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墨書 Inktalez
I couldn't be sure if it was a bug, but the situation was such that even if there were bugs gnawing at you, you had to endure. Charging out would mean instant death, which completely contradicted our original intention. We stayed behind to buy time for Xiao Guolin and the others.
An unbearable itch tormented the three of us. I felt that it was the will to survive that kept Zhao Squad Leader going. He trembled all over from the itching, his eyes bulging slightly, looking almost like a ghost, yet he still held on. I knew I wouldn't look any better than him. However, Liu Squad Leader unexpectedly couldn't hold on any longer; he desperately pushed against the confines and shouted frantically, "Let's go out and fight it! Dying like this is too damn suffocating!"
The two of us were tightly wedged together; if one person didn't cooperate, the other couldn't move at all. He could only use one hand to exert force, and even if I cooperated, getting in and out was extremely difficult. In this situation, there was no way I would let him go out to his death.
Liu Squad Leader's violent struggles and frantic shouts first caused my sternum to crack with a loud "crack." Suddenly, I couldn't catch my breath, cold sweat instantly covering my body. The severe pain in my chest, the unbearable itch in my back, and the suffocation from not being able to breathe left me weak and my consciousness began to blur.
Perhaps it was due to being too close, but Zhao Squad Leader heard the sound of my sternum breaking. I saw him peek over at me and then suddenly struck Liu Squad Leader hard on the back of his neck with the wooden handle of a torch. Liu Squad Leader slumped down, and only then did I feel the pressure ease up.
I gasped for breath, afraid to take deep breaths; even so, the pain from my broken sternum made me feel like I was dying. There was no time to relax when Liu Squad Leader's shouting and struggling attracted attention.
I could now confirm that it was searching for a target based on sound or vibration. Every time I went out to distract it, I managed to lure it away from our hiding spot, reducing the attacks we received. This time, Liu Squad Leader's madness shifted its focus onto us; a massive tentacle repeatedly struck against the cave wall outside the crevice, splattering water and shattered stone debris onto my face. The tentacle struck from different angles; I knew that as long as it sensed a gap here, the next strike would annihilate us.
I had to go out and draw it away. Liu Squad Leader felt like a corpse that hadn't stiffened yet, tightly wedging me in place. Without his cooperation, there was no way I could break free alone, especially with the severe pain in my chest preventing me from using my strength.
Enduring the pain, I said to Zhao Squad Leader, "Hold onto him; I'm going out."
Zhao Squad Leader looked at me worriedly and asked, "Can you do it?"
"Can you get out?" I snapped back at him; this wasn't the time for such nonsense. "Even if I can't do it, I have to."
Zhao Squad Leader grabbed Liu Squad Leader while I clawed at the edge of the crevice with both hands, desperately trying to push myself out. The severe pain in my chest prevented me from exerting all my strength. At that moment, I felt a foot kick hard against my waist.
That was really something! I thought to myself as my body flew sideways.
A massive tentacle swung toward me; without thinking, I dove headfirst toward the ground. "Thud." I clearly heard the sound of my forehead hitting the ground.
A sudden wave of blood filled my throat, and I felt blood trickling from my nose. There was no time to stop the bleeding; as the tentacle swept past, I grabbed two stones and threw them while running toward the other side of the rest area.
The ground was already damp, and I felt like I was running through shallow water, making a loud splashing sound with each step. I needed to draw it away, redirect its attention. Every few steps, I picked up two stones, throwing them either outside the cave or toward the far end of the hollow. My strategy worked; soon enough, the direction of the tentacle's attacks changed, striking fiercely at the other end of the hollow.
As I ran back, I realized a deadly problem: I couldn't control the sound of splashing water my footsteps made. It was nearly an insurmountable issue; any movement would inevitably create a loud noise. Either I waited here to die or... I thought for a moment before quietly lying down and crawling backward.
Crawling was painfully slow, especially in such a desperate situation; it felt like it could drive anyone mad. But I had no other choice. This tested my mental fortitude severely as the massive tentacle continuously swept overhead, sometimes even slamming down onto the ground beside me. Each time it brushed past, my heart raced violently, feeling as if it might leap from my chest.
When I finally crawled back to the crevice, exhausted both physically and mentally, Liu Squad Leader was still unconscious, slumped against the crack like a pile of mush. With Zhao Squad Leader's help, I squeezed myself into the crevice. Zhao Squad Leader looked at me and said, "You’re bleeding from your nose."
I wiped my hand across my face, instantly staining it red. Tilting my head back, I placed my cold sleeve against my forehead. I needed to stop the bleeding quickly; the intense activity and anxiety had caused it to flow uncontrollably. If this continued, I might die from blood loss.
The icy water from my sleeve dripped not only onto my head and face but also onto Liu Squad Leader's face nearby. The cold water jolted him awake; instead of asking how he had lost consciousness, he muttered something irrelevant: "Who got hurt?"
I was about to ask him how he knew when he continued with another remark: "Such a strong smell of blood."
As soon as those words reached my ears, I shivered involuntarily, my body tensing up instantly. Liu Squad Leader was right next to me; he sensed my reaction immediately. However, he clearly misunderstood and said in a serious tone, albeit quietly: "You can get hard even in front of a man."
This was the first time Liu Squad Leader had cursed at me. I could only respond with one word: "Damn."
This time Zhao Squad Leader caught on; he lowered his torch weakly toward us. His face appeared pale under its light. Liu Squad Leader glanced at our expressions and grew tense himself, asking, "What’s wrong?"
"It's over; there's no way out this time," Zhao Squad Leader replied in a low voice.
"What exactly happened?!" Liu Squad Leader's voice rose slightly in frustration at this cryptic situation.
A violent sound echoed from the tentacle striking the cave wall.
"We've been exposed; the smell of blood is too strong. I'm sorry, I put you all in danger." I whispered this into his ear before turning to Zhao Squad Leader. "I'll go out and draw it away."
I pushed Liu Squad Leader forward, but he smiled bitterly. "It's useless. Your blood is everywhere, and mine is too. We might as well go out and fight it."
Zhao Squad Leader asked me, "How long have we held it off?"
I glanced at my watch. "More than three hours. They probably haven't reached that end yet. But it's about time."
The three of us exchanged glances and nodded. Let's fight one last time.
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