Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Time was too tight, and there was no opportunity to formulate a detailed plan. All we could be certain of was to unleash every weapon and bullet we had. Even if we ended up as its meal, we would make sure it had a hard time swallowing us. Of course, if one or two of us managed to escape, that would be the best outcome. None of us held much hope for that.
Liu Squad Leader had no weapons left; he took back his grenades. Zhao Squad Leader was the first to throw out his automatic rifle, which had long been out of bullets. He pulled out his pistol and cocked it with a click.
I chuckled lightly and removed my Micro Submachine Gun from around my neck, pulling back the bolt. Zhao Squad Leader's eyes lit up with envy as he disregarded all discipline and handed me his pistol, saying, "I'm faster at reloading; how about you give me your Micro Submachine Gun?"
I shook my head. "I will make sure to use every bullet, even if it means firing them into its belly."
Zhao Squad Leader shot me a helpless glance. "If you waste even one bullet, I won't let you off the hook."
At this point, all three of us were somewhat cynical; no one cared about organizational discipline, and fear was absent from our minds. I said to Zhao Squad Leader, "I'll take care of one of them first, then you get me out. Otherwise, none of us will make it."
"Sure thing; you know how strong I am on my feet." Zhao Squad Leader replied as he braced himself against the crack with his shoulder and lifted one foot to push against my waist.
I recalled how he had kicked me out just moments ago and felt confident it would work again. I didn't care about any injuries; I just needed to ensure I didn't lose my gun in the process of escaping. I nodded and gestured for Zhao Squad Leader to extend the torch a bit so I could see outside clearly. He had kept the torch hidden earlier to avoid attracting the Water Monster with its heat, but now that concern was irrelevant.
The torch illuminated the area outside clearly. As I heard the massive wind sound from a Tentacle sweeping toward us and the sharp cracking noise against the Cave Wall, I aimed my Micro Submachine Gun at the crack's opening. Under the torchlight, a brown Tentacle adorned with numerous suction cups appeared just outside the gap. At such close range, I fired directly at it without hesitation. As the Tentacle swept past, thirty rounds hit their mark without fail; some bullets even penetrated through it, splattering bits of flesh onto my face and against the Cave Wall.
The Tentacle recoiled from the barrage of bullets, noticeably different from its previous agile retreats; it seemed to have been struck hard this time. I shouted in excitement just as Zhao Squad Leader kicked me out without giving me a chance to reload.
This time, I had learned from experience. The moment I landed, I rolled outward several times instead of standing up right away, lying in water that soaked half my body as I changed magazines. Zhao Squad Leader followed Liu Squad Leader out through the crack while holding up the torch; that Tentacle had already retreated. I knew another one could strike at any moment. We were now completely exposed, especially me—the strong smell of blood would likely attract it even more.
Seeing the damage caused by my close-range shooting moments ago filled me with adrenaline as I shouted, "Cover me!" and leaped toward the cave's exit. I planned to confront it head-on and deliver another barrage at point-blank range.
"Cover my ass, let's go!" Zhao Squad Leader shouted, running alongside me toward the cave entrance.
Liu Squad Leader muttered something under his breath that I couldn't quite catch, but it sounded like a curse as he joined the sprint. At that moment, I felt a pang of sympathy for him; he seemed quite pitiful. All three of us were heading to our doom. Zhao Squad Leader and I had weapons to vent our frustrations, but Liu could only throw himself into danger along with a grenade. With only one hand functioning, he couldn't even pick up a rock to throw unless he tossed the grenade first.
I quickly reached the vicinity of the cave entrance and saw a Tentacle reaching in. Zhao Squad Leader was behind me, firing his gun as he ran, but by the time he reached me, he had already emptied seven bullets. He didn’t reload, clearly dissatisfied with the pistol's rate of fire and lethality. Unable to ask me for my submachine gun, he simply discarded the pistol and picked up a rock to throw instead. Perhaps this was a better way to release his emotions.
I crouched down and shouted to Zhao Squad Leader, "Get the light ready."
Zhao Squad Leader threw a rock and moved in front of me, half-crouching and kneeling as he raised the torch.
This was the first time we were so close, so clearly seeing such a massive Tentacle. Its entry into the cave was vividly displayed before me, slowly probing in, countless suckers quivering like nostrils as if locking onto a target, then suddenly twisting upward.
In that moment when it lifted, I noticed something—though it was too far to see clearly. I grabbed the torch in front of me and threw it out. The target quickly came into focus; beneath the Tentacle appeared the black Mouthparts of a Water Monster, constantly opening and closing, ready to swallow any prey it captured. I turned back and shouted to Liu Squad Leader, "Throw it into its mouth!"
As soon as I finished speaking, my submachine gun fired. The raised Tentacle hadn’t yet recoiled when it was hit by a barrage of bullets that made it thrash wildly upward. The torch rolled through the air almost landing on its Tentacle when suddenly I felt a shadow pass overhead. Liu Squad Leader leaped over both me and Zhao Squad Leader; at the moment he landed, a grenade flew out with yellow smoke trailing behind it.
I was astonished by Liu Squad Leader's strength; instead of following a parabolic arc, the grenade shot straight toward the Water Monster's Mouthparts. Six eyes fixated on the smoke-emitting grenade; time seemed to freeze in that instant. All three of us held our breath, anxiously awaiting the outcome.
Silence—terrifying silence. It wasn’t just excitement or tension; my heart pounded violently like a drumbeat, echoing loudly in my ears. The sound of submachine gun casings hitting shallow water, the splash from Liu Squad Leader’s leap as if descending from heaven, and the thud of the massive Tentacle striking the ceiling after being hit by my bullets—all these sounds were crystal clear at that moment, layered distinctly as if different phonographs were playing at slow speeds from various angles just for us. It felt like a scene from a science fiction movie where every action and sound unfolded in slow motion except for that grenade which pierced through barriers of time and space directly into the black Mouthparts of the giant Aquatic Creature.
With a resounding "boom," I watched as the giant Aquatic Creature's Mouthparts swelled like a balloon before bursting with a loud pop. Following that explosion came a foul-smelling black liquid spraying out from where its Mouthparts had ruptured. Amidst an earthquake-like roar and tremor, the torch extinguished, plunging us back into darkness.
.
Comment 0 Comment Count