Xu An was startled by the violent explosion, ducking and covering her head. After the shockwave passed, she opened her eyes to find something splattered on her face. As she reached out to touch it, she realized it was the monster's碎肉.
Disgusted, she quickly flicked her hand away.
She had thought the monster was surely dead, but opening her eyes, Xu An was dumbfounded.
The scene before them rendered everyone's minds blank. The monster had clearly swallowed the pig's heart. Its intestines had exploded, yet it still stood perfectly upright.
Its grayish-blue pupils stared directly at Qin Chuan, who had fallen to the ground.
It seemed to be mocking them...
Without time to think, Xu An opened fire while shouting, "Do we have any more bombs? Keep bombing!"
Qin Chuan shook his head, "No more..."
The small laser cannon Qin Chuan had used was a single-use item. Its advantages were its compact size and concentrated firepower with a small blast radius, but its drawbacks were obvious: it was scrap metal after use and very expensive.
Even for Qin Chuan, he only had this one.
He had deliberately lured the monster with the pig's heart because the doctor's资料 indicated the monster's weakness was in its abdomen. If its intestines were ruptured, the monster would lose its mobility. Qin Chuan needed something from the monster's brain, so he couldn't use large-scale destructive weapons.
He hadn't expected that even after being blown up like this, the monster was still alive.
One second... two seconds...
Xu An watched Qin Chuan slump in front of the monster, completely still. Even without bombs, they should hurry and get out of the monster's attack range! Was he paralyzed with fear?!
"Run! What are you standing there for!"
Qin Chuan heard Xu An's frantic calls and gave a bitter smile. He wanted to run too. Just now, to ensure the monster swallowed the heart, he had deliberately lingered for a few seconds.
But it was those few seconds that gave the monster time to attack. Qin Chuan's leg bone was crushed by the monster, and he could barely crawl now.
Qin Chuan looked directly into the monster's eyes. There was no trace of fear in his expression; he accepted his fate calmly. The moment he put on his military uniform, he knew that one day he would die.
Everyone dies eventually, it's no big deal.
Only then did Xu An clearly see that Qin Chuan's lower leg bone was deformed, twisted into a strange angle.
Assessing the current situation, Xu An realized Qin Chuan was severely injured and immobile. She considered the possibility of rescuing him.
"Zhou Zhe, I'll distract the monster. You go rescue Qin Chuan, he's injured!"
"Captain!"
"Captain, are you alright, Captain!" Hearing this, Zhou Zhe shot up and continued attacking the monster.
"Don't worry about me! You all retreat!" Qin Chuan's voice was weak, but his demeanor remained as authoritative as ever.
As soon as she spoke, even Xu An was startled. She wondered if she had gone crazy. When had she become so self-sacrificing?
Watching Zhou Zhe charge towards Qin Chuan, there was no room for regret unless she was willing to let both Qin Chuan and Zhou Zhe die at the monster's hands.
If the two of them really died, she probably wouldn't fare much better. She took a deep breath and drew her long saber.
She cut her palm, and the monster, attracted by the scent of blood, lunged towards Xu An. She shouted to Zhou Zhe, "Now!"
The next moment, the monster pounced. She blocked its descending claws with her saber. The immense weight pressed down on her shoulder, and the back of the saber dug painfully into her collarbone...
She saw Zhou Zhe dragging Qin Chuan behind cover and shouting, "Help!"
Although Qin Chuan's legs were still inconvenient, he could still shoot. Without hesitation, he joined Zhou Zhe in firing at the monster.
Xu An seized the opportunity to dodge and retreat behind cover. The three of them continued to suppress the monster with their firepower.
"What do we do next?"
With no more bombs and the monster unkillable, Xu An was filled with regret. Why hadn't she followed Haowu Le and the others out? Why had her curiosity led her to follow Qin Chuan in?
But before Xu An could vent her frustration, the monster let out a long roar. Xu An felt the stone cave they were in begin to shake violently, and even the usually calm lava began to bubble and churn.
Then, countless young Shifting Sand Monsters swarmed in from all directions. Xu An knew something was wrong. Just as she was about to shoot, she realized these young ones had no intention of attacking them. Instead, they leaped into the scalding lava one after another.
Amidst cries of agony, the young Shifting Sand Monsters' bodies melted in the lava, and a white mist, as if alive, slowly converged in the air, forming a cloud. As more and more young monsters were melted, the cloud grew larger, gradually spreading towards Xu An and the others.
Xu An watched the monster's self-destructive behavior with confusion. Just as she was about to ask Qin Chuan what was going on, Qin Chuan's stern shout echoed in her ears: "Run!"
Her body reacted faster than her brain. As soon as Qin Chuan's voice fell, Xu An bolted towards the exit like an arrow from a bow. Zhou Zhe, carrying Qin Chuan on his back, also fled outside with him.
"I've seen this in the资料. When an adult monster senses danger, it summons its young to collectively sacrifice themselves. Their bodies, melted by the lava, turn into toxic mist. Once the mist spreads, everyone will die!"
Qin Chuan explained to Xu An and Zhou Zhe as they fled. Xu An was even more speechless upon hearing this.
"It's trying to take us all down with it."
Perhaps due to his injury, Qin Chuan, slumped on Zhou Zhe's back, had begun to cough faintly.
Xu An and Zhou Zhe exchanged a glance, quickening their pace.
Strangely, the monster did not pursue them.
Not long after, Xu An realized why the monster hadn't pursued them. A circle of young Shifting Sand Monsters had surrounded them outside, staring at them menacingly.
Just as Xu An thought she would meet her end today, a hoarse shout suddenly came from ahead.
"Xu An... Xu An... are you there, Xu An..."
Xu An's face lit up. It was Haowu Le! She immediately responded, "I'm here! Haowu Le, I'm here!"
Haowu Le, alone, holding a torch he had found somewhere, ran towards Xu An's direction.
The surrounding young monsters intended to attack Haowu Le, but they hesitated when they saw the torch in his hand.
"Here, hold this. These monsters are afraid of fire!"
Xu An took the torch and suddenly remembered that during the monsters' sacrifice, they had lost their lives almost as soon as they touched the lava.
Haowu Le also saw Qin Chuan at this moment, "What happened to him?"
Xu An didn't have time to explain. She grabbed him and charged forward with Zhou Zhe, "No time to explain. There's another big one behind us, hurry up and run. The poison gas will spread soon."
Holding the torches, they found that no more monsters attacked them along the way.
She didn't ask Haowu Le why he was there. All that could wait until they were alive and out.
But heaven always seemed to enjoy toying with humans. Just as Xu An was about to see the light of the exit, heaven suddenly played a cruel joke on her.