The snake rain hit harder than Lan Jin expected. Even with her strength, holding off that downpour of snakes drained her. As for the plant ability users, they barely lasted the first wave before collapsing completely.
When the snakes started falling all around them, she couldn't keep up anymore. She stuffed Lan Qiaoqiao into her insulated suit, crouched down, and wrapped herself over the child. Snakes landed on her and all around, hissing and writhing, while she shielded the girl.
Screams rose one after another until, finally, the force of the snake rain began to weaken. Only then did she dare to look around. She unleashed a surge of lightning from the Violetbane Ring, sending currents crawling across the ground to every corner of their group. The mutant snakes were long, but not thick. Even a low charge was enough to leave them twitching and helpless.
Why not use a heavier strike? Because people and snakes were mixed together. The insulated suits could block small jolts, but if she let loose a real thunderbolt, she'd fry people as well as snakes. Killing snakes wasn't a problem, but electrocuting survivors? The base would have her head.
…
It only took a few seconds for her to clear out the freshly fallen snakes. But the earlier wave was already slithering across the ground, biting anyone they could reach before she acted.
At least the things weren't poisonous. Their crystals could be harvested for ability users, and their meat was edible, high in protein too. As wounded residents were treated, someone tried to lighten the mood: "Eat more later, bite back what bit you."
It was just a joke, but it made people laugh and eased their tension.
Holding her child close, Lan Jin went to Captain Zhang. "Captain Zhang, this is weird. How could there be snake rain? We've never run into that before. Has this happened around here?"
Before he could answer, Captain Zhou rushed over. "No, this is the first time we've seen it too. I came to ask you the same thing."
"Then could it happen again? Can we reach the other base, ask if they've seen this too? If we get hit like this two more times, not many of us will make it to the new base alive."
She wasn't exaggerating. That last storm had pushed her to her limit, never mind everyone else. And in the end, when it came down to survival, her priority would always be Ling Jiang and the kids. She couldn't guarantee anyone else.
Captain Zhou shook his head. "I tried contacting A City's base just now. Nothing. I tried the official base too, still nothing."
Their group was small, so the damage hadn't been too devastating. But the official base had far more people and far fewer fighters. If they were struck by the same disaster, it'd be far worse. Still, they had enough problems of their own. Who had the time to worry about others? All they could hope was that everyone survived whatever this apocalypse threw at them.
…
They'd barely recovered from snake rain when it forced them to rest again. Injuries slowed them, and it took two full days before they moved on, half the snake meat already eaten.
By Captain Zhou's estimate, if nothing else went wrong, they'd reach the base in three days. But trouble always came in chains. They'd only walked half a day before another storm swept down. Bug rain.
If it had been any other kind of insect, it wouldn't have been so bad. But these were the exact ones Lan Jin feared most: many-legged crawlers. Even from a distance, through binoculars, the sight of them made her freeze. As the swarm drew closer, she turned pale and lost all control.
The people from the Capital city base stared in disbelief. They'd thought it must take some terrifying monster to shake Lan Jin. But bugs? Just bugs?
Yes, they had too many legs, but they were still only insects. Was there really any need to be that scared?
Captain Zhou muttered, baffled, "Lan Jin, they're just bugs."
Captain Zhang answered quietly, "She's only afraid of these. Only these. We'll handle it ourselves, don't count on her."
Captain Zhou was dumbfounded. "Seriously? How can she be scared of this? She's so strong!"
What was so strange about it? Even someone like her was allowed to have fears.
And it wasn't just Lan Jin. Ling Jiang shuddered too, her skin crawling at the sight. If those insects had had eye-like patterns on their backs, she'd probably be covered in goosebumps already.
The swarm of many-legged things rained down, leaving Lan Jin completely paralyzed. Ling Jiang quickly formed an ice fortress, sealing her and the children safely inside.
As for the rest, there were plenty of bugs, but nothing they couldn't handle.
…
Screams filled the air again, but the ability users soon wiped out the swarm.
These insects had almost no offensive ability. They had no crystals, no poison, and their disgusting bodies had no use as food.
All they did was terrify people.
When the last of them was crushed, Captain Zhang frowned. "Don't you think they look less like mutant beasts and more like… caterpillars from before the apocalypse?"
Technically they were the same species. But back then, even the biggest caterpillar was only as large as a pinky finger. These things were the size of a grown man's hand. If that wasn't mutation, what was it? Caterpillar kings?
But a storm of thousands falling from the sky? Even if caterpillar kings existed, it wasn't possible for so many to gather together just to land here.
Not everyone agreed with the caterpillar theory.
Lao Gao spoke up. "Whether it's snake rain or bug rain, it's not just falling on us. Look at the trail, it's been dropping all along the way. And this isn't just a drizzle. Why would the same kind of mutant creature fall as rain? And if it keeps going, where's the end of it?"