A chilling dampness was the best way to describe Richard's feeling as he walked underground. The traces of the battle that had occurred nearly a year ago still lingered everywhere. The corpses of the Dimo Creatures were gone, and the scorched black marks were the only evidence of their presence.
Following the direction of the compass, Richard unknowingly arrived at Hawkins' underground water network. The sewers crisscrossed everywhere, emitting an unbearable stench. Richard had to wear a mask to alleviate the burden on his sensitive sense of smell.
Gurgle gurgle gurgle... "That familiar sound." Richard immediately drew his large machete. If he wasn't hallucinating, he definitely hadn't misheard just now—that had to be the cry of Dimo Creatures, and there were quite a few of them. Judging by the depth of the sound, there were at least three mature forms.
"The Gate to the Upside Down hasn't opened. How did this group, which relies on the hive mind, survive until now? Are there exceptions?" Richard was puzzled.
Considering that countless Dimo Creatures left in the real world died instantly when the Gate closed, Dimo Creatures might possess some individual consciousness, but their consciousness is mostly controlled by the Lord of the Hive, the Mind Flayer. Their life is tied to The Upside Down; once the Gate to the Upside Down closes, Dimo Creatures become kites with severed strings.
Even so, Richard, who had watched countless films and TV shows, knew that extremely special individuals could not be ruled out. What if there were instances of uncontrolled Dimo Creatures, or individuals who could continue to survive due to some other reason? Examples include the awakened robots in 'Westworld' or the conscious zombies in early apocalyptic novels.
Holding his blade, he walked towards the direction of the Dimo Creatures' sounds. When he got about a hundred meters closer, the Dimo Creatures living in the dark, damp underground sensed Richard's presence. They rushed over like starving refugees who hadn't seen fresh, delicious meat in ages.
Richard placed his flashlight on the ground, letting the light illuminate the front. He then rushed forward with his blade, colliding with the three Demogorgons coming towards him.
After nearly a year of training, Richard's combat level had advanced by leaps and bounds. His utilization of his five senses and his control over his own body were now incredibly effortless.
If this were before, facing three Demogorgons, he wouldn't dare to engage in such a head-on fight without drinking several bottles of high-concentration glucose beforehand.
The blades clashed, cutting through the air. The three Demogorgons bled profusely, their bodies sliced into several distinct sections that fell to the ground, instantly dead.
Zzz zzz zzz... Just then, Richard heard a sound similar to a swarm of insects moving. He looked around and, finally, using the beam of the flashlight, he saw that they were tiny, shapeless black particles, moving like a swarm of mosquitoes. They seemed to have smelled a delicious meal and pounced onto the chunks of Demogorgon flesh.
Under Richard's shocked gaze, the severed surfaces of the three Demogorgon corpses seemed to be reactivated. The flesh squirmed, splitting into several brush-like fleshy tentacles. The flesh also became jelly-like, and the bodies of the three corpses merged indistinguishably. The three severed 'chrysanthemum' heads began to chew and swallow the air again, and soon their vocal cords recovered, emitting cries like those of infants.
"Damn." Richard watched in astonishment as the three Demogorgons fused into one, transforming into a monstrous, squatting creature with three heads and twelve limbs. This thing had no symmetrical aesthetics; it looked like an ignorant child had arbitrarily pieced together flesh blocks covered in bone spurs with heads and limbs of varying lengths and sizes, then granted brutal life to this foul, twisted thing.
Facing a Demogorgon in such a bizarre form, Richard immediately took out liquor from his backpack and quickly fashioned a Molotov Cocktail before the twisted creature could move, throwing it at the detestable abomination.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh... Fortunately, fire was still the most convenient and easiest element to restrain evil in this world. Although the thing composed of three Demogorgons looked terrifying, its weakness to fire remained unchanged.
"It seems it's just a flashy show-off after all." Richard looked at the monster struggling and burning in the fierce flames, nodding with relief.
Roar!
The three-headed Demogorgon struggling in the flames launched one final attack before dying. A single, nearly three-meter-long sharp claw whistled toward him. Richard immediately dropped flat on his stomach, barely managing to dodge it. The claw slammed into the sewer wall, hitting with the destructive force of an excavator, tearing a large hole in the concrete structure.
It wasn't until the monster completely stopped struggling and the flames had charred it beyond recognition that Richard stood up and wiped away a cold sweat. It seemed the Fusion Abomination was much stronger than he had imagined; it was not a pushover, but he had fortunately targeted its fatal weakness.
After the Demogorgon was burned into charcoal, Richard retrieved his flashlight and continued deeper into the sewer. Recalling the black particles that had entered the corpses, he quickly associated them with what Eleven had mentioned—the things that had entered the vengeful spirit of the deceased Mr. Ernest.
If he wasn't mistaken, those black particles were the components of the Mind Flayer's body before he and Eleven closed the Gate to the Upside Down.
These black particles failed to return to The Upside Down in time and remained in this world.
Perhaps because these black particles form the basis of the hive mind—or, more accurately, every black particle is the essence of the hive mind—they could maintain their vitality even after leaving The Upside Down.
However, now that the connection to The Upside Down was severed, these black particles should no longer be controlled by Henry Creel. So why were they still maliciously acting with purpose?
Do these black particles possess self-awareness? Or, during the process of being controlled by Henry, did these black particles also awaken self-awareness and become evil under Henry's influence?
Regardless of the answer, Richard knew he had found the source of The Upside Down's power recently active in the town: it was definitely the remnants of the Mind Flayer that had escaped Henry's control and remained in the real world.
Richard glanced at the compass again and found that the reading was still abnormal, confirming that there were still black particles that had not been thoroughly eliminated.
The goal was now clear: find them, eliminate them... After Hopper returned home, he looked into the living room and found no one. He peered into Eleven's room, which had a three-inch gap in the doorway, and saw the girl resting on the bed. He opened his mouth, unsure whether he should tell her about her mother.
Hopper: I found your mother. Your mother isn't dead.
Eleven: Yeah! Wooh!
Hopper: But your mother is mentally incapacitated.
Eleven: Huh?
Imagining this awkward conversation, Hopper increasingly felt that maybe it would be better not to say anything. But he also felt Eleven had the right to know the truth. Although he treated Eleven as his own daughter and wanted to protect her well, Richard had told him that the best protection for Eleven was to help her grow. Growth inevitably involves pain, and helping her heal her wounds is also a form of love.
Hopper thought about it and decided to tell her.
He took a deep breath and knocked on the bedroom door. Eleven on the bed immediately lifted her weary eyelids and looked at the silhouetted figure of the man.
"Hopper?"
"Are you hungry? Do you want dinner?" Hopper looked at the sweet girl on the bed, and a gentle curve crossed his rugged face.