Just as they were cautiously advancing, their nerves taut, an extremely sharp and piercing bird cry suddenly rang out from above!
The sound felt like it could pierce their eardrums. It was immediately followed by the loud flapping of wings, as if hundreds or even thousands of birds had been startled into flight from the depths of the forest!
The sudden noise startled everyone, and they instinctively looked up. However, the canopy above was so dense, with layers upon layers of leaves forming a massive green net that completely obscured the sky. They could only hear the sound of the flock of birds flying away; they couldn't see even a single one.
"Something… startled them," Cassian said grimly, his eyes sharpening.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, an even stranger phenomenon emerged.
For some unknown reason, despite the icy, snowy world outside, the temperature inside the forest grew hotter the deeper they went. The air became increasingly humid, hot, and heavy, like trekking through a rainforest in the peak of summer.
Jorah, drenched in sweat from the oppressive heat, couldn't help but tug open the collar of his thick clothes, gasping for air. Seraph, however, being a fire-ability user whose body had long since adapted to high temperatures, didn't feel much discomfort.
The one suffering the most was undoubtedly Zephyr. His powerful ice ability made him somewhat averse to heat. In this humid environment, he felt uncomfortable all over. To cool himself down, he even unconsciously generated a circle of tiny, floating snowflakes around his body.
The icy snowflakes also made Jorah, still slumped over his shoulder, shiver.
Just as he was recovering from the tense feeling of being watched and was about to complain about the bizarre hot-and-cold weather of this damn place, Jorah suddenly felt a cold, slimy touch on his collarbone!
He instinctively looked down, and nearly fainted on the spot!
A bizarre, slimy worm, entirely black, as thick as his finger, and looking like a cross between a centipede and some kind of maggot, was clinging to his collarbone! The worm seemed to have dropped from the leaves above!
"Ah—!"
The scream that had just escaped his lips changed pitch in the next second, warped by intense pain!
The black worm opened its sharp, needle-like mouthparts and, without hesitation, plunged them viciously into the flesh of Jorah's chest! A piercing pain shot through him, and fresh red blood almost immediately soaked through the fabric of his shirt!
"Don't move!" Zephyr barked. He showed no panic, his arm tightening around the struggling Jorah to prevent him from flailing in pain and tearing the wound. Then, with his other hand, he whipped a sharp dagger from his tactical vest as fast as lightning. With the tip of the blade, he precisely and decisively pried at the point where the worm connected to Jorah's flesh!
The worm's mouthparts were forcibly pried out of Jorah's flesh with a sickening "pop." Zephyr then slapped it to the ground with the flat of his dagger, stunning it.
Jorah grimaced in pain. He looked down and saw that a small chunk of flesh had been chewed off his chest. The wound was a bloody mess, and the surrounding skin showed clear signs of corrosion from some kind of venom, emitting faint wisps of black smoke.
"It's poisonous!" Elara exclaimed upon seeing it. She immediately pulled a first-aid kit from her backpack. "Cassian, rinse it with water!" she said grimly as she began to treat Jorah's wound.
Cassian instantly conjured a stream of clear water, flushing Jorah's wound in an attempt to dilute the toxin.
While the others were scrambling to crowd around and bandage Jorah's wound, Alan, on the other hand, looked as if he had discovered a new continent, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
He curiously leaned his head in, carefully observing the black worm Zephyr had stunned on the ground. Then, he cautiously took out a pair of long-handled forceps and a sealed centrifuge tube from his fanny pack. With careful, professional movements, he used the forceps to pick up the still-twitching worm, gingerly placed it in the tube, sealed it tightly, and then, with a satisfied expression, put it back in his fanny pack.
He looked for all the world like an enthusiastic biologist who had just discovered a rare species, completely oblivious to the "victim" moaning in pain beside him.
While Elara and Cassian were tending to Jorah's wound, Vespera also walked over from the back of the group. She didn't crowd around Jorah like the others, but instead crouched down beside Alan, curiously watching the centrifuge tube containing the strange black worm in his hand.
Unable to speak, she extended a slender finger and tapped lightly and rhythmically on the transparent wall of the tube. Then she pointed at the still-squirming worm inside, her eyes holding a silent question.
Alan blinked his eyes, which were much clearer now from sufficient sleep, and tilted his head, seeming to struggle to understand what Vespera's silent query meant.
After a moment, as if struck by inspiration, he replied with sudden understanding, "Oh, you're asking if this tube is sturdy, and if the worm inside can get out, right?"
He shook the centrifuge tube in his hand and explained with a proud look, "Don't worry, this is my special design. High-strength polycarbonate material—alkali-proof, acid-proof, corrosion-proof. Forget this little worm, even if you put it in aqua regia, it wouldn't get out anytime soon."
Vespera nodded, only half understanding. Although she now had the appearance of a graceful young lady, in reality, she wasn't even old enough for middle school. Before the apocalypse, she and her mother Amily had depended on each other, living a meager life, and the knowledge she could acquire was extremely limited. After the apocalypse, even basic survival became a problem, let alone systematically learning complex scientific knowledge.
In this environment, who knew when, if ever, she would have the chance again… to go to school with a backpack, like a normal child…
At this thought, a faint glimmer of confusion and loneliness, unbefitting of her powerful abilities, involuntarily appeared in Vespera's eyes.
Nearby, Elara, while stuffing a piece of chocolate into the still-whimpering Jorah's mouth in an attempt to soothe his terrified state with something sweet, was also keeping a close eye on Vespera. When she saw that fleeting look of loneliness in Vespera's eyes, she sighed inwardly.
After quickly bandaging Jorah's wound, the group didn't dare to linger and decided to press forward.
However, the deeper they went into the forest, the more alarmed they became.
The strange black worms that had dropped from above began to appear in increasing numbers! They fell like rain from the dense canopy, some landing on the ground, others directly on their bodies and backpacks!
Although the individual attack power of these worms wasn't particularly strong, the venom in their mouthparts was highly corrosive. Once bitten, it was very troublesome to treat. Moreover, the sight of the dense, writhing mass of black worms was enough to make one's skin crawl and induce a strong sense of physical revulsion.
Soon, the path ahead of them was almost completely covered by a thick, writhing "carpet of worms," leaving almost no place to step, making it impossible to move forward directly.
"We can't go on like this!" Zephyr said, swinging his longsword to sever several strange worms trying to crawl up his boots, his brow tightly furrowed. "There are too many of them. We have to think of something!"
The group immediately halted, forming a back-to-back circle, and began to urgently discuss a counter-strategy.