Free Web NovelChapter 27: Chapter 27: Insect Contamination
Seconds ticked by, and in the blink of an eye, more than twenty minutes had passed.
Long Ming stood alone on the platform, feeling a bit speechless. It was a classic case of his worst fears coming true.
However, just as the timer was about to hit 30 minutes, the obelisk-like mechanical pillar at the center of the small, gyroscope-shaped platform suddenly lit up. The patterns on its surface began to glow, flashing with a dazzling light.
Long Ming secretly let out a sigh of relief and put himself on high alert.
Then, he was enveloped in a white light.
「A few seconds later.」
The white light gradually faded, and Long Ming’s vision slowly returned.
He cautiously raised the M24 sniper rifle in his hands and turned to scan his surroundings.
The scene that met his eyes left Long Ming stunned.
He found himself standing alone on a street, surrounded by towering buildings made of reinforced concrete.
The glass curtain walls of these buildings were long shattered, and their exteriors were covered with gray insect cocoons.
The surrounding shops were in ruins. Dark red insects crawled over the goods in the display windows and on the shelves.
Long Ming subconsciously took a step.
CRUNCH~
A brittle, cracking sound echoed.
Hearing the noise, Long Ming quickly looked down. The ground was covered in withered insect husks, and from time to time, tiny larvae could be seen poking their heads out from inside them.
His skin crawled.
He had never seen such a disgusting sight.
Anyone with less nerve would have started screaming long ago.
He then took a deep breath, calmed his racing heart, and carefully observed his surroundings.
He noticed that the wrecked cars, toppled streetlights, and scattered trash cans were all covered in insect eggs of various colors.
And in the sky above the city, swarms of flying insects could be seen, blotting out half the sky as they passed.
Long Ming’s expression grew more solemn as he watched this scene.
Although the city didn’t seem very large, it gave him a feeling of extreme danger.
But Long Ming wasn’t scared off. As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
His current location seemed to be a commercial street, lined with shops on both sides—clothing stores, convenience stores, and even a jewelry shop.
However, Long Ming decisively ignored all of them. After his experiences in the previous civilization and with his understanding of the market...
He knew very well that only items, equipment, and medicine of Purple grade or higher were valuable.
Everything else could be disregarded.
But items of Purple grade or higher weren’t that easy to find.
Therefore, Long Ming decided to prioritize searching for equipment, which would also enhance his own combat effectiveness.
Having set his objective, Long Ming glanced down at the map on his wristband.
As expected, it was completely black; he would have to explore to reveal it.
Long Ming carefully moved forward, step by step. He was extremely cautious with each step, afraid of treading on something.
The entire street was silent—so quiet that only his footsteps could be heard, keeping Long Ming’s nerves stretched taut.
As he passed a jewelry store, he saw the plastic face of a mannequin in the display window crawling with dark red insects.
The windowsill was covered in disgusting, viscous excrement.
Inside the store, on the counters that once displayed jewelry and luxury goods, worms could be seen slithering over the trinkets.
Long Ming glanced inside but felt no interest in going in to search.
Soon, Long Ming reached the center of the commercial street, where a circular fountain stood.
The fountain’s equipment had long since stopped working. The water inside had dried up, and a gray fungus was growing in the cracks between the stone tiles at the bottom of the basin.
On the surrounding benches, the wooden seats had been eaten away by insects, leaving only rusted metal frames.
Long Ming patiently continued forward.
A short while later, Long Ming stopped in front of a three-story, reinforced concrete building and looked at the sign hanging by the main entrance.
"Akaya Defense Branch."
The main entrance of the Akaya Defense Branch was wide open. To the left were three dust-covered patrol motorcycles, one of which was lying on its side.
Not far away lay a skeleton clad in a tattered uniform.
The skeleton was clutching a pistol in its hand.
Long Ming approached and crouched down, reaching for the gun.
Suddenly, he saw a red, black-haired insect crawl out from the skeleton’s sleeve.
Long Ming snatched his hand back as if he’d been shocked. ’Who knows if this thing is poisonous? It’ll be a real pain if I get bitten.’
But that didn’t mean Long Ming was giving up.
He used the barrel of his M24 sniper rifle to nudge the pistol over before picking it up.
PING~
At that moment, a notification popped up on Long Ming’s wristband.
Geko Automatic Pistol.
Durability: 62/100
Magazine: 5/15
.....
Long Ming glanced at the stats, then tucked the Geko Automatic Pistol into his pocket. He then walked into the Akaya Defense Branch and entered a chaotic lobby.
A single glance told Long Ming the lobby floor was covered in cobwebs and withered insect husks. Beneath the husks, skeletons in uniform could be seen.
Long Ming cautiously approached the registration desk.
He saw that the computer screen on the desk was shattered. A set of keys lay on the desktop, caked in dust and viscous excrement.
Long Ming stared at the keys, his expression shifting, but he eventually reached out, grabbed them, wiped them on his clothes, and put them in his pocket.
Next, he walked over to the bodies on the floor to check if they had anything valuable.
A short while later, Long Ming had looted three Geko Automatic Pistols from the bodies.
He raised his wristband to scan them. The three pistols had durabilities of 89, 21, and 63. One had an empty magazine, while the other two had 3 and 4 bullets respectively.
Long Ming ejected the magazines from all the pistols, unloaded the bullets, and loaded them one by one into the magazine of the pistol with 89 durability.
He then tossed aside the pistol with 21 durability, put the other two in his backpack to sell later, and tucked the best one into his pocket.
Just then, a larva covered in red patterns wriggled out of a husk on the floor and silently crawled toward Long Ming.
It quickly reached his feet. Just as it was about to crawl up his shoe...
...Long Ming suddenly lifted his foot and crushed it. Viscous liquid splattered on the ground.
Long Ming looked at the dead larva, his brow furrowed deeply.
BZZZ~
Suddenly, Long Ming heard the buzzing of a mosquito behind him.
He whipped his head around and saw a seven-centimeter-long mosquito flying toward him.
Long Ming’s expression changed slightly. He immediately swung his M24 sniper rifle, trying to drive it away.
Finally, unable to get close, the mosquito flew off.
Long Ming watched the departing mosquito with a grim expression. ’What the hell kind of place is this? Even the mosquitoes are mutated! It’s huge! Getting "kissed" by that thing would probably make me bleed out.’
He didn’t dwell on it for long, though, and continued exploring deeper inside.
Soon, Long Ming reached the stairwell. He carefully climbed the stairs and arrived at the second-floor hallway.
Several skeletons in uniform lay in the hallway, which was lined with rooms on both sides.
