As I stepped onto this corridor, I realized I hadn't returned to the deck; this was another passageway lined with numerous rooms on either side.

These rooms, however, unlike those on the level I had just passed through, seemed relatively normal, having undergone some transformation.

I could even see staircases along both sides of the hall leading to the floor above.

Catching my breath, I set off toward the stairs.

I proceeded cautiously, constantly wary of the surrounding rooms as I made my way.

Before I even reached them, I heard the distinct thump-thump-thump of footsteps descending from above.

Judging by the pace, these couldn't be the slow-moving, sparking monsters, as they couldn't move that quickly.

Just as I wondered who it might be, a large, soot-covered figure tumbled down from above.

Recognizing the clumsy gait instantly as Da Xiong's, I rushed forward to catch him.

Da Xiong, with an expression of profound distress—like someone utterly unable to find relief—glanced back at me and shouted, “*! Why are you here?”

I had no time for explanations. “We’ll deal with that later. What happened to you?”

Da Xiong scrambled up from the ground, wiping thick black grime from his face. “Those things across the way—I don’t know what they are. They’re impervious to blades and bullets, completely unmovable! Jie Yuting and Liang Qian were both captured by them!”

My heart sank; I knew falling into their hands meant certain, near-fatal danger. I grabbed Da Xiong by the collar immediately. “Where were they taken?”

Da Xiong looked like a bullied child, pointing upward. “They were just taken moments ago. They must still be upstairs.”

“Let’s go! We’re going up to check!” I pulled Da Xiong’s hand, ready to ascend.

But Da Xiong pulled me back instead, saying, “We can’t go! We can’t beat them!”

I looked back at him sharply. “Have you gone soft, kid? I’ve never seen you so spineless. I already know their weakness. Come with me.”

Hearing this, Da Xiong seemed to regain a fraction of his confidence and asked, “What is their weakness?”

I didn't have time to elaborate. “You’ll know soon enough. Got any guns?”

Da Xiong grinned slyly. “I knew you were going to ask me that.”

With that, he unbuttoned his jacket, revealing what he kept tucked inside his inner lining.

I saw seven or eight firearms of various sizes hanging there. Combined with the black soot covering his face, he looked like a black-hearted arms dealer from the UAE, secretly pocketing illicit funds.

I was speechless for a moment. “Where on earth did you scavenge all these guns?”

Da Xiong boasted proudly, “Picked them up! So, do you want an AK-47, or a KEDR submachine gun?”

I was momentarily dumbfounded. I’d never even used an automatic rifle, so I casually selected a pistol that looked pretty cool.

Da Xiong rubbed the dark dust from his eyes. “*... you’ve changed. Before, your eyes would shine like stars when you saw a gun, and you always chose the longest one. What’s up with you this time?”

Hearing him still have the nerve for banter, I snapped, “Why are you talking so much nonsense? What time is it? Are you still thinking about that stuff! Move! Lead the way!”

Da Xiong clearly understood the urgency and didn’t argue further. He pulled out a gun, chambered a round, and charged ahead.

I scrambled up the stairs right behind him. As Da Xiong cautiously poked half his head out, a burst of gunfire erupted from ahead.

Luckily, we were already alert, and we immediately dropped to the floor.

Bullets whizzed past us with a swoosh, striking the wall behind us and kicking up sparks.

I saw several laser sight beams dancing in the darkness and knew there were plenty of hostiles in the corridor.

We stayed prone, not daring to lift our heads. Fortunately, we hadn't fully entered the hallway; using the slope of the stairs, we were temporarily safer.

But soon, the sound of footsteps approached—several sets, moving slowly but heavily, gradually closing in on us.

At this point, Da Xiong glanced back at me and whispered, “*... the weakness. What’s their weakness?”

I felt a bit awkward, unsure how to explain it to Da Xiong, so I just said, “Charge up and open fire!”

Da Xiong muttered in exasperation, “It’s useless! You can’t kill them!”

I barked back, “Stop the damn whining! Hurry up!”

Da Xiong was speechless again, hesitated for a moment, but decided to obey me. He stood up and charged into the corridor.

“Ah!...” Da Xiong roared loudly to bolster his own courage while unleashing a furious barrage from his machine gun.

If we had any advantage against these monsters, it was simply that we were faster than they were.

Furthermore, the enemy clearly hadn't expected Da Xiong to have the audacity to charge out, leaving them momentarily caught flat-footed.

When I rushed out following Da Xiong, I saw that most of the creatures had been knocked down by his bullets and were slowly attempting to rise from the floor.

Da Xiong urgently asked me again, “The vital spot?”

I replied, “The vital spot is their throat, but it must be damaged from inside the mouth.”

Honestly, the vital spot I described was practically useless information, as even the dimmest enemy wouldn't open their mouths for us to strike. The only opportunity would be when they charged up their electrical discharge during close combat—that was the window to dispatch these damned monsters.

However, Da Xiong’s thinking differed from mine. Upon hearing the description of the vital spot, Da Xiong suddenly found new strength.

He lunged forward several strides, pinned one of the climbing monsters, and forcefully jammed his hands around its neck.

Although Da Xiong might have been physically weaker than the creature, his sheer weight was an asset. He pressed down, preventing the thing from using any weapons.

Da Xiong began hammering the creature’s head relentlessly with the butt of his gun, as if driven mad. But with every strike, his hand rebounded violently off the steel-hard skull.

While he inflicted no damage, Da Xiong successfully enraged the creature.

The monster he had pinned immediately opened its mouth and began to charge up electricity.

Da Xiong burst into laughter, cursing, “Damn monster, you’re shining a flashlight in a cesspit—you’re asking to die! Watch how this old man handles you.”

With that, he raised his gun and fired several rounds directly into the creature’s open mouth.

Having taken the bullets, the creature immediately went still.

I shot down several surrounding enemies that were rising and yelled to Da Xiong, “Get away from it! These things self-destruct when they die!”

Da Xiong recoiled instantly, cursing, “Damn *—couldn’t you just say that all at once earlier!” He then scrambled quickly toward me.

We both retreated back into the stairwell and crouched down.

Immediately following, a violent explosion erupted, followed by several waves of even more intense blasts. Amidst the wild electrical discharges, we saw fragments trailing fire land near our feet.

After the blast subsided, Da Xiong clenched his fist and declared, “YES! Finally got some payback.”

Then, we both headed back up to the upper corridor, preparing to rescue Liang Qian and Jie Yuting.

Passing through the smoke generated by the explosion, we saw that several nearby enemies had been blown to pieces by the blast.

Triumphantly stepping over the scattered remains of the enemy, we continued moving toward the other end of the hall.

That guy Da Xiong spotted a few guns that hadn't been totally destroyed and promptly scooped them up.

I scolded him, “What use are you going to have for so many guns? Don’t you find it heavy?”

Da Xiong gave me a serious look. “You wouldn’t understand. These AK-47s are bought by the Yamaguchi-gumi in Japan for fifty thousand US dollars each. If I sell these guns, it’s enough to buy a two-bedroom apartment in Beijing’s Third Ring Road.”

I thought the man was completely obsessed with money, actually planning to do business with the Yamaguchi-gumi. We were only passing through the Sea of Japan; we weren't going anywhere near mainland Japan. Even if we did, how would he ever find the Yamaguchi-gumi?

Just as I was about to chastise him, he pulled two dark, round objects from a tattered backpack on the floor and asked, “These are good stuff, right?”

I looked closer—they were two unprimed grenades.

My spirits lifted. “Quick, see if there are any more!”

Da Xiong rummaged around again and found two more grenades and a canister of gas.

Da Xiong handed me two grenades and pocketed two for himself.

With these in hand, we felt a good deal more confident and quickly resumed our advance.