages on both sides.

Moreover...

The bars of these cages emitted a purple glow one by one?!

These cage bars were all made of top-grade materials!

It’s really absurd...

He wanted to touch the bars to see what these cages really were, but it wasn’t possible.

Because, after the sound of that descent echoed, the underground mutant creatures in these cages began to stir.

Initially, it was just some sound from nearby cages.

However, these sounds were contagious, and within just a few seconds, the mutant creatures in the entire corridor’s cages became agitated due to the influence of their neighbors.

The sound of pressing against the cage, gnawing on bars, scratching walls and floors...

It was accompanied by the howls of different creatures.

Mostly insect-like sounds.

In such a situation, if he dared to approach the cage and touch the bars, the nearly crazed mutant creatures in the cage would definitely leap forward.

Better not to.

Moreover, in this narrow space, these sounds erupted within seconds, making Xu Xin, with his enhanced hearing, frown.

Especially some insect sounds that were particularly piercing outside, and even more deafening in this narrow underground.

”So noisy...”

He rubbed his temples irritably, shook his head, chose a direction, and walked forward.

Since the cages on both sides of the corridor were only about four meters high, most of the creatures in the cages were giant insects.

After all, in this underground world, cages of this size could only imprison insects.

Other creatures were often more than ten meters, even twenty or thirty meters tall, which these small cages couldn’t contain.

However, after walking about forty or fifty meters, he realized he was wrong.

This path was not flat.

It was sloping downward.

The point where he had just descended was actually the highest point of this underground world prison.

The ceiling of the underground prison did not show any sign of lowering, but the path beneath his feet was becoming steeper.

By the time he got here, the path under his feet had sloped downward by thirty degrees.

And the surrounding cages were naturally getting larger.

This caused the underground creatures within the cages to start changing, no longer just insects, but becoming increasingly diverse.

”Ahh!”

Keke couldn’t hold back any longer and jumped off Xu Xin’s shoulder.

With each cage she passed, she’d stand up and raise her little paws, making a sound to scare the mutant creatures inside.

Of course, the mutant creatures weren’t intimidated by her tiny appearance, but they clearly felt challenged, each one angrily attacking the metal bars.

However, Keke was smart enough not to provoke those insects that could spit venom or mucus, so these fierce beasts and insects could only rage impotently within their cages, making the bars clang loudly, but to no effect.

”Keke, stop provoking them! What if they really come out!” Xu Xin reprimanded.

”Ahh!” Keke felt she had played enough and ran back up to his shoulder.

Continuing to walk forward, Xu Xin finally found an empty cage and reached out to touch the cage bars.

[Underground World Prison (Purple): A prison used for confining creatures of the underground world, made of extremely hard materials, even high-level mutant creatures cannot destroy it!]

Whoa!

So strong?

A prison that even high-level mutant creatures cannot destroy!

These prisons, except for the metal bars on one side, have metal on the other five sides, so the mutant creatures inside cannot escape.

Unless they can squeeze through the gaps in these metal bars.

But the gaps in these metal bars are very small, let alone their huge bodies; even Xu Xin himself could not twist sideways to pass through.

After walking a bit further, Xu Xin found that if he continued forward, the path was not only sloping downward but also starting to rotate!

Rotating and spiraling down!

In this case, the thick vine bundles and the area around them without any creatures must be the subterranean prison spiraling downward!

Now, where he was, the underground prison space was already quite large, with a height of nearly ten meters.

However, unlike when he first entered, where almost every prison had a mutant creature inside, many were now empty.

About every three cages, one would be empty.

And the mutant creatures in these cages were much larger than the insects before.

He saw a creature resembling a dinosaur rolling in its cage, a massive rabbit with giant red eyes gnawing on the prison bars with its teeth, and a giant snake coiled within, looking at Xu Xin as he passed with its scarlet eyes, flicking its tongue.

This prison really housed all sorts of things.

He suddenly remembered Keke outside, who had led him around an area on the ground.

Could it be that stepping on the area Keke avoided would cause him to fall underground and be imprisoned?

Very possible!

Otherwise, where else did these mutant creatures come from?

Moreover, this would explain why no underground creatures dared to approach that area outside.

After all, those who dared to approach must already be in these cages.

However, if it’s a downward spiral...

It seems somewhat similar to the scenario Ji Chaoyang predicted.

Oh well, let’s keep going.

The further they walk, the bigger the cages become, yet they are increasingly empty.

As they progress, out of every three cages, two are empty.

But in those cages that aren’t empty, giant beasts are already locked inside.

For instance, in the massive cage he is passing now, a gigantic, half-goat, half-bull creature is trapped inside!

Its two spiraling horns appear extremely menacing, akin to demon eyes, glaring at Xu Xin without blinking.

Visible plumes of hot air blast out of its gigantic nostrils.

... Being in close proximity to these giant beasts is truly overwhelming!

Even though it’s motionless, Xu Xin’s muscles still tense up.

Keke, who had been quite lively in front of those big insects, now lies motionless on his shoulder, not daring to make a sound.

It’s not only the appearance of these giant beasts; the thickness and material of the metal bars confining them have evolved significantly too.

The initial prison bars were at most as thick as his wrist, but now...

These bars are at least as thick as his thigh!

Moreover, most importantly, these bars actually radiate a golden glow!

These are golden-quality prison bars!

Xu Xin is utterly stunned.

This is truly opulent...

If he could pry some material off these bars...

He would possess gold-grade material, wouldn’t he?!

... Better to let that idea go, it’s a bit far-fetched.

There’s no way he could even extract some material from those purple-grade metal bars just now.

But still...

The overwhelming sight of gold is truly tantalizing...

Passing by the beast resembling both a bull and a goat, he instinctively treads lightly.

Now, not only have the surrounding prisons grown larger, the passage he walks down is much more spacious than before.

As he continues forward, passing several empty cages, he then spots a giant beast with two heads, a lion, sprawled in its cage, seemingly asleep.

Xu Xin can’t help but take another look.

A two-headed lion, not that unusual in this underground world.

Is it the product of genetic mutation?

This lion is huge, even as it lies on the ground, its height reaches ten meters.

The mane around its neck is incredibly dense and appears uncomfortably dark red; at the moment, the eyes of the lion head facing them are closed, and it is snoring lightly.

The snoring of this massive creature is surprisingly quiet.

Xu Xin approaches the cage’s edge, observing as he continues onward.

”Eep!” Suddenly, Keke, perched on Xu Xin’s shoulder, lets out a small startled sound and burrows into his chest.

What’s wrong?

Xu Xin looks at the two-headed lion, then his pupils suddenly contract!

The other head of the lion is awake!

It’s currently glaring at Xu Xin with blood-red eyes!

”Roar——!”

Before he can react, the two-headed lion suddenly stands up, the awake head bones toward Xu Xin with a furious roar!

A vile stench assaults him!

The roar is deafening, especially in this underground space; the amplified sound leaves Xu Xin dazed for two seconds, nearly collapsing to the ground.

At this moment, the second head opens its eyes too.

This head takes a glance at Xu Xin and then bumps the other head with its own.

The other head also withdraws its gaze from Xu Xin.

Thus, the two-headed lion sits down again, no longer paying any attention to Xu Xin.

Xu Xin’s heart is pounding madly.

Encountering a gigantic two-headed lion’s roar up close is simply too thrilling!

Mimi should come out; it should experience what a large feline’s roar sounds like!

This emperor-like engine sound is truly captivating!

Except for the bad breath, which is rather disgusting.

”What the heck, what’s making that noise? Scared me out of my wits, what kind of stuff is in here...”

Hmm?

Xu Xin whips his head around, looking down the corridor.

From over there, the sound of someone talking just echoed.

Not far away at all, merely less than a hundred meters away.

Moreover, the voice sounds very familiar!

He walks briskly forward.

Before long, he reaches the end of this spiraling dungeon.

At the end, there’s a small cage.

Far smaller than the cages he initially saw upon descending, it seems specifically designed for human confinement.

And in the cage, sure enough, there’s a person.

This person hears the footsteps and stands up to look outward.

”Brother Xin?! Holy crap! It’s Brother Xin! Get me out of here, Brother Xin, I finally waited for someone!”

Upon seeing Xu Xin, he immediately jumps up, grasps the cage’s iron bars, and excitedly shouts, ”I thought I’d die here! This is terrifying!”

”How did you end up locked in here, Zhao Xiaochuan?” Xu Xin is equally astonished.

So Zhao Xiaochuan is here already!