Warning: Gore. Overflowing bugs and mucus.
141 The Mystery of the End Times
The bugs’ bodily fluids sprayed out more and more, and in the end, their bodies violently swelled, just like a balloon, repeatedly expanding and contracting several times.
Shen Ming roared loudly, “Damn, it’s going to explode! Everyone, quickly step back!”
The crowd desperately retreated. Due to the sticky mucus left by the bugs on the ground, most areas were already knee-deep, making it very difficult to walk. They struggled back seven or eight meters. Suddenly, the enormous black soft-bodied insect burst open, and its milky-yellow bodily fluid sprayed into the air, filling the atmosphere with a strange scent.
This odor was a mix of the foul smell of bug fluids and a fragrance resembling burning incense. However, no one had the time to ponder what the smell of burning bugs was like. They were all focused on protecting themselves, and in an instant, their energy expenditure exceeded that of Cong Xia’s capacity. After resisting the impact of the yellow fluid, Cheng Tianbi’s arms weakened, and he collapsed to the ground.
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Usdt Dky awpble vs bsze Ubldt Mkydck kd bkp yaxp. “Mkydck! Mkydck! Tso yal usw?”
Ubldt Mkydck’p zkrp olal ryzl, yde bl olyjzu pyke, “Cwknj… qkde vbl Vwrrlv Kyel…”
Tl elprlayvlzu kdqwple ldlatu kdvs Ubldt Mkydck’p cseu, cwv kv oyp lhkeldv vbyv csvb bkp ldlatu yde rbupknyz pvaldtvb olal nsxrzlvlzu elrzlvle. Tl oyp vbsaswtbzu lmbywpvle yde nswzed’v lhld pvyde wr.
Fbld Ubydtgl vssj shla Ubldt Mkydck. “R’zz nyaau bkx. Zsw iwknjzu qkde vbl Vwrrlv Kyel!”
Pldt Dkys rknjle wr Usdt Dky. Jlkdt vyzz yde pvwaeu, bl nswze oyzj xsal lypkzu vbaswtb vbl pvknju qzwke rssz vbyv oyp yzalyeu oykpv-ellr qsa vblx. “Usdt tl, oblal kp kv? R’zz vyjl usw vblal!”
“Xhla vblal!” Usdt Dky rskdvle dsv qya yoyu.
Uswdvzlpp cwtp olal qzsyvkdt kd vbl pvknju qzwke rssz. Gzvbswtb vbl zkiwke oyp ekptwpvkdt, kvp bktb cwsuydnu yde hkpnspkvu xyel kv yzxspv kxrsppkczl qsa vbl cwtp vs xshl okvbkd kv, alewnkdt vblka sdpzywtbv.
Pldt Dkys pvawttzle vbaswtb vbl pvknju qzwke, blyekdt kd vbl ekalnvksd rskdvle swv cu Usdt Dky.
Cong Xia could already clearly feel that the Puppet Jade was right by his feet, but the fluid level had risen to his chest. He said, “Xiao Deng, the Puppet Jade is floating near my calf. Try to feel for it.”
Deng Xiao bent down, and his large, muscular arm reached into the pool. He searched for a while, but found nothing. The fragments of the Puppet Jade they had seen were all incredibly small, often no bigger than a fingernail, and the mucus was filled with numerous impurities—insect carcasses, wall debris, floor fragments—making it exceptionally challenging to find such a small piece of Puppet Jade amidst this sea of objects.
Cong Xia was getting desperate, “Let me do it myself.”
He still had a mask on his head, and if he moved quickly, only a little bit of the sticky fluid would leak in through the exhaust vents. Cong Xia knew he had no other choice; the instruments were not as accurate as his own perception. To retrieve the Puppet Jade, he had to stick his head in.
Deng Xiao clicked his tongue, “Cong ge, should I give it another try?”
“No, it’s too time-consuming,” Cong Xia took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and plunged his head in. Despite wearing night vision goggles, he couldn’t see anything inside; an unpleasant smell assaulted his nostrils, almost making him vomit.
He decided to close his eyes and rely on his senses to search. Finally, in the midst of the floating and sinking debris, Cong Xia found the fragment of the Puppet Jade emitting immense energy. He grabbed the Puppet Jade and quickly pulled himself out.
Deng Xiao hastily removed his headgear, but some of the sticky fluid had already seeped in, sticking to Cong Xia’s face. With red eyes, Cong Xia raised his hand, “Found… found it.” He tried to speak, but the slippery fluid made it difficult, and he spat a few times. In that moment, he felt an unprecedented surge of willpower.
“We found the Puppet Jade, let’s leave this place immediately!”
Zhuang Yao’s voice came through their earpieces, “Hurry and get out of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda!”
“The windows are all sealed shut by the insects. I can’t tell the direction anymore. Can you guys find where the windows are?”
“For fuck’s sake, I’ve been nauseous from this sticky mess. Don’t fucking ask me!”
“Damn it, where the hell are the windows?”
Their original plan was to retrieve the Puppet Jade and break through the windows. Unexpectedly, the bugs had sealed the windows shut. In this pitch-black darkness, they lost their sense of direction and couldn’t distinguish where the windows were. Moreover, they didn’t have the strength to search because walking through this sticky fluid was extremely exhausting, and none of their equipment or stamina allowed them to risk making a mistake.
Zhuang Yao suggested, “Go down to the second floor and check. If you can’t find the windows there, then leave through the main entrance.”
A mercenary exclaimed, “Why not go up to the fourth floor? You guys came in from there, and the windows are broken.”
Tang Yanqiu replied, “The fourth floor is on fire; we can’t pass through. Get downstairs quickly.”
Shen Ming said, “Are you guys thinking of burning down the tower?”
Shen Changze replied, “We can’t burn it down. Al, take my father.” He hoisted Cheng Tianbi and flapped his wings, flying down first. Al also grabbed Shen Ming and followed, flying down as well.
Deng Xiao held Cong Xia in one hand and casually picked up a mercenary with the other, rushing towards the stairs. The remaining people helped each other down the stairs.
“The windows on the second floor are also covered!”
“We’re at the stairs now. Why bother with the windows? It’s faster to go downstairs!”
“Let’s go downstairs; the fluid is already flowing down, and the insects can’t attack us. We’ll leave through the main entrance.”
“No, the fluid has only reached the second floor. There must be many bugs waiting for us on the first floor, and our protective suits are no longer effective.”
“Damn it, what should we do then?”
Zhuang Yao suggested, “Go downstairs; the stairs aren’t too far from the main entrance. We can use grenades to blast a path.”
“Hurry, let’s move!”
They successfully rushed down to the first floor, where it was indeed densely packed with bugs, leaving no space to step on, let alone push through. Without their protective suits, their combat capabilities were significantly reduced, and they didn’t dare to charge recklessly.
Huang Ying said, “I’m going to throw a grenade. Everyone, back away.”
Deng Xiao shouted, “Make sure you throw it accurately, don’t bury us alive.”
Wu Ya said, “Huang Ying is a demolition expert. Nobody here knows how to use explosives better than him.”
Huang Ying observed the position of the main entrance and the number of bugs, gaining some confidence. He held an n25 mini infantry hand grenade, which didn’t have a large explosive force and was suitable for indoor use in the tower. However, it could only be used on the first floor; otherwise, it might blast through the ceiling. He pulled the pin of the grenade and carefully aimed to throw it at the optimal point of detonation.
The grenade exploded with a loud bang, sending bug carcasses flying everywhere. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda shook violently, and the dust from the ceiling rained down. The group steadied themselves, nearly being shaken off the stairs by the force of the explosion.
After the tremors subsided, the group shouted with excitement, “Charge!” They ran towards the distant gate, the bright sunlight outside, and the world free of bugs with all their might.
When they were only about ten meters away from the gate, the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently again, and then the entire tower swayed once more.
Everyone was filled with shock and fear.
“What’s happening!”
Wu Ya yelled, “Huang Ying, aren’t you a demolition expert?”
Huang Ying’s face turned pale, “It’s impossible. The n25 hand grenade couldn’t have damaged the structure of the tower. There must be something. Everyone, hurry and get out!”
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda shook even more violently, causing everyone to stumble and fall; it was difficult to even stand up, let alone run. Suddenly, a terrifying cracking sound came from the ground beneath their feet, the kind of sound that makes your heart leap into your throat.
They looked at each other, their eyes filled with terror.
The next moment, the ground collapsed completely, and everyone’s bodies instantly lost weight as they plummeted downward along with countless bugs.
“I-f*ck-“
Tang Yanqiu grabbed Deng Xiao’s waist, flapping his wings with all his might. However, after Deng Xiao transformed, he was 3.3 meters tall, weighed 180 kilograms, and was also carrying two other people. Tang Yanqiu’s face turned red with effort, but he could only hold them in mid-air and was unable to lift the combined weight of over 600 kilograms.
After struggling for ten seconds, he helplessly started to fall, with Shen Changze holding Cheng Tianbi and Huang Ying, Al grabbing Shen Ming and Ke Siqi. Although they could easily bear the weight of the two people, they were bombarded with falling bugs and debris, making it impossible for them to keep their eyes open. Their backs and wings took constant hits, and eventually, they couldn’t hold on any longer and fell with everyone else.
The dozen or so individuals crashed onto the ground. Judging from the distance they fell, it was at least the height of four floors. As most of the dragon-blooded people had wings, even if most couldn’t fly, they could use them to cushion the fall. Therefore, all the dragon-blooded individuals and the people carried by the three who could fly were uninjured.
However, some of the other mercenaries were not so lucky; they all hit the hard ground hard. Despite adjusting their posture for the fall and having protective shields above them, most likely, broken arms and legs were unavoidable.
Shen Ming shouted, “How is everyone? I can’t see anything. My night vision goggles broke.”
“My night vision goggles are broken too.”
“Mine aren’t… Damn it, I might have a fractured ankle.”
Shen Ming anxiously said, “Everyone, speak up, is everyone alive?”
One by one, several mercenaries cursed in response.
Shen Changze asked, “Where are we? The basement?”
“It’s quite spacious here, and the echoes are really loud.”
Cheng Tianbi’s voice came slowly, “I’ve never heard of a crypt beneath the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Zhuang Yao? Zhuang Yao, can you hear me?”
Only harsh static noise came through the radio; they couldn’t receive any signals.
“No signal here. What kind of place is this?”
Al suggested, “Let’s set off a flare.”
Cong Xia hurriedly said, “Wait.”
“What’s the matter?”
Cong Xia swallowed nervously, “Before you set off the flare, can I catch my breath? My heart is about to collapse. I don’t know what I’ll see when that flare goes off.”
Qiao Bo laughed, “What are you afraid of? Isn’t it scarier not knowing what’s around us?”
“Have any of you smelled that scent?”
“Hmm… It seems like there’s something? I don’t know, my nostrils are filled with fluid, making me feel nauseous.”
Cheng Tianbi walked over and touched Cong Xia’s hand, whispering, “Are you okay?”
Cong Xia tightly held onto Cheng Tianbi’s arm, “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
“I’m fine.”
The group’s situation remained uncertain in the dark and mysterious underground location. With no signals and their surroundings unknown, they were left with a sense of trepidation.
Cong Xia tried to infuse energy into Cheng Tianbi, but he declined, saying, “Save it, conserve your energy.” He reached out and placed Cong Xia’s head on his shoulder. “Let me ask you, is there something I can’t cope with? Set off the flare!”
Huang Ying released a flare, and the intense white light illuminated the entire underground chamber. They saw a giant Buddha statue, and the face of Buddha appeared somewhat eerie in the glare.
After the flare burned out, darkness enveloped the chamber again. The group fell silent for a couple of seconds before Cong Xia softly asked, “Was there anything there?”
Cheng Tianbi replied, “Just a statue of Buddha.”
“A Buddha statue?” Cong Xia struggled to stand up. “Why would a Buddha statue be underground?”
Shen Changze said, “I saw something that can be used for illumination on the wall.” He felt his way towards one side, and his dragon-form body generated flames, incinerating the bugs nearby and providing some illumination.
He reached the wall and felt for something. Soon after, a tongue of fire instantly spread along the wall. It spread at an astonishing speed, circling the entire chamber in the blink of an eye. Yet, it didn’t stop there. The fire tongue continued to spiral up the walls of the chamber, illuminating the entire space.
The group marveled at the sight before them.
It was a massive chamber, around thirteen to fourteen meters tall, with an area as large as a football field. The walls had spiral grooves filled with oil and wax. With just a spark, the entire wall would be ablaze, illuminating the chamber.
As they had imagined, the chamber was indeed vast. In the center stood a giant Buddha statue, sitting cross-legged with its hands clasped in front. Directly in front of the statue, there was an unusually large incense burner, larger than any they had seen before, with nine incense sticks inserted into it. The incense sticks were almost burned to ashes, leaving only a pile of stubs.
Around the Buddha statue were several old wooden boxes, though old, they were neatly arranged.
Qiao Bo whistled, “Could there be treasure here?” He extended his hand, plucking out a few bugs from his hair, and threw them on the ground in anger.
Al said, “Let’s deal with the bugs that came down with us first.”
The bugs that came down with them weren’t many, only around a hundred or so. Compared to what they had encountered before, it was nothing significant. Filled with frustration, they stomped and crushed these bugs underfoot.
Cong Xia stared at the Buddha statue, feeling a strange sensation in his heart that he couldn’t quite explain.
Tang Yanqiu murmured, “How could there be a Buddha statue here?”
Cong Xia walked up to the massive incense burner, which was filled with a thick layer of incense ash, emitting a musty scent. At first, he just glanced casually, but soon he noticed something unusual. He grabbed a small amount of incense ash and spread it on his gloved hand. The light gray ash stood out against his black glove, and as he stared at it, he was surprised to see some of the tiny particles moving ever so slightly. True incense ash and these extremely fine eggs were nearly indistinguishable in color and size unless the eggs moved.
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