Chapter 56.1 – One-eyed (2)
It wasn’t Yuan Sanshui who came but someone unfamiliar.
One-eyed asked, “Who are you?”
As there was no greeting from the other person, Jiang Yujin refused to answer directly and instead took something out of his pocket, asking, “Is this something you dropped?”
The small glass block reflected light under the faint moonlight, revealing a continuously wriggling black thread-like worm inside.
The lost item appeared in the other person’s hand, and Deng Jiang didn’t seem alarmed, saying, “Sure enough, it was taken by you.”
With a slight raise of his eyebrows, Jiang Yujin applied a little force, causing the glass block to shatter. The worm inside broke into several pieces, slowly moved for a moment, then gradually quieted down, dead.
The valuable research findings died right there before him. Deng Jiang didn’t display intense emotions; he just watched as the worm and shattered glass fell to the ground.
Jiang Yujin lifted his foot towards One-eyed.
Watching the person in front step closer, One-eyed’s lone eye followed the movements, swiftly recalling everyone he knew. As they neared each other, One-eyed took the initiative and stepped forward, increasing speed.
When they were very close, his fingers turned into claws, instantly aiming for the person’s face.
There was no sensation of fingers sinking into flesh. After a sharp pain, his wrist was broken, followed by a chilling feeling along his spine. As he turned his head, he felt the other person’s hand grasping the back of his neck.
He didn’t know this person, but he was formidable. Deng Jiang realized he had underestimated him.
Gripping the back of One-eyed’s neck, Jiang Yujin turned to look into the other person’s eyes.
At first glance, One-eyed’s eye seemed normal, with whites and a pupil. But on closer inspection, one could notice subtle changes in the whites, as if something was writhing inside. A vast number composed an eyeball, with the center of the pupil being a black mass—an eye, not his own, resembling a bug’s eye.
Before Deng Jiang could counterattack, Jiang Yujin released the person in his grasp.
He hadn’t guessed wrong. The real research result wasn’t the dead worm; it was the person before him.
Upon careful consideration, there were too many inconsistencies in what had happened before. It was understandable that this person was caught by Xu Tonggui, but being captured a second time after escaping seemed strange.
Through a series of calculated moves, his aim was to divert the attention of the SIU towards the worm, making them believe that was the research result, shifting the focus away from himself. Every maneuver was designed to make people unquestionably believe that the research result was the worm that had just died.
This was probably an emergency plan suggested by the traitor. The silliest and most naive part of the whole ordeal was his partner, who genuinely believed the research result was that worm, going through great lengths to retrieve both the person and the worm, even risking his life.
His counterattack missed, and One-eyed’s fingers kept changing, muscles transforming into worm-like structures, continuously wriggling. His finger joints diminished as granular worms flew out into the air.
This person might no longer be considered human; his entire body seemed composed of worms. Without further concealment, his facial muscles squirmed in a rather disturbing manner.
Jiang Yujin wasn’t a fan of worms. When the granular worms flew towards him, he immediately sidestepped to ensure none touched him.
Near the abandoned building, there was no shortage of piles of stones and wooden planks. Jiang Yujin picked up a conveniently sized stone.
Breaking the stone into smaller pieces in his hand, each one accurately struck the approaching worms.
As the worms on his side died, One-eyed’s hand surged, the small worms rapidly reproducing, and the fingers regenerating.
Jiang Yujin watched, unsurprised, and asked, “Do you know what caused you to become like this?”
One-eyed’s pupil involuntarily shifted upwards, “How would I not know.”
That meant he didn’t know.
There was no need for further entanglement. Jiang Yujin picked up a half-meter-long steel rod from the ground, spun it in his hand, found a suitable grip, and thrust it directly towards One-eyed.
Pierced through, Deng Jiang was carried backward by an unstoppable force, his body crashing into the wall of the building, then splitting a pillar, forcefully slamming into the farthest wall inside the abandoned building.
The steel rod had penetrated him and the wall behind. With extensive injuries, from where he was initially outside the building to his current position, there lay a trail of dead worms. With so many injuries, even though the worms could reproduce rapidly, it was challenging for them to restore him to his previous state as swiftly as before.
The person who had been outside stepped into the building step by step. Amidst the changing light and shadows, his figure disappeared into the darkness within the building.
Impaled on the wall, Deng Jiang couldn’t stand up yet. His limbs were regenerating, but he managed to lift his head and asked, “Who are you, really?”
It was evident this person was stalling for time. Jiang Yujin didn’t answer his question; his gaze started scanning the building’s interior.
Finding nothing handy inside, he decided to reuse the steel rod.
Noticing his glance, Deng Jiang inexplicably understood his intent and gritted his teeth, pulling the steel rod out before Jiang Yujin could reach it.
As the steel rod was pulled out, along with the fallen dead worm pieces, there were also debris from the building behind him.
Jiang Yujin, playing the part of a concerned citizen, spoke up, “Doesn’t that hurt?”
Of course, Deng Jiang was in bloody agony. Even though it was worms dying, he could still feel the pain.
Holding the steel rod, he stood up again, the worms quietly spreading over the steel rod as he sprinted toward the person opposite him.
Slightly leaning back to dodge the swinging steel rod, Jiang Yujin thanked the other party for his kindness in personally delivering the steel rod and, after crushing the worms on it against the wall, he snatched the steel rod back.
This time, instead of thrusting, he used the steel rod like a blade, swiping it horizontally towards the other person’s waist.
A huge tearing sensation swept through. One-eyed was still airborne, witnessing his lower body being swept away, the newly grown worms on the cross-section squeezing into the position of the dead ones, attempting to reach him.
Then came the sudden plummeting sensation. Being comprised entirely of worms, Deng Jiang’s body didn’t bleed after being severed in half. Only the fluid from the worms spread underneath him.
Honestly, it was a bit unpleasant; Jiang Yujin took two steps back.
Even in this state, One-eyed hadn’t died. The masses in his lower half dispersed, unable to form a relatively complete body, but the upper body wriggled on the ground, attempting to regenerate.
At this point, another strike would have been enough to end his existence, yet Jiang Yujin refrained, holding onto the steel rod, waiting in place.
He wanted to witness the extent of this person’s transformation.
Seemingly provoked by his composed demeanor, the originally wriggling body of One-eyed became more contorted. The worms on his body no longer focused on regenerating a new body. Instead, they began to shrink inward, devouring each other. The body underneath the clothing gradually shriveled.
The lone eye’s pupil started trembling incessantly. Deng Jiang, with a smile on his face, gasped, “You’ll… die soon.”
Jiang Yujin’s suggestion was for him to catch his breath first.
A small black eye gradually expanded throughout the entire eye, Deng Jiang’s eye completely turning into a black mass, wriggling up and down until finally, the eyelids couldn’t contain the eye anymore, unable to even blink.
As the external appearance continued to change, internal alterations occurred as well. The hair that was once on the scalp gradually fell out. If he hadn’t misheard, Jiang Yujin even heard the sound of bones cracking.
The person on the ground, who initially had a raised corner of the mouth, gradually trembled downward. However, the body was no longer under his control. Even the attempt to cover his head was challenging; all he could produce were incomprehensible cries, coarse and harrowing.
The body collapsed completely, and something continuously surged within the eye sockets, finally breaking free after tearing through the constraints of the sockets.
It was a giant black worm, its tail stained with a hint of blood and an unidentifiable red-and-white substance. After completely pulling itself out of the eye sockets, the once-conscious person on the ground now remained as mere bones. The shriveled scalp hung loosely over the white bones, the mind almost entirely absent.
One-eyed always believed he was controlling the worms, thinking himself more thoughtful than them, but in reality, it was the opposite.
Jiang Yujin lifted his eyes toward the gigantic worm towering above, pondering briefly.
He indeed still detested worms.
