Chapter 510: Chapter 378 Different Situations in Different Cities_2
The Brain Bug, aside from its degenerated short limbs hidden beneath its body, had only a proboscis that could extend out to suck nutrients, and its surface was otherwise smooth and devoid of any limbs that could attack or move.
When the short limbs under its body were bitten off by the carriers, the Brain Bug couldn’t help but scream in agony—it was unclear if the scream was due to the pain from its severed limbs or the fear of knowing it could no longer escape danger.
No matter what happened in other cities, Pengcheng had once again enjoyed a victory from lying in wait during the Bug Disaster; however, in the days following the disappearance of the Bug Race into the shadows, Pengcheng’s survivors noticed a significant daily increase in the area covered by the shade of the trees—the giant tree of Pengcheng had grown once again.
Apart from the peculiar situation in Pengcheng, there were different circumstances in several other cities across China; Mist City saw the emergence of a movable fog that, albeit slow-moving, would cause the mysterious disappearance of all creatures within it whenever it drifted by.
Although the Flame Bugs had excavated a new Bug Nest underground, this fog seemed to be drawn to it and entered the Cavern through the burrow entrance in an inexplicable manner.
As the fog seeped into the Cavern, the survivors living above ground finally breathed a sigh of relief; despite the fog’s slow movement, no one wanted to sleep while having to arrange for constant vigilance against its emergence.
If the emergence of the fog in Mist City was known to everyone from the beginning, the situation in Mountain City was only noticed by the survivors after the Bug Disaster struck.
After the seismic activity, unlike other cities where giant trees sprouted from the ground, the landscape of Mountain City remained as rugged and rocky as ever.
When prehistoric creatures began to revive, the ones that appeared in Mountain City did not resemble the predominantly flesh-and-blood types found elsewhere, but rather pangolin-like creatures with shell-armored bodies, similar to ankylosaurs.
Compared to other places where the revival of prehistoric creatures did not lead to a scarcity of meat, the hunting yield in Mountain City barely met the survivors’ basic needs; however, the external shell of those prehistoric creatures meant that the survivors there did not suffer a shortage of defense equipment like other cities did.
When the Bug Disaster first emerged, Mountain City, like most other cities, had no Core Flatteners and thus had to rely on the survivors’ arduous efforts to repel the Bug onslaught.
By the time the second wave hit, only the Soldier Bugs initiated an attack. Although the fighting was tough, the survivors still managed to defend the city.
In theory, with its many limestone caves, Mountain City should have made it easier for Flame Bugs to expand their underground territory, but once the Flame Bugs delved into the caves, they vanished without a trace, never to appear on the surface again.
This time, even as the Bug Disaster descended, the flying bugs that should have emerged to guard the Bug Race passageways didn’t appear, vanishing entirely into the limestone caves, just like in Pengcheng.
However, despite the many limestone caves in Mountain City, this Bug onslaught was different; the Bug Race did not actively attack the city but instead burrowed into the nearby caverns, much like in other locations.
Yet, unlike the previous silent disappearance of the Bug Race into the caves, perhaps with the Brain Bug’s contribution, the Bug Race was no longer a mindless fool; soon after entering the caves, intense fighting vibrations erupted.
The severe vibrations were so strong that even the survivors living above ground could clearly sense the ferocity of the underground battle.
In light of this situation, Mountain City dispatched the Daredevil Squad to check on the specifics inside the caverns.
Before the Daredevil Squad could even enter the caves through the entrance, they saw carriers desperately fleeing with a Brain Bug on their backs.
As the squad leader of the Daredevil Squad hesitated whether to capture the Brain Bug, the head of a gigantic snake-like creature—distinguished by two bulges on its crown—shot out from the cave and, opening its mouth, swallowed the Brain Bug, along with the mud beneath it and its carrier, into its belly, then glanced at the survivors before slowly retracting back into the Cavern.
After being glimpsed by the icy vertical pupil of the serpent’s head, all members of the Daredevil Squad shivered through their bodies. Even though the serpent’s head had already retracted back into the cave, the Daredevil Squad members stood rigid as if anaesthetized, utterly unable to control their own bodies at that moment.
It was unclear how long had passed before Command Headquarters, receiving no response, could not help but dispatch a second batch of Daredevil Squad for inspection. Only then was it discovered that the first batch of Daredevil Squad members hadn’t even entered the cave, but stood frozen stiff at the entrance.
Seeing this situation, the second batch of members guessed that something unexpected must have occurred, so they didn’t rush into the cave to investigate. Instead, they immediately transported the first batch to the Hospital.
And when the first batch of Daredevil Squad members had slightly recovered and then, with faces filled with fear and trembling voices, narrated what they had encountered, everyone present fell into silence.
The advent of the bug disaster was already distressing enough, but upon hearing that such a powerful monster was hidden within the cave, everyone’s emotions instantly exploded.
After all, facing such a monster, let alone fighting it, even approaching it for a closer look would cause one’s body to stiffen, rendering movement impossible. Anyone encountering it for the first time would have their emotions explode.
However, after Mountain City’s Officials contacted the Imperial Court and learned that similar dire situations had arisen in Pengcheng, Mist City, and a few other places, the Officials in Mountain City quickly regained much of their composure.
After all, most people suffer from inequality rather than scarcity. Whether it be for better or for worse, as long as one’s circumstances align with the majority, one can remain calm.
Moreover, although there was this huge uncertainty within the cave, the monster had not caused any harm to Mountain City; many survivors in Mountain City had entered the cave before the bug disaster struck.
Apart from the prehistoric creatures and mutated plants, not to mention being attacked by this monster, they hadn’t even seen it.
Had it not been for the Bug Race fighting it, they would have never imagined that such a powerful monster was hidden inside the cave.
Apart from those three cities that could clearly pinpoint how the bug disaster disappeared, the insect tides that emerged in other places vanished inexplicably, with no traceable reason for their disappearance.
However, aside from a few specific cities, the Bugs that descended upon the vast majority of cities had essentially moved underground.
Faced with this potentially explosive danger, most Officials chose the same approach as those in Mountain City and arranged for Daredevil Squads to enter the passages and investigate the situation.
Depending on the different situations in various places, some city Officials directly issued hunting assignments, summoning members of Hunting Teams from the populace by publicizing the rewards, leaving the Hunters to complete them on their own.
Other city Officials gathered elite soldiers to form Sharp Blade Teams and directly delve into the investigation.
Kyoto, true to its status as the Capital City, did not have many members in each Hunting Team, but the Hunters who had survived there were all experts. Thus, Kyoto was prepared to attack from two fronts.
They not only arranged for the military to gather experts to form Sharp Blade Teams and delve deep into the Cavern, but they also released hunting assignments to the public, setting rewards for hunting Brain Bugs and Flame Bugs. Proof of killing a Flame Bug was all that was required, while different rewards were set for either capturing or killing a Brain Bug.
Before the Officials had even publicized the assignments, Yara had already sought out Dong Tianyu ahead of time, directly asking if he wished to join the squad he was forming to enter the cavern and complete the Official’s task of hunting the Bug Race.
As for the purpose of Yara’s visit, Dong Tianyu was actually already aware of it; however, regarding entering the underground tunnel and battling, Dong Tianyu was still hesitant.
