As his body fell, Su Xiao immediately discarded the broken iron ladder in his hand.
At this moment, if one’s nerves weren’t strong, they would immediately close their eyes. But Su Xiao’s eyes were wide open, staring intently ahead.
With his palm hooking onto something, Su Xiao attempted to grab forward. The sensation of touching something solid emerged, and his palm immediately clenched tightly.
The iron ladder he grabbed onto bent, causing a sharp pain in his right arm. The force of his fall shifted, transforming into a forward rush.
With a bang, Su Xiao crashed into the iron ladder.
The crisis averted, Su Xiao rolled his eyes. The irony was that the iron ladder he grabbed had broken; what bad luck.
As for whether someone tampered with it, Su Xiao immediately dismissed the idea. They hadn’t delved deep underground yet, and it wasn’t time for internal strife.
Looking downwards, the others had already climbed quite far down. Perhaps they heard the sound, all four lifted their heads.
No greetings, not even a word spoken, the four lowered their heads and continued climbing down.
Su Xiao didn’t care about the four’s attitudes either. Everyone had their motives; in a perilous situation, saving oneself was normal.
In the forthcoming period, they should be able to continue cooperating as all five needed each other’s strength.
A long climb ensued. Su Xiao lost track of how long they’d delved deeper—half an hour? An hour? It was possible.
Much later, with a strong flashlight shining upwards, Takatsuki Sen had reached the bottom of the shaft.
Stepping on the ground, Su Xiao felt his arms ache. He too took out a strong flashlight to observe his surroundings.
The bottom of the shaft was quite spacious. Occasionally, there were heaps of bones half-buried in the soil, likely from primitive species that fell to their deaths while climbing up. Afterwards, the top of the shaft was blasted, causing some earth to partially bury these bones.
On one side of the shaft wall, a metal gate several meters in diameter had appeared, rusty and decorated with four patterns at the center.
A fat-headed, thin-tailed strange fish, a wide-open-mouthed snake, an exquisite crown, and a row of English letters "CCE."
The four patterns were carved at the center of the metal gate. Su Xiao approached to find that the four patterns could move, with dozens of small sliding rails below them.
Arima Kishou stepped forward and moved the crown pattern to the top, followed by "CCE," then the strange fish, and lastly the snake.
With a rumble, the metal gate shook before slowly opening.
Crown, CCE, fish, snake—what does this order represent? However you look at it, the "CCE" seems connected to the CCG.
There are too few clues; these things cannot be linked together yet.
Entering through the metal gate, Su Xiao found a hidden world within.
An underground space appeared in Su Xiao’s sight, at least tens of meters high and vast. Flowers emitting light grew on the ceiling, keeping the space from being dark.
A sparse stone forest lay ahead, densely inhabited by primitive species.
The sound of the metal gate opening made some primitive species look towards the five of them. Except for Su Xiao, the others raised their assorted guns.
The disturbance among the primitive species initiated a chain reaction. Initially, only dozens of them charged, but their howls soon alerted others farther away.
Countless howls echoed as the primitive species, upon seeing the five, charged towards them on all fours, as if berserk.
The group didn’t dwell on it and pulled their triggers, firing. Su Xiao took out a bomb, activated it, and tossed it.
The explosion resounded through the vast underground, sending some primitive species flying high.
Relying on powerful firepower and the vantage of the metal gate, they managed to withstand the charge of over a thousand primitive species, killing many.
The bomb Su Xiao threw attracted even more primitive species from afar, gathering a growing number.
Gunfire continued, explosions rang out constantly, reaching a peak as soon as they entered the underground battleground.
The smoke from gunfire rose, the smell of burnt gunpowder irritating their noses.
Perhaps anticipating such a scenario, Arima Kishou’s group brought plenty of ammunition, forming an almost continuous barrage.
"Rat-tat-tat, bang-bang."
The firepower lasted for a solid five minutes, forming a pile of primitive species’ corpses not far away.
After such intense firepower, the number of primitive species quickly diminished. Soon, new ones stopped appearing.
Indeed, high-powered thermal weapons are the best way to deal with the ghouls.
Arima Kishou discarded his firearm with its red-hot barrel as the group’s bullets were nearly exhausted, with only three bombs remaining in Su Xiao’s bag.
"The effect was good. Luckily, we came prepared."
Takatsuki Sen also tossed her gun aside, realizing that subsequent battles would have to rely on Hekos and Kuingkes.
As to why they didn’t bring more bullets or people from Bronze Tree, it was due to the over ten-meter span of the steel corridor and iron ladder.
The steel corridor wasn’t wide, so large equipment couldn’t be brought in. Those without enough strength couldn’t leap across the span, and even if they did, they might not catch the ladder.
Moreover, during the subsequent journey, those lacking strength could be a burden to others.
Arima Kishou led the way as they ventured into the stone forest. Arima Kishou seemed to know the direction, heading straight east.
Passing a standing stone pillar, Su Xiao placed a hand on it, causing stone chips to fall. This place might have existed for many years.
"Compared to last time, our journey here this time went really smoothly. Indeed, the weapons humans research are more formidable."
The Priest sighed. Surprisingly, this old man had been here before, and from his tone, the last visit wasn’t as smooth.
"Getting through here isn’t hard. The next checkpoint is true Hell, a scorching region."
Takatsuki Sen’s face darkened, seemingly recalling some unpleasant memories.
After about ten minutes of walking, they exited the stone forest. Su Xiao clearly felt the temperature rising and was already sweating on his forehead.
As they continued, Su Xiao noticed that the glowing vines overhead started to wither and decrease in number.
Although the numbers of glowing vines dwindled, the surroundings didn’t seem dark, as a dim red light came from afar.
The temperature rose further, making Su Xiao feel suffocated. He decided to remove his jacket, tossing away the windbreaker stained with rust and green moss.
Taking out a bottle of fresh water, Su Xiao drank it all. After drinking, he noticed the other four looking at him.
"I didn’t expect Mister Bai Ye to bring drinking water. Mind sharing a bit?"
It seemed the Priest was also feeling the heat, his old face drenched in sweat. They carried too many bullets and had no spare space for water.
"I only brought one bottle and I’ve finished it."
After saying this, Su Xiao also casually tossed away the bag he held. The surrounding temperature was rising so high that the explosives within might accidentally trigger a humorous outcome.
A few minutes later, the underground space narrowed considerably, leaving only a few dozen meters.
Upon reaching this point, Su Xiao finally understood why it was so hot. Before them, a lake of lava appeared.
The dark red lava glowed blindingly, dyeing the surroundings in crimson, with bubbles occasionally emerging.
Sweat poured down Su Xiao’s body. If he stayed any longer, he’d risk dehydration.
The lava pool blocked their path, with Arima Kishou clearly intending to proceed further. But how could they cross this lake of lava? Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽
Using a Heko to withstand it? Dream on—lava could destroy a Heko in three seconds. In the face of nature’s might, ghouls were truly insignificant.
After scanning the area, Su Xiao suspected he found a route.
"Are we going to cross over there?"
Su Xiao pointed to a steep stone wall beside the lava pool. The stone wall had a narrow stone path only twenty centimeters wide, but it was quite even, seemingly carved out later.
Faintly visible iron pipes were present on the stone wall, suggesting there used to be a bridge here. However, after prolonged exposure to lava heat, the bridge vanished, leaving only the narrow stone path and a few iron pipes.
"The bridge was still here two years ago. Seems our luck isn’t good. The stone platform on the other side should be our final destination; I’ve searched other locations besides here."
Arima Kishou pointed to a stone platform dozens of meters away. It was quite large, apparently hundreds of meters. Due to the angle, Su Xiao couldn’t see what was on the platform clearly.
"As team leader, I’ll go first."
Takatsuki Sen was the first to climb the stone wall, ascending ten meters high before stepping on the twenty-centimeter-wide stone path. At this point, she was leaning against the stone wall, advancing sideways.
Below was about ten meters of lava. The scorching heat forced Takatsuki Sen to squint, her face soon turning red from the heat.
Maintaining their original formation, Arima Kishou was the second to climb the stone wall, followed by the Priest and Kirishima Arata, with Su Xiao bringing up the rear.
When Su Xiao leaned against the stone wall, standing on the narrow track only twenty centimeters wide, he finally understood what Takatsuki Sen meant by ’scorching hell.’
If stamina was below 10 points, one might even pass out from the heat.
This was more thrilling than jumping into a well. One misstep, and he’d fall into the lava. Su Xiao was sure that the lava below could turn him into charred remains in just two seconds.
ps (Recommending a friend’s book: "I Am a National Treasure, Who Am I Afraid Of?" It’s quite good.)