Chapter 61: Trapped in the Venomous Snake Cave

Rumble...
Thunder rumbled across the lightning-choked, dark-clouded sky.
Daytime felt as dark as night.
Amidst the fierce wind and driving rain, two figures darted hastily into a cavern.
Qin Churan wrenched her hand from Lu Ming's grip and tearfully demanded, "Why did you save me?"
Lu Ming showed not an ounce of patience toward Qin Churan, pointing toward the cave entrance and saying, "Fine, then go back. Turn right out the door."
At this, Qin Churan burst into loud, bitter tears.
Meanwhile, Lu Ming walked over to the cave entrance and looked outside, a trace of worry welling up in his eyes.
His level was too low, and his speed was simply too slow. If he tried to run, he would undoubtedly fail to outrun the level-50 players from the Dragon Soul guild.
Therefore, he could only hide out here temporarily.
Just as he began to worry that Qin Churan's uninhibited crying might attract the Dragon Soul players, a commotion of footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the cave!
Lu Ming quickly pulled back and, with lightning speed, clapped his hand over Qin Churan's mouth, pinning her against the stone wall.
Qin Churan's eyes widened instantly as she stared at Lu Ming in disbelief.
Before she had time to react in any way, voices suddenly drifted in from outside the cave:
"That 'Godslayer Moon' is only level 33. She can't run fast; she must be somewhere nearby. Search carefully!"
"We'll go this way, you guys go that way. Split up and search!"
"Understood!"
Only when the footsteps gradually faded away...
The close contact made Lu Ming acutely aware of Qin Churan's accelerated heartbeat.
However, Lu Ming felt a bit strange.
"I was clearly covering her mouth, so why could I feel her heartbeat?"
"Huh? What is this soft thing?"
Just as Lu Ming was wondering, unsure of where his left hand had pressed—it felt somewhat soft and rather comfortable to squeeze—he couldn't help but give it a couple of extra squeezes.
Then, he subconsciously glanced down and was stunned to discover that his left hand was currently resting on Qin Churan's chest...
Lu Ming hurriedly withdrew his hand and took a step back.
Qin Churan also turned away her already blushing face and awkwardly straightened her slightly rumpled clothes.
The air fell silent all at once.
After a long moment, Qin Churan calmed down and said to Lu Ming, "I'm sorry, I was impulsive just now..."
"Thank you for saving me."
Lu Ming crouched at the cave entrance, observing the situation outside.
Qin Churan squatted down, burying her head as she sobbed softly.

"When I was little, as long as anyone bullied me, Xiao Wu would appear by my side to protect me,"
"Whenever I was unhappy or sad, Xiao Hu would rack his brains to tease me and make me smile,"
"Ah Long always secretly brought me delicious treats whenever he went out,"
"Old Zhu is a man of few words, but he gave all his gentleness to me..."
Qin Churan's shoulders trembled slightly.
At this moment, she felt as though she had lost the entire world.
Lu Ming looked at Qin Churan and uttered a single sentence: "Only by staying alive do you have a chance at revenge."
Just as Qin Churan raised her head, looking at Lu Ming with tear-stained eyes, as if about to say something,
suddenly, another commotion stirred from outside the cave!
"There's a cave over there! Go inside and check, they might be hiding in there!"
The expressions of the two tightened instantly.
They simultaneously looked toward the depths of the cave.
It was pitch black inside, resembling a gaping maw brimming with endless danger.
Facing the encroaching threat from behind, Lu Ming and Qin Churan hesitated for a fraction of a second before resolutely dashing together toward the depths of the cavern.
Meanwhile, outside the cave.
Dragon Soul Guan Yu personally led his men in pursuit.
Several Dragon Soul players casually peered into the cave and, seeing no one, reported to Dragon Soul Guan Yu, "Boss, nobody inside!"
Dragon Soul Guan Yu entered the cavern, looking at the damp ground where a large expanse of footprints was clearly visible, leading deep into the cave.
He understood immediately.
"They're right inside here."
Hearing this, his subordinates moved to chase after them, but Dragon Soul Guan Yu stopped them. "No need to go in. We'll stay right outside and guard the entrance."
The surrounding underlings were puzzled, "What if they manage to escape?"
Dragon Soul Guan Yu unhurriedly checked his map.
He said, "This place is called the [Viper Cave]. The terrain inside is complex, easy to defend and hard to attack, but there is only one exit to this map—the very one beneath our feet."
"If they want to come out, they must pass through this exit, unless they die in there or hide in there for the rest of their lives."
Dragon Soul Guan Yu narrowed his eyes, looking as though he had already cornered Lu Ming and Qin Churan.
On the other side, Lu Ming and Qin Churan reached the deepest part of the cavern.
In a gloomy and damp expanse of the interior, the rustling sound echoed in their ears. Looking around, they discovered that the ground, the stone walls, and even the ceiling were crawling with snakes!
In the darkness, countless pairs of glowing green eyes stared intently at the two of them.
Only then did Lu Ming realize that the place they had stumbled into was a map as high as level 42!
These surrounding level-42 vipers could very well take their lives at any moment!

Qin Churan's face turned pale.
It was clear that she was terrified of snakes, yet she stubbornly endured it without uttering a single sound.
Faced with food delivered right to their doorstep, those vipers were hardly going to be polite.
Swish!
In the darkness, several vipers flicked their tongues, making rustling sounds as they slithered toward Lu Ming and Qin Churan!
Whoosh!
Qin Churan drew her blade and sprang forward.
Lu Ming said, "Your level is too low; you are no match for them."
Although Qin Churan had reached level 33, compared to these level-42 vipers, the gap was still quite significant.
Yet, even facing both psychological and physiological suppression, Qin Churan did not retreat in the slightest.
"Your level is even lower; if you go up, you'll die faster."
Gazing with blazing eyes at the vipers closing in from ahead, Qin Churan told Lu Ming, "I don't like owing people favors."
"You saved me just now, so this time, it's my turn to save you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Churan lunged forward with her blade!
Slash, slash, slash, slash!
Leveraging the assassin's advantage of high speed, Qin Churan unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes, initiating a combo against one of the vipers.
However, the damage of a level-33 assassin was ultimately limited.
Even her highest-burst combo only managed to strip away less than a quarter of the viper's health!
Instead, bitten by the viper, her own health bar plummeted by half, and afflicted by venom erosion, her health continued to drain every second!
Qin Churan knitted her delicate brows.
Anxiety surged in her heart: "This is bad. My attack power is too low, and this snake's damage is too high. I simply can't withstand its attacks..."
Just as Qin Churan was at a loss for how to deal with this formidable opponent,
Clang!
Suddenly, two consecutive auras bloomed from behind, rapidly expanding outward and instantly enveloping Qin Churan's position.
At the same time, Qin Churan received three combat notifications—
[Ding~ You have received the skill effect bonus 'War Stomp' from player 'Netherworld': Attack Power +4440!]
[Ding~ You have received the skill effect bonus 'Life Bastion' from player 'Netherworld': Shield per second +2345!]
[Ding~ You have received the equipment skill bonus 'Slaughter' from player 'Netherworld': Additional Damage +595!]