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墨書 Inktalez
Based on my understanding of Jack, it was truly astonishing to see such an expression on his face. Moreover, he had already prepared for the worst this time; a person willing to sacrifice even their life—what could possibly frighten him to the point of losing his composure?
Jack stood there in a daze, not acknowledging me, as if entranced, his gaze fixed on the ground before him. Tang Yumo's expression also reflected surprise, but it was clear that her feelings leaned more towards confusion. Even her astonishment seemed directed at Jack's current state.
I shifted my gaze between Jack's face and the ground in front of him as I approached. A sizable rock separated us; I could see both Jack and Tang Yumo, but I couldn't make out what lay on the ground before them.
It wasn't until I jumped onto that rock that I noticed a metallic canister right beneath Jack's feet.
It was a highly advanced specimen collection canister. The bright metallic sheen indicated it was made of stainless steel, shaped like a Magdeburg hemisphere, though not perfectly round. Two open canisters were joined together to form a cylindrical sealed container. One end had an air vent; after removing the air from the connected Magdeburg hemisphere, the negative pressure would tightly bond the two open canisters into one.
This vacuum canister had numerous advantages for collecting specimens—it wouldn't rot, wouldn't leak, and wouldn't contaminate, maintaining the quality of the specimen over long periods.
However, at present, the canister had come apart; the Magdeburg hemisphere was split in two. The half lying upside down on the ground had a bullet hole in it—likely from my last burst of gunfire that struck the canister, causing it to lose its negative pressure and separate.
The canister had been lost here for too long; a fluffy filament protruded from the bullet hole, its vibrant color a striking red. This resembled the glow emitted by the group of specimens I had seen in the canyon—a bright orange light at that time. However, this filament was far more vivid. It must be a tentacle of this specimen.
Jack's eyes appeared somewhat vacant, and his ghostly expression stemmed from this canister before him. More precisely, it was due to the specimen trapped beneath it.
I couldn't fathom how terrifying it could be; after all this time, surely the specimen had dried out by now. I jumped down from the rock and walked over, bending down to reach for the canister.
Suddenly, Jack jumped up nervously and grabbed me, exclaiming, "Don't!"
His abrupt action and voice startled me so much that I instinctively took a few steps back. His sudden movement was one thing; more importantly, we were in a place where we needed to tread carefully—our breaths were hushed to avoid making any sounds that might attract Heimanluo. Yet he shouted without thinking.
"Are you trying to get us killed?!" I whispered harshly, my tone more severe than ever. "Do you think Heimanluo won't hear us?"
"Damn it," Fatty muttered angrily.
Upon reaching this point, Fatty had been very cautious, not making any sounds that would worry me, except for the moment he bumped his head against the stalactite. I could tell he was anxious, afraid of attracting Heimanluo's attention. However, all our carefulness could be shattered by Jack's single outburst, and one could only imagine Fatty's fury.
Jack turned pale and glanced around nervously. "I'm sorry. I lost control. I think I understand what caused the mutation here."
With that, Jack gestured with his chin towards the specimen on the ground.
"Is it because of this bug? This ugly creature with its furry antennae?" I questioned him in confusion and disbelief. "And what were you shouting about? Afraid I would steal your specimen?"
A hint of apology crossed Jack's face, but more than that was a deathly pallor, his expression resembling that of a condemned prisoner. In that moment, I saw no trace of positive emotion on Jack's face; it was as if he had transformed into someone entirely different from the Jack I had known just moments before.
"Do you want to see this bug?" Seeing my determined gaze, Jack nodded. "It's a very ugly bug. I'll remove the jar for you to see, but please don't touch it."
"Why? Just a moment ago you wouldn't let me touch it, even losing your voice and controlling your emotions. Why now?"
"I'm sorry; maybe I've really harmed everyone." A heavy cloud loomed over Jack's ashen face. "I'll give you an answer when we get here. But it might be one you don't want to hear."
With that, Jack bent down cautiously to grasp the half-jar that was upside down on the ground, where a fuzzy antenna protruded from a bullet hole. He gently lifted the jar, being careful not to touch the antenna as if afraid to damage the specimen's integrity.
His bad mood did not affect his steadiness; his hand holding the jar did not tremble as he lifted it. During the process, the fuzzy antenna did not touch the walls of the bullet hole; it was as if he had picked up the half-jar without any contact at all.
At the moment Jack lifted the jar, an unusual feeling surged within me—a sense that the specimen beneath was alive. While Jack's careful movements contributed to this feeling, more importantly, I realized something: how did that fuzzy antenna extend out from the bullet hole?
Before I struck it, this jar had been in a vacuum. Regardless of whether the specimen was alive when Jack captured it, it was an undeniable fact that it had been in a vacuum for a long time. After such an extended period in a vacuum environment, it might not decay, but it certainly should not exhibit any signs of life. So how did its antenna come out from the bullet hole?
As this question arose in my mind, I felt a chill run down my spine. This bug couldn't still be alive, could it? It wouldn't leap out and flail its antennae into the air the moment Jack opened the jar, would it? My nerves involuntarily tensed up as my eyes fixated on the slowly rising jar; my throat felt dry and my hands awkwardly wiped sweat on my pants.
Yes, my palms were sweating.
Before my eyes was a bug radiating with orange fluorescence. Its colors were vibrant and striking, but this bug was incredibly ugly. It resembled a devil draped in a disguise.
Its body was short; in fact, the bug itself wasn't very large, about the size of a cigarette case. However, its head occupied two-thirds of its body, making it seem as if the body was merely an appendage meant to support a pair of transparent wings.
The entire creature glowed with an orange-yellow light, including its transparent wings. But what captivated me the most was its head, which took up a significant portion of its body and was too terrifying to look at directly—if that could even be called a face.
It was the most ferocious face I had ever seen, and what made it even more horrifying was that it belonged to an insect.
A pair of crimson compound eyes bulged from its forehead. Below the compound eyes were several striking orange-red stripes, fuzzy and short. These orange-red hairs were not arranged in any orderly fashion; instead, they twisted grotesquely beneath its compound eyes, resembling a face contorted in anger.
Beneath this twisted visage was a cross-shaped complex mouthpart. At that moment, its mouthparts were exaggeratedly wide open, with black lips glistening ominously, reflecting the dark red tissues inside its mouthparts, ready to leap forward and attack us. (To Be Continued...)
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