Chapter 118: One Chase, One Escape
Poison Sting Squad put on the latest night-vision goggles and entered the underground karst cave. In an environment where one could not see one’s own hand in front of the face, the cave looked like broad daylight in their eyes.
“Be careful. Watch your footing for traps. A target that even Blood Tiger is wary of won’t be easy to deal with.”
As the captain of Poison Sting Squad, Poison Sting did not treat this mission lightly after entering the underground cave.
Although Blood Tiger and his people were not adept at fighting in underground karst environments, that did not mean just anyone could render them powerless.
Therefore, Poison Sting deliberately reminded his own team members.
“Captain, don’t worry. Other places aside, caves are our home ground. Just watch us.”
“Being careful is always better.”
Poison Sting still had confidence in his team members’ strength, so he did not overemphasize it, instead instructing his subordinates to get to work.
“Rat, Blind Snake, find the target at the fastest speed.”
“Yes.”
Two members of Poison Sting Squad immediately summoned their own Beast Tamers’ beasts.
One was a rat measuring two meters long including its tail, and the other was a black giant snake over seven meters long.
The Ferocious Beasts they controlled were both relatively rare: the Burrowing Rat and the Shadow Serpent.
The Burrowing Rat lived underground year-round. Its foreclaws were sharp, allowing it to dig freely through the earth, and it possessed the ability to sense minute vibrations, making it one of the stronger combat-capable sensing beasts.
The Shadow Serpent could perfectly merge into dark environments, excelled at ambushes, and could easily distinguish various scents in the air.
In the dark and cramped environment of a karst cave, these two Ferocious Beasts were not hindered at all. On the contrary, they could even perform beyond their normal limits.
From the looks of it, Poison Sting Squad must have frequently operated in underground caves, carrying out shady business.
And just as Poison Sting Squad began their operation, Zhou Ming was leading Yang Yi back and forth along the branching paths of the underground cave.
“Yang Yi, have your Ironfang Hound spray urine at all these branch intersections.”
“Alright, big brother.”
Yang Yi naturally understood Zhou Ming’s intention.
The underground cave environment was complex and devoid of light. If the hunters chasing him chose to enter the cave, they would have to be equipped with sensing-type Beast Tamers to have any chance of finding them.
Smell was the most common sensing method for beasts, and Yang Yi was not foolish enough to ask why.
Following its master’s command, the Double-headed Gale Wolf sprayed its extremely pungent urine at the intersections before returning to Yang Yi’s side.
“Let’s go. If we want the greatest guarantee of safety, we must reach the very bottom of the cave today.”
“Okay, big brother.”
After this brief period of contact with Zhou Ming, Yang Yi had roughly understood the personality of the big brother before him.
He should not ask too many questions, only follow the other party’s instructions.
As for why Zhou Ming insisted on entering the deepest layer of the underground cave, there was naturally a reason.
The deeper one went into the underground cave of Ghost Cavern Ridge, the more branching passages there were, and the more complex the environment became, which was beneficial for evading pursuit from behind.
In addition, the deepest layer of the cave was not only more spacious, but the rocks forming the cave were also much harder, with almost no history of collapses.
According to the information Zhou Ming had gathered, there were cases where people had used grenades at the deepest layer of the cave without causing any collapses.
Therefore, after entering the cave, it was not safer to stay near the surface, but rather to go to the very bottom.
Just as a one-chase-one-escape drama unfolded in the underground cave of Ghost Cavern Ridge, the head of Yang’s Paper Industry also received news that the rescue team sent to save Yang Yi had been completely wiped out.
Fortunately, intelligence showed that Yang Yi had not yet been killed, so he immediately organized manpower to come for another rescue.
This time, he had already secretly contacted Professional Beast Tamers and was prepared to completely tear his face with the other side.
This young head of the Yang family was far more decisive than his father.
At the same time, Blood Tiger, who was guarding the cave entrance, also received a new mission: to stop the rescue squad sent by the head of Yang’s Paper Industry.
Both sides were racing against time.
As for who would win and who would lose, that would depend on their respective methods.
Inside the cave, as time slowly passed, Poison Sting Squad finally found traces left behind by Zhou Ming.
Although Zhou Ming had done his utmost to erase the traces he and Yang Yi left behind, those methods could only deal with ordinary hunters. Against professional hunters like Poison Sting, who roamed underground caves year-round, his methods still fell a bit short.
However, his misleading tactics still delayed Poison Sting Squad’s speed.
“Damn it, this guy is really cautious. There are traces left at every branch intersection.”
After being led down the wrong path several times, the Poison Sting Squad member who controlled the Burrowing Rat could not help but curse.
“Alright, stop complaining. Looks like our target this time is quite cunning. It’s been a long time since we’ve encountered prey like this.”
“Rat, the other party’s goal should be the deepest layer of the cave. Just track in that direction.”
Poison Sting was no simple person either. After a brief moment of thought, he understood Zhou Ming’s objective.
With a clear direction, Poison Sting Squad’s speed increased noticeably. Because Zhou Ming and Yang Yi had to continuously mislead the pursuers, the distance between the two sides gradually closed as they approached the bottom of the cave.
“They’re here?”
When the Ironthread Snake behind him transmitted information, Zhou Ming reacted immediately.
“Big brother, have the people chasing me arrived?”
Noticing Zhou Ming’s reaction, Yang Yi also felt somewhat uneasy, though much better than before.
At least during this time with Zhou Ming, he had learned the meaning of the word “calm.”
Zhou Ming did not answer. Instead, he directly grabbed Yang Yi’s arm. An Ironthread Snake crawled out from his sleeve and coiled around Yang Yi’s arm.
Seeing the Ironthread Snake, Yang Yi originally wanted to struggle free, but he was firmly held by Zhou Ming and could not break away.
“Big brother, this is…”
“Don’t worry, it won’t bite you. Take it and head toward the deepest layer of the cave. I’ll use it to find you later.”
“You?”
Hearing that he was about to separate from his big brother, Yang Yi began to panic. After all, the cave environment itself made people feel oppressed.
“Since the other party has already caught up, at least we should test their methods.”
“If their strength isn’t enough, we’ll resolve it directly and won’t need to keep running. If they’re strong, then we need to make preparations in advance.”
“Also, considering the spiritual item you’re paying as remuneration, I’ll give you one piece of advice: learn to mature, or the people who care about you will keep dying.”
After saying that, Zhou Ming did not continue to pay attention to Yang Yi and directly rushed toward the rugged passage behind him.
“Learn to mature?”
Looking at the Ironthread Snake coiled around his arm, Yang Yi clenched his teeth and led his own beast toward the abyss-like bottom of the cave.
Now he had at least learned one thing: not dragging behind was the greatest help he could offer his big brother.
Acting alone, Zhou Ming was no longer burdened by Yang Yi, and his movement speed became noticeably more agile.
Based on the routes he had previously taken, he quickly arrived at a location where the passage was narrow and easy to defend but hard to attack.
Whether it was ambushing the enemy or retreating in time, it was extremely advantageous for him.