Chapter 080: The Relentless Entanglement of Darkness

Beneath the moonlight, each glossy black sphere resembled a translucent currant, writhing and rolling across the ground. The cancer cells gnawed at their target like maggots clinging to bone, ruthlessly destroying its biological structure.

After about ten minutes, all the fragments split off from the shadow were covered in thick, gelatinous membranes, layer upon layer, and at last ceased their trembling.

Li Tianque gazed at the distant, glistening black spheres, feeling a slight sense of relief. Yet he did not leave immediately. Instead, he waited nearby, intending to collect some samples before departing.

He observed for roughly five minutes, confirming that these black spheres no longer stirred before deeming them truly dead. With an empty Red Bull can in hand, he prepared to collect one of the black spheres.

Cautiously, Li Tianque approached the scattered spheres. Just as he drew near to a small black orb, he noticed something with sharp intuition: these little black spheres were not dead at all!

On the underside of each sphere, pressed tightly to the earth, appeared a web-like pattern—spreading out like roots from a plant, extending deeper underground and growing rapidly in area. Some of the closer spheres were already connected by this dense black network, and the earth itself was beginning to turn dark.

Damn! Could this monstrous thing burrow into the ground as well?

A chilling, eerie giggle sounded once more, this time muffled and more sinister, echoing from beneath the earth.

Li Tianque took two steps back. At that moment, the portable nuclear radiation detector in his satchel suddenly began to alarm.

Radioactive material?

This confirmed beyond doubt—the shadow was a nuclear parasite.

Stunned, Li Tianque looked at the darkening earth in surprise. He’d chosen to carry a nuclear radiation detector rather than a nuclide analyzer because, during missions, he might not be able to replenish his aflatoxin supply on short notice. In emergencies, he could consume radioactive substances as a substitute for aflatoxins. With the detector, he could quickly locate such sources and absorb their power.

Nuclides are unique to nuclear parasites, highlighting their singularity. Yet, because these creatures contain radioactive elements, they can also be detected by a radiation detector.

However...

Ordinary nuclear parasites, even when detected, would merely trigger a notification—rarely a full alarm. Why was this one emitting such intense radiation that the device was blaring?

As Li Tianque puzzled over this, he felt the ground beneath him tremble again. He was now far from Hell Demon Valley; this tremor was certainly not from lightning strikes.

He realized with mounting dread that the earth below was being corrupted by the strange shadow. Sensing danger, he turned to flee. The assault just now had exhausted nearly every combat ability at his disposal. Until he understood the nature of this particular nuclear parasite or group, he had no intention of facing them head-on.

Beyond their horrifying mutability, he also feared that the intense radiation might trigger uncontrollable mutations in the cancer cells within his own body.

The tremors intensified, swelling from a faint rumble to a roaring, thunderous quake. The split black spheres began pounding against the earth like a host of black hearts, each beat raising the ground into undulating mounds.

Li Tianque ignored the chaos behind him and sprinted away from the riverbank, continuing along the edge of the Siweiwei River as far as he could see. In the boundless wasteland, running blindly risked getting lost; the river served as his compass. He had to keep his distance from the bank, but not stray too far.

As he ran, the roar behind him grew into a tidal wave of sound. Glancing back, he saw a black mound surging across the ground, closing in rapidly—dust billowing, the earth trembling.

He pushed himself harder, cancer cells in his legs multiplying rapidly, compressing into dense muscle and giving him a sudden burst of speed, quickly widening the gap between himself and the pursuing mound.

Now, he glimpsed ahead the flicker of campfires and vague silhouettes—herders gathered for the night. Joy surged in his heart at the sight of people.

But soon, he was caught in a dilemma: if he continued forward, the unknown horror behind him would follow and likely threaten those herders. Before him, the campfires stretched in a line; if he changed direction, he could only double back or dash toward the river. Yet, given what he knew, the shadowy creature seemed inextricably linked to the river.

Charging toward the water was out of the question, and turning back to fight was unwise. As he hesitated, the monstrous thing behind him made the choice for him.

Suddenly, the light around him dimmed. Looking down, he saw a spreading shadow at his feet. At first, he thought the creature was attacking from below again and prepared to strike, but quickly realized his mistake—the shadow beneath him was a real one.

Which meant...

Something massive was looming right behind him, casting its shadow over him!

“God! It's the Devourer! Father, it’s the Devourer!” a young voice shouted from afar in alarm.

“At last! Great Spirit of the Siweiwei River, by your grace, I shall end the Devourer here…” murmured a middle-aged man, his voice barely audible.

Li Tianque realized the voices came from a nearby hillside, but he had no time to spare—behind him, the beast was upon him.

Its body was a mass of rock and gravel, with black, viscous liquid seeping through the cracks. Its form was like a churning mass of mud, seemingly soft yet impossibly strong.

The stone-monster crashed down, bearing the weight of a mountain, intent on swallowing Li Tianque whole…