As they passed through the passage and were about to reach the exit, the entire stone cave let out a tremendous tremor.
Xu An instinctively turned back and saw a scene that made her scalp tingle. A giant boulder was hurtling towards the back of her head. Before she could react, her body was thrown aside by a massive impact.
Only then did she narrowly dodge the attack of the giant boulder. Xu An didn't even have time to see what had thrown the stone.
Ha Wule's cry of pain reached her ears, mixed with the shrieks of the pursuing sand-burrowing monsters, causing Xu An to freeze on the spot.
She turned her head, trying to discern the situation. Ha Wule had fallen to the ground, his leg crushed. The giant boulder was still pressing down on his calf. Due to the immense force, his entire lower leg bone was bent, and blood was gushing out. In the middle of his calf, Xu An could even see Ha Wule's stark white bone.
Clearly, Ha Wule's injuries were more severe than Qin Chuan's!
Zhou Zhe, standing beside them, wore a look of astonishment. They had been focused on running forward, and none of them had noticed the boulder falling from behind, let alone warned Xu An to dodge.
"Are you alright?" Ha Wule's face was contorted in pain as he gasped for breath. He looked back, as if lamenting, "They've caught up."
As the shrieks grew closer, they vaguely saw the adult form of the creature in the passage again, but its movements were much slower than before.
It seemed the bomb had some effect on the monster, just not a fatal one.
Behind it, countless young forms followed closely, squatting low with their mouths agape, revealing their fangs. Their gaze on the group was as if they were looking at their lunch.
Xu An couldn't speak, her throat felt as if something was blocking it. She looked at Ha Wule, mechanically shaking her head, indicating she was unharmed.
The entire passage fell into a deathly silence.
Zhou Zhe was the first to break it, "Where are your companions? Comrade, find a way to call them for help, let's get out of here together..."
Ha Wule, enduring the pain, forced a smile that was uglier than a grimace. "They've left. I chose to stay behind..." He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood his meaning.
Xu An put away her long knife, walked to Ha Wule's side without a word, and crouched down, saying to him, "I'll carry you out!"
Ha Wule smiled and pushed Xu An's shoulder. "How can a woman like you carry me?"
"Get on! I can carry you!" Xu An had a strange stubbornness.
She didn't know Ha Wule's reasons for turning back, but he had saved her life, that was true.
Seeing Xu An's insistence, Ha Wule dropped his playful demeanor. "Xu An, my leg is pinned by the boulder. I can't move."
"Zhou Zhe! You..."
After repeated failed attempts, Xu An frantically kicked at the giant boulder with her foot.
Only now did she realize how insignificant humans were in the eyes of these monsters.
Perhaps with a casual toss of a boulder, they could end a person's life.
"Why? Why did you come back?"
"Why did you save us? Don't you know everything!"
"You are the abandoned ones, and we are the despicable ones enjoying the resources of survival..."
"You should hate us! Like Ana, resent me! Wish I would die!"
"Why did you come back! Why did you save me!"
"Are you an idiot! Why go to such lengths!"
"..."
Xu An seemed to have finally lost control, shouting at Ha Wule, as if venting her dissatisfaction, and also questioning him.
Facing Xu An's tearful outburst, Ha Wule mustered his last remaining strength. "Xu An, I don't hate you," he then turned to Qin Chuan and the others, "I don't hate you either."
"I believe that if the country made this choice, there must be a reason. Xu An, I am a soldier, and I should stand by your side in times of danger. I don't regret saving you."
Xu An thought to herself, only a fool like you would think that!
Humans could covet, distrust, and scheme against each other.
How could anyone remain so steadfastly loyal to their country?
For the sake of his beliefs, even with the bloody truth laid bare before him, how could Ha Wule still speak of believing in the country?
The country he believed in had betrayed him first!
As the monsters relentlessly advanced, Ha Wule's gaze towards the passage ahead revealed a look of resignation to death.
"I don't know what you are here for, but I hope whatever you do is for the future survival of humanity."
Qin Chuan understood that Ha Wule was speaking to him.
Xu An had calmed down by now, and everyone present maintained a silence, listening to Ha Wule speak in the darkness.
This might have been the first time in Ha Wule's life that someone had listened to him so intently.
Xu An felt that time was stretching out, but in reality, it all happened in the blink of an eye.
Ha Wule seemed to gather all his courage and finally made a resolute decision: "Report, Officer! This is Ha Wule, Deputy Captain of the Border Defense Forces, Fifth Squad. I volunteer to stay behind and form a suicide squad to perish with these monsters."
"Finally! May Heaven bless our Hua Xia and grant it prosperity!"
After uttering these words, Ha Wule handed his soldier's ID, which he had cherished for a long time, to Qin Chuan. Illuminated by the firelight, he knelt on the ground and gave Qin Chuan his final military salute.
The next second, he grabbed a burning torch and set himself ablaze.
Xu An couldn't even stop him. She could only watch helplessly as Ha Wule's face, illuminated by the flames, burned in the roaring fire.
"Ha Wule, no!"