Epoch of Twilight

Chapter 381: The Night Scene

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Luo Yuan had found a shelter to stay the night, about ten kilometers away from the night falls.

There was a cave at the side of the cliff, where the entrance was camouflaged amongst the vines, making it very difficult to distinguish.

Luo Yuan pushed the vines away and entered the cave. He was immediately greeted by a rotten, musty smell which made him take a few steps backward. At the same time, a few low level rat-like mutated beasts swiftly fleed his side. He took a glance and was not the least bit bothered about their escape.

He walked into the cave after adapting to the smell. The ground and wall of the cave were all covered by the vines; trodding on them felt soft and bouncy.

It could be the vines that helped hide the cave well, as none of the big-sized mutated beasts were found taking shelter inside, except for some low-level mutated beasts.

It was a very deep cave, and for safety reasons, Luo Yuan continued to explore deeper.

As the light got dimmer, the vines under his feet began to reduce, revealing the original appearance of the cave.

Luo Yuan kicked away one of the almost fully-decayed wooden sleepers. Above the sleeper were two semi-rusted iron railings. A small, completely destroyed car had appeared after several ten meters of walking. There were two half-rusted iron wheels which laid beside it on the ground. A few skeletons were also seen scattered next to it.

All these signs depicted that this was an abandoned mine cave. Prior to being abandoned, there could have been a raid there too.

About ten meters down, a concrete wall stood as a barricade to the cave.

Luo Yuan presumed that this piece of wall had been built when the apocalypse first struck. Now, after two to three years, the wall was now severely corroded. Furthermore, it seemed to be swelling and its surface was covered in abundant cracks due to the exposure to the humid environment. The wall would have just crumbled down with a mere gentle push.

He used his Prediction ability to examine what was behind the wall, but alas, nothing was found, and so he retraced his steps.

Luo Yuan was not someone driven by insatiable curiosity, and he had no interest to get to the bottom of it. Based on his strength today, he would not be afraid even if there was anything terrifying behind the wall. Despite how strong the beast could possibly be, it would not be a level eight mutated beast.

Apart from the level eight ones, only the level seven beasts would pose some form of danger to him. All beasts below that level which attacked Luo Yuan would be far too inferior, as he would have been able to kill them off with ease.

Next, Luo Yuan used his magnificent presence to clear away the insects at all corners of the cave mine. Also, he collected a lot of dry branches as well as fallen leaves and brought them in.

Hidden not far away in the treetops, was a mutated human. She held her head with a confused face while looking at a very occupied Luo Yuan. She saw him walking into the mine cave without a trace. Gradually, she got very restless and uneasy after waiting for a good amount of time.

She looked around as she wandered, and hesitated for a moment, before jumping towards the entrance of the cave. She constantly stared it after jumping over a nearby giant tree, in hopes of discovering what this living creature of the same breed with a strange appearance was doing. She then peeked at him through the gaps in the vines.

Unfortunately, the exterior of the cave mine was very badly covered with masses of vines. Hence, she could barely see anything.

...

Luo Yuan gathered the fallen leaves. He solidified his Will and what looked like invisible air motion, flashed through the leaves. The combustion occurred without so much as a spark of flame. He placed a few thin, dead branches on top, and before he knew it, a bonfire was ignited.

In fact, the flame was not a must for him, as he can see very clearly, even in complete darkness. However, Luo Yuan had a habit of raising a bonfire during nightfall, probably due to human nature of always yearning for light.

The sky was getting darker, and it seemed like the wind was blowing hard outside.

The position of the cave mine was not the least bit ideal, as it was situated in the draught of several mountain peaks. The sound of wailing ghosts and moaning demons could be heard whenever the wind blew into the cave.

In the wake of the strong wind, the vines that were dangling over the cave entrance were dancing in the wind, leaving countless shadows, akin to a devil with bare fangs and brandished claws.

The clear cracking sound of broken branches could be heard outside the cave at this moment. Soon after, a slender shadow appeared outside.

She kept wandering around the cave entrance, and occasionally peeped through the gaps in the vines.

A tiny smile was etched at the corners of Luo Yan's lips. Without thinking, he knew who was outside. He picked a dead branch, placed it on top of the fire and had no intention to bother her. He believed that this cowardly mutated human would eventually come in.

As expected, the vines that hung outside were pulled away, and a nimble figure was seen flashing into the cave mine gently. She hunched and moved along the wall slowly. She constantly stared at Luo Yuan like a frightened kitten, that would explode like a ticking time bomb.

Soon after, she walked towards the corner and squatted down.

Apparently, this mutated human was not afraid of fire. After all, she was formerly human. Though she did not have any memories of being once human, there could be some fragments of memories left in her subconscious mind.

Luo Yuan did not take any action that could possibly raise her guard, nor did he talk to her. After throwing a few dry firewood into the ember, he closed his eyes and trained his entire body with his Will. He certainly did not dare to let his guard down completely just yet. So, he reserved a little energy in him to allow him to sense the ongoings in the external world.

The reason why the mutated human was no longer classified as a human being was not merely due to its evolution, but it was also because of their qualities, characteristics, and ideals, which had already been influenced by its beastly nature. Even though she tried to remain harmless all the way, she was no different from the carnivorous mutated beasts out there. The law of the jungle will always be her true nature now.

The reason why she remained harmless, was because both of them looked similar, aside from how Luo Yuan seemed to have demonstrated a more dominant presence than she did. If not for the circumstances, he would be safe particularly because they were both from the same species. However, when a mutated human faces another being from the opposite sex, compulsive behaviours could occur due to innate lust, triggered by natural instinct.

...

Luo Yuan realized that his Will had improved rapidly these days. It could be the result of his evolution to a fourth-dimensional being or perhaps, the hardship of travels. It was not shown obviously when he was flying, but how he could see tiny, subtle things during the endoscopy.

In the old days, all he could see were textures similar to capillaries and lymphatic vessels, subjected to only a small section of the front part. However, he was helpless when it came to the tail end.

But now, he could see the whole capillary clearly, including the red blood cells that were flowing inside.

If the microscopic state of the red blood cells were still not clearly seen using his Will, then the somatic cells would have been much clearer, as they were larger than the red blood cells. The sesame seed sized somatic cells that were neatly arranged in a layer – like soldiers in formation – were all clearly visible to the naked eye.

However, just like a leaking reservoir, the Will could be depleted in a truly astounding manner, when used for such cell observance. More than half of his Will would have been dissipated after approximately ten minutes. Although there were millions of endoscopic cells, the usable area that was involved would not be any more than a small piece of muscle.

Luo Yuan opened his eyes while touching one of the fine muscles on his arm. He clenched his hand into a fist, feeling agile and quicker in his actions. Of course, this could be a wrong impression.

Perhaps, the effect could be seen only after soaking all the cells in the body with his Will.

He looked at the mutated human who was still sitting idle in a corner, polishing her nails. She looked at her nails for a second, before she continued polishing them again.

Her scale-like fingernails were blue, very dark blue. Her fingers were sharp and slender, about five to six centimeters long, extending from her nails. Such fingernails would usually be growing in a curled shape if it were to be on an average human body – but not in her case. Her fingernails were straight and sharp, eerily resembling a tip of a cone.

This was obviously her weapon. Although it may seem useless when fighting big sized mutated beasts, but it was definitely more than enough to take down smaller beasts.

The mutated human turned stiff when she noticed something stirring nearby. She looked at Luo Yuan for a second once more, before focusing back on her nails.

The wind was getting stronger, with its noise almost engulfing the roars and moans of the beasts in the jungle. The crackling sound could be heard when the winds blew over a few of the vines hanging at the cave entrance. Fortunately, the cave entrance was not facing the force of the wind direction and was thus, unaffected.

He looked at the time; it was already close to eight o’clock. He then started to build the tent that he took out from his backpack. He laid down right after.

Unlike before, the color of the tent had already changed. Ever since he stepped out of the city, he assembled almost all his belongings, including his tent. This tent was not to be underestimated and judged by its mere lack of appearance, as it was practically a level seven, especially the poles that were supporting the tent. They were made entirely out of the hardest skull bones of level seven mutated beasts.

Even if Luo Yuan was in deep sleep during the night, it would be proven futile for ordinary mutated beasts to even attempt to invade the tent stealthily.

Snoring sounds were heard not long after he laid down. It was getting later into the night. Unsure of how much time has passed, the mutated human who was originally huddled up in a corner, stood up without so much as a squeak.

A yellow dim light was reflected through her pupils in the dark night. She took a glance at the tent before walking softly towards the cave entrance in a slightly hunched posture. She stopped and listened attentively.

Her face looked anxious; her eyes full of fear.

This cave was in fact, too big for her, as compared to her former nest which was just enough for one person. Even if there were to be mutated beasts invading her nest, it would have been just about her size, one that she was capable of fighting.

This cave was, however, too large and empty. Not only did those smaller sized mutated beasts come in, but the horrifying giant creatures would also be able to come in easily. Due to such a condition, she did not feel the least bit secure.

Awful peals of monsters and its moaning sounds that were constantly coming from outside had terrified her. She was uneasy and had thought about leaving to hunt for another cave, but in fear, she hesitated. After pondering for a while and moving closer to Luo Yuan's tent, she laid down to rest, as she managed to earn herself some sense of security.

Luo Yuan opened his eyes in the dark and closed them again, gradually.

...

There were no interactions throughout the night. Apparently, the mutated human had woken up much earlier than Luo Yuan, as she already shrank back to her corner when he came out of the tent the next day.

He kept the tent properly into his backpack, after grabbing his bottle to drink several mouthfuls of water. While closing the bottle, he suddenly thought of the mutated human, who did not seem to drink any water yesterday, for an entire day. He then looked for a bottle of purified water in his backpack and threw it towards her.

This is one of the three emergency bottled water that the Reconstruction Area had prepared for him. It was still sealed properly until today.

After several times receiving food from him yesterday, she caught it naturally, drawn by reflex action. A trace of disappointment flashed across her face when she realized that it was not food. But with fair intelligence, she quickly noticed that it was filled with fluid.

Her curiosity has led her to shake the purified bottled water she was holding, for a few times. She looked at it repeatedly before she bit through this plastic bottle, which was rarely seen before the apocalypse.

Luo Yuan who was also holding the same purified bottled water intended to demonstrate the correct way to use it. But as he witnessed the scene, his jaw hung open as he did not know what to say to her exactly.

Fortunately, she knew that the fluid inside the plastic bottle was water. She then placed the broken part onto her lips, as she poured the water into her mouth.

The clear liquid spilled out of her mouth and dripped onto her large, firm breasts before leaving a puddle of water on the floor. It was indeed an arousing sight to behold. Luo Yuan looked away quickly.