What malicious intent could NPCs possibly have? C44.1

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Chp44. part1

The flashlight’s intense beam tore through the darkness, revealing the source of the rustling pursuit.

It was a monstrous creature towering over a human.

What kind of bizarre alien life form is this? Ning Ge thought. Even stranger than that giant spider.

If she had to compare it to something familiar, it vaguely resembled a giant snail.

Its body was a pale gray, and on its back it carried a round shell no larger than a manhole cover—a size utterly disproportionate to its massive form.

Its head stood tall, topped with two thin, arm-length antennae.

Unlike a snail’s, the tips of these antennae lacked eyes.

Most striking about its head, besides the antennae, was its enormous mouth.

It didn’t have a snail-like mouth. Instead, two white, arc-shaped spikes protruded from either side, like tusks, forming a circular opening.

The spikes moved rhythmically. Sharp and pointed, they extended and retracted like hinged bracelets, occasionally meeting tip-to-tip to form a circle with a clacking sound.

It seemed these spikes were its weapon of choice, capable of impaling a person when they closed.

The passengers in the carriage flinched at the sudden beam of the flashlight, but the strange Giant Snail remained unfazed.

Ning Ge had been wondering why the System had deliberately plunged the carriage into complete darkness at this stop. It was clearly to give the monster an advantage in the shadows.

Sure enough, it was hunting by sound.

Humans rely primarily on sight. Without it, they stood no chance against the creature’s superior hearing.

If it thrived in darkness, then they would deny it that advantage.

It was highly probable the monster either feared light or was completely blind.

As Ning Ge had suspected, it moved freely in the dark, showing no reaction to the light.

It was blind.

Using the flashlight, Ning Ge saw Pei Han standing protectively in front of her, Owen and the others nearby. Wei Jue turned to give her a thumbs-up, mouthing with a smile, “So brave.”

Turning on the flashlight was a bit risky, but it worked.

The Giant Snail remained completely unaware of what was happening, showing no sign of unease as it continued to follow the sound of its prey.

Ning Ge silently followed it with the beam of light, creating a spotlight effect on the stage as it moved.

The fleeing man was a young man. When the flashlight beam hit him, he immediately saw that the Giant Snail was still some distance away.

He reacted quickly. Instead of panicking, he froze, slowed his movements to avoid making noise, and carefully began to creep away in another direction.

The Giant Snail suddenly lost its target and stopped, its eyestalks twitching in confusion as it swiveled its head.

In the darkness, everyone in the carriage had been blind, unable to see anything. The Giant Snail, however, moved with professional ease, navigating the dark with confidence—perhaps sensing vibrations in the air with its eyestalks.

Now, with the flashlight beam illuminating the scene, its movements were completely visible, making it the only one in the carriage who couldn’t  see with the naked eye.

The situation had instantly reversed.

The unknown is always the most terrifying. Now that everyone knew what it was, where it was, and what it was doing, their fear subsided.

Everyone held their breath, as if children were playing hide-and-seek around a blindfolded person.

After a tense stalemate, the situation suddenly shifted.

Across the carriage, a man in his late thirties or early forties moved slightly for some reason.

He wore a work uniform made of an unusual material that rustled softly with his movement.

The Giant Snail’s antennae immediately swiveled and darted toward him with lightning speed.

The man saw it clearly and immediately stripped off the offending uniform, tossing it aside and dodging to the side.

But the Giant Snail was too fast. In an instant, it closed the distance, cornering the man against the wall.

With nowhere left to retreat, he pressed himself flat against the carriage wall, not daring to breathe, his body rigid.

The Giant Snail’s antennae swiveled and probed, its head darting back and forth as its sharp, curved mouthparts opened and closed, searching everywhere.

Ning Ge saw Pei Han reach into his backpack for something.

But someone moved faster. A loud ‘thud’ echoed from the other end of the carriage.

The Giant Snail whipped around.

It was Wei Jue.

At some point, he picked up a bloodstained shoe someone had dropped on the ground and threw it in an empty direction.

The Giant Snail heard the commotion and, as if it had struck gold, its entire body quivered with excitement. It left its corner across the way and, with its massive body stretching and contracting, lunged toward the sound.

It ended up getting nothing.

Its flaccid body collapsed on the shoe, showing no interest in it. After a brief exploration and finding no one, it listlessly turned around and froze again.

Wei Jue pursed his lips, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth, as if playing this trick on the Giant Snail was quite amusing to him.

His casual act of saving, makes Ning Ge significantly reduce her wariness of him.

Ning Ge diligently held the flashlight steady, continuing to shine it in the direction of the Giant Snail, estimating the time.

Less than ten minutes had passed since the power went out.

The Giant Snail’s acute hearing made this stalemate increasingly dangerous.

Pei Han clearly thought so too. He gently reached into his shoulder bag and withdrew a long, sharp screwdriver.

He silently handed his shoulder bag to Owen, gripping the screwdriver as he slowly approached the Giant Snail.

The moment he moved, Wei Jue also stirred.

Wei Jue was now holding a pair of needle-nose pliers, which seemed to have been pulled from his hoodie’s large pocket.

Clutching the pliers, he crept toward the Giant Snail as well.

Ning Ge had never imagined such stealth was possible. The two men moved like nimble cats, patient and silent, emerging from their hiding spots in an ambush posture as they slowly closed in on their prey.

Little by little, they finally reached the Giant Snail’s side.

The creature remained completely unaware, its two antennae swiveling like antennas.

Pei Han’s movements were even lighter and faster; he reached the Giant Snail first.

Wei Jue followed a step behind, seemingly unwilling to be outdone. Just as Pei Han raised his screwdriver, he suddenly abandoned all pretense of stealth, lunging forward and snatching the lead.

His movements were too swift for anyone to track.

Ning Ge heard two sharp ‘snip’ sounds. In an instant, Wei Jue had severed both of the Giant Snail’s antennae at the base with the needle-nose pliers.

The Giant Snail made no sound, only writhing wildly with its mouth gaping open.

Its antennae, its tools for sensing the world, had been abruptly severed, leaving it in a state of panic. The curved, spiky mouth opened and closed frantically, emitting a clattering sound.

Pei Han had originally planned to kill it with a screwdriver. Seeing Wei Jue swiftly sever the antennae, he said, “It probably can’t hear us now.”

Indeed.

As he spoke, the Giant Snail showed no particular reaction, as if completely deaf. It continued to thrash about, its mouth gaping wide, turning its head in all directions, trying to bite the attacker.

The spiky mouth, once a formidable threat, was now useless. Blind and deaf, it snapped wildly at the air, making its attacks easy to evade with a little caution.

Pei Han twirled the screwdriver in his hand, seeking the group’s opinion. “Kill it?”

Owen approached, scrutinizing the Giant Snail. “Let’s skip the killing. Just toss it out. It’s kind of cute, actually.”

Ning Ge: “……”

This creature had a pair of deadly weapons in its mouth and could kill without blinking. His definition of “cute” was truly bizarre.

Wei Jue had been happily admiring the large creature, nodding in agreement. “It’s actually quite cute. It would be even cuter without those tentacles. Let’s just do what that passerby said and throw it outside to go back where it came from.”

‘Passerby.’ Owen: “……”

Wei Jue put the pliers back into the large front pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a screwdriver almost as long as the one Pei Han was holding.

This guy’s like Doraemon’s pocket, Ning Ge thought. He’s got quite a lot of stuff in there.

“Wait, I need to do one more thing,” Wei Jue said.

Gripping the screwdriver, he tilted his head to examine the Giant Snail’s head, found the right angle, and thrust it violently into the snail’s mouth.

The screwdriver pierced straight through with practiced precision.

Wei Jue had hit the mark perfectly. He had sewn shut the snail’s dangerous mouth, and the two sharp spikes immediately stopped opening and closing.

With the spikes immobilized, they were no longer a threat.

Teacher Wu and the others had also arrived. Together, they all moved forward, working in unison to push the massive creature toward the car door.

The Giant Snail thrashed wildly, refusing to cooperate. The people pushing it had no choice but to nudge it, inch by inch, toward the car door.

Wei Jue put in minimal effort, one hand in his pocket and the other lazily pushing the snail occasionally as he continued to scrutinize it from head to toe.

Curiously, he poked its belly, squeezed its neck, and then suddenly slid his hand into the gap between the snail’s shell and body. With a sudden flick, he lifted it.

The entire shell came off.

The Giant Snail convulsed violently, shivering in agony.

Wei Jue held the round shell, turning it over and over. Finding nothing interesting, his face fell in disappointment. Bored, he casually tossed it outside the car door.

Earlier, cutting off the snail’s tentacles could be justified as self-defense and a rescue effort, and piercing its mouth with a screwdriver was also for everyone’s safety. But now, removing its shell was pure mischief, completely unnecessary.

He seemed quite pleased with himself.

Snails killing people, people killing snails—that was all part of the cycle. But his actions felt… a little twisted.

Pei Han and Owen immediately glanced at him.

The vigilance Ning Ge had just let down resurfaced.

In the blink of an eye, the Giant Snail was moved to the car door.

“Wait, my screwdriver,” Wei Jue said.

He reached out and pulled the screwdriver from the Giant Snail’s mouth, wiped it on the creature’s body, and tucked it back into his pocket.

“Done,” he declared.

Before anyone could react, he stomped his foot and kicked the Giant Snail into the darkness outside the car.

Ning Ge stared at him. “…”

Wei Jue tilted his head curiously. “What? What else? Should I have thrown it a farewell party instead?”

Now that the snail was dealt with, Teacher Wu asked, “If we throw it out, will more snails come up?”

“Generally, no,” Pei Han replied.

Ning Ge considered it and added, “Besides, the half-hour deadline is almost up.”

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