Chapter 10 Night
Jiang Xian shook his head. He looked at the two of them solemnly and said, "All the questions you have had since you came in can be answered here."
He held up a finger. "There is light, water, and plenty of food here. Because the natural conditions here are so complete, I assume this is a place for eating. I plan to check the top of the cave... Have you forgotten about the beast?"
In one sentence, Song Lianshi and Temulun's minds were struck by lightning, and everything suddenly became clear.
I see… That beast is a primate, so it must be very good at climbing vines. The banyan tree roots above our heads are its home turf. And the ‘plenty of food’ the team leader mentioned just now is obviously the bats hanging upside down on the stalagmites and roots!
The beast lived on this and had a water source, so it survived for a long time... and... no wonder it was used to walking on the top of the head. Whether it was the spore mimicry before or the bat canteen at this moment, they could only pass through the cave roof!
Secondly, it doesn’t go into the water because... the lake water is also unsafe!
This long-term hunting habit has become the beast's inertia. The bat carcasses in the lake are probably the bats that were shot down by the monster over the years. These bats became food for the lampreys in the lake, revitalizing the entire ecosystem!
"Unbelievable..." Everything is explained... Temulun looked around in shock.
The ingenious workmanship of nature has brought so many clues together without anyone noticing!
Jiang Xian stood up, his expression not at all relaxed: "This is the only place we can go up to right now, but... it is also the hunting area of the beast."
Everyone's expression became serious. This was a ferocious beast that could instantly make a person lose their fighting power. If they were discovered by the other party while climbing, the consequences would be disastrous!
"The good news is that creatures that live in caves for a long time will instinctively hate sunlight. Most of them will only come out at night."
After saying this, he did not continue. Song Lianshi could not help but move his Adam's apple and said hoarsely: "What's the bad news?"
"The bad news is..." Jiang Xian said grimly, "It's almost six o'clock now. It will be dark after seven o'clock, and we won't be able to climb up in an hour. And... it's also close to the time when the bats and the beast will be active."
"You mean..." Temulun felt his heart skip a beat : "We...are going to spend the night here?"
Dead silence.
After one night... we might very well come face to face with that terrifying beast!
Of course, they had this idea at the beginning. But now, among the five people, only Jiang Xian still has the ability to fight. If they meet the other party again... they don't know who is the hunter.
Jiang Xian nodded deeply, turned to look at everyone, and said solemnly: "Have a good rest tonight. There is a tent in the backpack, find a hidden place against the wall to camp. While it is still light, Lao Song, you help Xiao Zhao deal with his wounds. Temulun will fetch water and boil water. Then we will set up the tent together. Hurry! Everything must be finished before dark!"
In an instant, everyone's motivation was mobilized.
Even though they were extremely tired, no one took a break. The nerves that had just relaxed became tense again. For a moment, in the huge cave, there was a feeling of peace and tranquility.
Time passed by minute by minute. Just as the bats on the cave ceiling began to stir, a pitch-black tent was completely erected at the edge of the cave.
It was not big, about two and a half meters. There was no light. As the sky got darker, finally, all directions entered into endless darkness.
"You guys take a rest first." Jiang Xian sat behind the tent door. The zipper at the door had been tightly closed, and all the gaps on all sides were filled with stones. Four backpacks were placed on the ground, and blankets were spread on top of them. Although it was very economical, it was still very crowded for four men to sleep in a tent of more than two meters.
"It's 7:30 pm now, and there are still about 17 hours until noon tomorrow. We will set off before 1:00 tomorrow. Try to make sure everyone gets at least eight hours of sleep."
Everyone nodded solemnly, and even though they were not very sleepy, they still forced themselves to close their eyes.
The sound of countless bats flapping their wings came from outside the tent. It lasted for a full hour. After an hour, the entire cave fell into complete silence.
Half past eight... Jiang Xian licked his lips, his right hand never letting go of the gun. If his previous guess was correct - this was where the monster ate, then... tonight, they might very well come face to face with the real murderer.
Time passed by minute by minute. Half past nine, half past ten... At eleven o'clock, Jiang Xian, who had been sitting silently behind the zipper door, suddenly raised his head and stared outside the tent.
Just now, he heard the sound of caracalla...the sound of countless small stones falling.
They didn't know what was on the other side of the lake. The darkness under the lamp caused by the sunlight only outlined the other side as a dark area. At this moment, he had a preliminary understanding of the other side of the lake.
"Mountain wall..." He squinted his eyes and slowly stood up. He walked to the front of the tent and slowly opened the zipper door a crack.
"This is the sound of a heavy object kicking against the mountain wall, kicking off rocks... The rocks are not small, so the sound can still be heard here. Then... the creature that can kick off the rocks must be even bigger. It... is coming."
He took out the telescope and looked towards the lake. However, the next second, his hand holding the telescope trembled violently.
It’s indeed coming.
Through the telescope, you can clearly see a ball of silvery-white hair slowly emerging from the darkness.
As expected, the opponent grabbed the vines and swung slowly outward, even walking directly on the thick roots. Incredibly flexible. It can be vaguely seen that the opponent's arms are long and strong, and his hind legs are short and strong.
However... there is more than one!
Seven white shadows appeared in the telescope! And... there was a faint white ocean behind them!
It is very likely...the number will be more than thirty!
"Wow...Wow!" A white monster suddenly stood up, leaned on the ground with both hands, and burst into a sharp cry. The sound was like a baby crying, and in the dark night, in the deep cave, it was extremely creepy.
One monster started to cry, and then all the monsters started to roar! In the whole cave, babies were crying, with an indescribable weirdness.
Swish! Jiang Xian suddenly put down the telescope and pinched his brows hard.
"I understand..." After a few seconds, he put down his hand: "This is a social creature! This... is really rare! What kind of species is it! "
"The stronger the social creature, the smaller the group size. For example, the so-called lion group only consists of two or three big lions and five or six cubs. Other than that, there are almost no carnivorous creatures that live in groups. This primate-like monster... is not only stronger than lions and tigers, but also lives in a much larger group than them!"
"There is also this kind of call... It has never been heard before in any primate species known to date!"
"Indeed." As soon as the words fell, Song Lianshi's voice rang out behind him. Jiang Xian looked at him in surprise: " Why are you awake?"
Song Lianshi pointed outside the tent, where the hair-raising sounds continued. He sat down next to Jiang Xian and took a look through the gap. He said in a deep voice, "Is this the murderer who took Er Ganzi away?"
Jiang Xian nodded: "Based on the villagers' description, it should be this."
Song Lianshi looked at the white shadows moving in the distance and said through gritted teeth, "Team leader... I have always had a question..."
"Why did they take Er Ganzi so far?" Jiang Xian interrupted him before he could finish. He glanced outside and said thoughtfully, "I was not sure before. But now, I have an idea..."
He paused, then said solemnly, "This is an unknown tribe."
"There may be a 'king' in this tribe. Any precious prey must be presented to the 'king'."
At this moment, a strange "rustling" sound suddenly sounded... above their heads!
The two were stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised their heads and looked upwards in disbelief.
There was no light on, so it was pitch black. But as time went by, a huge shadow slowly appeared in their sight... like a spider!
Right above their heads!
This is... Song Lianshi's breathing stopped. At this angle, in this position... they had no way to escape. He desperately signaled to Jiang Xian with his eyes, pointing outside and then pointing upwards.
Jiang Xian nodded solemnly. Then he took out his gun and raised his chin towards Song Lianshi.
Song Lianshi did the same. The two of them quietly put on their silencers and aimed upwards at the same time. However, the next second, the shadow seemed to bend, and then jumped lightly. The ground in front of them made a loud bang and trembled slightly.
So close.
The distance will not exceed three meters.
Even... I can hear the heavy breathing outside.
It was a white-haired monster!
Just now they couldn't get a clear sense of how big the other party was when they were looking at it from a distance, but now that it was in front of them, they could clearly feel that this monster was at least two meters tall!
This is when the other party is squatting in front with his hands on the ground. If he stands up... he may be four meters tall!
This is definitely not a creature that human power can contend with... Jiang Xian and Song Lianshi sat there motionless, their breathing almost disappeared, and their eyes were fixed on the outside of the tent. They could see that the monster had its back to the tent. They were afraid that the other party would turn around and then become interested in the tent.
Cold sweat poured down my forehead, goosebumps appeared on my skin, and my back started to feel cold.
Time blurred, and every muscle was tense. A few seconds later, there were several loud bangs from all directions. Several more shadows fell around the tent!
Damn it... Jiang Xian simply closed his eyes and cursed inwardly through gritted teeth.
He suddenly realized that there was a castle where demons lived above his head . Like a city wall, these monsters stayed inside during the day.
From their perspective, they could only see the white-haired monsters opposite them, but they didn’t expect... these monsters lived in a circle in this cave!
"I didn't bring anything with me, and I took a job as a king... I have to burn some incense sticks if I want to return safely this time..."
Perhaps after hearing his wish, the monster nearby shook its body and walked towards the other side at a leisurely pace.
At this moment, a monster suddenly stood up, its throat bulged, and it roared desperately: "Wow-Wow Wow!!"
The voice was loud and extremely shrill. It made people's eardrums hurt. But even so, Jiang Xian and Song Lianshi still maintained the same posture. Even their expressions did not change.
"What's wrong?" However, a voice that was neither loud nor soft rang out. Jiang Xian and Song Lianshi turned their heads back as if struck by lightning, and looked at Temulun, who was rubbing his eyes and waking up from sleep on the blanket.
At this moment, the surrounding shadows all stopped, and the screams also stopped abruptly.
Then... they turned around at the same time and headed in the direction they were!
