My Abyss Survival Diary

Chapter 3: Flesh as Evidence of Crime

Distorted, blurry human silhouettes appeared and disappeared at the edge of vision...

Just then, a hoarse, dry female voice came from the direction of the thin figure:

"Don't be nervous! I'm just like you, a sinner banished to this godforsaken place."

She hurriedly tried to calm everyone down with her voice, but her voice carried an indescribable weariness and emptiness.

The grayish-white mist thinned slightly, and the figure moved forward a small step, its outline gradually becoming clearer. It was a thin woman wearing a tattered robe.

Facing the group of sinners, she very slowly raised her empty hands, indicating that she had no weapons.

"Struggling to survive in this abyss is extremely difficult," the hoarse female voice continued, trembling with a sob. "Killing each other will only make our deaths more miserable; we should help each other."

Her words seemed to possess a certain magic, striking the most vulnerable desires in the hearts of several terrified and bewildered sinners.

"We've set up a temporary base nearby. It has clean water and food, and we can take shelter from the fog for now. I can take you there to rest."

The word "rest" seemed so alluring in the cold, slippery fog filled with unknown fears.

"Really?"

One of the young men eagerly approached the woman's figure.

"Don't go over there." Simon's warning was cold and abrupt, like an iron nail hitting a steel plate.

His gaze was fixed on the woman's figure in the thick fog.

How dare this seemingly defenseless woman invite a group of criminals to her stronghold? Isn't she afraid they'll kill her and seize the camp for themselves?

The man was startled by Simon's voice. He turned around abruptly, his face a mixture of fear and displeasure at being stopped. He glanced at Simon, who looked grim, gripping his weapon tightly as if facing a formidable enemy, and then at the "friendly" figure in the thick fog with his hands raised.

"We should be helping each other now!" the man retorted to Simon, his tone tinged with a hint of offended stubbornness and naive obstinacy. "Do you want to stay in this damn fog and wait to die? She doesn't seem to mean any harm!"

As if trying to convince himself, or as if trying to refute Simon's indifference, he ignored him and strode toward the direction of the hoarse voice in the thick fog.

The thick fog seemed to disperse slightly as he approached, making the silhouette of the woman in the tattered robe clearer.

She opened her arms wide, welcoming the man's arrival...

Just as the man was about to throw himself into that "warm" embrace—

A sudden change has occurred!

Under the horrified gazes of everyone, the woman suddenly thrust her head forward!

Beneath the hood, a withered, deathly face was revealed! A beast-like growl escaped her throat, and she suddenly opened her mouth, revealing a mouthful of jagged teeth, before biting down hard on the man's shoulder! The dull thud of her teeth digging into flesh was clearly audible!

"ah--!!!"

Blood splattered as the teeth bit into him, and the man's shrill screams tore through the silence of the thick fog, echoing through the forest.

The moment he heard the scream, Simon aimed the skull crusher at the woman's head, but his finger on the trigger hesitated to pull it.

The two figures were entangled together. If his shot could kill the woman, that would be fine. If it missed, it would be a waste of a precious bullet. Although he had just picked up the nail gun left behind by the scarred criminal in the square, he only had five bullets left.

Other criminals, holding nail guns, hesitated to fire, while some cautiously left, disappearing into the fog to avoid any involvement.

Many more sinners stood still, observing the situation.

Before being escorted to this abyss, they were all prisoners in jail. This group of people had no kind hearts and would never help. They were like a flock of carrion vultures, waiting for the bloody battle to end before scrambling for supplies.

But there are exceptions...

boom--

Gunfire suddenly erupted in a blinding burst of orange-red amidst the gray-white fog!

The deafening gunshots instantly drowned out the man's piercing screams and the woman's guttural gurgling sounds, like a wild beast gnawing at flesh.

The bullet pierced the center of the skull of the "woman" who was engrossed in tearing at her head with deadly precision.

The head under the hood shattered instantly! The iron-like arms that had been gripping the man suddenly lost their strength, and the body, dressed in a tattered robe, fell backward like a puppet with its strings cut, crashing onto the cold, slippery ground and splashing up a small patch of muddy slurry.

The bitten man suddenly broke free of the restraints, staggered forward and fell to his knees.

He clutched his bleeding, deep, bone-revealing shoulder wound tightly with his left hand, gasping for breath, his body trembling violently.

The shooter was a burly man with a full ruddy beard. Judging from his professional gun-holding posture and deadly marksmanship, he must be a frequent user of firearms.

"Hey! Dude! How are you?"

The bearded man approached the man's side, bent down, and tried to check the man's injuries.

His concerned words suddenly caught in his throat!

The man's body convulsed uncontrollably, sweat poured down his back, and he made soft grinding noises. His pale face was completely expressionless; the fear, pain, and confusion that had flickered in his eyes earlier had vanished without a trace, leaving only an empty, stagnant, and murky look.

boom--

Another deafening gunshot rang out, even more abrupt and ferocious than the shot fired by the uncle earlier!

The man who had just been rescued pointed the nail gun downwards and pulled the trigger. The nail, with devastating kinetic energy, smashed into the man's right knee!

The man who saved his life had his knee shattered by this sudden gunshot!

The pitiful screams shocked Simon. No matter how hopelessly stupid that guy was, he wouldn't suddenly turn around and kill his savior.

Something's not right! He narrowed his eyes, recalling the sudden situation that had just occurred...

As the woman tore at the sinner, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of something dark red and wriggling off the back of her neck and flashing into the wound on the man's shoulder!

The man who had just been clutching his shoulder and screaming in pain, needing help, slowly and stiffly stood up.

His body was still trembling slightly, and his limbs were twitching uncontrollably, as if he was searching for some kind of balance, or as if he was adapting to something.

He stopped covering the wound with his left hand and let the blood flow. He gripped the nail gun that had just been fired and clumsily and slowly inserted a nail bullet to load the gun.

"Cough cough cough, I... I don't know what happened..." His anxiety seemed to overflow, and he frantically tried to regain control of his body. His body trembled uncontrollably, his face was grotesquely contorted, and his eyes darted between cloudy and clear. "No! I can't do it! What the hell is going on?"

He said that, but then he suddenly raised his arm!

The nail gun, still emitting smoke from its muzzle, wobbled as it aimed at the group of criminals before it!

Run! Run fast!

Faced with the madman's gun, the criminals hurriedly retreated in panic.

The gun finally wobbled and was aimed at a pale, handsome face.

Gripping the dagger tightly, Simon stared straight at the man before him without changing his expression.

He spotted his prey!

If he wasn't mistaken, that wriggling piece of flesh was the "flesh of incriminating evidence" the old priest had mentioned!