Hu Bayi frowned at Gu Cheng. "Young Master Gu, you sound so certain. Have you seen one before?"
Gu Cheng hesitated, then decided to prepare them for what lay ahead.
"I can tell you with complete confidence that ghosts and spirits aren't the only things in this world. There are zombies, monsters, and all kinds of demons and specters, too."
He added silently, I've seen them in stories and TV dramas, so I'm not exactly lying to you.
Hu Bayi and the other two fell silent.
Hu Bayi in particular.
Although his grandfather had told him plenty of incredible stories, he had always thought the old man had made them up to scare him.
Besides, he had spent ten years in the army and received years of scientific education.
Deep down, he didn't believe in ghosts or gods.
Mechanical traps and illusions, he could accept.
Giant beasts and poisonous insects, he could accept, too.
Science could explain all of those.
But ghosts and spirits were really beyond his understanding. They went against everything he had believed for years.
He found it hard to accept.
Gu Cheng was about to offer a few more words of persuasion.
Suddenly, the thunderous crash of a collapsing wall came from the distance.
All four of them tensed.
They knew the little bastard had broken in.
"Lure it into the passage we just came through. It branches off in all directions, and it's narrow enough to restrict its movements."
They divided up the work.
Hu Bayi and Gu Cheng went back to make preparations.
Fatty and Yingzi went to lure the Flood Dragon Serpent over.
Hu Bayi and Gu Cheng had only set up two small traps when they heard Fatty shouting, "Old Hu! Young Master Gu! Here it comes!"
Gunfire accompanied his shouts.
The two looked up just as Yingzi stumbled into view around the corridor's corner.
Fatty appeared right after her.
He stood at the corner with his submachine gun raised, firing burst after burst down the other corridor.
When Yingzi saw Gu Cheng and Hu Bayi, she cried urgently, "Run!"
Fatty emptied his magazine, then ran toward them as well.
As he ran, he shouted, "Damn it! The little bastard's hide is too thick! Bullets won't go through!"
Gu Cheng and Hu Bayi's expressions changed drastically.
Not even bullets could penetrate it?!
They exchanged a glance.
Then each pulled out a grenade, yanked the pin, and hurled it behind Fatty.
Scrape! Scrape! Scrape!
A chilling, nerve-grating scraping sound came from around the corner.
They didn't need to look to know what it was.
The Flood Dragon Serpent was slithering toward them, its belly scraping against the stone floor!
A snake head the size of a truck cab emerged around the corner.
Boom! Boom!
Two deafening blasts rang out!
The grenades exploded.
Yet when the smoke cleared, the Flood Dragon Serpent shook its head, its exterior completely unscathed.
All four of them stared in disbelief.
Gu Cheng most of all.
Even after living two lives, Gu Cheng had never seen anything like this.
A creature that wasn't afraid of firearms-or even explosives?!
Fuck! What do we do?
How are we supposed to fight this thing?
Gu Cheng's mind raced, working at full throttle.
"Damn it! This little bastard is impervious to blades and bullets?! Not even grenades can kill it?!"
Fatty Wang wailed in despair.
Hu Bayi and Yingzi exchanged a helpless look.
"Wait."
"That's not right. I seriously wounded it before!"
The thought suddenly struck Gu Cheng.
"Could it be..."
He drew the Little Divine Edge.
[Item name]: Little Divine Edge [Item grade]: High-grade magical artifact. [Item abilities]: Subdue monsters, destroy evil. [Item description]: Forged from meteoric iron by a master craftsman. Cuts through iron like mud, with unparalleled sharpness and miraculous powers to subdue monsters and destroy evil.
Subdue monsters? Destroy evil?
Gu Cheng fell into thought.
"Young Master Gu, what are you doing? Run!"
Fatty Wang was pulling Hu Bayi and Yingzi away, ready to flee, but panicked when he saw Gu Cheng standing there in a daze.
Gu Cheng looked up at Fatty Wang.
"Fatty, where's your axe?"
"My... my axe?"
[Item name]: Mountain-Splitting Axe [Item grade]: Mid-grade magical artifact [Item abilities]: Pierce armor, suppress evil [Item description]: The personal weapon of a brave and battle-hardened general. It has slain countless enemies and been tainted by countless vengeful spirits. It can suppress wronged spirits, ignore armor, and inflict damage on enemies.
Pierce armor?
Suppress evil?!
Looking at the Mountain-Splitting Axe in Fatty's hand, Gu Cheng understood.
With no time to hesitate, he decided to try it.
"Fatty, give your axe to Old Hu. We'll fight it hand to hand!"
Hu Bayi and the other two were dumbstruck.
"Hand... hand to hand?!"
Fatty Wang stared blankly, unable to get his words out properly.
Gu Cheng drew the Little Divine Edge. "Trust me. I wouldn't lie to you."
Hu Bayi gritted his teeth and snatched the Mountain-Splitting Axe from Fatty Wang.
"All right. I'll join you in this madness just this once."
Gu Cheng issued more orders.
"Yingzi, find somewhere to hide."
"Fatty, use your gun to draw its attention from the side. Aim for its eyes. I refuse to believe those are bulletproof, too."
With everyone's roles assigned, he was ready.
He turned a murderous gaze on the Flood Dragon Serpent.
Before, they had either been underwater or in a pitch-black cave, so he hadn't been able to see it clearly.
Now, under the bright lights, things were different.
He could finally see it in full.
The little bastard didn't just have a head the size of a truck cab. Its body was as thick as a car. It was an absolute behemoth.
Its scales looked like steel. No wonder Fatty had said it was impervious to blades and bullets. It stood to reason that small-caliber pistol and submachine gun rounds would barely tickle a giant serpent like this.
But in this environment, its enormous body was a hindrance instead.
It had little room to twist or maneuver.
That made it much less dangerous.
And it wasn't without weaknesses.
The eyes he had told Fatty to aim for were one weakness.
Its belly was another.
As long as it was still a snake, its belly would be relatively soft.
If he could slice it open and spill its guts, he could kill it!
He had used the Little Divine Edge to cut its belly open before.
The problem now was how to do it again!