Chapter 1293: Fireworks

Sky Rat couldn’t see anything and could only grope around with his hands.

He felt that Ground Rat was still moving slightly, so he reached down to touch his own waist again, but those hands remained icy cold, their strength pitifully weak.

A few seconds later, Ground Rat’s hand slipped off Sky Rat’s body and moved no more.

Sky Rat paused, then stretched out his leg to nudge Ground Rat, only to find him lying motionless on the ground like a corpse.

He was too frightened to make a sound. Though he was covered in wounds, he was still alive. Even if his eyes were ruined, as long as he could find Sky Snake, the “Twin Flowers” in that room could restore him completely.

The only problem now… was how to evade the “ants” outside the door?

Most of those “ants” were demoted from the “Earth” rank. Their physical abilities were no worse than his own. In his current state, riddled with injuries… was there even a way to escape?

Sky Rat stood dazed in the room for a long while before a bizarre idea for survival suddenly came to him.

Perhaps, at this very moment, this was the only method that could safely get him through the hallway…?

He clenched his bleeding eyes shut and, amid the relentless pounding on the door, fumbled around the room until his fingers brushed against a rusted metal candlestick on the table.

He gripped the candlestick tightly, then stripped off his tattered shirt and, at an awkward angle, thrust it into his own back.

A series of agonized screams erupted as the eyes on Sky Rat’s back were utterly destroyed. To be thorough, he reached back to feel, confirming that his flesh had been thoroughly shredded before finally relaxing.

He let out a bitter laugh, the candlestick clattering to the ground as he muttered, “What a shame… Neither you nor the ‘ants’ outside can do anything to me tonight.”

Ground Rat remained completely still, motionless where he lay. It seemed he had done all he could, and now there was nothing left but powerlessness.

Sky Rat groped forward a step and said, “If you had just opened the door sooner and let those monsters tear me apart… how could things have ended like this?”

Silence answered him, along with the faint, fading sound of labored breathing.

Sky Rat snorted coldly, spat on the ground, then turned and made his way to the door. He cautiously pulled it open, and the pounding outside abruptly ceased.

He waited a few seconds, then heard bare footsteps circling around him before hesitantly entering the room.

Their movements were hesitant, uncertain.

Sky Rat grinned, baring his remaining teeth. “Done… done… cough… In the end, I’m still the winner.”

Just then, a tall, scarred Ground Rabbit happened to slip past the “ants” and reach the doorway, where he caught sight of the blood-soaked Sky Rat stepping out. His brow furrowed.

Sky Rat was still alive. It seemed Ground Rat had failed.

That sharp-tongued, sarcastic Ground Rat had ultimately failed to exact his revenge with his own hands.

Ground Rabbit had only wanted to see Sky Rat’s corpse, to die in peace, but the world never granted him such wishes.

It wasn’t hard to understand. Even he, strong as he was, had only managed to kill Sky Rabbit with the help of the “ants.” How could Ground Rat have possibly killed Sky Rat unscathed?

“In that case… I suppose it falls to me,” Ground Rabbit muttered. “Brother Rat… I’ll avenge you in your stead… I hope you don’t mind…”

But just as he prepared to strike, a violent coughing fit wracked his body. He could feel his life slipping away. Though every instinct fought to suppress his breathing, the slightest lapse sent blood gushing from his mouth.

Sky Rat’s form blurred before his eyes as Ground Rabbit slumped against the wall, slowly collapsing to his knees.

Perhaps this had been too much to ask. To fight two “Heaven”-rank opponents in a row… If every “Earth”-rank were that strong, how could they have been oppressed for so long?

Lying against the wall, he caught sight of Ground Rat inside the room—lying there, a faint smile on his face. He tried to speak, but only coughs escaped him.

The violent hacking made Sky Rat pause. Though blind, he sensed something ominous.

“Who’s there?” Sky Rat demanded.

Ground Rabbit glared at the blind Sky Rat with hatred, but he was powerless. He couldn’t even muster the strength to speak. Prolonged oxygen deprivation made his head throb, and the world around him blurred.

Gritting his teeth against the searing pain in his chest, he took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on Sky Rat. If they’d lost, why was Ground Rat smiling?

Then, in the next second, he noticed something strange about Sky Rat’s neck—something Sky Rat himself had missed amid his many wounds.

“Ha…” Ground Rabbit chuckled weakly. “So that’s how it is… You old bastard… You’ve got it coming…”

“Who—?” Sky Rat turned toward the voice.

“I’m… just an admirer of fireworks… haha…” Ground Rabbit rasped, barely able to lift his head. “And your current state… is exactly what I wanted to see…”

“Fireworks…?” Sky Rat froze, then suddenly remembered something. He frantically reached up and touched his neck.

A metal collar was clamped around it.

He recalled Ground Rat’s hand brushing against his neck earlier.

Had he not been trying to strangle him… but instead slipping the collar onto him in his final moments?

But Ground Rat had also touched his waist. Did that mean—?

Sky Rat’s hands flew to his belt, only to find it empty. All the bomb detonators were gone.

A wave of dread crashed over him. He had walked right into a trap—not just condemned to die, but having blinded his own back in the process.

Staggering, he turned back toward the ruined room—just in time to hear a weak laugh.

“Hah… you rotten old bastard…” Ground Rat hissed through clenched teeth. “I said I’d kill you myself… Otherwise, this whole journey would’ve been pointless… Did you really think I’d let those ‘ants’ tear you apart? Just rot in hell… I quit…”

“Wait—!”

Sky Rat’s plea was cut off as Ground Rat’s thumb pressed the detonator.

A muffled blast. A blinding white flash.

Then, blood—like a fountain—erupted from Sky Rat’s neck, splattering across the ceiling before raining back down in a filthy shower.

The crimson droplets pattered against the floor, leaving the dying Ground Rat and Ground Rabbit in stunned silence.

“Ha… Lucky…” Ground Rabbit murmured at last, staring at the scattered remains. “At least I got to see him die before me…”

Ground Rat leaned against the wall, too weak to even respond.

“Brother…” Ground Rabbit tried again. “Can you… hold on?”

Ground Rat shook his head faintly.

“It’s fine… It’s fine, brother…” Ground Rabbit smiled bitterly. “Even if we don’t make it… At least we won this fight… In the end, we…”

His voice trailed off, his confidence wavering. His expression darkened.

In the end…

Would they really win?