Xin Yaoqiao had clearly said that this underground passage had been excavated over a dozen years ago, and research teams, personnel, and machinery had come and gone dozens or hundreds of times without making any major discoveries.
Guards had been stationed here the entire time as well, yet nothing had ever happened, let alone anything unusual being found.
And yet, whether the long, mud-caked cylinder that had just crashed through the wall before them counted as a major discovery or not, it was at least enormous.
Han Qingyu made a rough estimate and concluded that even with his height of 1.8 meters, if he wrapped both arms around it, his fingertips probably wouldn't even meet.
"Th-there really was never any incident here before..."
The six of them were currently in a two-in-front, four-in-back formation. Shielded by Han Qingyu and Shen Yixiu, Xin Yaoqiao stood in the rear with Wen Jifei and the other two. Recovering from her initial shock, she spoke with anxious urgency, sounding as if she felt deeply guilty for leading everyone into danger and wanted to explain.
"I know... It's not your fault."
Han Qingyu had already formed a judgment in his mind.
If this thing had remained hidden for decades without being discovered, quietly minding its own business no matter how noisy the outside world was, only to suddenly emerge from beneath the belly of the mountain right now, there was at least a ninety percent chance it was related to the source energy resonance he had just sent through the mountain.
The other ten percent was Rusty Sister, given her unique condition.
*Is this damn thing... coming for me?*
*What could I possibly have that attracts it?*
*Vitalized source energy?!*
Looking up, he examined it closely. Could this mud-encrusted thing really be a snake or a python? Were pythons ever this large? And since when could pythons tunnel through solid rock and burst through mountains? But with its lower body coiled and its upper body rearing upright, if it wasn't a serpent... then it could only be a machine. A serpentine machine.
Just as he was pondering this—
*Crash, clatter!*
The long, muddy cylinder suddenly gave a violent shake, like a drenched dog clambering ashore to shake off water.
Its body shuddered and vibrated, its colossal head coiling back and snapping forward. Most of the mud and stone clinging to its frame came sloughing off, clattering noisily to the ground, interspersed with the distinct clink of metal.
A machine?
No.
"A snake!" Wen Jifei gasped.
With most of the dirt shaken off, parts of the creature's body were revealed—especially its head. Its bloody maw opened and closed, its forked tongue flicking in and out, utterly real and unmistakably alive. What could it be if not a python?!
Yet what kind of python it was remained impossible to say. Its entire head carried an intensely primitive aura, completely unlike any giant python seen on television or in magazines.
"As long as it's a snake, I can breathe easy. Who gives a damn how big it is or what kind of freak snake it turned out to be!" Under extreme terror, Wen Jifei put on a brave front and joked with a trembling voice, "Qingzi, your time has come! Eighteen generations of ancestral snake-catching craft! Go on, show it what you've got!"
"Piss off." Han Qingyu felt both helpless and amused.
The monstrous python's hostile intent was obvious, evident from the way its upper body kept probing forward and its jaws snapped open and shut. With a build like that, swallowing three or four people whole wouldn't be the slightest problem.
*Hum, hum, hum, hum, hum.*
One after another, the five of them engaged the three-dimensional apparatuses on their bodies. At the same time, Rusty Sister's frame gave a slight jolt as blue light rippled across her iron plating, shifting her into combat readiness.
*Clang...*
Blades were drawn in unison, held at the ready.
Yet the giant python did not launch an attack immediately. While its body was primed to strike, its eyes shifted along with its massive head, continuously tracking back and forth between them.
First Han Qingyu, then Rusty Sister, then Xin Yaoqiao, then He Tangtang... *Can this monstrous snake actually gauge our strength?! Or our degree of source energy fusion?*
*Just like how it sensed my source energy surging into the mountain?*
In the midst of his thoughts, three gasps suddenly broke out behind him.
"Ah!"
As the python swept its gaze toward Liu Shiheng, the fifth in line on the far right of the rear row, its steady rhythm abruptly broke. Its head swung violently to lock onto Wen Jifei on the far left.
Then it swept back from the start: Han Qingyu, Rusty Sister, Xin Yaoqiao, slowly toward He Tangtang... and then snapped its head toward Wen Jifei.
Staring at Wen Jifei... it suddenly jerked its head toward Liu Shiheng.
Then whipped back again, looking at Wen Jifei, then He Tangtang.
At Wen Jifei, then...
It was thoroughly confused!
*So my guess was right,* Han Qingyu thought. *This monstrous python can genuinely distinguish our strength, or sense the surge of source energy within us.*
It had been sizing them up in order, assessing the danger level of its opponents like someone picking through meat at a stall, only to run into Wen the Dice, whose rolling values kept scrambling its readings.
*It came for me, but since it's already here, it doesn't mind eating all of us?*
*Hiss!* A sudden, piercing hiss confirmed beyond a doubt that it was indeed a serpent. Enraged, the giant python abandoned its ranking system. Coiling back slightly, it assumed a posture ready to launch itself forward.
*Clang!*
The instant before it lunged, a dead iron straight sword had already struck seven inches below its head, right at the vital point.
Yet after a sharp clash of metal on metal, the blade failed to pierce its flesh and ricocheted away.
Han Qingyu leaped forward and caught the flying sword in midair.
"Scales?!" Wen Jifei shouted from behind.
"Dead iron!" Han Qingyu replied. He had heard it clearly and seen it plainly—this monstrous python actually had dead iron on its body!
In that case, it no longer belonged in the category of ordinary exotic beasts or mutated creatures.
Thoughts raced through his mind. A unique python that might have been continuously infused with source energy inside the so-called medical capsule Xin Yaoqiao had mentioned earlier... During that process, its body had been encased in a cylinder of scale-like dead iron. Then it grew, from dragging the dead iron to bearing its full weight, before being cast into the mountain's depths?
It was an entirely subjective judgment without a shred of evidence, yet it pointed toward one glaring realization: to live for so many decades, what had it eaten? Source energy? How much source energy would that take? How concentrated would it have to be—metal blocks? Were there any left?!
"Kill!"
The instant the giant python prepared to strike a second time, Han Qingyu lunged forward with his blades drawn.
*Why the hell is he charging in all of a sudden?!*
The people behind him were dumbfounded. Hadn't he just said it was covered in dead iron? Something this bizarre—shouldn't they analyze it first?! Or had Qingzi already figured out that this monstrous snake was actually weak?!
*Screeech...*
The giant python snapped its jaws obliquely toward him. Han Qingyu dodged aside, leaning back as he dashed forward, raking both blades down the creature's underbelly. Amid the screech of metal grinding against metal, a shower of sparks erupted along the path of the dual blades.
The result: unscathed?! It was completely unharmed. The snake's entire belly was plated in scale-like dead iron, without a single scratch to show for it.
*Hiss!* Before Han Qingyu could retreat, the python recoiled its upper body while sweeping its massive tail around, attempting to entwine and crush him!
With no other choice, Han Qingyu planted his foot and leaped into the air.
Seeing this, the python whipped its enormous head across, cleaving the air like a battering ram to smash into him from the side.
Han Qingyu crossed his twin blades in midair to block.
*Bang!*
Caught without footing, he was blasted backward through the air by the colossal impact.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
Yet the moment he was sent flying, one of the straight swords slipped from his hand, hurtling straight toward the python's eye.
*Clang!* Another sharp crack echoed. Tilting its head slightly, the python used the hard armor on its skull to deflect Han Qingyu's fiercely thrown dead iron blade.
Han Qingyu scrambled a bit awkwardly to retrieve his sword.
"No good. You guys need to get out first. I'll take my time figuring out how to kill it," Han Qingyu said, having finished his probe.
As things stood, his speed and reflexes were faster than the python's, so keeping himself safe wouldn't be much of an issue. But the python's defenses were absurdly high. Without finding a weak spot, killing it was impossible.
Under these circumstances, what Han Qingyu feared most was the creature switching targets to attack the others—especially Xin Yaoqiao, who had never experienced a real battlefield, and Wen Jifei and Liu Shiheng, who lacked combat strength.
However—
"We can't run!" Wen Jifei shouted dejectedly.
Run? Did Wen Jifei need to be told twice to run? His determination not to be a burden and his vast experience in rapidly disengaging from battle were second to none. He had already started fleeing with Liu Shiheng just moments ago, only to discover after a couple of paces:
Less than thirty meters ahead lay a dead end. There was no way out.
"What the hell is this thing anyway?!" Wen Jifei yelled out next.
Han Qingyu thought for a moment. "If I had to guess, it's an experimental subject left behind by Ne."
A brief silence fell over the cavern.
"Could there be more than one?" Xin Yaoqiao's voice drifted from behind, sounding dazed. "If that's the case, there might be more than one... or more than just this type of modification, more than one kind of experimental subject."
"Then what have they eaten over all these decades? How did they survive?" After asking this, He Tangtang froze, almost uncontrollably turning his head to look at Shen Yixiu.
Right at that moment, with a wet *gurgle*, as if trying to unburden itself for battle, the monstrous python suddenly regurgitated something from its belly.
The object was substantial. Smothered in thick slime, it slammed onto the rocky ground with the unmistakable chime of metal striking stone.
After a momentary daze, everyone focused their eyes on it at once.
"Rusty Sister, don't look!"
Han Qingyu was the first to see it clearly, immediately whirling around to block Shen Yixiu's line of sight.
Chapter 167