Escape for Your Life

Liu Zhi was the first to reach the shore. After landing, he didn't stop but quickly found a large rock to hide behind. Only then did he dare to peek out and look around.

At this moment, jungle survival expert Mr. York had also swum to the shore. Compared to Liu Zhi, who had charged straight onto land, Mr. York was more cautious.

He found some tree roots that extended into the water, gripped them tightly with his hands, and didn't immediately come ashore. Instead, he carefully observed his surroundings.

The giant snake clearly had no intention of letting the boat's crew escape. It burrowed into the Sailor, swam rapidly towards those who hadn't yet reached the shore, and swallowed them whole with a single gulp.

The first to be swallowed was the boat captain. Although he had jumped into the river early and swam fast, his movements were too large, and the giant snake immediately targeted him.

The boat captain was already close to the riverbank when the giant snake shot out from behind him, opened its mouth, and swallowed him from behind.

In his panic, the boat captain grabbed the Scimitar that Liu Zhi had stuck in the giant snake's tongue and pulled it out.

The boat captain's action did not inflict greater damage on the giant snake. Instead, it freed the snake's tongue. Liu Zhi, on the shore, watched as the giant snake coiled its tongue around the boat captain and swallowed him whole.

This was even more terrifying than the previous instances where the giant snake had crushed people to death. Liu Zhi, hiding behind the rock, even gripped his fine-thorned sword, contemplating whether to flee immediately.

Just then, Mr. York pulled himself up forcefully along the tree roots and onto the shore. He then produced a long branch from who knows where and began to strike the water heavily, shouting, "What are you still watching for? Learn from me and lure the snake away."

Hearing this, Liu Zhi quickly ran into the nearby jungle and found a long branch. Just as he was about to strike the water, Mr. York shouted again, "Are you trying to die? Get a longer one, at least three meters. Then keep striking the water. Remember, no matter how much noise you make on the water, don't move your body."

Liu Zhi heeded Mr. York's words, found a long branch, and began to imitate him by repeatedly striking the water's surface.

Liu Zhi noticed that as they struck the water, the giant snake seemed to hesitate, as if considering which side to go for first.

Mr. York waved to Liu Zhi, "Go over there. Maintain this rhythm, and absolutely do not get close to the water. Don't be afraid..."

While the giant snake was hesitating, the others also secretly swam towards the shore.

The first to reach the shore was Perkin, who had jumped into the river earliest. In fact, if he hadn't been repeatedly startled, he would have been ashore by now.

After climbing onto the shore, Perkin didn't hide like Liu Zhi. Instead, he asked Mr. York, "Is there anything I can do?"

"Do as we're doing. Use long branches to strike the water. This is how we can save more people."

Perkin immediately sprang into action. The remaining people also swam towards the shore in small groups.

At this time, Mr. York was controlling the rhythm of his striking while explaining to those who were climbing ashore, "Everyone, learn from this. When using the sound to mislead the snake, you must pay attention to what's underwater. If you see something like a log floating by, stop striking. That could be an alligator. Also, don't strike too fast; maintain a certain rhythm. Later, when everyone is ashore, don't stop all at once. Stop one by one..."

All those who reached the shore did as Mr. York instructed, using branches to strike the water while keeping their eyes fixed on the giant snake, which was extending its tongue to sense everything.

Just as Mr. York had said, with more and more people striking the water, the giant snake's gaze became more hesitant. Now, it only approached the shore and swam back and forth, seemingly considering whether it could swallow the creatures making the noise.

At this point, only two people remained in the river: the Mercenary leader and the musketeer. Both had seen the others climb ashore and knew they couldn't rush.

So, both of them swam forward cautiously. Just then, the female knife-thrower seemed to have discovered something and shouted, "Oh no, it's an alligator!"

With that, the female knife-thrower drew her throwing knives. Mr. York turned to look in that direction and shouted to stop her, "No!"

But it was too late. The female knife-thrower was famously fast and accurate. As Mr. York shouted, two short throwing knives had already embedded themselves in the alligator.

The attacked alligator wasn't seriously injured. It thrashed and rolled in the water, trying to shake off the knives.

Seeing this, Mr. York quickly shouted to the Mercenary leader and the musketeer, who were still in the water, "Hurry up and get out! If you don't come up now, it'll be too late."

However, the giant snake had already identified the prey in the water. The frequency of its thrashing indicated it was an alligator.

Alligators are edible. The giant snake instantly judged the size of the alligator thrashing in the water and then lunged towards it with its mouth open.

Because the alligator was relatively close to the Mercenary leader and the musketeer, the giant snake's lunge was too much for them, even for the battle-hardened pair. They abandoned caution and swam rapidly towards the shore.

At the same time, the giant snake, alerted by the commotion, noticed the two of them. After swallowing the alligator, it opened its mouth and lunged towards the Mercenary leader.

The musketeer had already grabbed onto a tree root by the shore and was about to climb up. Suddenly seeing the situation behind him, he raised his hand and fired a shot directly into the giant snake's open mouth.

Then, the musketeer pulled himself up with his left hand while reloading and firing with his right. It was unclear how he managed it, but the gunpowder in his gun, soaked in water for so long, still ignited.

With each shot, the musketeer threw the gun onto the shore. It was evident that he planned to retrieve them later and use them once he was safely ashore.

However, he didn't notice Mr. York's expression. Mr. York was muttering, "Madmen, all of them are madmen. Why doesn't anyone listen to me?"

Liu Zhi also saw that the situation was becoming dangerous. Despite the musketeer's current confidence, beyond the smoke lay an enraged giant snake. Liu Zhi could even see the snake's pupils dilating.

Mr. York noticed this too and roared, "Run! Everyone run into the forest! Don't run in a straight line. Run around the trees! Run now!"

As he spoke, Mr. York threw down the branch in his hand and sprinted away before the giant snake could bite.

Hearing this, Liu Zhi and the others instantly understood what was happening. Without a second thought, they dropped their branches and ran into the jungle without looking back.