Chapter 13 – This Is a Metal Building

By the time Feng Shen began screaming while clutching his bleeding, severed arm, Han Fei and the others still hadn’t processed what had happened. They didn’t even know what had just occurred…

Only Zhang Hai narrowed his eyes. With a calm expression, he used a blood-stained finger to push up his glasses and said, “We need to leave, now.”

“But…” The group was stunned. Someone couldn’t help but speak up.

A flicker of mockery flashed behind Zhang Hai’s lenses. “Do you think he can be saved? If you want to stay here and wait for death, be my guest. But if we don’t move now, the monsters will be drawn here by his screaming.”

The group hurriedly looked around. Sure enough, not far away, several figures had suddenly stopped moving and were looking toward them, following the sound. Although they couldn’t see their appearances or their eyes clearly, they didn’t need to guess to know those were definitely Xenospecies.

Han Fei took one last look at Feng Shen, then gritted his teeth. “Let’s go!”

I’m sorry, but I can’t let everyone die just for one person…

As they ran toward Feng Shen and then bypassed him-ignoring his pained, desperate eyes-Feng Shen struggled to prop up his upper body. “Han Fei, fuck you! And Zhang Hai! I hope you both die a miserable death! I got hurt for you guys! For you! Fuck you all!”

Watching their figures disappear into the woods without a single backward glance, and seeing the Xenospecies in the distance drawing closer, a crazed and eerie smile suddenly twisted Feng Shen’s pale face. “Hehe… Han Fei, oh Han Fei, if you hadn’t abandoned me, I definitely would have told you… Cheng Xiaomei is a monster. Go ahead and chase after them; I’ll be waiting for you to join me down there, hahaha…”

Crack!

A Shadowy Figure blocked the light above Feng Shen’s head. He didn’t look up. Then, he felt his other arm being pulled up. As tears rolled down his face, he heard the sound of his own bones snapping, followed by an even more intense wave of agony.

Before losing consciousness, he finally found the courage to think about something other than death: “Damn it, can’t you see I already have no way to fight back? You still had to do that?”

As Feng Shen collapsed, the Xenospecies grabbed his mangled arm and began to drag him away…

At the same time, another of its kind was performing the same action, leading Su Lifeng and Jiang Yushi deeper into the dense forest.

Su Lifeng carefully maintained his distance from that Xenospecies while observing the changes in the environment.

The Black Mist was getting thicker and thicker. It seemed likely that the mist covering the entire sea area originated from this very spot.

“Lifeng, what exactly are you trying to do?” Jiang Yushi asked in a low voice.

“Don’t talk,” Su Lifeng said with a wave of his hand.

Watching the silent Xenospecies drag the body forward, Su Lifeng still felt a sense of trepidation in his heart.

Although these Xenospecies would learn human behaviors and language after taking over a human body, their way of thinking was completely different from that of humans.

Add to that their Self-Healing Ability and their physical resilience… who knew how many other abilities they possessed?

Creatures that could wear a human skin but were entirely different from humans, with strength far exceeding that of a person, were simply bone-chilling.

Soon, the Xenospecies disappeared around a corner with the body. Su Lifeng signaled for Jiang Yushi to stay safe and then crept forward quietly.

From the outside, this looked like a natural valley, but there were differences. At the very least, the congealed red Gelatinous Substance covering the surroundings looked bizarre… Perhaps Jiang Yushi was right; these Xenospecies really did have a habit of Nesting.

However, the moment he turned the corner, Su Lifeng felt a sudden chill surge up from the soles of his feet. His previous thoughts were instantly thrown to the back of his mind!

This wasn’t just a simple nest… this was practically a Factory!

The valley was densely packed with this Gelatinous Substance, covering every available surface. It felt as if countless pieces of flesh and blood had been ground up and used to plaster the entire place. The Gelatinous Substance had no fixed shape, but its constant, pulsing movement was horrifying to behold.

Most bizarrely, when Su Lifeng appeared, a portion of the Gelatinous Substance actually surged toward his feet as if it possessed a consciousness of its own.

Su Lifeng was startled, but his reactions remained sharp. He smashed down with the chair leg and took two steps back simultaneously.

The Gelatinous Substance was scattered by the blow, but no Black Threads appeared.

Instead, they quickly began to move again, slowly retracting back to where they came from.

“This must be the ‘source’ of the Xenospecies. If we don’t cut this off, they’ll just keep coming… but these things haven’t possessed human bodies yet, so why did that Xenospecies drag someone in here?”

Su Lifeng took a risk and peered further inside. He saw that after the Xenospecies dragged the unconscious tourist in, it didn’t stop, but continued deeper into the valley.

“I have to go in,” Su Lifeng decided immediately. The Precognitive Vision was like a blade hanging over his head; as long as it remained unresolved, he wouldn’t be able to rest easy for a single moment.

Su Lifeng wanted to persuade Jiang Yushi to stay behind, but one look at her expression told him it would be a waste of breath.

“It’s terrifying inside, but it’s just as scary out here…” Jiang Yushi whispered.

“…You have a point.” Su Lifeng shook his head and instructed, “Stay close to me.”

The valley floor had almost no path to speak of. Su Lifeng’s only confidence came from the fact that the Gelatinous Substance wouldn’t swarm them all at once.

When he was attacked earlier, only a portion of the Gelatinous Substance had reacted, proving he still had a chance.

Thwack!

Swinging the table leg to scatter the first pile of Gelatinous Substance that surged toward him, Su Lifeng immediately pulled Jiang Yushi along and stepped inside.

He advanced while swinging, unable to stop for even a second!

If their movements slowed even slightly, they would be surrounded by the Gelatinous Substance.

As for what would happen if they were surrounded… Su Lifeng didn’t want to think about it, and Jiang Yushi didn’t dare to. She simply fixed her gaze entirely on Su Lifeng’s back, her hand gripping his in a deathly tight hold.

As long as the figure in front of her didn’t fall, she would be okay…

Su Lifeng’s frantic dash didn’t last long. Just as his arms began to ache and the Gelatinous Substance seemed to be welling up relentlessly beneath his feet, an opening finally appeared before him, along with… a Xenospecies.

This was the same Xenospecies that had just dragged the tourist inside. Upon seeing Su Lifeng, it didn’t even hesitate, lunging forward with a low growl.

Su Lifeng was already mentally prepared. He mustered his strength and slammed his body forward, charging into the cave with Jiang Yushi while simultaneously driving the chair leg into the Xenospecies’ abdomen.

Before the Xenospecies died, its mouth flew wide open, and its tongue actually shot out…

This sight gave Su Lifeng a sudden shock. He had encountered this new batch of Xenospecies after coming ashore, but this tongue… wasn’t this an octopus tentacle?!

Although it wasn’t as long as an actual octopus’s, stopping just two or three centimeters from his neck, it was even more horrifying!

Could they fuse with the organisms they absorbed?

Was this what the Xenospecies were?

Su Lifeng was stunned, and Jiang Yushi’s eyes widened in shock…

Two top-tier biology students were currently plunged into a state of complete incomprehension.

The relentless Gelatinous Substance, which had been surging toward the cave entrance, finally came to a halt the moment it reached the threshold.

“Phew…”

Su Lifeng nearly collapsed right there. He braced himself against the cave wall with one hand, barely managing to stay upright.

However, as the Xenospecies slumped at his feet and a Black Thread entered his body, Su Lifeng felt his strength gradually returning.

While marveling at this change, he felt something strange where his palm touched the wall.

This feeling… why did it feel like metal?

He quickly reached out and wiped away the “Xenospecies residue” on the surface. Beneath the translucent, solidified Gelatinous Substance, a faint metallic luster was visible.

“This isn’t a valley…”

Su Lifeng suddenly realized: “This is a Metal Building.”

But since it was covered in Gelatinous Substance, even if Su Lifeng knew he might be facing an Extraterrestrial Civilization, he could only stare helplessly.

Moreover, he already understood the nature of this Extraterrestrial Civilization well enough; there was no need to learn exactly how they had constructed their nest.

After catching his breath for a moment, Su Lifeng led Jiang Yushi past the corpse and headed deeper into the cavern.

Following the trail left by the Xenospecies when it dragged the person in, they easily found the correct path among the crisscrossing tunnels…

And the further they went, the more obvious the sense of familiarity in Su Lifeng’s subconscious became.

This was the place from his vision-the place where he was killed.