Liu Dashao thought to himself, “Damn it, this creature is truly monstrous. It split this massive stone door in half in one strike! If it hit a person, they’d be reduced to dust in an instant!”
It seemed slow, but it was actually fast—there was no time for anyone to hesitate. The creature, with its powerful legs, charged toward the group at an incredible speed. Seeing this, Liu Dashao gritted his teeth and shouted loudly, “You all run! I’ll handle this thing!” With that, the Taoist Master’s sword slowly left its sheath.
Without hesitation, everyone listened to Liu Dashao and immediately dashed into the darkness of the tomb corridor. As Big Guoguo ran, he couldn’t help but look back at Liu Dashao fighting the merman, his mind filled with confusion and concern.
The group ran further and further away, the darkness ahead never-ending. Looking back, the battle between Liu Dashao and the merman became increasingly blurred until it vanished into the shadows.
The four of them ran frantically through the tomb corridor, their flashlight beams shaking wildly.
No one knew how long they had run when Big Guoguo finally called for everyone to stop. The four collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
Wiping sweat from his forehead, Big Guoguo said anxiously, “That merman is so powerful—can Liu really handle it alone? I’m afraid he’s in serious danger now!”
Liu Dashao thought to himself, “Damn, this thing is really a beast. Such a huge stone door, and it was split in two in an instant. If it hit a person, there would be nothing left but ashes!”
No sooner said than done, there was no time for hesitation. The mermaid, with its two robust legs, charged towards them at an incredible speed. Seeing this, Liu Dashao gritted his teeth and shouted, “You all run, I’ll handle this!” With that, the Heavenly Master Sword slowly unsheathed.
Hearing Liu Dashao’s words, the group didn’t hesitate and immediately dashed into the dark tomb passage. Big Cricket, while running, couldn’t help but look back at Liu Dashao and the mermaid locked in combat, his mind filled with various doubts.
The further they ran, the darker it became ahead. Looking back, the scene of Liu Dashao and the mermaid fighting grew increasingly blurry, eventually disappearing into the darkness.
The four of them ran frantically through the tomb passage, the light from their flashlights constantly flickering.
After running for who knows how long, Big Cricket called for everyone to stop. The four of them were gasping for breath and sat down on the ground.
Big Cricket wiped the sweat from his head, “That mermaid is so powerful, can Master Liu handle it alone? I’m afraid he’s in grave danger now!”
Fan Debiao snatched a box of Da Tuan Yuan from Big Cricket, took out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth, “Don’t worry, my brother is very capable. He’s a proper descendant of the Heavenly Master. Plus, with the Heavenly Master Sword in hand, even if he can’t defeat the mermaid, he can definitely escape!”
Originally very worried about Liu Dashao’s safety, Big Cricket felt relieved after hearing Fan Debiao’s words. He stood up and looked around. They were still in the tomb passage. Big Cricket shone his flashlight, but both ahead and behind were pitch black. Feeling a bit strange, he said, “We’ve been running for so long, why are we still in the tomb passage? And we can’t even see the end with the flashlight, how long is this tomb passage?”
Fan Debiao said, “Yeah, yeah, we’ve run at least three kilometers. According to the terrain of Liangzi, we should have already run out of the mountain wall and fallen off Liangzi by now, unless we’re not running in a straight line!”
After hearing Fan Debiao’s words, Big Cricket shook his head, “No, I observed during the run, we were definitely running in a straight line. I can guarantee it with my personality.”
Fan Debiao was puzzled, scratching the back of his head, “That’s strange, if it’s a straight line, then it’s really odd!”
“Hey, old tomb raider, did you notice if we were running uphill or downhill?”
Big Cricket said impatiently, “Didn’t I just say it? It’s a straight line, uphill or downhill would be a slant!”
Fan Debiao said gloomily, “If that’s the case, then this is really weird. Are we encountering a ghost wall?”
Cai Qingchui spat and cursed, “What ghost wall! That’s all nonsense. There are no gods or ghosts in this world, don’t let your imagination run wild.”
Fan Debiao retorted, “Who says? My brother Liu specializes in dealing with this…”
At this point, Big Cricket stood up, “Let’s not worry about that for now, we’ll continue forward and make a plan later.”
With that, he walked into the darkness.
“Wait!” Fan Debiao called out to Big Cricket, “Tomb raider, aren’t you going the wrong way?” He pointed behind, “We should go this way!”
Big Cricket threw the cigarette butt on the ground, looked around, “I remember it’s this way.” After saying that, he looked at Fan Debiao.
Actually, after the discussion and considering the tomb passage walls all looked the same, Fan Debiao waved his hand, indicating he wasn’t sure either.
Cai Qingchui, seeing that even the old hand Fan Debiao wasn’t sure, asked Big Cricket, “Boss, do you know which way is the correct route?”
Big Cricket shook his head, thought for a moment, “But it’s not a big deal. We’ll go this way, walk the distance we ran, then turn back. If we see the stone door, we’ll go the other way, otherwise, we’ll go the original route. The only problem is if we encounter the mermaid on the way to the stone door!”
After saying that, he added, “This way, even if I encounter the mermaid, my Thompson submachine gun can handle it.” With that, he walked into the darkness.
Fan Debiao paused, “I’ll go too, if we really encounter the mermaid, having more people will be better to deal with it.” So he chased after Big Cricket.
In the tomb passage, Cai Qingchui and Su Yougui sat against the wall.
“Brother, didn’t expect you to have some skills!” Su Yougui smiled.
Cai Qingchui smiled bitterly, “Same to you, where are you from…” Before he could finish, his expression changed, and he immediately made a silencing gesture to Su Yougui.
At this moment, the mermaid’s cry came from the darkness. The sound made Su Yougui’s whole body break out in goosebumps. He thought, “How did the mermaid catch up so quickly? Did Brother Liu fail and get chopped like firewood?”
Cai Qingchui said to Su Yougui, “We’re outnumbered, we can’t confront the mermaid head-on, we need to regroup with the others!” With that, he ran towards Big Cricket and Fan Debiao. Su Yougui didn’t dare to delay and jogged after him.
Not long after running, suddenly there was a series of gunshots from behind, echoing through the rock walls. Hearing the gunshots, both of them stopped in their tracks.
Cai Qingchui frowned, “That’s the sound of a Thompson submachine gun, the boss is behind us.”
Su Yougui was very surprised and said to Cai Qingchui, “Shouldn’t they be ahead of us? How did they get behind us?”
Cai Qingchui took out a pistol from his bag, squinted his eyes, “We might have fallen into the tomb owner’s trap, there’s a mechanism in the tomb passage that’s trapped us. Forget everything else, let’s deal with the mermaid first!” With that, he turned around and ran back.
Su Yougui also took out a pistol from his bag and followed him, even though he wasn’t sure if he could use it. But in the pitch darkness, staying alone, if he encountered something strange, it would be really bad.
After running a few steps, the mermaid and Big Cricket came into view. At this moment, he was holding the submachine gun, continuously firing at the mermaid, and Fan Debiao was also shooting with his pistol, bullets sparking off the mermaid’s body, making ‘ding ding’ sounds.
Su Yougui murmured, “Wow, how hard are the scales on that mermaid!”
It seemed that Big Cricket and Fan Debiao’s attacks only slightly hindered the mermaid, as it gradually closed in on them. Cai Qingchui raised his pistol and fired two shots, hitting the mermaid twice. The mermaid turned and let out a roar, its two blood-red fangs exposed again. Although it wasn’t the first time seeing it, it still sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
There was no time for hesitation. Cai Qingchui leaped up, trying to jump over the mermaid. Just as he was above the mermaid, it swung its hand towards his thigh. Seeing that Cai Qingchui’s leg was about to be hit, he kicked the wall with his right foot, did a backflip, and landed next to Fan Debiao. His speed and skill were definitely that of a trained martial artist, impressing everyone.
Seeing that the mermaid’s attention was drawn to Cai Qingchui, Fan Debiao thought he couldn’t fight alone on the side, so he quickly rolled past the mermaid.
Fan Debiao rushed to Big Cricket’s side, “Guns can’t hurt this mermaid, we need to use the black donkey hoof from the underworld.”
Big Cricket shook his head, “No, if we get close to the mermaid, we’ll definitely be chopped. Let’s leave first and make a plan.” With that, the four of them ran wildly back.
While running, Su Yougui asked Fan Debiao, “Captain Fan, weren’t you running ahead? How did you end up behind us?”
Big Guoguo had been very worried about Liu Dashao’s safety, but after hearing Fan Debiao’s words, he felt a little reassured. Standing up, he looked around and realized they were still inside the tomb corridor. Shining his flashlight, he saw darkness in both directions. He frowned and said, “We’ve run so far, yet we’re still in this corridor. The flashlight can’t even reach the end. How long could this tomb passage possibly be?”
Fan Debiao nodded, “Exactly! We’ve run at least three kilometers. Based on the terrain of this mountain ridge, we should have already exited the cliff and left the mountain by now—unless we didn’t run in a straight line.”
Big Guoguo shook his head, “No, I observed while running. We definitely went straight. I can guarantee it with my honor.”
Fan Debiao scratched his head, puzzled, “Then this really is strange! If it was a straight line, we should have exited already.”
“Hey, old tomb robber, did you notice if we went uphill or downhill at all?”
Big Guoguo replied impatiently, “Didn’t I just say we ran straight? Uphill or downhill would be a slope, not a straight line!”
Fan Debiao muttered, “Then this is really weird. Could we have run into a ghost wall?”
Cai Qingchong spat on the ground and scoffed, “Ghost wall? That’s all nonsense! There’s no such thing as ghosts or spirits in this world. Don’t let your imagination run wild.”
Fan Debiao argued, “Who says there’s no such thing? My buddy Liu specializes in dealing with this kind of stuff—”
At that moment, Big Guoguo stood up and said, “Forget about it for now. Let’s keep moving forward for a while and decide later.”
With that, he walked into the darkness.
“Wait!” Fan Debiao called out, stopping Big Guoguo. He pointed behind them and said, “Tomb robber, aren’t you going the wrong way?”
Big Guoguo threw his cigarette butt to the ground, looked back and forth, and replied, “I’m pretty sure it’s this way.” He glanced at Fan Debiao.
Actually, after all the discussion and with the tomb walls all looking the same, Fan Debiao shook his hands helplessly, admitting he wasn’t sure either.
Seeing that even experienced Fan Debiao was confused, Cai Qingchong asked Big Guoguo, “Boss, do you know which way is correct?”
Big Guoguo shook his head, then thought for a moment and said, “It doesn’t matter. We can walk this way for the same distance we ran before, and then turn back. If we find the stone gate, we’ll take the other path. Otherwise, we’ll go back the way we came. The only problem is—if the path toward the stone gate meets the merman again, we’ll be in trouble.”
He added, “But don’t worry, if I run into the merman, my Thompson submachine gun can handle it.” With that, he walked into the darkness.
Fan Debiao hesitated for a moment, then said, “I’ll go with you. If we really run into the merman, more people will help.” He chased after Big Guoguo.
In the tomb corridor, Cai Qingchong and Su Yougui were sitting against the wall.
“Brother, didn’t expect you to have some guts,” Su Yougui smiled.
Cai Qingchong gave a bitter smile, “Same here. Where are you from originally—”
Before he could finish, his expression suddenly changed. He quickly gestured for silence to Su Yougui.
At that moment, a shriek from the merman echoed from the darkness. The sound made Su Yougui’s skin crawl. He thought to himself, “How did this merman catch up so fast? Did Liu fail and get chopped up like firewood?”
Cai Qingchong whispered to Su Yougui, “We’re too weak to confront the merman directly. We must find the others first!” With that, he ran in the direction of Big Guoguo and Fan Debiao. Su Yougui didn’t dare to delay and followed closely behind.
They hadn’t run far when suddenly, the sound of gunshots rang out from behind—ping, ping, ping—echoing loudly in the stone walls. At the sound of gunfire, both men stopped immediately.
Cai Qingchong frowned, “That’s the sound of a Thompson submachine gun. The boss must be behind us.”
Su Yougui was shocked, “Aren’t they supposed to be ahead of us? How did they end up behind us?”
Cai Qingchong pulled out his pistol, eyes narrowing, “We must have fallen into the tomb owner’s trap. There’s some mechanism in this corridor that’s messing with us. Never mind anything else now—first, we deal with the merman!” With that, he turned around and ran back.
Su Yougui also pulled out his pistol and followed. Though he wasn’t even sure if he could use it properly, staying alone in the dark was definitely more dangerous if something strange showed up.
After running a few steps, they saw Big Guoguo and the merman in their line of sight. At that moment, Big Guoguo was firing his submachine gun continuously at the merman, while Fan Debiao was shooting carefully with his pistol. The bullets sparked on the merman’s body, making a “ding ding” sound.
Su Yougui muttered, “Wow, how hard must the scales on that merman’s body be?”
It seemed that Big Guoguo and Fan Debiao’s attacks were only slightly slowing the merman down. It was gradually approaching them.
Without hesitation, Cai Qingchong raised his pistol and fired two quick shots. The merman was hit and roared angrily, turning around to reveal two blood-red fangs. Although they had seen it before, the sight still sent chills down their spines.
There was no time for hesitation. Cai Qingchong suddenly leaped upward, trying to jump over the merman. But as he reached the top of his jump, the merman swung its arm toward his legs. Just as the attack was about to land, Cai Qingchong kicked off the wall with his right foot and did a backflip, landing next to Fan Debiao. His speed and agility clearly marked him as a skilled martial artist, impressing everyone.
Seeing that the merman’s attention had shifted to Cai Qingchong, Fan Debiao thought, “I can’t just stay here fighting alone.” He quickly rolled past the merman.
Reaching Big Guoguo’s side, Fan Debiao said, “This merman can’t be hurt by bullets. We need to use the black donkey’s hoof from our Taoist techniques.”
Big Guoguo shook his head, “No way. If we get close, we’ll definitely be chopped to pieces. Let’s retreat first and make plans later.”
With that, the four of them started running again.
As they ran, Su Yougui asked Fan Debiao, “Captain Fan, weren’t you running forward originally? How did you end up behind us?”
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