"Help, help!" The middle-aged man who had run out with them screamed in terror, his expression contorted in pain and fear.
Everyone's eyes were drawn to his nostrils. His left nostril was abnormally swollen, the skin rhythmically pulsing as a soft worm crawled inside, leaving only a thumb-length, chopstick-thick tail visible.
The middle-aged man's legs trembled uncontrollably. Looking at his companions, he pleaded, "Help, help me!"
One of them swallowed hard, picked up two twigs like chopsticks, and reached out with trembling fingers to grasp the exposed part of the soft worm.
He pulled with all his might, trying to extract the creature.
The middle-aged man's eyes rolled back, and he let out a scream.
His companion's hand trembled in fright, and the slippery soft worm broke free from the chopsticks, sliding completely into the man's nasal cavity.