210: Chapter 210 The evil thing in the well

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

The slick friction sound was like the fingernails of death, scraping against the slippery well wall, continuously approaching from the lightless abyss below.

Rising with it was a suffocatingly thick stench of stagnant water and the cloying smell of decay, along with that distinct, unmistakable, cold, and viscous sense of "incoordination."

Fight? In this narrow, slippery well opening, with a rusted, unstable ladder or pipe beneath his feet, facing a monster launching an ambush from its home turf (deep water/well wall) with unknown size and strength, a hasty counterattack had slim chances of success. Furthermore, once dragged into a melee or if he fell, it would be a desperate situation.

Retreat!

His thoughts were like lightning, making a decision in an instant. Ling Ye did not hesitate in the slightest, not even wasting time to find the specific source of the sound. The moment he turned off his flashlight and locked onto the incoming enemy with his perception, his body, like a spring compressed to the limit, shot backward!

He didn't return along the main path he had come from; instead, he lunged into the shadows behind the side of the well opening, towards the pile of rusted pipes and abandoned construction materials leaning against the wall!

His movements were as fast as a ghost, landing without a sound. He curled into the deepest corner of the shadows, back against the cold, damp brick wall, his rifle muzzle pointed steadily toward the well opening, his muscles tense all over, his breathing almost stopped.

His "Energy Perception" retracted, no longer actively probing, but acting like the most sensitive membrane, covering the narrow space between himself and the well opening, capturing any disturbance of energy or entities.

Almost simultaneously.

"Splash—!!!"

A massive, slick black shadow suddenly lunged out from the well opening! It brought up a large spray of cold water and a stench-filled gust of wind!

The flashlight was extinguished; only the extremely faint, dim skylight (perhaps from some crack) filtering in from the corner of the main path in the distance barely outlined a heart-stopping silhouette—

The upper body of that thing looked like a giant worm magnified ten times, covered in pitch-black, slick scales, and filled with suction cups and bone spurs, its diameter almost matching that of the well opening.

It had no obvious head; at the top was a circular mouthpart, like that of a lamprey, constantly opening and closing, filled with spiral-shaped sharp teeth. The edges of the mouthpart flickered with a faint, dark blue light, like biological bioluminescence.

Below the mouthpart were several pairs of short but sharp, constantly moving bony appendages, helping it grip firmly onto the slippery well wall.

The part protruding from the well opening was nearly three meters long, while its lower body seemed to still be firmly attached deep within the well wall.

That cold "will," filled with greed and a desire for destruction, swept through the narrow space like tangible tentacles.

It seemed extremely sensitive to the scent of living things (Ling Ye's approach) that had come from "above" just moments ago. Right now, it was raising its disgusting front end, its mouthpart opening and closing, emitting a "hissing" airflow sound, as if searching for and confirming the prey's location.

Ling Ye lay in the shadows, motionless, even his heartbeat seemingly stopped. He suppressed all his vital signs and mental fluctuations to the lowest possible limit, like a lifeless, damp, cold stone in the corner. Only his fingers gripping the rifle stock were steady and powerful.

The monster "stood" at the well opening, slowly "swaying" its front end from side to side, the dark blue light flickering at the edge of its mouthpart. It seemed a bit confused. Had the prey's scent suddenly vanished? Or had it hidden?

Its several pairs of short bony limbs began to claw at the bricks and stones at the edge of the well, seemingly wanting to squeeze more of its body out of the narrow opening. Its slick body rubbed against the bricks, making a teeth-grinding "creaking" sound, and gravel fell with a rustling noise.

He couldn't wait any longer! Once it completely crawled out of the well opening, in this relatively more open transition space, its range of activity would be greater, making it harder to deal with, and it might completely block his retreat!

He had to launch an attack while it hadn't yet completely detached from the shaft and its movements were restricted! But not a head-on confrontation.

Ling Ye's gaze quickly scanned his surroundings. In the corner where he was, a few rusted metal pipes and some broken concrete blocks were piled up. Between him and the well opening, the ground was slippery and scattered with some debris.

A plan formed in an instant.

His left hand silently reached for his waist and unhooked that defensive grenade. He pulled the safety pin and held the ring with his teeth, but didn't pull it yet. Then, his right hand slowly moved to pick up a palm-sized, sharp-edged piece of concrete from the ground.

He took a deep breath, and then, with all his might, threw the concrete block hard against the wall diagonally above the well opening, away from the monster!

"Bang!" The stone hit the slippery brick wall heavily, producing a crisp impact sound, rebounded, and then landed on the ground behind the monster with a "clatter." The sound was exceptionally jarring in the silent pipe!

The monster was instantly attracted by this movement from the side! Its eyeless mouthpart front suddenly turned toward the direction of the sound, its bony limbs scraping, as if wanting to turn around to investigate!

Now!

A cold light flashed in Ling Ye's eyes! His right hand instantly raised the rifle; he didn't even need to aim—at such a close distance, with such a huge target! The muzzle was aimed at the part where the monster's slick body was most tightly squeezed and rubbing against the edge of the well opening! It was also the connection point where it was trying to squeeze its body out, where the stress was greatest, and likely relatively fragile!

"Bang! Bang!" Two consecutive gunshots almost merged into one long roar! The scorching bullets tore through the damp air and drilled fiercely beneath those pitch-black, slick scales!

"Splat! Splat!" A viscous, dark blue fluid, mixed with pale green and grayish-white tissue, violently sprayed out from the bullet holes!

The monster emitted a shrill, miserable screech that exceeded the limits of human hearing, sounding like metal twisting and breaking! Its entire massive body, due to the intense pain and impact, suddenly sprang upward and twisted! Its body, stuck in the well opening, seemed to have lost its balance due to the impact of the bullets and its own painful struggle!

This was the moment! Ling Ye's left hand suddenly yanked the ring he had been holding in his teeth, and the safety lever of the grenade sprang open!

He didn't count the seconds, but instead used all his strength to throw the activated, egg-shaped grenade precisely into the monster's circular, tooth-filled mouthpart, which was slightly agape due to the intense pain and loss of balance!

The grenade traced a short arc and, in the instant before the monster could react—or perhaps instinctively swallowed due to the intense pain—it disappeared into the depths of that bottomless, dark throat surrounded by spiral sharp teeth!

The moment Ling Ye threw the grenade, he disregarded everything and exploded with all his speed toward the direction of the main path he had come from, away from the well opening, charging headlong! At the same time, he roared one word with all his might, even though he knew no one might hear: "Get down!"

After charging three or four steps, he himself lunged forward, hands clutching his head tightly, curling into a ball, and pressing tightly against the ground!

"Boom—!!!" A terrifying, extremely dull roar, as if erupting from deep within the earth's crust, came from the direction of the well opening! The entire pipe space trembled violently!

A scorching heatwave, mixed with foul-smelling liquid, broken chunks of flesh, fractured bone spurs, and debris from bricks and stones, erupted violently from the well opening like a volcanic eruption! The powerful shockwave sent all the scattered debris flying, smashing them hard against the surrounding walls with a crackling sound!

The scorching, foul-smelling, suffocating heatwave swept over Ling Ye's back, pushing his entire body forward another half a meter. His ears were instantly filled with a sharp ringing, and he could hear nothing else. A burning, stinging pain came from his back; he didn't know if it was from being hit by debris or burned by the high temperature.

But he was still alive.

The aftermath of the explosion and the continuous tremors gradually subsided. There was only the "pitter-patter" sound of gravel and viscous liquid falling, and the "hissing" sound of flames burning some organic matter.

Ling Ye slowly raised his head, shaking off the dust and debris from his head. The ringing in his ears was still severe, and his vision was a bit blurry. He struggled to get up and immediately checked himself. His combat uniform on his back was torn in several places, and his skin had abrasions and burns, but it wasn't serious. His limbs were intact, and his equipment was still there.

He turned around and looked at the well opening. It was already a mess. A large section of bricks and stones at the edge of the well opening had collapsed, revealing a jagged gap.

The monster's upper body had almost completely disappeared, with only some charred, twisted, and still-burning remains sticking to the collapsed well wall and the surrounding ground, emitting a rich, acrid stench and the disgusting smell of burning protein. Dark blue mucus and the monster's tissue were splattered everywhere, staining the walls and ground into a filthy mess.

Below the well, it was still dark and deep, the sound of water seemed to have become more turbulent, and there was a faint "gurgling" sound, as if air was leaking. That cold sense of "incoordination" had not completely disappeared, but it had become extremely weak and dispersed, as if the source had suffered heavy damage.

Resolved. In an extremely risky, yet efficient way.

Ling Ye leaned on his rifle, slowly stood up straight, coughed violently a few times, and spat out the dust and stench he had inhaled into his nose and mouth. He walked to the edge of the collapsed well opening, carefully avoiding the burning remains and the scorching ground, and looked down.

The flashlight beam pierced the darkness. He saw that about ten meters below, more charred fragments and oil stains were floating on the water surface, and the water was murky. The well wall had been shaken by the explosion, causing more cracks, and water was seeping out from them. That already rusted ladder, the part near the top, had been completely twisted and deformed, and could not be used.

This path was completely ruined. At least for a short time, he couldn't go down directly from the well.

But the explosion was not without benefits. It completely cleared the threat at the well opening, and the huge noise and vibration had likely also temporarily dispersed or intimidated other creatures in the pipes nearby, including the swarm of insects in that branch path (at this moment, that "rustling" sound had completely disappeared, leaving dead silence).

Moreover, the power of the explosion seemed to have caused some disturbance to the energy field in this area. Ling Ye could feel that the thin, ubiquitous sense of "incoordination" in the air had experienced a fleeting moment of chaos and weakening after the explosion, and although it quickly began to slowly recover, that momentary "gap" allowed him to capture something else—

Deeper in the well, below the water flow, there seemed to be a faint but rhythmic humming, similar to the operation of machinery, and a kind of higher-order energy fluctuation that was more stable yet more obscure, slightly different from the "abyssal eye" contamination, but seemingly from the same source.

Could it be that the influence of the "Dark Nest," or the location of its "core individual," was not only in the surface Industrial Zone but also extended deep into this intricate underground pipe network? Could it be that below this well, it was connected to some underground part or energy node of the "Dark Nest"?

This discovery made his heart tremble. If the tentacles of the "Dark Nest" had already reached deep underground, then the pipes marked on Zhao Haichuan's map leading to its "edge" might be more dangerous than he had anticipated, perhaps even leading directly into the interior of its underground lair!

He needed to re-evaluate. Should he continue to look for other paths leading to the edge of the "Dark Nest" (if there were any)? Or was this blown-open well ruin, which might lead directly to the underground area of the "Dark Nest," although dangerous, possibly an unexpected, closer shortcut? After all, the most dangerous "watchdog" had already been dealt with, and the aftermath of the explosion might have temporarily cleared a part of the area below.

Of course, going down from this collapsed well opening was almost suicide. But perhaps he could... not go down directly from the well opening.

His gaze turned to the few thick, rusted cast-iron main pipes extending downward along the well wall behind the side of the well. Although the explosion had destroyed the structure of the well opening, these main pipes, deeply embedded in the wall and extremely sturdy, seemed not to have been damaged much. The surface of one of the main pipes, due to the explosion shaking off most of the moss and rust, revealed a relatively rough metal surface underneath, and there seemed to be a gap between it and the well wall large enough for fingers to hook into.