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墨書 Inktalez
As I finished loading the bullets and looked up, I met Jack's frustrated gaze. He held a stone in each hand, his eyes darting between the weapons we three had. Finally, he glanced at the stones in his hands, perhaps realizing they were useless. He tossed them aside and pulled a flaming stick from the fire to use as a weapon.
I couldn't possibly give him my handgun, so I avoided his gaze and turned to look outside the fire's glow.
The massive glowing entity had indeed shattered, transforming from a bizarre shape into a scattering of luminous fragments across the ground, seemingly disintegrated. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed that the scattered pieces were still moving, and they were heading in our direction. The light emitted by these fragments was much dimmer, flickering as they moved through the dense forest, making it impossible for me to determine their numbers. Overall, it felt like a vast sea of glowing entities was surging toward us.
Ah Xiang and A San reloaded their magazines, staring blankly at the scene before us. I imagined we were all asking the same question: What on earth is that?
Suddenly, I shouted at Ah Xiang, “What is Guman Tong? Buasong keeps shouting about it.”
I saw Ah Xiang's face twitch. “Don't listen to him; there's no way that thing is here.”
From Ah Xiang's expression, it was clear he was uncertain and afraid of whatever this thing was. Damn it, what exactly is Guman Tong? Are these glowing things really related to it?
A San ran over and kicked Buasong, picking up a pair of boots from beside him. It seemed he was still the one wearing the boots.
I noticed the blue glow was getting closer and felt a mix of curiosity and tension building inside me; I was even a bit exhilarated. However, someone seemed even more excited than I was. Ah Xiang appeared not to have recovered from the haze of smoke mixed with something else; he held an AK-47 in one hand while pulling another burning stick from the fire with the other and threw it toward the glowing tide.
I nearly jumped up in shock. If it weren't for the intimidation factor of his AK-47, I would have had the impulse to smack him. Throwing a burning stick into the forest like that was clearly reckless. The entire hillside only had sparse vegetation at the summit and by the water's edge; if he ignited this forest, we would have no choice but to run into the water and feed the leeches.
The thick fog quickly swallowed the flames; as that burning stick flew out over ten meters, its light dimmed until it could only be seen as a fireball. But when it hit the ground, it splashed bright light everywhere, momentarily piercing through the fog.
“What the hell is that?!”
“Guman Tong!”
“Damn it. It's alive.”
Amidst the gasps and curses, Ah Xiang was the first to grab her backpack and throw it over her shoulder, standing on tiptoe to scan the surroundings.
A chill ran down my spine; even in the sweltering heat of over thirty degrees, I couldn't stop trembling. In the instant the light flashed, I saw the forest writhing. I knew it wasn't the trees moving but something crawling among them, and there were an astonishing number of them. However, it was too brief a moment for me to see clearly what they were.
The first thing that came to mind was the Ironclad Pillbug I had encountered in the Underground Passage. Just thinking about it sent shivers down my spine; I had no courage to confront them. As I slung my backpack on, I tucked my pant legs into my Boots, tying them tightly for good measure. I was ready to get into the water.
Seeing my preparations, Jack immediately understood we needed to run. He abandoned his backpack and squatted down to secure his pant legs. The two Lao Mountain People were already frozen in fear, muttering Guman Tong. Noticing they were still bare-bottomed, I realized that if we went into the water now, they would be feeding Leeches.
I quickly jumped over, slapped each of them once, and shouted for them to put on their pants while mimicking descending into the swamp. Only then did they realize we were heading into the water. Gritting their teeth against the pain, they pulled on their pants and secured their leg bindings. In the end, these two still insisted on carrying their backpacks filled with equipment. I was almost moved to tears; they must have been terrified of Ah Xiang. I stopped Buasong and gestured, “Don’t take anything; if you can escape alive, consider yourself lucky.”
After Jack finished adjusting his shoes and pant legs, he was packing his backpack, throwing away heavier items. Hearing my conversation with Buasong, he leaned in with wide eyes and asked me, “Zhang, do you know what that thing is?”
I had only gone down to the Underground Passage with Fatty. I figured Xiao Guolin wouldn’t have told Xiao Ting about it, and Jack certainly wouldn’t know either. I shook my head and stood up. “How would I know? It was too dark to see clearly; it looked like bugs. What did you see? What is it?”
Suddenly, Jack grabbed my arm with one hand, staring intensely into my eyes. “What are you hiding from me? You need to tell me now; otherwise, it could get us killed.”
I hadn’t expected Jack’s grip to be so strong; it felt like a vice around my arm. But what shocked me more was his audacity to threaten me—his tone was unmistakably menacing. I jerked my arm away from him and retorted without hesitation, “Have you lost your mind from drugs? Do you think I have to report everything to you?”
Hearing our argument, Ah Xiang came over as well. “Mr. Zhang, what do you know? This isn’t the time for secrets; what are those glowing things?”
Hearing Ah Xiang's words only fueled my anger further. "I should be the one asking you that. You led the way, and all the information is known only to you. I still have no idea what tomb we are here to excavate or what we are supposed to take away. How can you turn around and question me? How am I supposed to know what those damned things are!"
With that, I pushed them aside and jumped onto a higher rock to observe the surroundings. I could basically confirm that a swarm of insects was approaching us. The feeling was unforgettable; in the moment the firelight flickered on, I saw the mountains and earth writhing like living creatures, and I knew for sure. If it was those damned insects, the same kind we encountered in the Underground Passage, based on my experience, their numbers would be overwhelming. We were isolated on this mountaintop, and if they surrounded us, there would be no chance of survival.
I widened my eyes and looked around. It seemed that in the direction where we first discovered the Fluorescent Monster, there were the most scattered moving lights. These moving lights were not only rushing toward the mountaintop but also spreading out in other directions on the hill. They were definitely closing in on us. We couldn't afford to waste any more time here; we had to break out before they closed their encirclement. I glanced at the gap in their formation; it wasn't directed toward where we initially found the Bamboo House. It seemed to lean eastward, and I remembered there was a thicket not far from there. We should head there first.
I jumped down from the rock and shouted, "Don't just wait here to die; run in the opposite direction!"
I was worried that the two Lao Mountain People might not understand, so I made a running motion for them before turning away and sprinting toward that direction.
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