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墨書 Inktalez
In this situation, such a sudden sound could scare anyone to death. I instantly felt a chill run down my spine and strained my ears to listen.
A faint yet clear sound reached my ears. It was so abrupt that I couldn't determine its direction, so I turned my head to look around. The torch in Liu Squad Leader's hand was still bright, but its light didn't reach far; beyond the circle of illumination was an abyss of darkness. Fear spread rapidly as the three of us nervously turned our heads.
Another sound echoed, unmistakably indicating that something was approaching us. It resembled footsteps, but it was too crisp, as if the soles of shoes were embedded with metal. I quickly thought through our group of six; none of us had metal-soled shoes. Although we all wore hard-soled footwear, that sound did not belong to any of us.
An absurd thought popped into my mind, and I shouted, "Captain Song, is that you?"
My voice echoed in the empty space, only to be answered by a series of "clops."
"Above us!" Zhao Squad Leader suddenly shouted.
Yes, I realized the sound was coming from above. The cave wall was too steep to climb; if the noise came from above, it couldn't be Song Guilong. I immediately aimed my muzzle at the ceiling and yelled, "Whoever is up there, come out now!"
The clopping sounds suddenly intensified and grew louder, as if many people wearing metal-soled shoes were running above us. I held my gun up, trying to hold my breath. However, the tense atmosphere made it impossible for me to do so; instead, my breathing became more rapid.
At that moment, I suddenly heard Liu Squad Leader scream, "It's that thing!"
Then he dashed into the cave without looking back. I was stunned; Liu Squad Leader wasn't a coward. Aside from water ghosts, I had never seen him afraid of anything. Even when facing the Cephalopod Monster, after realizing it wasn't a water ghost, he had acted like a Spartan warrior without fear. What could possibly scare him so badly? That thing! Damn it! What was it? What had he seen? Or what did he know?
There was no time to think. The instant Liu Squad Leader ran into the cave, Zhao Squad Leader followed suit, plunging into the darkness outside. I cursed loudly and focused on the flickering light ahead as I ran into the cave. The clopping sounds behind me had already become a cacophony; I no longer considered them human sounds because I couldn't imagine humans running on such a steep cave wall.
In that moment, I realized Zhao Squad Leader's thoughts were clearer than mine. Initially, the three of us each carried a torch. After we set off, Zhao Squad Leader's torch lit up first and then was thrown into a crevice to illuminate the Mouthparts of the Cephalopod Monster, creating an opportunity for Liu Squad Leader to repel it. Next, I ignited my own torch on my back. Now we only had two torches left, both with Liu Squad Leader. If I didn't follow him into the cave, I'd be left in darkness—essentially signing my own death warrant.
The two people ahead were running faster than rabbits. In fact, shortly after entering the cave, the clopping sounds behind us gradually diminished. But no matter how much I shouted, the two in front ignored me completely; they were in a relentless rhythm of escape. Their physical condition was already better than mine; after calling out twice and sensing something was wrong, I realized I couldn't waste energy shouting. The light was moving away from me; if I didn't want to be abandoned in darkness by them, I had to chase after them with all my might.
Before me was just a distant flicker of torchlight that indicated which way to run; it provided no illumination for the path ahead. Fortunately, the ground in the cave was relatively flat and the ruts gradually disappeared, preventing me from tripping over myself. All I could do was follow the light of the torch; apart from that distant glow, everything else around me was pitch black. Yet during my run, an unsettling feeling often washed over me.
As I ran, the wind generated by my speed created a sensation in my ears, first as sound, the sound of the wind. During my frantic sprint, sometimes my two ears would perceive different sounds of the wind, though only for a moment. Initially, I was worried about the clattering noise behind me, but later, fearing that those two fools would leave me behind, I couldn't afford to think about it. However, when a certain possibility suddenly crossed my mind, I could no longer lift my legs to run. I knew that if my suspicion was true, the farther we ran, the closer we were to death.
Shouting had no effect on them anymore. I raised my Muzzle and pulled the trigger, firing a burst. The crisp gunfire echoed loudly in the cave. The torch finally stopped.
I stood still and shouted ahead, "Come back, all of you come back."
A voice from the front called out, "Brother Qiang, what's wrong? Why aren't you running?"
I didn't answer him. After a while, Zhao Squad Leader and Liu Squad Leader cautiously approached. Seeing me exhausted and sitting on the ground, Liu Squad Leader looked apologetic and said, "Brother Qiang, you look worn out. Things happened too suddenly; we couldn't wait."
I waved my hand, gasping for breath, and asked him, "What was that thing that scared you so much?"
Liu Squad Leader hesitated for a moment before replying, "I didn't see it clearly; it was a face."
Upon hearing this, my head started to spin. Just when I feared what might come next. Throughout my run down this path, I had pondered and considered that whatever made that sound was least likely to be human. The sound was definitely coming from above; anything capable of running on the cliff could not be human. But since Liu Squad Leader had seen a face, how could this be explained? Had we encountered a ghost?
"It was a ghostly face," Liu Squad Leader added.
I almost slapped myself. Was this what they meant by thinking something into existence?
The two of them seemed exhausted as well and sat down beside me. I glanced at Zhao Squad Leader and asked him, "Did you see it?"
Zhao Squad Leader shook his head. "Liu Squad Leader is just being paranoid."
At that moment, Liu Squad Leader suddenly said, "I didn’t just see it earlier."
"Your sister." I almost jumped up, nervously looking around. Zhao Squad Leader was also startled and pulled out his gun again.
"Don't be nervous, it's not here." Liu Squad Leader, seeing our anxious expressions, quickly explained, "Brother Qiang, do you remember when you scattered the torches? The flames seemed to burn in the air, illuminating not only the pavement but also a large area of the ceiling. That's when I saw it."
Zhao Squad Leader and I stared at Liu Squad Leader in shock. Under the firelight, three faces with different expressions looked at each other. I noticed that Zhao Squad Leader's face had twisted into a grimace, his eyes blazing as he glared at Liu Squad Leader. If looks could kill, Liu Squad Leader would have died eight times already.
I imagined my own expression was equally terrifying because under our scrutiny, Liu Squad Leader had lost his calm demeanor.
"You will get us killed," Zhao Squad Leader said bitterly.
I sighed, "Maybe we've already been killed by him. Didn't you notice?"
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