Bob, who was getting up for a night call, startled the gatekeepers.
Clad in a tank top, Bob rubbed his sleep-heavy eyes, looked around, then, holding a flashlight in one hand and a small shovel in the other, the shovel covered with a roll of toilet paper, he tiptoed towards the perimeter of the camp.
Perhaps still half-asleep, Bob did not notice the ransacked bags around him.
Finding a secluded spot, Bob set down his things, clipped the flashlight to his neck, and began to loosen his belt for relief.
However, he failed to notice that as he was relieving himself, the flashlight beam shone directly onto the stone lamp above, from which several small, green-glowing insects flew out.
Just as Bob unbuckled his belt, a small flying insect flew in front of him. Without a second thought, Bob swatted at it. The more he swatted, the more the insects appeared instead of decreasing. Annoyed, Bob grabbed his shovel and smashed a small insect crawling on a rock.
The next moment.
Whoosh!
The small insect was dead, but the toilet paper attached to the shovel instantly ignited, startling Bob.
The sudden fire jolted Bob awake. He then saw that some of the flying insects had landed on the tents, which immediately caught fire.
By now, Bob realized the severity of the situation.
He turned to see dense swarms of insects pouring out of the stone lamp. Terrified, Bob scrambled back to the camp, shouting as he ran.
"Fire! Fire!"
"Oh, I'm going to kill that bastard."
Harri, awakened by the commotion, stormed out of his tent, ready to unleash a torrent of curses, but the sight before him rendered him speechless.
The campsite was now an inferno, and everyone was scrambling to fight the blaze.
"We need more water."
"It's too late."
Seeing the situation, Savage made a swift decision, shouting for the convoy and people to quickly take shelter in the caves.
"But the stone bridge's load capacity hasn't been..."
"No time, everyone, move! Move! Move!"
Faced with the raging fire, the others dared not delay, hurrying across the stone bridge towards the caves on the opposite side.
"Burning insects? Interesting."
While the flames posed no threat to Bai Qi, they were fatal to others. In the current situation, Bai Qi couldn't use his true form to extinguish the fire. He could only use his telekinesis to envelop the entire stone lamp, preventing the insects from flying out and escalating the fire.
Even so, a large number of insects were still swarming wildly, continuously harassing the convoy.
Several trucks had already overturned and even exploded under the onslaught of the insects.
One truck, in particular, was loaded with gasoline. Its explosion, combined with the leaking fuel, created a chain reaction. The shockwave from the explosion had a significant impact on the entire cave, causing several large rocks to fall and crush the stone bridge.
Finally, unable to bear the weight, the stone bridge fractured and tilted downwards. Coupled with the continuous rockfall, the convoy slid down the slope.
"Alright, who's still alive? State your name."
Having learned from the previous incident, Savage struck a match he carried.
Its faint glow was dazzling in the darkness.
"Those fireflies bit my backside, someone needs to suck out the venom. Don't all rush at once."
Hearing this, it was clear that it had to be Gaton, the lecher. But if he still had the energy to joke, he was likely fine.
In the darkness, Savage fumbled around and found an intact truck. After some manipulation, the right headlight of the truck flickered on, providing a sliver of light in the darkness.
"Alright, Dilly, tell me about the damage."
"The situation isn't as bad as we thought."
Dilly, shining a flashlight, inspected the vehicles and said, "Trucks two, seven, and nine are total losses, but the pangolin looks like it can still move."
The pangolin Dilly referred to was a massive drilling vehicle. Having been at the front of the convoy during the panic, it had retreated when the stone bridge collapsed. The rest of the convoy, following behind, had also fallen into this predicament.
However, due to its heavy armor, it had sustained the least damage.
Gradually, the initial panic subsided, and people began to regain their composure.
"Pumice and volcanic ash," Gaton observed, lying on the ground. "We're at the bottom of a dormant volcano."
Savage pushed aside the obstructing Gaton and drew a signal flare from his waist, firing it upwards.
The red light stretched upwards.
Winnick said, "Perhaps we can leave from above."
But as soon as he spoke, the flare struck the rock face and hit the ceiling.
"Well, perhaps not."
"Based on my assessment, the lava at the volcano's edge has hardened, and all exits are blocked."
Broldo, rubbing his head in realization, said, "Rewind, you said we're inside a volcano, so could it erupt at any moment?"
"No, no, no," Gaton explained. "It would only erupt if subjected to an extremely massive force." Sudan Novel Network
As soon as he finished speaking, all eyes turned towards one point: Winnick.
The usually upright Winnick was repairing a damaged bomb. Seeing everyone's gaze fixed on him, he felt somewhat uneasy.
"Perhaps I should wait before fixing this."
Harri looked up and said, "If we can blow the top off this thing, we might have a chance to get out. Boss, what do you think?"
"Boss?"
Harri looked around but couldn't find Bai Qi. He immediately rushed to Savage's side and said, "Mr. Mittelte, Old... Zhao, Mr. Zhao, he's... he's gone."
"Okay, I know."
Savage nodded.
Seeing his leader's calm demeanor, Harri realized that his boss was a true demon, and a small explosion would be a trivial matter.
Savage knew of Bai Qi's strength. His absence likely meant he had gone somewhere. Conversely, it was Bob's disappearance that worried Savage greatly.
Unlike Bai Qi, Bob was an utterly ordinary person, with no strength to even kill a chicken. Moreover, he was the only one who could use the disc. If anything happened to him, they would be in a very difficult position.
Meanwhile, Bob lay slumped against a rock. The shockwave from the recent explosion had thrown him from the truck. During the fall, he had dazed his way to this spot.
As Bob drifted in and out of consciousness, he vaguely felt someone touching his glasses. When he opened his eyes, he saw, through a haze, several terrifying, white-haired gorillas holding long spears standing before him. Bob recoiled in fear.