Trap Serpent People

The night was as dark as water.

A cool breeze swept across the plains, which lay in pitch darkness.

The four members of the Earth Dragon Squad wore Multifunctional Helmets and switched on their night vision as they walked and chatted.

"Come to think of it, we've been walking for three or four hours. How come we haven't found a single clue?"

Xiao Yunlong said dejectedly.

Qin Tian furrowed his brow. At first, he had been able to smell traces of blood along the way, but at some point, the scent had suddenly vanished. Since then, they had been forced to pick a direction at random and keep moving.

"How about we find somewhere to rest for a while?"

Xiao Yunlong glanced at the desolate, lonely surroundings. "It's not safe to travel in the middle of the night."

"Sure."

Qin Dadi nodded.

The group found a small hill and sat down on its sheltered slope. Qin Dadi took some ready-to-eat food and bottled water from his Backpack and handed them around.

"Captain, I just realized I never asked—which regiment do those missing squads belong to?" Xiao Yunlong asked as he ate.

Qin Dadi unscrewed a bottle and took a sip. "The White Tiger Legion."

"The White Tiger Legion's Special Forces Teams..."

Xiao Yunlong was astonished. "So it really was them. This mission seems to get more dangerous by the minute."

"That's why we need to stay on high alert."

Qin Dadi said solemnly, "If anything seems wrong, contact the Command Center right away. Whatever you do, don't try to be a hero."

"Got it. I definitely won't try to be a hero. I'm a coward."

Xiao Yunlong shrugged.

Qin Tian nibbled on a compressed biscuit. It tasted much better than he had expected—chocolate-flavored, though a little too dry. He had to wash it down with water.

Just then, an extremely faint sound came from far away, instantly catching his attention.

After listening closely for a while, Qin Tian narrowed his eyes and spoke.

"There's someone nearby."

Someone?

At once, the other three went on alert.

Qin Dadi asked in a low voice, "Which direction?"

Qin Tian pointed. "That way, about two kilometers."

"Wait—you can hear something from two kilometers away?"

Xiao Yunlong's mouth fell open in shock. "What kind of ears do you have? Are you a bat?"

A cat. Cats have excellent hearing, too.

Qin Tian answered silently. His Shadow Muscle and Bone had come from a Fourth Order Shadow Catman, and its talent orb had been a deep blue.

His hearing, sense of smell, and Night Vision Ability were far beyond an ordinary person's.

Besides, they were on the plains, where there was no noise aside from the howling wind. It wasn't so strange that he could hear something happening two kilometers away.

"Qin Tian, are you sure it's a person? Could it be some small animal?" Qin Dadi asked cautiously.

"I heard voices," Qin Tian said.

"Could it be another squad?" Liu Zhaozhao asked.

"No."

Qin Dadi shook his head. "Every squad has its own assigned area for this mission. I'm sure ours is the only one in this area."

"If it isn't a Special Forces Team, then that means..."

A glimmer of excitement flashed in Xiao Yunlong's eyes. "We've found our targets!"

"If Qin Tian heard correctly, then we should have."

A smile appeared on Qin Dadi's face. The Military Department had attached great importance to this mission and offered a generous number of Military Merit Points. Now, in less than half a day, they had already found the missing personnel.

This mission was going much more smoothly than expected.

"Let's go!"

The Earth Dragon Squad immediately set off at a run. Before long, they reached the entrance to a cave.

"Is anyone inside?"

Xiao Yunlong called from the entrance.

"Someone! There's someone!"

An urgent, somewhat feeble voice came from inside.

There really was someone!

The four exchanged glances, switched on their flashlights, and entered the cave.

It was pitch-black inside, and the air was distinctly damp. Beneath that was a faint smell of rust.

"We're over here!"

A voice came from up ahead. Qin Dadi quickly turned his flashlight toward it.

Two men in Special Forces Uniforms were sitting on the ground, leaning against the cave wall. Their clothes were tattered and stained with dark-red blood. Their lips were pale, and they looked to be in very bad shape.

"Which Special Forces Team are you from?" Qin Dadi asked.

One of the men, who had a crew cut, answered weakly, "I'm Xue Lin, and he's Wang Tiancheng. We're both members of the Skywind Squad, part of the White Tiger Legion."

Xue Lin. Wang Tiancheng.

Qin Dadi compared them against the list of missing personnel and their faces. After confirming their identities, he nodded and said in a low voice,

"We're the Earth Dragon Squad from the 319th Legion. We were sent by the Military Department to find the personnel who went missing a few days ago. We've confirmed who you are. I'll contact the Command Center now, and then we'll take you back to base."

"Thank you."

Wang Tiancheng spoke, his voice hoarse and weak. "Brother, could you get us some water first?"

"No problem."

Xiao Yunlong immediately took two bottles of water from his Backpack and handed them over.

"Thank you."

The two men took the bottles as if they were treasures. They quickly unscrewed the caps, tipped their heads back, and gulped down the water without a pause.

"Easy, take your time. I've still got—"

Before Xiao Yunlong could finish, the two of them had drained their bottles.

"...a few more."

Xiao Yunlong's voice trailed off.

"Are your injuries all right? Do you need any medicine?"

Qin Dadi noticed the many wounds on the two men and a flicker of puzzlement crossed his eyes.

"No, thanks. We'll get treated once we're back at base."

Xue Lin declined Qin Dadi's offer.

"Could you give us something to eat, too?" Wang Tiancheng asked hoarsely.

At that, Xiao Yunlong rummaged through his Backpack, put the hard-to-swallow compressed biscuits away, and took out two energy bars.

"Thank you."

Wang Tiancheng handed one to Xue Lin, then slowly tore open his own wrapper. He opened his mouth and took a small bite, chewing it with difficulty.

Just then, Qin Tian suddenly spoke.

"What happened to your injuries?"

At the question, Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng froze. Both of them looked up at Qin Tian.

"I'll explain."

Xue Lin sighed. "A few days ago, several squads of ours received a mission to investigate the disappearance of Steel 7th Company. When we reached the scene, we couldn't find any useful clues, so the squad captains agreed to split up and search, then share what they'd learned each day."

"Later, the Skywind Squad followed one direction. We never expected to run into a group of Snake-men along the way."

Snake-men?

An iconic image of a snake-woman immediately surfaced in Qin Tian's mind: Medusa.

"The Snake-men weren't very strong. We killed most of them pretty quickly. But just as we were about to finish them off, a Fourth Order Myriad Poison Snake Person suddenly appeared."

"A Myriad Poison Snake Person!"

Xiao Yunlong cried out. Shock appeared on Qin Dadi and Liu Zhaozhao's faces as well.

"That's right, a Myriad Poison Snake Person."

Xue Lin smiled bitterly. "As soon as he appeared, the situation turned upside down. Our whole squad was no match for him. In the end, the captain burned through his Bloodline power and held him off by force, giving the rest of us a chance to escape."

"We split into pairs and fled. Tiancheng and I stuck together. We ran into a lot of Snake-men on the way, and it took everything we had to break through their encirclement and find a safe place to hide."

"But both our Communicators got lost during the fighting, so we couldn't contact the Military Department. Luckily, the Military Department didn't give up on us."

After hearing Xue Lin's account, Xiao Yunlong and the others were secretly shaken. A Myriad Poison Snake Person was several times more terrifying than the Shadow Catman they had encountered before.

After running into a Myriad Poison Snake Person, Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng had somehow survived until now. They really were lucky to be alive.

While everyone's attention was fixed on the Myriad Poison Snake Person, Qin Tian couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

But what was it?

Qin Tian's gaze swept over Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng. Suddenly, he noticed a detail.

Wang Tiancheng's leg!

Xiao Yunlong and Qin Dadi's flashlights were aimed at the two men's upper bodies, leaving their lower halves hidden in the darkness.

But Qin Tian had powerful Night Vision Ability. He could see everything clearly.

Wang Tiancheng's leg was badly injured, as if it had been exposed to some highly corrosive substance. A large patch of skin had rotted away, stretching from his calf to his ankle.

The muscles in his once-powerful calf looked as though a huge chunk had been eaten away.

With an injury that severe, even walking would be difficult. How could he possibly have broken through the Snake-men's encirclement?

Was he lying?

But why would he lie?

Qin Tian furrowed his brow. Just then, his vision suddenly blurred, and a faint dizziness washed over him.

Thud!

Thud!

The sound of bodies falling reached his ears. Qin Tian turned his head and saw that Qin Dadi, Xiao Yunlong, and Liu Zhaozhao had all collapsed.

His heart jolted. He shot a glance to the side.

Xue Lin and Wang Tiancheng were staring intently at him, their eyes filled with emotions too complicated to name—helplessness, conflict, and guilt.

Qin Tian's thoughts raced. He clutched his head and staggered two steps, then let his body go limp and fell unconscious.

Ten seconds later.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

A faint scraping sound came from deep within the cave, as though something smooth were sliding across the ground.

Before long, several towering figures appeared.

Their upper bodies were bare, muscular, and powerful. Their hair was dark green, and their faces combined distinct human and serpentine features. Their sharp yellow eyes had narrow, vertical pupils like a snake's.

Their lower bodies were thick, powerful tails. Scales glimmered faintly blue-black in the darkness.