Chapter 68: A Sudden Calamity

Witnessing death once again, Li Tianque still felt his heart pounding wildly with fear.

Wu Liangjin had died a miserable death at the foot of the broken cliff. His arms were still twitching, his long tongue swaying up and down, and his mouth was frothing with dense, bloody foam.

It seemed that just before his death, he had wanted to say something, perhaps even to continue his arrogant, deranged laughter.

But death had come too suddenly; everything froze in that moment.

As the shadow of death had foretold, Wu Liangjin met his end.

Yet, though Wu Liangjin was dead, Li Tianque’s peril was far from over.

The corpse powder on Li Tianque’s face seemed to possess a powerful corrosive effect. It could split into finer particles, seeping slowly into the pores of his skin, burrowing deeper and deeper until it all entered his body.

As this process continued, the indescribable pain and itching grew ever more intense. Enduring this torment, Li Tianque dared not stop moving.

Behind him, the monstrous figure had already pried open the crack in the rock wall and was struggling to free itself, stone fragments cascading to the ground as the giant creature forced its way into the open.

Li Tianque felt he was on the verge of madness. The agony on his face kept him from thinking clearly.

Worse still, with Wu Liangjin’s death, there was now no one left who knew how to escape from this place.

The way he had come was already blocked behind him; even if he managed to climb back to where he had been, there was no way out.

And even if he could return, the stone horseshoe crabs infesting the cave would tear him apart.

This time, he truly feared it was the end.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, his death’s shadow appeared before him—the face flushed bright red, covered with large, honeycomb-like holes, resembling a lotus seedpod, enough to trigger a primal fear in anyone.

This was clearly the result of the corpse powder on his face spreading further.

Not seeing his own face had been a small mercy, but now, seeing his own death shadow, Li Tianque’s spirit nearly collapsed.

Even more terrifying, his death shadow’s body was twisted like a rope, bones and viscera ruptured and exposed, blood pouring out, jagged bones protruding everywhere—a sign that massive force had broken his body apart.

From the twisted legs and bruised head, it was clear—his legs and head had been pinned in place, his body then wrenched and broken.

From this, Li Tianque could guess his fate: he would be caught by the monstrous creature behind him and brutally torn apart.

In agony, Li Tianque ran for his life, following the path Wu Liangjin had taken; the death shadow was about fifty meters behind.

Li Tianque believed he still had a little time—perhaps, just maybe, he could escape.

As he ran, suddenly a roar erupted behind him, sounding half-human, half like something from a waterlogged speaker—strange and bone-shaking.

Li Tianque dared not look back and kept running at full speed.

Until he felt a violent tremor behind him, as if something massive had been yanked out of the ground, making him stop and glance back.

By the faint light, he could not clearly see what was happening in the distance—only that a gigantic shadow, some ten meters high, now stood beside the wreckage of the plane, its hands gripping the wings, seemingly trying to lift the whole thing up.

In the distance, Bi Pangzi’s curses abruptly ceased—whether struck by misfortune or fainted from fear, Li Tianque could not tell.

Sensing disaster, Li Tianque sped up, convinced that with the brute strength of this crazed monster, it would not be long before it actually hoisted the plane and shattered their last barrier.

Still, Li Tianque had underestimated the monster’s power. He had run about another hundred meters when suddenly the air behind him seemed to explode, as if an invisible gong had been struck. A powerful gust slammed into him, forcing him instinctively to dive to the ground.

But the force was so strong that even crouching down, he was jolted up again, and his phone flew from his hand.

The phone’s light spun through the air, illuminating the scene behind him.

Li Tianque saw that the plane wreck had been hurled upright into the earth, its decayed wings utterly shattered into dust, the nose twisted out of shape and smashed into the ground.

Never had Li Tianque imagined that the monster could so easily toss such a massive wreck, nearly crushing him to death.

Staring at the monstrous, gorilla-like figure, Li Tianque’s will to fight was utterly extinguished.

He had once thought of using his chewing gum bomb to make a last stand, but now, even if he died together with the monster, he doubted he could destroy it.

Staggering to his feet, the agony and exhaustion drained the last of his strength. He gazed helplessly at the looming, ever-closer shadow, resigned to his fate.

After all, he was supposed to have died already; these extra days were a gift.

No longer able to run, Li Tianque slumped to the ground, clutching his burning, itching face in misery.

The enormous shadow began approaching, each step making the cavern tremble.

Just as despair overwhelmed him, Li Tianque suddenly noticed an arc of light ahead.

It grew brighter and closer.

More astonishing still, his death shadow ahead of him was rapidly retreating, as if about to vanish.

Someone was coming?

Both hope and surprise surged within Li Tianque. He turned to see a bright beam of light sweeping toward him—someone was approaching with a flashlight.

“So this is where the brute was hiding! Finally found it!” called a familiar voice. Li Tianque immediately recognized it as Wu Miaoran.

Like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline, Li Tianque shouted, “Wu Miaoran! I’m here! Save me!”

“What? Li Tianque? You idiot, how did you get down here?” Wu Miaoran exclaimed, hurrying over.

The rag doll in her arms crackled with electricity, its demonic eyes flashing with a chilling light.

“I was… worried about you…” Li Tianque replied weakly.

Wu Miaoran laughed. “Worried about me? Looks like you nearly got yourself killed for it!”

“Don’t mock me. Look, it’s coming—what do we do?” Li Tianque asked, resigned. “By the way, I still have a chewing gum bomb. Do you want it?”

Wu Miaoran shone her powerful flashlight at the giant shadow charging toward them and grinned, “Save that for a snack. That thing won’t even leave a scratch on this brute.”

“Huh? What is that thing? Is it the Core Worm?” Li Tianque asked.

Wu Miaoran stroked her doll and chuckled. “Core Worm? Not at all. But you’re not unfamiliar with what it is.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s Yang Tianshu.”

End of chapter. Happy reading!