I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

"No need."

The biologist, Mary, sat back down in her seat.

Give me some.

The "hound's" left shoulder was dented, seemingly broken, but he didn't care. Instead, he took out his cup, which he used for eating in the wild, and filled it with a piece of pork rib and a few slices of rat meat.

"Can I really eat this?"

The frightened stone was also starving; tension can make people feel tired, just as it can make them hungry.

He simply caught the ribs that Lu Ban handed him with his hands and started to eat them in big bites.

Only the overweight driver, because he had to drive, couldn't enjoy it, and could only take a deep breath as if he had tasted it.

"We need to eat something while traveling at night."

Lu Ban chewed and swallowed the pork ribs that had been cooked until they were falling off the bone, and then suddenly thought of something.

“These rats are quite large and their meat is edible. Why don’t we just build a high wall along their migration route? That way, the rats will just run into the wall and die, and we can get a lot of protein.”

He was letting his thoughts wander.

"Or use a net, which can keep the rat carcass intact and allow some rats to pass through the net and continue moving forward, thus ensuring sustainable development."

"That's right."

The "hunting dog" ate heartily, nodding repeatedly.

"..."

Only Mary, the biologist standing to the side, seemed hesitant to speak.

After finishing the meat, Lu Ban cooked potatoes, radishes, mushrooms, and other vegetables in the soup, and then drank a bowl of soup, feeling extremely satisfied with both his body and mind.

Lu Ban turned off the camping light, put the pot aside, leaned back in his chair, and waited for the trip to end.

He didn't think things would end there, otherwise it would be a gross underestimation of the most difficult mission.

After giving "Hound" a quick treatment of its wounds, Lu Ban went to the passenger seat.

He looked at the road ahead, illuminated by high beams, stretching endlessly toward the empty horizon.

Have you driven this road many times?

Lu Ban chimed in.

"Ah."

The driver responded, remaining focused.

Lu Ban didn't continue chatting and disturb the driver, but instead looked ahead as well.

These ruins are one after another, with very few open spaces. One can imagine how magnificent and civilized this place must have once been.

The bus journey took two hours.

After eating, the stone was overcome by fatigue and fell into a drowsy sleep.

The others, however, remained focused, especially Lu Ban.

If he hadn't felt it was a bit strange to take out his phone at this moment, he probably would have played some music.

Driving late at night without some background music is no good.

Just as Lu Ban was sitting in the passenger seat, carefully examining the crowbar in his hand, he felt a sudden light appear ahead.

He looked up and saw a face pressed against the car window, its cloudy eyes staring intently at him.

It was a face that could absolutely not be called human.

Its eyes were small, with dark vertical pupils set against a yellow background, and its head was sharp, like that of some kind of wild beast.

But behind that face were long limbs and a body, like an ape, but pale and hairless. Its fingers were slender with sharp claws at the ends, and it was patting the car window.

crunch--

The driver was also startled by the sudden accident. He turned the steering wheel, and the whole car lost its balance, crashing forward and overturning.

After one lap, the wheels touched the ground again, but the interior of the car was a mess, the lights were off, and the surroundings were plunged into darkness.

Lu Ban gripped the crowbar tightly and immediately looked up.

But the monster on the windshield had disappeared.

It was only then that Lu Ban noticed a faint light around him.

He looked warily out the window; it wasn't ruins, but a patch of vegetation.

These plants grew wildly, reaching a height of a person, emitting a faint green light that slightly illuminated the interior of the car.

"Hound" swayed as he stood up, pulled up the startled Stone, and checked on Mary's condition.

Mary was still slumped over the back of the seat in front of her, not yet recovered.

"Are you okay?"

Lu Ban turned to ask the driver, only to find the driver's seat empty, the windows shattered, and the overweight driver seemingly thrown out.

What kind of plant is this?

The "hound" came to the front door, shoved it open, and then went downstairs.

Lu Ban followed behind him, the ground beneath his feet was soft, like mud that had been soaked in water.

He glanced behind the car and saw that the massive steel object had left some marks, indicating that it wasn't far from the road.

But Lu Ban then noticed that the crushed marks seemed to be gradually closing up.

These lush green plants, as if they were alive, swayed in the wind.

"incredible……"

Mary got off the bus and looked at the plants that were taller than her, reaching out to touch them.

She parted a cluster of leaves.

Behind the fluorescent plants, a face suddenly appeared.

Chapter 044 Grassland

The face was riddled with holes and had been decaying for a long time; the blank expression showed that even fear had vanished.

The head lay scattered on the pile of grass, so that even insects refused to cling to it.

Mary took two steps back abruptly, only to bump into something hard.

She hurriedly turned around and realized it was Lu Ban.

"Has this person been dead for some time?"

Lu Ban poked the head with a crowbar, and the head, losing its balance, rolled to the ground.

"If someone had an accident, they wouldn't just be left with a head. Was there some dangerous creature nearby?"

Lu Ban used his crowbar to push aside the faintly glowing weeds, then picked up his flashlight and shone it ahead.

"There is a sound."

"Hound" seemed to hear some noise, and with his still-usable right hand, he drew his pistol and pointed it forward.

Lu Ban listened carefully but didn't hear anything.

It was so quiet, almost too quiet.

In such lush grasslands, there are usually many mosquitoes and small animals living there, and there might even be large rats like the one we just saw.

But now, the entire meadow is quiet, without a sound.

No.

Gaaah—

Lu Ban followed the direction the "hound" was heading and heard a strange noise.

It was a strange, unsettling sound, like the last whimper from a patient who had been bedridden for a long time.

The sound was crisp and continuous, like glass beads rolling onto the ground.

Caw caw caw caw—

The "hound" cautiously made its way forward, stepping on the tall grass, which bent over to form a narrow path.

Lu Ban glanced back and saw Mary and Stone standing by the car door, gazing in the direction of him and "Hound". Their figures were gradually obscured by the grass and trees, with only the roof of the bus faintly visible.

Cackling sounds—

A series of sobbing sounds came from ahead again. Lu Ban's flashlight beam pierced through the dense, lush grass and seemed to illuminate something.

The "hound" slowed its pace slightly, gave Lu Ban a wink, and then rushed out of the grass.

Lu Ban followed closely behind. He felt the ground beneath his feet suddenly become soft. Before he could even fully appreciate it, he saw that it was an open area.

The grass, taller than a person, all avoided this patch of land. The ground was dark, as if it were made of humus. In the center of this area, which was less than the size of a basketball court, lay a bloated and obese man.

He is a bus driver.

"Hey."

Seeing this, the "hunting dog" barked at him warily.

"Save...Save..."

The driver made a weak and labored sound, his arms were twisted in an unnatural direction, and one of his legs looked broken. Clearly, he had suffered a lot of pain after being thrown out of the car.

"Don't move, I'm coming right away."

The "hunting dog" immediately prepared to put away its gun and rescue the person.

However, Lu Ban raised his crowbar and stopped the "hunting dog".

"I feel like something's not right."

Lu Ban's intuition told him that there were big problems in the area ahead.

Why would there be such an empty area in such lush, wildly growing grassland?