Species

Of the ten paintings, Lin Ya recognized four, while Ye Lin recognized two.

Guanyin, the Dao Ancestor, Christ, the Holy Mother...

There was no logical connection between the murals. If they had to find one, it was probably that they all depicted figures from various religions and mythologies.

And they had enormous halos above their heads.

While the others were puzzled, Hu Jia felt a secret flicker of delight.

The reason was simple: the appearance of the murals suggested, to some extent, that his judgment had been more accurate.

"What do these paintings mean? Or are these the gods we're supposed to find?"

Remembering the words in the information the system had provided, He Zheng could not help asking.

Yet once he said it aloud, something felt inexplicably wrong.

If there had been only one god, even one he did not recognize, he would have found that normal. But so many images of deities felt wrong no matter how he looked at it.

Origin of the Godkind... find ?? (god?).

Could all the gods in human history be here!?

Ye Lin was just as puzzled as He Zheng.

His eyes stayed fixed on the murals as he tried to uncover more details.

According to He Zheng, every piece of information in a Death Exam's question was crucial. Never mind giving the wrong answer-misinterpreting the question alone meant certain death.

Clearly, these murals held the key information for the second round.

"Ye Lin? Have you thought of anything?"

Overwhelmed by unease, He Zheng could not help asking again. For some reason, he kept feeling that something terrifying was about to happen.

Ye Lin said nothing. He lowered his head in thought, rapidly working through various possibilities.

There were three questions facing them now.

First, what did the murals mean?

Second, who had made these paintings?

Third, which of the gods in these paintings actually existed, or which could help them? If they existed, where would they be?

As for whoever had created these corpse paintings...

(If humans did this, then we won't just have to face the danger of the Species-we'll have to deal with a bunch of deranged lunatics too...)

"Aaaaaah!!!"

Suddenly, a shrill, piercing shriek raced toward them from the distance.

It was so sharp that it stabbed at their eardrums.

Ye Lin jerked his head up and looked toward the winding passage behind them. A powerful sense of dread erupted from deep within him!

No human could possibly make that sound!

And whatever was making it was moving incredibly fast!

The sound drew closer, growing more piercing in an instant.

Even without seeing them, he could imagine the shrieking monsters charging madly toward them at astonishing speed.

Judging by the number of shrieks, there had to be at least a hundred monsters!

"Ye Lin! Do we run or fight!?"

He Zheng tightened his grip on the Fire Axe and asked urgently.

Without a word, Ye Lin turned and signaled for everyone to get ready, then pressed his ear firmly against the ground.

In theory, with so many monsters charging toward them, they should run first. But the only way to retreat was back the way they had come, which was little different from waiting to die.

He could only gamble that the monsters were not all coming from the same direction.

Those few seconds felt like years. Just as He Zheng was about to turn and flee, Ye Lin sprang up and aimed his gun at the bend in the passage.

"Fight!"

"The closest one is alone! The others aren't in this passage! Kill it, and we can take another route!"

The footsteps were dense, but their rhythms differed. The shrieks came in a chorus, but some were louder than others.

The sound waves struck the walls and scattered into echoes, which meant the passage behind them branched!

"Fight!?"

He Zheng gulped down air, his expression shifting repeatedly as he looked at Ye Lin.

After their previous experience, he trusted that Ye Lin would not speak recklessly. But he was physically the strongest, and his hearing was the best.

At this distance, he could already hear the scraping of metal beneath the shrieks. These monsters either knew how to use weapons, or...

Scrrrape!

With a piercing scrape, the shrieking and running abruptly stopped.

The next second, as the sound vanished, a long, slender black figure suddenly shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Before they could get a clear look, the monster seemed to sense the gun aimed at it. Its hunched, streamlined body planted a foot on the wall and sprang off toward them!

So fast!

He Zheng's expression changed drastically. Its speed alone would have been bad enough, but its agility far exceeded his expectations too!

He had planned to let Ye Lin fire a shot first to test it, but now there was no way to aim!

"Monster! Monster!!"

Behind them, Hu Jia screamed in terror. Although he and Lin Ya had hidden farthest away, the moment the monster appeared, its oppressive presence and bloody stench hit him like something that preyed on him at a genetic level. Every pore in his body seemed to scream.

As though drawn by Hu Jia's cries, the rapidly approaching Species shrieked and leaped straight at him, as if it had locked onto its prey.

Fuck!

He Zheng cursed inwardly. Seeing that the Species was about to leap past him, he had no choice but to steel himself and charge.

It was not that he feared Hu Jia dying. They could not let their formation break!

If the Species got among them, his own movements would be restricted too!

At such close range, he finally got a clear look at the monster.

It resembled a fish with human legs, its body covered in scales. On either side of its enormous fish head, which split open down the middle, two bulging eyeballs remained as motionless as a dead man's.

Its revolting appearance made his scalp crawl!

"Ye Lin!"

"Zhang Tie!"

There was no time for fear.

He Zheng shouted to warn the two to back him up. Raising the Fire Axe high, he bent his whole body like a drawn bow and brought the axe down hard into the path of the leaping Species.

The axe whistled through the air, smashing straight into its path.

But the Species was too fast. He had no confidence that this blow would strike its eyes, which looked like its weakest point!

A clang rang out, as though he had struck a steel plate. The violent recoil sent him stumbling several steps backward.

Only a trace of blue blood seeped from the spot where he had struck the Species' head.

Seeing the result, He Zheng went white with shock!

What kind of defense was this!?

No one knew better than he did how much force he had put into that swing. Under normal circumstances, if his opponent had been human, that blow could probably have split them in half from the head down!

"XIA!!"

The fish-headed Species let out a piercing screech of pain.

It swung its right claw straight at He Zheng. The claw whipped through the air so fast that the others saw only an afterimage!

Bam!!

He Zheng screamed as he was instantly hurled backward, blood spraying from his abdomen like splattered paint!

He struck the wall and collapsed, unable to get up.

He Zheng clutched his wound in agony. The Fire Axe slipped from his hand and skidded several meters away.

His eyes filled with terror as the enraged Species charged at him again.

Had his body not been strong enough, and had he not twisted slightly at the last moment, he had no doubt that claw would have ripped his belly open and dragged out his intestines!

Damn it!

He had considered that the Species might be powerful, but he had never imagined he would be unable to handle even one!

And there were hundreds more behind it!

What could he do!?

Its split maw opened wider and wider. Watching those bloody jaws bear down to crush his head in one bite, He Zheng's eyes stretched wide with horror.

If it bit him, he would die. And once he died, the others would not last even a few seconds!

"He Zheng! Zhang Tie!"

"Grab it!"

Just as He Zheng fell into despair, Ye Lin's voice suddenly rang out.

At some point, Ye Lin had rushed to the Species' side. He lifted his leg and kicked the dropped Fire Axe straight into the space between He Zheng and the gaping jaws.

Was this...!?

Understanding struck He Zheng in a flash. Even without exchanging a word, he felt as though he understood what Ye Lin intended.

He meant to jam the monster's mouth open! Then He Zheng and Zhang Tie would grab it, creating an opening for him to shoot!

But...

The Fire Axe wouldn't hold for long. Its wooden handle would be bitten through in an instant!

In that case...

He Zheng steeled himself and thrust his left arm straight into those bloody jaws.

He was clearly prepared to sacrifice another arm to make absolutely sure its mouth stayed jammed open!