Chapter 296: 292 Corpse Thralls

How to get across became a difficult problem.

Fang Mu could tell that there should have been a suspension bridge here originally, but it had been destroyed by human hands.

It was likely cut by humans who once wanted to escape from here to block those monsters, only they hadn't expected that they would ultimately underestimate the physical capabilities of those monsters; even with a broken bridge, they could still cross over very quickly.

Given this situation, the only way to get across was to build a temporary bridge.

There were several rock-climbing experts in the team; they acted together and soon built a sturdy rope bridge.

The Mysterious Investigators crossed the broken path without incident and continued to explore the mine tunnels, searching for the traces of the Corpse Thralls.

Fang Mu kept his hearing range wide open; he could hear that deep below the mine tunnels, in those dark and damp places, bursts of strange, low growls were lurking in the shadows like ambushing beasts.

Perhaps they possessed the same powerful auditory abilities as he did; the moment Fang Mu sensed their existence, they also heard the footsteps of the humans who had intruded into their habitat.

That was the sound of food walking right into a trap; Fang Mu heard the excited cries of those savage, cruel, and cunning beasts, and they began to move toward the source of the sound.

The Mysterious Investigators behind him had not yet sensed the arrival of the crisis, while Fang Mu was tensing his muscles and focusing his spirit at every moment.

"Stay alert, I hear them approaching," Fang Mu reminded everyone. Having previously discovered the broken path before anyone else, they had a brand-new understanding of Fang Mu's superhuman senses.

Upon hearing Fang Mu's words, they trusted him and immediately became guarded.

"Can you calculate how far away they are from us?" An Fang came to Fang Mu's side and asked while moving forward slowly.

"Maybe one or two hundred meters," Fang Mu calculated in his heart and replied, "Of course, the mine tunnels here extend in all directions; we cannot rule out the possibility of shortcuts or secret passages. They could crawl out from any dark hole at any time to ambush us..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud, echoing bestial roar resounded.

Without needing Fang Mu's astonishing hearing, every Mysterious Investigator present heard the roar filled with the desire to feed, and everyone braced themselves as if facing a formidable enemy.

Advancing about five more steps, the ever-vigilant Fang Mu suddenly heard rapid footsteps sweeping past the depths of a tunnel entrance on the front left; his gaze flickered, and he indeed caught a glimpse of a black shadow flashing by.

"They're here!" Fang Mu issued another warning to the group.

Hearing this, the Mysterious Investigators immediately set up a defensive formation and threw glow sticks in all directions.

Roar!

The glow sticks illuminated the surroundings; a Corpse Thrall lurking near the group had its fragile eyes stung by the light of the glow sticks, immediately let out a miserable shriek, and ferociously pounced toward the people.

Following a sharp roar from above the group, a series of bestial roars erupted one after another; sparks flew within the dark mine tunnel, and dense gunfire soon covered and suppressed the rampant, monstrous howling.

Hmph!

As if venting his anger, Fang Mu stepped on the corpse of a Corpse Thrall lying before him. Unfortunately, he was far too thin and weak; his strength was insufficient, and stepping on the corpses of those monsters with their well-developed tendons only served to tire himself out.

But it didn't matter; as long as he could vent his frustration, it was fine.

Even though the Mysterious Investigators had powerful firepower and excellent coordination, there was ultimately no such thing as absolute perfection. In the process of battling the large group of Corpse Thralls, they still revealed some flaws. Two people's firearm firepower failed to keep up in time; their trained bodies were still like paper, easily torn open by the sharp claws of the Corpse Thralls, leaving deep gashes. One of them had their heart pierced through and died on the spot, and while the other did not lose their life immediately, they were also severely wounded.

"Leave me here," the injured Mysterious Investigator said weakly to An Fang, knowing full well that they were likely beyond saving.

"I will not abandon anyone who is still alive," An Fang stated clearly.

"But I..." The person's face was full of shame.

"There are no 'buts'; in a place like this, even someone like you who is about to die is useful—for instance, as bait," Fang Mu interrupted the other's self-defeating thoughts.

Hearing Fang Mu's words, everyone turned shocked gazes toward him.

This guy really has lost his mind.

An Fang gave Fang Mu a sharp elbow to the ribs to make him shut up; look at how he had scared their dying comrade.

Fang Mu didn't speak. He had indeed intended to do that, but the reaction of the group made him realize that doing so was indeed not very humane, though there were other ways.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he picked up the shredded meat of the Corpse Thralls that had been blown apart by the Explosive Flame Bullets. Holding a handful of bloody, indescribable flesh, he led the way, tossing a few pieces of meat forward from time to time—he was truly scattering bait.

It had to be said that Fang Mu's method was indeed effective. Those idiots consumed by their appetite would jump out on their own, and before they could attack the group, they were blown into pieces and burned to charcoal by the Mysterious Investigators' Explosive Flame Bullets.

Gulp...

A distinct swallowing sound reached An Fang's ears. Her heart tightened, and she hurriedly moved closer to Fang Mu. While remaining vigilant of the surroundings, she said, "I think I heard the hungry and thirsty sounds of those Corpse Thralls. Stay closer to me."

Hearing this, Fang Mu looked at An Fang with a complex expression, and he hurriedly used the sleeve of his upper arm to wipe the saliva from the corner of his mouth.

The sound of swallowing just now had come from him. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt that the Corpse Thrall meat in his hand was delicious. Even though he smelled the foul stench and the scent of blood, and the texture to the touch was completely different from ordinary meat—from a human perspective, it was something that could never be tasty—for some reason, his long-closed appetite had suddenly opened.

Fang Mu realized that this was his Abnormal taste buds activating. The taste buds that had failed to be stimulated by countless types of food all this time were now secreting saliva, craving to eat because of the flesh of an Abnormal creature.

"No, absolutely cannot eat it!" Having not eaten a "delicious" meal in over three years, Fang Mu was currently being assaulted by a violent appetite that battered his reason. He roared at himself in his heart, "If I eat this, I will truly become a monster, and then everything will be over!"

Fang Mu restrained the urge of the mutation within him, but the Night Vision Devices of the others could not observe Fang Mu's expression, which was currently so ferocious it looked as if he were about to devour someone.

Fang Mu threw away all the shredded meat in his hands, then pressed one hand against the other, controlling the urge to lick the remaining blood off them.

Just then, a burst of faint whispering reached Fang Mu's ears, and the others present also vaguely heard the sound.

The group became alert, but the next moment, an invisible attack surged toward them.

Fang Mu immediately regained his focus and tackled several Mysterious Investigators beside him. Some experienced and quick-reacting Mysterious Investigators also managed to assume defensive crouching postures, but those young and inexperienced Mysterious Investigators were, under the eyes of everyone, sliced in half at the waist by some invisible, sharp object.