"Turn off the flashlight," Xiao Feng said in a low voice.

After about three minutes, they could confirm that there were indeed footsteps ahead, accompanied by heavy breathing.

In the pitch-black and quiet environment, it was particularly clear.

Scientific experiments have shown that when some senses are blocked, the unblocked ones become more acute than usual.

Just like now, having lost the light source, their hearing was greatly enhanced.

"Shuffle... Shuffle..."

The footsteps got closer and closer, sounding just a few dozen meters away, and each step seemed to drag, as if the person was shuffling their feet along the ground.

"Turn on the lights!" Xiao Feng said.

Everyone turned on their flashlights in unison, casting beams of light forward.

About thirty meters ahead, a man leaning against the wall came into view.

The man seemed surprised by the sudden onslaught of light beams, screamed in shock, and fell to the ground, instinctively raising his hand to shield himself from the blinding light.

"Are you... the second batch of treasure hunters?"

Once his vision adjusted, the man asked nervously yet excitedly.

Xiao Feng signaled everyone to turn off their flashlights and walked forward alone, saying, "Do you know Darcy?"

"I know him, I know him. He came in with us," the man nodded repeatedly, like a pecking chicken.

Xiao Feng sized him up, finding his appearance not much better than Darcy's—dirty, ragged clothes and hair like a bird's nest, resembling a homeless person.

"What's your situation?" Xiao Feng continued to ask.

The man clearly took Xiao Feng for one of his own, his expression excited as he said, "We can't go any further. There's a monster, too terrifying, really too terrifying!"

The young girl and the others behind Xiao Feng exchanged glances.

Earlier, Darcy mentioned a beast ahead, and this guy also said there was a monster. Although the terms were different, it was probably the same thing.

"Are you the only one alive?" Xiao Feng asked with suspicion.

He found it odd, remembering that Darcy had said everyone else except him was dead.

Of course, Darcy also mentioned later that he didn't see his teammates die with his own eyes but inferred it from the screams indicating they were attacked.

Thinking that way, it made sense if there were one or two survivors.

"I... I'm not sure if anyone else is alive," the man took a deep breath and replied, "But you mentioned Darcy earlier, and I haven't seen him in the group or on the way back."

Xiao Feng nodded, "I saw him."

"What?"

The man was very surprised.

But after the surprise, as if realizing something, he stepped back two paces and shrunk, "I didn't... didn't run away on purpose, but the monster was too powerful, we had no chance to fight back.

Our leader Charles, he had a submachine gun, fired two full magazines, but only lightly injured the monster, making it more frenzied."

Xiao Feng smiled, "Don't be nervous, I'm not with you. From what you're saying, you were just the first batch of treasure hunters to come in. When will the second batch arrive?"

"You're not the second batch..." The man took quite a while to react and replied, "Only the leader knows the exact time; I guess it should be in these two or three days."

"Based on what?"

"When more than half of our food and water was consumed, the leader told us not to worry, that there would be more supplies coming in, and before the monster's attack, we only had two days' worth of food left.

So, if there's a second batch coming down with supplies, it should be around these days."

This reason was plausible, but Xiao Feng found it a bit strange.

The man, though panting and in a sorry state, wasn't in a dire condition like Darcy who was desperately craving food and water.

"Do you have food on you?" Xiao Feng asked while examining the man.

The man froze, this seemed like an intent to rob him?

But looking at Xiao Feng's build, then at the people behind him in matching jackets, he nodded sensibly: "I have a little left, saving it to barely hold on till the entrance."

Xiao Feng chuckled, "I'm not planning to rob you, just letting you know, the way back is gone."

"Gone?" The man became tense immediately, pondering the meaning behind Xiao Feng's words.

Little did he know, Xiao Feng meant it literally. The road was simply gone, nothing more.

After a while, the man cautiously asked, "Darcy, he..."

Xiao Feng promptly gave an answer, "I threw him under the bridge. He brought it upon himself, trying to rob us of our supplies. He's probably just a skeleton by now."

The man's throat involuntarily swallowed, struggling to maintain calm, "I still have some food on me. We're all from Huaxia, can we go our separate ways?"

"No!" Xiao Feng flatly refused.

At this point, Lin Zhiyan came over and said, "I forgot to tell you, the plank bridge broke, several dozen snakes have climbed up. If you really want to leave, we won't stop you."

The man's face instantly turned pale; with that said, would he dare to go back?

"What do you mean?" The man looked at Xiao Feng.

He was a clever man; otherwise, he wouldn't have escaped here.

And because he was clever enough, he roughly guessed Xiao Feng and the others' intentions.

Sure enough, Xiao Feng spoke, "We need a guide. You've traversed this path, surely you know where to go and where not to go.

As a reward, we'll provide you with food, and when we reach the monster's location, if you still want to return, we'll also provide you with enough supplies to get to the entrance."

The man chuckled bitterly, "If you put it that way, I have no other choice, but we need to agree that when we approach the monster, I should go back."

"Deal!" Xiao Feng agreed cheerfully.

The group continued onward under the man's lead.

During the conversations, Xiao Feng learned that the man's name was Hu Zhenqing. In the group with Darcy and others, he was at the bottom level, primarily responsible for carrying supplies and being used as cannon fodder.

And the monster, according to Hu Zhenqing, was an enormous spider over a meter tall and nearly three meters long, with a body like armor, impervious to submachine gun bullets.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Feng and the others felt it was surreal.

This wasn't Resident Evil; even with mutation or evolution, it shouldn't be so formidable as to not fear bullets, right?

But seeing Hu Zhenqing's tone and demeanor, he didn't seem to be lying. While skeptical, they felt a slight solemnity settling among them.

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