Apocalypse: My Apartment Has Traits - Chapter 172 - 149: Black Sludge
Chapter 172: Chapter 149: Black Sludge
“Black mud?” The few people were taken aback.
“Yes, a mass of black mud,” Chen Xinting grit his teeth, nodding forcefully as he added, “And that shade of black is very eerie. Once you see it with your own eyes, you’ll immediately sense something’s off about it.”
He then recounted his ordeal in detail.
According to his description, the black mud did not resemble any known mutant animal, it didn’t even feel like a living entity.
At the time, he didn’t get a clear view of the Black Mud Lord.
When he encountered it at the hospital, the black mud surged toward him like a roaring wave, not only instantly collapsing the entire hospital building, but also staining everything it touched, including the ground, with that unsettling black hue.
“I felt like I was falling into a death-filled swamp… and vaguely…”
Fear lingered in Chen Xinting’s eyes as his voice trembled:
“I seemed to hear many people speaking softly… but couldn’t make out the exact words.”
The listeners frowned, varying expressions on their faces.
They didn’t doubt Chen Xinting was telling the truth; the description was just so bizarre and without having witnessed it themselves, it was hard to imagine.
An immediately eerie black?
A deathly swamp?
The sound of people speaking?
Su Lin similarly frowned, unable to form a clear picture in his mind.
Why, in the end, wasn’t the Lord a mutant beast, but a bizarre mass of black mud?
Reflecting on the previously appearing flock of mutant birds…
The wilderness indeed seemed to be getting more peculiar.
“It seems something significant is happening deep within the wilderness… could it be that so-called empty cavity? Has some mutation occurred in the central area?” Su Lin pondered silently.
The village leaders wore looks of extreme heaviness, feeling fortunate for choosing to follow Wuyin Village.
“From here on out, we must do everything we can to assist Wuyin in eliminating this Lord! And after that, we’ll have to find a way to get Su Can to help, and then there’s that damn aromatic wood…”
Xu Zhong felt a massive headache.
Quanzhou Village had nearly gone bankrupt over that blueprint, yet the Giant Beast Hunting Beehive remained incomplete, and they’ve now stumbled into this strange event.
When it rains, it pours!
“This place is temporarily safe; everyone rest on site! Tendon Lock or higher martial artists, stay vigilant, give the Hunting Group time to recover!”
Having heard Chen Xinting’s account, Su Qi gravely issued the order.
“The situation is extremely bizarre, something unknown has happened deep in the wilderness. Even though we are well-established, we must not be complacent or rash. Once rested, we’ll bypass the mountains to enter the inner circle, hunting down the Lord’s whereabouts.” He added.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The Hunting Group, feeling as if they had been granted an amnesty, leaned on their weapons and panted on the spot.
Besides the wounded Liu Jun and Ye Xin’an, other Tendon Lock martial artists spread out, vigilantly patrolling the surroundings.
Thirty Giant Beast-Hunting Bees hovered in the air, performing reconnaissance tasks.
Xu Zhong looked up at the reassuring swarm of bees in the sky, his eyes filled with envy.
At this time, Su Lin found his grandfather and second uncle, pulling them aside.
Having been busy since morning, with his feet barely touching the ground, he finally found the chance to relay the intel he’d heard from Song Yiyi to the two of them.
“Second Uncle, have you ever heard of the term ’empty cavity’?” Su Lin asked.
“…Never heard of it.” Su Qi frowned, his temple throbbing, a familiar sense of oppression surged once again.
This state of ignorance jolted his memory of his junior brother Zhang Xin’s harsh critique—he’d been out of touch for too long, lagging behind the times.
A heavy sense of powerlessness weighed on his heart.
Su Can, keenly sensing his son’s dejection, clapped him on the shoulder robustly, laughing boldly:
“Look at that sour face of yours, what is there to fear? Your old man here is now a First Transformation expert! And your nephew commands such an awesome swarm of bees! If even our village can’t withstand the wilderness’s dangers, then all the village camps worldwide might as well pack up!
“Scared of what? After we kill that stupid Lord, we’ll go check out the central area, see if there’s really an empty cavity, and what the hell is hidden inside!”
Su Qi hesitated briefly, still slightly indecisive:
“It’s too risky.”
“So you’d willingly stay ignorant?”
Su Can gave him a sidelong glance, his tone leaving no room for doubt:
“Kid, no matter how you act tough, you’re still my son! I can guess what you’re up to anytime.
“Since you want to see, then see! If we discover something even I can’t manage, we’ll plan ahead, work on upgrading our camp, and cling tightly to Zhoushan Town’s support!”
Su Lin thought for a moment and also agreed with his grandfather’s idea:
“Grandpa’s right. If that empty cavity truly poses a threat to our village, we must prepare in advance, at all costs develop the village, strive to upgrade and get away from this wilderness sooner.”
Seeing both the grandfather and grandson resolute, Su Qi gritted his teeth, finally making his decision:
“Alright! We’ll do as you two suggest!”
After saying this, Su Qi let out a long sigh of relief.
Deep in his heart, that trace of unwillingness ultimately prevailed.
After all – he is the teacher’s student!
…
The Hunting Group seized this precious time, resting on the spot for about five minutes.
During this break, Su Lin counted the number of people in the team, and found three people missing, shaking his head in sigh.
The Giant Beast-Hunting Bees were not idle during the beast swarm’s assault.
Through the House Title Deed, he gave commands to the bee swarm to snipe at the beast swarm rushing over from afar at the sound.
Even the old man made several moves, saving a dozen lives.
Although several leaders from the villages were slacking off, they somewhat played a role.
But even so, just one team suffered the loss of three people.
Combining all three teams of the Hunting Group, the total losses probably neared double digits.
Which shows how frenzied the beast swarm just now was, almost like the Shadow Beasts on the night of the beast tide!
Su Lin warily scanned his surroundings again.
The dead silence and peace of this mountain area, instead, exuded a creepy eeriness.
A few minutes passed, and there wasn’t a sound of any living creature at the foot of the mountain, only the sound of the wind and the heavy breathing of his companions in his ears.
Su Lin’s nostrils moved slightly, his brow furrowing tighter, he couldn’t smell a thing!
No rusty or decaying scent of the apocalypse, and none of the peculiar stench of the Mutant Beasts.
Immediately, he belatedly discovered something even more amiss:
Since setting foot in the depths of the wilderness, they hadn’t found a single piece of supplies?!
The air was filled with a strange, indescribable atmosphere, the heavy silence was suffocating.
The members of the Hunting Group were feeling deeply uneasy.
Only when their gaze fell upon the old man’s mountain-like silhouette and the bee swarm circling in the air did they barely feel a slight sense of stability.
“Move out!”
After the brief break, feeling the atmosphere around him becoming increasingly gloomy and oppressive, Su Qi decisively gave the order to continue advancing.
They carefully proceeded along the foot of Dragon Head Mountain, officially stepping into the inner circle area.
The mist became increasingly dense, and the only things in sight were the barren, treeless mountainside and the peculiar grey-black jagged rocks characteristic of the deep wilderness.
The gravity underfoot seemed to be stealthily increasing as well, with each step feeling particularly heavy.
As they advanced, only the sound of their own footsteps echoed through the dead silence.
Even Su Lin felt some indescribable terror.
Suddenly, Su Lin’s sharp gaze pierced through the dense fog, capturing a vague silhouette of a structure not far ahead.
Upon getting closer, it became clear that it seemed to be an abandoned small children’s playground in a park.
As the Hunting Group approached, the scenery gradually became clear.
Swings, seesaws, slides… these facilities that once bore children’s laughter now lay lifelessly scattered.
“… How long have we been walking?” Ye Xin’an looked at the dilapidated playground, with a somewhat dazed look in his eyes.
“More than twenty minutes.” Su Lin calmly answered, he had been silently calculating the time.
Su Qi, walking at the forefront of the team, had his brows tightly knit.
After advancing for nearly half an hour within the inner circle, they had almost circled to the other side of Dragon Head Mountain, about to exit the range of Dragon Head Mountain Park, yet they still found no trace of the Lord.
Just when he felt puzzled, an extremely faint yet distinctly audible anomaly in this dead silence entered his ears.
Gurgle——
The sound was weak, but in the absolute silence, any Martial Artist could hear it clearly.
The Hunting Group members who heard the anomaly tensed up, instantly on high alert, scanning their surroundings vigilantly.
Chen Xinting, who had already suffered great pain, had his Adam’s apple roll violently, his breathing noticeably heavier.
Suddenly, his pupils shrank to needlepoint size——he saw that the slide not far away seemed to… move slightly!
“The slide… is sinking?” Xu Zhong exclaimed in surprise.
Su Lin’s heart leapt, focusing his gaze, he saw to his shock that all facilities within the children’s playground were slowly sinking!
“Look at the ground!!”
A sharp scream pierced through the silence!
This scream was like lighting a powder keg, the atmosphere, suppressed to the extreme, exploded instantly!
Through the thick fog, Su Lin clearly saw——
On the playground’s ground, a heart-pounding pitch-blackness was spreading!
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
