98: Chapter 98 Terrifying Predation

The path through the snow forest was harder to walk than yesterday.

The new snow that fell overnight had covered all the old footprints.

Lin Ye walked in the lead, using his engineering shovel as a probe, stabbing it into the snow layer again and again.

Zhao Mengmeng followed behind; she had almost been gutted by the vines earlier, and her heart rate still hadn't fully settled.

"Brother Lin, if that thing burrows into someone's body, can they still be saved?"

"Depends on the level of infection."

"What about someone like Yamamoto?"

"They can't be saved."

Zhao Mengmeng looked at the ripples under the snow, a chill running down the back of her neck.

Challengers could still be used by the monsters even after death.

This was even more troublesome than simple exotic beasts.

Every few dozen meters, Lin Ye would briefly activate his Eye of Destiny.

No red light appeared nearby.

But the dim red area in the northeast was becoming clearer.

Its area was expanding.

The closer the two got to the sinkhole, the fewer living creatures there were in the forest.

No birds.

No small exotic beasts either.

Only the creaking of branches in the wind remained.

Lin Ye stopped at the top of a gentle slope.

There was still some distance to the sinkhole from here.

But the snow had already begun to show abnormal changes.

Some places bulged, then slowly collapsed.

Something was moving under the snow.

Lin Ye crouched down and gently pried open a patch of snow crust with his engineering shovel.

There was no soil under the snow.

Only a thin Blood-colored Vine, slithering forward along the surface of the ground.

Its skin was covered in tiny thorns, its tip still probing the surroundings.

Lin Ye pressed down on the vine with the blade of his shovel.

The vine immediately coiled toward the shovel handle.

Lin Ye moved his right arm slightly, and a Nano-wire swept past.

The vine was cut into two pieces.

The severed end didn't die immediately; instead, it twitched a dozen times in the snow.

Zhao Mengmeng gripped her crossbow handle tightly.

"It can still move even after being cut?"

"Nerve reflexes, or group signaling."

"Can you say something more comforting?"

"At least it doesn't hold up well to cutting."

Zhao Mengmeng looked at the two twisting vine segments.

"You call that comforting?"

Lin Ye scanned under the snow with his Eye of Destiny.

There were many scattered red lines nearby.

In the distance, toward the sinkhole, they had become a solid red expanse.

This thing had already crawled out from the bottom of the pit and was spreading along the low-lying snow layers.

The snow layer was a natural cover and also an insulation layer.

The heavier the wind and snow, the better it could hide.

Zhao Mengmeng asked in a low voice, "Are we still going forward?"

Lin Ye looked toward the forest ahead.

"Yes, we need to find a safe observation point."

"What do you call safe?"

"A place where we can retreat at any time."

He led Zhao Mengmeng off the straight path, circling up to a higher forest ridge on the right.

There were several old trees here, their roots coiled into the frozen soil, their trunks thick and sturdy.

Lin Ye tested the hardness of the bark and looked at the slopes on both sides.

If the vines surged from below, they could quickly get up the trees using the Dark Weaver and the Wind-Chasing Claw.

Zhao Mengmeng understood what he meant.

"Can this serve as a temporary observation post?"

"Yes."

"Is going any further just throwing our lives away?"

"Not necessarily, but the potential gains aren't worth the risk."

The two did not rashly step into the low-lying area.

Lin Ye tied a piece of animal hide rope to the leeward side of the tree trunk as a temporary marker.

Then he lay behind the snow slope and took out a small piece of frozen meat.

It was the scrap meat cut from the leg of a Snow Cave Hog that morning.

Zhao Mengmeng's eyes twitched when she saw the meat.

"You want to lure it?"

"To confirm their reaction distance."

Lin Ye tossed the frozen meat toward the low-lying snow surface.

The frozen meat landed.

The snow surface was silent for two seconds.

At the third second, three bulges nearby turned simultaneously.

Thin vines burrowed out from under the snow, drawing close to the frozen meat.

They first probed, then coiled tightly around the meat.

More tiny thorns pierced into the meat.

The surface of the frozen meat visibly shriveled up.

Zhao Mengmeng felt her stomach churn.

"Is it sucking the blood and fluids out of the meat?"

"Heat, nutrients, moisture—it wants it all."

Lin Ye looked up toward the distance.

Several terrified beast cries suddenly came from the forest line ahead.

The sounds were short and quickly cut off.

Zhao Mengmeng immediately raised her crossbow.

"There's something ahead!"

Lin Ye raised his hand to press down her crossbow.

The two leaped across the tree branches, moving forward a dozen meters.

The low-lying snowfield ahead revealed an open area.

Several Cold Ridge Antelopes were being entangled by the Blood-colored Vines.

Their hooves scraped the snow frantically, and their curved horns broke a few thin vines.

But more vines burrowed out from under the snow, wrapping around their abdomens and necks.

A small antelope was dragged down.

The vines pierced into its mouth, nose, and wounds.

Its body rapidly shriveled.

Another adult antelope was still struggling, its hind leg entangled by a thick vine, the entire leg turning withered and black at a visible speed.

"This thing eats way too fast."

Lin Ye stared at the direction of those vines.

They weren't fighting individually.

Some were responsible for entangling.

Some were responsible for piercing.

The thicker main vines were hidden under the snow, slowly approaching the prey.

"There's a division of labor."

"Plants engaging in teamwork?"

"In a high-pollution environment, don't think in conventional terms."

The audience in the Great Xia Live Stream was also stunned by this scene.

"This is even more disgusting than a wolf pack; at least you can see wolves."

"It hides under the snow; you're done for once you step on it."

"Just how many have crawled out from that sinkhole?"

"If it can't be blocked, the cave will be surrounded sooner or later."

Lin Ye did not continue to watch.

He needed to know if cutting would be effective against these vines.

He raised his right arm.

The Dark Weaver shot out anchor points, nailing into two giant trees ahead.

Then, several more Nano-wires were fixed to rocks and tree roots.

A three-dimensional crisscross cutting net quickly took shape.

It was invisible to the naked eye.

But in Lin Ye's mind, the position of every line was perfectly clear.

Seeing his movements, Zhao Mengmeng immediately retreated to a high point on the side.

"I'll watch for living threats; you set your net."

Lin Ye took a piece of bloody wolf meat from his backpack.

He used the Nano-wire to drag the meat, slowly pulling it past the back of the cutting net.

The smell of blood spread.

In the low-lying area, the vines that were devouring the Cold Ridge Antelopes reacted.

The dozens of thin vines at the front turned and slithered toward the meat.

They entered the area of the cutting net.

At first, they didn't notice anything unusual.

The next second, more vines from behind pressed up.

The vines in front were pushed onto the Nano-wires.

The thin vines snapped.

Dark red sap splashed onto the snow, making a slight corrosive sound.

Lin Ye slightly retracted his right arm.

The tension of the cutting net increased.

More vines were cut open by the taut Nano-wires.

The severed vine segments piled up in a heap, twisting frantically, but unable to cross that invisible barrier.

Zhao Mengmeng's eyes lit up.

"It's effective!"

Lin Ye stared at the red light under the snow.

Only the front layer had been cut.

The vines behind were pressing forward continuously.

After the thin vines were shredded, thicker vines began to appear.

Their skin was thicker; after being cut by the Nano-wires, they didn't snap immediately but kept pressing forward despite the cuts.

The Nano-wires were soaked with sap, emitting a faint friction sound.

Lin Ye adjusted the angle, making the crisscrossing lines form a denser cutting area.

The thick vines were cut halfway through.

The vine swarm behind continued to squeeze.

The cut parts finally snapped and rolled onto the snow.

Just as Zhao Mengmeng breathed a sigh of relief, a large area of the snow surface ahead bulged up again.

More vines surged from the direction of the sinkhole.

There were too many.

Everywhere she looked was a surging red tide under the snow.

The Great Xia Live Stream went silent for half a second, then the chat exploded.

"Something's wrong, there are too many!"

"You can cut the front row, but the ones behind keep pushing!"

"No matter how strong the Dark Weaver is, it's just wires, not a sea of fire!"

"This thing needs large-scale incineration, but where are we going to find fuel in this frozen wasteland?"

Zhao Mengmeng saw it too.

She gripped the trigger, her voice tense.

"Brother Lin, how long can this net hold?"

Lin Ye looked at the cutting zone, which was being squeezed tighter and tighter.

"Depends on how thick they pile up."

"Translate that for me?"

"It won't hold for long."