The journey to Inferno had turned out nothing like they ever imagined.
An inconspicuous small-displacement car was driving silently across the lush wilderness. Turbulent air kicked up leaves at the rear of the vehicle. The world was so vast, and yet the car was so small that it looked like a bug running on the grasslands. If it were not for the occasionally visible rock formations behind the clouds, no one would have imagined that there was another layer of crust hanging in the sky.
The car ground to a halt in front of a black ‘mountain,’ which was another Heaven’s Pillar that supported the dome. It looked like a huge cliff going as high as a kilometer in the air and the upper part just disappeared into the clouds. Hao Ren got off the car. He took out some instruments from the dimensional pocket and assembled them on the spot.
The MDT ported itself to the instrument before it projected a hologram of the planet’s cross section. Meanwhile, a few tiny machines got out from the cylindrical container below the instrument and flew straight to the Heaven’s Pillar. The little machines quickly drilled into the tough skin of the trunk and sent back the data. The MDT began to show the scanned images of the Heaven’s Pillar in cold blue color.
“This third giant tree is dead too. No sign of life,” the MDT reported. “There is still wood fiber in the deeper layer, but the outer skin is petrified, which has turned into a mineral. The hardening of the secretion of the trunk must have evolved into the reinforced shell. This ‘fossil,’ which is as strong as the armor of spaceship, provides strength to the hollow trunk.”
“So they could support the world above,” Hao Ren looked up at the crust that hid behind the clouds. “Are the trunks evenly distributed?”
“Yes,” the MDT replied while showing the distribution map of Heaven’s Pillars between the two layers of crusts. The data that the probes sent back isn’t detailed enough. But it is good enough for a preliminary analysis. As you can see from the visual, the first layer of Inferno is completely suspended more than ten kilometers above the lower layer. There is no geological connection between the two. And, Heaven’s Pillars are the only things that hold the two layers of crust in position. These giant trees grow in the lower layer, one every one hundred kilometers—far more than the number of entrances on the surface.
“So not all giant trees are hollow. Most giant trees are solid, substantial,” explains the MDT. “And those hollow trunks are like chimneys; they become the conduits between the surface and the underground world. They are the so-called Infernal entrances.
Lily became curious. “What caused the trunk to turn hollow? Disease?”
“Nope. Most likely it is done intentionally,” the MDT replied. “The distribution of giant hollow trees is uniform. On average, one in a hundred Heaven’s Pillars is hollow. The entire atmosphere of the underground world depends on these ‘chimneys.’ I figure that the hollow, special trunks are like a breathing tube exchanging air with the surface world. They also act as a sensory organ. My scan reveals that there is a strong electric signal surge below the giant hollow tree. If I’m not mistaken, it should be—”
“The nerves of the First Born,” Hao Ren chimed in without waiting for the MDT to finish. “These trees are evolved from the First Born’s tentacles?”
Hao Ren was no longer a rookie who used to rely solely on instrumental analysis to make judgments. He could easily deduce from the environmental evidence that the First Born was the only one who could create such a miracle. Heaven’s Pillars that supported the upper crust were undoubtedly a part of the First Born. The only problem was that the tentacles had evolved so much so that they no longer looked like ones, and even its internal physiological structure had become very different.
The MDT did not answer directly. Instead, it showed Hao Ren the scanned images of Heaven’s Pillar in the ground. It was a complex world where roots grew like brain nerves in the earth; the deeper it grew, the stranger it became until the roots looked completely like tentacles in the deepest part of the planet. Unfortunately, the low-powered radar that Hao Ren carried could not carry out a deep-earth scan.
“The First Born’s tentacles have evolved into the giant trees. However, from a physiological point of view, these trees are a completely different life form.” The MDT sounded confused. “They are real wood. But these trees are wrapped in a layer of shell that is stronger than superalloy on the outside. It is almost like a body that grows out of titanium.”
“This is understandable. The First Born is the origin of life; on this premise, it is entirely possible for it to turn some of its limbs into different species. If it could do it with the lifeblood, I couldn’t see why it couldn’t do the same with its tentacles.” Hao Ren was not surprised at all. “We can confirm this with Zorm later. The key question now is to ascertain whether this First Born is dead or alive. It has nerve impulses, but the giant tree is dead.”
“We wouldn’t know. For living species like the First Born, we can’t define its life by conventional understanding of species. Its body and soul, each of its tissue and organ and even piece of debris may have an independent definition of life. Part of them might have withered, but the withered part is supporting the world. And, don’t forget, there are still signals coming from the deeper part.”
Lily had come out with a term. “They are turnips?”
Hao Ren glanced at Lily with an eccentric look as if saying there was no better description than this in describing the incongruousness this in the world!
“If…if I’m not mistaken, the upper layer is not a crust either.” Vivian gazed up for a long time before she said, “This planet can’t just grow a new layer out of thin air. The outer shell on top of the trunk could only be a…”
The MDT immediately switched the image, now showing the detailed scan results of the outermost crust where toxic hot springs and monsters filled the space. The scan revealed the hidden veins deep inside the crust though it looked like a sturdy, rocky dome at first sight.
“You are right. It is a canopy. The first crust of planet Inferno is a petrified canopy.”
The canopy was so dense that it completely covered the planet’s original surface. The unique petrification process of Heaven’s Pillar was not only reflected in the trunk, but also the canopy. Over time, the forest canopy became a rock formation of several kilometers thick, and the world above that rock layer became a hostile environment — the Inferno.
In the process of the transformations, Heaven’s Pillar died. It was not known whether it was planned or something when they saw the ‘black mountains,’ they were already dead plants—the dead bodies of the First Born’s tentacles. They were fossils that held the canopy crust that had also petrified in place.
Nangong Sanba scratched his jaw thoughtfully. “That is to say, the place where we are standing now is the real surface of planet Inferno?”
“Yep. At least it was the original land before these giant trees completely closed up the sky.” Hao Ren nodded, his eyes gazing upwards along the great black trunk. “I think this is some protection measure that ensures the survival of the original ecosystem. It works hand-in-hand with the outermost cloud top; this planet has survived until today without a sun.”
At this time, the MDT suddenly received an emergency message from a probe. “Hey! Put that tree to aside. The probe has come back with something!”
Vivian immediately ran over. “Is it Baptiste?”
“No—it is some traces of artifacts,” the MDT showed the image. It was a jumbo relic covered with plants and mud on the prairie. “It’s a city! An intelligent being-built city!”