Chapter 187: Bone Worm

"Huh, what... what is this?"

Lin Xian frowned, picked up the glass test tube in his fingers, and saw the worm inside curling weakly.

"It's called a bone worm," said the woman named Duan Min at that moment. "The name doesn't matter—it was found inside these pseudo-human spinal bones. With this on you, you can effectively ward off pseudo-human intrusion."

Lin Xian looked at the two: "Have you been here long?"

"Not long—about a week," Ding Qing kicked the dead white upside-down creature on the ground. "Like you, we got chased here by weird entities at night."

"A week? And you stayed this long in such a dangerous place?" Kiki looked puzzled.

"We..."

The woman didn't finish. Ding Qing cut her off: "Let's talk outside. Places without light are eerie—something else might pop up any second."

After speaking, Ding Qing shook his long spear and walked straight toward the emergency exit.

Lin Xian and Kiki exchanged a glance, then followed him out.

Clang~

The cinema's fire door was kicked open. Ding Qing and the other three stepped out. All of them reeked of blood—the fight had been perilous.

The most troubling thing about these unknown weird entities is their unpredictable methods. Though not large, they were the fastest things Lin Xian had ever seen—long limbs like a spider, crawling to your face in an instant. Most people wouldn't even have time to react.

The afternoon sun was blinding. Behind the cinema, a mountain off-road vehicle was parked—it looked like they had arrived here after Lin Xian.

"Where's your convoy?" Lin Xian asked, noticing the heavy armor on the vehicle.

"We found our own temporary shelter. No need to tell you where," Ding Qing smiled faintly. "But your train? Quite the show. We spotted you the moment you arrived last night. Good call—not entering the town after dark. Young as you are, you've got the bearing of a leader."

Kiki asked: "So the people lighting lamps in town last night were you?"

"Impossible," said the woman Duan Min immediately. "Do you think normal people light lamps like that? Those were pseudo-humans. And at night, they also..."

She stopped mid-sentence, as if holding back. "Anyway, it's dangerous at night. I advise you to leave this place soon."

Lin Xian weighed the parasite vial in his hand: "Can I ask how you discovered this thing's function?"

Ding Qing's gaze sharpened as he looked at Lin Xian. "Kid, we're all smart. Do I really need to spell it out?"

"Oh~" Kiki drew out the sound. "This place is so dangerous, yet you stayed a week. You must know why it blocks the night weird entities, right?"

Neither spoke. The answer was obvious—their goal matched Lin Xian's.

During their escape, encountering such a strange place, any normal person would investigate. Compared to the dangers outside, this town at least showed no signs of corpse waves or rampant weird entities.

Ding Qing didn't hide it: "I advise you not to be too curious about the exact reason. Leave while you still can. You saw the danger just now—these pseudo-humans don't care about day or night. And there are things hiding in the shadows. If you plan to move around this town, carry the bone worm. We lost several brothers to learn that lesson." Pseudo-humans...

Lin Xian pondered. The creature wearing human skin had genuinely unsettled him.

Especially that female pseudo-human—he and Kiki hadn't recognized her. The only odd thing was that she didn't speak. Not even a throat sound. Kiki also noticed her breathing and heartbeat were strange. Now he thought about it, it probably wasn't a heartbeat at all...

"So you're planning to leave?" Lin Xian asked as Ding Qing climbed into the vehicle.

Ding Qing studied Lin Xian, paused, then said: "Kid, I know what you're thinking. You believe this town holds something special that blocks night weird entities. But I tell you—it doesn't. Still, I know you won't believe me. So..."

He pointed with his finger toward the chemical plant outside town: "If you're truly curious, go there. But don't say I didn't warn you—it's dangerous."

With that, Ding Qing signaled to the woman. The mountain off-road vehicle's engine roared to life and vanished around the street corner.

"I thought the people lighting lamps at night were you," Kiki said. "Now that you mention it, those candlelights were strange indeed. But who sent the message through the intercom? And who changed the track switch for us ahead of time?"

Lin Xian's gaze turned toward the chemical plant: "We'll know when we get there."

"You want to go check it out?" Kiki looked at him curiously. "Aren't you afraid of traps?"

Lin Xian pulled out his communicator, contacted Chen Sixuan and Shu Qin, shared the pseudo-human information with them, then told Shu Qin and the building to come over. He planned to investigate the chemical plant.

!

He and Kiki had originally intended to head there next. But this sudden appearance of the Diamond Team, plus the pseudo-human encounter, made Lin Xian cautious. Normally, he'd have ordered the convoy to leave immediately. But he was now deeply intrigued by the phenomenon that blocked night weird entities.

"We can't trust everything they said," Lin Xian said, walking straight to the cinema entrance and finding their motorcycle.

"You noticed too?" Kiki said.

Lin Xian's expression turned grave: "Do you really think they suddenly showed up just to save us?"

He held up the two glass test tubes, watching the slowly curling parasites inside. "If what they said is true—that this thing wards off pseudo-humans—then they're either searching for, or once searched for, the secret behind this town's immunity to weird entities."

Lin Xian started the motorcycle, letting Kiki sit behind him. "No one could ignore this phenomenon. This town must hold a secret. But to be safe, let's go while it's still daylight. Use the drone to scout first."

Kiki nodded: "Mm~ Good thinking. That's exactly what I thought too."

She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and called out loudly: "Driver, let's go. I never want to come back to this cinema again."

Vrrrm~

The motorcycle sped off.

On top of the town's tallest clock tower, a pair of binoculars glinted faintly. A young man watched the motorcycle race toward the freight platform beyond town. He spoke into his radio: "Brother Ding, they're heading for the chemical plant. That's the fourth group this week. Didn't we warn them?"

A hoarse voice crackled back: "Let them go. Ignore them. They came—they can't leave now."

(End of Chapter)