“Hold the line,” Shang Qi said, leaving those final words behind before jumping out the rear window.
Jiang Hao moved the torch farther away. Seizing the opportunity, the thin parasitic worms instantly surged through the gap beneath the door.
Meanwhile, Shang Qi circled around to the front entrance. He slipped the key into the lock, then flashed his flashlight toward the sky as a signal.
Seeing it, Jiang Hao shoved the burning torch forward, pulled open the glass door, and sprinted toward the back window. Fortunately, the monsters weren’t interested in him. He vaulted out just as the creatures hesitated.
Xiao Hui immediately spat a stream of fire at them.
Enraged, the monsters twisted their limbs grotesquely and charged straight toward the little wolf.
As Xiao Hui dodged their attacks, he never took his eyes off Shang Qi.
Working quickly, Shang Qi slammed the front door shut, positioned the explosives, and shouted inside,
“Light it up!”
Xiao Hui unleashed his strongest burst of flames.
The diesel covering the floor ignited instantly, roaring into a sea of fire. The monsters shrieked and stumbled backward. By the time they tried to retreat, the glass door had already been sealed shut.
The wriggling worms continued pouring across the floor, but Xiao Hui darted through a narrow opening, phased through one wall into another room, then slipped out through the opposite wall.
The explosion came almost immediately.
The blast wave knocked Shang Qi off his feet as he reached the entrance. He quickly scrambled back up and met up with Jiang Hao. Xiao Hui, being the fastest, was already waiting ahead of them.
The little wolf looked unusually excited, glancing back at Shang Qi every few steps.
“Woof!”
Instinctively, Shang Qi looked back.
The house collapsed behind them.
Despite the torrential rain, flames from the explosion continued to rage through the ruins.
Then he saw them.
Two scorched hands pushed aside the rubble.
A monster slowly crawled out.
Its body had been burned black, yet it was still alive.
“Go!” Shang Qi barked.
Jiang Hao had just started to turn around when Shang Qi warned him,
“Some of them survived the blast.”
Jiang Hao didn’t hesitate another second and ran for his life.
After several strides, he realized neither Shang Qi nor Xiao Hui had followed.
Looking back, he saw Shang Qi raising his pistol.
Standing alone in the pouring rain, illuminated by the firelight, he took aim at the creature that had just crawled out.
Bang!
The bullet blew its head apart.
A second monster climbed out.
Bang!
Then a third.
A fourth.
A fifth…
Only after no more monsters emerged—and after the flames had finally died out—did Shang Qi lower his gun.
His voice was cold and heavy.
“Move. Now.”
From that tone alone, Jiang Hao knew he’d made a mistake.
He should never have stopped.
The mountain trail was treacherous under the relentless rain.
Mudslides covered every step.
Shen Muyan walked third in line, gripping the handrail one section at a time. She moved cautiously, and Zhou Mo, walking directly behind her, deliberately matched her pace. The distance between them was close enough that he could grab her the instant she slipped.
Boom!
Thunder exploded overhead.
Zhou Mo frowned at the dark trail ahead.
An inexplicable sense of dread settled over him.
Suddenly, Xie Rao lost his footing and fell onto the stone steps.
Fortunately, Du Ming caught him before the rushing water could sweep him away.
When Xie Rao looked back, his headlamp illuminated a terrifying sight.
A torrent of floodwater mixed with massive boulders was racing toward them.
“Brother Mo! Look out!”
Shang Qi’s journey was no easier.
Monsters lurked among the trees, forcing him to stay alert while struggling against the mudslides beneath his feet.
At one point, Xiao Hui was nearly swept away by the rushing water. Shang Qi barely managed to grab one of his hind legs before stuffing him into his backpack and carrying him the rest of the way.
Lightning flashed endlessly overhead.
Rainwater covered his protective goggles, reducing his vision to almost nothing.
The slower he moved, the more anxious he became.
More than once, he wanted to throw caution aside and sprint down the mountain.
After half an hour, they still hadn’t reached the mountainside.
There wasn’t a single light in sight.
The knot between Shang Qi’s brows tightened as his fear grew heavier with every passing minute.
Noticing his distraction, Xiao Hui suddenly spat flames into the surrounding forest.
The brief burst of firelight revealed three eyeless faces.
Shang Qi reacted instantly.
He killed two of them.
Jiang Hao took care of the third.
When they finally reached the mountainside, the monsters had disappeared.
But there were still no lights.
The color drained from Shang Qi’s face.
Jiang Hao could see the panic he was desperately trying to suppress.
“Brother Qi, let’s split up and search. We’ll meet back here in thirty minutes.”
Just as Shang Qi nodded, Xiao Hui suddenly erupted into frantic barking behind him.
Jiang Hao turned around.
A fresh wave of floodwater, carrying countless boulders, came crashing down the mountainside.
In an instant, everything was swallowed.
When Shang Qi regained consciousness, he found himself lying in the corner of a small house.
Beside him, soaked to the bone, Xiao Hui was curled into a miserable little ball.
The room was packed with exhausted survivors.
They were gaunt, hollow-eyed, and every one of them stared fixedly at the little wolf—as if simply looking at him could satisfy their hunger for meat.
Shang Qi tried to move.
Pain shot through his body, making him gasp.
Every bone felt as though it had been crushed.
As he braced himself against the wall and struggled to stand, a young woman hurried over.
“Hey! Don’t move around!”
Shang Qi avoided her outstretched hand.
He tucked Xiao Hui back into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
“Thanks. Once I find my people, I’ll come back and repay you.”
“Wait… there are only these two shelters here. If your friends came down from the mountain, they’d definitely pass this place. If they never arrived… then I’m afraid…”
She fell silent the instant she met Shang Qi’s ice-cold eyes.
An older man with a kind face walked over from the other side.
“Young man, we’re not trying to discourage you. The mudslides up there are terrible. Going back now is suicide. If your friends are alive, they’re probably taking shelter somewhere. If they’ve already… then going up won’t change anything.”
“They’ll be fine.”
Shang Qi zipped up his protective suit, his voice carrying an almost obsessive certainty.
“Nothing will happen to them.”
Without another word, he stepped back into the torrential rain.
He covered his backpack with a raincoat and began climbing the mountain again.
Fighting against the mudslides, he advanced slowly, searching every corner.
The only blessing was that their protective suits were bright gold, making them stand out vividly against the dark green forest.
Twenty minutes later, he finally spotted one.
A golden protective suit had been tied around a tree, with one sleeve deliberately pointing deeper into the woods.
Without hesitation, Shang Qi climbed over the stone railing.
There was no stable footing.
He slipped and fell, then pulled himself back up using the tree for support.
Behind him, Xiao Hui woke up and let out two weak little whimpers.
Shang Qi patted the backpack.
“Time to work.”
Xiao Hui struggled out, jumped to the ground, shook the rainwater from his silver fur, lowered his nose, and began tracking their scent.
The forest showed no obvious trail.
Thick weeds covered the ground, making the woods dark and eerie.
Wind and rain howled relentlessly.
Shang Qi had to grip tree trunks just to keep his footing.
Walking ahead, Xiao Hui sniffed for a long time before barely managing to pick a direction.
Suddenly, he looked back.
“Woof!”
Shang Qi instinctively turned around.
A snake was hanging from the tree branch directly above him, its tongue flicking in the air.
Its thick gray body was nearly as wide as his forearm, perfectly camouflaged against the tree bark.
Shang Qi stepped back and drew his knife.
The instant the snake struck, he grabbed it behind the head with his left hand and drove the blade through its body, pinning it to the trunk.
He didn’t let go.
The snake wrapped itself tighter and tighter around his arm.
Twisting the knife, he ripped the blade downward.
Blood streamed down the tree trunk onto the grass below.
After struggling for a few seconds, the snake finally went limp.
Shang Qi pulled out the knife and wiped the blood off with nearby leaves.
Xiao Hui spat out a small flame, briefly heating the blade clean.
Only then did the man and his wolf continue onward.
Perhaps because they had already endured so many dangers, the rest of the journey was surprisingly uneventful, aside from the relentless storm and knee-deep mud.
Finally, Shang Qi spotted a flash of golden yellow ahead.
His tense heart eased for the first time.
He hurried over.
Jiang Hao saw him as well and immediately shouted,
“Brother Qi! Hurry! Go check on Sister-in-law!”
Shang Qi’s heart sank.