freenovelworld Chapter 352 Lurking
Chapter 352 Lurking
The shelter was quiet and peaceful at night, with moonlight spilling onto the ground and enveloping everything in a soft, silvery glow.
Exhausted from the day, Mo Ming was slowly calming down in his room after the nightmare that had shaken his soul. A fine layer of cold sweat still clung to his forehead.
However, the night outside the shelter was not as peaceful as it appeared...
Today, the Fifth Division is responsible for patrolling the perimeter of the shelter to ensure the safety of the territory.
This seemingly peaceful territory harbors too many unpredictable dangers.
However, no one expected that an unfamiliar crisis was quietly brewing at that moment.
Zhang Yuanshan is a member of the Fifth Division. He is meticulous and conscientious in his work and is deeply trusted by the team.
But at this moment, he was overwhelmed by drowsiness. He leaned against a large tree, yawned, and casually looked around. The surroundings were unusually quiet; apart from the chirping of insects and the sound of wind rustling through the leaves, there was nothing unusual.
"This place is too peaceful."
Zhang Yuanshan stretched and muttered to himself. After standing for a while, he couldn't help but scratch his stomach, thinking that he might as well walk a little further away to find a place to relieve himself.
He took a few steps outside the regular patrol area, thinking that it was just a quick trip to "relieve himself," a matter of only a few minutes, and there shouldn't be any problem.
He left his post and walked into a slightly secluded grove of trees. The trees there were taller than usual, their branches intertwined, blocking out almost all the moonlight, and the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat gloomy.
Just as Zhang Yuanshan was about to open the sluice gate to release the water, he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet become loose.
He looked down and vaguely saw a black crack winding around his feet. The crack wasn't large, but it emanated a faint, almost imperceptible chill.
"What happened? I didn't even notice this crack before..." Zhang Yuanshan squatted down in surprise and reached out to brush away some dead leaves and loose soil from the ground.
The pitch-black crack stretched endlessly from the ground into the distance. As Zhang Yuanshan gazed at it, a sudden, inexplicable unease crept into his heart. This crack, like a narrow crevice in hell, exuded an eerie, indescribable aura.
"Perhaps it was a hole dug by a wild animal?" He tried to convince himself with reason, but just as he was about to get up and leave, a faint whisper came from the crack.
"Huh? Who's there?"
Zhang Yuanshan suddenly turned his head, gripping his weapon tightly with wariness. His gaze swept around, finding no one there, yet the whisper still lingered in his ears, hoarse and deep, as if coming from the depths of the earth.
"Zhang... Yuan... Shan..." The voice was like a leech, softly calling his name word by word.
Hearing his name uttered in a low voice, Zhang Yuanshan felt a chill run down his spine, and even his throat went dry. He swallowed hard, and his palms were sweating profusely.
Despite his body's instinct to get away from the place, a mixture of curiosity and fear left him frozen in place.
"Who's playing a trick on me? Stop joking!" Zhang Yuanshan shouted, trying to sound calm, but his voice sounded so small in the boundless darkness.
Suddenly, a faint white light shone through the crack. The light was extremely weak, like a star twinkling deep underground, yet it possessed a strange allure. Zhang Yuanshan was involuntarily drawn to the light, lowering his head to approach the crack, wanting to see it more clearly.
Just as his eyes were about to touch the crack, the white light suddenly transformed into a blurry ghost face that shot out from the crack! The ghost face had no facial features, only a gaping mouth split in two, like a blood-stained smile, ferocious and eerie.
Zhang Yuanshan's pupils suddenly contracted. Before he could react, the ghost face transformed into a thin wisp of white smoke, piercing his forehead like a needle tip!
"Ah—!" Zhang Yuanshan groaned, but quickly stopped shouting. His pupils gradually dilated, his tense body gradually relaxed, and a look of confusion and ignorance even appeared on his face.
A few seconds later, Zhang Yuanshan's pupils returned to normal, but a strange chill lingered in his eyes. He slowly stood up, his movements stiff yet precise, like a manipulated puppet.
"So... this is what a mortal body is like." He spoke softly, but his voice became hoarse and deep, as if the two of them were speaking at the same time.
Zhang Yuanshan stood quietly in place, seemingly adapting to his new body, while the crack began to slowly close, as if it had never existed. When the moonlight shone down again, only withered leaves and weeds remained on the ground; there was nothing unusual about it.
After a long while, he stretched his neck and joints, and his stiff movements finally became more fluid. "Not perfect yet, but that doesn't matter. As long as I can find it first..." he muttered to himself, his tone filled with a fanaticism and greed.
Then, Zhang Yuanshan turned around and walked towards the shelter as if nothing had happened. His steps were steady, and he even hummed the patrol tune he had heard during the day, looking no different from usual.
A short while later, he pushed open the wooden door of the dormitory and entered the rest room of the fifth squad member. Another squad member beside him opened his sleepy eyes, yawned, and asked, "Old Zhang? You're done patrolling?"
Zhang Yuanshan gave a faint smile and replied calmly, "Yes, it just ended."
The team member lay down and went back to sleep, asking no further questions. However, he didn't notice that a flash of white light, like a flame, flickered deep within Zhang Yuanshan's eyes.
A crisis is brewing!
That night, the shelter remained peaceful, but lurking dangers had already quietly infiltrated its interior, hiding among familiar faces.
Zhang Yuanshan's demeanor and behavior were completely normal, and even his closest companions didn't notice anything amiss. He even proactively checked his equipment and chatted with his comrades, acting as if he were just an ordinary night patrolman.
But what kind of storm will the "thing" hidden inside his body eventually bring is a terrible answer that Mo Ming and his companions will have to face in the future.
At this moment, Mo Ming was completely unaware of this hidden danger.
He was still processing the mental nightmare that had struck him not long ago. Everything seemed calm on the surface, but the real trouble had already seeped into the darkness—like a venomous snake lurking, ready to bare its fangs at any moment.
At this moment, inside the Golden Sword Emperor Bamboo Forest.
The moonlight was obscured by the towering bamboo forest, leaving only faint streaks that fell on the ground covered with golden bamboo leaves. But deep within the bamboo forest, a suffocating sense of oppression permeated the air.
The Golden Sword Panda sat cross-legged, its robust body leaning against a thick and ancient Golden Sword Emperor Bamboo. Its fur was as white as snow, but its black markings were as deep as night.
At this moment, its clear black and white pupils were slightly closed, as if it were deep in thought, or as if it had entered a deep meditative state.
The surroundings were deathly silent; even the chirping of insects had disappeared, with only the occasional rustling sound of a breeze passing through the bamboo forest.
However, in this quiet atmosphere, the air suddenly became heavy. The spiritual pressure emanating from the depths of the bamboo forest imperceptibly permeated everything around, causing the small creatures in the forest to retreat, as if taking a step closer would result in being completely crushed by this hidden power.
Suddenly, the Golden Sword Panda's eyelids twitched violently, and its pair of expressive black and white pupils snapped open as if the stars had shifted!
Its gaze swept across the distant bamboo forest like a sharp blade that could pierce through everything. Its previously slightly lazy expression vanished instantly, replaced by an ancient and awe-inspiring aura of majesty.
"Heh..." It curled its lips slightly, its gaze deep and cold. "A bunch of maggots, finally couldn't hold back anymore?"