Chapter 158: Horrible Creatures
Chen Xianfeng’s anger and accusations were totally understandable. Everyone, including Luo Yuan, had been intentionally neglecting his safety in that particular situation by letting him continue to block the mutants. They didn’t even let him know when the group had retreated, because everyone had been subconsciously wanting to kick him off the team.
It was human nature for people to want to avoid the bad and stick with the good. Even Luo Yuan was vigilant around Chen Xianfeng.
After all, he was not alone. There were people that he wanted to protect, and companions who he trusted. In fact, it was kind of irresponsible for him to allow such a dangerous person to stay with them. The reason he had allowed Chen Xianfeng to stay on the team was hardly his humanity or the casual friendship that they had built in the past few months. He still did not acknowledge him as a companion.
"We thought you’d leave in time. We’ve talked about it very loudly before, we thought that you’d been listening," Cao Lin said awkwardly.
Since Chen Xianfeng had mutated, his temperament had changed. His IQ had not decreased, though. In fact, it had increased, so it was pretty hard to fool him.
"Don’t lie to me... You all did that intentionally. You know I can’t hear anything when I’m at that mad state." Chen Xianfeng suddenly stood up and glared at Cao Lin, baring his fangs.
He was about three meters tall, and looked like a thick wall. He could scare everyone, especially when he looked as grim as now. Cao Lin could not help but turn pale. She took a few steps backwards and fell down on the floor. Everybody else was on alert too.
"Sit down!" Luo Yuan warned him when he realized that Chen Xianfeng was about to go mad again.
Chen Xianfeng did not move. He was staring at Luo Yuan fiercely, looking even more ferocious.
Luo Yuan pulled out his Zhanmadao, and said calmly, “I said, sit down!”
His voice was not particularly loud or calm, but it had an indefinite power. No one doubted there would be consequences if they disobeyed him.
Everyone held their breath, watching all this nervously. They could not stand it. They somehow had been expecting something else.
Luo Yuan stared at Chen Xianfeng, intending to kill him, Chen Xianfeng was terrified. No matter how arrogant he was, the fact Luo Yuan was invincible still deeply impressed him.
Chen Xianfeng body muscles were getting tighter. His fists rattled, and his sharp nails pierced his skin, making him bleed. After a long while, he finally lowered his head and hid his hatred, stepping back and sitting down again.
"If you recall, I told you before that if you were not in control of yourself, you would need to leave. You should be clear about the situation just now. If we called you here, these would be the only two possibilities. Either you would be your normal self and everyone would be safe, or you would be out of control, and you know what would happen then. I would not let you live in that case," Luo Yuan explained calmly, trying to alter the accusations made by Chen Xianfeng.
He did not want to kill him, but he also could not let him maintain that feeling of hatred. Not if he wanted to avoid any unnecessary problems.
Chen Xianfeng heard him and shivered. He knew perfectly well that if he went mad, Luo Yuan would definitely kill him. Now he understood why no one had tried to remind him to retreat. His feelings of rage dissipated considerably after his reflection.
After a while, they heard a noise from outside. A bunch of mutated beasts were trying to come in.
Luo Yuan stood up holding his sword, and walked to the door.
The mutated beasts jumped from the staircase, but were blocked by the racks, stacking up behind them like a mountain.
Huo Dong, who had followed Luo Yuan, aimed at the mutated beasts and shot. Blood blasted everywhere as everyone else started to shoot as well.
Luo Yuan frowned. If they continued shooting this way, they would ran out of bullets. Plus, it was a waste to use synthetic bullets to attack such low-level mutated beasts.
"Save your bullets from now on,” he said quickly. “Don’t shoot, use a knife."
Most of the mutated beasts were of a white level. Only a few of them were from a light blue or blue level. On top of that, there were too many shelves constraining their movement. Based on their physical condition, it was not difficult to attack them with a knife.
However, everyone looked worried when Luo Yuan commanded them not to use their guns. Attacking with a gun from a distance was completely different than fighting close with a knife.
"You have nothing to afraid of. These low-level mutated beasts can’t even break the defense of your synthetic clothes. It’s easy to kill them as long as you are extra careful and protect your heads. And don’t worry, I’m also here to help if anything happens.”
Huo Dong knew that once Luo Yuan had made a decision, he would not change his mind. Thus, he was the first one to support his idea in an effort to impress him. "Yes! Finally, my knife is going to taste some blood!"
A few people chuckled, and it helped relieve the tension a bit. However, after a few seconds, everyone tensed up again.
Cao Lin took out her knife when she saw everyone holding theirs, but quietly stepped back a little.
When they had left Hedong City, Luo Yuan had collected a bunch of sharp weapons, and everyone had gotten one except for Zhao Yali.
"Shishi, you don’t have to do that." Luo Yuan saw Wang Shishi taking her knife out and tried to stop her. “You just keep an eye on our surroundings and get some rest."
She had been trying to train to be braver, but she was exhausted after several attacks with her telekinesis. She really needed some time to rest.
Wang Shishi felt relieved as she put her knife back into its sheath.
Suddenly, a man who was being held back suddenly broke through the shelve barriers. He was very fast. In just a few seconds, he had already reached the front of the group. Huo Dong, who was standing there, was not prepared and got hit pretty hard.
Everyone was in shock. A few of the women even screamed, but it was to no avail. The next second, the man opened his mouth, which was full of sharp teeth, and tried to bite Huo Dong’s throat.
Just as Huo Dong’ mind went blank and he started to feel hopeless, he heard the sound of bones breaking, and felt blood splattering on his face. The mutated man’s head had been broken by a strong hand.
Huo Dong’s heart was beating very fast, and his face looked pale. When he got over the initial shock, he realized it was Chen Xianfeng who had saved his life.
Everyone was surprised. After saving his life, Chen Xianfeng had gone back and sat in the corner quietly without looking at Huo Dong.
Luo Yuan put down his knife. Suddenly, he noticed that there was something sneaking out of the brain of the mutated man and scrambling away at a fast speed.
It was a 10-centimeter white worm that looked like a centipede. Both sides of its body were covered by fine legs.
Luo Yuan quickly remembered what it was.
“I see. No wonder all these mutated beasts and men look numb. They were all being controlled by this worm.”
Luo Yuan had seen it before. It was the tentacle crypt worm. It was not a strong creature, but it specialized in living parasitically in other creatures’ brains and controlling the hosts through their central nervous system.
When he realized that the worm was trying to escape, he quickly ran forward and stepped on it to kill it.
Suddenly, something strange happened. All the mutated beasts grew restless, and turned around and aimed at Luo Yuan. They moved at a faster speed until Luo Yuan could feel countless mutated beasts heading towards him.
Luo Yuan realized something in shock. The tentacle crypt worms were not working individually. They were linked with each other like a big network. Each tentacle crypt worm was a link, and together they formed an invisible, yet strong chain.
They were indeed horrible creatures. Amid the current competitive environment, they tended to grow as a group of high intelligence creatures by giving up independent life. They were intelligent enough to protect themselves, and it would be extremely destructive to the world if they were to reproduce on a larger scale.