Before them, below the steps, lay an extremely deep and enormous cavern, where a giant worm was nestled in the very center.
The worm's body almost filled the entire space; its skin was slippery, covered in mucus, and emitted a blood-red glow.
Xi Xi felt a chill run down her spine. She gripped the handle of the sickle at her waist with one hand, her knuckles turning slightly white.
She felt that the giant insect's form was familiar, somewhat like a scene from "In Search of the Ancients," a book written by the Western explorer Roy Chapman Andrews in the 1920s, which she had read in her original world.
The book tells the story of an ancient behemoth that circulates in urban legends, named олгой-хорхой, meaning "death worm".
According to local indigenous people, the giant worm lives underground in the Gobi Desert. It is about 5 feet long, looks like a cow's intestine, and is flesh-red all over. Sometimes, tentacles extend from both ends of its body. It is extremely fast and has amazing strength.
In the original world, scientists never gave up exploring this legendary giant creature, and even tried to prove in various ways that this ancient worm really existed.
However, until the apocalypse arrived, Xi Xi hadn't heard any follow-up reports. She never imagined that one day she would encounter... in a survival game.
Barrett the ostrich crouched intently at the entrance of the cave, his ears pressed against the ground, listening carefully to any sounds coming from inside.
Suddenly, a series of rapid and chaotic footsteps sounded, followed by a dull thud, as if something was covering the cave entrance with stone bricks again.
Before Barrett could fully process what was happening, he felt a sudden weight pressing down on his back. At the same time, he heard Xi Xi's urgent shouts: "Run! Barrett!"
Xi Xi's invisibility effect hadn't worn off yet, so in Barrett's vision, everything around him remained unchanged, except for that anxious voice that could be clearly heard.
Just then, a chilling rustling sound came from beneath the stone slab, a sound like the hissing of countless venomous snakes crawling, sending shivers down one's spine.
Barrett shivered violently. Driven by instinct and trust in Xi Xi, it stood up quickly without hesitation, hoisted Xi Xi onto its back, and strode away.
The rustling sound was none other than the swarm of black poisonous insects that appeared every night in the game.
The scene before her was so astonishing that Xi Xi's mind went completely blank. She frantically opened the light screen to check the time: 4:12 PM, not the time when poisonous insects would appear.
She finally knew where these black swarms of poisonous insects hid during the day.
The enormous cavern was filled with countless black venomous insects, their barbs gleaming with a faint green light, a stark contrast to the blood red of the dead worms, creating an eerie and terrifying scene, like will-o'-the-wisps in the dark.
The black worm was surrounded by biological remains, and Xi Xi could vaguely see bones that resembled human skulls.
The massive, thick-bodied death worm was opening its blood-red maw, using its sharp teeth to devour an enormous piece of rotting flesh, emitting chilling chewing sounds.
It turns out that the black venomous insects are not scavengers that feed on carrion, but rather survive by absorbing the venom secreted by dead worms.
It seems that the scene Xi Xi observed at night of those swarms of poisonous insects forming queues and carrying rotting corpses was their way of offering food to the dead worms.
The creatures truly feasting on this carrion were clearly other "worms"...
After Xi Xi returned, she remained immersed in deep thought, the scenes she had witnessed in the cave constantly replaying in her mind. The invisibility talisman became her best concealment, and no one could see her true emotions.
Aura caught Xi Xi's scent and kept nuzzling Xi Xi's trouser leg, trying to comfort her.
The little white duck looked at Aura suspiciously as she struck poses in the air, then shook her head and closed her eyes.
Grandma Yu stood to the side, her hands clasped together in prayer, occasionally hugging Barrett and muttering in a slightly tearful voice, "It's all over, it's all over now..."
“There’s hope…” After a long while, Xi Xi’s empty eyes suddenly lit up, and she said to herself, “We’re saved!” Three pairs of eyes immediately looked over.
The drowsy little white duck was also startled. It suddenly raised its head and looked at Xi Xi, who had already appeared.
Xi Xi suddenly realized a blind spot she had overlooked, and the entry point to that blind spot was the swarm of black poisonous insects.
These poisonous insects hide in burrows during the day but can travel at night, indicating that there must be an exit in those sealed burrows.
At night, this area may exhibit unique terrain resembling the Dark Night Canyon.
She could hardly contend with such a massive venomous insect on her own, but if she could hold out until nightfall, when all the insects would leave to search for carrion, leaving only dead worms behind, her chances of success might double.
This might be a great opportunity to escape.
Xi Xi immediately told Grandma You her idea. Although Grandma You hesitated, she couldn't deny that this was indeed the best solution at the moment.
With some time still ahead of her at night, Xi Xi immediately began preparations. Night vision talismans were incredibly scarce, so she had to reluctantly exchange them for self-heating meals, and only with great difficulty did she manage to collect another one.
After learning that the other party was a giant worm, Granny Yu's back pain and leg pain disappeared, and she seemed to come back to life. She immediately regained her energy and gathered with Barrett to discuss countermeasures.
Xi Xi was somewhat amused and exasperated. Was this death worm really inferior to a vengeful ghost? But Granny You insisted that she would rather be whipped by the worm's tentacles than be cursed by a vengeful ghost.
Xi Xi really wanted to tell her that you really seemed to have been whipped by worm tentacles, otherwise what was that cold thing you touched in the cave...?
As night fell, Xi Xi and Grandma You each ate a large bowl of noodle soup.
Grandma You was very worried and found it difficult to swallow, while Xi Xi ate with great relish.
In times of crisis, every meal should be treated as a last supper. This is the mindset that Xi Xi cultivated in the apocalypse.
As she ate her noodles, she glanced at the old-fashioned altar, stacked in layers, tucked away in a corner of the basement.
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