Chapter 78

Darkness enveloped the world. Lin had experienced countless nights of darkness, but this time felt different.

During the day, everything was peaceful, but as soon as night fell, strange vibrations began to emanate from the surroundings.

These vibrations were very subtle, but there were a great many of them. Lin found a new and better word to describe these small vibrations: 'sound.'

It was a wonderful word, as the vibrations that created sound, regardless of their frequency, were always very subtle. The tentacles on the back of Leviathan contained different sensory cells that could simultaneously receive various frequencies of vibrations. Now, Lin was receiving a high-frequency but very subtle vibration.

This must be 'sound,' something only living beings could produce.

These were probably small creatures, about a few centimeters in size. They might have some reason for intentionally making so much noise.

Lin did not light a lantern in the darkness, as it might attract some unfriendly entities.

Lin decided to remain still. Leviathan and the transporter leaned against a sharp pillar, quietly waiting for the darkness to pass. The temperature at night was very low, and the cold wind had already swept away all the moisture on their exoskeletons. However, their exoskeletons were thick enough to prevent any water from leaking out.

A hundred million years ago, Lin already knew how to create an exoskeleton that wouldn't leak water, but it still hadn't fully adapted to the characteristics of the land.

The current night sky was not as bright as before, and with the pillars blocking the view, only a few scattered light spots could reach the ground. In the shadows where the light couldn't reach, small sounds occasionally emerged.

Lin didn't know what kind of creatures were hiding there.

These sounds varied in volume and distance, suggesting that the creatures were moving around. Lin focused on the light spots in the darkness, trying to catch a glimpse of their movements in the starlight.

By altering the structure of its eyes, Lin created a new type of eye called the 'Capture Eye,' which could observe extremely fast movements.

Swish!

A black shadow flashed under the scattered starlight. Although it was very fast, the eye still managed to capture its appearance.

It seemed to be a small arthropod, about ten centimeters long and flat, with six long legs. However, due to the lack of light, Lin couldn't see it clearly.

These creatures were running around Lin, constantly making small sounds, as if they were... communicating with each other, and the frequency of their sounds was increasing. They seemed to be gathering in large numbers nearby.

Lin didn't move, unsure of what these creatures intended to do. Given their size, they shouldn't be able to do much... but being surrounded by so many unfamiliar creatures in the darkness made Lin feel very uneasy.

'Gah...'

A strange sound suddenly came from Leviathan. Lin was startled and immediately extended a tentacle with a lantern to shine on Leviathan. It saw that the small arthropod it had seen earlier was crawling on Leviathan's back, using a pair of curved mandibles to bite into Leviathan's exoskeleton.

After being illuminated, the arthropod turned and jumped off Leviathan, quickly escaping.

There was not even a scratch on Leviathan's exoskeleton where it had been bitten. Lin was puzzled—why would such a small creature dare to attack a much larger one?

Lin's question remained unanswered. The surroundings were still filled with the 'gah gah' sounds of the arthropods. They didn't attack in a group but instead hovered in the darkness around Lin. Even when Lin swept the area with the lantern, it couldn't see them.

It seemed they were intentionally avoiding the light.

Lin had a bad feeling. It retracted the lantern tentacle, intending to observe the situation further.

The moment the lantern light disappeared, Lin immediately felt countless sounds. These were the sounds of their feet touching the ground, which were usually very subtle, but due to their large numbers, they became incredibly clear.

Countless small arthropods rushed forward. Even without looking, Lin knew they had all climbed onto Leviathan and the transporter, using their curved, blade-like teeth to scrape against the exoskeletons.

Although Lin's exoskeleton was lighter on land than in the sea, it was still thick. The vulnerable parts, such as the tentacles, could retract into the shell, and openings like the exit and water jet ports could be closed. If this continued, neither Leviathan nor the transporter would be harmed, but the arthropods' teeth might break first.

The small arthropods seemed to realize this but continued to crawl all over Leviathan and the transporter. Suddenly, they found some small holes on Leviathan's body that were not closed.

These were small holes used to absorb oxygen, too small for even the arthropods to enter.

To Lin's surprise, a sudden pain came from the air holes, indicating that the inner wall cells were being corroded.

Do they use dissolving fluid? Lin squeezed the muscle cells of the inner walls and forcefully sprayed a stronger dissolving fluid, splashing it onto the arthropods surrounding the air holes.

'Gah...' They were injured and made strange sounds but did not retreat from Leviathan's body.

This is really troublesome.

Lin extended the lantern tentacle again. As soon as it did, they all surrounded the tentacle. However, the moment the lantern light shone on them, they seemed to experience great pain, making strange sounds and fleeing.

Lin used the same method to drive away the arthropods on the transporter. Although they fled, they still hovered around, unwilling to leave.

It seems we need to leave here. Who knows what these creatures might do next.

Leviathan and the transporter started running quickly through the forest of sharp pillars at night. The arthropods followed closely behind, constantly making strange sounds, but they seemed to fear Leviathan's lantern and did not dare to catch up.

In this forest of needle-like pillars, it was unclear which direction to go. Lin just wanted to see if it could shake off the arthropods.

Countless needle-like pillars kept receding behind them. After running for a while, Lin felt the sounds behind them diminish.

Did they give up?

Lin turned the lantern backward, but saw nothing except sand and mud. When Lin turned the light back to the front, a black shadow suddenly appeared on the ground not far from Leviathan.

What is that?

This black shadow was large. When Leviathan got closer, it recognized the familiar object.

A shark.

To be precise, the remains of a shark. It was about two meters long and had been thrown to this position by a tsunami. The middle part of its body had been eaten, leaving some internal organs scattered on the muddy ground, while the head and tail were completely untouched.

Lin was puzzled about what kind of creature had eaten the body but left it unfinished, and no other creatures had come to eat it.

The shark's body emitted the distinctive odor of a corpse. While this might be repulsive to some creatures, it should be a signal of food for most.

Lin had a bad feeling and immediately turned Leviathan and the transporter around to leave. As soon as they started running, a strong vibration came from behind.

A large creature was moving, heading directly toward Lin.

Leviathan and the transporter were actually very slow on land due to their excessive internal water, making them much heavier than in water. Lin was still unsure how to run faster on land.

Feeling the large creature pursuing them, Lin suddenly realized that the shark's body might have been a... trap?

It's possible...

But that didn't matter now. Lin retracted the lantern and continued to run with all its might, even though it was slow.

The large creature that used the shark as a trap only chased for a short distance before retreating, not intending to pursue them continuously.

Lin didn't stop and kept running.

The forest of needle-like pillars at night was filled with strange sounds and odors. During the day, it was extremely quiet, and it was hard to see any creatures, but at night, they seemed to become active.

During the continuous running, the transporter's auxiliary legs were almost at their limit. The intense movement of the internal muscle cells could lead to cell tearing or death.

Even Leviathan, due to its unfamiliarity with the gravity on land, was becoming fatigued, but Lin continued to run until it was sure it was far from any dangerous sounds and odors.

However, one odor lingered around Lin, refusing to dissipate.

It was... the odor of a corpse.

...

Thank you to ~Soul Seeker~ ~godmorgan~ ~Da Wo Cheng~ for your support.

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