The blue rabbit, with a fearless and raging momentum, smashed down, landing squarely in the ground.
The instant Zhang Qiling heard the sound, he sidestepped and dodged the inexplicable attack. He now stood to the side, quietly watching the blue rabbit, which had created a large pit in the ground, struggle to pull itself out, feeling a sense of bewilderment.
... He didn't know why, but at this moment, the image of this blue rabbit gradually merged with Fatty's in his mind.
The appearance was secondary; it was mainly their identical bowling ball-like abilities that made one unable to help but marvel.
This crack was about thirty meters deep, and the soil on the ground was extremely soft. Zhang Qiling, simply standing still, already felt the soles of his shoes sinking slightly, enveloped by the sticky earth.
The blue rabbit, however, was now in a more miserable state.
Its fluffy blue fur, matted by the wet mud, clung to its body in strands, making it look like a dark brown slime or mud monster.
Yet, it was completely oblivious to its disheveled appearance. After pulling itself out of the dirt like a radish, it simply tidied the fur on its face and immediately, with a self-satisfied air, lunged towards Zhang Qiling's trouser leg!
A splash of wet mud followed. Zhang Qiling dodged expressionlessly, crossed his arms, and watched. As expected, the blue rabbit once again plunged headfirst into the ground, its hind legs flailing wildly in the air, resembling a mudskipper washed ashore.
The rabbit let out muffled cries from within the earth, but Zhang Qiling remained impassive, appearing like a cool guy devoid of emotion.
The sides of this crack were high earthen walls, and the distance between them was narrow. In a trance, he felt as if he had returned to the canyon he had just been in.
Countless roots, extending from the gray forest above, had broken through the soil and emerged, clinging to the earthen walls like a spiderweb, obscuring a large portion of the space above.
Zhang Qiling touched these roots. Their texture was dry and rough, completely lacking the moisture of normal plants, as if they were long dead.
With a gentle crush, the roots in his hand shattered into powder with a crisp cracking sound, like fake objects made of dry earth. xxs壹贰
... Yet, the soil here was clearly moist; by all rights, this situation should not have occurred.
He felt something brushing against his feet. It was the blue rabbit, which had finally pulled itself out again. Having learned its lesson, it had rubbed against the dry roots, shedding most of the mud from its fur.
Zhang Qiling glanced at its mottled appearance, a mix of black and blue patches, and grudgingly accepted it rubbing mud on his leg.
This place was strange, but no matter what, he had to continue exploring.
Some time had passed since he fell down. Zhang Qiling estimated that Wu Tianzhen and Fatty should have woken up by now, and he felt a slight sense of urgency.
"... Do you want to follow?"
The blue rabbit, lacking any offensive skills other than playing dead, might be safer if left here. After some thought, Zhang Qiling asked the rabbit, which was pawing at his calf.
Upon hearing this, the rabbit's two erect ears twitched and rotated nimbly, as if it were diligently trying to process the meaning of this sentence with its not-so-developed little brain.
Then, very quickly, it raised its small red eyes to meet Zhang Qiling's gaze firmly, and using all four paws, it clung to Zhang Qiling's leg. It looked as if an oversized furball were dangling from Zhang Qiling's black short boots.
... He didn't know why, but Zhang Qiling felt a sense of familiarity with something hanging from his feet, yet his mind went blank when he tried to recall it.
The rabbit was heavy, like a plumb bob. Zhang Qiling slightly lifted his leg to adjust to the different weights on each side and calmly took a step forward.
Although this crack appeared to extend across the entire forest, it was not actually very long when one walked through it.
In just about an hour, Zhang Qiling reached the end of the crack.
However, unlike the canyon before—
There was no new world at the end of this crack, but a complete dead end.
This meant that if Zhang Qiling wanted to find a breakthrough within this crack, he would have to backtrack and use his Faqiu finger to meticulously probe the earthen walls that were now completely covered by roots.
The amount of work was immense, and if no mechanism was found in the end, it would be a terrible waste of time.
Zhang Qiling stood still, lost in thought, his entire being seemingly frozen.
The blue rabbit instinctively climbed a couple of steps up his leg and let out a soft, questioning chirp.
A few fireflies danced nearby, illuminating small patches of the area.
After entering the crack, the number of these insects had drastically decreased. Therefore, when they suddenly appeared, it was like snapshots randomly revealing themselves in the darkness, a touch of unexpected romance amidst strong uncertainty.
And it was within the romantic glow of these insects that Zhang Qiling suddenly caught sight of a circular, hidden hole in the side wall.
This hole was extremely deep longitudinally, as if a tunnel had been drilled into it by a boring machine. Zhang Qiling reached out to feel it and clearly sensed a faint airflow emanating from within.
... It was connected inside; this was one exit from an underground transportation network.
Zhang Qiling pondered for a moment, and for some reason, he thought of those withered tree roots.
... Perhaps those tree roots hadn't withered from lack of water, but because something moving within the earth had severed their connection to the main body.
The blue rabbit was still trembling on his leg, shaking as if it were on a vibration setting. Zhang Qiling was forced to endure the rabbit massage for a while before he could no longer stand it and reached out to pick it up.
The instant he lifted the rabbit, it quickly extended its paws and hugged his fingers, curling into a ball on his hand. However, given its size, it lacked any delicate or cute charm, instead exuding a sporty aura like a giant blue soccer ball.
Zhang Qiling: ...
"Natural enemy?" he looked at the rabbit for a moment and asked softly.
The rabbit immediately nodded like a pile driver, confirming the danger posed by the owner of the hole.
It had thought that by displaying its weakness, Zhang Qiling would look upon it with favor and cradle it protectively in his arms.
But to its surprise, Little Zhang gazed steadily at the hole, and a hint of realization flashed in his eyes when he turned back.
... If the creature in the hole was the rabbit's natural enemy, then—
Perhaps he could lure it out using the rabbit?
The blue rabbit, unexpectedly lifted by Little Zhang and held up to the entrance of the hole: ! ! ! ! (Whimpers)