Chapter 31: Spirit Attack, Parasitic Worm

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Spirit Attack, Parasitic Worm

Seraphina Sullivan studied the display on the Sound Wave Vibration Gun.

Her brow furrowed; something felt wrong.

"Are we just going to wait here in this supply room?" she asked in a low voice, her gaze sweeping warily around them.

Troy Lynn, on the other hand, was more carefree. He had already torn open a pack of compressed biscuits and was eating them, mumbling indistinctly, "It’s... pretty safe here..."

But Summer Lynn’s expression grew increasingly grim.

She gripped the water bottle in her hand so tightly her knuckles turned white. "No. Even if the supply room is safe for now, once the chaos outside dies down, the people from the base will definitely come to check on this place."

She stood up, her voice trembling slightly. "Troy, you’ve had a moment to recover. Use your Softening Ability on the wall. We need to grab our things and prepare to leave."

Seraphina Sullivan glanced down at the detection screen on the Sound Wave Vibration Gun. The fluctuations on it had suddenly become erratic.

The red dots inside the base were converging rapidly, as if they had been summoned.

Seeing this,

a strong sense of unease washed over her. But before she could even shout a warning—

"SCREEEEEEE—!"

A piercing shriek suddenly tore through the entire base, feeling like countless steel needles were being driven directly into the trio’s brains.

The world instantly spun for Seraphina Sullivan. A warmth filled her nasal cavity, and warm blood began to pour from her nose.

She staggered, grabbing a shelf for support as her ears rang.

"Ah! It hurts!"

Troy Lynn cried out in pain. The biscuit in his hand fell to the floor as he clutched his head and collapsed to his knees, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Summer Lynn was in even worse shape. She spat out a mouthful of blood and swayed on her feet. If she hadn’t managed to brace herself against a wall, she would have fainted.

Although Seraphina Sullivan’s head was also splitting, the Body Transformation Pills must have enhanced her physical constitution, because she barely managed to stay conscious.

She wiped away her nosebleed, her voice hoarse. "What... what the hell was that?"

It was clear they were under some kind of attack, one that bypassed all defenses and injured all three of them directly.

Summer Lynn shook her head weakly, her face as pale as a sheet. "I... I don’t know... But I think... it must be some kind of... special parasite... that this base was cultivating..."

"We caused chaos in the base, and now this monster has been unleashed because of it."

The screeching outside grew closer, accompanied by heavy footsteps and the grating sound of tearing metal.

The cans on the shelves began to vibrate slightly, and dust rained down from the ceiling.

Fighting through her splitting headache, Seraphina Sullivan aimed the Sound Wave Vibration Gun toward the outside.

A massive red dot appeared on the screen, its Energy reading several times higher than that of an ordinary parasite.

"This is bad..." Her voice was dry. "Something ’big’ is coming..."

Seraphina Sullivan instantly realized the gravity of the situation. She had the supplies she wanted; now she had to get out immediately!

The Lynn siblings reacted as well, and the three of them exchanged a look.

"Quick! I’ll soften the wall, and we’ll leave right now!" Troy Lynn shouted, pressing his hands against the concrete wall on the side of the warehouse.

The wall immediately began to soften, growing thinner like melting butter.

Summer Lynn shouldered a backpack full of supplies and urged anxiously, "Faster!"

Seraphina Sullivan quickly followed, but as she passed the last aisle, she took advantage of the siblings’ distraction to pull an entire shelf unit, loaded with cans and compressed biscuits, into her Space.

The metal shelving unit made a faint HUM as it vanished, but the sound was completely drowned out by the monster’s roars from outside.

"Go!" Troy Lynn barked, being the first to squeeze through the wall that was now as soft as mud.

Summer Lynn followed close behind, with Seraphina Sullivan bringing up the rear.

Having done this before, Troy Lynn quickly found the best escape route.

Just as they were about to escape the confines of the base, that horrifying screech attacked them again!

"Argh—!" All three clutched their heads in agony. Summer Lynn fell to her knees, blood from her nose dripping onto the dirt.

Seraphina Sullivan bit the tip of her tongue to force herself to stay lucid, then hauled the siblings up, one in each hand. "Don’t collapse! The car is right ahead!"

Summer Lynn wiped the blood from her face and staggered after her.

Troy Lynn’s face was chalk-white, but he kept running.

Finally, they escaped the base and saw the SUV parked in its hiding spot.

The three of them practically fell into the vehicle.

Troy Lynn started the engine with trembling hands while Summer Lynn collapsed into the back seat, gasping for air.

Seraphina Sullivan, sitting in the passenger seat, fought through her headache and looked back—

The sight before her made her blood run cold.

Inside the base, countless parasitic monsters were frantically throwing themselves at a giant, flesh-colored worm. Their bodies merged with it like melting wax.

The worm’s body expanded at a visible rate, its surface churning with countless agonized human faces.

They were clearly the people from the base.

Seraphina Sullivan immediately activated her Eye of Resume:

[Name: Parasitic Worm]

[Gender: Unknown]

[Professional Skills: Spirit Attack, Mind Control, Devouring Fusion]

[Weaknesses: Experimental modifications have overcome its fear of water and sunlight, but have also induced an extreme fear of Flame!]

"Drive, now!" Seraphina Sullivan yelled. "That thing is absorbing other monsters to get stronger!"

Troy Lynn slammed on the gas, and the SUV shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

In the rearview mirror, the worm, now done with its fusion, turned in the direction of their escape and let out an earth-shattering roar.

Summer Lynn leaned forward weakly from the back seat. "Where... where do we go now?"

It was nighttime, and it was extremely unsafe to be out.

The three of them didn’t drive into the city right away. Seraphina Sullivan knew that the city was also teeming with dangerous parasites at night.

"Find a safe place to hide."

The three of them sped along the road, finally stopping at an abandoned auto repair shop on the outskirts of the city. No one dared to get out, and so they spent a terrifying night inside the car.

Seraphina Sullivan remained on high alert the entire time, her eyes glued to the rearview mirror, terrified that the horrifying Parasitic Worm would come after them.

Fortunately, the worst didn’t happen. In their current state, they would have been powerless against a monster of that caliber.

Avoiding that kind of monster was the right call.

’Spirit Attack... Mind Control...’ Seraphina Sullivan thought back to the Parasitic Worm’s abilities and felt a surge of relief. ’Looks like it was too busy fusing with the other parasites to notice small fry like us.’

If it had decided to target them, Seraphina knew they would have had no way to escape.

When the first rays of dawn pierced the car window, Seraphina Sullivan let out a long sigh of relief.

Day five of the Parasite Apocalypse began. The instance was already half over.

She turned to look at the back seat. The Lynn siblings had finally succumbed to exhaustion, lulled into a deep sleep by the sense of security the sunlight brought.

Troy Lynn’s head was resting on his sister’s shoulder, and Summer Lynn’s hand was still gripping the strap of the supply-filled backpack.

Seraphina Sullivan quietly opened the car door. The cold morning air made her shiver.

She took one last look at the two sleeping inside the car, then headed toward the tower crane without looking back.

’It was always a temporary team. No reason to get sentimental.’

’Besides, in an apocalypse instance, trust is the greatest luxury.’

’Who knew if the siblings would turn on her to keep the supplies for themselves when they woke up?’

With the faint CLICK of a bicycle chain, Seraphina Sullivan’s figure gradually disappeared into the morning mist.