Mutated Sandworm

The townspeople became agitated.

"Why does this Sandworm look like this?!"

What's that on its body?

"Oh my god..."

Someone gasped in surprise.

Lu Yuan followed the man's gaze, his pupils contracting slightly.

The Sandworm's mouthparts are open.

Between the layers of teeth, there are eyes.

The eyes, varying in size and cloudy in color, were constantly shifting within the slits, looking around.

At the edge of my field of vision, gray and white text danced silently:

[Environmental Perception: A minor Source of Pollution has been detected.]

Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised when he saw the notification.

Last night, while observing the Sandworm, the Gray-White Text clearly stated that Sandworm are living organisms and there is no such thing as Contamination.

Aren't common Sandworm Contamination- free?

So... is someone up to something in the shadows? Or is it all the mayor's doing?

Meanwhile, the town mayor, standing at the highest point, looked grim, as if the Sandworm appearing before him were beyond his expectations.

Nevertheless, he was still prepared and raised the Bone Flute, and an ancient melody began to play.

Lu Yuan could feel the sand beneath his feet swaying gently in time with the melody played by the town mayor.

As the Song of the Sandworm began, the dark brown Sandworm slowed their movements, their enormous bodies writhing on the rocks, leaving a long trail of liquid on their bodies.

But it soon realized something was wrong, because the desert sun was extremely strong at that moment, and despite the mayor's Song of the Sandworm to soothe it, the strange Sandworm also felt uncomfortable.

But it was too late; the drugs mixed in with the food it had eaten had already begun to take effect.

Its once enormous body now writhed wildly, out of control.

The tough stone tore through its skin, and a yellowish-brown liquid kept spurting from the wound.

The blazing sun shone on the Sandworm, which thrashed about in the Quarry, its massive body crashing into rocks and bouncing back.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Each time it was hit, it gained several new wounds.

Yellowish-brown blood mixed with pus flowed down the insect's body, pooling into a sticky stain on the sand.

Its mouthparts opened, emitting a rhythmic hissing sound.

Lu Yuan noticed that the eyes inside its mouthparts were all wide open at this moment.

His cloudy eyes darted around frantically, revealing a clear look of fear.

The Sandworm crashed into the stone wall again.

This time, its head slammed hard into a sharp rock.

Pus splattered everywhere.

Some people were splashed, screamed, and hurriedly wiped it off, but fortunately it wasn't corrosive.

"Don't panic!" Herman shouted, "Hold your ground!"

But the Sandworm's struggles became increasingly violent.

Its body rolled in the center of the Quarry, its tail sweeping across a circle of stones, sending several smaller stones flying.

The townspeople retreated, some tripped and fell, and others shouted curses.

A foul, fishy stench filled the air, making one want to vomit.

The mayor's Bone Flute continued to play.

But Lu Yuan could see that beads of sweat had formed on his forehead and his lips were pressed tightly together.

The Song of the Sandworm tries to suppress it, but only with great difficulty.

This Sandworm... is much harder to deal with than the normal ones.

"Ignite!" Herman shouted.

The townspeople frantically stretched torches into the cracks in the rocks.

Lu Yuan then noticed that the spaces between the uneven stones were filled with dried plants and some kind of grayish-white powder.

The torch was touched.

Boom.

The Flame spread instantly, extending outwards along the cracks in the rocks, quickly encircling the entire Quarry with a wall of fire.

The Sandworm struggled even more violently.

Flame scorched its body.

But then something strange happened.

The Sandworm's skin showed no signs of burning.

The dark brown skin remained intact; even the pus on its surface hadn't dried out.

But it seemed to be enduring even greater pain than before, emitting a shrill hiss from its mouthparts, and its eyes, which were embedded between its teeth, trembled violently and closed one after another.

Lu Yuan's gaze fell on the grayish-white flames.

It's not the skin and flesh that's burning.

It's something else.

This reminded Lu Yuan of Mithril.

The Night Watcher's Transcendence weapon is extremely effective against Contamination and Mutation, and can burn away something on a Spirituality level.

The properties of the Flame before us are extremely similar to those of Mithril.

But Mithril is standard issue equipment for the Night Watcher; how could it be found in such a remote desert town?

Lu Yuan looked at the grayish-white powder remaining in the cracks of the stone.

Could it be something similar?

"Karl," Lu Yuan turned to the boy beside him, "What are those grayish-white powders?"

Karl shook his head, looking somewhat bewildered.

"I don't know, it's always been used this way," Karl continued. "Grandpa said it was a method passed down from our ancestors, but no one knows exactly what it is except the mayor and my grandfather."

Lu Yuan didn't ask any more questions.

In the Quarry, the Sandworm's struggles grew weaker and weaker.

Its body twitched a few times, and the eyes inside its mouth closed one by one.

Finally, it stopped moving completely.

But the mayor did not immediately send anyone forward.

He raised the Bone Flute and played it again.

The melody was lower and slower than before, like some kind of probing.

The Sandworm's body remained completely still.

The mayor played it again.

There was still no response.

He then put down the Bone Flute and nodded to Herman.

"Dead." Herman stepped forward, glanced at the Sandworm's corpse, and said, "Begin decomposing it."

Several townspeople walked into the Quarry with their tools.

The town mayor walked to the Sandworm's corpse, squatted down, and briefly examined it.

His gaze lingered on the pus for a moment, and his brow furrowed.

"Don't let anything on your body touch your skin." The mayor stood up, his tone flat. "The rest, as usual."

After saying that, he didn't offer any further explanation.

Although the townspeople were puzzled, they did as instructed.

They used long-handled knives to carefully cut the Sandworm's bodies, moving with more care than usual to avoid the pus.

The whole process was very slow.

The town mayor did not participate in the breakdown of the assets.

He bypassed the busy townspeople and went straight to the Sandworm's head.

After some fumbling, the mayor squatted down and took out a short knife from his waist.

He inserted the knife into the connection between the Sandworm worm's mouthparts and head, skillfully making an incision.

Then, he reached in.

A moment later, he withdrew his hand.

There was something in my palm.

Lu Yuan couldn't make out what it was; he could only see a dark red color, like some kind of Crystal.

The mayor put the object into his pocket, stood up, and gave a few instructions to the people next to him.

Then, he left without looking back.

Herman, with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a complicated expression, followed.

The two exchanged a few words in hushed tones, their expressions grave.

Karl was also called away by the other adults, and before leaving, he called out to Lu Yuan:

"I must get home before dark tonight!"

Lu Yuan responded and was considering whether to go forward to check on the Sandworm when he suddenly noticed that someone in the distance seemed to be watching him.

Lu Yuan's gaze swept over the surroundings without making a sound.

In a distant corner.

There were three figures.

They stood in the shadow of a dilapidated building, their faces obscured.

But Lu Yuan noticed.

Their robes were very similar to the uniforms of the Night Watcher.

It was black with some kind of pattern, and it faintly shimmered in the sunlight.

One of them looked at Lu Yuan.

Then, the person made a gesture.

He pointed to his right chest.

That was the spot where Lu Yuan wore the Night Watcher's Badge.

The meaning is very clear.

Follow me.

Lu Yuan paused for a moment.

He glanced around.

Nobody noticed that over there.

The three figures had already turned around and were walking towards the edge of the town.

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment.

That robe... that gesture...

They knew who he was.

Moreover, they seem to have connections with the Night Watcher.

Lu Yuan grasped the Time Bestower in his right hand before following after him.