Another voice called from the distance, "None here either." Reports came one after another, from different directions. The high-explosive armor-piercing round had left a shallow, blackened mark on its hide.
Professor Wang looked at the beast's corpse and could not help asking, "Chief Qin, could you leave one intact... We'd like to study it as a specimen..."
"No." Qin Zheng refused without hesitation, his gaze sharp. "Unknown beasts, unknown abilities. Even if they have only one breath left, they could still cause casualties. Academic research doesn't matter more than human lives."
Professor Wang could only fall silent, his eyes filled with regret.
Soon, a team member hurried back to Qin Zheng, stood at attention, and saluted. His voice rang out clearly. "Reporting, Director Qin! All beasts eliminated! No survivors!"
The professors finally relaxed and hurried over to the Taotie corpses, crouching down to examine them closely. Professor Wang touched one beast's rough hide.
His voice still trembled. "They really are Taotie... The beasts from the legends actually exist... Just what kind of place have we stumbled into...?"
Boom!
A deafening crash came from the ruins, and the ground shook violently. Shattered rocks flew everywhere as though a volcano had erupted. Countless stones were hurled dozens of meters into the air before raining back down.
Everyone instantly tensed again. The guns they had just lowered rose in unison, every weapon trained on the collapsed tunnel entrance.
Dust billowed, and heavy footsteps sounded from within it. Thud. Thud. Thud. Each step seemed to land in time with their heartbeats.
The blocked tunnel entrance had now been blasted into an enormous pit. Black mist poured from its depths without end, carrying a cold, putrid stench like something from the Ninefold Hell, and instantly enveloped the entire area.
When they saw the figure in