Grassland

The face was covered in countless wounds and had been rotting for a long time. Even the numb expression had lost all trace of fear.

The head lay scattered atop the pile of gathered grass, and not even the insects were willing to crawl over it anymore.

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

She hurriedly turned around and discovered Lu Ban.

"This person's been dead for a while?"

Lu Ban prodded the head with his crowbar. Having lost its balance, it rolled down onto the ground.

"If he'd died in an accident, there wouldn't only be a head left. Is there some dangerous creature nearby?"

Lu Ban used his crowbar to part the faintly glowing grass. Then he raised his flashlight and illuminated the area ahead.

"There's a sound."

"Hound" seemed to have heard some noise. With his only usable right hand, he drew his pistol and aimed it ahead.

Lu Ban listened carefully, but heard nothing.

It was quiet—too quiet.

Normally, in grass this lush, there would definitely be plenty of mosquitoes and small animals living there. There might even be more of those giant rats from earlier.

But now, the entire grassland was deathly silent, without the slightest sound.

No.

Gaaah—

Following the direction Hound was moving, Lu Ban heard a disturbance.

It sounded like the final whimper from the mouth of a patient who had been bedridden for a long time, carrying a strange quality that made his skin crawl.

Crisp and continuous, like glass beads rolling across the ground.

Gakakakaka—

Hound stepped through the waist-high grass and cautiously moved forward. The glowing grass bent beneath him, forming a narrow path.

Lu Ban glanced back. Mary and Stone were still by the bus door, staring toward him and Hound. Their figures were gradually obscured by the grass and trees, with only the roof of the bus faintly visible.

Gakakakaka—

Another string of whimpering sounds came from ahead. The beam of Lu Ban's flashlight passed through the dense, luxuriant grass and seemed to illuminate something.

Hound slowed his pace slightly and signaled to Lu Ban with his eyes. Then he suddenly burst through the curtain of grass.

Lu Ban followed close behind. He felt the ground beneath his feet suddenly grow soft. Before he had time to examine it carefully, he saw that they had entered an open space.

The grass, taller than a person, had unanimously avoided this patch of ground. The earth was pitch-black, as though formed from piled-up humus. In the center of this area, which was smaller than a basketball court, lay a large, obese man.

It was the bus driver.

"Hey."

Seeing him, Hound called out cautiously.

"Help me."

The driver's voice was weak and strained. His arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, and one leg appeared to be broken. Clearly, after being thrown from the bus, he had suffered greatly.

"Don't move. I'll be right there."

Hound immediately prepared to holster his gun and rescue him.

However, Lu Ban raised his crowbar and stopped Hound.

"I think something's wrong."

Lu Ban's instincts told him that there was a serious problem with the area ahead.

Why was there an open patch like this in such a lush grassland where everything grew wildly?

Why was the soil here softer and darker?

How had the driver been thrown so far from the bus?

"Help me."

The driver continued to groan painfully.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ban pulled a packet of compressed rations from his backpack and threw it toward the driver.

Smack—

The packaged compressed rations landed beside the driver's body.

"!!!"

Hound, who had not acted rashly, saw the soil beside the driver begin to writhe.

The black earth seemed to have come alive. It squirmed faintly, and then, beneath the packet of compressed rations, a bit of green emerged.

It was a fresh green sprout.

Beyond the area illuminated by the flashlight, the world was silent and dark. Within that circle of light, some form of life was being born.

A small tuft of grass drilled out of the black soil and covered the compressed rations. In only a moment, the packet vanished, leaving behind nothing but a small patch of green grass.

"Help me. Gah. Gakakakaka—"

The driver's cries for help gradually changed pitch, becoming distorted before finally turning into the bizarre sound Lu Ban and Hound had heard earlier.

Lu Ban and Hound moved a short distance around the driver. Then they saw that the area between the driver's eyes had become a bloody mess. Green grass grew from the wound, sprouting from the driver's eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth.

"Gakaka. Help. Help me."

The grass moved on its own despite the absence of wind, causing the driver's vocal cords to produce those vibrating sounds.

This was a hunter.

Lu Ban knew it very clearly.

It mimicked the appearance of prey and cried for help, luring over its prey's companions before beginning to feed.

If Lu Ban and Hound approached recklessly, they would likely be captured, devoured, and fused into one with it.

This entire grassland was probably—

Lu Ban saw that on the driver's face, where the wounds were most severe and the blood most concentrated, a flawless white flower had bloomed among the green grass.

One flower, then two, then three. His corpse suddenly became a tiny flower field. The pure blossoms unfolded just like that, forming a scene of breathtaking beauty—and utter brutality.

"We need to leave. Back to the road."

Lu Ban instinctively sensed the danger. He signaled for Hound to head back, but when they turned around, they discovered that the grass seemed to have grown even taller, completely blocking out the roof of the bus.

There were no stars and no moon. The grass around them was indistinguishable from one patch to the next. In the darkness of night, Lu Ban could only determine the bus's general direction.

"Forget it. Let's go."

But staying here was clearly more dangerous. Lu Ban swept his crowbar through the air, knocking down the glowing grass and plants, then entered the increasingly towering vegetation.

The smell of soil and grass grew stronger, as if some creature had begun preparing for a hunt. A strange atmosphere slowly took shape.

Lu Ban and Hound struggled forward. The flashlight was practically useless in grass this dense.

He felt as though the grass was growing toward them of its own accord, trying to worm into his clothes and beneath his skin.

In this grassland without direction, end, light, or sound, death was flourishing.

"Where are you?"

Hound shouted.

A few seconds later, a response came from somewhere.

"We're here. Th-there's something wrong here!"

It was Stone's trembling voice.

Lu Ban caught the direction of the voice, turned his body, and struggled through the constantly growing, ever-denser wild grass.

After a moment, Lu Ban and Hound finally broke through the obstruction and saw the roof of the bus.

"We're here."

Lu Ban called out and turned to look at Hound.

That was when he saw that the previously injured left hand of Hound was already covered in green grass.

The green that represented life was now a symbol of terror.

*

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