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墨書 Inktalez
I silently watched Zhao Squad Leader, observing him as he uttered the words we had all anticipated, "I'll stay behind to cover you."
I knew this was his sense of responsibility at play. Deep down, I didn't support his decision to stay because protecting Xiao Guolin and the others as they traversed this dangerous path was equally important. However, I had no authority to deny his choice, so I could only accept it.
As a result, the two most capable fighters in our group had chosen to remain. If Liu Squad Leader and Hu Aiguo hadn’t been injured, there would have been no place for me among the strongest. Now, regardless of physical condition or mental state, I had to be in better shape than those two, and even in terms of willpower, I was stronger than Zhao Squad Leader.
Hu Aiguo obediently took the torch and urged Xiao Guolin and Cao Mingzhe to run quickly. Xiao Guolin shot me a complex glance before following Hu Aiguo.
The three of us exchanged looks. After making this decision, Zhao Squad Leader's face relaxed, and he forced a smile. "Let’s go inside."
Then, amidst the increasingly loud and piercing sounds approaching us, we entered the Rest Area.
The space inside was large. Zhao Squad Leader held the torch and circled around the Cave Wall, discovering a small crack in one corner. The crack wasn’t big, but the three of us could barely squeeze through.
Zhao Squad Leader glanced at the crack. "I hope this can help us avoid disaster."
I honestly held little hope of escaping alive, but I didn’t want to dampen Zhao Squad Leader's spirits; let him cling to a glimmer of hope.
Liu Squad Leader had no such illusions. He coldly remarked, "As long as we can buy some time."
I didn’t want to join their meaningless discussion and instead searched for anything that could serve as a weapon under the torchlight. Soon enough, I gathered a pile of stones and stacked them outside the crack. Liu Squad Leader twisted open a grenade's cap, slipped the pin onto his finger, and idly watched me busy myself alongside Zhao Squad Leader.
I figured they understood my intentions. These stones wouldn’t harm the massive Water Monster; their only purpose would be to attract its attention. In other words, they were meant for our own demise.
Seeing that I was almost done, Liu Squad Leader suddenly asked me, "Do you still have any smoke?"
I thought for a moment, then reached into my robe and fished out a handful of tobacco and a filter tip. My pack of cigarettes still had nearly half a pack left, but they were all soaked through. Liu Squad Leader excitedly found a piece of paper, took the tobacco from me, set down the grenade, and with the help of one finger from his left hand, skillfully rolled it up. He asked me, "Do you have any more?"
I searched again; the cigarettes were in the sleeping bag's compartment, mixed with tobacco scraps and the packaging from my cigarette case, still damp and stuck to the sleeping bag. I scraped and fished out some more and handed it to him. "That's it, just these."
Liu Squad Leader passed me the rolled cigarette and began to roll a second one. Soon, the three of us were sitting against the wall on the ground, inhaling the damp smoke amidst the deafening roar and tremors that felt like an earthquake, waiting for death to arrive. My mood had calmed down; I had stepped away from my initial impulse.
Liu Squad Leader wore an expression of indifference, squinting his eyes as he savored the stimulation brought by the tobacco. The damp tobacco burned slowly; he had to draw hard to keep it lit. The rolling paper was made from some inner page of his identification document, rolled tightly with an unpleasant ink smell. The taste of this smoke was hardly enjoyable; it was harsh enough to bring tears to my eyes.
He picked up the grenade again, the ember from the cigarette flickering next to it, with sparks of ash occasionally falling into the open wooden handle of the grenade. The safety pin was looped around his middle finger; as he smoked, the grenade tilted slightly with his hand, as if it could drop at any moment and explode with a loud bang.
Strangely enough, I didn't feel afraid; watching his actions instead struck me as comical. I felt that if I kept looking, I would really burst out laughing. I shifted my gaze to Zhao Squad Leader.
His face still bore an expression of hesitation; from his smoking gestures, it was clear he was unsettled and uncertain. He would raise his hand halfway before letting it drop again, clearly preoccupied with something.
I couldn't help but look down on him for a moment. What was he hesitating for at a time like this? Would anyone be willing to pay for your impulses now? However, I didn’t urge him; I wanted to savor these last moments and confirm our action plan.
I had no regrets about this decision. From the moment Liu Squad Leader proposed this suggestion, I knew he was right—no one was coming to cover us or hold back this massive beast; none of us could escape. But Liu Squad Leader alone holding off this Water Monster was unlikely to succeed; even if he did manage it, it wouldn't last long. This path would definitely not be short. By joining in, I could increase our chances of success and prolong our ability to hold it off—this was based on my confidence in my own capabilities.
With a loud bang from outside, Liu Squad Leader tossed away his cigarette butt and said, "It's here."
Then the three of us picked up stones from the ground and hurled them outside the cave. I gathered fist-sized rocks; we had enough strength to throw them far enough to hit it and let it know we were hiding inside. Since it relied on sound to find us, we would create even louder noises to cover Xiao Guolin and their footsteps. We threw stones densely; some might have hit it directly while others struck against the Cave Wall or landed on the ground with loud clattering sounds.
Sure enough, it stopped outside our Rest Area. While we continued throwing stones, a massive Tentacle slithered in through our hiding spot like a whip, striking with a chaotic thunderous noise before swiftly retracting back out.
The sound nearly deafened me. The entrance to the hollow was already small, and that creature had blocked the exit. Its massive tentacle struck the cave wall, shattering the weathered surface and sending stones flying like a rain of pebbles. The moment the shadow of the tentacle appeared, the three of us instinctively covered our heads and crouched on the ground, feeling the painful impact of stones hitting our backs. My exposed hands felt as if they might break, but I dared not let go; my head was more important than my hands. At that moment, I envied Liu Squad Leader for having a helmet.
Although it was a cave by the water, the humidity inside was not high. As the debris flew about, a large amount of stone dust was also released into the air. The cave quickly filled with a choking, acrid smell, making visibility even worse. The torch held strong; despite the dense rain of stones and dust, it remained lit.
I stood up and pointed at a crevice, shouting to Zhao Squad Leader, "You two go in first; I'll draw it out here."
Zhao Squad Leader protested, "You go in; I'll go first."
Liu Squad Leader pushed him lightly and said, "It doesn't matter; just go in."
In my heart, it didn't matter who went first or last; it was all the same as Liu Squad Leader's perspective. None of us had experience in such matters, and there was no need for a demonstration—arguing over it was pointless.
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