Danger, Part 3

The ground appeared to be normal soil, but there were some holes scattered about. As he looked deeper, it was still soil, but with some pipes running through it. It seemed like the light was coming through these pipes. About thirty meters down, things started to change. Mo Mo saw something resembling steel plates—thick, about half a meter.

Another ten meters down, there was a second steel plate, with nothing but air between the two. This space seemed like some kind of barrier, but no humans lived between these steel plates.

After another few dozen meters, Mo Mo finally saw an underground world. Though it was hidden, the place was well-lit and had tall buildings just like any developed city. However, the people living in this underground world were quite different from normal humans—they were all very short.

“This planet has an underground population of short humans!” Mo Mo immediately shared what he had discovered.

The people around him were stunned. Short humans? Yan Mingke couldn’t help but compare the children’s height to his own. How short were they? As short as the six little ones?

“Could they be gnome?” Ye Mo was shocked. Do gnomes really exist? Then again, if they all exist in the Dark Realm. It was entirely possible for them to exist

“Are they gnomes? I’m not sure. But these people are about a meter tall, living between one hundred and two hundred meters underground. There’s about 70 to 80 meters of air barrier between them and the surface, but I’m not sure what its purpose is,” Mo Mo explained.

Yan Mingke glanced at himself. He was two meters tall, so a meter would be about half his height. Gnome? What kind of creatures were they? How come he didn’t know anything about this? Why did Mo Mo’s wife know, and why did Mo Mo not seem surprised? It seemed he knew as well.

Suddenly, Yan Mingke started to feel like maybe he was a little undereducated. Was he falling behind in understanding? But when he looked around, it seemed like everyone else was as lost as he was, which comforted him a little.

“A meter tall—that’s exactly the height of a gnome, right?” Ye Mo was already searching through her data and soon found an entry about gnomes. It was from a cultivation world’s book. She pulled up the information.

Mo Mo took the book and read it. He could understand it, but Yan Mingke was completely puzzled. “What is this language? I can’t make out a single word.”

Mo Mo smiled. “It’s normal that you don’t understand.” Then, he continued, “These gnomes are generally peaceful.”

Mo Mo turned to look at Lu Ke, “Lu Ke, are you sure there have been missing beastfolk?”

“Yes, definitely. Quite a few beastfolk have gone missing,” Lu Ke confirmed. He didn’t know much about gnomes, but he could guarantee that those who had visited this planet had disappeared.

Mo Mo frowned. “That suggests there’s still some danger on this planet.”

Suddenly, someone cried out in surprise, “Look, look! The planet is moving!”

Everyone looked outside and was shocked to see the planet, which had been rotating on its own, now starting to move through space.

Naturally, Mo Mo couldn’t let the ship follow. He turned to Ye Mo. “I’ll go and take a look. You stay here and keep watch.”

Ye Mo nodded. “Alright, be careful.”

She knew both of them couldn’t leave. Someone needed to stay behind to guard the two ships, and Mo Mo trusted her to do so. After briefing the others to listen to his wife, Mo Mo teleported out of the ship. Yan Mingke hurried back to the ship of District Seven, preparing for any emergency evacuation.

The interstellar warriors from both District Seven and Eight watched as General Mo followed the moving planet, moving at a surprisingly fast pace.

Since Mo Mo left, time seemed to drag on for Ye Mo. About five or six hours later, the planet spun back toward them, and soon after, Mo Mo returned to the ship. However, he looked a bit worse in terms of wear. His body was covered in burns, and he seemed almost scorched.

Ye Mo didn’t say anything and quickly sent him into the Yin-Yang Pool inside the space, where he could recover faster.

Although Ye Mo didn’t know exactly what Mo Mo had seen, she had a strong hunch: this planet wasn’t really a planet at all. It was more likely a spacecraft, just cleverly disguised as a planet.

Outside, the planet had stopped spinning, returning to its original position, and the sky around them gradually brightened.

After about two hours, Mo Mo emerged from the space, fully recovered.

Ye Mo looked at him and teased, “Did you go to get a tan?”

Mo Mo nodded. “Our earlier assumption was wrong. The plants here do need sunlight for photosynthesis. The light from underground isn’t sufficient for that, though the light does seem related to water and protection from burns.”

“So that light is like irrigation?” Ye Mo suddenly remembered a planet she had visited with Qin Lin, where they used vehicles that played music to water the plants. Maybe glowing irrigation wasn’t so far-fetched after all.

However, the plants on this planet seemed almost alive, swaying and dancing. That was what made Ye Mo feel uneasy.

“The light is likely meant to prevent burns. They go to the place that is very close to the sun—so close that even I almost got turned to ashes. The beastfolk who disappeared likely stayed behind and were burned to dust,” Mo Mo said, swallowing hard. The intense sunlight had been terrifying.

It was daybreak now. Though there was no direct sun in this region, the area was still brightly lit by reflected light.

“Are we going to meet the gnomes?” Ye Mo asked Mo Mo. Since they were already here, it wouldn’t make sense to leave empty-handed.

“I’ll go with General Yan.” Mo Mo teleported to the ship of District Seven, pulled Yan Mingke out, and together they headed for the planet.

Ye Mo wasn’t worried about them running into danger. After all, gnomes were known for being peaceful.

Most importantly, Mo Mo was strong enough now that, even with Yan Mingke, he could handle whatever they encountered.

Just then, Guaiguai came up to Ye Mo and asked, “Mom, when can we go up and play?”

(End of Chapter)