The jerky I threw landed squarely on the man, then bounced onto the ground beside him.
I watched as, with the jerky’s fall, the black soil beneath the man began to stir.
Damn it!
The soil next to the man started to wriggle!
As if alive, the black soil pulsed, as if something was about to break free!
Then, beneath the jerky, a touch of green emerged, stark and striking.
It was a new, tender sprout. Normally a symbol of life, it appeared profoundly sinister in this context.
Beyond the reach of the plant's faint glow, the entire cave was silent and dark. But within that illuminated circle, a new life was being conceived.
A small clump of grass pushed its way out of the soil, covering the jerky I had thrown. I watched as it slowly grew.
In mere moments, the compressed rations vanished, leaving only a small patch of green.
“Help… help… hck… heh heh heh…”
The man’s plea gradually distorted, twisting into a grating sound like fingernails scraping glass. I had a feeling this voice bore a resemblance to the one I’d heard in the passage earlier.
Damn it, luckily I was cautious enough. Otherwise, it would be me being consumed by that green right now!
My heart pounding, I retreated a few steps, a morbid curiosity stirring about the man’s current state.
Cautiously, I circled the man’s body for a short distance and saw that the flesh between his eyes was a bloody mess. Green tendrils were growing from the two bloody cavities.
Not only that, but his ears, nostrils, and mouth were all filled with green. He was truly a “plant person.”
“Heh heh… help… help…”
It was the grass!
The grass moved as if by an unseen wind, causing the man’s vocal cords to vibrate and produce this sound.
It was remarkably similar to the insects I’d seen in the temple, which could manipulate corpses to emit sounds and lure prey.
This was a hunter.
It mimicked the appearance of its prey, emitting calls for help to attract its own kind, and then proceeded to hunt.
If I had moved recklessly, I would have been captured, consumed, and… become one with it…
This patch of grass, half a person’s height, was likely…
I was acutely aware that I was in danger. The plants surrounded me entirely. I didn’t know when they would attack.
I clearly saw on the man’s face, where the wounds were most severe and blood most concentrated, that amidst the green grass, a scarlet, alluring flower had bloomed.
One, two, three. His corpse had suddenly become a small flowerbed. These pure blossoms unfurled, creating a scene of exquisite, yet horrifying, beauty.
It was like the legendary Higanbana blooming in hell, enchanting and deadly.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to remain calm.
Thirty-six stratagems: the best is to flee!
As I turned to leave, I suddenly noticed that the grass behind me seemed to have grown taller than before, now reaching past my chest.
This cave had no stars or moon, only these luminous, deadly things everywhere. In this confined environment, I could only navigate by memory towards my point of entry.
Who knew what would happen if these plants fully grew and engulfed me!
Without further hesitation, I gripped my hunting knife and began hacking down the obstructing grass, inching forward slowly.
The smell of soil and greenery grew increasingly potent around me. The aroma unsettled me, like a predator’s preparations for a hunt. A strange sensation lingered in my heart.
I pressed onward with great difficulty. In this dense grassland, every step consumed considerable energy.
If it couldn’t lure me to the man, was it now attempting to swallow me whole?
I felt the grass growing constantly, as if trying to burrow into my clothes, beneath my skin.
My vision was filled with green luminescence. In this sunless, directionless, silent grassland, death was silently approaching.
Damn it, I’d faced storms and waves, how could I die in a place like this!
Under the threat of death, I became ferocious, my movements quickening.
Just as the wild grass reached my shoulders, I finally broke free from this deadly thicket and returned to the entrance of the passage.
Huff… huff…
I almost met my end here!
My heart still pounding, I looked back at the lush, thriving expanse of grass. My leather jacket was soaked with sweat.
I rested for a moment, then ate two more pieces of jerky to regain my strength.
I had escaped the deadly grassland, but now a new problem arose…
How was I going to get out?