When Li Dan took out Rocloc, the pistol with the least recoil,
which also came equipped with an extended magazine, a silencer, and an infrared sight,
Juno and the others were stunned. Even Beth, their teacher, couldn't help asking, "Where did you get all this?"
"From Chief Pete."
Li Dan assembled the pistol and handed it to Beth. He wasn't expecting them to take on the Wendigos in the cave. He just hoped they wouldn't die too easily.
Otherwise, once they were all dead and the monsters turned their attention to him, he'd be in trouble.
Beth took the pistol. If it had come from Chief Pete, that wasn't surprising. Everyone in town had heard that he used his position to deal in weapons.
Rebecca glanced at her bloodied hands. Though she blamed Juno, she couldn't help giving a wry smile. "I'm afraid I won't get the chance to use a gun."
Sam said meekly, "I'm not very good with one, either..."
Sarah took the pistol Li Dan had assembled. She had been the first to see the monster and was the most frightened. The cold gun in her hands gave her a sense of security.
At Li Dan's insistence, Sam finally took a pistol.
Li Dan gave Holly a pistol, too. With her injured leg, she wouldn't be able to run. He could only hope she wouldn't die too horribly. At the very least, it would be worth it if she could hurt a Wendigo.
Only Juno still refused to change her mind. She thought the two of them had both been hallucinating.
As far as she was concerned, no one could survive for long in a cave with conditions this harsh. Not even a monster!
Li Dan wasn't the only one who wanted to shoot her after hearing that. Even Sarah, her good friend, felt like putting a bullet in her head.
Since Juno didn't want one, Li Dan took the gun back.
After dividing up the equipment, the group set off again to look for an exit.
But with Holly slowing them down, the group moved much more slowly.
As far as Li Dan was concerned, the slower they went, the better. He was after monsters like the Wendigo. But even after all that noise earlier, none had shown up.
After walking for a while,
they heard water dripping. Juno hurried ahead to investigate and found water spilling down from the rock wall above. It gave her hope, so she quickly secured a piton and led the others up.
Worried about Juno's safety, Rebecca spoke quietly.
"Juno, slow down. It's safer to climb in pairs. There really might be monsters in here."
Instead of listening, Juno climbed even faster. She wanted to prove there was no such thing as a monster in this cave.
"Maybe the exit is just ahead. As long as we're careful, we'll be fine."
After climbing up, Juno suddenly fell silent.
Rebecca called out to her, but there was no answer. The others had no choice but to follow the pitons Juno had hammered in and climb up.
Following behind them, Li Dan lifted Holly with one hand and kept pace with the others.
When they reached the flat ground above, they understood why Juno had gone quiet.
There was no exit here.
There were only potholes filled with water, piled high with bones—human bones and animal bones alike.
There was only one possible explanation.
A top predator was lurking in this dark underground cave.
This time, Juno had no choice but to believe it. There really were monsters in the cave.
Li Dan set Holly down to one side and silently pulled out his gun and cocked it.
The others couldn't see, but Li Dan could clearly make out a Wendigo above them.
At last, he got a clear look at what the monster looked like.
In the darkness, the Wendigo writhed like a hunched tower of bones. Cracked, gray-green skin clung to its protruding skeleton. Its eyes bulged, its pupils contracted to pinpricks as they fixed on the group. White mist, reeking of rotting flesh, poured from its shriveled nostrils. Its decayed lips curled back, exposing jagged teeth like shards of ice, each tip coated in dark brown slime...
It looked every bit as grotesque as the Deformed Person.
Rebecca noticed Li Dan's movement and asked softly,
"Did you spot something?"
Li Dan raised the infrared sight and aimed it at the rock wall above. Juno and the others followed his gaze and spotted the Wendigo creeping along. Its terrifying face and blue-black skin were enough to make their scalps crawl.
Rebecca screamed.
"Bang! Bang!"
Li Dan fired. Both shots hit the Wendigo in the back, sending it tumbling off the wall. It let out a strange cry, then scrambled into the darkness.
It was so fast that Li Dan didn't have time to fire again.
"Stop screaming! Do you want to draw the other monsters over?"
Li Dan was furious with his useless teammates. It was one thing not to finish the monster off, but they were making a racket, too. At this rate, they were as good as dead.
"I don't have a gun," Rebecca said, feeling wronged.
"What should we do, Li Dan?" Sam was a student with the weakest nerves. She had started crying as soon as she saw the Wendigo. If Li Dan hadn't been there, she might have already panicked and run off.
Beth looked just as terrified.
Holly was probably the most frightened. Her leg was injured, and if that monster came back, she'd surely be its first target.
Li Dan quickly pulled a gun from his backpack. Juno took it without refusing and said quickly, "We need to get out of here. This might be their nest."
Li Dan shook his head and looked toward the pitch-black space ahead. Several Wendigos were racing toward them at incredible speed.
"It's too late. They're already here. There's more than one, and they're right ahead!"
"There are some above us, too!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Screams, gunshots, and strange cries blended together.
The Wendigos had a clear target: Holly, who couldn't move.
Sarah, who was mentally unstable, stared wide-eyed and fired a few random shots before running off at once.
Li Dan never stopped firing. Juno and Holly were at the front, while Beth stood beside Li Dan and shot.
But Sam, the youngest, had never seen anything so terrifying. Faced with the swarm of monsters, she couldn't even bring herself to shoot. She ran into the darkness behind them instead.
With no weapon in hand, Rebecca could only go after Sam.
The four pistols kept firing, but there were far more Wendigos than anyone had imagined. They broke through the line almost immediately.
Holly was knocked to the ground and let out a piercing scream. A Wendigo bit into her throat, and her voice soon fell silent. More and more Wendigos gathered over her corpse, tearing at it and feasting.
Juno and Beth completely broke down at the sight.
But the other monsters were surging toward them.
Juno was caught off guard and knocked down. She struggled desperately, kicking and clawing.
"Beth, help!"
Seeing this, Beth looked at Li Dan, nearly in tears. "What are we supposed to do?"
"Ms. Beth, you should run first." Li Dan had known from the start that these teammates were useless. He took out two M76 grenades, quietly pulled the pins, and tossed them toward Holly's corpse.
The rolling grenades didn't draw the Wendigos' attention. They kept eating.
Beth saw what was happening and bolted.
Juno was still struggling. She didn't want to die.
"Boom!"
Li Dan didn't leave. He just ducked behind a corner. Two tremendous blasts shook the entire cave, sending it rumbling. Rocks kept falling from above, and the cave looked ready to collapse at any moment, but in the end, it held.
Li Dan summoned the Deformed Person and the Ogre Boss to protect him. Two small cards appeared in his hand, ready for containment. If bullets couldn't kill them, he refused to believe grenades wouldn't work.
Once the scene had gone quiet,
Li Dan cautiously peeked out and scanned the area. Then, as if he'd seen a ghost, he silently ducked back behind cover.
Before you continue