Chapter 211
The anomaly began in the rear carriages of the train.
The slippery slime increased, seeping out of the car walls at a considerable pace, streaming down from the ceiling and slamming heavily onto the player.
In the darkness, the color of the slime was indistinguishable; all that could be smelled was a strong, pungent, sour odor of over-fermented food.
When I raised my hand to shake off the slime, my skin was torn off like a tattered piece of paper, and the exposed flesh contracted repeatedly in response to the stimulation.
But soon, even this slight rebound could not be felt anymore; it turned out that the skin and flesh of the fingers were also peeling off in a rustling sound.
The epidermis is gone, the dermis is gone, the fat and connective tissue are gone, and it slips off the finger bone like a candle melting under high temperature.
It was only then that the people sitting in the back of the train thought of escaping and getting away from this place where the slime was increasing.
But why can't they move?
Why can't I exert force with my legs?
Why can't I perceive the existence of my body?
One player, his mind blank and sluggish, stared at the slime spreading up his feet, gripped the armrest tightly, and with a burst of energy, tore himself off the seat.
It really was "torn" off.
Large chunks of flesh stuck to the seat. The player, having lost muscle support, felt his vision go black and fell heavily to the ground. Before he could utter a word, he was swallowed by the gurgling slime.
The only one still somewhat conscious, the leader, couldn't bear to see this. He scrambled and rolled towards the crowded carriage, screaming pitifully, "Help! Help me!... Ah!"
The car body jolted violently, and a loud hissing sound came from the bottom. He was slammed against the side of the car by the huge inertia.
The train is tilting, but it is tilting for no reason, and there is no external force that can change its balance.
Xu Qingran, holding Lilith, reacted quickly to the tilting floor and turned her body so that her back hit the car wall instead of her front, otherwise Lilith would have been crushed to the point of vomiting blood.
Is the problem with the wheelset or the track?
No, none of that is right! There was no unusual bump underfoot, and the car's change of direction was very sudden and smooth. And it was from back to front; they weren't driving in reverse!
Xu Qingran then noticed that the texture below was strange. Why was it so soft?
Upon closer inspection, she saw that the white light shone on the interior of the train, gradually deepening the silvery-white metallic base color to a fleshy, vibrant red. The surface was reflective and had a bouncy feel, as if it had formed a highly resilient thin film.
Those who frequently fight monsters will be familiar with this; it's clearly real flesh and blood!
In that instant, Xu Qingran recalled the sudden fall just now. The last few carriages swayed without any hesitation, moving her whole body, just like... just like the train suddenly came to life and was impatiently whipping its tail!
"Has this train turned into a monster?"
It has a viscous substance that corrodes flesh and blood, a sour and foul odor, and a protective membrane that covers the flesh and blood.
Xu Qingran murmured.
"...Are we inside a monster's belly?"
Clang!
A dark shadow flashed past Xu Qingran's eyes; it was the madman in the hood.
He held a sickle and slashed at the nearest door with all his might. The blade struck the door, creating intense sparks. Although the door was made of flesh and blood, it still had the hardness of an alloy. This strike only left a shallow mark!
The madman clicked his tongue loudly, but his reaction was swift; the next second, the scythe turned and thrust vertically into the door crack. This was the weakest point in the entire carriage, where the membrane was not yet fully formed, and he easily pierced it.
Then the madman used his sickle as a fulcrum to pry open the door a crack large enough for one person to pass through, and turned to shout angrily at Xu Qingran in the driver's seat.
"Want to wait to die? Come here now!"
Just as Xu Qingran was about to go over, Lilith suddenly grabbed her wrist and shook her head at her.
She didn't go over, but several figures rushed forward in a hurry. It was the leader, who had stumbled and crawled to the front of the carriage, along with his horsemen. Taking advantage of the fact that the madman couldn't free his hands, they grabbed him and pulled him backward!
They were overjoyed: "Jump out of the car! Jumping out will save you!"
But his head was pierced from top to bottom by sharp fangs, and his body jolted violently.
Driven by the dire situation inside, almost everyone forgot about the swarm of bats clinging to the train outside. The leader, who was at the very front, was the first to be caught by a bat, who grabbed his head and dragged him out of the carriage.
The second person was caught off guard and fell out of the car through the pried-open door.
In an instant, countless pairs of scarlet bloodshot eyes lit up on the walls of the dim cave, and swarmed towards him, biting him in a frenzy. The only sound in the air was a heart-wrenching scream: "Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"
Staying in the car is tantamount to waiting to die, but jumping out...
The madman quickly compared the combat strength of the two sides. He could easily take on dozens of bats, but being blocked in the tunnel by thousands of bats was a foregone conclusion. He decisively put away his scythe.
But that wasn't the end of it. This action seemed to trigger a chain reaction, and the train jolted violently again, followed by a strong feeling of weightlessness. The people in the carriage were thrown upwards as if they were being tossed around like a ladle.
They could clearly feel it.
—The train station has been built.
Not only did it stand up, but it also rammed wildly in the tunnel, making louder and more intense thuds than ever before, a truly shocking sight!
Like a fledgling bird cracking its eggshell from the inside, each impact caused a layer of the train's inner and outer metal shell to peel off, until finally, like an explosion, it shattered inwards with a bang, scattering metal fragments everywhere!
Their power should not be underestimated; they also carry a corrosive slime. Players who do not have time to dodge or defend themselves are pierced through the body by the fragments and die on the spot.
The surviving players didn't have time to panic.
Amidst a chorus of piercing screams, the train finally burst out of the dark tunnel, and the long-awaited light returned to everyone's sight.
According to the map, their third stop is after they exit the tunnel.
But can this place really be called a train station?
The plains, covered in black mud, are devoid of any greenery, and countless sunken holes connect like a honeycomb...
Bats still clung to the train relentlessly until a dark shadow swept in like a tide, and the next second the bats let out a painful scream.
Two thick, sturdy clamps, larger than the bucket of an excavator, gripped it from both sides. They were dark brown, crescent-shaped, and had jagged serrations inside.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn't pliers at all; it was clearly a huge mouthpart!
With a gentle inward thrust of its mouthparts, the bat, like fragile tofu, was crushed into a pulp, and then, under the skillful grinding of its serrated teeth, turned into a bloody mixture of flesh and fur.
The owner of the mouthparts raised his head and swallowed the chewed bat.
Its enormous body stood up like a towering building, segment after segment, with countless legs that blocked out the dark clouds, finally allowing everyone to see its true form.
A colossal, centipede-like creature with a dark red front.
As luck would have it, all the locomotives were dark red without exception.
"Is it just my imagination?" someone asked tremulously. "Why does that monster look so familiar?"
If the first one was still unclear, then the other dark figure that caught up with them and ran alongside them was much more conspicuous.
Because its outer shell is not yet fully formed, you can still see the sharp outlines of the windows, doors, and cabin, as well as the semi-transparent window glass.
The giant centipede swung its hundreds of legs, crawling swiftly across the black mud, skimming over withered leaves with a rustling sound, its two antennae on its head swinging back and forth with delight.
In contrast, the players trapped in the carriage opposite were frantically and desperately pounding on the windows and doors with their hands. No sound could be heard; only their mouths screaming for help could be seen, like a bizarre and absurd silent film.
However, the people in the car were freezing cold. They knew that this group was beyond saving, because most of their flesh and blood had been torn away, and even their bones and hearts were exposed.
Swish—
A pale yellow viscous liquid surged from the rear carriages of the opposite train to the front like a tidal wave, knocking them down and engulfing them as they watched in horror.
In the blink of an eye, an entire team was wiped out!
Stomach acid surged into the front carriages, and the train completely transformed into a giant centipede. The tracks disappeared beneath its feet, no longer restraining its movements.
It seemed to have eaten its fill, flicked its thick, long tentacles, slowed down, and turned toward a burrow not far away.
Following the direction it slowly left, everyone looked at the burrow in the vast muddy ground.
Near each burrow lived two or three giant centipedes, and from a distance, they appeared densely packed, numbering no less than a hundred.
Cardiac arrest.
"...Oh my god."
What kind of hell is this?
Since no system notification came that the team had reached the finish line, they assumed it was because they were fast enough.
Who would have thought that before them, hundreds of teams had already perished tragically.
At this moment, someone else collapsed in despair and realized: "Damn it, why didn't we realize sooner? The monsters we were fighting were just miniature versions of them!"
As if struck by a sudden enlightenment, the scene of fighting monsters back then flashed through everyone's minds.
Swarms of poisonous insects surged up, making their scalps tingle. They unleashed wide-range attack skills as if they were free, and the insects that were hit stood still as if their machines had crashed.
Amidst dazzling skill effects, the insect vanished, leaving behind oddly shaped parts, covered in slime, lying forlornly on the ground.
It was a trap from the very beginning.
This isn't a real video game where NPCs have to take items out of their pockets when they die, and monsters don't just drop things out of the open.
It's an insect that faked its death and disguised itself as a part.
They enthusiastically modified the train with the monster, only to turn the train into an even bigger monster, and end up feeding themselves into its mouth.
*
At the third station, not far from the centipede's nest, the billboard crackled, and the Slender Man reappeared on the big screen, smiling broadly.
"Ahem, there was a slight broadcasting mishap just now. Sorry to keep you all waiting."
"Next, we will talk about 'One Hundred Things to Note When Keeping Reptiles'."
"...Centipedes are carnivorous insects that are nocturnal, but in rare cases, they will hunt during the day. They are ferocious and highly venomous, with pale yellow gastric juice that has an extremely pungent odor."
They prefer damp, dark environments, while the eggs require high temperatures to incubate.
Studies have shown that centipedes are relatively active in environments with temperatures between 25°C and 35°C and relative humidity between 60% and 70%, and are mainly concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions.
...
"Insects' diet depends on the size of their prey. Be careful to avoid those big, scary-looking insects and stay away from their nests. Don't challenge the nest-guarding instincts of burrowing animals."
The lanky, long-legged figure flashed a gleaming white smile, saying eerily, "If any viewers are planning a rainforest adventure, remember to take precautions and carry insect repellent spray with you."
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