They say I'm a world-destroying anomaly.

Chapter 88 The Shadow Slug

Chapter 88 The Shadow Slug

Behind Cheng Xu, everyone, including Fields, had the same expression: wide-eyed stares at the big cat wriggling and acting cute in Cheng Xu's arms, their mouths slightly open, occasionally swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

No one expected that a cat would bring a turning point to this desperate situation.

"Brother Cheng, this, this—"

Fields glanced at the lynx, then at Cheng Xu, his mind racing, and quickly came up with a reasonable explanation.

This cat is definitely not an ordinary cat, but a life form bred by the Anomaly Management Bureau that can play a special role in specific situations.

It's reasonable that the management bureau, which deals with anomalies all the time, has such technical means.

That's right, that should be it.

"Let's go in and take a look. I'll lead the way. Fields, you watch over the Congrett siblings. Omar, please keep your group in check and don't let them fall behind."

"No problem, Brother Cheng."

"Yes, sir."

After a brief period of shock that left his mind blank, Omar's attitude towards Cheng Xu changed dramatically.

Although it is unknown how the gentleman in front of us, who called himself a "tourist," managed to do it, he did bring a glimmer of hope to everyone present.

At this moment, Omar, while not entirely convinced of Cheng Xu's abilities, was at least able to obey his orders without question.

Cheng Xu carried the big cat at the front, followed by Congrit carrying his sister Emily on his back, and then Fields and Omar walking side by side.

Everyone knew that they were not yet completely out of danger.

The group maintained their formation, paying close attention, and stepped into the completely unknown spatial rift.

As soon as Cheng Xu stepped into the crevice, he frowned.

The environment here is almost 80-90% similar to the Gobi Desert they were just in, with only two differences that caught Cheng Xu's attention.

First, there is no light or heat emitted by stars in the crevice space.

Secondly, at first glance, there seems to be almost no sign of life here.

Even in the harsh environment of the Gobi Desert, there were still traces of a few plants and animals, but there were none in this space, only a cold, deathly silence.

Fields and the others looked around, feeling a chill in their hearts.

"Where exactly is this place?"

Fields muttered to himself. Even with the knowledge and experience he had accumulated in the Explorers' Guild, he couldn't figure out what was going on.

"If I'm not mistaken, we should be able to find the reason why we couldn't get out of the Gobi Desert earlier here."

Cheng Xu spoke, attracting the attention of the others.

"Or rather, this is actually the real exit location."

That endless stretch of Gobi Desert we just saw was likely connected end to end by some force.

This narrow space is hidden at the junction where the two ends meet.

To leave, one needs to further explore the mysteries of this narrow space.

Cheng Xu was also very curious about what kind of existence could fold and piece together space, forcing him to rely on the power of the [Cracks] to find a breakthrough.

"Brother Cheng, look what's that?"

Fields' voice interrupted Cheng Xu's thoughts. The boy stood on tiptoe, tilted his head back, and gazed into the distance.

Cheng Xu followed his gaze and saw that the shadows deep in the crevice seemed to be writhing, splitting into something whose shape was indistinct.

"alert!"

Cheng Xu shouted out instinctively.

That thing emerged from the depths of space and surged toward where everyone was.

Only when they got closer could the people finally see what they looked like.

This substance appears to be an amorphous biomass mixture, resembling a constantly wriggling, blurred-edged mass of dark purple or pure black slime, with several pinpoint-sized red light spots at its core.

These biomass hybrids vary in size, from as small as a fist to as large as two or three meters tall.

"A shadow slug?"

Cheng Xu and Fields shouted out the same name in unison.

The two looked at each other and saw surprise and confusion in each other's eyes.

The shadow slug is a special life form commonly found in outer space.

This creature usually drifts in outer space, absorbing radiation energy from the void to maintain a low-energy state of low activity, wandering aimlessly in outer space.

However, as soon as an energy reaction occurs nearby, they will be attracted by the energy source and instinctively move towards it.

Once you get close, the shadow will attach itself to the energy source.

Their bodies are primarily composed of a special kind of dark matter controlled by their consciousness, which allows them to penetrate ordinary matter silently.

They can dilute or erase the molecular bonds of an object through contact, making steel as brittle as a biscuit, and ultimately breaking down matter into its basic particles and absorbing it.

Although the absorption process of these parasites is very slow, they can still cause considerable trouble for spaceships once their numbers reach a certain level.

In Cheng Xu's understanding, the Shadow Slug is like a ship louse living in a vacuum, gradually attaching to and hollowing out the energy source of the ship it comes into contact with.

But shouldn't the Shadow Slug be a life form that lives in the void?

Why are they in this crevice?

Despite having many questions swirling in his mind, Cheng Xu reacted as quickly as possible.

"Don't let them get close!"

In his memory, there had been cases of accidental contact with Shadow Slugs in interstellar society. The parts of the person who came into direct contact with the slug were corroded and deconstructed by its special dark matter, causing considerable damage.

Every year, there are cases of Starfleet crew members being injured by Shadow Slugs due to improper operation or inadequate preventative measures.

"shooting!"

Upon hearing Cheng Xu's command, Omar immediately raised his right hand. The Bone Tribe members behind him spread out in a line, raising their weapons and firing at the approaching slime.

Some bullets pierced the core of the Shadow Slug, and the pinpoint-sized red light at the core of the viscous liquid gradually dimmed, while the slug itself fell and merged into the earth.

Fields and Cheng Xu weren't idle either. They took out their weapons and joined the ranks of those trying to stop the Shadow Slug.

As countless rounds of ammunition poured forward, the momentum of the Shadow Slug swarm was abruptly halted.

At the weapon's maximum range, a semi-solid wall made of dark matter slime slowly rose higher; it was formed by the corpses of shadow slugs.

Congrit was also given a weapon by Cheng Xu. His marksmanship was superior to that of many members of the Sigu tribe.

Emily was initially frightened by the appearance of the Shadow Slug, but now she is cheering him on from behind.

With everyone working together to stop them, the shadow slugs that emerged from the depths of space were finally reduced to very few.

But for some reason, Cheng Xu felt an uneasy sense of unease rising within him.