Chen Hao's foot slipped, and the stone slab he was supporting flipped over.

He fell forward, his knees hitting a tree root. Before he could even yell, Nana turned around and pulled him back.

"The heat source is close, in a three-point direction, and the speed is very fast."

The moment he finished speaking, the forest erupted in chaos.

Three dark figures burst out from behind the tree, their claws scraping the ground with a piercing sound. One lunged straight at the center, while the other two circled to the sides, clearly aiming to split the group.

"Tripple it in!" Karl roared, pointing his gun at the left.

Susan immediately stepped back to the left, holding her knife horizontally in front of her. Nana raised her hand and pressed it against the sensor on her chest. A red dot flashed on the screen, and she pressed the button sharply. Her headlamp instantly turned up to its strongest light, shining directly into the eyes of the creature in front of her.

The thing paused, let out a low growl, and took a half step back.

Ignoring the pain, Chen Hao threw his backpack next to a tree root and used his shoulder to brace the box as cover. He caught his breath and looked up at his teammates: "Doesn't our formation look like students being ambushed and extorted for protection money at a school gate?"

Nobody paid him any attention.

The four stood back to back, their weapons pointing in different directions. The creature didn't charge again, but it didn't leave either, circling around the perimeter, making low, guttural noises.

“They’re waiting for an opportunity.” Susan stared at the right side. “The flashbang worked, but it only stopped them for a moment.”

Karl braced his arm against the tree trunk, his gaze sweeping over the positions of the three creatures: "We can't keep playing defensively; we have to find a way to force them to retreat."

Nana looked down at the instrument: "The eye response data is abnormal, it is particularly sensitive to high-frequency flickering. There is a similar record in the database - a light-avoiding totem, which appears in the third column on the east wall of the ruins."

"So you're afraid of light?" Chen Hao asked.

“It’s not fear, it’s an instinctive avoidance,” Nana corrected. “The nervous system will experience temporary confusion when exposed to pulsed intense light.”

Carl suddenly looked up: "Is the communicator still working?"

"The battery is down to forty percent," Nana said.

“Take it apart.” Carl reached out. “Take out the flash module, connect it to a backup power supply, and make a temporary jammer.”

"I can fix it in three minutes." Nana nodded, quickly opened the communicator casing, and started untying wires on the circuit board with her fingers.

Susan pulled a small silver box from her tactical bag: "This is the only emergency battery left."

“That’s enough.” Nana took it and skillfully soldered the wires. Two minutes later, she held up a modified device with a high-intensity LED connected to the front end. “Test it once, flashing at a high frequency for ten seconds.”

“Prepare to throw it far away,” Carl said. “Before it can react.”

Nana nodded, and when the creature approached again, she suddenly pressed the switch.

Sizzle—

A flash of white light exploded, like someone repeatedly banging on a light switch. Both creatures stopped simultaneously, their heads shaking and their steps faltering; one of them collapsed to the ground, trembling.

"It works!" Chen Hao shouted.

"Only ten seconds," Nana reminded, "Next time we'll have to wait for the equipment to cool down."

Carl seized the opportunity and whispered instructions: "We'll retreat slowly, hugging the slope as we go. They're in disarray now, but it won't last long."

The four began to move, backing away from the gentle slope, retreating step by step. The box was still there; Chen Hao gritted his teeth and dragged it across the muddy ground.

They had retreated less than five meters when the last, largest creature suddenly raised its head and let out a hiss.

The two in front immediately stopped swaying and turned to look this way.

“Oh no.” Susan gripped the knife handle tightly.

The leader slowly approached, its claws carving deep furrows in the ground. It stopped circling and faced the four of them head-on, pressing forward step by step.

"It's not afraid of light anymore?" Chen Hao's voice trembled slightly.

“It’s not that I’m not afraid.” Nana stared at the instrument. “It’s adapting. The nervous system is adjusting its response threshold.”

"So, the next flash might not work?"

"It might only buy us two or three seconds."

The leader suddenly accelerated and rushed towards the cover.

With a bang, the box next to the tree root was knocked a meter away. Chen Hao lunged to grab it, but was almost hit in the thigh by a claw.

"Forget about the bag!" Carl shouted.

"No! There's a formula board inside!" Chen Hao clung tightly to the box and dragged it back.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Susan rushed out from the side and swung her knife at the creature's hind leg. The blade sliced ​​through flesh, splattering dark red liquid. The creature, in pain, turned and pounced on her.

Nana immediately flashed her light, and the bright light hit its eyes again. The creature tilted its head, its movements sluggish.

"Chen Hao! Smash things! Make noise!" Nana shouted.

Chen Hao grabbed a rock and smashed it hard against the dead tree next to him.

Thump!

The sound echoed through the forest. The creature's ears twitched, and it turned toward the source of the sound.

Susan took the opportunity to retreat to the defensive line, panting as she leaned against Carl.

"Are there any more signal flares?" Nana asked.

Karl touched his belt: "The last one."

"Keep it," Nana said. "When it charges again, throw it further away to mislead it."

The group held their breath and stared ahead.

The creature stopped five meters away, crouched low, and taut its tail, clearly gathering strength for a final strike.

Its nostrils flared, exhaling two plumes of white vapor. Its eyes were fixed intently on the three people in the middle.

“It’s going to fight,” Susan said.

“We only have one chance left.” Carl gripped the signal flare tightly.

Nana checks the equipment: "The flash can last for another ten seconds, but the timing has to be precise."

“I’ll lead it,” Susan suddenly said. “If I run two steps forward, it will definitely chase after me.”

"Too dangerous!" Chen Hao objected.

“I didn’t run very far.” Susan stared at the creature. “As soon as it moves, you take action.”

She glanced at Carl, then at Nana: "When it charges at me, flash your lights, then Carl throws a flare. Chen Hao, take the opportunity to pull the box up the slope."

No one spoke.

Three seconds later, Karl nodded: "Three, two, one, go!"

Susan suddenly rushed out.

As expected, the creature sprang into action and pounced on her.

Nana pressed the button, and a bright light flashed.

The creature froze, its steps faltering.

At that very moment, Carl pulled the pin on the flare and flung it forcefully into the woods on his right.

boom!

A burst of fire erupted, its orange-red light illuminating the treetops. The sound of the explosion echoed through the valley, creating multiple reverberations.

The creature suddenly turned its head, thinking the threat was coming from that direction, and followed the sound for a few steps before stopping.

The four seized the opportunity and quickly retreated.

Chen Hao dragged his suitcase up the gentle slope, his shoulders burning from the chafing. He glanced back; the leader was standing there, his nose twitching, seemingly trying to figure out which way to go.

“It wasn’t fooled for long,” Nana whispered.

“But it’s enough for us to climb up.” Carl leaned against the rocks at the top of the slope, panting.

The four stood with their backs against the rocks, the encirclement gradually closing in below. Three creatures lingered at the bottom of the slope, no longer in a hurry to attack, but instead growling as they circled, as if waiting for something.

Chen Hao sat on the ground and found his left palm covered in blood. He didn't know if it was from a scrape or a cut from the box.

He looked down and didn't say anything.

Nana's device screen started flashing red, indicating low battery. She tried restarting it several times, but the display remained intermittent.

"The flash unit can't hold up a second time," she said.

Karl pressed the scratches on his arm, his clothes already soaked with blood: "The signal flare is gone, there's only one knife left, and seven bullets left in the gun."

Susan stared at the creatures below: "Why aren't they moving?"

“We were in their hunting grounds,” Nana said. “And…we touched things we shouldn’t have.”

"You mean that stone slab?" Chen Hao asked.

“The entrance to the passage is beneath the stone slab.” Nana pulled up a terrain scan map. “The vibration activated some kind of alarm mechanism. These creatures are probably guards.”

The air was still for a few seconds.

"So we weren't just passing by and getting robbed," Chen Hao said with a wry smile. "We broke into someone's house and even stole some furniture."

No one laughed.

The wind rustled through the trees.

The creatures below suddenly raised their heads in unison, their ears perking up.

They looked into the depths of the woods, then stepped back a few paces to make way for a path.

In the distance, the ground trembled.

Getting closer and closer.

A larger figure emerged from the shadows of the trees.

It was taller than the previous ones, with a bulging back, thick limbs, and the ground trembled slightly when it walked. Its head was covered with bony armor, and its eyes glowed with a faint blue light in the darkness.

All four of them stood up.

Chen Hao swallowed hard: "This thing...could it be the boss?"

Nana scanned quickly, her voice fluctuating for the first time: "The size exceeds the database's record limit. It is presumed to be a group leader with command capabilities."

Carl gripped his gun tightly: "Aim for the head, try to take him down with one shot."

“It’s too far away,” Susan said. “And since it’s not moving, we’re afraid to move.”

The big guy walked down the slope and stopped.

I looked up and quietly watched them.

A few seconds later, it slowly raised its forelimbs and slammed them heavily on the ground.

Thump.

The tremor traveled up the slope.

Chen Hao slipped and crushed a patch of loose soil.

He quickly steadied himself, only to find a crack at the edge of the slope, with half a metal corner protruding from it.

He squatted down and dug around a couple of times, and dirt fell off in a flurry.

Below is a door buried underground, its surface engraved with the same symbols as those found in the ruins.