Chapter 219: Worm of Erosion (part 8)
In the dim office, Liu Yi stared at Fu Qian’s face, dumbfounded.
No matter what, she just couldn’t connect that face with the ferocious arm.
But the stark reality was right before her, leaving her no choice but to believe.
To be fair, compared to the monster from earlier, Fu Qian’s overall appearance was still much more normal.
However, it’s often the contrast that’s frightening.
When you’re set on the idea that it’s a monster, even the most ferocious of forms won’t scare you to an unbearable extent.
But when someone you’re convinced is human suddenly extends a monstrous claw, the impact is simply indescribable.
Fixated on Fu Qian, Liu Yi was already retreating subconsciously.
And to her movement, Fu Qian didn’t pay any attention at all, continuing to scribble on the desk.
The solid hardwood desk felt like tofu under his fingers.“You—”
Her hand was already on the doorknob, but Liu Yi didn’t turn it immediately.
Because she suddenly realized that the outside was just as perilous, a classic dilemma.
“What’s wrong?”
At that moment, Fu Qian looked up at her.
“How are you feeling now?”
“I’m okay.”
Liu Yi hadn’t anticipated that Fu Qian would show concern for her and answered subconsciously.
“Just a bit hungry.”
“Hungry?”
“Yeah.”
Liu Yi nodded.
“It’s probably because I’ve been running and used up a lot of energy.”
Is that so?
Her response plunged Fu Qian into thought.
Unlike himself, Liu Yi and Liang Yuntian, even Six-legged Brother before losing his head, were still controlled by the host’s consciousness.
But that doesn’t mean their behaviors couldn’t be subtly influenced.
Liu Yi’s hunger could be more than just a physiological reaction.
“When you two went to the school infirmary just now, was it Liang Yuntian who went into the duty room?”
“Yeah.”
Liu Yi clearly didn’t know why Fu Qian was asking this, she just nodded subconsciously.
“Although that creature inside was calling us in, because of your earlier warning, Liang Yuntian had me wait outside.”
So Liang Yuntian was injured inside the duty room.
Fu Qian thought to himself.
Given the creature’s speed and strength, being ambushed in such a tight space, even with some preparation, the injuries Liang Yuntian suffered seemed too light.
This situation is quite unusual, indeed!
To think that he hadn’t deliberately shown his mutated arm earlier.
It was as much deterrence as it was a test.
The reason he did it was that he noticed something odd about Liang Yuntian, who seemed to have the intention to kill.
Seeing the abnormality on his arm, Liu Yi undoubtedly reacted as a normal person would.
Whereas Liang Yuntian, as shocked as he was, didn’t show an inability to comprehend but instead promptly suggested they go down to take a look.
It could indeed be interpreted that he was so scared that he made up an excuse to flee.
But there’s also another possibility, that Liang Yuntian had originally intended to kill both him and Liu Yi there but decided against it because the mutation on his own body made him unsure of his chances and he ultimately aborted the plan.
As for why he would do that, Fu Qian speculated that it was for the same reason as Liu Yi: hunger.
The infection from the Worm of Erosion had given rise to a desire to kill and consume each other.
If that really was the case, he could be quite certain of Liang Yuntian’s true purpose for going downstairs—facing uncertainty in dealing with him, Liang Yuntian had gone to eat something else.
In fact, by this time, he should have already made it to Six-legged Brother’s location.
If Six-legged Brother had indeed kicked the bucket, that guy might be gorging himself right now.
As for what Liang Yuntian would do after eating, that was very hard to say.
“Now that you mention it, it reminds me that I’m a bit hungry too.”
Think this, Fu Qian inspected Liu Yi up and down while making idle chat.
The circular patches on her skin had become more pronounced, and it even looked as if a viscous fluid was oozing out, evoking the memory of the strange snail from the book.
At this moment, Fu Qian’s expression was undoubtedly easy to misinterpret.
Liu Yi’s smile became more and more strained as she put her hand behind her back and quietly turned the doorknob.
“I… I’ll go out and have a look.”
The next moment, she pulled open the heavy security door.
Clang!
However, just as she was about to leap out, an unusual noise came from downstairs.
Liu Yi’s movements instantly froze.
That was the sound of glass shattering.
Before, Liang Yuntian had said he would close the glass door.
Had the monster come in? Had Liang Yuntian been killed by it?
She needed to hide quickly, but there was also a monster here.
What to do?
Thoughts whirled rapidly in her head, leaving Liu Yi feeling breathless and a sense of unprecedented despair.
…
Ah!
Amidst screaming, Liu Yi still bolted through the door in the end.
She wouldn’t be so foolish as to run downstairs.
Fu Qian walked to the door as if nothing had happened and looked out.
If his earlier guess was right, then it was very likely Liang Yuntian who had broken in.
And he knew about this hiding place.
If Liu Yi found another place to hide, her chances of survival might increase by a few percentage points.
As for himself.
Fu Qian gripped the doorknob and with a click, it was twisted off.
After further merging with this body, he could already be considered to have some fighting ability.
Compared to hiding here and there with a few guesses, waiting for this long night to pass, Fu Qian was more keen on meeting the person coming up, to verify the thoughts in his mind.
So Fu Qian retreated back into the room and simply found a chair to sit down.
Within less than a minute, Fu Qian heard footsteps from outside.
The next moment, the door was pushed open, and Liang Yuntian’s face appeared outside.
What was striking was that his body had undergone obvious changes compared to before.
Liang Yuntian was already quite burly, but now he could be described as massive.
His bones seemed to have undergone strange growth, with the upper body widening to an incredible extent, stretching the T-shirt into tattered strips of cloth.
At the same time, his legs also elongated strangely, with even large-angle bends at the knees.
“You don’t seem surprised at all?”
Liang Yuntian said with a smile on his face, as he squeezed his way in sideways.
“What’s there to be surprised about?”
Fu Qian exhaled.
“How do you feel?”
“Fantastic, better than ever!”
“Does it taste good?”
“Haha, you’re the same.”
Liang Yuntian’s laughter was high-pitched.
“Although I don’t understand why you didn’t follow, the taste is really excellent!”
He pointed outside the window.
“On this night, we are undoubtedly the chosen ones, beings set apart from the rest.”
“And devouring our own kind will elevate this distinctiveness.”
Liang Yuntian unabashedly licked his lips, a look of indulgence on his face.
“Of course, the taste is also superb.”
“Better than what you ate before?”
…
Liang Yuntian fell into a rare silence for half a minute.
“How did you know?”