160: No Enemies

10 0 0
                                    


"Huh? Where'd he go?"

The wind had died down. The thick gray clouds in the sky gradually swallowed the setting sun. It was as if someone had casually washed the scenery with gray paint. There was a very faint indent on the reddish ground not far from them; a few wild blades of grass on the ground bent to one side as if they had just been under something. Yet, no one saw what happened.

Snow stood just beside the place where the male posthuman had disappeared. He was standing by the edge of the ridge, which had a gentle slope that slid into a valley.

Everyone could see the confusion hidden behind the man's bearded face—he stared blankly at the empty space beside him for a few seconds. He was about to walk closer to examine when he heard B. Rabbit shouting, "Little Snow!"

"Huh?" He looked back wide-eyed, "Boss, why did you call me?"

The others were about ten or more steps away from Snow, and B. Rabbit was the closest to him. B. Rabbit narrowed his eyes, painted with thick black eyeliner. His expression was solemn.

"Little Snow, don't move right now," he said slowly. He rarely spoke with such a serious tone.

Snow stopped moving. He froze in position as everyone looked at him.

After a while, Lin Sanjiu said, "You can slowly lift one leg."

The large, burly man looked at her, perplexed.

'What's happening?' Snow was puzzled. "What's wrong?" he grumbled before he followed her instructions and slowly lifted one foot. His body immediately swayed.

Xueqin's usual and stoic expression had faded. Cold sweat appeared on her forehead as she said, "Next, you must be very careful. Take one gentle step forward. Try to walk slowly—"

It was too late. Standing on one foot, Snow suddenly started wobbling. He planted his feet down on the ground with a heavy thump to maintain his balance.

"Aghh!" he hollered. He wanted to try again but heard B. Rabbit's shouting. Before he could make sense of the situation, he felt himself spinning, then saw the sky—his body had left the ground.

Before the large man could let out an angry cry, his body suddenly seemed to take on a life of its own. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

"Quick!"

Lin Sanjiu and B. Rabbit shot to where he was just moments before. Ignoring the possibility that they could be attacked, one of them called out her long sword while the other's paw glowed. They reached the edge of the ridge in an instant, then were shocked when they found the valley below empty. There was nothing below other than red soil and crumbled rocks.

"Did something throw him off the edge?" B. Rabbit asked hoarsely.

Lin Sanjiu shook her head. "No. Honestly speaking, both times, everything happened too fast. I didn't see how they disappeared."

When Snow turned to the others to report about the posthuman who had fallen from the sky, everyone noticed something weird. Though the man was unconscious, his shoulders suddenly moved unnaturally. It didn't look like he was about to regain consciousness. Instead, it seemed as if something was pushing him from below. Without warning, the stranger disappeared almost instantaneously from the edge within the time for Snow to turn his head back.

Everyone assumed there was something in the valley, so they told Snow to move away from his spot as quietly as possible. But now, it seemed like that wasn't the case. Just then, the others rushed over. The twin sisters quickly set up another forcefield barrier, but this time, the female voice they had heard previously did not report a number even after some time.

Garden of Eden || Apocalypse Paradise #2 [Complete]Where stories live. Discover now