Chapter 55: Strange Hands (Xiao Xiu) Hunter? Prey!
Along the rivers in the low-lying plains, there is a barren, acidic land where herbaceous plants have difficulty taking root and growing.
Thick soup-like fog spread wildly here, and the wind was mixed with a faint smell of humus, vaguely emitting an indescribable silence and weirdness.
The boundary between the scattered swamps and the surrounding land is so blurred that it is like a festering wound on the land.
The stagnant water in the depression was a dark, deep brown, a unique product of the fusion of peat and water. Floating on the viscous surface were the remains of half-rotted plants and animals, their protruding, pale bones silently proclaiming unknown dangers and cruelties.
In this bizarre and mysterious land, a cluster of lush and gorgeous flowers stands quietly.
Its delicate and plump fleshy leaves are covered with fine hairs, and the tip of each hair is hung with crystal clear mucus, just like dewdrops that have not yet dissipated in the early morning, flashing an alluring light in this gloomy atmosphere.
At the same time, a mutated Coleoptera insect was flying blindly in the mist, its broad wings flapping with a humming sound, appearing somewhat restless. But in the end, it was attracted by the faint sweet scent and rushed towards the flower like a cannonball.
The next second, the movement of this strange beast came to an abrupt halt. Like a fighter plane that suddenly lost power, it plunged headfirst into the thick peatland.
In an instant, countless strange tentacles wrapped in mucus swarmed up, controlling it at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then quickly splitting it apart and devouring it.
In this way, the prey gradually became a part of the swamp, and the small flowers on the shore bloomed more brightly after absorbing nutrients.
“No…sweet…”
A faint sound rang out from underground in the intervals between the plant roots eating. At the same time, all the vegetation on the surface suddenly and automatically shrank into the swamp.
Densely packed flowers and tens of thousands of leaves intertwine and penetrate in the peat, eventually wriggling together inextricably, like a silent and eerie devouring evolution.
After an unknown amount of time, a bizarre, humanoid figure, swathed in slimy tentacles, slowly emerged from the deep, rotting swamp. Then, like a newborn baby breaking through amniotic fluid, "he" emerged from this strange depression with untouched mud.
In the milky white mist, Huai Mi gently moved his newly grown lower limbs. He was still a little uncomfortable with this human body.
The peatland beneath my body is like a thick and dense sponge. When I step on it, the wet mud and moss will rush out from between my toes, making a slight "gurgling" sound, which is quite interesting.
"Human, human..." Huai Mi tilted his head, then gently raised his heavy arm. He reached out and groped around in his soft eyeballs, then stuffed his mucus-stained fingers into his mouth.
In a breath, the vegetation on the shore returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened.
The cluster of brightly colored flowers that looked gentle and elegant was carefully observing the naked human body in front of it as a bystander.
His entire body seemed like a piece of jade, carved from a single solid block, without a single redundant detail. His eyes were pitch black, his raven-feather hair blending seamlessly into the night. His pale, translucent skin, shimmering almost bluish against the backdrop of his blood vessels, was coated in a layer of transparent mucus that gave off a faint sheen in the darkness...
Compared with ordinary humans, there was nothing strange about Huai Mi's appearance, so the plump leaves curled up one after another, expressing in unison that they were quite satisfied with this new carrier.
While being "judged", Huai Mi bit his new knuckles a few times with an expressionless face, but he still only tasted the taste of his own juice. He couldn't help but frowned slightly: "It tastes bad. Where is the sweetness..."
Before she finished speaking, a certain plant growing in the distance seemed to have received some special signal. Huai Mi's eyelashes trembled slightly twice, and the ghostly white body gradually emerged from the damp swamp step by step, and finally disappeared abruptly in the vast fog.
Wherever he walked, it was like a slug crawling, leaving behind a long trail of slime, from which countless murderous butterfly flies cheered and quietly spread out.
…
In the wasteland, there is an abandoned cave built by a giant rodent. It is unknown whether its original owner met with an accident, but the right to live here has changed hands.
Looking around, I saw a furry white ball stuck at the entrance of the cave, which seemed to be the tail of some strange beast.
At this moment, its owner was swaying his body rhythmically to some inaudible rhythm, as if he was performing some unique dance.
Seeing the host's energetic appearance, 030 was at a loss for words. However, after a moment's hesitation, he whispered, "Host, we've been busy for a full 18 hours. Let's take a break..."
"It's okay, I'm not tired!"
A humming reply came from deep within the cavern. The voice belonged to Bombber, now in insect form. As he struggled to dig deeper into the cavern, he excitedly declared, "It's almost done."
[OK...] At this moment, 030 was completely impressed by the host's diligence.
This optimistic soldier bug's eyes were clearly filled with tears when it first landed here, but as soon as he saw this cave, his eyes immediately lit up and he instantly became full of energy.
Before the system could even come to its senses and was about to say a few words of comfort, it saw that the host had already plunged into the high-intensity construction work.
Later, with Bombber's tireless work day and night, an underground palace carefully crafted from plant fibers, moss and beeswax gradually took shape.
Recalling the process of collecting materials, the system felt a little ashamed. Surrounded by that group of strange and difficult carnivorous plants, the human form was far less convenient than the bumblebee form.
Therefore, 030 was of almost no help throughout the entire process. When the system thought of this, it felt that it was truly incompetent...
Not long after, Bombber regained his human form, and then he slowly retreated from the lair.
The soldier bug reached out and touched his itchy shoulder blade. Strangely, he pulled out an extremely bright and beautiful flower from where his wings had been. Seeing this, Bombber asked with some confusion:
"030, do you feel like something has been following me lately?"
Upon hearing this, the system's heart skipped a beat. It thought to itself: It's over. Could it be that the host has a psychological problem and has reached the stage of paranoia?
However, the system quickly adjusted itself, naturally slowing down its speech and responding gently and patiently: [Not yet, but rest assured, 030 will provide you with monitoring services 24 hours a day!]
"No need, maybe I'm just too sensitive." Hearing this, Bombbell suddenly became a little embarrassed. He pursed his lips, revealing a round and cute dimple on his cheek. "030 is also very hard every day. I can take care of myself."
After hearing this, the system was almost in tears. What a thoughtful and considerate person!
However, despite this, Bumblebell still did not sleep well that night. His previous suspicions were not groundless or unfounded. In his sleep, he vaguely realized that there seemed to be something cold rubbing against his eyelids and the corners of his mouth, as if trying to get inside.
Half asleep and half awake, Bomburbell subconsciously opened his mouth and took a bite. He felt as if he had eaten a piece of water droplet-shaped "jelly" in his mouth.
The sharp fangs of the army worm quickly pierced the thick skin of the leaf. In an instant, a fresh and sweet taste spread in his mouth, making Bombbel salivate.
At the same time, the hairs on the surface of the leaves secreted a large amount of mucus, trying to seal the prey's mouth and nose silently, but Bombber licked it off easily with his tongue. He even smacked his lips twice, seeming to be a little unsatisfied.
Huai Mi: ...
In the darkness of the night, this pool of strange plants squirmed and collapsed, and then countless veins and mucus formed a soft and boneless hand. It tried to reach towards Bombbel's eyeball, but was bitten into the mouth of the army worm.
The moment they were attacked, those seemingly fragile fingers exploded into countless needle-thin tentacles, but when they touched the throat of their prey, they all stopped in unison.
Sweet...
Feeling the taste signal from the branch, Huai Mi's skin trembled involuntarily, and his skeleton was almost scattered all over the ground with excitement, but before he could taste it properly, the plant was chewed and swallowed by Bombbel in one gulp.
On the lakeshore not far away, Huai Mi's dark pupils suddenly shrank, and then he looked at his empty left hand in a daze.
He slowly extended his tongue and licked the broken part very carefully, trying to find that lingering taste again, but unfortunately he was unsuccessful until his hand grew back.
There is no doubt that this is an extremely powerful and difficult prey, and completely different from those encountered before.
If I want to get him, I will have to put in unimaginable effort...
However, this does not matter - the butterfly has always been an extremely patient hunter. As long as there is a chance to catch prey, it can remain harmless for a long time until the prey inadvertently steps into its carefully laid trap.
So Huai Mi sent out another branch and let it station at the entrance of the cave, while he himself lay quietly by the lake, like an unlucky person who fell into the mud and couldn't get out.
His pale body slumped limply, his dark eyes half-open and half-closed, countless transparent mucus spreading out from him as the center, and the tentacles rooted in the mud were also stirring.
After an unknown amount of time, the hunter who was waiting for his prey finally heard the footsteps he had been waiting for.
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