Chapter 112 - 96: A-Level Ability, Body Petrification
"What the fuck is this thing?"
Zhong Fang, holding a knife, retreated quickly, his face filled with terror.
Beside him, the dozens of members from the Fishing Club reacted the same way. Every one of them looked as if they had seen a ghost, their faces pale with fright.
From the wounds on the Unihorn Catfish’s body, blackish-gray vines were writhing, squirming through the flesh like worms.
A large slab of flesh pulsed up and down with the vines’ movements, a truly gruesome sight!
"L-Leader, that’s the thing I just saw!"
Looking at the member beside him, whose voice trembled as he spoke, Zhong Fang swallowed hard. He still hadn’t recovered from the shock.
Just a moment ago...
He had been about to use his knife to cut some meat from the Unihorn Catfish.
Considering how thick the outer hide was, trying to cut through it was unrealistic, which was why he had specifically aimed for one of the wounds.
The Unihorn Catfish’s body was covered in wounds of all sizes, many of which had been torn wider during the earlier struggle, making it very convenient to cut into.
Who would have thought that just as he plunged his knife into the flesh, before he could even apply any force, a black thing would shoot out.
At first, Zhong Fang thought it was just some debris, but when he leaned in for a closer look...
The black thing shot out violently, and in an instant, one became dozens!
They grew larger and larger, quickly covering the surrounding area, writhing continuously like octopus tentacles.
Terrified, Zhong Fang scrambled back, finally getting a clear look at what the things were.
Vines!
Black vines!
They were completely bare, without a single leaf. Bits of flesh and blood were mixed in with them, creating a sight that was both disgusting and terrifying.
"Shit, what the hell is that?"
Xu Jun, walking over from the other side, was also startled by the scene and subconsciously took several steps back.
"I don’t know, I just saw it too!"
Zhong Fang’s face was still deathly pale. If he hadn’t reacted so quickly just now, he would have been tangled up in those vines.
"This thing... why does it look so familiar..."
Xu Jun stared at the vines squirming in the Unihorn Catfish’s flesh, vaguely recalling the vines on the hillside cliff from before.
Just then, Zhang Meng and Huang Mao arrived. Their reaction was the same as most of the others; they were also badly frightened by the horrific scene.
Xu Jun quickly pulled them over and asked, "Take a look. Are these the same vines that covered the cave entrance?"
"I think... they do look a bit similar!" Zhang Meng nodded.
Huang Mao added, "We were too far away to get a good look back then, but they really do look similar. The color is the same blackish-gray. But how did this stuff get inside the Unihorn Catfish’s body?"
"No idea!"
Everyone’s gazes once again focused on the vines.
After bursting from the Unihorn Catfish’s flesh and writhing madly, their speed gradually slowed, as if their energy was being rapidly depleted. Then, they began to retract back into the flesh.
In just a few seconds, the vast tangle of vines that had spread out just moments before had completely vanished back inside, leaving only a fist-sized, bloody hole in the wound.
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed such a thing existed inside the Unihorn Catfish...
Chen Chong walked over from the other side with Wang Biao and the Tiger Striped Dog.
Xu Jun quickly ran over. "Brother Chong, you have no idea! Just now, the vines, so many vines..."
Chen Chong’s expression was impassive, or perhaps, tinged with a hint of gloom.
"I heard."
Xu Jun added, "It’s a shame you didn’t see it. The vines in the flesh were so disgusting..."
Before he could finish, Chen Chong’s voice sounded again. "I saw it too."
"Huh?" Xu Jun was taken aback. "You weren’t here. How did you see it?"
Hearing this, Chen Chong’s expression darkened.
It wasn’t directed at Xu Jun; he had just been reminded of a terrible memory...
Just moments ago, when he was inside the Unihorn Catfish’s mouth and heard the screams from outside, the "bone-like" vines had moved.
They didn’t just move; all the flesh inside began to roil like boiling water, churned by countless vines hidden within.
Tiny vines broke through the flesh, writhing endlessly inside the Unihorn Catfish’s mouth, carrying bits of bloody tissue, just like maggots...
Chen Chong would never forget that sight. It was so disgusting it had almost made him vomit on the spot.
After rushing out as fast as he could, he had to take a full half-minute to suppress the nausea churning in his stomach.
’Now it all makes sense...’
’The intelligence report mentioned the Unihorn Catfish’s strange condition, and all the wounds that suddenly appeared on its body... It wasn’t from fighting other creatures. It was parasitized by the vines!’
’Countless vines have taken root in its body, in its very flesh, feeding on its nutrients to grow.’
’No wonder a Unihorn Catfish with such a thick hide had so many shocking injuries.’
At first, Chen Chong had been puzzled. ’With the Stone Claw Eagle and Blood-tooth Python in hiding, what could have wounded it so severely?’
Now, he finally understood. ’The thing that wounded it so badly... was itself!’
’Sensing something was wrong, the Unihorn Catfish had rammed its body against rocks underwater, trying to expel the things inside it. But no matter how hard it crashed, even bashing a bloody hole in its own head, the vines remained, growing deep within its body.’
’While it was alive, the vines lay dormant, quietly siphoning its nutrients without triggering its animal instincts.’
’But after its death, the vines grew restless. Just like parasites in the bodies of beasts and insects, the host’s death endangers their own survival, making them agitated and anxious.’
’Shortly after the Unihorn Catfish died, my own animal instincts gave me a sense of crisis.’
’And as time went on and the vines grew more agitated, that sense of crisis only became stronger.’