Apocalypse King System

"Your judgment is not bad, but now we have a bit of trouble. The exit has been blocked, and I don't know if the botanical garden has any other exits. Where did those vine monsters come from exactly?"

Han Yan speculated in her mind, but she couldn't confirm it. After all, her own safety was still precarious.

"Ah ah... huh!"

The young man named Wen made gestures repeatedly, then pointed to the floor.

"Below, is there still a way out below?"

Han Yan furrowed her brows, expressing some confusion.

Then, as if she had figured something out, her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Right, the sewer. There must be sewage pipes here connected to the outside. We don't have to go on the surface. Those vine monsters can't possibly burrow into the ground, right?"

Excitedly, Han Yan spoke and patted Wen's shoulder.

"Good, you really have something. We can't delay any longer, let's get out quickly!"

The two quickly packed up their belongings and changed direction, heading towards the drainage pipes in the botanical garden.

On the other side, Wang Meng led a few survivors out of the room, cautiously exploring their way forward.

This time, they didn't move within the passageways; instead, they traversed through the middle of the botanical garden's structures, climbing over some low walls.

Fortunately, although these vine plants had an almost monstrous growth ability, they only covered some interiors and exteriors of the botanical garden's buildings. There were still many gaps in the middle of the structures for them to proceed.

Walking through this scenery, with greenery all around, brought a tranquil and eerie sense of horror. The buildings wrapped in green seemed like giant green beasts opening their mouths, devouring everything in sight.

In such an environment, they hadn't walked for long when a group of people started feeling a bit oxygen-deprived.

"I can't do it anymore. This place is too terrifying."

In no time, a man couldn't handle the eerie and silent environment, with the green walls around them appearing as if countless eyes were watching. An invisible pressure made him quickly break down, sitting on the ground with limbs weak, refusing to move forward.

"I won't go. There must be monsters waiting to eat us ahead. I don't want to be eaten."

"Damn it, go or not? Useless. Stand up for me, really worthless."

Wang Meng kicked the man in the body, cursing under his breath.

The man only screamed and lay on the ground, his face full of fear.

Wang Meng looked at the green walls around, almost like a green sea except for the color of the buildings. He never thought that one day plants could bring such a oppressive feeling.

"Boss, what should we do? I think he's already scared out of his wits. Keeping him won't help. What if..."

A subordinate walked up and whispered.

"Damn it, such a useful cannon fodder. If those vines come again, throw him out."

Wang Meng glared at the subordinate. If not for their use as cannon fodder, why would he bother bringing these people along?

"Boss, the biggest problem now is that if we want to get out, we have to pass through these passageways and then break through the walls covered by vines, or we won't be able to leave at all."

"Damn it, how would I know? If I had a safe way out, would I be here telling you?"

Wang Meng's facial muscles twitched a couple of times, speaking with some irritation.

"Such a bunch of useless people."

Muttering to himself, he sat down on the nearby steps. Suddenly, his gaze froze as he looked at the manhole cover on the ground, with the words "sewage discharge" written on it.

"Sewage system, yes, we have a way!"

Wang Meng exclaimed excitedly. The others quickly gathered around, their eyes fixed on the sewer entrance on the ground, the dark interior a bit unclear.

They threw a couple of burning wooden sticks inside, finally able to see some things illuminated by the fire. Due to a long period of disuse, the sewage pipe had not discharged any sewage for many years, causing many parts of the pipe's interior to deteriorate, appearing quite dry.

"You, go down and see what's going on."

Wang Meng pointed at the man who had been sitting on the ground, refusing to continue walking.

"I, I..."

The man hesitated and stammered, his eyes showing a hint of desire but also mixed with fear.

Although the sewer seemed to be a possible escape route, no one could guarantee whether those cursed vines would still grow inside.

"Don't worry, take this. Ordinary vine roots won't exceed half a meter, and the sewer is three to five meters deep. It's impossible for vines to grow underground. It's very safe."

Wang Meng handed a pry bar to the hesitant man.

"What are you waiting for? This is a great opportunity to get out. If you don't move now, those vine monsters might show up again!"

Wang Meng spoke with a threatening tone.

The man shivered and quickly grabbed the iron handrails on both sides of the well, slowly descending. Fortunately, as a public infrastructure, although these stairs had not been repaired for several years, they were still quite sturdy, with only some rust.

The man descended slowly and reached the bottom of the well in just a few minutes, then carefully observed the direction of the pipe.

"How is it? Is there any problem down there?"

Wang Meng crouched down, shouting into the sewer.

The man picked up a torch from the ground and extended it into the narrow sewer ahead, barely seeing the situation a few meters away.

The pitch-black tunnel was silent, emanating a strange odor, with numerous sections of peeling walls on both sides. Fortunately, with the torch's light, they could see clearly, and for the time being, there were no vines growing inside the sewer. The man finally relaxed a bit.

"No problem."

Hearing this, Wang Meng was instantly overjoyed.

"Good, good, prepare a few more torches, let's go down together. Whether we can get out depends on this."

The group immediately got excited, searching for burnable items scattered on the ground and in corners. They collected some wooden objects and then climbed down the pipe one by one.

Wang Meng was the fourth to enter the pipe, not trusting the man who went down first. So, he had two of his henchmen go down first to ensure there were no issues before descending down the ladder.

The survivors formed a long line, slowly walking inside the sewer. The passage was extremely narrow, with a height of no more than two meters and a width of less than one meter. They could only move one after the other.

Luckily, after walking for a while, they didn't see any more green plants, which greatly relieved them. The overwhelming greenery was oppressively intense, and the constant fear of vines creeping from unknown places to engulf them had kept them on edge.

In silence, the group continued through the narrow sewer for several minutes, arriving at a fork in the path.

"Damn it, even the sewer has a crossroads?"

Wang Meng furrowed his brow, kicked the nearby wall, and sounded a bit impatient.

A muffled sound echoed in the pipe, causing some wall pieces to fall off.

"Don't just stand there; go explore the paths."

The group moved forward to investigate the options.

Several people walked along the paths on both sides of the fork, their footsteps gradually fading away.

On the ground, Han Yan and the young man Wen also found a sewer entrance. They were pleasantly surprised and were about to enter when Wen's expression suddenly changed.

"What's wrong? Is there something happening below?"

Han Yan asked, puzzled, as she paused for a moment.

The young man didn't answer; his face filled with fear as he gazed towards a distant skylight.

"That's where we just came from—a massive skylight with a gigantic gray vine growing inside."

Just as Han Yan was about to inquire further, a scene unfolded before her, leaving her too shocked to find words.

Rumble...

A violent shaking ensued, and the ground where the two were standing seemed to experience an earthquake, continuously trembling. The solid walls formed by the vines around them cracked open, revealing what was inside. However, at that moment, Han Yan and Wen had no attention to spare for these details.