In the maze of vines, I looked at the complex terrain around me, my brow furrowed as I surveyed my surroundings.
I was able to find Manjing before because the plants growing horizontally among the vines could be used as markers to identify directions.
But by this time, the terrain outside had changed, making it completely impossible to find a path by following the horizontal vines.
"Splash!"
Suddenly, a commotion came from behind the vines in front.
I heard the sound of branches and leaves rustling, and I suddenly raised my hand to shine the light on the branches above my head.
These vines all hang down from a great height, and if they move, they can only follow the branches overhead.
Under the flashlight beam, the branches above remained completely still.
I looked at the calm leaves and noticed that there were still sounds coming from behind the vines. I gripped my shotgun tighter and slowly walked forward: "Manjing, stand aside!"
Seeing my movements, Manjing stood guard to the side, knife in hand: "Big brother, be careful!"
"Splash!"
Holding my hunting rifle, I gently parted the vines in front of me with the barrel.
The flashlight beam shone through the vines and onto what was behind them.
The path I had walked along was like a maze, with walls made entirely of vines. But the wall I was facing right now was indeed made of leaves.
At first glance, it looks like the wall is covered with leaves.
The moment I saw this wall, I realized something was wrong.
Normally, such a large pile of leaves would form a cone shape, but the wall in front of it is remarkably flat, as if it were made of bricks.
"Splash!"
The moment the flashlight beam shone, the wall in front of them suddenly shook, and leaves fell from one side.
In the quiet environment, I was startled by the scattered leaves and noticed a shadow above the wall. I raised my flashlight and shone it over.
It wasn't a shadow, but rather countless centipedes, each as thick as a finger, intertwined and surging.
The sound I heard earlier was caused by the movement of these centipedes, which made the outer layer of leaves sway.
The wall was four or five meters high, completely obscuring the tree trunks behind it.
I saw more and more leaves falling from the trees above my head, and I slowly retreated: "Manjing, retreat slowly, prepare the flares!"
As I backed away, the wall in front of me suddenly fell silent, and all the centipedes poked their heads out.
At first glance, the wall in front looked like a board of nails, with countless centipedes crawling out, and the leaves on the wall were being pushed around by them, making a rustling sound.
As Manjing and I moved, the centipedes on the wall, like cameras, slowly turned their heads around.
Seeing this, I felt a chill run down my spine and took a flare from Manjing's hand.
Immediately afterwards, a centipede crawled out of the wall and started to climb down the leaves.
"boom!"
Next, the centipede wall collapsed as if it had been pushed down.
"Manjing, flare!"
I saw the centipedes charging at me, so I lit the flare and threw it at the swarm, then turned and ran.
These centipedes have extremely hard exoskeletons. They crawl together in a dense crowd, making a clattering sound, like pebbles in a blender.
So many centipedes rushed over together, like a tidal wave, and directly washed away the walls made of vines around them.
I ran forward six or seven meters along the passage, but my path was blocked by vines again.
Turning my head, I saw that the flares that Manjing and I had thrown out were spewing flames. Although they did help to block the centipede horde, after they bypassed the vines, they all rushed up from both sides, making me feel the sound of centipede bodies rubbing together all around me.
In that brief moment of hesitation, several centipedes crawled onto my body, bringing a deep, bone-chilling pain to my legs.
I was startled to see that these centipedes could easily penetrate my down jacket. I pulled the fuse off another flare, swept the flame across my leg to drive away the centipedes, and without bothering to observe the terrain, I pushed aside the vines in front of me and crawled inside.
Before, when I was looking for Manjing, at least I could tell which way to go. But now, in order to avoid these centipedes, I could only run forward with my head down.
As a result, my body was constantly blocked by the vines in front of me, which delayed me for a long time.
"boom!"
As I ran, the vine wall on my left collapsed, and a large swarm of centipedes rolled towards me like a tide.
I saw a huge swarm of centipedes crashing down on me. Before I could react, Manjing grabbed my arm and pulled me into another passage: "Brother, this way!"
I was hastily rescued by Manjing, and when I realized that there were no centipedes in the direction he was running, I quickly followed after him.
Manjing ran about seven or eight meters ahead and then turned in a different direction along the passage.
I followed behind, shining my flashlight forward, and discovered that at the end of the road, there was no longer a wall covered in vines, but a large forest.
Manjing ran ahead to the end of the passage and shone his flashlight outside: "Brother, jump down, hurry!"
Upon hearing Manjing's words, I quickly ran to the end of the passage and glanced ahead.
Our location is like a step, about two meters high, with a large grassy area below.
Seeing me standing there in a daze, Manjing urged me, "Big brother, jump! What are you waiting for?"
Hearing Manjing's words, I turned to look at him: "Have you noticed that the centipedes haven't chased after us?"
Manjing looked at me anxiously, trying to pull me back: "What time is it? Why are you still worrying about that? Jump already!"
"Don't move!"
Seeing Manjing's actions, I immediately raised my shotgun and pointed it at him: "You're not Manjing, who are you?"
"Brother, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Manjing looked at me with a completely bewildered expression: "Who else could I be but Manjing? Hurry up and jump, or it'll be too late!"
"If you are Manjing, how were you able to find this passage so quickly?"
I placed my finger on the trigger, looking warily at the person in front of me: "You don't understand Manjing at all. We've known each other for so long, and he has never given me any orders, let alone said anything like asking me to run with him. With Manjing's personality, no matter what the situation, he will always focus his attention on me. Even in a life-or-death situation, he will only risk his life to protect me, and he will not make decisions for me."
"Hehe, you're quite clever. I didn't expect you to be so perceptive even under these circumstances."
Manjing smiled and said, "But you realized it a little too late. Once you get here, you can't leave!"
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