Seven Cubs, Seven Fathers, Zero Days Off novel Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Poisonous

The space was pitch-black, cold, and narrow. Even with her flashlight, she could only see about a meter in front of her.

Light couldn’t seem to penetrate anywhere else.

It was as if down here in the abyss, light itself was an anomaly—something that didn’t belong.

She kept the light trained on the Lizardman’s face as she carefully backed away.

Her heart was lodged in her throat.

The foul, muddy stench emanating from the Lizardman filled her nostrils.

The environment was cold, damp, and so quiet that the sound of a single drop of water was infinitely amplified, making her feel as if she were in hell.

Shen Yue’s heart pounded like a drum as she continued to retreat with extreme caution.

’Since a fall from a bottomless abyss couldn’t kill me, Shen Yue, there’s no way I’m going to die in the jaws of these beasts.’

With that thought, she silently counted to three.

Then, she spun around and bolted down the long, narrow, pitch-black passage behind her.

The moment the bright light was gone, the Lizardmen behind her swarmed forward, letting out low, guttural roars.

A chill shot down Shen Yue’s spine. She didn’t dare look back.

She could only run for her life.

In the otherwise silent darkness, the only sounds were her frantic footsteps and the heavy breathing and roars of the Lizardmen behind her.

Without stopping, she scrambled over a narrow passage piled with rubble and plunged into a mire.

Shen Yue sprinted through the ankle-deep sludge.

The Lizardmen behind her got bottlenecked in the narrow passage, shrieking at her in frustration.

But a few managed to squeeze through and charged after her.

She ran with all her might, just about to escape the bog.

But then—

—hidden beneath the sludge was a loose rock her flashlight beam hadn’t caught.

She tripped and fell hard to the ground.

Panicked, she had just scrambled to her feet...

...when...

...a Lizardman lunged, its massive body about to crush her.

Its massive, fang-filled maw snapped at her neck.

Shen Yue’s pupils constricted.

’This is life or death. I just want to live.’

In the nick of time, she whipped out her dagger and plunged it viciously into the lunging Lizardman’s abdomen.

Warm blood flowed from her dagger-wielding hand down her arm.

But the Lizardman didn’t die from the single stab.

It let out a bloodcurdling shriek, a sound made all the more piercing and horrific as it echoed through the abyss.

The deafening echoes reverberated all around.

Its eyes filled with viciousness as it slammed its sharp claws into Shen Yue’s shoulder.

Tearing through her flesh.

Blood gushed out, and Shen Yue trembled in pain.

But desperate to live, she grabbed a nearby rock and began to viciously smash it against the creature’s head.

Once, twice, three times.

Each blow was harder than the last.

’She never imagined that in a moment of crisis, she could muster the strength to fight a beast to the death just to survive.’

The flashlight had rolled to the side, casting the scene in dim, flickering light.

All she could see was that she had caved in the head of the Lizardman on top of her. Its blood dripped onto her face.

Staining her vision red.

The thick, coppery smell of blood filled her nostrils and seemed to drive the Lizardmen who had reached the mire into a frenzy.

Seeing the swarm of beasts lunging for her, she yanked her dagger free and shoved the dead Lizardman off her body.

She snatched her flashlight, scrambled out of the mire, and started climbing a pile of rocks leading up the other wall of the chasm.

She had spotted a cave up there.

’It was her only chance of survival.’

By the time the Lizardmen gave chase, she was already halfway up.

To Shen Yue’s surprise, most of the Lizardmen didn’t immediately pursue her. Instead, they fell upon the dead one, ravenously tearing it to pieces.

She watched as the Lizardman was cannibalized by its own kind. In just a few bites, they had torn out its innards and ripped off its limbs. The sound of them crunching on bone reached her ears with sickening clarity.

Her stomach churned. ’Cold-blooded creatures that eat their own... Is this the dark side of the Beast World?’

Shen Yue didn’t have time for other thoughts.

She forced herself to keep climbing, stepping from one rock to the next. The piercing pain in her shoulder caused beads of sweat to form on her forehead.

But she never expected...

Shen Yue lost her balance and began to fall. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

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