Han Ning could clearly see three hulking mushroom creatures suddenly emerge from the Mushroom Forest behind them.

Each one stood at least ten meters tall, their massive green caps like the oversized patio umbrellas from his old world, extending in a wide circle far beyond their thick stalks.

The surfaces of their thick caps were covered in dense green moss, shot through with bright red veins.

Shrouded in the white mist, they exuded an aura of primeval desolation.

Green, vine-like tendrils dangled from the edges of their caps. With every running stride, they spewed clouds of green spores from beneath their canopies.

Trailing behind the three giant mushroom creatures was a massive swarm of smaller ones, ranging from tens of centimeters to several meters tall.

The swarm of mushroom creatures stampeded like a conquering army, rumbling through the Mushroom Forest as if Han Ning and his group were their mortal enemies.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

A series of sharp whooshes cut through the air.

A dense barrage of vines shot out from behind, attempting to disrupt Yin Yi’s flight.

"Quick, quick, quick! Fire the Silver Thorns and shoot down those vines!"

The four of them dared not hesitate. They gripped Yin Yi’s vines with one hand, struggling to keep their feet from dragging along the ground. At the same time, they hastily ordered their respective Silver Lotus Woods to aim behind them and continuously fire Silver Thorns.

SHOO SHOO SHOO~

Green light flashed as dozens of glowing Silver Thorns whizzed through the air. They collided with the vines, producing a series of dull thuds.

"Luo Chen, does your drone still have any power?" Lü Xiuning shouted to the man beside him. Using all his core strength to keep his legs raised, he struggled to pull a drone from his backpack.

"A little. Just enough to power it on and fly a hundred meters or so."

"Get it out! Use it to draw their attention and divert some of the fire," Lü Xiuning said, demonstrating as he spoke.

He wrapped his feet around the vine for support, raised the small drone over his head, and freed a hand to switch it on. He got the drone hovering in mid-air, then piloted it diagonally upward, toward the mushroom creatures.

The maneuver was incredibly difficult, almost like an acrobatic feat, but their physical conditioning had improved so much that they could just barely pull it off with core strength alone.

The drone whirred as it flew into the air and, just as planned, drew the attention of a dozen or so vines.

One of the ten-meter-tall mushroom creatures even mistook it for a Soul Technique. The moss on its cap began to emit a shimmering green light.

Countless points of green light converged, forming a beam that shot out from the center of its cap.

BOOM~

With a loud crack, the drone instantly exploded into a shower of shattered parts.

Though the drone was destroyed, it had successfully drawn a significant amount of fire, buying them a few precious moments.

Seeing this, Luo Chen copied Lü Xiuning’s movements, sending his own drone flying off in a different direction.

This time, the giant mushroom creatures seemed to realize the drone posed no threat. They simply lashed out with a few Vine Whips and destroyed it.

The creatures were now dangerously close.

"Damn it! We really kicked the mushroom nest today. Don’t tell me they sensed that we ate their young," Lin Tianhe cursed, though his voice trembled.

Han Ning’s brow tightened. Watching the distance shrink, he yelled, "Drop everything heavy! We need to lighten Yin Yi’s load!"

"Keep the water and our guns. Ditch the rest!" Lü Xiuning didn’t hesitate, pulling items from his pack and tossing them to the ground one after another.

The four of them tossed away a heap of supplies—food, drinks, first-aid kits, tents—and their packs instantly became lighter.

As a result, Yin Yi’s speed picked up ever so slightly.

But only by a fraction.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Muzzles flashed as Han Ning and the others struggled to raise their automatic rifles and Silver Scale Shotguns. They unleashed a constant stream of bullets toward the mushroom creatures, trying to slow their advance.

The bullets struck the three giants, leaving small white marks that healed almost instantly.

There were simply too many enemies. The Vine Whips were getting closer, and even with the Silver Lotus Woods firing Silver Thorns frantically, it wasn’t enough to change their predicament.

"Brother Ant, are we almost there?" Han Ning shouted as he reloaded his shotgun with the last of his shells.

The words had barely left his mouth when he instinctively ducked.

WHOOSH!

A thick Vine Whip missed his head by a razor’s edge, slamming into a large mushroom at the side. A few strands of his black hair, snipped clean, drifted away in the wind.

"Fuck! That almost took my head off," Han Ning gulped, his heart hammering in his chest.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

The suffocating thunder of footsteps echoed relentlessly in their ears.

"We’re done for... we’re done for... There’s nothing we can do..."

"Sigh..."

Watching the horde of mushroom creatures close to within fifty meters, their hearts sank into despair.

"Get ready. We fight to the death," Han Ning said, taking a deep breath. He focused on the Spiritual Power in his mind, forcing himself to calm down.

Suddenly, the large ant, which had been chirping incessantly, let out a sharp shriek. It spat a thin stream of fire from its mouth, aiming for a cluster of mushrooms at the base of a larger one to their front left.

The Flame made contact with the mushrooms, and they burned away instantly, revealing an eighty-centimeter-wide opening beneath them.

WHOOSH~

Yin Yi was moving so fast that it shot past the opening and had to quickly double back.

"CHITTER! CHITTER!" The large ant pointed its antennae at the opening, chirping shrilly before diving inside with a whoosh.

"Got it, got it! Go, now! Tianhe, you and your Silver Lotus Wood go first! Yin Yi, you cover our retreat!"

Han Ning gave the pitch-black opening a quick scan and gestured for Lin Tianhe, who was the closest, to go in.

Yin Yi loosened its vines. Lin Tianhe and his Silver Lotus Wood ducked down and vanished into the opening.

Han Ning, Luo Chen, and Lü Xiuning went next, followed by two Silver Lotus Woods. Yin Yi was the last to enter, covering their retreat.

The eighty-centimeter-wide opening was narrow, but just large enough for them to squeeze through.

The moment they entered the cavern, a surging heatwave washed over them, making Han Ning’s head throb.

The tunnel sloped downward, leading into an unknown region.

By the faint fluorescent glow emanating from Lin Tianhe’s Silver Lotus Wood ahead, Han Ning could see the tunnel walls. They were covered in a dense web of pale white mycelium, which was held back by a layer of reddish gravel, preventing it from spreading further into the passage.

After they had crawled for more than ten meters, a violent tremor and the sound of an explosion erupted from behind them.

"Lingling!"

Amidst the chaos was the furious cry of Yin Yi.

A powerful blast wave surged from behind them, shaking sand and dirt from the ceiling. The tunnel began to collapse.

Han Ning pressed his lips together, saying nothing. He pushed himself to scramble forward faster, unleashing his Spiritual Surge Talent to its absolute limit. His Spiritual Power depleted at an alarming rate.

At the same time, the entire tunnel was filled with a brilliant green light as a series of powerful explosions went off one after another.

A powerful force blasted them from behind, sending them plowing across the ground. They slid forward until they reached a new shaft that dropped straight down.

All four of them scrambled over the edge and plunged into the darkness.