“A parasitic-type Aberrant? What do we do?” Although the medic soldier accompanying the team was very experienced, she had never encountered a parasitic-type Aberrant before and didn’t know what to do for a moment.
Just as she was at a loss about how to handle the soldier before her, she saw Shen Ge reach out and grab the black “bruised blood” on the soldier’s body. The next second, he pulled out a finger-length black worm from it.
He actually… just grabbed it directly?
Before the medic could recover from her shock, what left her even more dumbfounded was that Shen Ge pulled out a lighter and… set the black worm on fire!
Shen Ge looked at the black worm ignited by the “Everlasting” aberrant fire lighter in his hand and said lightly: “Flammable. Good.”
“Huh?” The medic froze, looking at the little fire worm struggling in Shen Ge’s palm, and instinctively asked: “Uh… doesn’t it burn your hand?”
Shen Ge had the “Non-Flammable” trait protecting him, so he naturally didn’t need to worry about being burned. But he didn’t explain all that—he simply said: “From what we’ve seen so far, this kind of parasitic Aberrant hides in the cracks of the walls. Stay away from the walls and watch your step.”
Hearing this, everyone quickly moved away from both sides of the cave walls. Shen Ge stood up and looked toward the flame area blocked by the invisible barrier ahead, calculating that the bugs inside should be about done burning by now.
After Shen Ge released the invisible barrier of “No Escape from the Aberrant Domain,” the flames immediately surged toward them, scaring the two soldiers who had been watching the area ahead so much that they jerked backward.
But soon they witnessed something amazing. The raging fire that had been coming on strong suddenly “disappeared”—not gradually dying out, but vanishing outright into thin air, leaving only a foul burnt smell and wisps of black smoke. All in the blink of an eye.
“What—what—what’s going on?”
“Is it an Aberrant?”
“Watch out, it must be an Aberrant’s ability!”
The soldiers didn’t know this was Shen Ge’s trait ability and instinctively suspected an Aberrant. They immediately became alert, scanning their surroundings.
Shen Ge didn’t explain much—he just told everyone to keep up and then headed deeper into the cave with his flashlight.
Although puzzled, everyone chose to trust Shen Ge’s judgment. Since he said there was no danger, they could only grit their teeth and follow.
Along the way, they encountered quite a few black-hand Aberrants and parasitic-type Aberrants, but Shen Ge’s “fire attacks” stopped them all.
Gradually, everyone began to realize that the flames being blocked and suddenly disappearing probably had something to do with Shen Ge, but they all tacitly chose to keep quiet about it.
However, they did confirm one thing: they most likely hadn’t taken the “same route” as Tu Doubi, because they couldn’t find any signs of battle along the path they’d traveled, nor anything left behind by the exploration team—no corpses, no equipment, no items, nothing at all.
This made everyone equate this strange “cave” with an aberrant space. Apart from an aberrant space, they couldn’t find a better explanation.
And what was even stranger was that just when everyone thought they’d be trapped in the cave for a long time, a light source ahead signaled that the “exit” was nearby.
But when they reached the “exit,” everyone was shocked to discover that after going around in a big circle, they had actually returned to the original cave entrance.
“We’ve looped back around?” One soldier looked at the bare flat ground outside the cave entrance and the lush plants not far away, and said in surprise.
Another soldier said: “Where are Old Qian and the others? Weren’t they supposed to be guarding the technical personnel and equipment at the cave entrance? Where’d they go?”
“Did they get attacked by Aberrants?”
“There are no signs of battle around here. Doesn’t look like they ran into trouble.”
“Could they have gone back to camp?”
“Impossible. Old Qian is a veteran—how could he disobey the captain’s orders and run back to camp on his own? Besides, the camp isn’t necessarily safer than here.”
“…”
The soldiers investigated their surroundings while analyzing where the technical personnel and soldiers originally stationed at the cave entrance could have gone.
At that moment, Shen Ge spoke up: “No need to search. They’re not here.”
With that, he walked to the left side of the cave entrance and kicked the rock wall with his foot: “If I remember correctly, when you set up the aberrant energy detector earlier, you drilled a hole here. And judging by the size and weight of the detector, there would be marks left on the ground after moving it.”
“But look—there’s nothing here… Unless this rock wall and the ground can self-repair, this definitely isn’t the same spot.”
“Before entering the cave, I also observed the surrounding plants. Those big trees on the left originally had lots of thick, long vines, but now they only have dense branches and leaves.”
“And on the right…”
Shen Ge was like someone playing a game of “spot the difference,” quickly identifying several differences near the cave entrance to support his theory.
“So, we’ve been affected by the cave’s aberrant space and are now in a different aberrant space… That would also explain why Tu Doubi and his team went missing in the cave, and why we can’t find any signs of battle in the cave—because we were never in the same aberrant space to begin with,” Fang Mingyue summarized.
Shen Ge nodded: “Exactly. So we have only two choices now. One, go back into the cave and look for other ‘exits.’ Two, first check how this mountain area differs from before. Maybe the cave contains different aberrant spaces, but there’s only one ‘exit.’ Personally, I lean toward the latter.”
Fang Mingyue thought for a moment and felt Shen Ge’s analysis made a lot of sense. From entering the cave until now, they’d spent over ten hours. Although Shen Ge had resolved all the dangers they encountered in the cave one by one, just traveling was very time-consuming. Turning back now would mean those ten-plus hours were wasted.
At this point, the soldiers were somewhat tired, and there was indeed the possibility that “there’s only one exit.” So Fang Mingyue simply ordered them to set up camp on the spot and rest for a while.
While the soldiers set up camp, Shen Ge activated his Aberrant Eye to observe the surrounding jungle and woke the system to scan the area.
After the scan, he was shocked to find that the entire mountain was covered in “red dots”—countless, large and small. The big ones were at least Fourth or Fifth-Order, and the small ones, First or Second-Order, were as numerous as ants in an anthill.
Just as he was about to report this to Fang Mingyue, the two soldiers on perimeter guard brought back a unconscious man.
The man was wearing the combat uniform of the Aberrant Hunters team, but it was torn to shreds, like a “beggar’s version.” He also looked like he hadn’t eaten in a long time—his cheeks were sunken, and he was skin and bones.
Fang Mingyue had the medic examine him first. Just as she was about to inject him with a nutrient solution, the man suddenly opened his eyes, pushed the medic away, shrank into the corner of the tent, and screamed: “Don’t eat me! Don’t eat me! Ah, don’t eat me! Aaaahhhh!”
Fang Mingyue immediately stepped forward: “Don’t panic. We’re not Aberrants. I’m Fang Mingyue, captain of the Second Exploration Team sent as reinforcement. Are you a soldier under Captain Tu?”
“Ah, monster, don’t eat me, ah help, changed, they all changed, all monsters, monsters everywhere, save me, don’t eat me!” The man’s face was full of terror as he shouted incoherently, giving the impression of someone scared insane.
Fang Mingyue was about to have the medic restrain the man when Shen Ge stepped forward and placed his hand on the man’s forehead. The man, who had been struggling wildly and shouting, suddenly quieted down. Then, with dull eyes fixed on Shen Ge, he began muttering strange words.
Through his Aberrant Eye, Shen Ge detected aberrant energy reactions around the man’s body. After scanning and finding the parasitic Aberrant on him, he first used “Heart Gouge” to locate and kill the parasite, then used his aberrant domain to “hypnotize” the man, calming him down.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Shen Ge asked.
The man murmured: “I’m Sun Liu, a soldier of the Seventh Team of the Aberrant Hunters. This time I accompanied Captain Tu to investigate the mountain codenamed ‘******.’ We got separated in the cave. After finally getting out, we found Aberrants everywhere on the mountain—only the area near the cave had no Aberrant activity.”
“So we set up camp near the cave, hoping to find our missing comrades while waiting for reinforcements. But overnight, the soldiers all turned into man-eating monsters. I had gone out to look for food and when I came back, I saw them eating each other in the camp, literally eating each other’s internal organs alive…”
“I fled into the jungle and hid in a stinking ditch. When I was hungry, I ate the bugs in it. When I was thirsty, I drank plant sap. Then a few days ago I saw them… they… aaaahhhh, don’t eat me, save me, help, help!”
Sun Liu became more and more agitated as he spoke. His expression suddenly turned to one of severe fright again, and he began ranting and screaming. Shen Ge quickly increased his aberrant energy control, putting him into a deep sleep.
Just then, an explosion sounded in the distance. Shen Ge looked up at the medic: “Watch him. Everyone else, stay on guard in the camp. I’ll go take a look.”
“The sound came from the east. It’s Wang Jin and his group,” Fang Mingyue said. After ordering the camp to be set up, she had sent six people to place aberrant energy detectors at the jungle entrances to the east, south, and west. The group that found Sun Liu was the one that went south, and the explosion came from Wang Jin’s group.
Shen Ge said: “You stay in camp too. According to Sun Liu, this jungle is different from the one we came from—there are many Aberrants.”
“But he said they set up camp at the cave entrance, yet there’s no trace of a camp around here. Could it be another aberrant space?” Fang Mingyue asked.
Shen Ge nodded: “That’s possible. But my aberrant energy detector also shows Aberrant traces nearby. It’s always better to be careful.”
“Yes!” Fang Mingyue responded immediately. Her straight posture and proper attitude gave the impression that she was Shen Ge’s subordinate.
…
About three or four hundred meters into the jungle east of the cave entrance, a fully armed soldier was hiding behind a large tree, nervously watching for movement around him.
In fact, their experience was similar to the group that went south. Following orders, they planned to place an aberrant energy detector at the five-hundred-meter mark and then return. But they discovered an unconscious soldier. From his uniform, they recognized him as someone from the Aberrant Hunters.
Just as they were about to carry him back to camp, a dark shadow suddenly rushed out from the bushes nearby. The two soldiers instinctively dodged backward.
Wang Jin instinctively tried to grab the unconscious soldier, but the man was an adult after all—his weight made it impossible to pull him easily.
Those two or three seconds of delay allowed the shadow to pounce on the unconscious soldier. The shadow spread eight sharp claws like a spider and directly pierced through the unconscious soldier’s body, tearing him apart, grabbing a piece and stuffing it into its mouth to chew.
Wang Jin was scared stiff, but fortunately this wasn’t his first time facing a terrifying Aberrant. He immediately threw bombs and flash grenades at the Aberrant with the other soldier, then rushed toward a nearby large tree.
The explosion didn’t harm the Aberrant at all. After devouring the unconscious soldier in a few bites, it immediately turned its attention to Wang Jin and his companion.
The two fired their guns while using the surrounding plants to hide, but they were fast—and the Aberrant was even faster.
In the blink of an eye, the Aberrant caught up with one soldier. Even though Wang Jin and the soldier fired at it together, they couldn’t stop its assault.
With a “splat” and a spray of blood, the soldier’s head was bitten right off. Then, in a few bites, the Aberrant ate him until not even a scrap was left.
Hiding behind the large tree, Wang Jin felt his body trembling uncontrollably. He had never seen an Aberrant this fast—so fast that when it moved, all that was left was an afterimage.
In just two exchanges, he knew this kind of speed was not something they “humans” could contend with. He had only two choices before him: one, hide and hope the camp companions would hear the explosion and come to reinforce; two, swallow his gun and keep some dignity.
Wang Jin knew that even if his companions in the camp heard the explosion and came to reinforce, the distance from camp to here was three or four hundred meters—at the Aberrant’s speed, that was enough time for it to kill him several times over.
Besides, with such a terrifying and powerful Aberrant, even if his companions came, it would most likely just add a few more corpses.
Wang Jin silently aimed his gun at his own chin. He could already faintly hear “glug glug” swallowing sounds from behind the tree—the Aberrant was clearly waiting for him there.
Just then, several “bang bang bang” gunshots suddenly came from behind. He had heard these gunshots a few times before—they were from Shen Ge’s revolver.
He had once curiously asked why Shen Ge didn’t use a more advanced rifle and chose a revolver instead. It wasn’t until he later saw Shen Ge blow off an Aberrant’s head with that revolver that he realized it wasn’t an ordinary revolver at all!
And the revolver had a badass name: the “Aberrant-Slaying Revolver”!
Shen Ge!
It was Shen Ge!
Hope instantly ignited in Wang Jin’s heart. Shen Ge, plus his Aberrant-Slaying Revolver—maybe they could take down this terrifying Aberrant!
Although Shen Ge’s arrival ignited hope in Wang Jin’s heart, he didn’t intend to put all the pressure on Shen Ge. As a soldier, he had his own awareness and dignity. So the moment he heard the Aberrant-Slaying Revolver’s gunshots, he rolled to his feet, grabbed his gun, and charged out to support Shen Ge.
And then he saw a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life. Shen Ge, holding the Aberrant-Slaying Revolver in one hand and a pig-slaughtering knife still dripping with black blood in the other, stood on the headless Aberrant’s body, examining the corpse like a god of war.
