Chapter 145: The Infant's Cry

Upon closer inspection, the dead man lying before us wore the exact same attire as the group I had just observed through my binoculars—black expedition gear, with an emblem embroidered across the chest, marking him as one of the men from the Southern Gate. His eyes were wide open, staring fixedly as though he had died with deep grievance and unresolved resentment, creating a rather horrifying sight.

"Something has hollowed him out completely. This is not something a human could ever do; it must be some kind of ferocious beast. Even his intestines have been ripped right out. This fellow died a rather miserable death, tsk tsk."

I must admit, Zhang Feng was the most formidable of us all. He actually squatted down to examine the corpse closely, speaking in an utterly calm tone. I reckoned this fellow must have blood on his hands, judging by how remarkably strong his psychological resilience was.

"That gunfire we heard earlier must have originated right around here."

I looked around, but there was nothing much to be gained—only the hollowed-out corpse lying on the ground. It appeared that some extremely perilous beast dwelled within this burial chamber, which naturally heightened our tension. Yet, I couldn't help but wonder: why had the men from the Southern Gate simply abandoned their companion here and left him to his fate? At the very least, they should have given him a proper retrieval.

"They must have gone this way."

Guo Fan pointed toward a staircase to the side. I glanced over and saw a set of blue-stone steps leading downward, stained with fresh blood. The blood had not yet dried, indicating they could not have left long ago. At that moment, the men around me understood my intentions. Catching my hand gestures, they immediately picked up their weapons and chambered their rounds.

However, Three-Flat-Melon shrank back a little, looking somewhat timid. I smiled and said to him, "I know you're a ruthless man with the guts to kill. Since things have come to this, there's no turning back for you. Stick with me, and once this is done, I certainly won't treat you unfairly."

With that, I gave Tian Hu a look. Tian Hu grinned, reached into his backpack, and pulled out a short-barreled shotgun. Such a weapon possessed terrifying firepower at close range and was exceptionally effective for dealing with beasts. I took it from him and handed it to Three-Flat-Melon, saying:

"You know how to use this, don't tell me you don't."

Three-Flat-Melon seemed to make up his mind. He clenched his teeth, grabbed the shotgun firmly, and told me, "I know how. Mountain-runners pretty much all handle this stuff. Every household used to have a gun until they were confiscated later on."

As he spoke, Three-Flat-Melon awkwardly pulled back the bolt, looking a bit out of practice, though it was still evident that he knew his way around firearms. Immediately afterward, he added, "I'm in! But Boss, you can't shortchange me!"

"Rest assured. Let's move!" I let out a low laugh, turned around, and began descending the stairs.

Nearly all the men I had brought along were desperate criminals, ruthless individuals who dared to kill, hired by me at a heavy price. Still, Guo Fan was the one I trusted the most for now. As for the others, bluntly put, it was merely an employment relationship, hardly a secure bond. But with no other choice, I had to rely on these men; trying to handle numerous matters entirely on my own would be terribly troublesome and exceedingly difficult.

We made our way downward along the blue-stone steps. The environment was profoundly gloomy and humid, filled with the constant sound of dripping water. The chilling scene we had just witnessed kept us on high alert, constantly worrying that the unknown beast might launch a sudden ambush. There was no helping it—the corpse we had seen moments ago was simply too gruesome, naturally causing us to tense up for fear that something might suddenly strike from the dark.

"Shh..."

Guo Fan abruptly halted and whispered that he heard a sound coming from below. I listened intently, and sure enough, noises were drifting up from down there, seemingly from quite a crowd. At that very instant, a piercing, unearthly sound resembling an infant's cry echoed through the space, shrill and deeply unsettling.

The chilling sound made all of us freeze in our tracks. Scarcely a moment later, three more gunshots rang out, sounding exceptionally loud within the subterranean space. Furthermore, the gunfire was very close to us, though the labyrinthine layout of the multi-tiered tomb made it difficult to pinpoint the exact source of the shots.

Following that, the shrill, haunting cries of the infant grew even sharper, enough to make one's skin crawl as they reverberated through the underground mausoleum. Just then, the sound of rapid footsteps approached. We hurriedly darted into an adjoining chamber at the side. This was a burial room; the person interred here presumably had a close relationship with the tomb's master, and the specifications were quite elaborate, containing numerous funerary objects. Judging by the style, it was impossible to tell which dynasty it belonged to, given that none of us were genuine experts in antiquities.

However, studying such things was hardly our priority at the moment. The footsteps were drawing closer. What brought me a sense of relief, though, was that it was a human being running toward us, and judging by the hurried pace, they seemed to be fleeing for their lives. Guo Fan, Zhang Feng, and the others readied themselves. As the footsteps closed the distance, Guo Fan and Zhang Feng lunged forward, dragging the person directly into the burial chamber, while Tian Hu and Lei Jun stepped up to pin him down.

Upon closer inspection, however, something seemed quite wrong with this individual. His face was frozen in utter terror, his eyes wide-set and bulging, and he muttered incoherently, completely out of his mind. I instructed the others to let him go, only to find that the man was in a state of extreme nervous tension. His two eyes darted continuously around the surroundings, as though he had encountered something unimaginably horrifying. Though he stopped babbling nonsense, the frantic chattering of his teeth could still be heard.

He appeared to be around twenty years of age, quite young indeed, but at that moment he was in a state of absolute wretchedness. When I asked him what had happened, he remained silent, showing no curiosity whatsoever about our identities, simply crouching in a corner and trembling incessantly.

Just as we stood there somewhat bewildered, I suddenly heard a blood-curdling shriek from outside. The scream was harrowing to the extreme. The moment that sound echoed, the young man in the corner instantly reacted as if terrified out of his wits; he leaped to his power and bolted. Lei Jun tried to intercept him, but failed to catch him in time and was even knocked off balance by the impact.

The man fled in a frenzy. Just as we were about give chase, a dark figure suddenly darted through the air. Reflexively, I swept the beam of my flashlight toward it. In that single instant, cold sweat broke out all over me. Although I had witnessed plenty of unusual sights in my time, catching a sudden glimpse of this creature still sent a chill through my spine. It resembled a tiny human infant, yet its entire body was a bruised, mottled blackish-green, and upon its back were two wing-like appendages. It hung suspended in the upper space of the burial chamber, emitting a low, eerie wail while fixing its gaze upon us.

"What in the hell is this damn thing? Why does it look like a little kid?"

Guo Fan raised his weapon, muttering under his breath. None of us answered, yet recalling the gruesome state of the man we had found dead earlier, we couldn't help feeling a shiver run down our spines.