Suddenly! I heard a roar like a bear! Then I watched a black object shoot out from above my head, like a massive bomb, slamming into that zombie with a thud!

What followed was a sound of utter destruction—crack, crack—the zombie's bones snapped like twigs, flying away like a kite unstrung, smashing violently against the distant stone wall with a resonant boom. fell from the entire cavern roof.

I was completely dumbfounded, mouth agape, watching the scene. I actually thought someone behind me had fired an artillery shell, like one used by the Eight-Nation Alliance, at this zombie!

"Damn it all! Dare to touch my brother! I'll let you know why the flowers are so red!"

I saw something massive, like a great bear, leap out from behind me, then swagger over to the stone wall, wrenching the dark object out of the zombie's stomach and hoisting it onto its shoulder.

Finally, I saw clearly that the cannonball-like object was actually an iron sledgehammer weighing a hundred pounds.

After a moment, that zombie, courting death, slowly started pulling itself up from the indentation in the rock face.

The person chuckled twice and remarked, "Tough one, aren't you?"

With that, he raised the sledgehammer high, let out a tremendous roar—Waaah!—and swung the massive hammer with both hands, producing a strange whoosh. The recently risen white-haired zombie was smashed again, driving deep into the adjacent rock wall.

With a loud bang, fragments flew everywhere, followed by the sharp cracking of breaking stone, as if the entire cavern wall was about to collapse!

The bear-like man’s breathing was heavy, panting in ragged gasps; it had clearly taken considerable effort.

Just then, the pale, hairy zombie's grotesque hand stretched out again from within the rock wall.

"Still not dead?" The man snatched it back, then exerted massive force, driving the zombie down onto its knees. He grit his teeth, planted his right foot on the zombie's shoulder, let out a wild yell, and pulled hard with both hands.

With a sickening gla-la-la sound, the zombie emitted a ghastly scream as its entire arm was ripped off, spilling streams of foul, dark blood onto the ground.

Then the man burst into laughter, tossed the severed arm aside, and declared, "Now you know how awesome I am, huh?"

Even though it had lost an arm, the zombie continued to writhe, trying to break free from the man's foot.

The man snorted, spat into his palm, picked up the hammer nearby, and raised it high with both hands.

A deafening bang echoed, shaking the ground, and I felt black, viscous matter spray onto my face.

I stared at the man in utter shock, then looked at the once ferocious white-haired zombie, now smashed deep into the earth, only its two legs visible, motionless.

From beginning to end, I couldn't utter a word. I couldn't describe the shock churning inside me. Although I already knew this person was Da Xiong, I never imagined he possessed such ferocity; I even doubted if he was still human.

I just watched as Da Xiong walked over, helped me up from the ground, and grinned at me, asking, "You alright?"

A sudden wave of relief washed over me—relief that Da Xiong was on our side.

Seeing my vacant stare, Da Xiong waved two fingers in front of my face and asked, "How many is this?"

I thought, You've got to be kidding me, are you messing with me? I shook my head and replied, "I'm fine. Check on Liang Qian; he's worse off than I am."

A few coughs echoed from the distance, then Liang Qian spoke weakly, "Can't die yet. Da Xiong, how did you get inside the rock?"

Da Xiong hooked an arm around each of us and helped us stagger to the wall base to rest.

Then he pointed to the wall behind the coffin and said, "This stone is a hidden door; you can push it open from the side. I was chasing that strange man to this hellish place, saw it squeeze in here, and followed it in. As soon as I entered, the stone door shut, and it was pitch black inside, just like being inside a coffin."

"You know I hate the dark, so I didn't want to crawl further. I tried to turn back out, but I couldn't push the door open no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to use the hammer to smash it open, but the space inside was too cramped; I couldn't get any leverage."

"After a while, I heard movement outside the stone door, knew someone was there, so I shouted, but no one answered me."

Liang Qian and I exchanged glances. So that cry of "Let me out!" didn't come from the coffin. If I had known that, I wouldn't have dared to open that coffin even with a hundred times the guts.

Da Xiong continued, "I thought I was safe, but then a strange bell sound chimed from the end of that passage, giving me the creeps. A moment later, a layer of white, fuzzy mist inexplicably rose from the end of the passage, and two green eyes, the size of flashlights, lit up from the depths of the fog. Something enormous was slowly walking toward me."

"My heart panicked. Just as I was figuring out how to escape, I heard the sound of splitting rock behind me. So I didn't bother looking at what was approaching; I kicked the rock wall, shattering it, then stepped out carrying the sledgehammer. I saw that white-haired thing about to grab Chuanzi, so I took care of it."

Saying this, he hoisted the hammer onto his shoulder and walked to the massive stone slab he had kicked open, peering inside. He remarked, "Weird. That thing didn't follow out. Should we go in and check?"

My soul had nearly abandoned my body moments ago. I desperately wanted him to seal the opening quickly, lest something else crawl out. I urgently said, "Don't go in! Let's wait here, rendezvous with the main group, and find more people to check."

Liang Qian hadn't caught his breath yet. He leaned against the wall, panting heavily, and nodded, "Yeah, the situation here is highly unusual; the three of us might not be able to handle it."

Da Xiong grunted, walked over, and helped me up.

I didn't want to be supported, but my head had been hit, my vision was darkening, and I couldn't walk properly.

"It stinks in here. Let's wait in the passage..." he said, helping me walk out.

Liang Qian could still manage to walk and followed us out.

We hadn't taken more than a few steps when a chilling sound drifted from behind us: "Heh, heh, heh..."

The sound felt as if it were right beside my ear, startling me into a shiver.

Goosebumps instantly erupted all over my body. I hastily turned back to look, only to see Liang Qian standing woodenly behind us, his face ashen white, concealed in the shadows, perfectly still.

Just as I was about to speak, I heard Liang Qian say, "Da Xiong, why are you smiling?"

Da Xiong turned around and replied, "I'm not smiling. I was about to ask you, why are you smiling?"

Liang Qian choked slightly, then turned to me and said, "Was it you?"

I immediately shook my head, tried to speak, but the moment I opened my mouth, I started laughing myself: "Heh, heh, heh..."

Suddenly, my face went dead, and I felt like my throat was completely out of my control. My facial muscles began to twitch grotesquely. Even though I couldn't see my own face, I knew my expression must have been terrifying.

When Da Xiong heard that sound coming from me, he immediately set me down, shaking my shoulders and saying, "What the hell is wrong with you? You laughing like that makes my legs weak."

I looked at him, suddenly feeling an intense itch in my teeth and fingers, an overwhelming urge to bite someone.

My eyes darted around in sheer panic, but my body seemed utterly disobedient. Cold sweat poured down me, and my whole frame began to tremble slightly.

Then I did something I couldn't believe myself: I lunged onto Da Xiong and bit down hard on his neck, tearing off a chunk of flesh and skin.