“Son of a bitch!”

The Xiaoling Guards gnashed their teeth at the sight of the murderer who had killed Old Zhang. They only regretted not being equipped with firearms for this underwater operation, or they would have fed the monster a burst of bullets long ago.

Jiang Yongguang even drew his diving knife, pointing at the golden-faced dwarf and shouting loudly:

“Don’t move! You are surrounded. Hands up and stand against the wall! Don’t make things difficult for yourself!”

But the golden-faced dwarf refused to cooperate, still hammering the walls of the tomb chamber with his mallet, making continuous, ear-piercing “ding ding ding” sounds.

Uncle Mei asked from the side, “Are you sure this thing can understand human speech?”

Jiang Yongguang shouted at it again: “I’ll say it one more time, hands up, stand against the wall, or don’t blame us for being impolite!”

The golden-faced dwarf turned to look at us upon hearing this, suddenly letting out a burst of low “hehehe” laughter, then extended its rough, dark palm, and made a beckoning gesture.

It was simply provoking us!

Xiao Liang, Uncle Mei, and I were a little scared by the monster's strange behavior and cold laughter. The hairs on our bodies stood on end.

Jiang Yongguang and the others didn't seem afraid, possibly because their blood feud with Old Zhang gave them courage.

Seeing that the golden-faced dwarf was unwilling to cooperate, Jiang Yongguang waved his hand and said sternly, “Action! Capture this thing for me! I want to see if it’s a man or a ghost!”

Before he finished speaking, the remaining Xiaoling Guards automatically divided into two groups, flanking the golden-faced dwarf from the left and right along the walls of the tomb chamber.

Jiang Yongguang moved forward from the front, blocking all escape routes for the golden-faced dwarf.

Hiding behind them, I witnessed this unique encirclement and felt my heart in my throat. I was afraid that the monster wearing the golden mask would suddenly use some kind of sorcery to kill Jiang Yongguang and the other Xiaoling Guards…

However, just as the golden-faced dwarf was surrounded, it didn't panic. It slowly put down the mallet in its hand and used its rough, dark hands to pry at the walls of the tomb chamber, as if trying to remove the bricks.

At first, I didn’t know what it was up to, but I soon understood—after it pried off the first brick, a torrent of water immediately poured into the tomb chamber from behind the wall!

“Not good! There’s an underground river behind this wall! Run! This dwarf is going to flood the tomb chamber!”

After my reminder, the Xiaoling Guards also reacted. They quickly retreated, but it was too late!

The golden-faced dwarf continued to sneer, emitting a low “hehehe” laugh from its throat, while moving its hands quickly to pry out two more bricks.

Once the integrity of the entire wall structure was destroyed, it couldn't withstand the impact of the underground water. With a loud crash, the wall of the tomb chamber finally collapsed, and the surging underground water instantly swept in!

Jiang Yongguang shouted loudly, “Everyone prepare to dive!”

With that, he hurriedly put on his oxygen mask.

The other Xiaoling Guards also acted quickly, but they were scattered by the rushing water.

Fortunately, Uncle Mei, Xiao Liang, and I were standing further away and had enough time to put on our oxygen masks, but the powerful current still knocked us to the ground. Xiao Liang, who was more frail, was directly pushed against the wall.

In the chaos, I saw the golden-faced dwarf moving freely in the water. It swam around nimbly, ghost-like, behind a Xiaoling Guard, yanked off his oxygen tube, and then used the tube to strangle his neck!

The Xiaoling Guard struggled helplessly and quickly choked on water. I wanted to help him, but the powerful current kept pushing me out of the tomb chamber, preventing me from going back to rescue him!

I continuously adjusted my position in the water, and it took me a long time to regain my balance. Then I saw Xiao Liang being washed out as well. Her oxygen mask had been washed away by the current, and she was struggling helplessly in the rapids, visibly choking on water.

I quickly swam towards her, grabbed her slender waist, stabilized her body in the water, and then freed one hand to put her oxygen mask back on.

After all this tossing around, the current washed us far away. In this dark underground tomb chamber, we couldn't tell north from south, and I didn't know where we eventually drifted to.

This desperate drift lasted for about ten minutes. Finally, the underground water gradually flowed into the river, the water level dropped, and we were rescued.

Recalling the scene of the golden-faced dwarf killing the Xiaoling Guard in the water, I said with lingering fear:

“That *san cun ding* (three-inch dwarf) is probably a Kappa. It’s exceptionally good at swimming. Did you see it just now? It strangled a Xiaoling Guard in the water. I don’t know how Officer Jiang is doing now, and Uncle Mei, he must be alright…”

But after speaking for a long time, Xiao Liang didn't respond.

I turned to look at her and saw her pale face slumped on the ground, hugging her right leg and trembling constantly.

“What’s wrong? Is your leg injured?”

I asked quickly.

Xiao Liang bit her lip and nodded, saying, “I think I was bitten by something…”

Hearing this, my heart sank.

There are many poisonous insects in the water, and many of them can be deadly with just one bite.

“Let me see.”

I quickly squatted down and reached out to pull down Xiao Liang’s pants.

Xiao Liang's originally pale face instantly turned red, and she subconsciously tightened her grip on the waistband with both hands.

I said speechlessly, “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. This is a matter of life and death, so don’t be shy. Don’t worry, I have a girlfriend, I won’t have any improper thoughts about you.”

Xiao Liang's watery eyes flickered upon hearing this, and she couldn't make up her mind for a moment, but soon she cried out "Ouch, ouch" in pain twice. This pain forced her to cooperate.

“Okay, then…”

She obediently released her hands from her waist, letting me pull down her pants, revealing a pair of light pink striped underwear and her fair, smooth thighs.

Then I saw two needle-sized holes on the outside of her right thigh. It was clearly a mark left by some kind of creature biting her. I reached out and poked that spot with my finger, asking Xiao Liang, “Does it hurt here?”

“Ouch! Ouch!”

Xiao Liang cried out in pain twice, and tears welled up in her eyes.

I leaned down to carefully examine the wound, observed the condition of the surrounding skin, and then said:

“Now there’s good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?”

Xiao Liang was trembling with pain, staring at me and saying, “Just say whatever you have to say, why do you need to divide it into good news and bad news… It hurts… it hurts so much!”

I had no choice but to nod. “Okay, then I’ll tell you the good news first.”