Xu An turned and left after speaking, while Hauler and the others remained rooted to the spot, not following.
Xu An thought to herself that this man, Lao Liu, was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface.
After walking a short distance, Xu An saw Qin Chuan and Zhou Zhe's backs ahead. Qin Chuan was holding the ancient-looking map from earlier, glancing at the surrounding terrain.
Xu An didn't flatter herself into thinking they had stopped to wait for her. As she got closer, she simply followed behind them in silence. It was Zhou Zhe who actively came to strike up a conversation.
"I've been meaning to ask, how did you end up with those people? Do they not know your identity?"
Xu An didn't answer, but instead asked, "If it were you, would you tell them your origin?"
"Of course not, I'm not stupid."
"Then do I look like a fool?"
"......" Zhou Zhe, feeling cornered, looked at Xu An with a wronged expression and wisely shut his mouth.
Qin Chuan glanced in Xu An's direction. After sizing her up from head to toe, he rummaged in his backpack and then handed Xu An a laser gun.
"This is a laser gun. It's used similarly to a handgun. We're going to the burrow of the Sand Lurkers, so take this for self-defense."
"Sand Lurkers? Are those the same kind of monsters that attacked us outside just now?" Xu An didn't refuse and directly reached out to take the laser gun. Although she had an identical one in her spatial storage, energy cores were so expensive, so saving one was always a good idea.
"Those were just juveniles, not fully developed. Fully formed Sand Lurkers are much harder to deal with."
Qin Chuan seemed afraid Xu An would become complacent thinking they were only facing "minions" in the tunnel outside, so he offered a warning.
"So what exactly are Sand Lurkers?"
Xu An didn't get a reply from Qin Chuan. Or rather, Qin Chuan had no intention of replying. He set down the backpack he was carrying, took out a palm-sized, opaque, sealed box, and then peeled off the seal.
Immediately, he took out a bloody… heart.
Seeing the scene before her, Xu An couldn't help but gasp, "What is this?"
Qin Chuan's movements didn't stop. "Don't be scared, it's a pig's heart. Do I seem that depraved in your eyes?"
Despite Qin Chuan's teasing, Xu An couldn't muster a smile. It wasn't her fault she'd assumed the worst. The moment that heart was revealed,
she distinctly smelled the unique metallic tang of human blood. How could it be pig's blood and have absolutely no animalistic smell? She looked at the heart, still covered in blood, and remained silent for a long time.
Before Xu An could speak, Qin Chuan walked down a dark tunnel and began pouring the fresh blood from the box along the base of the wall, as if laying a "lure," deliberately attracting something.
"This blood… it's not pig's blood, is it?" After a long hesitation, Xu An finally asked.
"You could smell it?"
"It's really human blood?" Xu An's voice suddenly rose an octave.
"Those monsters have a keen sense of smell. They like to eat human hearts, so I asked the hospital for some blood bags and soaked the pig's heart in them, hoping it would pass for the real thing."
Zhou Zhe, standing behind them, was completely stunned. Their captain was actually explaining things to someone?
Normally, if he didn't understand something and asked another question, he would be met with Qin Chuan's "ridicule" and a glare.
Zhou Zhe's gaze towards Xu An became strangely different.
As they spoke, they reached the end of the tunnel. In the center of a spacious stone cave, a roaring bonfire burned, surrounded by a circle of scalding lava that flowed in all directions through the cracks in the ground.
Xu An felt as if she were being roasted over a fire. In a moment of distraction,
suddenly, a sharp, piercing howl rang out. She felt something charging towards them. Before Xu An could react,
something whizzed past her ear. She looked up and saw Qin Chuan aiming his gun at her.
But Qin Chuan's gaze was not on her, but behind her.
Xu An knew the monster had appeared.
They had walked all this way, and not a single one of them had noticed this monster, nor did they know when it had started targeting them.
A terrifying pressure enveloped her from behind, causing Xu An's hair to stand on end and a cold sweat to break out on her back.
Her back was to the monster. Since she couldn't see it, she could only judge her situation by Qin Chuan's expression. However, precisely because she couldn't see, the fear of the unknown made Xu An tremble even more.
The next second, Xu An felt a coolness on her head, as if some liquid had dripped onto her scalp. She ignored the feeling of disgust and, at the critical moment, managed to read Qin Chuan's lips.
"Run!"
Just as the monster swiped its hand towards Xu An, she rolled on the ground, evading its attack. The next moment, Qin Chuan and Zhou Zhe unleashed a barrage of gunfire.
The sounds of intermittent gunshots echoed throughout the stone cave. Xu An also took the opportunity to hide behind a boulder about half her height, using it as cover to fire at the monster.
At this point, Xu An finally got a clear look at the monster. Its appearance was similar to those juvenile Sand Lurkers, but its body was incredibly massive. Most importantly, unlike the juveniles that needed to move on all fours, this Sand Lurker could walk upright.
It could also dodge, lifting stones from the ground to block their attacks.
Furthermore, despite the immense power of the laser guns, they only caused superficial burns on the monster's body.
What Xu An found most exasperating was that the monster actively attacked, picking up loose stones from the ground and throwing them in her direction, and it only attacked her.
Xu An constantly blocked with her long saber, also feeling frustrated, wondering what on earth on her person was attracting this monster?
Was her flesh particularly tasty?
While dodging the thrown stones, she occasionally found opportunities to shoot at the monster and yelled at Qin Chuan:
"This monster's hide is too thick, it can't be penetrated. It also has defensive and offensive awareness. Do you have any other solutions?"
His purpose for coming here was related to this monster, so he definitely knew more than she did.
Qin Chuan didn't reply. Instead, he took out the pig's heart from earlier, held it in his hand, pursed his lips, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Provide me with covering fire!"
As if smelling the scent of blood, the monster's attention shifted from Xu An to Qin Chuan. Upon seeing the bloody heart in Qin Chuan's hand, it reached out with its claws to strike at Qin Chuan's head.
Xu An seized the opportunity, firing continuously at the monster's arm. The monster's furious roar could be heard, and it was about to charge at Xu An again.
Qin Chuan took advantage of the moment, shoving something mixed with the pig's heart into the monster's mouth.
Without giving the monster time to react, Qin Chuan shouted, "Get down!"
And pressed the ignition button.
"Bang—"