I knew everything there was to know about Fatty; I knew he was an excellent swimmer. Seeing him fall into the water now, however, still filled me with worry. Those strange floating corpses churned like dumplings in a boiling pot, tumbling ceaselessly. The moment Fatty hit the water, he was instantly enveloped by the countless female corpses. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight. I wanted to jump in and save him, but the path was blocked by those monstrous insects, thrashing about and emitting continuous, shrill screams. Trapped in a frenzy, I could only shout his name toward the water.

The eyeless monstrous insect thrashed its enormous body wildly, sweeping across the rock walls of the Gourd Cave, shattering stone. A dull echo resonated ceaselessly beneath the dome. The red mist leaking from the gaps in its carapace increased, though its color seemed slightly faded now, less vividly blood-red than when it first appeared.

I assumed the change in the red mist’s color was merely an effect of the cave’s fluctuating light and shadow. I paid it no mind, focused only on getting past the massive creature so I could pull Fatty from the water. Yet, the giant insect was too large; I rushed forward several times only to retreat, narrowly avoiding being crushed by its heavy armor.

Shirley Yang, seeing an opening, snatched Fatty’s backpack where it had fallen on the ground and scrambled onto the highest rock formation. While pulling explosives from her kit, she shouted to me, “The color of this mist is fading; it’s almost done for.” With that, she tossed her Type 64 pistol toward me.

Looking up at Shirley Yang’s actions and hearing her words, I immediately understood her meaning. I snatched the Type 64 pistol out of the air and yelled back, “I’ll draw it away first. Signal me when you’re ready with the explosives. Don’t take too long; Fatty’s still in the water, and I don't know if he’s alive or dead.”

I raised the Type 64 pistol and fired several rounds at the giant insect’s head. While the gun had sufficient range, its killing power was insignificant against this colossal crawler. I couldn't even tell if the bullets had hit the target. To buy Shirley Yang time to set the explosives, I did my utmost to divert the enraged, heavily wounded creature.

Though the giant insect’s single eye was blind, having lived its life in perpetual darkness underground, the only light in this Gourd Cave came from the cold, faint blue glow emanating from the floating corpses in the water. Consequently, its eyesight had severely degenerated, replaced by highly evolved tactile senses. I continually struck the nearby rocks with my entrenching shovel, producing a loud “clang, clang, clang.” These strong vibrations indeed stimulated the great beast; its massive body swayed, and it lunged toward me.

Seeing my tactic succeed, I dared not engage it directly, sticking to areas densely packed with rock outcrops. The giant insect’s head slammed repeatedly against the stone, fueling its rage. Its boundless brute force acted like a heavy bulldozer, pulverizing the rocks in the cave. Now, I didn't even have the luxury of glancing behind me. I unleashed my legs, running at full tilt, beginning a desperate, life-or-death chase.

How could human strength outrun a monster the size of a train? I felt I had held its attention for a significant time, but in reality, it was less than ten seconds. Amidst the chaos, I managed to yell back to Shirley Yang, “Chief of Staff Yang, why haven’t you set off the explosives yet? Are you deliberately trying to get me killed?”

From the highest point of rock in the Gourd Cave, Shirley Yang shouted back, “Almost there! Stall it for another ten seconds!”

I knew Shirley Yang must be racing against time, but right now, I couldn't last another ten seconds—even three might be a stretch. A powerful gust hit me from behind, carrying an intense wave of heat, along with the gradually thickening red mist surrounding me. I knew the creature was probably less than a meter away from my body.

There was no time to count seconds now. Ahead, massive boulders blocked the path; I had nowhere left to run. In a desperate move, I plunged into the subterranean water beside me. As I entered, my shoulder slammed into a floating corpse. The impact nearly broke my bones, and I choked down several mouthfuls of the cold, foul water. I wondered why this corpse felt harder than stone.

Then, a chilling sensation shot through me, like an electric shock. Instantly, I was overwhelmed by immense dejection and terror, an inexplicable emotion surging through me. I suddenly realized I had a memory associated with this specific feeling—it wasn't the first time during the water crossing in the preceding cavern; it felt familiar, this repulsive sensation.

My heart reeled from the intense psychic impact, and my limbs grew numb. Still in the water, and before I could process what was happening, I was swept into the deep by countless “dead floats.” The dark, cold depths also emitted a pale, ghostly light. This time, I was terrifyingly close to the unclothed female corpses, almost face-to-face. I forced my eyes wide open, trying to discern anything about these bodies to find a way out, but the sight of thousands of female corpses blurred my vision.

The water surface was completely obscured by the multitude of female corpses. Swimming up to break through seemed nearly impossible. Even the best swimmers could survive underwater for maybe two minutes—unless a miracle occurred, drowning in the frigid depths was certain.

Everything happened too fast; I was entirely unprepared. I hadn't held my breath, and after being struck by that rock-hard female corpse, I swallowed foul water. As soon as I submerged, my chest tightened, and my lungs felt ready to burst. I couldn't hold my breath any longer when a hand suddenly grabbed me from behind.

I instantly recalled the past incident of the “water ghosts dragging feet” and thought one of the deep-water female corpses had come alive to seize me as a substitute, nearly making my hair stand on end. I felt the hand grip my shoulder and twist my body around. The person pulling me was Fatty, who had fallen in more than a minute before me. He too was trapped underwater, unable to escape. Relying on his good swimming and large lung capacity, he had held his breath for nearly a minute and a half and was now at his absolute limit, about to surface for air.

Fatty and I made eye contact underwater just as a tremor shook the water. The giant creature, hearing my splash, had plunged its head into the water in relentless pursuit. Its dive was immensely powerful, instantly scattering the floating corpses that had sealed the surface.

Fatty and I were desperate, with no way out. Seeing the creature’s head submerged, we immediately grabbed hold of its carapace. The giant monster sensed us at once and lifted its body from the bottom, shaking violently in an attempt to throw us off.

The moment my body broke the surface, the sinister, resentful aura vanished without a trace. I gasped deeply, taking several breaths of air. Using the momentum of the creature’s shaking, I jumped onto the rock at the water’s edge. Seeing Fatty still clinging tightly to the bronze-scaled dragon armor on its body, I felt a surge of relief and shouted to Shirley Yang, “What are you waiting for!”

As I shouted, Shirley Yang had already assembled several blocks of explosives and a fuse. She lit one and hurled it from her high vantage point toward the giant insect’s head, yelling for Fatty to get clear quickly. Seeing the explosive coming, Fatty didn’t dare hesitate. He located a relatively flat patch of ground and immediately rolled clear.

Where the insect’s head met its body, there were many large plates of dragon scale armor, along with fragments of the golden mask that had covered its head. Shirley Yang had calculated the timing precisely, aiming for the head for the initial blast, intending to follow up with a chain reaction of explosives.

However, the result was unexpected. The eyeless giant insect sensed a sudden parabolic airflow and intense thermal energy in the air above it. The creature was already hysterical; it didn't care what was coming, and it turned its head, right into the path of the explosive.

We heard a muffled thump in the air—the sound of the explosion was slight, like a balloon popping. Yellowish fluid, accompanied by large clouds of red mist and countless tiny pieces of flesh, scattered like a shower of rain across the cavern. The giant insect’s body shuddered a few times before crashing heavily onto the ground. The sound of its dragon-scaled demonic armor striking the stone made our eardrums ache.

Red mist continued to seep from its body in plumes, but the color was even fainter now, gradually dissipating into the air. Through the gaps in the dragon-scaled demonic armor, we could see that the insect shell beneath had turned black, completely unlike the fiery red it was when we first encountered it.

We estimated it must be thoroughly dead this time. We slowly gathered our scattered gear and cautiously approached, weapons raised. The insect’s head was nearly blasted into the shape of a trumpet flower, with pinkish flesh curling outward, still twitching faintly.

The saying goes that even a hundred-legged worm won't die easily, but even if it wasn't dead, it posed no further threat to us. The explosive blast had gravely wounded it, temporarily preventing it from generating the thick red mist. This mist, though not fatal, hardened its exterior and granted it tremendous strength. What the hell kind of monster was this?

Shirley Yang suggested, “Perhaps it’s an insect that has gone extinct, one that only existed in prehistoric times. It’s hard to say for certain yet; let’s take another look.”

We walked along the length of the giant insect’s body, trying to gauge its full size from head to tail. Just the bronze dragon-scale armor alone must have required an incredible amount of bronze—it was astounding. However, when we reached the end of the Gourd Cave wall, we discovered the giant insect had no tail, or perhaps its tail had become petrified, merging seamlessly with the red rock of the Gourd Cave. It was impossible to distinguish which part was the insect’s body and which was stone.

I asked Shirley Yang, “Have you ever seen this kind of insect?”

Shirley Yang shook her head. “No. But judging by the ancient forest fossils here, and the semi-transparent, layered red rock formations in this Gourd Cave, this should be a multi-celled benthic insect with a chitinous shell, dating back to the Triassic period.”