Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Seeing this, Feng Chen decisively pulled Yan Bubu along and ran forward, rushing into the elevator. The beetles began to flap their wings, buzzing like small planes, and rapidly flew towards them.

"Quick, close the door!" Yan Bubu cried out in panic.

The elevator doors closed with a series of thuds, causing small bulges to appear on the sturdy metal doors from the impact.

Feng Chen pressed the number 5, and the elevator began descending, but it stopped abruptly in less than half a second.

"What's wrong?" Yan Bubu asked.

Feng Chen pressed the number 5 again: "I don't know, it might be stuck."

The insects continued to frantically hit the elevator doors, causing dull thuds and small protrusions on the metal, while the cabin began to shake, emitting creaking noises.

Yan Bubu looked around, searching for a way out, but as his gaze fell on the left wall of the cabin, he suddenly froze.

Reflected clearly on the smooth, mirror-like metal wall was the scene inside the cabin: several thin snakes had slithered in through the ventilation holes at the top of the cabin, hanging in the air, slightly raising their heads, and targeting both of them.

Yan Bubu spun around abruptly: "Snakes—"

As he spoke, a thin snake suddenly lunged, wrapping around his waist and suspending him in mid-air. Another snake raised its head, striking towards him.

At that moment, Feng Chen swung his dagger, slicing the attacking snake into two, with droplets of black fluid splattering.

The severed snake segments fell to the ground, transforming into two segments of black-gray vines, complete with green leaves.

"Young Master..." Yan Bubu struggled, kicking in the air.

Feng Chen continued to swing his dagger, the blade striking fiercely at the vine wrapped around Yan Bubu. The vine quickly retracted, and Yan Bubu fell to the ground with a thud.

He was jolted, but ignoring the pain, quickly scrambled to his feet.

Several severed vines lay on the ground, but Feng Chen didn’t notice another vine silently descending behind him, stealthily coiling around his waist.

Yan Bubu suddenly leaped up, grabbing the vine and plummeting down, pulling it with all his might. The vine stretched taut, twisting and struggling in mid-air, slamming him against the cabin walls.

With several loud bangs, Yan Bubu felt dizzy from the impacts, but he never let go.

Feng Chen finally had a chance to act, slicing the vine at his waist and catching Yan Bubu as he fell.

Black vine segments, resembling charred wood, were scattered on the floor. The severed vine sections above, now hesitant to attack, clung to the top of the elevator, resembling poised, venomous snakes.

Ding dong!

The elevator made a sound as if it were about to open its doors, indicating it hadn't descended.

The beetles were still slamming against the elevator doors, causing the car to shake. Feng Chen quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher hanging nearby, forcefully pulled out the safety pin, and pressed the handle.

As the elevator doors slowly opened, swarms of beetles rushed in, only to be met with a gush of fire-extinguishing foam. The foam, propelled with strong force, sprayed the beetles several meters away.

"Follow me."

Without waiting for the overhead vines to attack, Feng Chen shouted and, holding the fire extinguisher, charged out. Yan Bubu quickly followed.

In the lobby, besides the elevator, there was only the window as an escape route. Feng Chen continued to spray the beetles with the fire extinguisher while moving towards the window.

This wasn't an ordinary fire extinguisher; its force was indeed powerful, blasting the beetles across the room to the opposite wall, where they piled up over half a meter high, forming a daunting, writhing mass.

The large tree in the center of the hall was also continuously washed, its leaves falling and its small branches snapping. The large, winter-melon-like fruits also began to shake and eventually fell, splitting in half upon hitting the ground.

Feng Chen's heart tightened, fearing that giant insects might emerge from the large fruit, which would be even harder to deal with.

Unexpectedly, inside the large white fruit was not an insect, but a curled-up human corpse.

The corpse was still clothed, dried out as if drained of flesh and blood, leaving only wrinkled skin wrapped around dry bones.

Yan Bubu, who had also seen this, turned pale and shrank behind Feng Chen: "Young master, there's a person growing from the tree."

"It's not that a person grew from it; the tree has consumed someone."

"What? A tree that eats people?"

The red light at the bottom of the fire extinguisher blinked, indicating the foam was almost used up. The vines from the direction of the elevator spread wildly, extending out and slithering towards them like snakes.

Feng Chen moved to the window, pressing a switch embedded in the wall. The automatic window slowly opened, letting in the sweltering heat instantly.

He glanced outside; they were on the tenth floor. Unless he and Yan Bubu grew wings, there was no way they could leave this room.

The fire extinguisher emitted its last bit of foam and then fell silent. The beetles, washed to the corner, began to crawl out from the piles of leaves and husks, flapping their wings to take flight.

The elevator entrance was completely sealed by vines, which had spread to the center of the room and were rapidly crawling towards the window.

Yan Bubu, having found an iron rod from somewhere, swung it at the climbing vines, yelling with a mixture of bravado and fear, "Don't come any closer, stop, or I'll hit you."

Feng Chen glanced at the corpse that had fallen from the large fruit, clenched his teeth, took off his backpack, handed it to Yan Bubu, then crouched down and ordered, "Put on the backpack, and let me carry you."

Yan Bubu, who never disobeyed his orders, quickly shouldered the backpack and then jumped onto his back.

"Are we going to rush into the elevator? Young master, you charge, I'll fight."

"Hold on to me tightly, don't let go."

Yan Bubu did as told, wrapping her arms tightly around Feng Chen's neck and clamping her legs around his lean waist.

With lips tightly pressed, Feng Chen didn't head for the elevator but, as the beetles took flight, suddenly propped his hand on the windowsill and swiftly flipped out.

Outside the window, there was a thick plastic pipe running horizontally along the wall. Having flipped out, Feng Chen stood on the pipe. As the beetles followed, he quickly closed the window.

The military-grade metal window sealed shut tightly, rattling non-stop from the beetles' impacts. One beetle was bisected by the closing window, its front half plummeting straight down.

The exterior wall was very smooth, with nothing but the water pipe to grip. Feng Chen clung to the wall like a gecko, trying to keep his body as close to the surface as possible, his fingers wedged into the crevices between the bricks.

Yan Bubu hung in the air on his back, frightened by the ten-story drop below. A glance downward made him dizzy, and he dared not look again.

"Don't move at all, any movement might send us both plummeting," Feng Chen instructed in a hoarse whisper, turning his head slightly.

"Okay, okay, I won't move."

The wall was too smooth, so Feng Chen started moving sideways, hoping to find some pipe or something to cling to on the other side of the building, whether to climb up to the roof or slide down.

Yan Bubu rested his head on Feng Chen's shoulder, breathing as gently as possible, fearing any significant body movement.

He only regretted his own heart beating too fiercely, wishing it would stop.

Fortunately, the crevices in the bricks were deep enough. Feng Chen, clutching tightly, slowly moved to the left. Sweat dripped into his eyes, but he dared not blink, letting the tears stung out mix with the sweat and trail down his face.

Yan Bubu, too afraid to make a sound lest she disturb him, silently repeated a charm in her mind: "Ah woo bang ga ada uxia, ah woo bang ga ada uxia…"

Crack.

The plastic pipe under their feet suddenly made a cracking sound.

The noise wasn't loud, but to Feng Chen and Yan Bubu, it was like a thunderclap in the sky, buzzing in their heads.

Together, they weighed over a hundred kilograms, and although the pipe was sturdy, it was still plastic and began to show signs of breaking under the strain.

Continuing left might cause the pipe to break, but the window to the right was still being battered by the beetles, leaving no option to turn back.

Turning back would mean a fate similar to those corpses in the large fruits.

Feng Chen took a deep breath and cautiously stepped forward to the left, landing softly and slowly.

As their weight shifted to the front foot, both held their breath.

One second, two seconds... the pipe made no further sound.

Sigh...

Both let out a long breath simultaneously.

But just then, without any warning, the pipe snapped in half. Feng Chen's footing gave way, and with Yan Bubu on his back, they plunged straight down.

In that instant, his mind went blank. The smooth wall flashed past his eyes, the noisy wind roared in his ears, and his blood surged like a tumultuous tide. He instinctively reached out to grab something, anything, but grasped only air.

With eyes closed, Yan Bubu screamed amidst the intense sensation of freefall: "Ah woo bang ga—"

As the ground rapidly approached, Feng Chen was gripped by despair and fear. In that brief second, he seemed to recall many things, his parents' faces flashing before his eyes, and yet it felt like he thought of nothing, hearing only Yan Bubu's altered voice crying out.

His muscles tensed, adrenaline peaking, and suddenly it felt as if something exploded within him. A loud bang, and a dazzling white light filled his vision.

In that moment, Feng Chen had only one thought:

—I've hit the ground.

However, in the next moment, he swept across the ground without feeling the pain of impact or losing consciousness.

It seemed as if something had caught him in mid-air just before he hit the ground.

Feng Chen stiffly moved his eyes, observing the rapidly receding ruins on either side. His gaze then slowly shifted downward, landing on a massive black head in front of him.

The body covered in smooth fur, the long mane on the head, and upright ears...

Feng Chen realized that he was being carried by some large beast, racing forward. It was this ferocious animal that had caught him just before he landed.

A sense of unreality welled up inside him, unclear whether this was reality or an illusion, until he heard Yan Bubu's scream from behind: "—Ada Uxia."

Feng Chen extended his hand, gently placing it on the neck of the beast beneath him.

He couldn't see it clearly, but based on the shape of its head, its fur, and its ears, he guessed it was a black lion.

As his palm touched the smooth fur, a familiar sense of closeness surged from his palm to his heart. A thought emerged in Feng Chen's mind: Stop, don't run anymore.

To his surprise, as soon as this thought arose, the black lion beneath him, which had been running, actually halted its stride.

Feng Chen could feel it had heard his internal command and sensed its response.

—It was a feeling of consciousness connection, without any resistance, like a long-lost friend or family member.

No, no, not a friend or family member, it felt like a part of his own body, inseparable from himself.

It was him.