Chapter 261

For the next few days and nights, Lin summoned a lot of troops from the coastal base and had them investigate these skeletal nests. During the process of studying them, Lin discovered a lot of information.

Through her investigation, Lin was able to confirm that these skeletons were probably inhabited by a type of reptilian creature that was about a meter long, of course, none of them were still alive.

Lin found many complete skeletons of these reptilian creatures among the skeletons. She speculated that they had probably died of starvation or thirst. Apart from them, most of the skeletons, shells, and wood showed signs of being corroded by the fungus. In other words, these reptilian creatures were most likely the 'last survivors' of the plague.

When the fungus destroyed the entire area, they gathered together and used the skeletons of the dead creatures to build their nests. But why did they use skeletons to build their nests?

Lin believed that they might have discovered a weakness of the plague fungus.

According to Lin's analysis and analysis of the plague fungus she obtained along the way, she found that the plague fungus' dust was more similar to the seeds of plants compared to the dust of normal fungi. They were larger and had a more complex internal structure, stored a small amount of nutrients, and had a unique identification ability. They would normally only stick to the surface of objects that could obtain nutrients, including skeletons, wood, and so on. As long as they stuck to them, they would begin to grow.

On the other hand, they wouldn't stick to normal rocks or sand and would continue to drift until they found nutrients. This was a relatively advanced ability that normal fungi didn't have, but it was also a problem.

They couldn't identify whether the objects they stuck to contained water or not.

These reptilian creatures discovered this weakness of the fungus and used the dried skeletons to build their nests. They would wear them on their bodies. This would allow them to absorb a large amount of the plague. But after the plague began to grow, it would quickly consume the small amount of nutrients stored in the plague due to the lack of water, causing it to die.

If they only used rocks or other objects to block the plague, they wouldn't be able to stop the plague from entering their respiratory system. But if they used skeletons or wood, the plague would stick to the outside before it could enter.

But even if these reptilian creatures could protect themselves, they couldn't protect other creatures. They could only watch as the entire forest and various creatures were destroyed by the plague, while they themselves died due to lack of food and water.

Lin noticed that this should be a relatively intelligent creature. They probably didn't understand the structure of the plague fungus, and had only discovered the fact that 'the bones would not be infected' by accident. Even so, discovering this and knowing how to use it was already impressive enough.

But were they already extinct …?

Perhaps Lin could still find traces of them.

At the top of these piles of bones was a relatively complete skull, and they were all facing the same direction. Why were they arranged like this?

Perhaps they wanted to indicate … that they had gone somewhere.

Leviathan, on the other hand, had arrived at that place.

The nests of the Bone Mound were mostly concentrated at a location about two hundred kilometers south of the coast. And now, Leviathan was located two hundred and thirty kilometers away from the coast. Lin saw a huge … canyon.

The canyon was considerably huge, like a crack in the ground. Below the vertical cliff was a dark abyss, and the canyon was filled with thick fog, making it impossible to see how wide it was. Lin couldn't tell how big it was, perhaps it was even bigger than the canyon in the Twisted Jungle.

At the edge of the canyon, Lin could see quite a few nests of Bone Mound. This was where these reptilian creatures lived, and the skulls at the top of the nests all pointed towards the canyon. Lin also noticed some traces of them climbing on the walls of the canyon.

Did this mean that they had entered the canyon? After being forced to retreat by the plague fungus and hunger, these creatures could only hide in this place. This was indeed a very normal thing.

So, of course, there was a need to explore this place.

The Leviathan flew above the canyon. At this time, the Leviathan's entire body was covered in a layer of thick fog. Lin discovered that this fog wasn't water fog, but another kind of gas. This gas formed a fog that shrouded the entire canyon. Perhaps there was some special structure in the canyon that released this gas.

But because it was a harmless gas, Lin didn't study it too much.

Leviathan flew down the canyon walls. The lower it went, the darker the surroundings became. Lin felt as if she had entered an oceanic trench. The canyon walls were vertical, and there were no signs of any creatures on them. However, there were many cracks on them, and the strange gas that formed the fog seemed to have floated out from the cracks.

The reptilian creatures' traces disappeared about a hundred meters down. Lin thought that they might have fallen down or crawled back. But Lin didn't stop her exploration. Leviathan flew to the bottom of the canyon, which was about two thousand meters down. Below the canyon was a world of darkness.

The temperature here seemed to be much higher than above, and there was a strange 'quack quack' sound echoing in the air.

It seemed to be the sound of a creature. Lin had Leviathan extend its glowing tentacles and continue exploring the surrounding environment.

Leviathan floated slowly. The ground that the light shone on was just some rocks. There were no traces of creatures here.

Bang.

While searching, the Leviathan seemed to have bumped into something. Lin lifted the tentacle to take a look and found that it was a large, sharp rock. The rock was covered in cracks, and the sound just now seemed to have come from this rock.

It was very suspicious …

Leviathan suddenly extended another tentacle and slammed it on the rock. The rock immediately burst open. The inside of the rock was hollow, and some skeletons were spread out on the ground.

These were the skeletons of the reptilian creatures. They seemed to have died here. Lin found that the sound kept coming out from the skull of one of the reptilian creatures.

The Leviathan removed the skull with its tentacles. What was hidden underneath was … a small creature.

Lin had never seen this creature before. It looked like a flying lizard, only a few centimeters long, which was just enough to hide in the skull. Its forelimbs were like two membranes, and its head and hind limbs were very strong, much thicker than those of a lizard. It seemed to be a baby, and the sound just now seemed to have come from it. It shouldn't be the same kind of creature as the reptilian creatures.

Leviathan poked it with its tentacle. The little creature squeaked, then spread its wings and kept flapping, as if it wanted to fly. However, because it was too young to fly, it could only squeak on the ground.

But Lin felt that the little squeak seemed to be mixed with some other sound. She was floating in the sky.