"What's going on?" Pig Skin glanced towards the cave entrance.
We exchanged bewildered glances, none of us knowing the situation below.
Just then, the rope ladder that had been lowered began to sway, clearly indicating someone was climbing up.
My heart pounded with tension, and I forgot to smoke my cigarette.
The first to climb up was none other than Old Man Qu.
He looked utterly exhausted, his body covered in blood. Upon seeing us, a flicker of relief appeared in his eyes.
Pig Skin and Chai Huo quickly pulled him up. As soon as he was out, he slumped onto the ground.
Next came Da Kui. His left hand was wrapped in bandages, and I noticed that half of his left palm was missing.
Five or six more people climbed up one after another. I didn't see Jiang Lingxi among them.
Seeing their weary faces and dazed expressions, I hesitated to ask about Jiang Lingxi's whereabouts.
It was Da Kui who spoke first, glancing at me, "That woman is a real warrior..."
I didn't understand what he meant. Just as I was about to ask, Old Man Qu said, "Everyone, let's head back to the village. Pig Skin, you and Chai Huo seal this cave entrance."
Hearing his command, I couldn't hold back any longer. "Where is Jiang Lingxi?"
Old Man Qu looked at me without a word and signaled for someone to help him back to the village. I quickly stopped him, "Grandpa Qu, where is my friend?"
He waved his hand, "We'll talk about it when we get back. I don't have the energy to argue with you right now."
As I was about to press further, Da Kui beside me said, "Go cool off somewhere."
As he spoke, he gave me a meaningful look, signaling me not to ask any more questions.
Seeing this, I had no choice but to suppress the questions churning in my mind.
After we returned to the village, I was filled with anxiety.
Jiang Lingxi hadn't come up; she was most likely in trouble!
What exactly had happened down there, I was completely clueless.
About twelve or thirteen people had gone down, and only seven returned, all of them injured.
My heart ached intensely. I desperately wanted to know what had transpired below and whether Jiang Lingxi was alive or dead.
I couldn't sleep all night. Fatty and I sat by the stove, smoking incessantly.
Fatty said, "Master Xiang, did they really encounter a Zompie this time?"
I shook my head, "I don't know, but they definitely encountered something. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in such a sorry state. Did you see the fear in Old Man Qu's eyes when he came up? It seems whatever is down there is absolutely extraordinary."
Fatty said with lingering fear, "Fortunately, the last time we went down, we only encountered two bats. Otherwise..."
As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and sighed, "Sister Lingxi..."
Before he could finish, the door was pushed open.
It was Da Kui. He had changed into clean clothes, and his hand injury had been re-bandaged. Although he still looked tired, he seemed much better than before.
After entering, he turned around and glanced outside before closing the door.
"What brings you here?" I asked.
He walked over to the stove, sat down, and offered me a cigarette, looking like he had something to say but couldn't bring himself to.
"What did you encounter down there?" I asked.
He took a deep drag and slowly exhaled, "That place below was practically hell..."
Da Kui recounted their descent. Although he didn't clarify many things, I could already imagine some of the situation.
After going down, they first headed towards the underground river. Two teams were sent along the river, and one team even went down below the waterfall.
According to Da Kui, there was a platform beneath the waterfall, and behind it was a large research facility, the purpose of which they didn't know.
In that research facility, they found piles of bat corpses, stacked like mountains.
It seemed the Japanese had been conducting some kind of biological weapon research there. The two giant bats we encountered earlier were most likely mutated species from their research.
Continuing past the research facility, there was no further path, only an armory. Most of the weapons in the armory were aged and unusable.
After this investigation, they returned the way they came.
Then, everyone headed towards the other side.
At this point, he looked at me, "It's fortunate you went towards the underground river last time. If you had gone to the other side, you probably..."
He sighed, as if lost in thought.
"What happened on the other side?" I asked.
Da Kui hesitated, his eyes filled with fear. I urged him to continue.
Da Kui looked at me, "You said you saw a Zompie before, right?"
I nodded.
Da Kui continued, "You weren't mistaken... that was indeed a Zompie, and not just any Zompie!"
"Not just any Zompie?"
"I don't know if it's a Zompie, but that thing is abnormal, elusive. If it catches you, you're basically dead. After killing people, it doesn't even leave the bones."
"Doesn't even leave the bones? What does that mean?"
Da Kui sneered, "What else could it mean? That thing eats people!"
I was stunned, "Eats people?"
"Indeed. After we went over there, we quickly entered a large warehouse filled with boxes of supplies. At first, we thought we'd found treasure. But after opening the boxes, we discovered they contained only canned goods and similar items," Da Kui said. "Behind that warehouse was a steel door with a complex combination lock that we couldn't open."
He paused, "After we entered the warehouse, the large iron door was locked from the outside. Then, that thing started to play with us like toys in the warehouse... Every night, one person would disappear. For five consecutive days, we lost five people to that thing!"
As he said this, I noticed his hand trembling involuntarily. When he reached for a cigarette, it fell to the ground due to the violent shaking.
I quickly helped him pick it up, took out a cigarette, and handed it to him, lighting it for him.
He took several deep puffs, then fell silent.
Seeing him like this, I hesitated and asked, "Did that thing do this to your hand?"
He nodded, and then began to tell us his story.
On the first night, after one person went missing, they didn't pay much attention. After all, there were too many people, and it was impossible to count everyone every day.
Moreover, they were busy trying to open the warehouse door, trying every method possible, but the door remained locked.
When another person went missing on the second night, someone finally noticed something was wrong and reported it to Old Man Qu. From then on, everyone's nightmare began...