Chapter 189: Territory

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The massive commotion still echoed behind them; as the SUV and motorcycles drove far away, the roaring behind gradually faded.

"Are you all okay?"

Lin Xian pressed his communicator.

"We're fine," came the voices of Shu Qin and Da Lou.

At that moment, the dark tide of the horizon flashed with mysterious light, and darkness instantly engulfed the entire town.

Above, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

All of them immediately tensed up, haunted by last night's experience of grotesque creatures crawling over the train; their eyes constantly scanned the surrounding darkness.

The SUV's headlights and the motorcycles' lights sporadically pierced the darkness of the town's streets, but surprisingly, no grotesque creatures attacked; the entire street was silent and desolate except for the echoing roar of engines.

"Lin Team Leader, what was that just now?"

Shu Qin's voice came through the communicator; Lin Xian breathed heavily, riding fast as he replied: "If I'm not mistaken, what's inside that chemical plant is a massive parasitic monster—not a Blood Calamity Plant, nor any special object that repels grotesques. The reason those outside grotesques couldn't get in is because… the entire area within several kilometers around this town…"

"Is its territory!"

On the SUV, Shu Qin and Da Lou both turned pale.

Lin Xian cursed inwardly—Ding Qing's so-called bone worm had definitely not been a gift. He'd counted on Lin Xian going to that chemical plant. Though he'd pretended to warn him not to go, he'd deliberately withheld the real situation—it was a perfect scheme to use someone else's knife to kill!

Because this guy had saved Kiki and teamed up with him to kill the white inverted monster, Lin Xian had doubted whether the parasitic worm in the glass vial could truly prevent pseudo-humans from invading, but he hadn't shown it outright—he'd planned to let Director Ding study it first. He never expected trouble to strike so soon.

"Lin Team Leader, watch out."

At that moment, the communicator crackled; Lin Xian snapped back to attention, raised his gaze, and immediately slammed on the motorcycle's brakes.

SCREECH~

The screech of emergency braking filled the street. Lin Xian stopped, his eyes alert as he scanned the houses lining both sides of the road, slowly drawing his rifle from behind his back.

Around them, dozens of faint candlelights flickered weakly in the houses—just as they'd seen via drone last night.

But strangely, the street was utterly silent, and those houses showed no signs of habitation.

Lin Xian released the brake and drove slowly forward, his gaze sweeping past each lit window.

Then he noticed: in each candlelit window, a black silhouette stood motionless—and as he drew closer, those silhouettes slowly moved toward the windowpanes.

Lin Xian's pupils contracted. Suddenly, he saw a pale, expressionless man step out of the shadows and stand at the window, staring at him with empty eyes.

Then his mouth slowly curled into a grotesque smile.

Pseudo-human!

In an instant, Lin Xian felt a chill run through his body. Everyone looked up—across the town's streets, in every window lit by candlelight, human shapes began appearing.

They were male and female, old and young, dressed like ordinary humans.

Some looked lifelike; others wore loose, sagging skin, with twisted red worms visible through the gaps in their flesh—grotesque, as if their human skins had been poorly sewn on.

"Go, now!"

Countless eerie gazes from the windows along the street pinned them with icy dread. Lin Xian floored the throttle and sped away with the SUV, racing out of the town.

At the Rain Town freight platform, the Infinite Train's carriages glowed with warm light. Chen Sixuan stood on the rooftop of Car 2, sniper rifle in hand, watching anxiously as the approaching headlights drew near. Sha Sha, Lu Xingchen, Miao Lu, and others waited outside, ready to provide cover and support. WHIR!

The SUV and motorcycles sped onto the platform. The ramp for Car 11 had been lowered in advance; Da Lou expertly drove the SUV aboard, and Lin Xian and Kiki followed with the motorcycle.

Once the ramp rose and the cockpit door sealed shut, Lin Xian finally exhaled.

"Are you all okay?"

Chen Sixuan descended from the firing pod, closed the rooftop hatch, and said anxiously:

Lin Xian glanced at his several scrapes and shook his head: "Lucky."

He scanned the rear carriages and asked Chen Sixuan: "What about you?"

"We found a lot of stuff in those warehouses," Sha Sha stepped forward. "We didn't encounter any monsters. Sister Chen said you ran into pseudo-humans, so we panicked and ran straight to the train, waiting for you to come back."

Lin Xian nodded, relief washing over him.

His judgment had been right—places like this weren't safe for untrained civilians with unknown combat ability. Letting them explore would only turn them into cannon fodder, adding nothing but casualties.

"So what do we do now? It's dark—should we leave?" Chen Sixuan asked, worried.

Hearing Lin Xian describe those human-like monsters had left her deeply uneasy—this fear surpassed even that of the spider- and insect-like creatures.

!

Lin Xian took a few breaths, flipped open the sunshade, and stared out the window at the dark platform and the town's silhouette swallowed by night. His expression turned grave: "We observe first. If the parasitic monster doesn't follow, our best option is to wait here until dawn. If it does come, we leave immediately. Everyone, be ready—we might depart at any moment."

"Understood."

Everyone responded. Lin Xian instructed Shu Qin, Da Lou, and others to inspect every carriage. Chen Sixuan headed to the cockpit, pre-activated the train's limiters, and stationed herself there, ready to depart at a moment's notice.

The night was bleak. The appearance of pseudo-humans had filled the train with murmurs and anxiety. Surrounded by this town of pseudo-humans and some parasitic entity, everyone stared at the darkness outside—the eerie feeling was even stronger than last night.

Lin Xian entered the cockpit and saw Chen Sixuan sitting rigidly, her face etched with tension. He comforted her: "Don't be too tense. We're still safe on the train. I encountered them yesterday with Kiki—except for that giant parasitic monster in the chemical plant, the pseudo-humans aren't strong fighters. As long as we stay cautious, we'll be fine."

"I know," Chen Sixuan sighed, her gaze heavy. "But I'm thinking—if these things appear elsewhere, how many convoys will fall victim? And they can move during the day too."

Lin Xian mused: "Not necessarily. So far, all pseudo-humans seem controlled by some kind of parasite, likely tied to that giant grotesque in the chemical plant. They might be confined to a limited range."

"I hope so," Chen Sixuan nodded. "By the way, Director Ding seems busy—should you go check on her?"

"I was just going to find her."

Lin Xian felt he needed to inform Director Ding about the parasitic entity.

But as Lin Xian turned to leave, Chen Sixuan suddenly grabbed his wrist: "Lin Xian, look!"

Lin Xian spun around—outside the cockpit window, a shadow was swiftly approaching the platform. And from its form, it wasn't running—it was floating.

He instantly paled, ready to act—when the dark figure entered the range of the headlights, a familiar face filled with anger appeared before Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan.

It was Kiki!

She flew rapidly to the window, her face pale, cheeks puffed out as she shouted loudly outside:

"Lin Xian, you bastard! Why did you come back without waiting for me?!"

(End of Chapter)