I emerged from the water, backpack on, taking a breath before quickly ducking back under.
We continued this up-and-down rhythm, but still got hit by rocks several times. Fortunately, none of them were serious.
I don't know how long it had been, but the constant up and down was starting to drain my strength.
This time, I surfaced for a deep breath, intending to stay submerged longer. But as I dived back down, I felt something behind me.
At first, I thought it was a falling rock, but it felt soft, sending a chill down my spine.
Could it be that water monster?
Gritting my teeth, I turned and shone my flashlight. A monstrous face stared back at me!
Terrified, I inhaled water, nearly choking to death.
It was a corpse!
My heart was pounding. I wanted to surface for air, but a rock landed squarely on my backpack. The immense impact forced me back underwater.
The corpse's eyes were wide open, fixed on me, its expression contorted in a grimace, clearly having met an unwilling end.
It was wearing a set of climbing clothes, and I noticed it was still clutching a dagger tightly in its hand.
There was a gaping hole in its stomach, its intestines floating in the water like a hemp rope.
Seeing this, my stomach churned, and I almost threw up.
This must be one of Zhou Yongxiang’s companions, who encountered the water monster here.
After calming myself, I noticed the wounds on its body looked like they had been torn open by something, especially around the neck, where only a sliver of skin connected it to the body.
Before I could even wonder what the water monster looked like, a rock struck the corpse. It flipped over, and its head flew towards me. I had no time to dodge and could only let it smash into my face, making an intimate contact.
Damn it!
I roughly pushed it away. This time, I didn't care about anything else. I burst out of the water, taking deep breaths.
The falling stalactites were no longer as frequent, their dense descent now intermittent.
Wang Yang also emerged, backpack on, about four or five meters away. He looked like he had also spotted the corpse.
“Now’s our chance, let’s get to shore,” Wang Yang said to me.
I nodded, not daring to look up, only able to pray not to be hit while keeping my backpack on, and moved towards him.
Before I had taken a few steps, something tripped my leg, as if something was stubbornly pulling it.
I tugged hard. The harder I pulled, the stronger the resistance.
I shone my flashlight and saw it was the corpse from before. Its clothes had wrapped around my leg, making it impossible to move unless I went back into the water to untangle it.
As if on cue, Li Zha Si let out a yelp from his side, shouting that the water monster had arrived.
Looking ahead, I saw something indeed moving towards us on the water’s surface.
A jolt of panic went through me, and I yelled to Wang Yang, “I’m entangled by the corpse!”
Seeing my panicked expression, Wang Yang didn’t hesitate. He rushed over, dived into the water to assess my situation, and as he surfaced, he called Li Zha Si to help me untangle the submerged corpse. He then went to confront the water monster himself.
Li Zha Si’s face turned pale with fright. He dived into the water and fumbled around my feet for a long time, unable to free me, and ended up choking on water.
Seeing his distress, I felt a wave of helplessness. I told him to hold my backpack and stand by me, and decided to dive down myself to see what was happening.
Submerging, I quickly found what was holding me: the clothes of the headless corpse.
I had no idea how the clothes had gotten tangled around my leg. After much effort, I couldn’t untangle them. Finally, I saw the dagger in the headless corpse’s hand, and with a determined sigh, I tried to pry his hand open, but it wouldn’t budge.
Did this guy want me to die here with him?
I thought to myself, “Brother, I didn’t kill you, why are you doing this to me?”
Or perhaps, you want me to avenge you?
After a moment of fanciful thinking, I took the corpse’s hand and used the dagger in it to slash at the clothes.
I don't know what material the clothes were made of, but they were incredibly sturdy. It took a lot of effort to cut an opening.
Just as I was preparing to pull my foot out, I was suddenly shoved forward.
Before I could react, I was sent tumbling ahead.
Due to the water’s buoyancy, I rolled over in the water.
As fate would have it, my foot came free during the roll.
As soon as I surfaced for a breath, a toad-like monster appeared right in front of me.
Seeing this creature, I instantly forgot to breathe.
The monster was hideously ugly, with blood-red eyes on its pitted head. Its mouth was closed, but sharp fangs protruded outwards.
Judging by its size, it was at least as big as a 200-pound pig!
I had no doubt that a bite from this thing would instantly mean my death.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two gunshots brought me back from my shock. Some liquid suddenly splattered onto my face.
The monster let out a roar and plunged back into the water.
I quickly turned and ran towards the shore with all my might. Just as I was nearing the bank, the monster slammed into my waist, making me stumble and fall back into the water.
Fortunately, the water was shallow near the shore. The moment I fell, I scrambled to my feet using my hands and feet.
“Move aside!” Wang Yang yelled, waving me on.
I instinctively dodged, and a stalactite smashed down where I had just been. The monster, which had been trying to attack me, was hit directly.
"Jeeeee..."
A piercing shriek made my eardrums ache. I caught a faint whiff of blood. Without thinking, I scrambled onto the shore.
Once on land, I took cover by the tunnel entrance, feeling utterly drained. I collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
Wang Yang fired a few more shots into the water before staggering his way up.
Li Zha Si had already reached the shore, standing behind us with a shovel in his hand, looking completely terrified.
“What the hell was that thing?” I cursed.
Wang Yang shook his head. “I don’t know, but it looked like some kind of mutated toad.”
“Such a big toad?” I said weakly, trying to joke. “If you put that on the market, it’d sell for thousands.”
Wang Yang gave a wry smile. “If someone tried to sell that thing, I doubt anyone would dare eat it.”
After a bit of rambling, I came back to my senses, a searing pain spreading through my waist.