Qin Yu and Mo Yongxin sat in silence, neither of them speaking a word. Only the sound of burning logs and occasional crackling filled the air. Half an hour passed, and Qin Yu's upper body had mostly dried, but his socks and underwear were still wet. However, he didn't feel comfortable taking off his shoes and pants in front of Mo Yongxin.
Qin Yu glanced up at Mo Yongxin, and nearly had a nosebleed. It turned out that she had already taken off her coat and was wearing a white V-neck shirt with black buttons. Her ample bosom seemed to strain against the fabric, as if the buttons were about to burst open and set her curves free. But it wasn't just that which made Qin Yu blush and feel his mouth go dry. It was the black lace bra underneath, barely visible due to the shirt not being fully dry. The impact of this sight was simply overwhelming.
Black lace, combined with her stunningly beautiful face. Even if it were someone else, Qin Yu was sure that even a highly disciplined monk would have trouble not being affected by such temptation. Desire is emptiness, as they say.
Qin Yu's heavy breathing caught Mo Yongxin's attention. She lowered her head to look at her chest, and a flush of red spread across her pretty face. She raised an eyebrow and gave Qin Yu a fierce glare, crossing her arms over her chest to shield the fullness that had left him tongue-tied.
"I've almost dried my clothes. I'll go explore elsewhere and see if there's a way out."
Feeling Mo Yongxin's piercing gaze, Qin Yu felt quite embarrassed. He came up with an excuse to get up and leave, pretending to observe the situation in the stone chamber.
The chamber wasn't large—it served as a transitional space connecting two passages, resembling the interface between two pipes. Holding the torch, Qin Yu ventured forward, and before long, he reached another chamber just like the previous one. It seemed as if these chambers were interconnected like a series of pipes, with each chamber being an interface between two pipes.
After passing through four or five such chambers, Qin Yu estimated the time and figured that Mo Yongxin's clothes should also be dry by now. To be honest, he did appreciate Mo Yongxin's beauty, purely as an admirer of beautiful things. After all, a beautiful girl is pleasing to the eye and brings about a pleasant mood.
As Qin Yu turned to walk back, he heard hurried footsteps approaching. From the sound of it, someone was rushing towards him. Could something have happened to Mo Yongxin? Qin Yu cursed himself for his carelessness. How could he have left a woman alone in such an unknown place?
Before he could take a few more steps, a figure appeared in front of him. It was Mo Yongxin, running breathlessly. Her beautiful face was pale, but when she saw Qin Yu's figure, relief washed over her, and she called out:
"Qin Yu, there's... something coming from behind!" In her anxiety, Mo Yongxin called out his name directly, without addressing him as Mr. Qin.
Qin Yu's presence brought an inexplicable sense of calm to Mo Yongxin. Despite his seemingly thin frame, he possessed a reassuring strength that soothed her spirit. In this dangerous and unknown underground cave, Qin Yu was her greatest reliance.
"Something?" Qin Yu pulled Mo Yongxin behind him and stared intently ahead. Before long, a dark figure appeared on the ground. It was a crawling creature with a pair of shiny green eyes emitting a sinister light. It crawled slowly forward.
This creature had thousands of leg segments, each the size of Qin Yu's thumb. Upon seeing Qin Yu and Mo Yongxin, it let out a shrill shriek, and a stream of green liquid flowed from its mouth.
"What the hell, how many years has this centipede been alive?" Qin Yu recognized the creature as an oversized version of a centipede. However, its size was quite extraordinary. A regular centipede was only the size of a thumb, but the exposed leg segment of this creature was already thumb-sized, and its entire body stretched over three meters long.
The gigantic centipede fixed its green eyes on Qin Yu and Mo Yongxin, as if assessing them like prey. Occasionally, its gaze would drift towards the torch in Qin Yu's hand, revealing a hint of wariness.
"Miss Mo, step back a bit."
Qin Yu understood that the centipede was not attacking them due to its fear of the torch in his hand. As soon as the torch went out, the centipede would launch an attack. In that darkness, they would be defenseless.
Taking preemptive action, Qin Yu realized that the current situation didn't allow for a prolonged standoff with the centipede. He raised the torch and slowly approached the massive creature, remaining highly vigilant for any sudden movements.
"Hiss!" The gigantic centipede became agitated as Qin Yu approached. Its thousand legs squirmed on the ground, resembling a lurking wild beast. It stared intently at Qin Yu, preparing to launch a lethal strike.
"Get lost!" Qin Yu swung the torch forward, and the gigantic centipede hastily retreated a few steps, leaving the range of the torch. It then crouched down, motionless.
"If I don't show you some toughness, you think you can bully me, you thousand-legged monster."
Qin Yu's fierce spirit emerged. The centipede had decided not to engage directly and was waiting for the torch to go out before launching an attack. Clearly, this beast already possessed some level of intelligence. Qin Yu wouldn't allow it to have its way. With a stride forward, he accelerated towards the centipede.
The gigantic centipede didn't anticipate Qin Yu's sudden charge and was caught off guard, retreating hastily. However, Qin Yu managed to step on one of its legs. With a cracking sound, the entire leg was crushed under Qin Yu's foot, and a stream of green liquid sprayed from the broken segment.
"Hisss!" The gigantic centipede let out a furious roar, swinging its thick, bucket-sized head towards Qin Yu with tremendous force. The gust of wind generated by the swing was terrifying.
Despite his preparations, Qin Yu was still hit head-on. His abdomen churned, and a bitter bile rose from his stomach, spilling out from the corners of his mouth. He was sent flying towards the wall.
The intense pain fully ignited his fighting spirit. He instinctively threw the torch in Mo Yongxin's direction. With his hands turned into claws, he fiercely thrust them into the eyes of the approaching head.
The swing of the gigantic centipede's head couldn't be stopped at this moment. Dodging was impossible. Qin Yu's hands directly plunged into the depths of the centipede's eyes, feeling two slippery eyeballs. He grabbed them tightly and forcefully pulled them out. With the momentum of being struck and sent flying, he managed to tear out the two eyeballs of the gigantic centipede.
"Cough, cough!" Qin Yu fell to the ground several meters away, still holding the two eyeballs, which were covered in sticky green liquid. Meanwhile, the centipede, now blind, went into a frenzy. Its three-meter-long body writhed and collided in the tunnel, occasionally crashing into the walls, raising clouds of dust.
"Quick, let's go!" Qin Yu was about to get up when Mo Yongxin reached out and helped him to his feet. The centipede, blinded and in a state of madness, provided them with an opportunity to escape.
They started by walking quietly and, once they couldn't hear any movement behind them, they increased their pace and ran. Due to the impact from the centipede, Qin Yu's abdomen was in excruciating pain, making it impossible for him to run. Mo Yongxin had to support him, and they ran while leaning on each other.
"Qin Yu, ahead..."
They didn't know how long they had been running. Qin Yu's consciousness was becoming blurry, as the force of the centipede's impact was truly formidable. His entire body was practically pressing onto Mo Yongxin along the way.
Mo Yongxin silently endured the weight of Qin Yu's body throughout the journey. With her petite figure, she managed to carry Qin Yu to the end of the passage. Qin Yu heard Mo Yongxin's voice, mustering his strength. He looked ahead, and as he did, his pupils rapidly contracted, displaying an expression of disbelief on his face.
Ahead of them was a massive altar. Nine thick stone pillars, hugging each other, stood upright in the positions of the nine palaces. Above the nine pillars, nine interlinked chains hung, each adorned with red talismans. All the chains converged in the air above a high platform.
Apart from the altar, the underground scene was the most incredible for Qin Yu. Scattered on the ground between the stone pillars and the altar were hundreds of skeletons, forming a macabre pattern. Some of the bones didn't even belong to humans; they resembled dinosaur skeletons and sent chills down his spine.
"Human-insect war?" The scene in front of Qin Yu reminded him of a famous science fiction film. He even saw some skeletons with their fingers embedded in the hearts of animal skeletons, indicating a fierce battle that took place here long ago.
"Qin Yu, come and take a look." Mo Yongxin picked up a knife near one of the white skeletons and called out to Qin Yu.
"A Japanese sword?" Qin Yu was puzzled by the sound of the knife. He was familiar with Japanese swords; he had seen them in anti-Japanese TV dramas. Moreover, the hilt of this particular knife was carved with several Japanese characters, although he couldn't recognize the specific ones.
"Why would there be a Japanese sword here? Could it be that these skeletons are all Japanese?"
Qin Yu didn't have a favorable impression of the Japanese. He considered them a despicable nation, ranking high in terms of moral inferiority. They always used various pretenses to disguise themselves, unaware that it was merely a cloak worn over their true nature.
"There are also military insignias here. This belongs to a Japanese military unit," Mo Yongxin said, picking up an iron plate from the ground.
"931? What kind of unit is that? I've never heard of it."
"I think I know a bit," Mo Yongxin said. "Have you heard of Unit 731?"
"Yes, Unit 731, the Black Sun Unit. It was a notorious Japanese unit specializing in biological warfare research. I know a little about it," Qin Yu replied. When it came to Unit 731, every Chinese person clenched their teeth in anger. In an attempt to turn the tide of World War II, the Japanese authorities sought to establish bacteriological warfare capabilities. For the purpose of researching viruses for use in war, they specifically formed Unit 731. Countless Chinese captives became experimental subjects. It was a completely inhumane and insane unit.
"Yes, you're right. After the Japanese Emperor announced surrender, a secret telegram was sent, requesting the organization of a Unit 931 for the remaining Japanese forces in China. Intelligence personnel managed to steal this telegram, but apart from mentioning the unit number, it contained no other information. The identities of the key personnel and the purpose of this mysterious Unit 931 are known only to a few high-ranking Japanese officials."