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墨書 Inktalez
I perked up my ears and listened. Damn it, scaring people at a time like this. I was so angry that I almost wanted to hit him with the butt of my gun.
He turned his head again and asked, "Did you hear that?"
The torch was in front of him, and he was backlit, so I couldn't see his expression. However, his second question was more tense, coming out in a hurried tremor that made me feel he wasn't joking. My hair stood on end.
In such a quiet environment, where even the sound of breathing echoed like a wind instrument, even if Liu Squad Leader tried to keep his voice low, it reached everyone's ears. I could hear everyone's breathing suddenly quicken.
At that moment, Zhao Squad Leader raised a clenched fist in front, signaling us to stop advancing.
I pressed my back against the Cave Wall, with both ears directed towards the Pavement. No good; the sound of my heartbeat was too loud. All I could hear was my own heart pounding violently. I cupped my hands over my ears, and a sound like wind rustling through treetops came through, followed by another sound—not a single unchanging noise, but truly rhythmic, like a piece of music. Yet I felt no pleasure in it, only deep fear.
"Hu, light the torch," Zhao Squad Leader shouted.
Indeed, I recognized that the sound was coming from behind us. Next came the flick of a lighter and the sound of a gun bolt.
"Whoosh," Hu Aiguo ignited his torch. However, the illumination from the torch was poor; we couldn't see far into the surroundings and could only hear the whistling sound drawing closer and growing louder.
"Captain Xiao, Professor Cao, come over here," Zhao Squad Leader called out nervously. Ignoring Liu Squad Leader's grim expression, he pulled me beside him: "You take Captain Xiao and Professor Cao and run; we'll cover you."
I glanced at Liu Squad Leader, whose face was twisted in distress; I figured he would soon break down, likely to recreate a scene of utter chaos. I said to Zhao Squad Leader: "Liu Squad Leader has no weapon; let him take Captain Xiao and Cao Mingzhe to retreat while I stay behind to cover."
For the first time, Zhao Squad Leader showed his firmness: "I make the calls here. He is a soldier and has a responsibility to stay behind to cover you." Then he pointed at the gun on my chest: "Make sure their safety is protected."
I pulled a torch from Xiao Guolin's back and ignited it on the one in Zhao Squad Leader's hand, looking at him seriously as I said, "Stay alive. I'll be waiting for you."
I didn't wait for his response; I had an ominous feeling that whatever he said would be his last words. I ran swiftly, my footsteps no longer light, no longer trying to conceal my sound. Xiao Guolin and Cao Mingzhe sensed the danger as well and followed me desperately, not falling behind even a step.
Gunfire and the explosions of grenades erupted shortly after we started running. The flames flickered behind us like flashes from a camera, with two automatic rifles firing in alternation and grenades going off in quick succession. The battle escalated into a fever pitch right from the start.
My self-deprecating sense of excessive responsibility began to haunt me at this moment. I found it hard to move forward; I felt that taking another step would cause me to trip over my own chaotic thoughts or another version of myself. I handed the torch to Xiao Guolin and said, "Keep running." Then I turned and charged toward the dense gunfire.
There was no need for the torch to illuminate the way; the gunfire and flashes indicated the direction and path. Before I could reach it, the gunfire suddenly ceased, and my heart turned cold, plummeting heavily. The torch remained lit, still swaying in my hand. I didn't know if they had run out of bullets or lost their ability to fight back. But I couldn't truly believe they had dealt with their opponents; as I ran, I loaded my weapon.
In an instant, flames appeared before me. Zhao Squad Leader was holding a torch in one hand while supporting Hu Aiguo as they ran toward me. Hu Aiguo's face was covered in blood, his shirt soaked through, half leaning on Zhao Squad Leader as he staggered toward me. They certainly wouldn't see me; I was still outside the light of the torch.
Liu Squad Leader followed behind them, swinging a torch with his only functioning hand, striking at something.
This colossal creature presented itself clearly before me for the first time. It was enormous; that was my only thought. It was a gigantic serpentine creature, so large that its part extending onto the pavement was over ten meters long. In the bright light of the flames, I could see its brown and yellow patterns; its body was thicker than Liu Squad Leader's torso, rising high as its head swayed back and forth, obscuring my view. But it clearly intended to coil around Liu Squad Leader, intending to crush him.
Liu Squad Leader acted like a madman, raising the torch high and jumping toward the serpent's head. He emitted a roar that sounded inhuman; there was no trace of fear in his voice—only an intense excitement as if he had truly gone insane. I knew that excitement stemmed from deep within him.
He had been tormented by his inner demons all along. From the moment he saw this giant creature, he fell into a shadow of fear—not of death but of water ghosts, a shadow buried deep within him since childhood.
It was quite absurd; a person who feared nothing about death—yes, I knew that after receiving news of Song Guilong's escape, he had already become indifferent to life and death. Seeing Li Squad Leader's severed head only strengthened his resolve. His current goal was simply to complete Li Squad Leader's mission: bring Song Guilong back or die trying.
It was hard to comprehend how such a person could fear water ghosts. Personally, I couldn't explain or understand it either, but that was the truth—he feared this more than death itself.
But now, he realized that what had terrified him was not a water ghost, but a gigantic water snake. The humiliation, the kind that he could hardly face, burned within him. His demeanor made me feel that he wanted to wash away the shame brought upon him by the Giant Water Snake with his own death.
When the head of the Giant Water Snake came into contact with the torch, it suddenly recoiled as if struck hard. The torch, wrapped in grease, not only shone brightly but also radiated an intense heat. The Giant Water Snake was clearly scorched by it. The grease-covered torch remained unaffected; it did not extinguish from the impact. Instead, the flames flared up with a loud "bang" and leaped back into the air.
The Giant Water Snake did not retreat; instead, it arched its body backward and then lunged sideways toward Liu Squad Leader.
I knew I couldn't wait any longer; Liu Squad Leader definitely couldn't hold out much longer. If he took even one hit, it would be all over for him. Perhaps that was his wish, but I couldn't let that happen before my eyes. As I raised my gun, I shouted, "Get down!"
I didn't wait for their reaction; the flames shot out immediately. There was no time to waste; the water snake was already coiling toward Liu Squad Leader.
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