Chapter Sixty-Eight: Millipede

Goosebumps prickled over his skin as Liu Chang forced down the surge of nausea and looked at the garishly colored creature. It was an insect—or perhaps better described as a monstrous centipede. Its long, slender body had the hard shell and the build reminiscent of a centipede, but unlike a true centipede, this creature’s legs were both much shorter and far more numerous. Hideously ugly, its shell gleamed with a rainbow of toxic colors, warning of its deadly venom.

“This should be called a millipede,” Liu Chang struggled to recall the insect’s name from before. Though the pace of evolution had hastened, it was still far from the point where entirely new biological clocks had formed; no matter what creatures looked like now, they all had an original prototype. “It is a millipede!” Overlaying the vague memory of its former self with the monstrous thing before him, he realized the resemblance was more than ninety percent.

“Has the monster come?” squatted behind a tree, Shen Mingyi whispered.

“Yes, let’s get out of here. It’s fast,” Liu Chang replied, grabbing Shen Mingyi and rushing back the way they’d come.

“What kind of monster?”

“A bug—looks like a snake, enormous, as thick as a barrel. I couldn’t see how long.” The two ran at speed, exchanging only a few hurried words as they darted between the trees, covering dozens of meters before rejoining the group.

“What’s going on?” Li Qingshui, seeing Liu Chang’s frantic return, immediately sensed danger.

“A bug—a millipede. As thick as a barrel, roughly thirty-five meters long, brightly colored, probably venomous,” Liu Chang answered quickly, his words clipped.

“Is it fast? Can we outrun it?”

“I don’t know. It wasn’t moving at full speed, but it’s definitely faster than a normal human.” As he spoke, Liu Chang glanced back—just in time to see the vivid form emerge from the mist, its massive head probing forward.

“No escape—it’s already here!” he shouted, diving into the midst of the group. “There! Open fire in that direction!” Standing among the soldiers, he pointed sharply.

“Open fire!” Li Qingshui shouted as well. “Large millipedes can spray blinding fluid—don’t let it get close!”

Though many soldiers had never heard of a “millipede” and couldn’t see the looming shape through the fog, instinct warned them to keep this threat at bay.

Ratatatat!

Four soldiers opened up with assault rifles, a hail of bullets streaming toward the vague shape in the distance.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Bullets tore through the dense jungle, but even at this short range, most missed their target. The low hit rate was hardly the soldiers’ fault—unable to see their quarry, even a sharpshooter would have fared no better. Still, luck favored a few rounds, and one or two struck the creature’s armored flesh.

Clang!

A metallic ring echoed in the air as two bullets, with great effort, pierced the monster’s shell and embedded themselves in its body—a wound so minor it was effectively negligible.

Screech!

The creature, injured, sprayed a yellowish fluid and sprang into the air, leaping onto the trunk of a giant tree and vanishing among the foliage with astonishing speed.

Liu Chang’s eyes tracked its movement, but all he saw was a flurry of leaves.

“Damn it!” In this place, denser than any rainforest, thick with foliage and tangled vines, the sheer mass of green was enough to blot out the sky. To search for something hidden in this tangle—even something so massive—was harder than climbing to the heavens.

“It’s gone up into the trees—keep watch above!” Liu Chang, acting as the group’s eyes, directed the remaining fighters. “Don’t you have anything more powerful? These rifles barely scratch it!”

“We’ve got grenades and a disposable rocket launcher,” a soldier replied, tossing aside his rifle and readying the rocket. “But I can’t guarantee a hit—I still don’t even know what I’m aiming at!”

He looked up, but all he could see were leaves almost brushing his face; beyond the tangled branches, nothing was visible.

“The forest’s too dense, I can’t see anything up there. Everyone, be quiet and listen for any sound from above.” Liu Chang raised his military crossbow, aiming upward, trying to spot even a hint of color among the chaotic green, while his ears strained for the slightest noise.

This time, however, his eyes and ears failed him. Instead, the one sense that had always been rather useless—his keen sense of smell—suddenly proved invaluable.

“There’s something strange in the air—everyone scatter!” Catching a pungent odor in the fresh forest air, Liu Chang shouted the warning and pulled the fat man away.

The others followed, each darting aside just a moment later.

As the last of them cleared the area, a strange, misty liquid sprayed down through the gaps in the canopy, drenching the ground below. Where it fell, the lush grass turned a sickly shade of pink.

At that moment, Liu Chang finally caught a glimpse of iridescent color among the leaves above.

“There!” Liu Chang shouted, loosing a crossbow bolt that struck the monster squarely.

Screech!

The giant insect twisted in agony, its huge body writhing as it uttered that sickening cry. But the sound gave the hidden soldiers a target; following the direction, they unleashed a rocket and a volley of bullets into the foliage.

Boom!

The explosion and blast left everyone dazed and reeling. The fireball erupted so close it felt like the sky itself was collapsing, hurling everyone away beneath a wave of heat and concussive force.

“Damn!” Liu Chang was flung to the ground, but managed to scramble upright, spitting out dirt and stones before yanking three shards of rocket shrapnel from his chest.

“Do you even know how to use a rocket launcher?” Another soldier, closer to the blast and badly burned, staggered up, cursing.

“How was I supposed to know it was so close? I couldn’t see a thing,” the soldier who’d fired the rocket replied, tossing the spent launcher aside and peering toward the burning trees. “Is it dead?”

“It must be!” The branches blazed with fire. Liu Chang searched the flames and smoke for any sign of the giant insect’s remains.

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