Hao Xuan's body floated a couple of inches above ground surrounded by a barely noticeable golden barrier of light. All he could do was listen to the sound of hurried footsteps that were coming his way.
With the glyph's help, the nanites went to work within his body, trying to fix or at least quarantine the mutations within Hao Xuan's DNA but that was easier said than done. What they were doing was basically gene manipulation which even for an advanced AI was no easy task to undertake.
Baracus not only needed the exact information about Hao Xuan's gene sequence and genetic material but also how it could change in the future.
And because of his 'special' physique, his DNA was already extremely unstable. Minor modifications and alterations would be made every single time Hao Xuan used the physique to devour any outside materials which created far too many complications.
The footsteps got closer and closer until they were right next to him. Hao Xuan's heartbeats increased by a fold waiting to 'hear' who they belonged to. From the sound of it, there were about three or four people.
"It's a person!" one of them shouted. The voice sounded masculine but far too young, a teenager at most.
"Woah! It's a human!" the second voice said in wonderment. Another male.
"Uri, go see if he's alive!" a third voice said, getting a strong no in response.
"No way, what if it has diseases? My mom said you can never know with humans. She said they lick each other's private parts!"
"For ancestor's sake Uri, you want to be one of us right? You have to listen then!"
"But… it's a human…" Uri mumbled weakly.
"And? Besides, I think he's already dead…"
From their conversation, Hao Xuan easily (and correctly) guessed that they were all just random teenagers that just happened to be nearby…and that they weren't human.
They stood near him for a few seconds, poking and prodding with branches until the trees in the distance started moving. The sound was coming from the left, the opposite direction from where they came from.
Since all Hao Xuan could do was listen, he was completely focused on every little sound around him.
The area he had landed in was a dense jungle. There was barely enough space for a normal individual to walk upright so every little movement made a lot of noise. And what he was hearing right now sounded nothing like a person. It was big, and heavy!
Even the ground moved trembled him. The trees creaked from the pressure and then snapped loudly, twinging Hao Xuan's heartstrings.
"Shh! Did you hear that?" the first teenager whispered.
"Yeah, where is it coming from?"
"Somewhere deep in the forest! What should we do?"
"Run of course! What kind of a stupid question is that?" the second teenager answered with a slap on the head to whoever asked and quickly turned around, going back the way they had come from, followed by the others.
Only one of them remained standing beside Hao Xuan.
"Bu-But guys, what about the human?" the one named Uri shouted towards the others but they had already run too far away.
Hao Xuan could hear his little heart beating faster and faster. He was pacing back and forth anxiously, unable to decide what to do.
"I should go now….but Ms. Jiang said to always help those in need…" Uri talked to himself nervously, trying to think of a way to save Hao Xuan.
He tried to move him but couldn't even budge a single inch. He tried to drag, push and even jump on him but nothing worked.
The creature was now less than 50 meters away, so loud that Hao Xuan could even hear clanking noises coming from it when its scaly body dragged along the rocks and other hard surfaces. The temperature started rising around them.
'Damn it, just run away kid! Why the hell are you still here!? What use is both of us dying?' Hao Xuan shouted inwardly at Uri's indecisiveness.
He didn't know if he was angrier about potentially dying in a few seconds or this dumb kid just standing beside him waiting to become the incoming creatures paired entrée.
Seeing as the creature was almost on them, Uri finally gave up. He bent down and picked up some branches and leaves before carefully placing them on top of Hao Xuan's body, unsuccessfully trying to cover him up.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mr. Human, I'll go tell the elders as soon as I can, please don't die!" he said in a rushed voice and ran after the other teenagers.
'Worry about yourself, dumbass!' Hao Xuan retorted inwardly, seeing Baracus's notification.
"ETA: 25 seconds."
Hao Xuan was about to sigh in relief when his ears twitched again upon noticing something unusual.
The last sound of footsteps was going in a different direction. Uri had run off in almost the exact opposite path to the others.
Hao Xuan wanted to shout but the timer in front of his eyes and the creature that was just a few meters away from him kept him from doing so.
'Fuck it. He was nice enough to at least try, I'll find him and bring him to his people after dealing with the creature,' Hao Xuan told himself.
He braced for its attack. The barrier around him created by the glyph should last for at least a few seconds.
The loud noises came right up to him and stopped. Hao Xuan could hear three loud heartbeats coming from its body.
He didn't even need to see how big it actually was. Judging from the mess it had made just getting to him, it was at least 5-8 meters in size.
It bent down. Hao Xuan heard the air moving back forth. It was taking in short but deep breaths. It sniffed around Hao Xuan's body for a couple of seconds before suddenly jerking to the left. The ground shook as it leaped forward, jumping right over Hao Xuan.
The ground moved again and it again jumped forward. It had caught the scent of something else. It was going after the teenagers.
****
Authors Notes:
Constantly having issues posting to WN.. Sorry for the random delays, I finished writing today before weekly reset and posted it then but still didn't show up even 5 hours later.
