When Fan Debiao heard Jia Zhuangyuan call him stupid, he immediately flew into a rage before Liu Dashao could even speak, pointing at Jia and exclaiming, “Old man, who are you calling stupid?”
Jia chuckled and replied, “All along the way, you, the fathead, have been asking idiotic questions like a primary school student, asking everything in sight. If that’s not stupidity, what is?”
Fan Debiao turned red with anger and was about to rush forward and argue when Liu Dashao stepped in between them and said, “Enough! Don’t you see the situation we’re in? Master Jia, everyone has their own strengths. Debiao does ask a lot, but that’s also a way of learning. As a senior, you shouldn’t hold a grudge against juniors.”
Suddenly, a strange and noisy “squeaking” sound came from above. Caqingchong shouted, “Damn it! So many Yin monkeys!”
Everyone looked up. Goodness gracious! A massive swarm of Yin monkeys of various sizes was charging down the cliff wall like a tidal wave.
Jia cursed, “Damn it, these creatures aren’t particularly powerful, but they come in huge numbers. Once they target you, they won’t let go—they’re like persistent ghosts.” He shouted at everyone, “What are you looking at? Run!”
At once, everyone dashed forward.
The vanguard of the Yin monkeys had already reached the bottom of the valley, shrieking and chasing after them. Liu Dashao was running behind Jia Zhuangyuan when suddenly Jia stopped dead in his tracks and shouted, “No good! There are more Yin monkeys ahead too!”
Fan Debiao muttered shrilly, “Oh my, it seems that little monkey we saw earlier was just a scout. Now they’ve set up an ambush to wipe us out.”
Jia quickly scanned the surroundings and said anxiously, “There’s nowhere to hide here. We’ll have to fight them.”
Now the monkeys were attacking from both front and back, getting dangerously close. Finally, everyone could see their faces clearly. These Yin monkeys were about the same size as ordinary monkeys seen in zoos, and their fur color wasn’t much different either. However, their faces were somewhat unusual. Their eyes, probably adapted for living in darkness, protruded forward from their faces, almost as large as their noses. Their ears were long and upright, sticking out on both sides of their heads, resembling rabbit ears placed on monkey heads.
At this moment, Liu Dashao showed his calmness and decisiveness. He quickly ordered, “Brothers with guns, stand back to back in two rows. Shoot the leading Yin monkeys. If they retreat, we won’t waste bullets. If they keep attacking, we’ll have no choice but to fight them head-on.”
Everyone responded in agreement. Then, Fan Debiao and Yang Weidong, who had guns, stood at the flanks, protecting the others in the middle, and began firing at the advancing Yin monkeys.
The silence of the underground canyon was shattered by the staccato gunfire—”rat-tat-tat”—as several leading Yin monkeys were shot down.
The monkeys behind squeaked loudly, clearly surprised that the group was so formidable. Immediately, they stopped their pursuit and fled back the way they had come.
Fan Debiao burst into laughter, “Who would have thought these little bastards would be as timid as ordinary monkeys!”
Jia Zhuangyuan snorted coldly, “Just wait and see. Monkeys are extremely clever creatures. They’ll show you what they can do.”
Fan Debiao glared angrily at Jia, seemingly ready to charge him.
Just then, suddenly, everyone heard a “crackling” noise, followed by a hail of rocks of all sizes plummeting from above. Then came several cries of “Ouch!”—someone in the group had been hit.
Everyone looked up and saw the Yin monkeys on the cliff throwing rocks down at them. Instinctively, they all covered their heads and ran forward.
Jia Zhuangyuan, while running, said smugly, “See? I told you. Monkeys are the smartest creatures, and they’re also the most annoying.”
No one bothered to argue with him. They just focused on dodging the flying rocks and running forward as fast as they could.
As they ran, they suddenly felt the path rising upward. The huge dark shadow they had seen earlier in front of them was drawing closer.
The rocks thrown by the Yin monkeys became fewer and fewer. Suddenly, the cliffs on both sides ahead showed a break, as if they had suddenly reached the exit of the underground canyon.
Jia Zhuangyuan suddenly stopped, his body stiffening in shock at whatever lay ahead.
Everyone quickly ran over. When they finally stood beside Jia, an overwhelming sense of awe struck their vision.
They were standing on a sudden cliff break in the underground canyon. Below them, the huge dark shadow they had seen earlier turned out to be an entire underground city! Around them, a massive arc, similar to the crater left by a meteorite impact on Earth, surrounded this mysterious, grand, and ancient subterranean city.
Everyone stood silently, staring at this city that seemed to have suddenly descended from the sky. No one spoke for a long time.
Under the beams of their flashlights, the city occasionally reflected dazzling yellow glints. From their position, about a hundred meters away, the city appeared dark yellow, nestled in the shadowy curve of the arc. On the city walls, rows of black skeletal banners seemed to flutter in the wind. Although no one could be seen moving, Liu Dashao had a vague feeling that something alive was moving on those walls—something eerily sinister.
This feeling was so strange and bizarre it felt almost absurd.
Finally, Fan Debiao broke the silence, voicing the first words everyone was thinking upon seeing this underground city: “Goodness, are we dreaming? A huge underground city?”
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