Chapter Seventeen

As the four of them searched the area,

"Squeak, squeak..."

A cacophony of sounds rang out all around them. Hu Bayi asked in puzzlement, "Are those mice?"

Yingzi replied, "That doesn't sound like mice."

Hu Ming looked toward a ventilation shaft. "It's coming from that vent."

The other three were about to head over when, suddenly, a swarm of giant bats poured out of the vent and swooped toward Hu Ming and the others.

The Fatty cursed. "Shit!"

Hu Ming warned them, "Open fire!" As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone pulled their triggers.

"Rat-a-tat-tat..."

Hu Bayi stared at the densely packed wolf-headed bats and felt his scalp go numb. A chill ran through him.

"Damn it, where did all these bats come from?" Hu Bayi muttered.

"Hell if I know! What's going on?" the Fatty replied. The wolf-headed bats were ferocious, feeding on flesh and blood.

The group fired nonstop, changing magazines again and again. Before long, the floor was littered with shell casings.

For some reason, the more bats they killed, the more appeared. It seemed they would never run out.

"Damn it, watch yourselves! There are still tons of wolf-headed bats up there!" Hearing the unceasing noise, Hu Ming continued to warn the other three.

Hu Bayi had never seen so many bats before. "Damn it, Mingzi, are you telling me we've stumbled into a bat nest? There are way too many of these things!"

Before long, Hu Bayi ran out of machine-gun ammunition. With no time to reload, he swung the butt of his gun, smashing the bats that swooped at him.

"You're right," Hu Ming said. "This is probably the wolf-headed bats' nest. Be careful, and don't get yourself killed!"

After a while, as he watched the endless stream of wolf-headed bats attacking them, Hu Ming finally realized that they were mainly coming from three ventilation shafts. None were emerging from the others.

"Keep your heads down. I'm throwing grenades," Hu Ming said.

Hu Bayi and the others immediately ducked for cover. Hu Ming took out three grenades and tossed one into each of the three shafts, blowing them up.

Seeing that the bats' source had been destroyed, Hu Bayi and the others hurriedly shot down the ones left inside the room.

Once they had finally finished them off, the group slumped to the ground, panting. They were all drenched in sweat. The Fatty took out two bottles of water, tossing one to Yingzi and keeping the other for himself, Hu Ming, and Hu Bayi.

Hu Ming sat off to one side, drinking water. Suddenly, he felt a faint breeze from his left, cool against his skin. He looked up and spotted another ventilation shaft, a meter in diameter. On closer inspection, he saw that it was much larger than the others. He casually shone his flashlight inside and discovered a ladder. Damn it, this wasn't a vent at all—it was a passageway.

"Mingzi, Fatty, look over there! There are two little kids watching us." Just then, Hu Bayi spotted two ancient-looking children peeking out from a corner. He had no idea when they had appeared.

Their blank, white eyes stared straight at them.

The longer Hu Bayi looked, the more certain he became that the two little ones were focused on the Fatty, as if they were trying to tell him something.

The Fatty saw the two little ones staring at him and felt his scalp go numb. "How about we get rid of them?"

Hu Ming disagreed. "Forget it. We brought plenty of things to ward off evil spirits. Ordinary ghosts would've run off by now. If they're still coming after us, they must be begging us for help."

"Begging for what?" The Fatty wanted to settle this as quickly as possible.

"If I'm not mistaken, these two little ones were buried as sacrificial boy and girl attendants," Hu Ming said, revealing what he had known all along.

He went on, "Their eyes are completely white, and they have lichen-like spots on their bodies. They were probably filled with mercury while still alive.

"There are also marks around their necks. They were probably strangled to death, too."

"Hiss!"

"Hiss!"

Hearing Hu Ming's words, the Fatty, Hu Bayi, and Yingzi all felt heartbroken for the two little ones.

"Mingzi, stop," the Fatty said, unable to bear hearing any more. He quickly cut Hu Ming off.

"Mingzi, just tell me what to do. Do these two little ones have some unfinished wish they need me to fulfill?" the Fatty asked.

"That's right. I think they want to leave this place and be laid to rest," Hu Ming said.

Hu Bayi nodded. "Yes, just like Mingzi said. They probably want to leave this place as soon as possible and be laid to rest. That's why they've latched onto you—they want your help.

"Latched onto me? They want my help?" Listening to Hu Bayi, the Fatty seemed to realize something. But having the two little ones constantly following him around was no good.

It wasn't just upsetting; looking at those two pairs of pale eyes alone was enough to creep him out.

The Fatty had no choice but to say, "Old Hu, Mingzi, hurry up and think of something. We can't have them staring at me forever!"

Hu Ming rolled his eyes at him and said impatiently, "If they want to be laid to rest, we just need to find their bodies and take them out. Come on, get up and help look!"

"Oh, right..." the Fatty said hurriedly.

But while they were searching for the two little ones' bodies, the big Zombie in the tomb chamber had already broken free of the corpse-binding ropes suspending it. It smashed its coffin, then used the broken planks to cover the glutinous rice before slowly walking out.