Chapter 13

All around, there is a profound silence… The wind ceases, the abyss no longer churns, even the vortexes in the sky gradually dissipate.

The man takes steps towards the abyss. His pants have been eroded by the toxic powder, becoming fragile, with bits of fabric falling with each step, along with his decaying skin and muscles.

As he reaches the edge of the abyss, his legs are almost entirely reduced to white bones.

These thin bones supporting his towering figure create an eerily surreal scene.

Even more bizarre is the desiccated sac, appearing as large as several football fields, with a bloated belly filled with pus-like remains of the dark moths, emitting a faint odor of decaying bodies.

Extending a finger, the flesh on the tip of his finger has also decayed, hanging in fragments on the stark white bone.

The tip of the finger bone is somewhat sharp, possibly capable of puncturing the sac and releasing the pus inside. If surrounded by this fluid containing the powder from the moths’ wings, it could likely dissolve even his bones.

With a slight tug of his crimson smile muscles, the man retracts his finger, lowering his gaze.

The abyss beneath his feet has become significantly shallower, leaving a dried ring around the stone walls. Roughly estimating, the water level has dropped at least five to six meters. The once-boiling black viscous liquid has lost its vitality, now lying dormant.

Using poison to fight poison indeed can eliminate these monsters, offering a possibility of purification in this world.

With a slight tug of his crimson smile muscles, the man satisfactorily withdraws his gaze.

The sky suddenly darkens as rolling dark clouds approach, thunder rumbling closer and closer. It seems like rain is truly imminent.

The man climbs onto a large boulder, gazing up at the sky.

Pea-sized raindrops fall on his bloodied face, washing away the decaying flesh like mud, clearing the pus from his eye sockets. Exposed nose bone, jawbone, rows of teeth appear pale, cleansed by the rain.

It’s unimaginable for a normal person to comprehend how someone can survive being corroded to such an extent.

Yet, not only is the man alive, but he is also thriving in his own way. He chuckles softly, arms slowly outstretched, embracing the torrential rain washing over him. More rotten flesh peels off his body, turning into blood that flows at his feet.

Chirp chirp chirp! A faint and anxious chirping sound emanates from beneath a nearby large rock.

The man’s swollen right eye casually scans over.

A pink flesh ball emerges from the tattered combat uniform, falling into the rushing stream formed by the pouring rain.

The entire forest is shaped like a basin, with the lowest point being the abyss. The pouring rainwater will eventually flow into this bottomless pit.

The pink flesh ball tumbles in the rain, struggling desperately to move forward but slowly sliding towards the abyss. It looks at the man, its watery eyes sending out a signal of distress.

“Little creature, I’ve saved you once already.” The man squats down, his two leg bones creaking.

“Now, you’re on your own.” A gentle chuckle, teasing yet merciless.

The pink flesh ball is no match for the floodwater, its soft body rolling in the raging stream, colliding with the surrounding rocks, mud, and deadwood, causing excruciating pain.

But the pain is not the most terrifying part. What’s truly frightening is that these torrents are converging towards the abyss.

Realizing this, the pink flesh ball is terrified. It chirps frantically, struggling to swim, yet unable to resist the mighty force of nature. Ultimately, it is destined to return to its place of birth, facing its demise.

The strange large insect remains indifferent to its plea for help. With no options left, the pink flesh ball can only emit anxious cries of despair.

The rain pours down, the torrents rush, and the earth, having just endured a catastrophe, is now being cleansed.

The toxic powder sprinkled by the moth swarm and the remnants of those poisoned creatures are all carried away by the flood.

The pink flesh ball is also swept away. It doesn’t understand why life has been so challenging.

Chirp chirp… The chirping grows faint, eventually becoming inaudible. The round fleshy body has been engulfed by the flood, disappearing into the unknown.

The man withdraws his gaze, looking at his decaying hands.

The rain washes away the rot from his hands, with some pink flesh buds beginning to grow. Like vines intertwining, like fungal threads climbing and growing, new muscles gradually attach to the stark white finger bones, followed by the emergence of pale smooth skin, then rounded fingernails.

In a brief moment, the man’s decaying hands are restored to their original state. Likewise, his tall, robust body and handsome yet eerie face return to their former glory. His left eye, turned into pus, is now as black as ink, unfathomable, while the swelling in his right eye has completely subsided.

As the rain washes away the last few tattered shreds, the man stands up completely naked, wiping his face with his hand.

His exceptionally handsome face, now devoid of its eerie semblance, blooms into a twisted smile under the washing rain, his tightly arranged eight-pack abs glistening with water. The once inhuman and ghostly appearance has vanished.

The previously decaying muscles are now plump and full, bulging in a way that exudes a terrifying power even more intense than the torrential rain. The man is distinctly human but resembles more a beast controlled by desire and malevolence.

Unashamed of his nakedness, he stands on the large boulder, leisurely admiring the havoc he has wrought.

The raindrops pitter-patter on the sac, creating a muffled sound. Soon, the sac is punctured by a series of small holes, spewing pus from within, gradually tearing open into a massive fissure.

The pus gushes out through the fissure, merging with the floodwaters. The yellow-brown floodwater quickly turns black as it mixes with the thick, viscous pus.

The man observes this scene quietly, a slight furrow forming on his brow. He senses that something is amiss.

The color and texture of this floodwater—why does it increasingly resemble the black viscous liquid from the abyss? If all the rain pouring from the entire sky transforms into this thick, black flow and converges into the abyss, it might not shrink but expand.

No, this world has not been purified!

A flicker of concern crosses the man’s mind.

Chirp! An excited chirp interrupts the man’s thoughts. He turns to look.

A pink flesh ball jumps out from the black floodwaters, its slender tail swishing, while its upper body takes on the shape of a scorpion, its pincers grasping two dark moths.

Amidst the flood, a few dark moths, yet to turn into pus, are inadvertently picked up by the pink flesh ball.

Initially glancing casually, the man quickly realizes that something extraordinary is unfolding. As the pink flesh ball leaps into the air, it swiftly stuffs the two dark moths into its mouth, causing its round body to swell by a size larger than an adult male’s fist.

The man squints slightly, his thoughts in turmoil.

Chirp! The pink flesh ball is ecstatic, leaping in the water while emitting excited chirps. Unable to breathe when swept away by the flood, it had to gulp down water, inadvertently swallowing a moth.

Though the moth is already dead, it contains immense energy. Almost immediately after consuming it, the pink flesh ball’s body heats up, expanding by a significant margin, its muscles becoming robust and powerful.

Originally destined to helplessly roll towards the abyss in the flood, the next moment the pink flesh ball sprouts a snake tail, swiftly propelling itself forward.

It’s saved! Food is the key to its salvation! It needs more moths!

Realizing this, the pink flesh ball promptly conjures two large pincers, scavenging the corpses of the dark moths in the floodwaters.

It voraciously stuffs moths into its mouth, rapidly gaining weight, swimming away from the abyss as it feasts. Leaping out of the water, it calls out loudly, proudly raising its two pincers to showcase its newfound strength to the strange large insect.

The pink flesh ball is bursting with pride. It hops onto a massive boulder, standing face to face with the peculiar insect.

Another moth drifts in the flood. It swiftly spews out silk to ensnare the moth, dragging it ashore.

Clutching the dark moth with its pincers, it raises it high, flaunting it to the peculiar insect.

“Take that, you jerk!” Its childish voice exudes a mix of triumph and defiance.

The man: “…”

The pink flesh ball greedily devours the moth, visibly gaining a bit more weight, its flesh appearing even more pink and translucent, its large eye clear and luminous like a perfectly cut gem.

“Little creature, you’re fortunate.” The man chuckles softly.

The pink flesh ball glares menacingly at the man, then focuses on the water’s surface. If another moth drifts by, it will immediately retrieve and consume it.

“I suggest you leave here soon, or you’ll perish.” The man casually issues a warning, lightly tapping his toe as he steps away from the boulder.

The flood carries numerous dead trees, rocks, and mud. The man lands on a floating log, then leaps onto another one farther away. By using one foothold after another, he gradually moves upstream, distancing himself from the pink flesh ball.

Unable to comprehend the man’s words, the pink flesh ball naturally doesn’t follow him.

However, it soon realizes that staying here any longer would indeed lead to its demise.

Not long after the man departs, the boulder beneath his feet is swept away by the mudslide. The rock beneath the pink flesh ball also starts to loosen.

The power of the mudslide surpasses that of the flood, flattening mountains and towns in its path. Nothing can impede its progress.

Sensing the rock trembling and slowly sliding towards the abyss, the pink flesh ball chirps frantically.

The man glances back, a slight smile playing on his lips.

With a resounding roar, the rock is uprooted by the flood, causing the pink flesh ball to plunge back into the water. The sand and mud in the water rub against its delicate body, causing unbearable pain.

If it continues to rub against the sand and mud, it will be ground into a fine pulp and flow into the abyss. This manner of death is simply too cruel.

Desperate, the pink flesh ball hastily thrashes its snake tail to leap out of the water. This leap nearly depletes all its strength. Once it lands in the mudslide, due to its complete exhaustion and the impact of the rocks and sand, it might not have such luck again.

In despair, it gazes at the man’s retreating figure.

The man gracefully maneuvers from one floating log to another with a light touch of his toes. Regardless of the dire circumstances, he always remains composed.

If only it could be like him…

As this thought flashes through its mind, the pink flesh ball transforms into a plump grasshopper. It has consumed these insects before but has never transformed. This ability to metamorphose suddenly emerges once its weight reaches a certain point. It doesn’t understand how this happened.

The grasshopper lands on a floating stone, propels itself high with a rear leg kick, effortlessly landing on a distant floating log. Another kick propels it even farther.

With successive jumps, the pink grasshopper quickly catches up to the man’s footsteps.

“Take that, you jerk.”

With a childish insult, the pink grasshopper overtakes the man, dashing ahead, leaving a stylish silhouette with its highly recognizable round belly.

The man: “…I might as well call you Xiaoqiang (Little Cockroach).”