In the deep, silent sewer, Ling Mo and Xu Shuhan pressed tightly against the corner, their eyes fixed nervously on the darkness ahead. In those brief seconds, every sound around them seemed amplified. The bubbling noise from the silt beneath their feet, the distant, indistinct dripping of water, and even some unidentifiable faint rustlings… Suddenly, a particularly clear sound pierced the darkness-
“Plop!”
Xu Shuhan froze for a moment, then glanced upward. Although she couldn’t see Ling Mo’s expression from this angle, she could feel his faint breath on the top of her head. Meanwhile, his arm seemed to tighten slightly, pressing his palm firmly against her lips.
“Surprisingly warm, and I can feel the blood flowing beneath his skin… So close, I can even hear his heartbeat… Is the human body’s temperature really this high?” Xu Shuhan found herself drifting into idle thoughts but quickly pulled herself back to reality.
“No, no! Biting or licking is out of the question! Stay calm!” Xu Shuhan pressed her lips together tightly, her chest rising and falling as she glanced toward the direction of the sound. “What is it? If it doesn’t show up soon, I won’t be able to hold on!”
Ling Mo, staring into the darkness, seemed oblivious to her internal struggle. As the “plop” sound echoed again, he subtly pressed Xu Shuhan’s shoulder, and they both crouched down.
“Huh…”
At first, she thought Ling Mo intended to hide. But this stretch of the sewer was a straight line, with no apparent places to conceal themselves. Crouching down only made them smaller targets, not invisible. However, once crouched, Xu Shuhan awkwardly realized her initial thought was too simplistic…
Ling Mo’s breathing steadied beside her, and she sensed a faint energy fluctuation. When she looked toward the ground, she noticed Ling Mo’s fingers hovering above the silt.
“So he’s trying to probe ahead… using the silt as cover? But that must make probing much harder,” Xu Shuhan thought, taking a quiet breath. “The closer to the ground I am, the clearer the sounds should become…”
“Plop…”
The sound’s frequency was slow, but its volume increased rapidly. Initially, it was like a faint insect chirp, but after a few steps, it sounded like something heavy stepping into the silt. Just from the sound, it was clear that whatever was coming wasn’t Yuwen Xuan.
So where was Yuwen Xuan? He should have been ahead of them, yet something was approaching from the direction he had vanished… Had he encountered this “thing”? If so, what was his current situation?
Xu Shuhan frowned, unable to ask anything at that moment. Ling Mo seemed calm, but as time passed, she felt his palm growing warmer…
Ling Mo held his breath, waiting silently… His tentacle lay hidden less than thirty meters away, ready to strike based on the situation. For Zombies or Humanoid Monsters, thirty meters was enough to see clearly. However, with their crouched posture, their reaction would be slower than Xu Shuhan’s, due to the difference in perspective.
“Come on…” Ling Mo adjusted his mental state, eyes fixed on the darkness…
“Plop…”
The sound quickly closed to within tens of meters. In such a quiet environment, it was as if the sound was right next to them. He even felt as if it was coming from behind… The oppressive, eerie atmosphere could easily skew one’s judgment, a significant human vulnerability…
“Plop!”
Suddenly, the sound stopped.
“Why did it stop!” Ling Mo’s pupils contracted.
He sensed the presence standing in the darkness, about forty meters away, watching them. His tentacle waited just ten meters from it. Yet, at this crucial moment, the intruder halted.
Did it spot them?
“No… Without prior knowledge of someone being here, it couldn’t have noticed this corner so quickly. The sewer air is so murky, visibility isn’t that high… If it had spotted us, it would have attacked… Why…” Ling Mo’s mind raced with thoughts, then he gritted his teeth and suddenly stood up.
The moment he rose, everything changed!
“Plop plop!”
The sound abruptly reversed direction, retreating the way it came!
“What the heck!”
Ling Mo was dumbfounded… Was it toying with him? He hadn’t even done anything, and this creature’s crisis response was too sharp!
Xu Shuhan was equally bewildered. What was going on? All sound, no sight? At least show yourself!
“Should we follow?” Xu Shuhan asked, knowing it was a redundant question. Whether they pursued or not, they had to head in that direction…
Ling Mo gritted his teeth and nodded: “Yes!”
First, Xia Na and the Zombie Puppet were lured down, then Yuwen Xuan, and finally him and Xu Shuhan… “I want to see what exactly is causing this chaos!” Ling Mo muttered angrily. ṚΆNȪ𝐛˧
“Causing chaos…” Xu Shuhan felt uneasy but said nothing, silently wiping her mouth.
“What’s wrong?” Ling Mo noticed and asked casually.
Now you notice!
Xu Shuhan was speechless… She finally got some attention, but why couldn’t she feel happy about it?
“Nothing…” Should I tell you I was wiping drool?
“Then hold on.” Fortunately, Ling Mo didn’t press further. He cracked his neck and sped up, following the sound.
Xu Shuhan followed closely, her expression growing more complex.
“What lies beneath here? And those Monsters, where do they come from, and how do they survive…” The persistent “plop” ahead masked their footsteps, but as her feet sank and lifted from the silt, Xu Shuhan’s unease deepened…