38 The Cave

The exploration team quickly formed, consisting of a total of five members. Apart from Clark, the other four were surviving Alliance warriors, with Michael as the team captain. Originally, Clark intended for Michael to stay behind at the fortress, but Michael disagreed. 

Firstly, as the team captain, he had to lead from the front, and secondly, he was concerned that Clark might not be able to command the warriors effectively in critical moments.

As for Sophia, the little tag-along, Clark couldn't shake her off no matter what, so he reluctantly agreed to take her along.

Standing at the entrance, looking down at the fortress below, everyone knew that to survive, they had to find a way out from here.

The team switched on their flashlights and began to explore inside.

In theory, this tunnel was dug by Black Claw. As long as they followed the path, they should be able to smoothly reach the exit. However, the reality was different from what everyone expected. The tunnel twisted and turned, sometimes even branching off.

Clark picked up a pile of debris from the ground, held it in his hand, and easily crushed it into powder.

"It seems new!" Clark looked at the powder in his hand, feeling that something was off.

The Black Claw attack had happened over a dozen days ago, and judging from the state of this powder, it should have been produced in the last few days. Could it be that Black Claw has returned? Or did those Black Claw guys never leave?

"Something's not right!" Clark muttered to himself.

At this moment, Sophia, who was closely following him, suddenly showed a slight smile.

"It's coming!" Sophia gently pulled Clark's sleeve.

But Clark was lost in thought at the moment and didn't notice her gesture.

The rest of the team continued exploring the surroundings.

Suddenly, a scream echoed from a distance.

"Be on guard!" Michael immediately shouted, and everyone drew their weapons, including flamethrowers and laser guns, all aimed in the direction of the scream.

Boom, boom, boom...

A cacophony of sounds approached, as if something massive was moving towards Clark and the others.

"I want to see what it is!" Clark took out an illumination flare and launched it directly.

The pitch-black cave was instantly illuminated by a streak of light as the illumination flare went off. The flare seemed to hit something and fell down. Upon closer inspection, behind the light, there was a stack of fleshy towers, layers of somewhat decomposed meat, piling up and wriggling continuously.

Beneath the rotten flesh, there was a large circular mouth, filled with sharp teeth, chewing and devouring the body of an Alliance warrior.

"What is this thing?"

"So disgusting!"

"This thing killed our comrade!"

Clark looked at the creature, then glanced at Sophia beside him. He couldn't help but recall what Sophia had said earlier. Could this girl really have known about these things inside in advance?

If that were the case, he had been too careless not to take her words seriously, leading to the current tragedy. Clark felt both guilty and perplexed about Sophia's background.

"Judging by the looks of it, it should also be a zombie, but not a human zombie. It seems to be some kind of insect that has undergone gigantism!" Clark observed the creature in front of him and expressed his judgment. Meanwhile, he fired a flamethrower he held in his hand, releasing a burst of flames.

The others reacted and also opened fire simultaneously.

Several flames, accompanied by laser beams, directly shot towards the monster.

The flames and lasers charred the rotten flesh on its body, emitting a foul smell. However, it did not kill the creature. Instead, it enraged the giant zombie worm, which crawled directly towards Clark, opening its mouth full of fangs, attempting to swallow him in one gulp.

"If you like to eat so much, I'll feed you well!" Clark said and threw all the grenades he had on him.

The grenades were swallowed by the zombie worm and immediately caused an explosion.

Boom!

A wave of heat, accompanied by some flesh fragments, rushed towards them.

"Solved it!" Michael exclaimed with some difficulty. His movements were not as agile as before, and dealing with this situation seemed a bit challenging for him.

"That's not necessarily true!" Sophia pouted, whispering quietly. She looked at Michael with a playful expression. However, her voice was so low that, except for Clark, no one else heard her.

Thud, thud, thud. A series of sounds echoed.

Two zombie worms appeared in the tunnel.

"There's more!" "Everyone be careful, do not let these things fall, or it could cause significant casualties!" Clark warned. He had already seen these creatures devour people, and with their tough skin, killing them wasn't easy. If they fell into the fortress, the damage could be severe.

As for Sophia's words, he could only temporarily set them aside. Although she seemed peculiar, every time she spoke, it served as a reminder. Clark just needed to stay vigilant.

"Like before, concentrate your energy!" Clark initiated the attack.

In the dark tunnel, flames soared, emitting waves of heat.

The people inside the fortress didn't know exactly what was happening above, but they dared not approach, fearing they might be affected.

Half an hour later, both zombie worms crawling out were eliminated.

After observing for a while and confirming there was no danger, they prepared to move again.

"Who is tracking us?" Michael, walking at the rear of the group, suddenly shouted, and everyone immediately halted.

"Who? Come out!" Clark stared at a dark figure not far away and yelled while shining a bright flashlight in that direction.

A middle-aged man with equipment attached to his body appeared before him—it was Christopher, the one who had delivered the message earlier.

"I've seen you. How did you end up here?" Clark scrutinized him. "And what's with the gear on you?"

During this conversation, Clark had already aimed his gun at him. If this encounter happened within the fortress, Clark might not have paid him much attention. However, Christopher's appearance here, wearing equipment similar to that of the Alliance warriors, raised suspicions.

"You're a Black Claw member!" Michael recognized his identity from the equipment and shouted.

Everyone aimed at him.

"He he, Captain, don't be nervous!" Christopher laughed, seemingly unconcerned about being targeted. "I must thank you for helping me deal with those damn zombie worms, allowing me to smoothly leave this cursed place!"

"What kind of person from Black Claw are you?" Clark asked directly.

"Me?" Christopher chuckled. "Just a nobody. You guys named me... Ears!"

"You're the one who betrayed the fortress, leaked our intelligence, and attracted Black Claw!" Michael's eyes widened at Christopher's words, and pain surged through his short legs due to exertion.