109: Terror – The Ferocity of the Star Beasts (Part Two)

Both Mutou and Zifeng possessed incredibly sharp senses. Before the monster had even fully emerged, they had already detected it and issued a simultaneous warning.

Zigui was no slouch either. With a flick of his hand, a high-energy oscillating blade appeared in his grip. He darted back and forth, the blade whistling through the air with a series of "whooshing" sounds, shredding the nauseating mouthparts of the bizarre snake-like creature to pieces. The blonde woman, Jona, was stunned. "Zigui, I never imagined you had such impressive skills."

The black bodyguard also gave a thumbs-up, saying, "Expert!"

However, contrary to his usual playful and boastful demeanor, Zigui looked tense. "Everyone, be careful!"

Before he could finish his sentence, a series of deafening crashes erupted from the ceiling and the floor. Wire mesh from the ventilation ducts was blasted outward, and countless pitch-black, slimy, grotesque snakes surged out. They opened their sickening, saliva-dripping mouthparts, surrounding the group.

"My God!" the four bodyguards turned ashen, and Jona’s face drained of color.

As the snakes writhed and lunged, the black bodyguard let out a roar, his rotary machine gun chattering as he swept it across the creatures. However, while the bullets forced the snakes to recoil, they only left white marks on their skin, occasionally drawing a few drops of blood. The monsters were clearly thick-skinned and heavily armored; the power of the machine gun was insufficient to cause them any serious harm.

Yet, the roar of the machine gun seemed to intimidate them; they danced and writhed but dared not press too close. Despite this, the group felt even more terrified—if a rotary machine gun couldn't stop these monsters, what could?

As they desperately racked their brains for a plan, a few snakes couldn't resist and lunged to bite. Strangely, these creatures seemed to possess a degree of intelligence, as they ignored Mutou and the others who held heavy weapons and instead targeted the two bodyguards, Jona, and Mu Siyu.

Mutou was quick-witted and agile; he fired his rotary gun, obliterating the head of a snake that had opened its mouth. The creature twisted and shrank back into the ventilation shaft like a wounded tentacle.

Mutou realized the truth and shouted, "Aim for their mouthparts! They can’t withstand the gun fire there!"

The others followed suit, concentrating their fire on the mouthparts. For a moment, blood sprayed, and countless disgusting chunks of flesh and slime splattered onto the floor.

However, there were simply too many snakes. Under the concentrated fire, some still slipped through. Two bodyguards cried out, "Help—!"

Before they could finish, one was enveloped by a snake’s mouthparts and rapidly dragged back into the vent. Not even a scream could be heard. The other guard’s fate was even worse; it was unclear how, but a snake’s mouthparts had latched onto his foot, dragging him toward the shaft. He let out a long, agonizing wail, his hands clawing at the floor and leaving long trails of blood. Finally, he clung desperately to the edge of the vent, his eyes bulging as he lost the ability to speak, looking at the others with a gaze of pure, desperate pleading.

The snake remained hidden inside the vent, out of reach of their bullets. The group could only watch helplessly. Mutou, unable to bear it any longer, was about to unleash his mystical arts when the snake inside the vent suddenly extended its mouthparts, swallowing the guard’s head whole before vanishing into the darkness of the shaft. The guard’s look of horror and despair remained seared into their minds.

Although these bodyguards were used to life-and-death situations, they were shaken to their cores by such a terrifying phenomenon and such a gruesome death. Jona and Mu Siyu were deathly pale, crouching on the ground and vomiting uncontrollably. If not for the protection of Zigui and Mutou, they would have likely fallen victim to the snakes long ago.

"Aahhh!" The remaining guard with a rotary gun roared frantically. The horrific death of his comrade had left his eyes bloodshot, and he pulled the trigger mechanically, desperate to blast the snakes into mincemeat.

"Watch out!" Jona and Mu Siyu, now without weapons, became targets. As a snake lunged for Jona, Zigui moved to intercept, his oscillating blade flashing as he hacked the creature's head into pieces.

The snake, however, seemed to possess incredible vitality. Even with its head severed, it continued to writhe and thrash, quickly retreating into the vent. It seemed to be in agonizing pain, yet it remained as vigorous as ever.

Perhaps satisfied after consuming two people, the remaining snakes writhed for a moment before gradually retreating into the ventilation shafts. Suddenly, Mu Siyu let out a sharp cry. She grabbed a metal chain from somewhere and swung it across the air, binding a snake that was about to retreat. The creature’s strength was immense; it dragged Mu Siyu step by step toward the vent.

Mutou lunged forward, drawing his oscillating blade, and severed the creature at the waist—even the rotary gun couldn't cut through its hide.

It was unclear what species these creatures were, but their vitality was off the charts. The severed rear half quickly retreated into the vent, while the front half, still bound by the chain, continued to struggle, leaving the group stunned. Mutou recalled a primitive earth creature called an earthworm, said to be able to survive even after being cut in two. Could these snakes be the same?

As the swarm of snakes retreated, everyone let out a sigh of relief. The tall black bodyguard seemed okay, but the other one broke down in loud, inconsolable sobs, his eyes bloodshot; it was clear the deceased guard had been very close to him.

On the other side, Jona’s attitude toward Zigui had softened. She said softly, "Zigui, I didn't realize you had such great skills. That's amazing!"

Zigui laughed triumphantly, his left hand casually draping over Jona’s waist. "Of course. I can fight tigers in the mountains and capture dragons in the sea. How could these little star-beasts possibly be my match?"

Jona giggled but didn't push his hand away. It seemed women always had an instinctive submission toward strong men.

Nearby, Mu Siyu was staring intently at the upper half of the snake bound by the chain. Mutou asked curiously, "What’s so interesting about it?"

Mu Siyu said thoughtfully, "This doesn't look like a snake!"

Mutou replied, "It certainly doesn't. It's too large, and those mouthparts are disgusting. The mouth is so big, I wonder where its eyes are?"

Mu Siyu suddenly asked, "Brother Mutou, have you ever seen an octopus?"

Mutou was surprised. "An octopus? I haven't seen a real one, but I've seen plenty in movies!"

Mu Siyu said, "Once, when our plane made an emergency landing at sea, I saw a real giant octopus. Its tentacles were enormous, though a bit smaller than this!"

Mutou was skeptical. "You think this is an octopus tentacle? That doesn't seem likely!" He looked at the creature. "Octopus tentacles have suckers, but this one doesn't. And if the tentacles are this big, how large must the star-beast itself be?"

Mu Siyu shook her head. "Look, the head of this creature has no facial features other than the mouthparts. It looks much more like an animal's tentacle. And only something like a nerve-ending tentacle could survive for so long after being separated from the main body."

She continued, "I noticed that when the swarm rushed out, not one of them showed a complete body. Each one moved with a rhythmic, coordinated motion, not like an individual entity."

Hearing Mu Siyu’s analysis, everyone was shocked. "You mean, those snakes were just the tentacles of a star-beast?"

Mu Siyu nodded. "I suspect the star-beast has made this cruise ship its nest, and we—including the people inside—have become its prepared food."

Hearing this, everyone’s expression changed. It seemed this star-beast would not be easy to deal with. The black bodyguard stepped forward and pressed a button, opening the door to the control room, but it was empty, and silence reigned all around.

Suddenly, a "clink" sound came from a corner of the room, like something falling. The group, already on edge, whirled their weapons toward the sound.

"Don't shoot!" Jona suddenly shouted. A tiny head had poked out from the corner—it was a palm-sized, adorable hamster, though its white fur was covered in dust from wherever it had been hiding.

"Xiao Bing!?" Jona cried out happily, calling to it softly.

The little hamster’s beady eyes darted around before it scurried onto Jona’s palm, burying itself into her chest as if finding a cozy nest, and settling down with a contented expression.

Zigui gritted his teeth. "Perverted hamster... daring to take advantage of my woman? Wait until I get my hands on you!"

The hamster ignored Zigui’s hostile expression and kept burrowing into Jona’s embrace, making her giggle.

The black bodyguard said, "Huh? Isn't this the mechanic's pet? I wonder if he’s in danger!"

The hamster seemed to understand human speech. Even though the bodyguard was talking to himself, the hamster shook its head repeatedly in Jona’s arms, standing on its hind legs and gesturing with its front paws while squeaking, as if trying to express something. But the group just stared at it blankly—none of them understood what it meant.

After gesturing for a long time and seeing no reaction, the hamster suddenly jumped down and ran toward the door of the control room. The group was confused and stood still, but then the hamster performed a comical move: seeing that they weren't following, it turned back and waved its paws, leaving them thunderstruck. It was clearly asking them to follow. Could this hamster really be that intelligent?

Zigui said, "This type of hamster is indeed one of the more intelligent pet-class star-beasts. It looks like the mechanic released it to find help. We have no choice but to save him; he might be the only one who can restore the ship's power system!"