Though I didn't have any improper thoughts about Hong Jie, and couldn't claim we had a deep friendship, I couldn't bring myself to treat human life as cheaply as Boss Wang.

So, despite Lao Wu's constant urging, I pinched Hong Jie's philtrum to revive her. After three or four tries, Hong Jie slowly woke up.

Opening her eyes and seeing me, Hong Jie's first words were, "Rongsheng, I'm in so much pain… my legs hurt!"

I said, "How could they not hurt? The water's full of piranhas! Wake up and run! We have to shake off these deadly bastards!"

Mei Shu next to us was also howling from the piranha bites, constantly slapping at his legs to knock them off.

But Lao Wu was in the worst shape. The rash fellow had ripped open his wound when he yanked himself free, and he was bleeding the most.

Piranhas are highly sensitive to the smell of blood. They swarm to the strongest scent, and in an instant, Lao Wu was surrounded by a large group. These deadly fish churned the water, creating ripples that looked like a terrifying net trapping him.

Seeing that Lao Wu was about to be overwhelmed, he screamed, "Damn it, are you all just watching? Save me! Save me!"

Unexpectedly, Hong Jie, just waking up, had the same idea as Lao Wu. She grabbed my arm, pulled me forward, and whispered, "Rongsheng, let's go! These piranhas are all eating Lao Wu, we'll be saved!"

I thought to myself that Hong Jie and Lao Wu were truly birds of a feather, having the same idea when faced with danger.

Because of Hong Jie's words, I became wary of her.

Although she was usually gentle and considerate, when disaster struck, she might stab me in the back.

In the blink of an eye, the water around Lao Wu was stained crimson. He was covered in wounds from the piranha bites. Xu Jiaoshou (Professor Xu) seized the opportunity to escape, striding past him.

Seeing this, Lao Wu quickly stepped forward, grabbed Xu Jiaoshou, and shouted, "Xu, don't leave! Save me! You can't be so heartless!"

Xu Jiaoshou glared at him and sneered, "Heartless? You're the heartless one! You're always criticizing me. Now that you need me, you want my help? Dream on! You reap what you sow! This is your retribution! You deserve it!"

He shook off Lao Wu and left without looking back.

But at that moment, Lao Wu suddenly pulled out a diving knife from his backpack, took three steps at a time, caught up with Xu Jiaoshou, and said fiercely, "Damn it! Since you're ruthless, don't blame me for being unjust!"

With that, he swung the knife, striking Xu Jiaoshou's thigh!

We were all stunned by this scene! We never expected Lao Wu to be so cruel, actually harming his own comrade!

Xu Jiaoshou didn't expect Lao Wu to stab him in the back. He panicked and turned around to retaliate.

Lao Wu pressed his advantage, grabbed Xu Jiaoshou's neck from behind, and threw him into the water, pinning him down.

Although Xu Jiaoshou was taller than Lao Wu, he wasn't as sturdy. Besides, Xu Jiaoshou was a refined intellectual who didn't know how to fight.

In the blink of an eye, Lao Wu had pinned the poor professor in the water. Blood poured from the wound in his thigh, attracting all the piranhas in the water.

Xu Jiaoshou struggled desperately, but it was no use. Lao Wu held him down, saying coldly, "Xu, you drowned so many brothers before, consider this atonement! Don't blame me for being cruel, blame yourself for being useless!"

When the piranhas swarmed around Xu Jiaoshou, biting and devouring his body, Lao Wu immediately put away his diving knife and strode away.

We were all deeply shocked, but we didn't freeze in place. Taking advantage of Xu Jiaoshou's sacrifice, we walked towards the depths of the tomb tunnel without looking back.

And Xu Jiaoshou's shrill screams echoed in our ears for a long time…

…

We trudged through the water in the tomb passage, desperately trying to get away, fearing that the piranhas would finish off Xu Jiaoshou and come after us.

If that happened, we'd have to sacrifice another person to save our lives.

After another twenty minutes, the tomb passage finally widened, and the surrounding soil became distinctly different, changing from natural soil to artificial rammed earth and special soil.

I immediately realized that the mausoleum was just ahead.

Sure enough, after another fifty meters or so, the water gradually receded, revealing a patch of dry land, which meant that the piranha crisis was finally over.

These little creatures were deadly devils in the water, but they were harmless on dry land, nothing to fear.

We climbed out of the tunnel and collapsed on the dry land, panting. Looking down, I saw at least four or five wounds on my legs, each one bleeding profusely.

Mei Shu was in a similar situation, not much better off. Hong Jie was even worse. Her stockings were torn to shreds, revealing her fair thighs. The wounds on her legs were at least twice as many as mine; there was hardly any good skin left.

Of course, Lao Wu was still the worst off.

His buttocks and legs were covered in blood and wounds. Half of the shin on his right leg was bare bone.

If he hadn't knocked down Xu Jiaoshou in time, he would have been the one to die in the piranhas' mouths.

But even though he had survived, if he didn't receive treatment in time, Lao Wu would eventually die from blood loss or infection.

Because of the wound on his butt, he couldn't sit down like the rest of us. He could only stand there, bending over to bandage his wounds.

The pain made him grimace, and he couldn't help but glare at me, complaining, "Damn it, if you'd listened to me earlier, I wouldn't have been bitten to pieces like this!"

Hong Jie was unconscious at the time and didn't know that Lao Wu wanted to use her as bait to feed the piranhas.

Hearing this, she asked curiously, "Rongsheng, what did Lao Wu tell you to do? Why didn't you listen to him?"

I sneered, "You fainted. Lao Wu told me to throw you into the water to feed the fish, so we could escape."

Hearing this, Hong Jie's eyebrows shot up. She pointed at Lao Wu and cursed him with a nasty word, saying fiercely, "You, Wu! You dare plot against your mother? Just you wait!"

Lao Wu sneered, "Xiao Hong, is there any need to get so angry? Put your hand on your heart and tell me, if I had fainted back then, wouldn't you have used me to feed the fish to save your own life?"

Hong Jie was speechless because that was exactly what she had planned to do.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Grave robbers are a group of people who are willing to betray their friends for profit. Crows are black all over; none of them are good. The pot shouldn't call the kettle black.

After a cold snort, Hong Jie didn't bother to argue with Lao Wu anymore. Instead, she turned to me, cupped my face, kissed me hard, and said with a smile, "Rongsheng, I didn't misjudge you! Only you protected me at the crucial moment. When we get out of here, I'll give you my share of the money!"

I knew that Hong Jie was just dangling a carrot in front of me. I smiled and said nothing.

Hong Jie glanced at her bloodied legs with regret and said, "Alas, my beautiful legs have been ruined. Brat, you didn't get to taste these legs before, now it's too late, isn't it? Regret it?"