491: 484 Chapter Sword Light 491: 484 Chapter Sword Light “Ah…” Several screams echoed in quick succession.
The owners of the screams were certainly not the two young people who had alighted from the motorcycle.
They had been swallowed by the giant snake before they even had a chance to let out a cry of agony.
At least a dozen other people near Chen Hai had witnessed this scene unfold.
The wild grass, towering over half a person’s height, along with the thick trees that a group could not circle, had slowed the pace of people who arrived here on various vehicles after witnessing the gruesome scene.
Young people are known for their bravery.
The young man on the motorcycle, upon seeing the giant tree blocking the path, had not hesitated to charge forward, which should qualify him as one of the more courageous ones.
Unfortunately, the world had changed, and the place they found themselves in was no longer the peaceful era they remembered.
Plunging blindly forward without understanding anything would only lead them to death.
“What a huge snake, holy shit, it even eats people!”
“This is absolutely a demon, a serpent’s head, that mouth when it opens, at least a meter or two wide.
Normal snakes can’t grow that big!”
“What are you waiting for?
Run for it!
With a snake that size, if it comes at us, we’ll surely be dead men.”
“My legs have turned to jelly, I can’t run!”
…
More than ten people, both men and women, several of the men reacting first, ditched their bicycles and, turning on their heels, took to their heels.
The women’s reaction, however, was considerably slower.
There was even a young woman in high heels who, paralyzed by the sight of the snake swallowing two people, had crumpled to the ground, wailing.
The young man she was with, whether a lover or husband, was unknown.
Before, the young man had ridden the bike while the woman sat behind him, clutching his waist tightly, chatting and laughing along the way.
But now, he was running away rapidly, leaving the woman with nothing but his fading silhouette.
“Birds of a feather flock together, but scatter at the sight of trouble.” The words of the ancients held some truth.
The young couple in front of him were a true embodiment of that saying.
Sitting on his bicycle, Chen Hai had one foot touching the ground, and the sudden appearance of the giant snake had startled him as well.
However, with his superior skills boosting his confidence, he remained in place, staring in the direction of the great snake.
The massive snake head, its eyes glinting with a dark and cold green gleam, focused intently on Chen Hai.
Its forked tongue flickered in and out as if it had not had its fill despite having just swallowed two people whole.
Still, for some reason, it seemed hesitant.
After observing Chen Hai for a while, the giant head slowly withdrew back into the dense foliage of the giant tree and disappeared from sight.
Chen Hai wasn’t sure if he could kill the giant snake because he hadn’t fought it yet.
However, he felt it wouldn’t be much of a problem since he hadn’t sensed much of a threat coming from the creature.
If the snake had slithered his way and attacked, he certainly would have responded without hesitation and taken action.
But now that the serpent had vanished once more into the dense canopy, it seemed to have no intention of continuing its assault.
After some hesitation, Chen Hai ultimately chose not to strike.
After all, he had no idea what adverse consequences killing this snake might bring!
In a completely unfamiliar world, everything was unknown.
By age, he was no longer a teenager or a young man in his twenties and had outgrown the impulsive years.
Before doing anything, he would always consider the consequences.
With all being unknown, no amount of caution could be considered excessive.
“Big brother, help me, my legs are too weak to stand.
Can you take me with you on your bike?”
The young woman nearby was still sobbing.
Now, except for her, only Chen Hai remained in the area.
As for the others, they had all turned back toward the city, with even the slowest runner a hundred meters away by now.
“The giant tree where the snake resides is at least thirty meters away.”
“It has retreated back into the crown of the tree, so it won’t attack you again.”
“Without self-rescue, even divinity cannot save you.
The times have changed, and crying is useless.
If you want to survive longer, you need to have the courage to face danger.”
“If you can’t even stand up, you might as well just stay here!”
With an expressionless face, after sizing up the young woman, Chen Hai spoke in a grave tone.
Should the giant snake charge at her and attack, he definitely would have intervened to save her life.
But now, in this situation, helping her was to harm her.
With the appearance of a young woman, living in peace times, acting cute and charming would have had a whole bunch of men willing to dote on her and treat her like a goddess.
But times had changed, her tricks, in front of a giant serpent, would only make her a snack.
In Chen Hai’s view, only by recognizing the harsh reality could she possibly live a little longer.
“It’s just helping me up and giving me a ride, isn’t it?”
“If you won’t help, then don’t—what’s with the attitude?
Are you even a man?
Don’t you know what it means to ‘cherish the fairer sex’?”
“If it had been before, a loser like you wouldn’t even have deserved a glance from me…”
With a face full of displeasure, the woman glared fiercely at Chen Hai.
Had it been before, she would have definitely recorded a video, posted it online, and then fiercely condemned Chen Hai’s ungentlemanly behavior.
Probably, the vast majority of netizens would have criticized this guy until he was shamed.
Too bad her phone was out of battery, and that omnipresent network signal had completely vanished…
Scrambling up from the ground, she was too weak to muster the energy to get up, but full of resentment, she energetically berated Chen Hai.
However, in the next moment, her words stopped abruptly.
Because at that moment, she saw Chen Hai, seemingly out of nowhere, pull out a knife!
Thinking that Chen Hai was about to use the knife on her, she paled with fright.
With a roll, she sprung up from the ground, threw her high heels aside, and, barefoot, ran towards the direction of entering the city.
Chen Hai was indifferent to her actions.
Surveying his surroundings, he cut a piece from the nearest tree and hastily fashioned a simple wooden plank.
“Danger ahead: serpents on the loose, all travelers halt!”
After carving this line on the plank, he thrust it into the roadside.
Had other people been swallowed whole by that giant snake before those two young men on their motorcycle?
Chen Hai didn’t know, but he felt that something similar must have happened.
Given that he had cycled here not very fast, it wouldn’t have been strange if several groups of people had reached this place before him.
Putting up a warning sign, he was doing his duty and leaving the rest to fate.
If someone recklessly ignored his warning sign and pressed forward, they couldn’t blame him.
After doing all this, he glanced back the way he came.
The young woman from before had already run two or three hundred meters.
In front of the giant serpent, she had collapsed in fear, yet when she saw Chen Hai with a knife, she sure managed to escape quickly…
Hesitating for a moment, Chen Hai did not bulldoze through, but instead, carrying his bicycle, jumped down into the fields beside the road.
In the desolate region, without giving his all, his running speed was rapid.
After spending half an hour, he discovered a very odd truth.
Centered around Liuyuan County, everything within a certain range remained mostly normal, without many bizarre incidents.
Yet beyond this boundary, towering trees and rampant undergrowth appeared.
Ants as big as wildcats, giant mantises taller than full-grown humans, and toads as large as calves…
He saw many exotic and ferocious beasts.
Once beyond a certain range, these peculiar insects and beasts immediately launched attacks.
Insects or beasts, he tried, and had killed a few.
For him, those creatures were only so-so in strength.
Among them, the strongest was a mantis.
Its blades, like razors flashing with cold light, didn’t break through his defense or truly harm him, but they did cause him some pain when they struck.
As for the ordinary people within Liuyuan County, if they encountered this mantis, he guessed none would be sufficient for its slashing.
Remember, aside from the fierce striking power of the mantis blades, this damned thing moved as swiftly as the wind, astonishingly fast.
After ascertaining these facts, Chen Hai felt extremely heavy-hearted.
Riding his bicycle and preparing to head back to the city, a sudden whooshing sound reached his ears.
Suspicious, he looked up to the sky.
A dazzling sword light shattered the heavens, shooting toward Liuyuan County.
With Chen Hai’s eyesight, he could just make out several slender figures standing with their hands behind their backs on a giant sword.