Cat
At that moment, Fan Mei Nan acted as if she were completely unaware of the unexpected visitor behind her.
She seemed wholly absorbed by the writing on the support pillar, ignoring everything else around her. Yet the next moment, Fan Mei Nan suddenly spun around without warning, swinging her flashlight toward the rear.
—But the beam illuminated nothing but empty space.
Fan Mei Nan did not relax her guard. Not long ago, she had suddenly felt as though someone was watching her. Considering where she was, whoever had come was clearly no good, but Fan Mei Nan did not show the panic an ordinary person would have.
Instead, she continued pretending to examine the writing. Then, when the thing behind her gradually let down its guard and grew careless, she swiftly turned around. Unfortunately, the move failed to catch the peeping intruder.
An illusion?
Fan Mei Nan did not think so. She raised her flashlight higher and shone it farther ahead, toward the tunnel from which the swarm of snakes had emerged earlier.
Fan Mei Nan hesitated. She felt that the "there" mentioned by whoever had left the writing on the support pillar most likely referred to this tunnel. Unlike the endless looping tunnel they had taken on the way in, this one should not trap anyone, since the snakes could crawl freely out of it. But there were likely other dangers inside.
Just as Fan Mei Nan was debating whether to go in and take a look, she heard a jingling sound behind her.
The sound was very close, less than two meters away. Fan Mei Nan's vigilance instantly rose to its peak. Without hesitation, she rolled forward, putting distance between herself and the newcomer before turning around.
But then she froze, because what appeared before her was