Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Feng Chen noticed in the night sky, about half a mile outside the town, there were tiny fluffs, about the size of dandelions, weightlessly drifting towards them.

He scanned the surroundings and saw these tiny fluffs floating everywhere, dancing in the air, endless and boundless.

A few rodent mutants, about the size of cats, possibly out for food, moved hesitantly with twitching noses. Some of these floating fluffs stuck to their bodies.

The rodent mutants suddenly began to squeal in agony, the areas touched by the fluffs turning black as if corroded by sulfuric acid, with several black holes appearing.

These black holes continued to spread and expand, and within just a few minutes, the rodent mutants crumbled into small piles of black dust, blown away and disappearing with the wind.

Beside the road, there was a house not yet fully collapsed, with several dangling and unstable iron window bars among the broken bricks.

After the fluffs passed over them, there were no changes to the bricks, but black bubbles appeared on the iron bars, hissing as they began to melt.

Feng Chen swiftly retracted his psychic energy, hurried back inside, grabbed the still-sleeping Yan Bubu, placed him on the black lion's back, and quickly stuffed bedding and other items into an inflatable bag.

"What's happening?" Ding Hongsheng and Cai Tao were startled awake, seeing the commotion, they immediately crawled out of their sleeping bags and grabbed their guns.

"We need to leave now. I just went out to check and saw poisonous fluffs floating in the air."

"Poisonous fluffs?" Yan Bubu woke up, climbed down from the black lion's back, and rubbed his eyes.

"The poisonous fluff can corrode metal and rodents but doesn't harm soil and bricks. This place lacks a roof and a wall; we need to leave immediately," Feng Chen said, tossing the packed inflatable bag onto the black lion's back. "Run ahead and find a place to take cover."

Two minutes later, the group left the village, running along the only road ahead.

"Are we faster than those poisonous fluffs?" Cai Tao asked.

Feng Chen shook his head, "No, we need to find a place to hide."

Yan Bubu, led by Feng Chen, saw Ding Hongsheng frequently looking back and followed his gaze.

"Can you see that far?" Yan Bubu asked.

Ding Hongsheng replied, "I can see a bit; my sentinel senses are visually focused."

As soon as he finished speaking, his expression changed, "We can't keep running. A wind has started behind us, and the poisonous fluff will catch up in minutes. We need to find a place to hide."

Yan Bubu, with sharp eyes, pointed to the left: "Look, there's a cave. We can hide in there."

Below the cliffside was a naturally formed cave. Although it was too dark to see inside clearly, it seemed deep enough to hide several people.

"Let's go there," Feng Chen commanded, and they all ran towards the cave. Even without sentinel vision, Yan Bubu could see the dense white poisonous fluff in the sky not far away.

The poisonous fluff approached, enveloping everything like an impenetrable net, causing all the plants it touched to wither and turn into clumps of black ash.

Running at the back, Cai Tao was suddenly grabbed by a vine that shot out of the darkness, wrapping around his waist and pulling him back.

He was dragged back swiftly. Glancing at the approaching poisonous fluff, he didn't call out for help, instead drawing his dagger to cut the vine around his waist.

Yan Bubu was pulled into the cave by Feng Chen, followed by the black lion and Binunu. Ding Hongsheng stood at the cave entrance, shouting out, "Old Cai, why are you still behind? Hurry up, Cai Tao, hurry!"

Feng Chen and Yan Bubu turned to look and saw Cai Tao just getting up from the ground, running towards them. But the poisonous fluff was already close, just a few meters away from him. He would be caught before reaching halfway.

"Cai Tao!" Ding Hongsheng's voice was desperate and hoarse, ready to rush out to help, but Feng Chen pulled him back.

Rushing out now would not only fail to save Cai Tao but also endanger himself.

At that moment, a figure dashed out of the cave, swiftly running towards Cai Tao. His soft, curly hair bounced in the night, his small and agile figure a blur in motion.

"Don't worry, I can save him," Yan Bubu shouted while running.

As Yan Bubu sprinted towards Cai Tao, he kept glancing at the approaching poisonous fluff, timing their convergence while a virtual screen lit up in his mind.

As the fluff reached them, Yan Bubu also met up with Cai Tao, grabbing his arm and commanding, "Don't move on your own! Follow me!"

Cai Tao, stunned upon seeing Yan Bubu rushing towards him, almost forgot to keep running until Yan Bubu grabbed him and gave the order.

Sentinels naturally possess protective instincts and a sense of responsibility towards guides. Cai Tao, in turn, grabbed Yan Bubu's hand and rushed forward, "Follow me; I'll protect you."

As he spoke, a patch of the first-arriving poisonous fluff landed on his shoulder, instantly corroding the fabric and the skin underneath.

Cai Tao shuddered in pain but didn't make a sound, quickly shedding his outer layer of clothing.

"Serves you right! I told you to follow me!"

Yan Bubu pulled him back to his side, following a route mapped out in his mind.

The initial wave of fluff wasn't dense; Yan Bubu, holding Cai Tao's arm, sometimes paused for half a second, then stepped left, quickly moved forward two steps, and shifted right.

His steps seemed random but always skillfully avoided the floating fluff. He appeared relaxed, not tense, like a deer in a morning forest, playfully dodging rays of light filtering through the leaves.

Cai Tao noticed this pattern and stopped rushing recklessly, following the hand that tugged at his arm, moving left and right in sync with Yan Bubu.

"See how I do it? You're like a clumsy elephant, jumping into a pit of dung even when it's right in front of you, unable to be stopped. Look how agile I am, look at me! Where are you looking? See these steps, ah, even a ghost couldn't catch me…"

Yan Bubu chattered and praised himself as he moved, leaving Cai Tao thoroughly convinced and silently following.

Ding Hongsheng, who had been shouting for Cai Tao at the top of his lungs, also fell silent, just watching in amazement as the two safely navigated through the poisonous fluff.

Feng Chen, lips tightly pressed together, said nothing but watched Yan Bubu intently, his body tensely poised as if ready to spring into action at any moment.

Although Yan Bubu practiced dodging light beams at home every day, and the difficulty was greater than what he faced now, he was still nervous, fearing any mistake could lead to contact with the poisonous fluff.

Just before the denser wave of fluff arrived, Yan Bubu finally pulled Cai Tao into the cave. It was then that Cai Tao let out a cry of pain, clutching his shoulder.

Ding Hongsheng turned him around and shone a flashlight on his shoulder, gasping in shock at what he saw.

In just a minute or two, Cai Tao's shoulder had been corroded, leaving a hole the size of a walnut, with the surrounding skin appearing charred and burnt.

Feng Chen, seeing the wound on Cai Tao's shoulder, pinned him against the cave wall, pulled out a dagger, and swiftly cut away the decaying flesh that was still spreading.

With precise knife work and quick hands, it was only after Feng Chen stepped back that Cai Tao, belatedly realizing what had happened, screamed in pain, "It hurts, it hurts so much..."

Feng Chen, addressing a still-stunned Ding Hongsheng, said, "I’ll light the gas lamp; you go and apply medicine to his wound."

Ding Hongsheng snapped to attention, "Right, right, the medicine," and hurriedly fumbled through his backpack for the emergency medical kit.

Ten minutes later, all four were sitting deeper inside the cave.

Cai Tao, with his sentinel physique, was pale but looked reasonably well after the wound was treated.

Outside the cave, the bulk of the poisonous fluff had drifted away, but a few still floated in the air, making it unsafe to venture outside.

"Brother, what are these poisonous fluffs?" Yan Bubu asked.

Feng Chen countered, "Haven't you seen them in movies?"

Yan Bubu shook his head, "I haven't seen them before."

"If you haven't seen them in movies, then how would I know?"

Yan Bubu asked, "What's your guess?"

"My guess..." Feng Chen frowned, "I guess they're some kind of mutated dandelion that floated down from a mountain."

"Will they disappear, or just keep floating down like this?"

Feng Chen said, "I think some will fall into the soil, others will stick to objects along the way and eventually vanish."

Ding Hongsheng, still shaken, remarked gratefully, "We owe it to Brother Feng and Bubu this time. If it were just Cai Tao and me, we definitely would've been in trouble."

Cai Tao added, "It was all thanks to Bubu just now. Really, your moves were incredible. If I were alone, charging recklessly, I'd have ended up like a dinosaur drowned in a manure pit—"

Yan Bubu: "An elephant."

Cai Tao: "Right, an elephant."

Feng Chen, hearing these words of gratitude, showed no reaction, while Yan Bubu looked pleased with himself. He wanted to describe his actions vividly and reenact them, but he knew this wasn't the time to show off and suppressed the urge.

"I wonder what these poisonous fluffs are, where they come from, where they will go, and whether they will eventually disappear..." Ding Hongsheng’s face showed concern, "I hope they don't drift towards the Central City."

Yan Bubu confidently said, "Don't worry. These are mutated dandelions from the mountains. They'll break down and disappear as they drift, they won't reach the Central City."

Ding Hongsheng remained silent, thinking to himself that these were just his brother's speculations. He heard them too, yet why was he so certain about them?

It was only midnight, and not daring to venture out, they decided to spend the night in this cave.

The cave wasn't large, but the floor was flat. Ding Hongsheng and Cai Taoyuan thought they would just lean against the cave walls, but then they saw Feng Chen opening his luggage bag and taking things out one by one.

Plastic sheeting, mattresses, blankets...

After setting up two makeshift beds, the peculiar Selenium Fixed Frog Liangzi beast put on an eye mask, took a piece of wood from Feng Chen, and lay down on one of the beds with the Black Lion.

Ding Hongsheng glanced at Cai Taoyuan and decided to unfold his sleeping bag as well.

Seeing even the Liangzi beasts indulging in such ceremonious preparation, they felt it inappropriate to appear too crude.

Ding Hongsheng and his companion had originally kept their Liangzi beasts in their psychic domain, but now, inspired by others' pets, they released theirs too.

Cai Taoyuan unfurled his sleeping bag, gesturing for the Wolf-Dog to crawl in with him.

The Wolf-Dog, perplexed, burrowed into the sleeping bag, facing the equally baffled Terror Cat in the opposite bag.

The four of them rested in the cave for the night.

Feng Chen opened his eyes and turned to look outside the cave, wanting to check if the toxic fluff was still there, but found both inside and outside the cave still shrouded in darkness.

His internal clock told him it was about 8 a.m., so he checked his watch, puzzled, to find it was just past 8:05.

Ding Hongsheng and Cai Taoyuan also woke up, looking outside the cave and then at their watches.

"Why hasn't it gotten light yet?" Ding Hongsheng muttered. "I remember it was light before 6 a.m. yesterday."

Feng Chen gently moved Yan Bubu's head off his shoulder, got up, and lit a gas lamp.

The light illuminated the cave interior, causing Yan Bubu to frown and bury his face into the blanket.

Feng Chen went to the cave entrance, shining the gas lamp around to confirm there was no more toxic fluff outside. Looking up at the sky, he noticed the brilliant stars from the previous night were gone, leaving only darkness.

Cai Taoyuan and Ding Hongsheng also came out, standing beside him, gazing up at the sky.

"Why hasn't it gotten light yet?" Cai Taoyuan murmured.

Feng Chen spoke with a grave expression, "Haven't you noticed there's something wrong?"

"What's wrong... Is it because there are no stars?"

After a moment of observation, Ding Hongsheng's face turned pale, "Feng, this isn't normal darkness. It's like the sky is being blocked by something."

Upon hearing Ding Hongsheng's remark, Cai Taoyuan also sensed the anomaly.

The darkness was not the distant, translucent black of the sky but a dull, heavy blackness, as if a massive black cloth covered the sky, obstructing the light.

"What's going on..." he murmured.

Ding Hongsheng asked Feng Chen, "Feng, do you know what this is?"

Over the past two days, Feng Chen's calmness and capability had unconsciously made them reliant on him, naturally turning to him for answers when something arose.

"I honestly don't know," Feng Chen replied.

Ding Hongsheng persisted, "What's your guess, then?"

Feng Chen shook his head, "No use guessing. Regardless, we need to leave here for the central city as soon as possible."

Yan Bubu, still deep in sleep, was roused by a pinched face and a shaking head, "Hey, wake up, we're hitting the road."

Yan Bubu cracked open his eyes, glanced outside the cave, and mumbled unclearly, "It's still dark... Let me sleep a bit more."

Feng Chen brought his watch close to Yan Bubu's face, but Yan Bubu closed his eyes again. Feng Chen then held Yan Bubu's eyelids open, "Look at the time for yourself."

Yan Bubu brushed off the hand on his eyelids and looked at the watch face, "Half past eight?"

"Right, half past eight. Get up, eat something, and get ready to leave."

The Black Lion had already packed up the bedding next to them and was now stuffing Yan Bubu's blanket into the luggage bag.

Yan Bubu, sitting up with his hair a tangled mess, asked, "But why is it still dark outside?"

"I don't know either."

Feng Chen went to heat up the leftover mutated meat from last night for breakfast, while Yan Bubu sat beside him with a sullen face.

As Ding Hongsheng passed by, he asked with a smile, "Not fully awake yet?"

Yan Bubu lowered his gaze and remained silently meditative.

Feng Chen, without turning his head, said, "He's just cranky from waking up. He's in the process of deflating, which should take about ten minutes. Just ignore him for now."

After heating the mutated meat, everyone had a quick bite, checked Cai Taoyuan's wound, and finding it to be healing well, set off on their journey.

The sky wasn't completely dark; it was as if some light seeped through the gaps in a black cloth, casting faint and elongated shadows on the ground, reminiscent of early nightfall.

However, the recent earthquake had left the ground riddled with cracks, so Feng Chen carried a gas lamp to prevent missteps in the dim light.

Bi Nunu walked past Yan Bubu, who noticed it wasn't wearing a skirt or shorts, but something was hanging on its stomach, sparking his curiosity.

"Hey, what are you wearing? Let me see."

Hearing this, everyone else also turned their attention to Bi Nunu, and Feng Chen moved the gas lamp closer.

Bi Nunu had a thin string tied around its waist, threaded through a hole in a round object that hung just below its belly.

Yan Bubu, driven by curiosity, poked it and found it was an enamel cup lid.

"Why do you have this hanging on you?" Yan Bubu asked.

No sooner had he finished asking than the atmosphere turned eerily quiet, and all three slowly turned their heads towards Cai Taoyuan.

Under the light of the gas lamp, Cai Taoyuan's face turned rapidly red, his expression a mix of annoyance and embarrassment, as if he was about to blow a gasket.

"Let's go, let's go," Ding Hongsheng, struggling to suppress his laughter, pulled Cai Taoyuan forward.

Feng Chen eyed Bi Nunu and raised an eyebrow, "New outfit, huh? Bold design, quite eye-catching... but isn't that my water cup lid?"

Bi Nunu stared back at him with its pitch-black eyes.

Feng Chen added, "It's yours now. I don't need a lid for my water bottle."

Yan Bubu reached out to lift the lid, chuckled, and then covered it back up.

The Black Lion picked up Bi Nunu, skillfully slinging it onto its back, and let it sit at the front of the luggage bag, trotting to the front of the group.