Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 64

Those were snake eyes.

Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu had faced the mother snake before and knew what kind of eyes had pupils that were almost vertical slits.

These two pairs of eyes were even larger and more terrifying than the previous ones.

As the iron chains were dragged, the heads of two giant snakes appeared within the light. The heads alone were thicker than Tang Yu’s body. They flicked their forked tongues, flanking the two women, their gazes fixed on them on the chains.

Having not seen light for a long time, the two snakes had a pale pink color mixed with white. Unlike the soft-bodied small snakes, these giant snakes had scales that faintly shimmered with a golden light.

These must be the guardian deities of the underground palace, Tang Yu thought, recalling the snake-headed paintings in the tomb. The deity worshipped by the tomb’s owner was indeed this dragon-like, snake-like creature.

Tang Yu’s muscles tensed, and even her breathing slowed. She stopped looking around, her gaze locked on the red-eyed snake. One hand gripped the iron chain, the other held the hilt of Startling Dragon, motionless. Before her mind could even process it, her body had already entered a state of high-alert combat readiness.

Two people, two snakes, faced off against each other. It felt as long as a century.

Then, the red-eyed giant snake extended its massive head toward Tang Yu. It didn’t open its mouth but instead swung its head violently, crashing into the iron chain.

Tang Yu pulled herself up on the chain, dodging the direct impact, but the immense force sent the chain swinging outward. With this swing, Tang Yu discovered that the other end of the chain passed directly through the snake’s body, embedded firmly in it like an anchor.

Four iron chains firmly restrained the red-eyed giant snake at its neck, body, midsection, and tail. The chains at its midsection and tail extended downward, nailed into the rock, leaving only its upper body free to move. As the giant snake moved, the chains clanged loudly without cease.

Tang Yu was dumbfounded. This was no way to worship a deity; this was clearly imprisoning the giant snake here.

The iron chain Tang Yu was holding was connected to the giant snake’s neck. Under the tension, the chain swung back. Tang Yu’s gaze hardened. She bent at the waist and, as the chain swung back, skillfully lunged toward the snake’s head.

At the same time, Song Lengzhu leaped toward the golden-eyed giant snake on the other side.

Tang Yu dug her fingers into the snake’s scales, used the iron chain to vault onto the giant snake’s neck, and reached out to grab the iron anchor at the other end of the chain to steady herself.

This giant snake’s body was twice the size of the mother snake from before. Tang Yu gripped her knife, and just as she was about to strike, a sound came from the sacrificial altar above.

“They’re out!” the middle-aged burly man shouted excitedly. In an instant, a large bucket of some unknown liquid was poured down from the octagonal stone slab, splashing onto the heads of the two giant snakes.

Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu were also drenched. The pungent smell set off alarm bells in Tang Yu’s mind.

It was gasoline.

Immediately after, a lit lighter was thrown down. Flames shot up, engulfing the snakes’ bodies. The small snakes on the ground burst into a sea of fire, and the swarm scattered in all directions.

Tang Yu quickly let go and slid down the giant snake’s body to the ground. She could no longer worry about the swarming snakes on the floor. The giant snake’s head had been doused in gasoline, and a great fire had erupted, which would soon reach her.

The moment she landed, sticky little snakes brushed past her boots and darted away. They had no intention of attacking Tang Yu, only burrowing into the darkness.

Song Lengzhu followed. They looked up to see both giant snakes’ heads on fire. They struggled and writhed, making the iron chains clang loudly as they tried to retreat into the darkness.

By the light of the fire, Tang Yu saw that the cave showed signs of being deliberately chiseled. It was round on the inside and square on the outside, with runes carved into the rock walls. Besides the small opening of the octagonal stone slab above, there were piles of rubble on both sides, looking like fallen rock from prolonged impacts.

The two giant snakes were now rolling in the rubble, trying to extinguish the flames on their heads, but they were chained and had no escape.

Tang Yu understood. Calling them sacrifices was less accurate than calling them bait, meant to lure the two trapped snakes into raising their upper bodies to a position beneath the octagonal stone slab, allowing Chen Deming’s group to succeed in one strike.

They had come prepared, their equipment and methods exceptionally thorough.

There was no exit in this cave, no water source. Gasoline was still being poured in from above, and the fire grew stronger, intending to burn both humans and snakes to death. The eight iron chains were also coated in gasoline, now like eight fiery ropes, impossible to touch.

It was fortunate that the cave had not been ventilated for long and had little oxygen; otherwise, the fire would have already blazed much higher.

The firelight reflected in Tang Yu’s eyes. She frowned deeply. Chen Deming’s methods were more ruthless and decisive than she had imagined. They didn’t care at all that there were two living people down below.

The small snakes burned to death around them became fuel for the fire. A scorched, foul smell gradually filled the cave. Tang Yu pointed toward the scattered rubble, and the two of them immediately ran to take cover behind a large boulder.

The rocks in these corners hadn’t been doused with gasoline, and there were fewer small snakes, so the fire hadn’t reached them yet. However, the two giant snakes were constantly writhing and thrashing nearby, kicking up a lot of dust.

The red-eyed giant snake’s scales seemed exceptionally hard. Its entire head was engulfed in flames, but for now, it didn’t seem to have sustained any fundamental damage. However, as air rushed in, the fire grew larger. Restrained by the iron chains, their movements were limited, and they couldn’t even coil their bodies.

In the firelight, the giant snake couldn’t help but open its mouth in a silent roar. Only then did the two women discover that this snake had no fangs.

It wasn’t that it never had fangs; they had been artificially removed. Where the fangs should have been, two heavy, blunt bronze pillars were nailed to its jaw. Over the long years, they had fused with the snake’s body. One could faintly see runes carved on the pillars.

Tang Yu’s face was filled with astonishment. Her previous speculations about the tomb’s owner were completely overturned. Totem worship, reverence for deities—it was none of that.

These two snakes were clearly creatures that had been abused and suppressed by the tomb’s owner.

The red-eyed giant snake suddenly stared blankly at Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu. What its huge eyes revealed was not a threat, but a plea for help.

Being watched like this by a creature that had lived for hundreds of years, Tang Yu’s breath caught for a moment. She had a faint suspicion that this snake was intelligent. It understood that the two humans trapped in the sea of fire were forced onto the same side as it, both now targets of human slaughter. It was asking them for help.

Tang Yu’s scalp tingled. Was this a game setting? Or did such a creature truly exist?

The carbon dioxide concentration in the cave was rising, and thick smoke drilled into their nostrils. Tang Yu had overexerted her brain earlier and her head was aching, so she didn’t react immediately. Song Lengzhu, however, quickly made a judgment.

Gripping her golden dagger, she dragged her injured leg and rushed to the iron chain on the snake’s tail, swinging her blade down. It seemed she intended to free the giant snake from its restraints.

Unfortunately, it was unknown what the iron chain was made of, but it was incredibly sturdy.

Song Lengzhu turned back to Tang Yu. “Quick, try your knife. If we want to escape this sea of fire, we’ll need their help.”

Tang Yu realized that Song Lengzhu wasn’t acting out of compassion; she had made the most practical judgment based on the current situation.

Tang Yu got up, stepped over the large rock, and stood on the iron chain at the snake’s tail. As she swung her knife down, she clearly felt Startling Dragon let out a buzz, a situation that had never occurred before.

Tang Yu looked at the blade with lingering fear. A notch had appeared on the edge.

Both of them were stunned. They had both witnessed the hardness of this knife, and now it was actually damaged!

Tang Yu’s heart was bleeding. She quickly turned her head to look at the iron chain. A dull mark had appeared on it, but it wasn’t severed.

“How could this happen?” Tang Yu was dumbfounded. With a mournful face, she glared at Song Lengzhu. “You’ll pay for this!”

Paying was impossible. With the fire nipping at their heels, who had time to worry about that?

The red-eyed giant snake watched Tang Yu strike the iron chain. It coordinated by struggling forcefully, which managed to widen the dull mark considerably. In just a moment, it actually managed to snap the chain on its tail.

Once its tail was free, the giant snake’s writhing strength increased dramatically, pulling the iron chains and making them clang loudly. The burly man’s laughter echoed from the cave entrance: “Captain Chen, the Snake King and Queen are in their death throes. We can go down soon.”

Only then did Tang Yu learn that these two giant snakes were some kind of Snake King and Queen.

Tang Yu gritted her teeth, stepped onto the snake’s body, and climbed to its midsection. She adjusted her mood quickly. Since Startling Dragon’s blade was already notched and couldn’t be fixed now, it was better to free the Snake King and Queen first. Using their power to save their own lives was the most important thing.

Tang Yu’s strike was clean. Soon, the second iron chain was snapped. The red-eyed giant snake cooperated by lowering its head. Then, the third and fourth chains were cut, and the red-eyed giant snake was completely free.

Ignoring the flames still flickering on its body, it rushed toward the other golden-eyed giant snake in the corner. It opened its mouth, bit down on the burning iron chain on the golden-eyed snake’s body, and dragged it to the side, trying to help its companion break free. A snake’s mouth has no scales, and the searing hot chain burned its mouth, emitting a scorched smell.

Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu exchanged a glance and followed.

By the time all eight iron chains were cut, Tang Yu’s Startling Dragon was so badly blunted it was painful to look at. Her face scrunched up, her heart filled with regret. She had found this weapon incredibly easy to use, and now it was damaged. It wasn’t easy to find a good weapon in this damn game. Where was she supposed to find another cold weapon this powerful?

With a mournful expression, Tang Yu looked up. The two giant snakes were coiled together, forming two circles, and had managed to smother a significant portion of the flames.

However, their bodies bore deep burn marks. Even with scales as hard as they were, they couldn’t withstand the high-temperature burns. In particular, the anchor heads of the iron chains remained inside their bodies, and the hot metal had seared the surrounding flesh to a crisp.

Tang Yu took a step back, pressing against the scorching rock wall. In just that short time, the fire had covered almost the entire cave, like a giant steamer. The small snakes were dead or injured, and of the layered swarms, only a small pile had survived.

The rescued golden-eyed giant snake suddenly swept its tail toward where Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu were standing.

Tang Yu was startled and was about to attack reflexively when she realized the inverted-triangle-shaped tail had extinguished the fire in front of them, clearing a space for them to stand.

The gasoline on the ground hadn’t yet flowed to the very edge of the cave. The two people and two snakes huddled in the only remaining clean space, watching the massive fire and contemplating a way to escape.

Tang Yu knew that this type of snake, called a red earthworm, could climb rocks. These two giant snakes could easily scale the cave walls, pass through the sea of fire, climb to the opening of the octagonal stone slab, and escape. But for some reason, they didn’t move.

This moment of silence, however, gave the group at the cave entrance the wrong impression. A subordinate shouted, “Captain Chen, there’s no movement down there. Can we enter the tomb now?”

Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu exchanged a look and tacitly agreed not to make a sound.

Miraculously, the two giant snakes also remained motionless, even lowering their heads and slumping onto the rocks untouched by the flames, looking for all the world as if they had been burned to death.

Only their half-open eyes betrayed the hatred within them.

The severed iron chains made a rustling sound. Three people quickly slid down the chains and stood in the sea of fire.

By this time, Song Lengzhu had already hidden behind the massive snake’s body, while Tang Yu stood openly amidst the rubble, having activated her invisibility. No one could see her.

Tang Yu noticed that the men were wearing gas masks and their entire bodies were covered in a special fabric. They stood in the sea of fire without being burned. It was fireproof clothing.

Then, the three men opened a bag and sprinkled some kind of powder into the sea of fire. A cloud of smoke instantly rose from the ground, extinguishing the surrounding flames.

After all this was done, Chen Deming, the one who had pushed Tang Yu, slid down the iron chain.

Tang Yu noticed that Chen Deming was completely different from the seasoned and capable image she had imagined. He was a slender young man with a fair complexion, fine, curved eyebrows, and silent footsteps. His equipment was comprehensive and professional, a world apart from the players from the cities.

It seemed this team was a group of veteran tomb explorers who frequented Ghost Valley.

Following him, all of Chen Deming’s teammates descended into the cave. Tang Yu saw clearly that the burly man with the rough voice had a full beard. On his back, he carried a small, thin figure like a sack of potatoes.

Tang Yu’s breath caught, and her heart pounded wildly. That little girl with the yellow hair—who else could it be but Xiao Li.