Chapter 293: Beauty Like a Flower (Thirty) (Two-in-One)
“Beep, beep, emergency alert!”
Suddenly, the alarm on the spaceship blared, and all the indicator lights flashed dazzling red, signaling a warning.
“Beep, beep, emergency alert!”
“An anomalous object is entering this planet’s atmosphere. After comparing with the database—”
“The interstellar network has been disconnected, and data cannot be queried.”
“All personnel, please take emergency protective measures immediately!”
“The spaceship is preparing to activate its defense System!”
“Repeat, an anomalous object has been detected entering this planet’s atmosphere. Please quickly enter protective status!”
“Alert! The anomalous object will reach the ground in 18 seconds!”
“All personnel, please take emergency protective measures immediately!”
Liu Sheng felt a great sense of unease after hearing this long string of repeated alarms.
It seemed this was the military’s method. How could they arrive here so quickly?
“There is a jump channel they set up near this planet, so they can arrive quickly,” the world explained.
“Understood.” Liu Sheng immediately understood, recalling her experience of returning to the Star Alliance Empire with Snake Taoist.
“Now the most crucial thing is, where is the landing point?”
To this, the optical computer replied: “The landing point coordinates are latitude 23.5° N, longitude 45.8° E.”
“Open the map,” Liu Sheng commanded.
“As you command, Commander. The landing point has been marked for you.”
Thus, a holographic projection of the entire planet appeared in the command room, with a blinking red dot appearing somewhere on the planet.
Liu Sheng looked closely and immediately recognized it as the city where Little Tentacle and Jiang Caibin were located.
Confirming her guess, it seemed they were truly coming for them.
“Start the spaceship and fly to the landing point.”
“Commander, based on the suspicious nature of the anomalous object, it is not advisable to proceed.”
“Maintain distance and observe.” Liu Sheng decided to adopt half of the optical computer’s suggestion.
“Understood, Commander.”
The spaceship started, and Liu Sheng looked out the porthole, only to see a scorching white-hot trail streaking across the sky, falling into the city.
...
The anomalous object’s descent was like a burning meteor, streaking across the sky, accompanied by a loud “bang” as it crashed into the city, landing in the center of Qingshui Village.
The residents of Qingshui Village were drawn by this sudden anomaly and gathered towards the center of the crash.
As the thick smoke and dust gradually dispersed, a massive deep pit appeared before their eyes. The surrounding houses were crushed into twisted shapes, tilting towards the bottom of the pit. One could vaguely see the flesh and blood of people who hadn't managed to escape, pressed into a mass, with blood gushing out to form a winding crimson stream.
At the bottom of the pit was a spherical object emitting an intoxicating purple light, with a silver metallic shell that seemed naturally formed, without a single seam.
Curiosity drove people closer to it. One person bravely approached, reaching out a finger to gently touch its surface.
“Da Niu, how is it?” Others stood at the edge of the pit, asking with great curiosity.
“It’s very smooth and warm. This thing is simply amazing!” Da Niu exclaimed.
Another person then descended.
He was a blacksmith, carefully examining the sphere, praising it incessantly: “This craftsmanship cannot be imitated at all. Could it be a Divine Artifact?”
“And this light, it’s not an earthly light,” Da Niu said, mesmerized.
“You guys are too bold, daring to touch such an extraterrestrial object,” someone warned.
“Haha, it’s fine. Look, I’m perfectly fine,” Da Niu said with a laugh.
Seeing that they were both unharmed, more people jumped down, stepping on the flesh and blood beneath the bricks, approaching the mysterious sphere.
The children of Qingshui Town were the most fearless, excitedly scrambling into the pit, bouncing around the sphere, shouting excitedly.
A small child, emboldened, poked the hard surface of the sphere with a small wooden sword, making a “clanging” sound.
She giggled with delight.
As she poked and poked, suddenly, the surface of the sphere Depression ed, revealing numerous small circular holes. The purple light intensified, and streams of purple Qi sprayed out from the holes.
“What is this...?”
As soon as Da Niu asked this, he was choked by the dense gas, unable to breathe, and coughed on the ground.
The blacksmith next to him was also in the same state, lying on his back, clutching his neck and rolling around.
Everyone gathered around the sphere fell down, coughing violently.
Others were frightened and quickly covered their noses and retreated.
What exactly was this?
Everyone was thinking about this.
Then, they saw an even more shocking scene—those who were coughing suddenly coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and they couldn't stop, eventually even coughing out fragments of their internal organs.
Children were even more helpless, their faces pale and almost suffocating. Their parents or neighbors quickly covered their mouths and noses, crawled down to pick up their children, and moved them away from the sphere.
Others were also rescued one after another.
The people of Qingshui Village spontaneously surrounded the pit, preventing outsiders from entering.
“Cai Bin’s A-niang, isn’t your son working at Liu Shenyi’s Earth Mother Medical Hall? Can you please ask Liu Shenyi to help me see my child?”
A woman holding a child who was constantly coughing and trembling grabbed a distraught woman standing by the roadside, pleading incessantly.
The latter was none other than Jiang Caibin’s A-niang.
She happened to be passing by, and seeing the situation rapidly deteriorating, she was filled with panic and was about to turn and leave, but the woman recognized her and clung to her hand, not letting her go.
Upon hearing this, others also gathered around, pleading.
...
Jiang Caibin, waiting for Little Tentacle’s evolution at the county yamen, naturally also noticed the direction where the meteor fell in Qingshui Village.
Concerned, and seeing no change on Little Tentacle’s side, he decided to go back and check.
After all, his A-niang still lived there.
He had wanted to persuade her to move after he made money, but she was a nostalgic person and refused to leave a place that held beautiful memories of her family.
Now, everyone in the entire county yamen had been controlled by Liu Sheng and him. No one should dare to disturb this place. Even if someone dared to come, they would probably fall into darkness without him having to intervene.
So he conveyed his decision to Liu Sheng through Little Tentacle and rushed towards Qingshui Village.
Halfway there, he heard a commotion ahead, with various shouts, groans, and cries for help rising and falling, and he could vaguely hear gnawing sounds, as if beasts were tearing and biting in their midst.
Filled with an ominous premonition, Jiang Caibin quickened his pace.
As he got closer, the screams became even more piercing, and a nauseating smell of blood permeated the air.
Just as he was feeling uncertain and surprised, a figure whimpered and lunged at him.
Jiang Caibin quickly dodged, composed himself, and then saw that it was Old Li from the house next door.
However, Old Li was now covered in blood, his eyes cloudy, and his body was also covered in bloodstains, his limbs twisted into unnatural shapes.
Something was wrong!
Old Li saw him and suddenly let out a low growl, baring sharp teeth, and lunged at him fiercely, with a crazed bloodlust in his eyes.
Facing such an abnormal Old Li, Jiang Caibin no longer hesitated. He directly drew his long sword and struck at Old Li’s head.
His skills had long been transformed through years of diligent practice, and the stiff-moving Old Li was no match for him.
Thus, the head fell to the ground with a thud, and foul blood splattered.
Jiang Caibin knew something was wrong and became even more anxious, quickly rushing towards his home.
Along the way, he saw more familiar faces that had turned into that terrifying appearance. Regardless of gender, age, or youth, they all became bloodthirsty and crazed, chasing after people who scattered and fled, or tearing at those still struggling and twitching on the ground, having completely lost their humanity.
Jiang Caibin could only raise the sword in his hand and kill these people who had lost their humanity and turned into beasts, one by one.
When he cut down a monstrous person who was biting a child, he was about to say a few words to comfort the child, but the child had already changed and lunged at him.
It seemed that being bitten also caused a transformation.
Jiang Caibin immediately realized this fact and then ended this still young life with a single sword stroke.
When he returned home and saw the front door locked, his heart settled a little.
He leaped over the wall and saw his A-niang huddled in a corner, trembling helplessly.
“A-niang!”
“Cai Bin…” His A-niang’s eyes lit up when she saw him, as if she had found her backbone.
Immediately, her eyes dimmed, like a candle flame extinguished by the wind.
Jiang Caibin’s heart also sank like a lead ball.
“Cai Bin, I… I was bitten.”
Before Jiang Caibin could ask, A-niang had already spoken.
She rolled up her sleeve, revealing shallow tooth marks on her arm, but the skin was already broken and bleeding.
“Aunt Qiu’s child lunged over, and I couldn’t defend myself. Luckily, many people next to me helped block it.”
“The scene was chaotic, like a nightmare. I took the opportunity to run…”
“The bite wasn’t deep, but I think… it’s still hopeless.”
“Sooner or later, I’ll turn into that appearance.”
Jiang Caibin hugged his A-niang, his voice trembling: “A-niang, don’t be afraid, I will save you.”
At this moment, Little Tentacle emerged, gently touched him, and pointed in a direction.
Jiang Caibin understood that Liu Sheng wanted him to go to the Earth Mother Medical Hall.
A glimmer of hope rose in his heart. Could Liu Sheng Jie really save her?
So he quickly carried his A-niang on his back, used his light-body skill, and rushed towards the medical hall.
Along the way, he could feel his mother’s body getting hotter and hotter, trembling constantly, and muttering in delirium.
Jiang Caibin could only keep comforting his A-niang.
Almost there, just hold on a little longer.
The Earth Mother Medical Hall was specially set up near Qingshui Village, and Jiang Caibin, being fast, arrived in no time.
He saw a force field shimmering with a faint blue light covering the Earth Mother Medical Hall. The backyard had been completely crushed, replaced by a gigantic silver structure.
Jiang Caibin guessed that was the so-called “spaceship” Liu Sheng had gone out to find.
A-niang’s condition was getting worse, feeling as if she could mutate at any moment. An anxious Jiang Caibin was about to call out when a thick Tentacle from the medical hall automatically extended, coiling around A-niang on his back and pulling her inside.
Jiang Caibin knew that Liu Sheng had acted, so he calmed down and rushed into the house.
As soon as he entered, he saw Liu Sheng Jie using her Tentacle to control A-niang’s limbs, taking out golden needles, and using her Tentacle to coil and stab them into the acupuncture points on A-niang’s back neck. A-niang immediately fell into a coma, and the gradually appearing ferocious look on her face calmed down.
Hope rose in Jiang Caibin’s heart. Could Liu Sheng Jie really have a solution?
However, that night, Liu Sheng walked out of the room and regretfully shook her head at Jiang Caibin, who was waiting in the courtyard.
Jiang Caibin’s heart ached. He rushed into the room and saw A-niang’s head already rolled on the ground, her eyes fixed in Jiang Caibin’s direction, filled with an unfamiliar, cruel expression.
He wanted to pick up the head, but Liu Sheng stopped him.
“This is a virus, with a chance of spreading through blood.”
“Virus?” Jiang Caibin didn’t understand this concept.
“You can understand it as a plague,” Liu Sheng said with an unreadable expression.
Jiang Caibin’s shock suppressed the grief in his heart. “This, this, what kind of plague is this? It can even make people lose their minds, and it spreads extremely fast. This is too terrifying!”
“It’s my fault. I was too clever for my own good and attracted powers that shouldn’t have appeared.”
A fleeting moment of vulnerability and remorse appeared on Liu Sheng’s face, then quickly vanished.
Her hands clenched tightly, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.
...
Another day passed. Liu Sheng and Jiang Caibin stood on the nameless mountain, their eyes reflecting the raging flames burning in the city.
The firelight devoured the entire sky, and the orange-red flames swept through every corner of the city, consuming all the tragedies and the past sins.
Those ugly-faced people eventually truly became ugly monsters.
But Liu Sheng believed that this was not true retribution.
Thick smoke billowed upwards, mixed with the roar of collapsing buildings and the desperate roars of beasts, like the end of the world had arrived.
Perhaps, it already was the end of the world.
Liu Sheng had seen this scene before.
Jiang Caibin, who had unconsciously burst into tears, wiped away his tears with his sleeve and looked at Liu Sheng beside him.
“Little Tentacle, what will happen?” he asked.
The distant flames reddened her face, casting a deep shadow.
“She is protected by the spaceship’s protective force field, and her Weird Domain can block the invasion of other substances. It should be able to protect her through the evolution process,” Liu Sheng said in a deep voice.
“What about us?”
“The virus has spread out of the city. I need to save people.”
“Aren’t we going up?” Jiang Caibin pointed upwards, indicating the sky.
The ground was too dangerous now; infection and mutation could happen at any time.
“Not yet,” Liu Sheng shook her head. “I want to see what kind of weapon, what kind of power, can destroy a city like this.”
“It might even destroy the entire planet.”
She had a premonition that this research result was very important.
“You can stay here, by Little Tentacle’s side, and avoid some of the danger.”
Jiang Caibin, however, also shook his head.
“No, I will definitely follow Liu Sheng Jie.”
“Since Little Tentacle is temporarily safe, I am relieved.”
“I also want to see what this virus, which can turn so many people into beasts, truly is.”
“Moreover, I want to save people.” Jiang Caibin thought of his A-niang, who had died with her eyes open, and clenched his fists.
“Alright, let’s save as many as we can,” Liu Sheng nodded.
A gentle breeze blew, and flakes of ash fell from the sky. Liu Sheng reached out and caught one, seeing that it was a piece of paper with childish strokes, on which the character “save” (save) was written.
Liu Sheng took a deep breath, clutching the paper tightly in her hand.
Then she turned, and with a few leaps through the forest, she gracefully departed.
“Liu Sheng Jie, wait for me!”
Jiang Caibin shouted, also using his light-body skill to follow her.