Chapter 8
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Behind them, the hundred-meter wind turbine tower slowly collapsed like a toppled giant, ensnared in fungal filaments.
"Hard left!" Buck shouted hoarsely.
Half his body hanging out the window, he fired his 1911 in bursts at approaching spore clusters. The bullets created momentary vacuums in the mycelium, but more grayish-white waves surged from beneath the snow.
Kay wrenched the wheel. The vehicle fishtailed on ice as remaining conductive liquid from the aquaponics system splashed out the window. Where it hit the fungal mat, blue-purple electric arcs crackled, stopping their pursuers in their tracks.
"Fish-scale electrolyte..." Lila clutched the little girl tightly. "They fear electricity!"
"They fear this even more!" Buck suddenly pointed skyward.
Against the overcast sky, countless black dots swirled into a vortex—fungus-infected birds, their eye sockets flashing with uniform golden light like puppets on invisible strings.
"Hive mind," Kay shuddered. "The fungus is using them as scouts!"
The "Ark" dashboard suddenly went black. The radio activated automatically, and through harsh static, a mechanical female voice repeated in fragments:
【...Warning...all survivors...proceed to coordinate 36...shelter...repeat...coordinate 36...】
Buck's expression darkened. "Kill it! It's a trap!"
Kay had already yanked the radio fuse. He checked the GPS—the last recorded coordinate was exactly Zone 36, a military underground bunker.
"Why is it a trap?" Lila eyed Buck suspiciously.
The old soldier silently wiped his gun. Suddenly, heavy impacts pounded the roof as bird carcasses rained down like hailstones. A vulture crashed through the windshield, its rotting beak lunging for Kay's eyes!
Kay jerked sideways. The bird carcass exploded against the steering wheel, splattering not blood and flesh but viscous, glowing spores!
"Internal circulation failure!" Lila screamed. Gray mist sprayed from the vents, filling the cabin with jasmine scent mixed with putrid decay.
The little girl suddenly reached out, scooped up a glob of spore fluid, and put it in her mouth.
"Don't eat that!" Lila lunged to stop her, then froze—the girl's eyes remained clear. The spores rapidly deactivated on her fingertips, crumbling into gray powder.
Kay and Buck exchanged glances, silent shock rippling between them.
