Chapter 19: Large-Scale Energy Supply Field

"Monsters really do have a certain sense of territory, it's just that the boundaries seem rather weak," Gu Shanhai observed as a group of monsters chased after Qingcheng White Fox and left.

Previously, the noise he made on the first floor did not attract monsters, likely because the monsters had been scattered by the four of them. Now on the second floor, despite Qingcheng White Fox having killed a monster, the noise was significant and naturally drew them in again.

He used a little trick to double back.

And there was no need to worry about Qingcheng White Fox getting killed. He had timed the Flame Shield; it could maintain Qingcheng White Fox's health in an optimum state for activation. The health was neither too low to cause fatigue nor too high to make his attributes and skills insufficiently powerful.

As long as he didn't turn his head and take the monsters head-on, he was essentially safe.

Of course, even if he died, it wouldn't really matter, since players could be resurrected.

Turning back to look at the fungal creature, he knew it was also a person, very likely one of the civilians from before, although he didn't know why the archives were on the second floor. However, he could be certain of one thing: this creature fusion technology was simply brilliant.

"You should still have some consciousness, right? Could you tell me where I can find the origin of everything?" Gu Shanhai addressed the fungal monster above the archives.

As for the materials in the archives, let's just say this much: who would leave top-secret materials out in the open?

Something involving human modification or cult rituals, looking through some staff diaries would probably be more reliable than the files in the archives.

The mycelium on the ceiling was writhing, extending towards Gu Shanhai like a big ball of yarn.

The extension was very fast, at least much faster than any normal fungus.

Seeing this, Gu Shanhai furrowed his brow. This creature had some consciousness, but just a little.

At this moment, it was likely trying to consume him, so he had no choice but to fight back.

Pinching his thumb and forefinger together, a few sparks splattered out, landing on the advancing mycelium. In the next instant, flames engulfed the area, turning the mycelium into a breeding ground for fire.

"Light-fearing, weak to fire."

"The flaws are rather significant. I wonder if the technology can be improved upon acquisition."

This was a concern for Gu Shanhai as well.

He had preliminarily identified two weaknesses. Fire weakness was self-explanatory, but photophobia presented an issue—some monsters reacted with fear and fled upon sudden exposure to light, while others behaved differently, attacking the light source directly.

This mycelium fell into the latter category, becoming aggressive upon encountering light and attacking it.

The fire quickly burned the mycelium on the ceiling to a crisp. After all, such a large fungal mass was extremely flammable, and his flames were not ordinary—they were enhanced with Mana, having been modified by him.

"Huh, something's not right." After completely burning the mycelium, Gu Shanhai noticed a problem.

Logically, the fire should have spread, burning the entire archive room clean. But he discovered it had extinguished instead—not that it hadn't burned, but that it couldn't catch.

"There's a problem with the environment." His expression grew serious. It was then he immediately thought of something maintaining the monsters' bodily functions, which was why his flames faltered in this environment.

"Interesting, a large environmental control field?"

Gu Shanhai began to pick up some of the archives and skim through them, but as he had expected, the documents were all normal, with no relevant records. After a brief inspection, he gave up on finding anything useful.

He planned to take a look at the third floor.

Saint Mary Hospital covered a large area, but it wasn't tall, with only three stories in total.

He didn't know what the board of directors was thinking, but there was a good chance that the third floor was problematic.

It was very likely that these plans had existed even before Saint Mary Hospital was successfully built.

"Only it seems there are no stairs to the third floor?" The staircase he used previously to get to the second floor did not have stairs leading to the third floor.

Otherwise, he would have gone straight to the third floor. What was the point of messing around on the second?

"Perhaps because the third floor is a secret area, not easily accessible to others, that's why the archive room is located on the second floor?"

"This indicates that the first and second floors are not part of the same system as the third floor; otherwise, there would be no need for such arrangements."

"This is a bit of a hassle."

He was unfamiliar with the layout of Saint Mary Hospital, and the security of the third floor seemed to be quite tight. Getting there was going to be troublesome.

"But it's not impossible. If there are no stairs, I don't have to use them."

Gu Shanhai's idea was simple: he could just climb up from the outside through a window. What else could he do, smash through the ceiling by force?

Not to mention the consumption of Mana between the two methods, the noise would be considerable. Now he wasn't even using a flashlight, instead enhancing his eyes with Mana.

The monsters on the second floor were no weaklings. He could handle three to five of them, but any more than that, he would have to flee.

He hadn't been cultivating for long and lacked various resources. It wasn't possible for him to be invincible right off the bat.

"Looks like I need to find a window, and just in time to go back and see what condition Qingcheng Red Colt's body is in."

There was no telling how far he would have to travel in the left, right, and front directions, so the direction he could be sure had windows was naturally where they had entered the hospital, through the main entrance.

If he headed back, he could indeed see the condition of Qingcheng Red Colt's body.

He didn't know if the others had confirmed it, but they had certainly passed by.

"I need to hurry." Gu Shanhai empowered his legs with Mana, dashing forward like a sword being thrust.

Conserving Mana was correct, but it also depended on the time.

As the darkness drew near, he had a feeling that continuing to delay would definitely not bode well.

If the ritual on the third floor was successful in summoning the Evil God, then it would be all over.

Before that happened, he thought it would be wise to see if he could stop it. If he could, he'd do so; if he couldn't, he would still grab some benefits before fleeing.

He was sure there was nothing of value on the second floor, but he quite liked the monsters—each had a rather useful appearance. But no matter how valuable they were, could their worth surpass the value of the technology that created them?

He wasn't a Summoner; if he were, he could try making a pact, later summoning them for battle.

The combat capabilities of this group of monsters were quite impressive.

"This should be the place." Gu Shanhai sped along, estimating the location in his mind, and quickly arrived where Qingcheng Red Colt had fallen.

But there were no pits here, indicating that Rat Head Man hadn't broken through to the second floor; he had just been living in the gap between the first and second floors.