As they fell, they found out that there was only a short segment of stairs, followed by a smooth rock tunnel going all the way down, like a natural slide. The two of them were sliding down quickly, but the slide seemed to be endless. After quite a while, there was light in front of them. Leng Changxi exited the slide with a thump. He swore that he’d never been in such a disorder for his whole life.
Leng Changxi was supporting himself with his elbows, with his face down. Hearing the scream of Qin Yunuan behind him, he quickly turned around, trying to catch her. Qin Yunuan’s huge momentum knocked him over. She was staying in Leng Changxi’s arms, as the slide-like tunnel scared her. She’d never experienced such speed before.
“Are you okay?” Leng Changxi cuddled Qin Yunuan and comforted her.
Qin Yunuan nodded. After a short rest, she raised her head and looked at the structure of the room down here. It was even brighter than the rock chamber up there, which aroused her curiosity. Qin Yunuan took a few steps forward with the dim light, but she was stunned by what she saw.
She realized that Leng Changxi and herself were standing on the top of a long set of stairs. There were some iron-made bracings, but they had been heavily rusted already. On the other end of the staircase were some uniform and gigantic machines. The largest ones were as tall as a palace. Judging from the digging marks on the rock wall, they could tell that this underground world was built by men. It was hard enough to create such a space deep underground, let alone building so many machines.
Leng Changxi followed Qin Yunuan and came close to her. Seeing the weapons arranged neatly, he took a deep breath. They knew that they had finally reached the center of the arsenal, where countless deadly weapons and dynamite were made.
Qin Yunuan was totally stunned. Her curiosity drove her to stride down the staircase step by step, towards the center of all the wisdom and power. However, Leng Changxi suddenly dragged her arm. She stumbled and fell into Leng Changxi’s arms.
“Don’t go any further. Look.” Leng Changxi pointed at the bottom of the stairs. Because of the dim light, Qin Yunuan could only see a bunch of black objects moving. Even though each of a finger’s length, they were eye-catching because of their fast motion.
Soon, the black thing seemed to pause for a while, and then wiggled quickly on the ground, as if it was delivering a signal. Immediately, a swarm of creatures of its kind came from all directions. They were long and narrow, like centipedes, with many feet. The powerful pincers seemed to be demonstrating their fierceness.
“What are these?” Qin Yunuan saw that the little creatures filling the ground all in a sudden and felt thrilled from head to toe.
“I don’t know.” Leng Changxi looked at the bugs nervously, “But I’m sure that they’re nothing good. We’ve never seen anything good since we came in here.”
Right then, a big spider on one of the gears suddenly fell from its own net. The spider, as big as a palm, was like a lone sheep in a bunch of wolves. The bugs rushed towards the spider in an astonishing speed and rolled into a ball. In the blink of an eye, the bug ball scattered, and the spider was nowhere to be found.
It seemed that these bugs were more than just fierce.
Leng Changxi subconsciously took another step back with Qin Yunuan. Qin Yunuan was glad that Leng Changxi held her just now. Otherwise, she might end up just like the spider.
However, after observing the bugs’ motions, Leng Changxi found the weakness of these bugs. It was that they could only move on planes. They couldn’t go up the stairs, and they would avoid the barriers on their way. It meant that Qin Yunuan and himself were both safe in their positions, for now.
“Let’s go upwards.” Leng Changxi held Qin Yunuan’s hands and led her back.
“How should we get over there?” Qin Yunuan asked as she walked, pointing at the staircases on the other end of the underground room. There seemed to be another hidden space. If this was the factory, that must be the most important part of the arsenal. However, there was such a long distance between them, and the ground was full of these bugs.
“I have an idea.” Leng Changxi walked to the highest point of the staircase and looked at the middle of the room. Luckily, the machines were arranged densely here. It wasn’t hard for Leng Changxi to jump over with the gaps and connections between the machines. However, it was hard if he needed to carry Qin Yunuan with him.
Just when he was annoyed, Leng Changxi saw a two-finger thick iron chain. Even though it was rusted, Leng Changxi tested it and found that it was still very steady.
“Changxi, your plan is?” Qin Yunuan seemed to have figured out Leng Changxi’s thoughts. She looked at Leng Changxi, worried. She had been fully trusting Leng Changxi on their journey here, and it was the same this time.
Leng Changxi tested the length of the iron chain. It was further than the distance between the staircases. It seemed that the iron chain was used to move large machines or tools in the past, and there were marks of tying on it.
Right when Leng Changxi was thinking, there was some sound from above.
Immediately, the two both held their breaths. Then, there was the sound again. It seemed to be the sound of rubbing the coffin. Qin Yunuan frowned. The Duanlong gate couldn’t be opened once it was closed. Normally speaking, Chen Jingrui could never enter the chamber. Could it be someone else?
The more they thought about it, the more it was terrifying. However, Qin Yunuan believed that even though the Duanlong gate, or even the whole tomb was destroyed, there must be another way out. As long as they kept going forward, there had to be a chance.
Leng Changxi frowned as well, as he said, “There’s no time.” Then, he swung the iron chain in his hands and threw it towards the handle of the stairs on the other side of the room. Unfortunately, he used too much force the first time, and he didn’t estimate the distance correctly. The chain fell on the floor in the middle of the room. That bunch of black bugs immediately swarmed over. It seemed that they were interested in everything new that moved. It further proved Leng Changxi’s right not to mess with these little demons.
Leng Changxi quickly reeled the chain to take it back but found that a few black bugs were still clinging on the chain. Leng Changxi immediately threw the chain to the ground and stepped onto them to kill them.
“Hold on.” Qin Yunuan suddenly called to stop him. Leng Changxi raised his boots, and Qin Yunuan fearlessly bowed down to pick up a half-dead black bug.
He was observing it carefully. The black bug has many feet, 16 on each side to be precise, which made a total of 32. Its head was like an ant, and it had two pincers which didn’t fit in with its body at all. Its sharp teeth for tearing its preys apart seemed to be reminding people not to mess with it.
Qin Yunuan had never seen anything like that before, neither had Leng Changxi. However, Qin Yunuan remembered that she had seen it in a book before about tombs. She didn’t pay too much attention to it before.
“These are corpse bugs.” Qin Yunuan suddenly remembered that. “I remember that I’ve read about it in a book. These bugs can bite really well, and they love dark, damp and bloody places. Hence, most of them feed on dead bodies. Whenever these bugs appear, it means that there are bodies nearby. The more corpse bugs there are, the more dead bodies there are.”
After hearing that, even Leng Changxi couldn’t help but felt daunted. Looking at all the corpse bugs on the ground, it meant that there must be mass graves somewhere near. It was reasonable though. People were executed for the riot in the arsenal back in the years. The words of Sun Chengzhen and Chen Jingrui also proved that the arsenal treated the labor harshly. Killing rebellion or lazy workers could be one way to warn others. After all, the Yeren Valley is deep in the mountains, and supplies were limited. An extra person was an extra burden. Killing them was the most effective way.
However, no one would have imagined that what happened in the past actually made the arsenal a perfect habitat for the horrible corpse bugs, stopping those who tried to enter the center of the arsenal again. What a karma it was.
While thinking, Leng Changxi had already thrown the chain onto the handle of the stairs on the other side. He pulled it with some force. It seemed to be stable, but he was not sure if it could take the weight of both Qin Yunuan and himself.
The noise from above was louder and louder. It made people feel that something terrible was approaching.
Leng Changxi was holding the chain in his hands as he looked at Qin Yunuan, “Nuan, hold on to my shoulder. Remember that no matter what happens, don’t let go.”
Qin Yunuan nodded, but her fingertips were already trembling beyond her control. She settled her fear and held on to Leng Changxi tight. Leng Changxi held the chain in his hands and jumped off the stairs, climbing towards the other side along the chain. The rusted chain and handles squeaked, as they were heavily weathered, while the swarm of corpse bugs were only inches below them.
Soon, they were halfway through the room. Even with Leng Changxi’s stamina, he was covered in sweat already. All that Qin Yunuan could do was to stay as still as possible to reduce the burden on Leng Changxi. Just when Leng Changxi was taking a short break in the middle and prepared to keep going, there was a sound coming from the tunnel. It seemed that someone was coming down.
With a thump, someone came out from the tunnel. It was no one else but Mengman.
