The sky was faintly lit, a ray of sunlight breaking through the morning fog, shining down on the street.
In the past, at this time many people would be out exercising, students and office workers would start their busy day, and the breakfast stalls along the street would open early to welcome their customers.
But now, the large city was eerily quiet, lacking any of its former glory.
Decay, dilapidation, occasional sounds emanating from the broken ruins, and then a giant centipede emerged from within.
Two meters long, glossy and shiny, as thick as a telegraph pole, its two insect antennae like iron whips swinging back and forth, making a "buzz, buzz..." sound through the air.
Blood Nether Centipede.
It roamed amidst the ruins, seeking food, dozens of its insect limbs moving effortlessly over stones, swiftly climbing over a tall building.
A severed arm appeared before it.
Dark in color, covered with corpse spots the size of bottle caps; it belonged to a zombie, but its owner was nowhere nearby.
The arm might have been left behind after a fight or perhaps some carnivorous creature had devoured the zombie, leaving behind the remnants.
The Blood Nether Centipede was very hungry, moving its insect legs, slowly approaching the arm, opening its mouth, ready to devour it.
"Patter..."
"Patter..."
Some chaotic footsteps suddenly sounded on the deserted street.
The scent of food.
The Blood Nether Centipede put down the food by its mouth, smelling the scent of flesh. Compared to this sweet blood, the zombie’s arm seemed hard to swallow.
"Rustle..."
The Blood Nether Centipede crawled toward the sound, soon some figures appeared before it.
A group of humans, over two hundred people, male and female, but their faces appeared sallow, as if they hadn’t eaten well in a long time, even walking unsteadily.
Seeing this, dust rose under the Blood Nether Centipede, its eyes showing a greedy look, firmly locking onto these humans.
Humans = food.
Creatures that panic, surprise, and flee at the first sign of danger are even weaker than zombies, but their flesh is much sweeter.
"Hiss..."
The Blood Nether Centipede first examined its "prey," then hissed excitedly, despite the large number of people it remained unafraid, charging forward rapidly, appearing fierce and terrifying.
"Ah! A bug!"
"So big, how can there be such a long centipede? We can’t escape, we’re going to die!"
"Honey, stand in front of me, I’m so scared!"
"What a joke? Why should I stand in front? My parents are dead, I’m the sole hope of the family, it should be you standing in front of me in this situation!"
In the face of life and death, any commitment and feelings become pale and powerless.
The Blood Nether Centipede made no attempt to hide its presence, and upon seeing this giant insect, humans turned pale with fear, and the crowd began to panic, everyone retreating, as if not seeing a bug but a ferocious tiger.
The Blood Nether Centipede is a terrifying insect, liking to devour live prey, its body containing highly lethal poison, with effects ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to instant death.
It was almost upon its prey.
"Hiss..."
The Blood Nether Centipede let out another domineering and terrifying roar, suddenly raised its head, its neck bulging, emitting visible fiery ripples, spreading grandly toward the surroundings, filling the air with a foul stench.
Under this magnificent intimidation, everyone was filled with fear, most were horrified, their spines cold with sweat, even surrounded by over two hundred others, they couldn’t escape the whitening of their cheeks, devoid of blood.
They were only ten meters away from the Blood Nether Centipede, a distance that meant nothing to it, reaching them within breaths.
The Blood Nether Centipede’s eyes shimmered with a cold glow, reflecting a hypnotic and eerie hue, it hadn’t seen so much food in a long time, today it would feast.
"A small centipede!" Yet as the Blood Nether Centipede anticipated eagerly, a calm voice rang out, and a figure stepped forward from the crowd with steady steps.
Most striking was his right arm.
It swelled from the shoulder downward, twice the width of his left arm, with skin color different—jet black, and decorated with mysterious, ancient patterns. At this moment, he resembled a demonized mutant, an aura of death exuding from him.
On the arm, faint sounds of beastly growls could be heard.
This person was Wei Xun.
Lately, he was tasked by Chen Feng to gather survivors around the city; thanks to Liang Jingyao’s notebook, he didn’t have to search intentionally, directly heading to the destination.
His mission was accomplished smoothly, organizing over a thousand survivors within a week, and today, transporting a new batch of survivors.
Wei Xun took a step forward, hands up and down in one swift motion, when the Blood Nether Centipede tried to evade, it was already too late, only able to watch as the giant palm slammed onto its head!
"Bang"
Strong force struck the Blood Nether Centipede like a lightning bolt; its head shattered like being struck by a massive hammer, brain matter and flesh splattering onto the ground.
Dead?
The once intimidating overlord lay limp, clearly dead beyond recovery.
"Thank God we narrowly escaped!"
"So terrifying, did you see? The centipede’s eyes were bigger than my fist."
"Sob...I’ve been with you since I was twenty, never known a good day, and in crisis, you hid behind me, are you even a man?"
"Honey, I’m sorry, don’t be mad, I was simply scared, please understand me?"
"Understand what? I’ll hate you for life!"
Upon hearing these chaotic voices, Wei Xun’s veins bulged, he turned toward the crowd showing impatience, "If you want to live, shut up!"
Over time, Wei Xun’s demeanor drastically changed, as one of Chen Feng’s titans, his authority grew daily, his icy tone and murderous glance scanned the crowd’s faces, akin to a beast, no one dared make a sound.
"I don’t want to hear another word from you. From now on, all of you shut up!" Wei Xun surveyed the crowd coldly, "We’re almost at the destination, obedient people will get food, if you don’t want to starve, pick up the pace and move faster!"
With that, Wei Xun turned and walked back to the base camp.
"Food..." In the crowd, countless people swallowed simultaneously; perhaps this was their last persistence for reaching here.
The legendary most prosperous and rich area of the Economic Development Zone.
No monsters, no oppression, as long as you work hard, food can be obtained. Such a place...does it really exist?