boyutpedia Chapter 353 Exploring the Cave
Chapter 353 Exploring the Cave
Beneath the cave.
Darkness swallowed everything.
The flashlight beam cast swaying, uneasy shadows in the jagged cave. The shadows danced, twisted, and distorted on the rock walls, like a silent, frenzied dance. Water droplets fell from the stalactites overhead, landing in puddles below with a "drip, drip" sound, like a timer, or perhaps a countdown.
Nie Lingfeng walked at the front, one hand steadily supporting Xiaoyun in front of his chest, the other holding a flashlight. The beam of the flashlight cut a white path through the darkness, illuminating the road ahead for more than ten meters. His steps were unhurried, making a soft "rustling" sound as he stepped on the damp rocks.
Following behind him, Daoist Wang Ye opened the Qimen Dunjia divination board. Faint Bagua images swirled beneath his feet. Every few steps, he would stop and calculate with his fingers, his brows furrowed as if he were deciphering some code that only he could see.
Chen Duo walked beside Wang Ye, her fingers gently moving inside her cloth bag. Several tiny, faintly glowing Gu worms crawled out and landed on her shoulders and arms, like a luminous necklace. These Gu worms were extremely sensitive to danger, issuing an immediate warning at the slightest movement.
Zhang Lingyu walked slightly behind the center, his hands tucked into his sleeves. Black and white energies flowed silently around his body, like two intertwined snakes. His eyes gleamed faintly in the darkness; it wasn't a reflection, but a natural overflow of energy that had reached a certain level.
Feng Baobao walked beside Zhang Lingyu, the knife in her hand already drawn an inch from its sheath, the blade reflecting the faint light of the flashlight like a thin silver thread. Her ears twitched slightly, catching every subtle sound in the cave—the sound of dripping water, the sound of wind, the creaking of rocks under pressure, and the rustling of unknown sounds in the distance.
Zhang Chulan was second to last, holding a flashlight in one hand and a lightning spell in the other, white lightning dancing at his fingertips, ready to be unleashed at any moment. His back was pressed tightly against Feng Baobao in front of him, his eyes constantly darting left and right, as if afraid something might suddenly jump out from some dark corner.
Bald Bear walked at the very back, trembling. He carried an old-fashioned handheld searchlight, its light swaying back and forth, shining on the rock walls, the ground, and overhead, as if he wanted to examine every corner. His breathing was heavy, as if someone was sanding his trachea.
The group proceeded along a gently sloping passage. The passage was wide, about three or four meters, with obvious signs of human excavation on the rock walls on both sides—some places were chiseled smooth, like a wall; others were only half-excavated, leaving behind their original rough surfaces. The ground was paved with stone slabs, which had anti-slip grooves, but these had been worn away by time.
Every few dozen meters, an emergency light embedded in a niche appears on the rock face. Some are already out of commission, their bulbs shattered and their shades filled with dust; others are still lit, but the light is dim and yellowish, as if it might go out at any moment. In the shadows between the lights, as the beams of flashlights sweep across, countless tiny dust particles dance in the beams of light, like a group of silent ghosts.
After walking for about ten minutes, the passage suddenly opened up.
A huge cave appeared before them.
The beams of flashlights and searchlights swept across the cave simultaneously—no one could see its boundaries at a glance. It was so vast that the lights couldn't reach the opposite rock wall, only revealing a void of darkness. The air grew damp and chilly, carrying a strong, indescribable odor—the metallic smell of rocks, the musty smell of water, and a faint, almost imperceptible, animalistic stench.
The cave ceiling is very high, at least ten meters high, with stalactites hanging down from it. Some are as thin as fingers, while others are as thick as buckets, arranged densely like rows of upside-down sharp teeth. Stalagmites stand tall on the ground, some taller than a person, others only knee-high, in various shapes, some like pillars, some like bamboo shoots, and some like crouching wild beasts.
There were traces of water seeping from the rock wall, making it damp and covered with dark green moss. The moss gleamed with an eerie green light under the flashlight beam, as if something was moldy inside.
"This place..." Zhang Chulan shuddered, his voice echoing in the empty cavern, "This place is too eerie! It feels like a horror movie set!"
"Don't talk," Feng Baobao suddenly whispered, her voice very soft, but everyone stopped at the same time.
Her head was tilted slightly to the left, her ear turned in that direction, as if she had heard something.
Everyone held their breath.
The cave was so quiet you could hear your own blood flowing.
Then--
"Tap...tap...tap..."
Something is moving in the distance.
The sound was very faint, like something crawling on the rocks, or like something scraping against the stone wall with fingernails. One sound after another, the rhythm was irregular, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sending chills down one's spine.
"Are they...the experimental subjects?" Zhang Chulan's voice trembled, his hand unconsciously tightening its grip on the hilt of the Blood Cherry sword. The katana trembled slightly in his hand, as if sensing something.
Nie Lingfeng didn't speak. He turned off the flashlight.
The others paused for a moment, then quickly turned off their lights as well.
The cave was plunged into complete darkness.
It was truly pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Here, closing your eyes or keeping them open made no difference, because no light could penetrate this darkness. The air grew heavy, as if something unseen was pressing down on you.
But in this darkness, hearing is amplified countless times.
"Tap...tap...tap..."
The sound was getting closer.
and--
There is more than one direction.
There's something on the left, something on the right, something in front, something behind... but nothing behind. Behind is a passage, and outside the passage is light.
Zhang Lingyu's hands emerged from her sleeves, black Yin lightning silently gathering in her palms, like two black flames. The Qimen Dunjia formation beneath Wang Ye's feet unfolded silently, the illusory Eight Trigrams swirling in the darkness, emitting a faint, eerie light—the only source of illumination. Feng Baobao's hand rested on the hilt of her sword, the blade already half-drawn.
Chen Duo raised her head, the phoenix flames on her fingers faintly visible.
Bald Bear huddled at the back of the line, his teeth chattering.
"Turn on the lights." Nie Lingfeng's voice rang out in the darkness, as calm as if nothing had happened.
"Snap, snap, snap—" Several flashlights were turned on at the same time.
The beam of light traced several white trails in the darkness.
Then--
Everyone saw it.
About thirty meters ahead, behind a thick stalagmite, something is moving.
Its size was roughly equivalent to that of a large adult dog. It was on all fours, but its joints were twisted, with its elbows pointing outwards, as if they had been broken and then reattached. Its skin was grayish-white, hairless, and covered with large and small wart-like bumps, like the back of a toad. Its head—if it could be called a head—was enormous, disproportionate to its body. It had no eyes, only a huge mouth full of ringed, sharp teeth, which was opening and closing, making a "clattering" sound—the sound of teeth clashing.
What is it eating?
At its feet was a pool of dark red, congealed blood and several broken bones of some unknown animal.
The moment the flashlight shone on it, it stopped chewing.
The enormous mouth slowly turned toward the beam of light.
It has no eyes, but everyone can feel it—it is "seeing" them.
"hiss--!!!"
It emitted a sharp, piercing screech, a sound like something screaming or crying. The sound reflected back and forth in the cave, creating countless overlapping echoes that made one dizzy.
Then--
It moved!
Its limbs braced against the ground, and its body shot out like a spring, at an astonishing speed! The gray-white figure drew an arc in the darkness, heading straight for the front of the group—Nie Lingfeng!
"Scatter!" Wang Ye Daoist shouted, simultaneously activating the Qimen Dunjia formation beneath his feet, "Gen Character - Mountain Wall!"
A thick rock wall rose from the ground, blocking the way for the group. But the monster was too fast; it had already leaped over the height of the rock wall the instant it rose, flipping over from the top!
"Thunder Magic - Palm Thunder!" Zhang Chulan reacted quickly, and a white thunderball shot out from his hand, hitting the monster squarely!
"Bang--!"
Lightning exploded, arcs of electricity leaping across the monster's body. It let out a scream, its body swaying slightly from its side by the lightning's force, but it still struggled to lunge forward. The lightning magic was effective against it—it left charred burn marks on its skin, but the grayish-white outer layer was much tougher than expected; the lightning from its palm only blasted a palm-sized wound on it, without causing fatal damage.
"Baby!" Zhang Chulan called out.
Feng Baobao has already moved.
Her figure flashed in the darkness like a silver light. The sound of a ninja sword being drawn was almost simultaneous with her movement; she appeared beside the monster before it could pounce on Nie Lingfeng.
A knife.
Cut horizontally.
The blade flashed across the monster's side, slicing into its grayish-white skin, cutting through its muscle, and slicing through its ribs—
"Awooo—!!!"
The monster let out an even more piercing scream as its body was cleaved in two mid-air! The upper half, complete with its enormous maw, flew towards Nie Lingfeng, while the lower half fell to the ground with a thud, still twitching. Black, viscous blood gushed from the severed wound, splattering onto the ground and stalagmites, hissing and corroding with a strong acidic odor!
The flying upper half was still gaping, its sharp teeth clicking in the air. Nie Lingfeng sidestepped, and at the same time, pointed a finger, a wisp of icy blue cold air landing on the edge of the monster's mouth. The cold air instantly spread, freezing the mouth and half of the body into a block of ice, which fell to the ground with a "thud" and shattered into pieces.
The battle lasted only five or six seconds from start to finish.
"What is this?!" Zhang Chulan exclaimed, still shaken, looking at the still-smoking pool of black blood on the ground. "That's disgusting!"
Bald Bear's voice came from behind, trembling uncontrollably: "It's...it's the 'Predators'...one of the Council's earliest experimental subjects...made from a combination of wolf and Inhuman genes...they...they usually travel in packs..."
"In groups?" Daoist Wang Ye's expression changed. "You mean—"
He hadn't finished speaking.
far away.
More "tap-tap" sounds rang out.
Not just one.
There are many.
From all directions.
In the darkness, pairs of scarlet eyes, devoid of any reason, lit up.
Like a pack of wolves in the night.
Do not--
More terrifying than a pack of wolves.
Because they have no fear, no hesitation, only the purest and most primal hunger for living things.
"Run," Nie Lingfeng said.
There is only one word.
But everyone understood.
The team abandoned their formation and rushed deeper into the cave at top speed. Zhang Chulan's lightning magic led the way, cleaving through the darkness to illuminate the path ahead. Daoist Wang Ye used his Qimen Dunjia to sense the surrounding terrain and the positions of the monsters, constantly adjusting his direction. Feng Baobao brought up the rear, her blade flashing in the darkness, each flash accompanied by a scream.