Chapter 504: Mother
It did not like another plantlike creature challenging it.
Leng Pan channelled energy through their connection.
The green vine thickened.
With a powerful pull, it tore the pale roots away.
The floor opened.
Cold air rushed from the darkness below.
At the same time, a roar travelled through the underground passage.
Leng Pan felt the mist around Sonny and Vanish flicker.
"They cannot hold on much longer."
She entered the passage without hesitation.
Lu Zhen followed, dragging the trapped Chief Gao behind him.
They descended quickly.
The pale roots along the walls attempted to attack, but Lu Zhen’s fire forced them to retreat.
The deeper they went, the stronger the scent of blood became.
Chief Gao awakened.
When he saw the passage around him, his expression filled with fear.
"No," he whispered. "You cannot go down."
Lu Zhen continued dragging him.
"Why? Are you afraid we’ll discover your secret?"
"You don’t understand."
"Then explain."
Chief Gao shook his head desperately.
"The Mother will kill everyone."
"She already tried."
Chief Gao looked towards Leng Pan.
The strange movement beneath his skin returned.
Leng Pan tightened the purifying barrier around him.
The parasites retreated, allowing his eyes to clear.
"Who brought that creature here?" she asked.
Chief Gao’s lips trembled.
"I cannot say."
Lu Zhen’s flames moved closer to his face.
"Then you are no longer useful."
"Wait!"
Chief Gao stared at the fire.
"They will know."
"Who?"
"The gods."
"What gods?" Leng Pan asked.
Chief Gao looked towards the darkness below.
"The people who came from the sky."
Leng Pan and Lu Zhen stopped.
Chief Gao’s entire body began shaking.
"They brought the Mother to our village."
The Aliens’ Experiment
"They brought the Mother to our village."
Chief Gao’s confession echoed through the underground passage.
Leng Pan and Lu Zhen exchanged a glance.
Neither was surprised that the aliens were involved. The parasite eggs, the unusual intelligence of the creature, and the villagers’ synchronized behaviour already pointed towards outside interference.
What they did not understand was why the aliens had chosen this insignificant village.
"When did they come?" Leng Pan asked.
Chief Gao’s face twisted.
The parasites inside him were struggling against the purifying barrier. Every time they moved towards his brain, Leng Pan increased the concentration of the mist.
Chief Gao groaned and pressed his hands against his head.
"I don’t remember."
"You remembered enough to call them gods," Lu Zhen said.
"They were gods."
"No. They were aliens."
Chief Gao shook his head violently.
"They came from the sky. They knew things no human could know. They could create food, heal wounds, and control monsters."
"You thought that made them gods?"
Chief Gao opened his mouth, but the clicking sound returned from his throat.
His eyes began turning white.
Leng Pan tightened the barrier.
The parasites retreated once more.
Chief Gao fell to his knees.
Sweat poured down his face.
"Think carefully," Leng Pan ordered. "When did they arrive?"
Chief Gao’s breathing became ragged.
"After the meteorites."
"How long after?"
"Several months."
"Were there zombies in the village?"
"Yes."
His gaze became distant as his memories surfaced.
"Most of the villagers had already died. Some became monsters. Others were eaten. We locked ourselves inside our homes, but there was no food."
"What about the well?" Leng Pan asked.
"The water was clean."
Chief Gao’s answer confirmed Old Chen’s claim.
The well had not been contaminated before the parasite queen arrived.
It was the creature that introduced the eggs.
"We didn’t know why the water remained clean," Chief Gao continued. "We only knew that it was the reason we survived."
"Then the people from the sky came."
"Yes."
His eyes widened.
"They arrived at night. A silver object descended behind the village without making a sound. Three people came out."
"What did they look like?"
"Human."
"Were they wearing disguises?"
"I don’t know. They looked like us, but their eyes were strange. Too bright. One of them had no pupils."
Leng Pan remembered the aliens they had encountered before.
Some could disguise themselves as humans, while others used real human bodies as shells.
"What did they want?" Lu Zhen asked.
"They said our village had been chosen."
"For what?"
Chief Gao’s lips trembled.
"To survive."
Lu Zhen sneered.
"And you believed them."
"What choice did we have?" Chief Gao shouted. "People were starving! Zombies wandered everywhere. Every day, another villager died. They offered us protection."
"At what price?"
Chief Gao became silent.
Lu Zhen grabbed his collar.
"At what price?"
"They wanted the well."
"Why?"
"They said something valuable was beneath it."
The blue crystal.
Leng Pan had already suspected that the crystal inside the underground queen did not belong to the creature naturally.
It was likely the reason the village’s groundwater remained clean.
"What did they do?" she asked.
"They opened the ground beside the well. There was a cavern below. Inside, they found a blue stone."
Chief Gao looked towards the darkness.
"They were excited. They said it was a purifier."
"Did they take it?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"They said it was too small."
Leng Pan frowned.
A crystal capable of purifying the groundwater beneath an entire village was considered too small?
How powerful would a complete crystal be?
"They brought a creature out of their ship," Chief Gao continued. "At that time, it was no larger than my palm."
"The Mother?" Leng Pan asked.
Chief Gao nodded.
"They placed it beside the blue stone. It wrapped itself around it and began growing."
His voice carried a strange reverence.
"The people from the sky told us that the Mother would protect the water and make our village stronger."
"It contaminated the water with parasites," Leng Pan said.
Chief Gao looked confused.
"They called them seeds."
"Seeds?"
"They said every villager needed to drink the water. The seeds would enter our bodies and help us adapt to the apocalypse."
"And you forced everyone to drink it?"
"I drank first."
Chief Gao spoke defensively.
"They gave me a bottle of water from the well, and I drank it in front of everyone. Nothing happened."
"Not immediately," Leng Pan said.
The aliens had designed the parasite eggs to remain dormant.
By the time the villagers noticed changes, everyone would already be infected.
"What happened after you drank it?" Lu Zhen asked.
"I became stronger."
"How?"