Chapter 298: The White-Furred Monster

After hearing the growl, Chu Danqing immediately pulled out a 100,000-lumen flashlight and shone it toward the spot where the low growl had come from.

Darkness vanished in an instant, and Chu Danqing finally saw the monster.

It was a large feline covered in pure white fur, its body massive and muscular.

But on its head was a wrinkled old man’s face, so pale it seemed never to have seen sunlight.

As the 100,000-lumen light struck it, the monster involuntarily shut its eyes; black smoke rose visibly from its skin and fur, accompanied by a sizzling sound.

“Ahh~” The monster let out a piercing scream, leaped upward, and hung upside down from the cave ceiling, climbing away at high speed, quickly exiting the flashlight’s range.

This monster was powerful, but light was clearly its weakness.

It wasn’t just afraid—it could actually be harmed by it.

The sound echoed continuously through the cave, yet never faded away.

That meant the monster hadn’t left—it had merely retreated into darkness, waiting for an opportunity.

“Little Chu, it… means no harm.” Da Bao’s expression was also puzzled.

He could tell the monster’s earlier growl carried warning and threat—but no malice, which left him baffled.

“What now? Still nothing?” Chu Danqing didn’t understand either. What was going on?

“Nothing.” Da Bao answered honestly: “Not yet. It’s over there.”

“Do you know why?” Chu Danqing pressed.

Da Bao gave him a perfect answer: “I don’t know.”

How could he know? Da Bao was just a five-year-old child.

Chu Danqing thought for a moment and reached a conclusion.

He then took out food with healing properties and a potion to remove negative states.

“My friends and I got separated—they went deeper into the cave.”

“I think you were trying to stop us from entering, but I have no choice but to go on.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you earlier. This is my compensation.” Chu Danqing placed the food and potion into the darkness.

A rustling sound came from the dark—clearly the monster moving.

Because of the darkness, Chu Danqing couldn’t see, but Da Bao explained it to him.

“Smelling.” Da Bao added: “Taking it. Leaving.”

As he spoke, eating sounds emerged from the dark—clearly the monster had sensed Chu Danqing’s offering was harmless.

On the other side, Da Bao grew alert, and Chu Danqing gripped his flashlight tightly.

If the monster made any move, Da Bao would strike immediately, and Chu Danqing would shine the flashlight on it again.

When the sounds stopped, a dry, unnatural voice emerged.

“Watch out. Elephant.”

“Path… behind.”

After the monster finished speaking, the cave fell silent once more, no sound at all.

“Let’s go.” Da Bao relaxed, watching the creature climb away along the cave ceiling.

“Let’s keep going,” Chu Danqing said aloud, while his mind raced with questions.

The monster’s sudden appearance had been meant to stop them from entering—but it held no malice.

Yet Chu Danqing had sufficient strength and spoke with decisive certainty, so the monster had refrained from further interference.

Its warning had two parts: beware something called “Elephant,” and if trouble arises, retreat.

But there was another question: where was the legal team?

According to William’s memories, the legal team were all ordinary people—how did they pass this monster’s blockade?

“Little Chu. Blood.” As Da Bao led Chu Danqing forward, he suddenly stopped and picked up a broken dagger from a corner.

The dagger still bore bloodstains.

Da Bao’s meaning was clear: the blood was fresh.

Chu Danqing took the dagger and examined it closely—it was carved from stone.

At first he paid little attention, but upon closer inspection, he noticed something odd.

“Sharp. Hard.”

“Unreasonable. It looks like a knife, but the size doesn’t match.” Chu Danqing observed.

He could identify it because of his knowledge from the previous trial world’s bestiary of weapon-type spiritual beasts.

This stone dagger felt exactly like a crystal spear—completely incongruous.

“But if there are deities, then maybe it makes sense.” Chu Danqing reconsidered—how could a monster even Da Bao might not defeat be wounded by a simple flashlight? That made even less sense.

So when all these inconsistencies piled up, they became consistent.

“Is there still a scent of blood?” Chu Danqing casually slipped the dagger into his storage space.

Whether useful or not, he’d keep it for now.

“Yes. But… there’s a river.” Da Bao added.

“So they went toward the underground river. Let’s hurry.” Chu Danqing wasn’t surprised by the underground river.

The dead guide had said the cave’s center did indeed contain an underground river.

After crossing it, half the cave would be behind them.

But from the monster’s words, it didn’t seem that simple.

Backward was the path? Forward was a trap?

William Hamlet’s identity was complete, but as an ordinary man with no exposure to deities or the mysterious, he knew nothing of this.

Perhaps both the guide and the monster were telling the truth.

“Malice. Two.”

As Chu Danqing finally heard the sound of flowing underground water, Da Bao spoke first.

His voice immediately alerted the two sources of malice beside the river.

“Eeii!!!” ×2

Two high-pitched, childlike voices erupted simultaneously.

Chu Danqing instantly pinpointed the sound sources and flashed his flashlight toward them.

The sudden brightness forced the two malice sources to squint and raise their hands to shield their eyes.

At the same time, Chu Danqing saw what they looked like.

Two dwarves, about one meter tall, with eyes so tiny they looked like buttons glued onto round, basketball-sized heads.

Their bodies had no hair, yet were packed with dense muscle, appearing powerfully built.

Their weapons were short knives—identical in style to the broken dagger Chu Danqing had found earlier.

Chu Danqing now understood: he hadn’t been wrong—it really was a knife.

It looked like a dagger only because it wasn’t sized for normal humans—it was made for these dwarves.

Meanwhile, the two dwarves had already adjusted to the light and charged again, short knives raised.

This showed they weren’t afraid of light like the white-furred monster.

Their initial reaction was merely instinctive—sudden brightness in darkness naturally caused discomfort.

Chu Danqing then noticed something odd on one dwarf’s body.

On his dirty, worn clothing hung a clearly modern-made pocket watch.

Clearly looted from Chu Danqing’s legal team.

This news had good and bad sides.

Good: Chu Danqing hadn’t gone the wrong way. Bad: His legal team had likely suffered heavy casualties.

Da Bao rushed forward immediately and engaged the two dwarves in combat.

In battle, Da Bao fought both at once and held the upper hand.

The dwarves were clearly weaker than the white-furred monster, but their short knives were extremely sharp and hard.

When their strikes landed on Da Bao, they chipped off large chunks of his shield and could even block Da Bao’s claws with their knives.

The knives’ strength matched Chu Danqing’s suspicion.

Seeing this, Chu Danqing activated his Elemental Spirit Glove and randomly summoned a Terra Spirit.

He winced—he’d wanted a Fire Spirit.

It would have boosted Da Bao’s attack and served as a light source.

Too bad—it was random. He couldn’t control it.

Whatever it summoned, he had to accept.

If it were his own skill, he could direct it—but skills from gear were rigid programs.

Only an Adept specializing in gear-based paths could control them.

The Terra Spirit’s defense boost made little difference.

Da Bao already had a shield, and Chu Danqing was continuously channeling his Array Co-Defense Shield.

So even if the shield dropped, it was instantly replenished.

“Ee?” One dwarf noticed the Terra Spirit and turned his gaze toward Chu Danqing.

He immediately raised his knife and charged at Chu Danqing.

But as he pulled away, the other dwarf was instantly impaled through the neck by Da Bao’s claw—and his head torn clean off.

Yet the dwarf’s life force was astonishingly resilient—even decapitated, he didn’t die; his head rolled on the ground, blinking once.

Chu Danqing was also stunned; even a third-rank Guo Ming could not be beheaded with a single sword strike.

The other dwarf charging toward Chu Danqing was chased down by Dabao, kicked to the ground, and then stabbed repeatedly in the back with its claws over a dozen times.

Chu Danqing could clearly see the internal organs torn apart by the claws through the wounds on its back.

Yet even so, this dwarf had not died—it was even in better condition than the one whose head had been severed.

Chu Danqing found this troubling; these two dwarves were almost certainly low-tier minions.

Combined with their extraordinary vitality and the unknown stone shortblade’s attack power, two might be manageable—but if their numbers grew, it would become a serious problem.

Chu Danqing understood well that the war mission was indeed difficult.

Moreover, this was a covert infiltration mission, and Chu Danqing had no other apostles as teammates, making it even harder.

But the corresponding danger was lower, since he was now in the shadows while the Nightmare Walker was in the open.

As long as he did not reveal himself, he could fully disguise himself as a native and gain sufficient advantage.

(End of Chapter)