Chapter 150: People around the world
The dim glow of emergency lights cast long shadows on the cold concrete walls, and the air was heavy with the scent of sweat and fear.
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Outside, the world was no longer safe.
The "Fleshers," horrific, eldritch creatures that once were human but had long since mutated into grotesque beasts, roamed the surface.
Their pale, skinless forms stalked the ruined cities in search of any remaining prey.
No one knew what triggered the transformation, but it was a plague that spread rapidly, turning friends, family, and strangers into nightmares.
The group in the bunker—six men, three women, and a child—had been living underground for months.
They\'d survived the initial wave of chaos, but supplies were running low, and their generator had been sputtering for days.
Suddenly, without warning, the rumbling noises above—the telltale signs of Fleshers roaming the surface—abruptly ceased.
One of the survivors, a man named Rick, furrowed his brow. "Why did it go quiet all of a sudden?" he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Another survivor, a woman named Nora, peered up at the ceiling, as if expecting something to crash through it at any moment. "They never stop moving. They\'re always out there."
Then, without thinking, one of the younger men, Josh, slowly made his way toward the rusted metal ladder that led to the surface. "I\'m going up to check," he said.
Rick grabbed his arm, his grip tight. "Don\'t be stupid! You go up there, you\'ll get torn apart."
But Josh shook his head. "It\'s not right. We\'ve never had this kind of silence."
Reluctantly, Rick let him go, and the group watched as Josh ascended the ladder and unlatched the heavy bunker door.
The harsh light of day flooded the room as Josh poked his head out.
What he saw somehow sent a chill down his spine.
The Fleshers, normally ravenous and constantly moving, were all standing still, their grotesque forms frozen in place.
Each one of them was staring upwards, their hollow, empty eye sockets fixed on the sky.
Josh followed their gaze, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn\'t comprehend what he was seeing.
There, in the sky above, clear as day, was a massive number floating in the clouds.
SThe Protected City – New Shanghai
In the gleaming metropolis of New Shanghai, life was good—at least for those who lived within the towering protective walls that separated the elites from the horrors outside.
The powerful families who ruled the city had access to wealth, resources, and the latest technologies, allowing them to maintain their own version of paradise amidst the chaos.
Inside the sprawling mansion of the Zhang family, one of the most powerful families in New Shanghai, servants moved about briskly, preparing for yet another lavish banquet.
The air was filled with the scent of roasted meats and exotic spices, and the marble floors gleamed underfoot.
Xu Zhang, the family patriarch, was sitting in his study, overlooking the vast cityscape from his penthouse window.
He sipped on a glass of fine wine, enjoying the peace and quiet.
Outside the walls, the world was a nightmare, but here, in New Shanghai, they were untouchable.
But then, something strange happened.
The usual distant sounds of the city\'s automated defenses firing at eldritch creatures beyond the walls suddenly stopped.
Xu furrowed his brow and rose from his chair. He approached the window, gazing out at the horizon.
The massive eldritch monsters that frequently hurled themselves at the city\'s energy shields were no longer attacking.
They stood motionless, as if hypnotized, their grotesque forms illuminated by the city\'s neon lights.
His wife, Mei, entered the room, her expression concerned. "What\'s going on?" she asked.
"I don\'t know," Xu replied, his voice tense.
He activated the holoscreen on the wall, connecting to the city\'s defense grid.
The security footage showed the same scene—monsters frozen in place, staring at the sky.
Xu rushed to the window and looked up. His heart skipped a beat as he saw it—a gigantic number, shimmering in the sky above the city.
The Jungle Tribe – Amazon Rainforest
Deep in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, a tribe of indigenous people had long lived in harmony with nature.
However, in recent months, that harmony had been shattered by the arrival of strange creatures—eldritch beasts that had torn through the jungle, hunting down anything they could find.
The tribe had been forced to adapt, turning their once peaceful home into a battlefield.
Today, the hunters of the tribe were on a patrol, carefully moving through the dense foliage, their eyes scanning for any sign of the creatures.
They had encountered them before—massive, horned beasts with glowing eyes and sharp, bone-like protrusions.
The tribe had lost many warriors to these monsters, but they refused to flee. This was their home.
As they moved deeper into the jungle, the group\'s leader, a man named Toca, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He motioned for the others to halt.
There was something wrong.
The jungle had fallen eerily silent.
No birds, no insects, not even the wind stirred the leaves.
Then, they saw it.
Just ahead, a hulking eldritch creature, its body covered in thick, bark-like armor, was standing still.
Normally, it would charge at them, its roar shaking the trees. But today, it stood frozen, its head tilted upwards.
Toca\'s heart raced. He glanced at his fellow warriors, who were just as confused.
"What is it looking at?" one of them whispered.
Slowly, Toca lifted his gaze to the sky, and there, cutting through the canopy of trees, he saw the impossible—a massive number glowing in the sky.
The Ruins of Tokyo
In the ruined city of Tokyo, survivors moved like shadows through the skeletal remains of skyscrapers and highways.
The city, once a technological marvel, had been decimated by the arrival of eldritch creatures that tore through the infrastructure and brought society to its knees.
A small group of survivors was hiding in the remains of a collapsed train station, their breaths shallow as they listened for any sign of the beasts that roamed the streets.
The group had been scavenging for supplies, but the city was a dangerous place, and they had narrowly avoided being caught by a pack of monstrous, spider-like creatures just hours before.
Suddenly, the ground trembled, and the group tensed.
They could hear the distinctive clicking of the creatures\' legs as they moved through the rubble outside.
But then… the sound stopped.
The group exchanged confused glances. Had the creatures left?
One of the survivors, a young woman named Hana, cautiously peeked out from their hiding spot.
What she saw defied explanation.
The spider-like monsters were completely still, their long, spindly legs motionless, their bodies twisted upwards as if looking at something.
Hana\'s curiosity got the better of her.
She stepped out from the station and looked up at the sky. Her eyes widened in shock. There, above the ruined city, was a massive number glowing in the clouds.
The Arctic Base
Far to the north, in a remote Arctic research base, a team of scientists had been studying strange atmospheric phenomena that had begun occurring around the world.
They had heard of the eldritch creatures, but they had remained largely isolated from the chaos—until recently.
The creatures had found them.
The base, which had once been a quiet outpost, was now fortified against the relentless attacks of massive, wolf-like beasts with glowing eyes and fangs made of ice.
The team had been using experimental weapons to fend off the creatures, but each day grew more desperate.
Dr. Mason, the team leader, stood at the observation window, watching the frozen tundra outside.
The beasts were out there, prowling just beyond the perimeter.
But suddenly, they stopped.
The creatures, always circling, always hunting, were now motionless, their heads tilted upwards.
Mason frowned. "What the hell…"
He stepped outside into the freezing wind, and as he followed the creatures\' gaze, his breath caught in his throat.
In the sky, glowing brightly against the northern lights, was a massive number.