Chapter 11: Underground Monsters, Team Scattered
When Danny took Glock pistols with low recoil from his bag—complete with extended magazines, suppressors, and infrared laser sights—Juno and the others were stunned.
Beth, as their teacher, couldn't help but ask, "Where did you get these?"
"From Pete."
Danny assembled the pistol's attachments and handed one to Beth.
He didn't expect these people to actually deal with the crawlers in the cave, only that they wouldn't die too easily.
Otherwise, if everyone died and the creatures all focused on him, that would be problematic.
Beth took the pistol.
If it was from Pete, it wasn't surprising. The town had heard rumors of him dealing in firearms through old military connections.
Rebecca looked at her bloody hands, and while blaming Juno internally, she couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "I'm afraid I won't be able to use a gun properly."
Sarah said weakly, "I'm not very good with them either..."
Sam took the pistol Danny had assembled.
She was among the first to see a crawler and one of the most terrified. The cold firearm in her hand gave her some sense of security.
Sarah finally took a pistol at Danny's insistence.
Danny also gave Holly one.
Her leg was crippled, so she was destined not to run. He just hoped she wouldn't die too horribly, and that she could at least injure a crawler, which would be worth it.
Only Juno still held her ground. She insisted both of them were hallucinating.
Because she believed nothing could survive for long in such a harsh cave environment, not even monsters!
After hearing that, even Sam wanted to shoot her teammate in the head.
Since Juno didn't want one, Danny naturally took it back.
The group, having distributed their equipment, set off again to find an exit.
However, with Holly as a burden, the team's speed slowed significantly.
For Danny, the slower the better, because his target was the crawlers. It was just that after making such a commotion earlier, they still hadn't appeared in force.
After walking for a while, they heard the sound of dripping water.
Juno rushed ahead to check and found water seeping from the rock wall above, which gave her hope.
She quickly secured a climbing anchor and led everyone to start ascending.
Rebecca, worried about Juno's safety, whispered, "Juno, slow down. It's safer if two people go up together. There really might be creatures in this cave."
Juno, upon hearing this, instead sped up.
She wanted to prove there were no monsters in the cave at all.
"Maybe the exit is just ahead. As long as we're careful, there won't be any danger."
Juno suddenly went quiet after climbing up.
Rebecca called out, but there was no response, so everyone had to climb following the anchors Juno had set.
Danny followed behind, carrying Holly with one arm, and his speed was no slower than the others.
When everyone reached the next level, they realized the reason for Juno's silence.
There was no exit here.
Only uneven pools filled with piles of bones—both human and animal—forming mountains.
This situation could only mean one thing: apex predators were hiding in this dark underground cave.
This time, Juno had no choice but to believe. There truly were monsters in this cave.
Danny set Holly down and silently drew his pistol and chambered a round.
They couldn't see clearly, but Danny could see perfectly: there was a crawler above them.
At this moment, he finally saw what these creatures looked like up close.
In the darkness, the crawler moved like a hunched skeleton draped in flesh.
Cracked, pale gray skin stretched over its protruding bones, its eyes sunken but pupils dilated for darkness, fixed deadly on the group.
Fetid breath, mixed with the stench of rotting meat, came from its flattened nasal cavity, and its lips were peeled back, revealing sharp, yellowed teeth, each dripping with dark viscous saliva...
Its appearance was even more disturbing than the Hillickers.
Rebecca noticed Danny's movements and asked softly, "Did you find something?"
Danny raised his infrared sight and aimed at the rock wall above.
Juno and the others looked in that direction and just caught sight of the crawler stalking them.
Its terrifying face and pale gray skin alone made their scalps tingle.
Rebecca screamed.
Bang! Bang!
Danny fired, both shots hitting the crawler's back, causing it to instantly fall from the wall.
It released an inhuman shriek and scrambled into the darkness.
It was so fast Danny didn't even have time for a follow-up shot.
"Stop screaming! Do you want to attract more of them?"
Danny was furious with these incompetent teammates.
Not only could they not provide covering fire, but they also screamed randomly.
In this situation, it was hard not to die.
"I don't have a gun," Rebecca couldn't help but feel defensive.
"What should we do, Danny?"
Sarah was the student with the worst stress tolerance.
She'd already been crying since seeing the crawler.
If it weren't for Danny, she might already be completely disoriented and running in panic.
Beth's expression was panicked and no better.
Holly was probably the most scared. Her leg was already crippled, and if that monster came back, she'd definitely be the first target.
Danny quickly pulled another gun from his pack.
Juno took it without refusal and quickly said, "We have to leave here. This might be their feeding ground."
Danny shook his head.
He looked toward a dark area ahead where several crawlers were approaching at extreme speed.
"It's too late. They're already here. There's more than one, and they're right ahead!"
"There are some above too."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Ah!"
Screams, gunshots, and inhuman shrieks mixed together.
The crawlers' target was clear: the immobile Holly.
Sam, whose nerves were already frayed, her pupils dilated, fired a few wild shots and immediately ran.
Danny's gun never stopped firing.
Juno and Holly were at the very front, while Beth stood with Danny and fired.
But Sarah, the youngest, had never seen such a terrifying scene.
Looking at the swarm of creatures, she didn't even have the courage to shoot and ran into the dark tunnel behind them.
Rebecca, having no weapon, could only chase after Sarah.
Four pistols fired continuously, but the number of crawlers exceeded imagination, breaking through their defense instantly.
Holly was directly pounced on, letting out a desperate scream.
A crawler bit into Holly's throat, and her voice quickly subsided.
More crawlers gathered on her corpse, tearing and devouring her.
Juno and Beth broke down at the sight.
But other creatures were surging toward them.
Juno, caught off guard, was tackled, struggling with all her might.
"Beth, help!"
Seeing this, Beth looked at Danny, almost crying, "What should we do?"
"Miss Beth, run!"
Danny had long known this group was unreliable.
He pulled out two M67 fragmentation grenades, pulled the pins, and threw them toward Holly's corpse.
The rolling sound didn't attract the crawlers' attention—they were still feeding.
Beth saw this and immediately ran.
Juno was still struggling. She didn't want to die.
BOOM!
Danny didn't leave. He just took cover behind a rock formation.
With two violent explosions, the entire cave shook, and broken stones kept falling from above, looking like it might collapse at any moment, but it ultimately held.
Danny summoned One Eye as a bodyguard, and two Two-rank containment cards appeared in his hand, preparing for capture.
If bullets couldn't kill them, he didn't believe grenades wouldn't work either.
After the scene quieted down, Danny cautiously looked out and scanned the area.
He then silently pulled back as if he'd seen something impossible.
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