Chapter 502: Intelligent Parasite
The wounds Sonny and Vanish had inflicted began healing.
"It is using them to regenerate," Vanish said.
"We need to sever the roots connected to the captives."
"There are hundreds."
"Start with the ones closest to us."
Sonny cut through the roots attached to the scarred man.
The moment the connection broke, the man screamed.
His body convulsed, and black veins spread beneath his skin.
Sonny stopped.
"Don’t..." the man gasped. "Too fast..."
The roots were not merely draining the captives.
They had become connected to their bodies. Removing them carelessly could kill the people they were trying to save.
Sonny clenched his jaw.
They could not fight freely without harming the prisoners.
The underground queen knew this.
It pulled several sacs in front of its body, using the captives as shields.
"Intelligent bastard," Vanish cursed.
A thin tendril shot from behind him.
Sonny noticed it too late.
Before he could warn Vanish, the tendril wrapped around his ankle and lifted him into the air.
His machete fell to the ground.
"Vanish!"
Sonny threw one of his blades.
The weapon cut through the tendril, freeing him.
Vanish crashed against the stone floor.
Before he could rise, several threadlike parasites emerged from the severed root and crawled towards him.
Unlike the larger tendrils, these creatures were almost invisible.
They moved like pale hairs across the ground.
Sonny pulled Vanish away and stomped on them.
The parasites scattered.
Some climbed his boots.
Sonny felt a sharp sting near his ankle.
A threadlike creature had found a gap between his trousers and shoes.
Before it could burrow into his skin, the mist Leng Pan had attached to his clothes moved.
The thin layer gathered around his ankle and enveloped the parasite.
The creature twisted violently before dissolving.
The same thing happened to the parasites crawling over Vanish.
Leng Pan’s purifying mist protected them.
However, the mist was limited.
It could not defend them indefinitely.
"We need to alert them," Vanish said.
"The communication device is useless underground."
"What about the mist?"
Sonny looked at the faint vapour surrounding their bodies.
Leng Pan had said it would allow her to sense their location.
If they disturbed it strongly enough, perhaps she would realize they were in danger.
Sonny gathered the mist around his palm and forcefully released it towards the underground queen.
The creature recoiled.
Wherever the mist touched, its pale flesh turned black.
It screamed again.
The roots across the chamber became violent.
They struck the walls and ceiling, sending pieces of stone falling everywhere.
Sonny and Vanish dodged the debris.
The mist around them began thinning rapidly.
But the signal had been sent.
They could only hope Leng Pan felt it.
Inside the empty house, Leng Pan suddenly stood.
"What happened?" Lu Zhen asked.
"The mist I placed on Sonny and Vanish reacted."
"Are they in danger?"
"Yes."
Through her connection with the mist, she felt intense fluctuations.
The two men were no longer inside the guest house. Their location had moved far below the ground.
"They went underground," she said.
"How?" Ouyang Jin asked.
"I don’t know. But they are fighting something."
Lu Zhen immediately rose.
"We are going after them."
Everyone picked up their weapons.
Lu Zhen did not intend to leave anyone behind. Whatever danger existed below the village was powerful enough to frighten Little Vine and trap Sonny and Vanish.
Splitting the team further would only weaken them.
Leng Pan removed the curtains from the windows and doorway with a wave of her hand.
Outside, the village appeared empty.
Yet, the moment the barrier opened, doors around them creaked.
Villagers stepped out of their homes one after another.
There were more than fifty this time.
Men and women stood together, carrying farming tools and kitchen knives.
Even several elderly people had joined them.
Their expressions were blank.
The large woman who had dragged away the young servant stood near the front. Beside her was Chief Gao.
He no longer pretended to smile.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To find our companions," Lu Zhen replied.
"What companions?"
"The two people you failed to count earlier."
Chief Gao’s expression changed slightly.
"Everyone who entered the village is here."
"You should improve your lies," Lu Zhen said. "They are becoming worse."
A flame appeared in his palm.
The villagers tightened their formation.
Chief Gao looked at the fire with greed rather than fear.
"You possess two abilities," he said. "Storage and fire. The Mother will be pleased."
"The Mother?" Lu Tao repeated.
Leng Pan looked towards the well.
Was that what they called the creature beneath the village?
"Move aside," Lu Zhen ordered.
Chief Gao shook his head.
"You should have accepted our hospitality peacefully. You would not have suffered."
"So, you admit the food and water were drugged?" Blaze asked.
Chief Gao ignored him.
His attention remained on Lu Zhen.
"Give us your supplies and enter the guest house. If the Mother accepts you, your companions may still survive."
"What if we refuse?" Leng Pan asked.
Chief Gao finally looked at her.
"You won’t."
A strange clicking sound came from inside his throat.
The villagers moved simultaneously.
They did not resemble a group of frightened survivors following their leader.
Every person took the same step at the same moment.
Their heads tilted to the side at an identical angle.
Then they rushed forward.
Leng Pan spread her mist instantly.
A translucent barrier rose between both groups.
The villagers crashed into it but did not stop.
They struck the barrier with their weapons, ignoring the injuries caused by the rebound.
One man broke three fingers against it.
His expression did not change.
"These people are being controlled," Leng Pan said.
"Can you purify them?" Lu Zhen asked.
"I don’t know how deeply the parasites have integrated into their bodies."
Killing the villagers would be easy.
Saving them was another matter.
The young woman who had warned Janna stood at the back of the crowd.
Unlike the others, she was trembling and resisting.
Her right arm lifted a knife against her will while her left hand gripped her wrist, desperately trying to stop it.
"Help..." she gasped.
A bulge moved beneath the skin of her neck.
It travelled upwards towards her jaw before disappearing.
The same movement appeared beneath the skin of several other villagers.
Threadlike parasites had spread throughout their bodies.
Chief Gao stepped closer to the barrier.
His lips stretched into an unnatural smile.
"Do not resist. The Mother only wants strong bodies."
His pupils rolled backwards.
When they came down again, his eyes were completely white.
Something thick moved beneath the skin of his neck.
Then a distorted voice emerged from his mouth.
"Bring... me... the woman."