77: The hunters of the earth

What kind of monsters were those?

They looked like a cross between a Scorpion and a crab. Their size was comparable to an adult bull, and they were covered in a thick, obsidian-hard carapace bristling with natural, hideous bone spikes. Eight knife-sharp limbs supported their massive bodies, scraping against the rocky ground with an ear-piercing screech. Most terrifying of all were the two massive pincers on their heads, glowing with an eerie blue light; every time they snapped open and shut, they kicked up a gust of wind.

At that moment, one of the giant claws was still clutching a mangled tactical arm belonging to a member of the Scorpion Squad, the Gauss Rifle attached to it twisted and deformed.

"Cave Stalkers!" Juan cried out, his voice filled with unbelievable terror. "The data mentioned them... A-rank dangerous creatures! Aren't they supposed to be in much deeper areas? Why are they appearing here!"

"It seems our 'key' has opened a fine door for us." The Captain's voice remained cold, but the gaze beneath his visor betrayed a hint of cruel excitement. He raised the Heavy Blaster in his hand, and a ball of blinding energy began to gather at the muzzle.

"Fall back! Prepare to engage!"

At his command, Juan immediately raised his gun, aiming at the swarm of monsters continuously pouring out of the darkness.

Swoosh—Boom!!

A thick beam of energy erupted from the Captain's gun, accurately blasting the head of the foremost Cave Stalker.

With a loud explosion, rubble flew everywhere. The monster was flipped over by the massive impact, a fist-sized, charred hole appearing in its hard head-plate. However, after a few twitches, it actually wobbled and tried to stand back up!

"Damn! Their vitality is too strong!" Juan roared as he frantically pulled the trigger. The metal slugs fired by his Gauss Rifle hit another monster's carapace at several times the speed of sound, but they only produced a series of sparks, leaving behind faint white marks.

"Attack their joints and compound eyes!" the Captain commanded calmly, firing again. The second energy beam accurately struck the injured monster's abdominal joint.

Puchi!

This time, the energy beam pierced straight through its relatively soft abdomen. Dark green, foul-smelling fluid sprayed out. The monster let out a shrill hiss, and its massive body slumped heavily to the ground, finally ceasing to move.

However, more Cave Stalkers, stimulated by the scent of blood, grew even more frenzied. They moved their limbs, charging at the two men like a group of heavy tanks!

...Meanwhile, in the other, correct passage, Lin Feng and Wang Dalong were trudging forward.

"Brother Feng, listen..." Wang Dalong suddenly stopped and perked up his ears.

From behind them, in the direction of the fork, muffled explosions and inhuman roars could be heard faintly. The sounds echoed repeatedly through the winding tunnels, sounding blurry and distant, yet still making one's heart skip a beat.

"They... they started fighting?" Wang Dalong swallowed hard. "What... what did they run into?"

"The murals said that path leads to the 'Sleeping Nest'," Lin Feng explained calmly without stopping. "It's where the 'Scavengers' kept by the maya ancestors in ancient times reside. They were responsible for disposing of trash and corpses in the underground world."

Wang Dalong's scalp crawled as he listened.

Scavengers? Scavengers the size of bulls? Just what level of 'trash' were they eating?

"Holy crap, Brother Feng, you're too ruthless..." Wang Dalong couldn't help but complain. "You're setting them up for a death trap! If those guys knew the truth, wouldn't they be so mad they'd come back to life just to die again?"

"They chose it themselves," Lin Feng replied simply and directly.

If the Scorpion Squad hadn't been pressing them every step of the way, they wouldn't have ended up in this situation. The deaths of Carlos and Juan (the Juan he believed was dead) were also on their heads. Lin Feng felt no mercy toward his enemies.

The explosions and roars lasted for about ten minutes before gradually subsiding and finally vanishing completely.

"Is it over?" Wang Dalong asked cautiously.

"I don't know," Lin Feng shook his head. "Maybe they won, or maybe... they're all dead."

Either outcome was good for Lin Feng and his companion. It had at least bought them precious time.

They didn't dare linger and continued forward.

This passage, marked as a 'dead end', was actually much wider and drier than the other two. After walking for about half an hour, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

They emerged from the narrow tunnel into a more magnificent underground space.

It was a massive, roughly circular underground cavern. Unlike the previous one, the dome of this cavern was hung with countless giant stalactites that looked like upside-down bamboo shoots. In the center of the cavern was an incredibly large, mirror-still black lake.

The water was bottomless and without a single ripple, like a giant piece of obsidian embedded in the earth.

On the shore of the lake sat an ancient, small pier built of black rock. Quietly moored by the pier was a... boat.

When Wang Dalong saw the boat clearly, his breath stopped instantly.

It was a canoe-style boat about ten meters long, but its material wasn't wood or stone, it was... pure, dazzling gold!

The entire boat, from the hull to the gunwales, was crafted entirely of gold. Under the reflection of the eerie blue crystals on the dome, it cast a brilliant light that was dizzying and made the heart race.

The boat's design was ancient and elegant with smooth lines, and the bow was carved with the head of a Feathered Serpent. After countless ages, the hull remained as clean as new without a speck of rust, as if it had just been finished yesterday.

"Holy... holy crap..." Wang Dalong's Adam's apple bobbed as he rubbed his eyes hard to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "Gold... a... pure gold boat?"

Who could understand this!

Something that only existed in myths, legends, and the dreams of madmen had appeared before his eyes without warning! The value of this boat could no longer be measured in money. It was, in itself, the ultimate proof of a lost civilization!

He tremblingly lifted his empty camera bag, instinctively wanting to take out his camera, only to remember he had thrown it away before jumping into the water.

"It's over, it's all over... if I had filmed this and posted it online, the whole world would go crazy! My KPIs for the rest of my life would be set!" Wang Dalong beat his chest and stamped his feet, feeling like he had missed out on a fortune.

Lin Feng was no less shocked, but he was more concerned with how to start this boat.