Inside The Black Mist

Tianyang didn’t rush into the building. His previous experiences exploring the Inverse Universe had taught him to observe first and act later.

The building before him had a unique style, distinctly different from the other structures in the town. The building was symmetrical, with a tall main building flanked by shorter wings on either side.

The main building, resembling a spire, had tall windows, and even its door was tall and narrow.

Above the door was a cross-shaped window. When illuminated, the glass in the window revealed some patterns, but most were obscured by dust, making them hard to identify.

The building had been abandoned for a long time. One of the doors, which originally should have opened in two halves, was missing.

Most of the surrounding windows were broken. The stained glass, crafted with some techniques, now resembled black, gaping mouths, hollow, and dark.

Across the street from this peculiar building grew a row of Inverse Universe trees. These black, twisted plants were now covered in fungal colonies.

They were growing wildly, occupying the entire tree trunk, and forming a heavy “canopy” among the branches.

Not far away, a lamp post had fallen over, pressing down on a tree overtaken by fungal colonies. These unique products of Gemstone Town seemed uninterested in metal, so the lamp post was spared.

After confirming no dark creatures were wandering around, Tianyang crossed the street to the spired building.

He shone his light through the door, illuminating the interior hall, where wooden benches laid scattered. From their length, the benches could seat four or five people.

There were many such benches, so the hall could accommodate around forty to fifty people.

On either side of the hall stood tall pillars, carved with sculptures of winged humans.

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Tianyang wondered if the residents of the Inverse Universe once looked like this.

Hanging from the ceiling were several chandeliers, and behind them, on the ceiling, were some paintings.

Tianyang moved the light toward the front of the hall, where there was a stone table resembling a podium. It was unclear how long it had existed in the Inverse Universe. Though the table hadn’t collapsed, it was severely damaged.

Small statues were toppled on the table, and on the wall behind it hung a cross-shaped ornament.

On this cross-shaped object, about a meter long and wide, was a relief of a human figure. The sculpture had its arms outstretched, with nails piercing its palms, fastening it to the cross.

It appeared to be some form of mysterious worship.

But Tianyang couldn’t understand why the residents of the Inverse Universe would worship something nailed to a cross. He had no idea what it represented.

However, to the left of the sculpture, Tianyang noticed a door. The door was open, revealing another space behind it, likely leading to the spire above.

Holding his assault rifle, Tianyang quickened his pace to the door.

Shining his light inside, he found another space with a spiral staircase leading upward. The air was damp, and on the walls and floor, patches of dark blue fungal colonies were visible.

Fortunately, their distribution was sparse, leaving Tianyang some room to step.

He carefully navigated around the fungal colonies, unsure if contact with them would result in infection.

It's better to be cautious.

Near the staircase, Tianyang raised his rifle, the light attachment illuminating the stairs to the top.

As the light swept over the upper staircase, something seemed to flicker.

Tianyang’s muscles instantly tensed, and he quickly retreated, taking cover in the hall.

He crouched on the floor, aiming his light at the door, and faintly heard a weak but strange noise.

Then, where the light touched, Tianyang saw nothing.

But he was certain something was approaching from behind the door, a feeling based on the barely audible sounds and an indescribable sense of presence.

Tianyang tapped the side of his head, activating the infrared vision of his tactical eye. He then lowered his gun, pulling the light back from the door and concentrating it at his feet.

In the red-tinged space of the infrared vision, something finally appeared on the floor and the door.

Fungal humanoids!

Indeed, they were humanoid figures completely covered in fungal colonies. One fungal humanoid crawled out from the floor like a reptile, while the other appeared like a spider from the doorframe.

Suddenly, both fungus people lunged at Tianyang simultaneously.

One from above, one from below, attacking their target!

Tianyang deactivated his infrared vision, raised his rifle, and directed the light toward the fungal humanoid on the ground.

As soon as it was illuminated, the creature immediately stopped moving. Tianyang then moved to the left, and the muzzle of his assault rifle spewed out beams of stellar energy.

While hitting the fungal humanoid on the ground, Tianyang also dodged the other creature’s attack. When it landed on the ground, it too came within the light’s range.

The second fungal humanoid also ceased its movements.

It seemed like Kong Zhang was right. These creatures exhibited the traits of Inverse Universe plants; their cells stopped functioning within the light’s range!

Tianyang wasn’t sure if the earlier shots had killed the fungus people.

To be cautious, he propped his gun on the ground to maintain the light's coverage. He then drew his Crimson Moon Warblade and infused it with star essence, causing the edge to glow a crimson red.

The temperature in the air rose sharply. Fortunately, the special material of the battle knife concentrated the heat on the blade. Otherwise, holding it would have been impossible.

Carefully maneuvering to avoid blocking the light and giving the fungus people a chance to move, Tianyang circled behind them.

He then swung the battle knife, slashing through both fungus people. Flames erupted from the cuts made by the Crimson Moon Warblade, and soon the hall had two fireballs.

Amidst the flames, the fungus people twitched uncontrollably and emitted a series of sharp, high-pitched screams from somewhere.

After more than ten seconds, they finally stopped moving. When the flames died out, only two humanoid black scorch marks remained on the floor.

Sheathing his battle knife, Tianyang picked up his rifle and re-entered the room through the side door.

Ascending the spiral staircase, he encountered no more fungus people. Despite some broken sections on the staircase, he managed to reach the top after some effort.

The top level was a small platform with windows on all sides.

Tianyang climbed out through one of them, reaching the spire of the building, where the cross-shaped object was right before him.

It was covered in dense fungal colonies, leaving no space to grasp!

"Under the cross, sunlight shines..." Tianyang muttered the short phrase and, with a swift motion, drew his battle knife and severed the cross-shaped object at its base.

Beneath the cut was a pedestal, which Tianyang quickly dismantled.

But under the pedestal, there was nothing.

Tianyang was stunned. “Could it be that this isn’t the place?”

At that moment, his communicator buzzed. “Tianyang, where are you? We're heading back. Meet us at the camp.”

Tianyang responded, turned off the communicator, and frowned before retracing his steps.

As he exited the strange building, he glanced back at it before hurrying to meet Adam and the others at the camp.