Nox-4: Snowfall of Death
Planet Nox-4 — As we pushed a little deeper into the jungle teeming with life, the surrounding vegetation underwent a dramatic shift.
Towering trees scraped the sky, and between them, white fluff like dandelion seeds drifted down like snowflakes.
Shrouded in the dim forest under a canopy of dense leaves, the white spores sparkling against the darkness created a hypnotic, ethereal beauty as they fell.
"Never seen plants like this before."
Bani halted, adjusting his goggles as he muttered.
"Whoa... it's like snowing."
Eve's eyes sparkled with wonder as she reached out a hand. One fluttering white fluff was just about to land on her palm.
"Don't touch it!"
Bani shouted sharply. Startled by the urgent cry, Eve yanked her hand back.
The mood froze in an instant. Bani steadied his ragged breathing, knelt to meet Eve's wide eyes, and scolded her gently.
"Eve. In this forest, you don't touch unknown plants. Just because something looks pretty doesn't mean it's harmless."
"But... it just looked so soft, like fluff."
"Is it really just fluff?"
Bani shook his head and scanned the surroundings.
"Plants need energy to thrive. Most spread wide leaves for photosynthesis... but look here. These massive trees block out almost all the light."
He pointed to the shadowed canopy overhead.
"In an environment like this, plants with weak light-gathering ability need another way to survive. Something very efficient... and cruel."
Bani tweaked his ventilation system, blowing air toward the white fluffs.
"Ugh."
As the wind parted the fluffs, a section of the pristine white forest revealed its hidden, gruesome face.
Withered bugs, small rodents, even juvenile reptiles lay tangled in the underbrush.
And sprouting from their surfaces like mold were the exact same white fluffs that had been drifting moments before.
"That's how they survive—sucking nutrients from other lifeforms. Those spores take root on contact with skin and slowly drain their host dry."
Lydia grimaced and backed away at Bani's explanation. The beautiful fluffs hid a sinister side.
"Uncle Bani, you're amazing. So smart—how'd you know??"
Eve gazed up at him with admiring eyes.
"It's less smarts and more experience and gut instinct. I'm too dumb to analyze the exact compounds. I just know it's dangerous."
Bani gave a wry smile.
At that moment, a scoffing ripple from Nahibi brushed my mind.
"Eh. Better safe than sorry, right?"
I muttered under my breath. Lydia turned to me.
"Kal? What'd you say?"
"Nothing. Just talking to myself."
I shrugged.
"Weird. But man, Bani's in his element—total veteran. The old guy at the request board actually hooked us up with a real explorer."
Lydia praised him effusively. Then Bani called out loudly.
"Everyone, crank your air filters to max!"
We adjusted without question, and the motors hummed louder as they spun faster. Lydia asked belatedly.
"What now, oh explorer?"
"The filter motor's RPM was getting irregular. That means viscous particles or high-density stuff in the air—and given what we saw, probably neurotoxin."
Paralysis toxin.
The words turned the landscape—from lush green escape to pristine white beauty—into a murderous trap in an instant.
Suddenly, a fierce gust swept through.
A white wave rippled between the trees. Billions of spores clinging to leaves launched into the air at once.
Like a massive blizzard or white tsunami, they surged away from us in the opposite direction.
In stark contrast to the horrific corpses left on the ground, the drifting white spores riding the wind were breathtakingly beautiful.
Snowflakes bearing death glittered and danced in the sunlight.
"Still... pretty."
Eve murmured dazedly.
Yeah. Life blooming to survive is always beautiful.
Even if it demands another's death. We watched the scene a moment longer, and before I knew it, Eve had gripped my hand tight.
We bypassed the white fluff spore forest and trekked several more hours.
The jungle tested us relentlessly, shifting forms without respite.
Fluorescent beetles scuttled like glowing jewels at our feet, while dragonflies with transparent wings buzzed like helicopters overhead.
Far off, four-armed primates resembling monkeys eyed us warily as they swung through the branches.
Nox-4 Planet was a treasure trove of ecosystems unto itself. At last, the dense forest gave way to an open swamp.
But "open" didn't mean pleasant.
"Huff... huff..."
The humidity was murderous.
Sweat poured inside Bani's hazmat suit like rain. Every breath felt like gulping hot water. Vapor fogged his helmet visor, blurring his vision.
Damn, am I getting old...?
Bani glanced back, panting roughly. These folks were newbies to this kind of expedition, for sure.
Kal the augmented human aside,
a noble lady like Lydia or a kid like Eve should've collapsed from exhaustion by now.
But.
"Kal! Fish over there!"
"Oh my, such pretty colors. That pattern would make a fabulous dress motif."
Eve was anything but tired—bouncing like a kid on a field trip. Lydia was sweaty but breathing steadily.
They looked fresher than the veteran himself. Bani felt an odd unease and déjà vu, but prioritized stamina management.
"Let's... take a break."
Bani slumped onto a fallen log.
He caught his breath, then with practiced hands unpacked his maintenance kit. He all but disassembled his plasma rifle, cleaning the internals.
"Rest up, Bani. You look beat—gear check can wait, yeah?"
Kal approached. The guy who'd seemed on the verge of collapse was already tinkering without pause, which puzzled him.
Bani shook his head, meticulously wiping a lens with soft cloth.
"Humidity's over 90% here. Water droplets form easy on energy weapon focusing lenses."
He opened the barrel shroud to show Kal. Barely visible to the naked eye, a thin vapor film coated the lens.
"Fire in this state? Beam refracts off the moisture, goes wild—or worse, energy backflows in the chamber and boom. Lose your wrist mid-shot."
His hands moved swiftly and precisely, clearing cooling vents and manually realigning the prism.
"Remember this, Kal. The first to die out here ain't the cowards. It's the cocky ones."
His advice landed heavy. I nodded silently and double-checked my own gear.
The rest's quiet shattered with a rustle.
"Whoa! This one's got way more legs than that bug earlier! So tickly!"
Eve's voice. We whipped around, startled.
Eve had fished something from the swamp brush and was holding it up.
A long, cylindrical worm as thick as my forearm. Hundreds of tiny legs rippled like waves—centipede from hell, obvious at a glance.
"Eek! Eve! Drop it! Drop it now!"
Lydia shrieked in horror.
"Huh? It's cute..."
Eve lifted the bug to eye level, inspecting it like a fascinating toy. It writhed, trying to spit venom, but quieted when she squeezed lightly.
Good thing Lydia was hawk-eyed this time—no shoving it in her mouth like before.
"Okay, bye-bye, Many-Legs~"
Eve reluctantly set it back in the brush and waved. The bug fled like it'd been reborn.
"When did she name it that? Many-Legs... Many-Legs..."
Lydia sighed in relief, patting her chest. Bani and I stared blankly.
"That kid Eve... you said she's an experiment, right? Her sensibilities are... pretty far from a normal girl's."
Bani said cautiously, eyeing her oddly.
"Haha... Eve's a bit numb to that stuff."
His knowing look made cold sweat prickle anyway. It wasn't just that.
We trekked on for a good while longer until the dense forest finally opened to a massive canyon entrance.
Between sheer rock cliffs, the Nomad's ID signal blared strong.
"Ship's signal coming from here, right?"
I asked Bani, who was staring at his signaler.
"Yeah, looks like they dragged it..." Bani replied, voice laced with regret and hope, hurrying his steps.
But.
"Hold."
My reaction was instant. I raised a hand, halting the group.
"Kal. What's up?"
Bani, in the lead, approached with a puzzled frown at my sudden stop.
I glanced at Nahibi clinging to Eve.
"Something else up ahead."
My voice dropped low and sharp. The usual calm vanished, tension crackling.
"What's wrong? We're almost there. A few natives? You could hunt 'em easy, Kal."
Lydia joked to lighten the mood. But Nahibi's next words chilled my spine.
"Assimilated?"
Bani pointed to the ground.
"Look at this."
We peered where he indicated. A deep, pond-like imprint in the mud—massive reptile toe marks.
But the size.
"What... the hell?"
Lydia swallowed hard.
One footprint dwarfed Eve's height. The trailing tail drag carved a furrow like a log had bulldozed through.
Bani looked up, face grim.
"Basilisk tracks, but... something's off. They shouldn't be this big."
He dipped a finger in the pooled water. The silt hadn't settled.
"Fresh. Passed recently. It might be watching us."
The forest air shifted. Birdsong and insect chirps cut dead.
I clenched my fist slowly. Lydia hugged Eve tight. Bani flicked off his rifle's safety.
"Gear up. It's coming."
"GRRRROOOAAAR!!!"
A low roar echoed through the canyon.