The Unruly Immortals

In the dim underground canal of the Karez, Qing Wanglai reached out to catch the dust that slowly fell from the trembling ceiling.

This unstable structure made everyone present a little uneasy.

Qing Wanglai advised Li Huowang, who was banging his head against the wall hysterically, from a distance: "Li Huowang, you'd better stop. We don't know when this Karez was built. If you cause a collapse in this underground canal, we'll all be buried here."

Li Huowang stopped and suddenly froze like a statue. It wasn't Qing Wanglai's words that stunned him, but Zhao Shuangdian's finger placed vertically in front of her lips.

"Shh shh." Zhao Shuangdian's shushing sound gradually silenced all noises.

She had discovered something, and when she was sure it wasn't just her own Huan Jue, Li Huowang's heart began to race even faster.

Seeing Zhao Shuangdian squat down silently, Ba Nanxu immediately lunged toward her, falling on his knees and using his back and buttocks to rest the gun barrel and body.

Zhao Shuangdian stared at the pitch-dark underground canal ahead, aiming for a long time. Suddenly, she pulled the trigger, and with a "bang," blood began to seep from the darkness in the distance.

"Didn't come in vain? Could it be... not everything that happened before was just my Huan Jue?"

When this thought suddenly appeared in Li Huowang's mind, he was overjoyed and charged forward. The gunfire behind him didn't slow him down; it actually made him even faster.

When Li Huowang emerged from the darkness again, he was dragging a frightened-looking black man with both hands. "Can you see him? Can you all see him now? Is this person just my Huan Jue or not?"

When everyone nodded and confirmed they could see, the ecstatic Li Huowang laughed and plunged the military knife he was holding into the man's neck.

"It's real! It's not all fake! Indeed, some of it is real!"

Just as he had extracted the knife with a piece of trachea from the man's neck, a tremendous force slammed into him from behind, sending Li Huowang flying.

The force from behind was so great that it lifted Li Huowang into the air. Seeing the jagged rocks on the ground, Li Huowang knew that if he crashed down, his injuries would be severe.

With the enemy located, Li Huowang didn't want to get hurt right after the encounter. Using all his strength, he managed to twist the corpse he was holding underneath him.

With a "bang," Li Huowang hit the ground hard, the entire face of the corpse under him scraped against the uneven ground, skin and flesh.

Breathing heavily, Li Huowang got up and returned to his companions, while a group of people emerged from the darkness ahead under everyone's full attention.

They were all human, mostly black. They held various guns, and many were wounded, evidently from the recent skirmish.

The leader was a massive black man who looked at his fallen comrade's body with a hint of anger on his face.

However, he didn't lash out. Instead, he frowned and stared at Li Huowang, asking, "Nafurahi kukuona."

Qing Wanglai stepped forward, blocking in front of Li Huowang, and said with a smile, "Jumbo na gomvi maridhawa."

Seeing that Qing Wanglai could communicate, the man's expression softened slightly. He took a step forward and continued to inquire, "Rafiki, mungu wetu na mfalme wetu."

But in the next moment, Qing Wanglai raised his hand and shot the man in the head without hesitation, easily taking out the leader while the enemy hadn't reacted.

"nye!!" An angry roar erupted, facing the furious roar and the dark gun muzzles.

Qing Wanglai turned without hesitation, hiding behind Li Huowang and pushing him forward with both hands against his back.

"Get out of the way!" Li Huowang kicked backward, using the recoil to grip his military knife tightly and charge forward.

The sharp blade slashed fiercely into the flesh, feeling the vibration from the knife; Li Huowang quickly twisted it. With a crack, the blade slid to the joint, twisting it off in an instant, severing the enemy's arm.

Just as he saw the anti-materiel rifle aiming at him from afar, Li Huowang roared, thrusting his double knives into the man, using the screaming man as a shield to approach others.

The gunfire broke out, and his shield was shattered into pieces, yet Li Huowang crouched down in time to avoid a segment.

Clenching his weapon, Li Huowang hurled it vigorously toward the direction of the gun muzzle, and the thrown military knife instantly struck the man's body.

But it wasn't over; Li Huowang knew that thing must not fall into someone else's hands, as his Bulletproof Vest couldn't stop that.

Just as Li Huowang was about to rush over, clearing a path for the others, a dark object rolled to his feet.

"Grenade?!" Li Huowang lifted his right foot, kicking the object away.

Still, just as it reached a short distance away, a violent explosion went off instantly, shaking everything around.

Being the closest, Li Huowang received the most impact; had it not been for his gear, he would have been done for.

Even so, once the dust settled around him, he was buried in rocks, with just one hand exposed.

In the darkness, Li Huowang felt someone tapping his hand, signaling him to remain calm.

Before long, Li Huowang saw the pitch-black visor of his helmet illuminated again, and he was dug out.

Watching the others clear the rocks off him with all their hands and feet, Li Huowang, only at this moment, felt they were indeed his companions.

"Are you okay? Can you hear me? Li Huowang, how many fingers am I holding up?" With his head buzzing, Li Huowang saw Wu Qi's face swaying in front of him.

He turned his head toward the underground canal beside him, discovering it had already collapsed, filled with rocks, and those previous enemies were long gone.

At that moment, the buzzing in Li Huowang's mind eased slightly, and Qing Wanglai's voice reached his ear.

"They did it on purpose; they want to block our way, preventing us from approaching."

As Qing Wanglai spoke, he took out a Compass from his pocket, shook it quickly, and continued, "But it's okay. This trick can only delay us for a while. The Karez is very long, and there's a wellhead every so often. If we follow this direction, we can find another well to go down."

"Yes, there's no time to lose. Let's continue. Judging by their reaction, we've found the right place," they said and were just about to leave when Li Huowang suddenly stretched his hand, gripping Qing Wanglai's ankle firmly. "San Qing! I've always wanted to ask; why can you speak their language? Are you familiar with them?"