https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-137-Earth-s-Wasteland-Chapter-Iii-/13546844/
Chapter 138: Earth's Wasteland (Part 4)
Chapter 138: Earth's Wasteland (Part 4)
"I've seen plenty of disgusting things in my life, but this..." Kuangzong Jianying said, "I don't even want to touch it with my sword."
"Yuck... Is this a beetle larva?" Feng Bu Jue muttered. "What the hell are those patterns on its body?"
Before them lay a parasite the size of a human infant. Its soft, cylindrical body was segmented like a worm, with short legs clustered along its length—the typical appearance of pests that burrow into fruits and vegetables.
But this creature's translucent flesh wasn't the usual pale white or yellowish hue. Instead, its body was covered in fragmented patterns resembling international currencies—watermarks, security threads, numerals with intricate designs, and even distorted facial portraits.
At the junctions between each pair of body segments, thousands of thin filaments extended like tangled threads. Soaked in black mucus, these fibers connected the parasite to the corroded metal surrounding the giant egg at its core.
"Before we cut through its shield, it was screeching like a banshee", Feng Bu Jue remarked. "Once we sliced open the outer layer, though, it shut right up."
"Still, digging through all that junk to reach this thing wasn't easy", Kuangzong Jianying replied.
"Your move", Feng Bu Jue said, deflecting a flying metal shard with his blade. "Just deliver the final blow."
"I just told you I don't want to touch it with my sword", Kuangzong Jianying retorted, cleaving a pipe that swung toward him.
"With how thick and juicy it looks", Feng Bu Jue said, "stabbing it would make it spray guts like a meatball bursting with broth. My blade's brand new."
"Then put it back in your satchel and take it out again after", Kuangzong Jianying suggested.
"You strike it then!" Feng Bu Jue snapped. "Aren't you 'Fast Sword Like Wind'? Kill it quickly—I'll cheer you on from over there."
Kuangzong Jianying sighed. "Fine... I didn't want to waste this, but under the circumstances..." He retrieved a grenade from his satchel.
"You had that all along and didn't say anything? If you'd mentioned it earlier, we could've tossed one in the moment we opened the door!"
"I said I didn't want to waste it", Kuangzong Jianying replied. "I only have two of these consumable grenades."
Without another word, Feng Bu Jue shoved aside a crashing metal plate and retreated to the corridor's bend.
Seeing his companion ready, Kuangzong Jianying yanked the pin and hurled the grenade at the bloated core. As expected, the sticky filaments extending from the parasite's body ensnared the explosive mid-air.
Kuangzong Jianying's speed and evasion techniques were superior to Feng Bu Jue's. With light footwork and precise dodges, he disentangled himself from the creature's thrashing and reached his companion's side in seconds.
A few moments later, an explosion roared behind them. The parasite was blown to pulp, its mucus-coated fibers dissolving. The surrounding rusted metal clattered to the ground, while the outermost skin-like membrane melted into a pool of pus.
...
"Did you hear that?" Final Strike asked.
"Of course", Doom Strike replied. "Sounded like an explosion, but not a powerful one. Distance is hard to judge."
"Kuangzong Jianying's group?" Final Strike said, glancing at the corpse on the floor. "Or someone else?"
The body belonged to a Caucasian male wearing a sleek orange protective suit resembling a space suit. The garment was form-fitting from neck to toe, more streamlined than 21st-century astronaut gear, with a transparent visor helmet made of advanced material. Though sealed, it lacked an oxygen pack—suggesting internal life-support technology.
The visor had a massive gash, and the man's face was a pulpy mess. Whether the injury or contaminated air after the breach caused his death remained unclear.
"This scenario's messier than it looks", Doom Strike observed. "Besides players, we've got monsters and these unidentified people. Four factions now—us, Kuangzong Jianying's group, the monsters, and them. More living players just mean more distractions from tracking down our real targets."
Final Strike checked his menu. "Both targets are alive for now. Their vitality values..." He paused, "have dropped 32%, same as ours. But we each have fifteen high-capacity vitality supplements. Even with diminishing returns from repeated use, we should last a while."
Doom Strike grunted. "Since we can't confirm if that explosion came from them, we stick to the plan. Let's clear this lab sector first."
...
"Feng Bu Jue, come look at this", Kuangzong Jianying called, crouching beside a safe illuminated by his flashlight.
Feng Bu Jue had just finished inspecting the monster's containment cage—with no results—and joined him. Shining his own flashlight, he said, "This is obviously a system-spawned treasure chest."
"I know", Kuangzong Jianying said. "The safe looks brand new, not like it's aged 455 years. And look at the lock's puzzle—" He pointed, "—is this tic-tac-toe?"
Feng Bu Jue leaned closer. A system menu displayed nine squares forming a grid, like one face of a Rubik's Cube without colors. The prompt read: [Please enter appropriate content].
"Just a magic square", Feng Bu Jue said. "‘Nine on top, one below, three left, seven right, two and four on the shoulders, six and eight at the feet.’ You never played this as a kid?"
"You say it, and I know it", Kuangzong Jianying replied. "The system should just say ‘enter the correct numbers’ so it's clear."
As he spoke, Feng Bu Jue had already input the sequence. The safe clicked open.
Empty. No skill cards, no items or equipment—just hollow silence.
Feng Bu Jue immediately suspected his infamous bad luck... until a system voice dispelled his doubt.
[Side Quest Triggered: Capture or Terminate]
[Seize it! Kill it!]
This task description was brief, strange, and utterly baffling…
Yet Feng Bu Jue immediately realized something.
He lunged at the empty safe a meter away, shoving both hands inside and groping wildly. Then he charged like a madman toward the room’s metal door, slamming it shut.
“What’s going on?” Kuangzong Jianying asked.
“There’s something inside the box,” Feng Bu Jue replied.
Earlier, Kuangzong Jianying had watched Feng Bu Jue open the safes—they were clearly empty. The room had no artificial lighting, and the flashlights in their hands were the only light sources. In this eerie atmosphere, Feng Bu Jue’s sudden, nonsensical claim sent chills down Kuangzong Jianying’s spine.
“It’s already escaped!” Feng Bu Jue exclaimed.
Kuangzong Jianying stood up, warily eyeing his teammate. He suspected Feng Bu Jue had been mentally corrupted or was hallucinating. Testing him, he asked, “Feng Bu Jue… what did you see?”
“Nothing at all,” Feng Bu Jue answered. “That thing’s invisible!”
Hearing this, Kuangzong Jianying immediately dismissed his earlier concerns. It suddenly clicked—it was a stealth-type creature. “Where is it now?” he asked, sweeping his flashlight around the room.
“You’re asking me?” Feng Bu Jue retorted.
“You’re wearing those goggles—don’t they have special visual enhancements?” Kuangzong Jianying didn’t know about the [Eye of Hostility]’s equipment attributes, but he’d noticed Feng Bu Jue wore it during monster encounters and guessed its function.
“This thing detects monster aggro targets,” Feng Bu Jue replied. “But first, I have to see the monster to use it. If I can’t see it, it’s useless.” Saying this, he removed the Eye of Hostility and returned it to his satchel. “By the way, the aggro target of that ‘meat-iron-insect hybrid’ outside the door is undetectable too. It seems to attack indiscriminately once anything approaches.”
Kuangzong Jianying cautiously scanned the surroundings. “It’s completely silent… Are you sure it didn’t escape before you shut the door?”
“If it had run to the door faster than me, there’d be noise. If it wanted to stay silent, it couldn’t move faster than me,” Feng Bu Jue replied.
“How do you know that? What if it’s both fast and silent?” Kuangzong Jianying challenged.
“Nonsense… Then we’d just give up. A fast, silent, invisible creature could be circling us dancing right now,” Feng Bu Jue shot back. “Would the System really ask you to catch something impossible?”
“What now?” Kuangzong Jianying asked. “It’s in this room. Can it understand us?” His expression tensed. “If it attacks…”
Feng Bu Jue interrupted, “A stealth creature locked in a safe—its height and weight are at most like a high schooler. The moment it touches us…”
Suddenly, a muffled thud echoed from behind Feng Bu Jue. The next second, something leapt onto his shoulder. Bony claws clamped around his throat—the monster was trying to strangle him.
Feng Bu Jue was a man who’d lost fear itself. This ambush didn’t paralyze him; instead, it hyper-activated his nerves. Before his brain could formulate a response, his body reacted instinctively. He seized the invisible monster on his shoulder, fingers digging deep into its exposed collarbones. The creature howled in pain, loosening its grip on Feng Bu Jue’s throat.
Regaining his breath, Feng Bu Jue surged with adrenaline. An intense, bizarre struggle began…
To Kuangzong Jianying, Feng Bu Jue’s words suddenly cut off as he launched into a bizarre performance—a zombie dance. His flashlight flew, and he dramatically face-planted to the ground, writhing inexplicably.
The situation was dire. Feng Bu Jue had no breath to spare, constantly fending off claws targeting his throat. Every second was a battle of strength against the invisible foe. The monster’s body was slippery, but not wet—just bare-skinned. Its size matched Feng Bu Jue’s prediction: a miniature humanoid. Its strength was unnaturally fierce, nearly equal to his own.
“Feng Bu Jue… what are you…” Kuangzong Jianying approached with the flashlight, illuminating Feng Bu Jue wrestling on the ground.
“I… got it… trapped…” Feng Bu Jue strained, face crimson, through gritted teeth.
To Kuangzong Jianying, this minute was inexplicable. To Feng Bu Jue, it was a silent, exhausting death match. Finally, he gained the upper hand.
Kneeing the monster’s chest, Feng Bu Jue choked its throat. His longer arms and larger frame gave him dominance. He could clearly feel something panting in the darkness, its heart pounding—equally exhausted.
“This is…” Kuangzong Jianying reached out, touching the creature. “It is invisible…”
“Don’t chatter—kill it now!” Feng Bu Jue snapped. He knew the creature, after a brief pause, was struggling violently again, claws tearing at his arms. If not for the dual chokeholds on its throat and chest weakening it, Feng Bu Jue might’ve lost control.
“Don’t grab it barehanded! That thing has fangs! Slash its head with your sword!” Feng Bu Jue warned.
“Where’s its head?”
“My right hand is on its neck—its head’s above that.”
“Got it.” Kuangzong Jianying acknowledged, aimed, and swung his blade.
Pop! Something split open. Feng Bu Jue felt the claws gripping his arms tighten violently, then slacken. He knew—the monster was done.
(End of Chapter)
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