Chapter 143 - 142: Plan Execution

Chapter 143: Chapter 142: Plan Execution

Hiding behind a tree stump, he took a moment to catch his breath and calm his frayed nerves.

The embers inside the stump hadn’t fully died out yet, still giving off a faint, residual warmth.

He pressed his back against the rough bark. The warmth seeped through his clothes, but it couldn’t dispel the chill in his heart.

He could clearly hear his own heart hammering—THUMP-THUMP—from the tension. He had no choice but to take a deep breath, inhaling air thick with the stench of gunpowder and nauseating roasted flesh, before slowly exhaling.

Out here, one tiny mistake would be fatal.

Lin Fan was now about a hundred meters from the deep pit. The two tentacles still soared high into the sky; from his current perspective, they looked like two ropes descending from the heavens, their ends out of sight.

But given the strength it had just shown—enough to send that armored vehicle flying—he doubted he could sever them even with a full-powered spear strike, fully augmented with impact and sharpness...

’That’s an exaggeration, haha.’

Lin Fan laughed silently to himself. The reality was he probably couldn’t even break its defense.

So he wouldn’t be making a fool of himself by bringing out his spear.

He’d come up with a few plans for dealing with this monster while waiting for his cooldowns earlier.

He had only two objectives for sneaking over this time. First, Lin Fan genuinely wanted to see what this monster was. Had its health changed at all? What kind of damage had the explosion and his spear thrust actually inflicted on it?

Second, he was incredibly curious about what lay at the bottom of the pit. What was the monster doing with its two branches sticking out? He had clearly lured away some Mutated Zombies with a thousand health before, so where had they gone? Why were the only ones outside the 300 and 500 health varieties?

He took a few more deep, ragged breaths, trying his best to muffle the sound.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt a strange pull emanating from the bottom of the pit. The closer he got, the stronger the feeling became.

It was like a form of mental suggestion, a silent, low hum resonating in his mind.

It tempted him to get closer, to investigate, to throw himself directly into that profound darkness.

Looking up again, he felt more and more that the two "cockroach antennae" were like a pair of antennas, constantly broadcasting something.

"I..."

Lin Fan frowned, looking at his own hands and muttering to himself in doubt,

"I came here of my own free will... right?"

He carefully reviewed his plan again, confirming there was no "jump into the pit" step. Every part was clear, his logical reasoning sound, and it all fit his usual way of doing things...

This made him waver. The plan was his, no doubt, but this "curiosity"...

Lin Fan checked his health bar again. It was green with a gold border, with nothing strange inside. He seemed no different than usual, but he still felt uneasy.

"Wild Potion."

Lin Fan silently chanted the name. His vision brightened as the potion took effect. A hot current surged from his heart to his limbs, diluting that cold, humming sensation somewhat.

’Should be fine...’

He had a lot of faith in this "cure-all" potion.

Seeing the potion work normally without any strange side effects, he felt relieved. He crouched low and continued to creep toward the base of the two sky-piercing "antennae."

The closer he got, the more viscous that feeling became.

The Wild Potion sharpened his senses, allowing him to perceive this attractive force more clearly.

THUD, THUD, THUD...

The sound of familiar footsteps reached him. Lin Fan instantly dropped to the ground. He twisted his head and saw a muscle zombie with [2000/2000] health. It had appeared out of nowhere and was walking right toward him!

"Fuck!"

Lin Fan cursed inwardly. With a thought, his spear appeared in his hand.

’I shouldn’t have been discovered in my current state. Besides, the zombies and those two "antennae" are all still. Where did a Mutated Zombie suddenly pop out from?’

Just as the zombie drew closer and Lin Fan was about to launch a sudden attack, it walked straight past him as if it hadn’t seen him at all. It leaped directly into the deep pit and vanished into the darkness.

Lin Fan’s eyes flew wide open.

"This..."

’So this pit is used to attract Mutated Zombies?’

’Are all the Mutated Zombies from around here at the bottom?’

’Shit, don’t tell me there’s a giant monster down there that eats Mutated Zombies...’

But he immediately dismissed the idea. In all this time, he had never seen zombies intentionally harm each other.

A monster that ate Mutated Zombies seemed a bit unlikely.

Besides, with so many zombies gathered nearby, the way that Mutated Zombie just jumped in felt less like "being eaten" and more like... coming home.

An even more chilling guess surfaced in his mind. Lin Fan scanned his surroundings for a few more seconds. Seeing no other Mutated Zombies approaching, he put away his spear and, without standing up, simply crawled forward toward the edge of the pit.

Not a single other Mutated Zombie appeared by the time he reached the pit’s edge.

It seemed all the nearby Mutated Zombies that could be attracted had already been drawn here. No wonder Lin Fan hadn’t seen any more in the wild.

He took another deep breath to calm his nerves, then cautiously extended a hand and waved it over the edge of the pit.

’Not attacked, not discovered, no strange feelings, and no urge to jump... Good!’

Ever since discovering the pit’s strange pull, Lin Fan had been extremely cautious with every step, and caution was even more critical the closer he got to his objective.

Seeing his hand return safely, he finally gripped the edge with both hands and peeked inside...

Lin Fan was certain this pit hadn’t been created by an explosion...

Or rather, the opening might have been, but the space within was not. It was too deep, looking more like some kind of specially excavated "nest."

And inside the nest...

Health bars. Nothing but health bars!

[1896]

[2145]

[1231]

[1987]

[1356]

[2001]

...

Dozens of health bars flooded Lin Fan’s vision. Most were over one thousand, with a small portion over two thousand!

Except for the thickest health bar at the very bottom...

[6429/10000]!

His sallow-yellow vision seemed to be restricted down in the pit. Aside from the health bars and the indistinct dark shapes clinging to the walls, he couldn’t make out anything else.

The health bars above the dark shapes indicated they were Mutated Zombies, but their bodies seemed to be covered in some kind of layer that occasionally glinted with an eerie light. They were completely motionless.

The good news was there wasn’t a monster that ate Mutated Zombies down there, and the ten-thousand-health monster was indeed injured—it was now at half health...

The bad news was that it would have been better if there *was* a monster that ate Mutated Zombies. All the Mutated Zombies that came here were evolving!

That health bar with [2001] health, Lin Fan had no doubt, was the one that—fuck—had just jumped down!

The even worse news was that before Lin Fan could get a good look at the state of the Mutated Zombies on the walls, the very instant he saw the ten-thousand-health monster’s health bar, several dark red lights flashed at the bottom of the pit!

"Use Strength Potion, Swift Potion, Hardening Potion! All medium size!"

Seeing the commotion at the bottom of the pit, Lin Fan decisively chugged his potions. The three powers took effect instantly!

His muscles swelled violently, bulging his clothes, then became tight and hard. His skin took on a rock-like firmness!

His five senses also became incredibly sharp. It was as if the exposure on his vision had been cranked up by 20, and the previously unclear scene inside the pit instantly came into view!

Dense clusters of what looked like cysts hung from the walls, all pulsating at a bizarre frequency, like countless hearts squeezed together.

The sight gave Lin Fan a strange sense of déjà vu, like something he’d seen in a documentary long ago—the nursery nest of some deep-sea insect... except the thing before him was ten thousand times larger and more terrifying!

At the bottom of the pit, the two thick tentacles were connected to a massive, irregularly shaped cyst. A dense mass of flesh and tissue covered the entire floor.

It looked like a clump of charred tree roots, or perhaps a grotesque hunk of meat. Its surface was dotted with many circular depressions or holes. Countless overlapping layers of tissue were slowly squirming, covered in a network of dark red, vein-like patterns.

Several slender tentacles extended from the gaps in the overlapping tissues. Now, almost all of them were pointed at Lin Fan, emitting a piercing red glow!

Two branch-like tentacles, each as thick as Lin Fan’s arm, suddenly shot out from one of the depressions on its body. They tore through the air with a sharp whistle, heading straight for his face!

The four potions had boosted Lin Fan’s physical attributes to an unprecedented level. He pushed off with both hands, launching himself backward from the ground in an arc.

While switching to the Sharpness Crystal, his spear materialized in his hand. He gathered his strength and swung it at the incoming branches!

’I’ve been discovered!’

’But it doesn’t matter!’

’This is still part of the plan!’