"When did your belly get so big?"
Tessa lifted Gina's last t-shirt, looking at her swollen abdomen, and asked.
This was a situation usually seen in the fourth month of pregnancy, which made Tessa suspect that Gina had conceived before boarding the ship, but didn't even know it herself.
"Hey, hey, are you kidding? Coming to a place like this when pregnant?"
Sergiu's face was strange, and the expressions on the others' faces also subtly changed. They had no energy to take care of a pregnant woman in a place like this.
"Huhu... I'm not pregnant. I don't have a boyfriend..."
"I haven't had one in a year and a half..."
Gina heard Tessa and Sergiu's words, and seeing everyone's expressions, knew they had misunderstood her. Ignoring the intense pain in her abdomen, she gasped and began to explain.
"Uh, sorry."
Sergiu's face was embarrassed, and he quickly apologized.
"Ahhh~!"
Suddenly, Gina screamed again, and her abdomen convulsed.
It wasn't like a baby kicking; instead, it was as if something was constantly moving inside her stomach, trying to break out.
"Could it be that something burrowed into her stomach?"
Cervantes's face was grim, because he wasn't sure if this unknown, unidentified creature was only present in Gina's body.
"That's the only explanation..." Beyond also said in a deep voice.
Everyone looked at Gina's convulsing abdomen, then thought of this being the Dark Continent, and a chill involuntarily ran down their spines.
"Gina..."
Tessa's left hand and Gina's right hand were clasped tightly together. Her right hand slowly stroked Gina's abdomen, feeling the convulsions in Gina's belly, her throat bobbing.
"Gina, there's probably something in your stomach. I need to perform a laparotomy. Can you hold on?"
Tessa tried to keep her voice gentle, to prevent Gina from feeling uneasy. At the same time, she squeezed Gina's right hand tightly, offering comfort.
"Do... do it..."
Gina also gripped Tessa's hand tightly, her voice trembling.
"And... also, don't knock me out..."
"I want to see... see what's in my stomach..."
Tessa pursed her lips and nodded. She took out gloves, a scalpel, scissors, and other tools from her emergency backpack, prepared everything, and looked up at Cervantes and Beyond's group.
"Two people come and hold her down. I need to perform a laparotomy."
Cervantes and Sergiu exchanged glances, then stepped forward, squatting on either side of Gina. They held down Gina's shoulders and looked up at Beyond.
"Boss, keep an eye on us. If anything unexpected happens... you know what to do."
Beyond nodded, spread his arms, and gestured for everyone to step back, creating an open space for the three to perform the surgery. He himself stood directly facing Gina, who was sitting against the wall.
If there was anything abnormal about the creature in Gina's stomach, he would strike immediately.
"Gina, bear with it."
Tessa brushed Gina's messy bangs away, then wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead.
"Inhale Exhale"
Tessa closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and adjusted her state of mind.
A moment later, she opened her eyes, controlled her arm, and the cold scalpel blade pressed tightly against Gina's abdomen.
"Hmph Hmph"
Although she was mentally prepared, when facing this moment, Gina couldn't help but feel terrified, and her whole body trembled even more violently.
"Gina, do you remember the night we first met?"
Before beginning the surgery, Tessa looked at Gina and asked softly.
"Of... course, I... still... remember..."
"Pfft!"
Before Gina could finish speaking, the blade in Tessa's hand suddenly plunged into Gina's abdomen. She slashed downward fiercely, tearing a bloody gash across Gina's swollen belly.
"Ahhh~!!!"
Gina's pupils instantly dilated. She let out a piercing scream, her entire body trembling violently. Her legs thrashed aimlessly against the ground, and saliva uncontrollably dribbled from the corners of her mouth.
But it only lasted for a moment before Gina fainted from the intense pain.
"Gina..."
Tessa also looked pained, but there was nothing she could do.
Her anesthetics had already run out when she was helping injured soldiers, and she dared not casually try any plants here. Naturally, there was nothing to substitute for anesthetic.
"Quick, quickly see what's in her stomach now!"
Cervantes shouted sharply, rousing Tessa from her sorrowful and reluctant emotions. Tessa pursed her lips, put down the scalpel, and used tools to pry open the bloody wound on Gina's abdomen, allowing everyone to see the unknown, squirming entity inside.
Inside Gina's bloody abdomen, unknown creatures, resembling snakes or eels, continuously wriggled.
"Can't see clearly at all. Can only see a little bit of white, like bone-like things."
But whether due to lighting or some other reason, everyone could only discern their appearance and size by the blood adhering to their bodies.
"Hmph~ Tessa..."
At this moment, Gina, who had been unconscious, actually regained consciousness. She first groaned in pain, then looked at Tessa, her lips purple.
"Tessa, I'm dying..."
"Cough cough Gulp"
Gina's voice was weak. As she spoke, her eyes suddenly widened, and she coughed violently. Immediately, a large mouthful of blood surged up her throat and gushed out of her mouth.
"Gina! Don't talk anymore!"
Tessa frantically wiped the blood from Gina's mouth and chin, but as soon as she wiped, her hand movements paused. She looked incredulously at Gina, whose eyes were wide open and no longer moving.
"She's dead."
Cervantes and Sergiu both released Gina's shoulders and slowly stood up, their faces grim.
"Stop dawdling! Let's see what these damn things that messed up her stomach really are!"
Sergiu stopped talking nonsense and directly used his hand to pry open Gina's abdomen, wanting everyone to clearly see the true nature of the unknown creatures inside.
Tessa was indifferent to this and did not stop him.
"Splish-splash..."
As blood gushed from Gina's abdominal wound, five snake-like, fish-like creatures emerged from the wound along with the copious blood.
Their flesh and exterior were transparent. Everyone could only see the white, fish-spine-like bones within these unknown creatures. It was only by the blood adhering to their bodies that they could barely discern their basic characteristics.
"These appear to be snake-like fish creatures, but judging from their appearance and habitat, they are definitely not any known species."
"They are like parasites, living inside organisms and growing by feeding on the internal organs of the host."
As Natalie observed these unknown creatures, she also observed Gina's now empty abdomen. All her internal organs, viscera, and large and small intestines had been completely devoured by these things.
"But what's strange is that if that's the case, Gina should have died long ago. Could it be that they have a symbiotic relationship with the host before they fully grow?" Natalie pondered.
"They are crawling towards the swamp."
Beyond looked down at the five unknown snake-like transparent creatures constantly wriggling towards the swamp. With a "thump," he stomped down, pinning two of their heads under his foot.
The remaining three coiled around Beyond's boots and legs, seemingly trying to find an opening in Beyond's body to burrow into him.
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