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墨書 Inktalez
After discovering a gap in the Rest Area where we could take shelter, we devised a battle plan. This was Zhao Squad Leader's idea, and I felt quite frustrated listening to it. Was this a battle plan? It sounded more like a suicide mission.
The core of this plan was to hold it off for as long as possible. This meant that one person had to remain exposed at all times, constantly moving around the Rest Area, making noise and attacking the creature to draw its attention until they were killed, at which point another person would take their place.
As I dashed out, a line from a song flashed through my mind: love truly requires courage.
I cursed under my breath, the first thought being that I had never been in love. I felt a twinge of regret; someone who spent all their time dealing with desolate mountains had far too few opportunities to interact with women.
The second thought was that even dying required courage. However, I found meaning in what I was doing; I felt calm while undertaking this task, scared but not regretful. Yes, I had that courage.
Before I reached the other end of the Rest Area, a Tentacle shot in again. I lunged forward and dropped to the ground, watching as the Tentacle swept through the hollow, sending stone debris flying and creating a thunderous sound. In an instant, it retreated. I got up, threw two stones outside, and then ran.
After a few steps, I stopped; something flashed in my mind—something very important. I had to grasp it; it might be something deadly or something that could Save Me.
At that moment, the massive Tentacle reached in again, sweeping close to the Ground. I lay flat against the ground, my body pressed down as tightly as possible, my hands not daring to cover my head. I felt a tremendous rush of wind pass by my ears as the Tentacle swept over me, splashing water everywhere—it nearly drenched me.
After the Tentacle passed with a swish, it retreated. The cold water hitting me made me feel like I had just stepped into an ice cellar, yet it also sharpened my mind immensely. A realization began to crystallize: each time this enormous creature reached in, it was not the same Tentacle. Moreover, each Tentacle did not linger for long; it could not or dared not come inside!
With this clarity, I immediately ran toward the hiding gap. Fortunately, there was a torch illuminating the area, guiding me despite the uneven Ground of the Rest Area. Just before another Tentacle could sweep in again, I dashed into the crevice.
Inside the gap was even narrower; Liu Squad Leader's injured left shoulder prevented him from squeezing in. Zhao Squad Leader was wedged at the very back. As I rushed in, I heard Liu Squad Leader let out a faint cry—probably because I bumped into his injured shoulder. However, with another Tentacle approaching quickly behind me, I ignored his shout and pushed further inside with all my might. Now Liu Squad Leader and I were face-to-face—truly close quarters. My chest felt like it might crack under pressure; breathing became difficult as I gasped for air.
We tilted our heads slightly so our faces were pressed together. The Tentacle lashed against the Cave Wall outside us with a sound like wind and whip cracks combined with deafening rock splinters flying everywhere; it felt like the immense noise might knock me unconscious.
Yet even amidst all this chaos, Liu Squad Leader's voice reached my ears—too close for comfort; his mouth was right next to my ear. "Can you *damn* change positions? Otherwise when I go out later, this is going to be really awkward."
Without thinking twice, I replied, "Sure, unless you turn your butt toward me; I'm not doing that. Don't even think about it."
The gap was narrow and the height limited, and Squad Leader Zhao couldn't even stretch his arm to hold the torch. Through the space between Squad Leader Liu's head and the crack, I saw Squad Leader Zhao's face turning red, not from lack of oxygen, but from desperately holding back a grin.
Squad Leader Liu clearly wasn't amused and asked with frustration, "What's going on?"
I immediately recounted what had just happened and my conclusions. This was almost great news, and Squad Leader Zhao exclaimed excitedly, "So we don't have to die? That's wonderful!"
"Wonderful my foot," Squad Leader Liu snapped. "You go out and try it!"
Despite being scolded by Squad Leader Liu, Squad Leader Zhao showed no sign of anger. "You can't get in here either. Whoever is outside has to squeeze with you. If you like squeezing with me, I'll go out."
Squad Leader Liu darkened his face and fell silent for a moment before suddenly saying, "Brother Qiang, you peed."
"Damn it." I was almost driven mad by him. "That's water! Do you want me to expose your embarrassing moment?"
I shot back without hesitation. My rapid breathing caused my chest to make a terrible creaking sound. Squad Leader Liu also realized the gravity of the situation; compared to a broken sternum, he was more worried about me revealing his secret.
I steadied my breath and added, "We need to keep going out to harass it so it doesn't leave here to chase Captain Xiao and the others."
As soon as Squad Leader Liu heard this, he said, "Damn it, it's too suffocating in here."
"Come on, it's easy for you to go out, but when you come back, can you even fit one hand in? If it discovers where we're hiding, no one will escape." Suddenly I thought of something else. "Make sure you hold onto the grenade; don't blow us all up just when we found a way out."
Squad Leader Zhao tensed up as well. "How about you give me the grenade? It's inconvenient for you with one hand."
It was indeed inconvenient, but even if I wanted to hand the grenade to Squad Leader Zhao now, I couldn't do it. The three of us were packed in like sardines in a can; passing anything was impossible, and even moving an arm was difficult.
It seemed that Squad Leader Liu also wanted to free up a hand; at least he could brace himself against the crack opposite us. Right now, he was entirely relying on his sternum to squeeze against me. After trying for a moment, he said, "No way, let's wait a bit."
A massive tentacle reached in again, striking several times. Each strike was brief, almost like a quick jab before withdrawing. However, the intervals between strikes were short, which confirmed my suspicion: with so many tentacles, it was rotating to strike this cavity but dared not come inside.
After a while, I took advantage of its pause and went outside to throw some stones for a bit. When I squeezed back in with difficulty, I felt something different. My back pressed against the crack was intensely itchy, as if countless bugs were crawling on it. I was gritting my teeth to endure when I suddenly felt Liu Squad Leader's body writhing beside me. I immediately realized he was also suffering from the unbearable itch.
I asked him, "Is your back itchy?"
"Yeah, it's maddeningly itchy. What's going on? It feels like there are bugs. Are you itchy too?"
"This is bad," I replied. "I know why that thing won't come in."
"There really are bugs. I'm also itching like crazy," Zhao Squad Leader suddenly chimed in after hearing our conversation.
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