Chapter 23

The surroundings became clear.

Wu Xiaode found himself in an abandoned underground passage.

The passage was littered with debris and corpses, leaving almost no place to step.

Darkness and silence enveloped the area.

Due to the lack of light, it was impossible to see the direction or determine where the passage ended.

Wu Xiaode stood in the center of the underground passage.

Xia Huilan's tired expression disappeared as she took out a small, exquisite pistol from her pocket, checked the magazine, and reloaded it.

Xia Ni stood on her right, with a faint smile on her face.

"Please input the duration of the battle so I can allocate tactics reasonably," Xia Ni said.

Xia Huilan looked at Wu Xiaode and asked, "How much soul power do you have?"

"Five points—seems like I need to kill five monsters to take you back," Wu Xiaode replied.

"Understood," Xia Ni said, then stood still.

Xia Huilan, however, looked satisfied and patted Wu Xiaode's shoulder, saying, "You have five points of soul power right after awakening? That's pretty good."

After deciding to stay and help Wu Xiaode, Xia Huilan seemed to have let go of her worries, exuding a determined and proactive aura.

—She was, after all, an expert in mechanical technology!

"I have no idea about this place and don't know what to expect," Wu Xiaode said solemnly.

"Teleportation is random, so everyone faces different situations," Xia Huilan explained.

"Is this world very large?"

"Research has confirmed that this is a vast and unknown world. In the past six months, no one has been able to explore its boundaries."

"Sister, you seem a bit hopeless about this world?"

"Yes, from the data, it's truly terrifying—let me see—abandoned underground passage, this is not a known teleportation location, but it's well-connected, and the monsters will find us soon."

"Because I'm a newbie?"

"Yes, the fluctuations from newbies attract them."

As she spoke, a ghastly green ghost fire suddenly appeared in the air in front of Wu Xiaode.

The three immediately assumed a defensive stance.

However, nothing appeared around them, only the ghost fire floating in the air, gradually forming a line of small text:

"Welcome, friend."

"I am the leader of the Ghost Fire team."

"Come, we have reliable companions, food, weapons, and information."

"—If you are willing to join us and help each other, place your hand on the ghost fire and say 'I agree.'"

Wu Xiaode quickly read it and said, "Uh... what do I need to pay for this?"

The ghost fire gradually formed a new line of small text:

"You don't need to pay anything extra, just come. It's very hard for humans to survive in this world, and more people mean more strength!"

Wu Xiaode shook his head, "No, thanks."

The ghost fire formed a new line of text:

"In recent days, the survival rate of awakened individuals has become even lower. Do you really think you can survive on your own?"

Wu Xiaode smiled, "Yes, I'm that cool."

The ghost fire paused, then slowly dissipated.

A line of icy text quickly appeared on the Book of the Dead:

"The long-distance communication has ended."

Wu Xiaode sighed with relief and turned to meet the inquisitive gazes of Xia Huilan and Xia Ni.

"According to past data, forming a team can increase survival rates," Xia Ni said with a smile.

"Why did you refuse?" Xia Huilan asked curiously.

Wu Xiaode said seriously, "Sister, I asked what I needed to pay, but he said nothing. There's no such thing in this world."

His gaze turned cold, "Not to mention a team, even in society, if someone doesn't need to pay anything, what good treatment would they get? Right?"

"Is it a trap?" Xia Huilan asked.

"Not sure, but I don't trust such mysterious benefits," Wu Xiaode said.

Xia Huilan thought, "Yes, this is an extremely dangerous world..."

"Exactly," Wu Xiaode shrugged, "I'm just a newbie, best not to let the veterans see through me."

"Do you not trust me either?" Xia Huilan raised an eyebrow and asked softly.

"Lan Sister is the best, I trust Lan Sister the most," Wu Xiaode quickly grabbed Xia Huilan's hand.

Her hand was slender, soft, and slightly cool.

"Brat, stop it!"

Xia Huilan glanced at Xia Ni and shook off Wu Xiaode's hand.

Wu Xiaode stepped forward with a smile, looking around, and grabbed Xia Huilan's hand again.

Xia Huilan stopped.

A rustling sound came from the depths of the dark passage.

"Something is coming," Wu Xiaode said.

"Xia Ni, get ready," Xia Huilan said.

"Entering combat mode," Xia Ni's soft voice echoed.

Xia Ni walked into the darkness, emitting a gentle light that revealed everything in the passage.

The rustling sound grew closer.

Xia Ni raised her hand—

A brilliant light radiated from her hand, illuminating nearly a hundred meters of the passage.

At some point, the walls of the passage were covered with colorful scorpions, each as large as a desk.

Wu Xiaode stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Xia Ni, and got into a fighting stance.

To be honest, there were too many scorpions.

He had to be cautious of them swarming.

He didn't know if these scorpions from the other world had any special abilities.

As Wu Xiaode was thinking, he heard a female voice:

"I'll handle it."

Xia Ni pulled out a streamlined gun from the air, aimed at the center of the passage, and gently pulled the trigger.

An invisible shock wave shot out from the gun.

Buzz—

The entire passage immediately emitted a low-frequency vibration.

As the vibration passed, the scorpions let out hissing sounds.

Their brains exploded, and their brains splattered everywhere.

The only one that escaped was shot by Xia Huilan's gun, which fired an entire extended magazine.

The scorpion was riddled with bullet holes, blue blood gushed out, and it lay motionless on the ground.

"It's been a while since I used a gun," Xia Huilan rubbed her wrist.

In a short moment,

All the scorpions were dead.

The dark, abandoned passage fell silent again.

Wu Xiaode stood stiffly in his fighting stance, looking at the pile of monster corpses, and muttered, "I... didn't even get to... do anything..."

"What?" Xia Huilan didn't hear clearly.

"Nothing, just thinking the rice is soft and fragrant," Wu Xiaode said.

Xia Huilan glanced at him and said, "The night is long, you need to conserve your strength."

"What do you mean? I just need to kill five to go back, Sister," Wu Xiaode asked, confused.

"It's not that simple. You need to kill monsters with soul power; these ordinary monsters don't count," Xia Huilan explained while changing the magazine.

Wu Xiaode finally understood.

Thankfully, Xia Huilan was there; otherwise, he wouldn't have known these basics.

Xia Ni suddenly spoke:

"An abnormal vibration has appeared ahead. Based on the spectrum analysis, it can be determined as a prominent soul power fluctuation."

"What does that mean?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"Big trouble is coming," Xia Huilan said seriously.

The three found a corner, dragged some obstacles to form a temporary position, and quickly prepared for battle.

Soon,

A huge silhouette appeared in the depths of the passage.

Xia Ni took out a soft-shelled light ball and threw it far away.

The light instantly illuminated the passage.

A monster, roughly the size of a truck, was moving toward them.

If you only looked at its body, it was a massive, snake-like creature, covered in damp, dark scales, leaving a long, sticky trail on the pile of bones.

But it had a huge human head, with eyes full of vicious intent, looking down at the three small humans.

"Hisssss—"

It let out a sound full of malice and pounced at the three.

"Identity verification failed, no such monster in the database, initiating exploratory attack."

Xia Ni spoke gently, reaching into the air—

A Gatling gun appeared in her hand, which she held with one hand and aimed at the monster.

Wu Xiaode's eyes twitched.

Xia Huilan noticed his concern and explained softly, "I equipped it with a small spatial storage compartment to use as an arsenal."

"This is what kind of technology... I've never even heard of it..." Wu Xiaode muttered.

The Gatling gun emitted a buzzing sound.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Full firepower!

Bullets like a stream of light shot through the long passage, hitting the monster like a sudden rain.

The human-headed snake seemed surprised and quickly hid its head under its long body.

"Bullet attack effect: low."

"Weak point suspected to be the head."

"Change weapon."

Xia Ni, still speaking in a gentle tone, put away the Gatling gun and grabbed something else from the air with both hands.

A large cannon appeared in her hands, which she shouldered.

"Electromagnetic cannon ready."

"Current environment suitability rating: A+."

Almost before anyone could see clearly—

The human-headed snake let out a miserable cry and was thrown away like trash by some force.

Xia Ni stood in place, but her feet were deeply embedded in the ground, only her knees and above remained above the surface.

The recoil was too powerful!

Only a killing machine like her could withstand the recoil of the electromagnetic cannon!