Volume One: The Hundred Coffin Mound Chapter Thirty-Three: Desperate Struggle

At the very moment I saw the mummified corpse in the Daoist robe raise the coffin lid, preparing to smash it down onto Li Kun, I turned and lunged straight at him. As I tackled Li Kun to the ground, we both heard a thunderous crash—a coffin lid over two meters long shot right over our bodies. By sheer chance, the lid hurled by the corpse struck the three remaining undead blocking the entrance to the tomb passage. Elated, I slapped Li Kun and urged him, “Hurry, run!”

The mummified figure’s expression changed subtly when it realized its move had inadvertently aided us. With a furious roar, it summoned the hundreds of undead crowding the chamber—they surged toward us in relentless pursuit.

Li Kun and I felt our hearts sink. He let out a strangled curse, “Damn it, they're all after us now!”

We burst into the corridor, and when I glanced back, a chill ran through me—the passage behind us was packed with jostling undead, scrambling over each other in their desperation to reach us. Li Kun fired his Type 87, flames licking from the muzzle, but the bullets seemed to have no effect on the advancing horde.

I noticed, however, that the undead were not moving quickly. The crush within the narrow corridor slowed them even more, and no matter how formidable the mummified corpse was, it couldn’t possibly force its way through such a dense, surging mass.

Still, a new problem presented itself: Li Kun and I could escape the tomb, but what if the undead followed us out? That would be disastrous. The thought struck me—if we could use explosives to collapse the entrance we’d come through, we could bury them all for good.

But neither of us had any explosives. Xu Tian had packed two bundles, but I didn’t recall us bringing any along. I turned to Li Kun. “Old Li, did you bring the two packs of explosives from the car?”

He paused his shooting for a moment. “What? I didn’t catch that.”

I repeated myself, and Li Kun pointed to the pack on his back. “I brought one with me, just in case we needed to blast through something. It’s in my bag.”

Hearing this, my spirits lifted. “Old Li, you’ve redeemed yourself this time.”

He looked puzzled. “What are you talking about?” As he said this, he fired another burst into the undead pressing toward us.

I explained, “Once we get out, we’ll blow up the entrance. We can’t let those things escape.”

He nodded. “Alright.”

Even as we spoke, our feet never stopped moving. The undead behind us, slowed by the crowded passage and hampered by Li Kun’s suppressive fire, were forced into even greater disarray—those in front couldn’t move forward, and those behind only pushed harder, trampling the ones who fell.

The corridor was long, and when I looked back, I saw the undead were falling farther behind. Up ahead, a vivid red pattern came into view.

At the sight of it, I remembered the red dragon motif we had seen on the black stone door when we first arrived.

“We’re almost out, Old Li! Hurry!” I called back.

Hope flared in Li Kun’s eyes; he broke into a run, and I followed suit, our legs pumping desperately. In less than a minute, we were at the stone door. Relief flooded us. We stopped in front of the door and considered our options. I wanted to close it, but it only opened outward and had no handle—dragging it shut was a hopeless idea. Besides, the door was impossibly heavy.

Gazing up at the steep stone steps, I said, “Old Li, get the explosives. If we can’t seal this door, we’ll have to blow it up.”

Li Kun nodded, slung off his backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out a bundle of explosives about the size of two fists.

I took the explosives from him. One end was fitted with a long fuse, nearly two meters for safety—to allow enough time for retreat. I set the charge on the steps, arranged the fuse, and took out a box of matches. Li Kun, weapon raised, kept watch on the corridor; the passage behind us was pitch black, and the flashlight’s beam barely pierced the gloom. We could only hear the roars of the pursuing undead, unable to gauge how close they were.

Gritting my teeth, I resolved to risk it all. I bent the fuse against the sharp edge of the step and cut off nearly a meter, making it much shorter. Li Kun’s face blanched when he saw me do this. “Are you crazy, Liu? With such a short fuse, it might blow before we’re out!”

Of course I knew the risk, but the undead were almost upon us—if we didn’t take the chance, some of them might get through.

“There’s no other way, Old Li. You go first—I’ll be right behind you,” I said gravely.

Li Kun spat out a curse. “You’re insane!” But he turned and sprinted up the stairs with all his might.

I drew a deep breath, struck a match, and set it to the fuse. The moment the flame caught, I turned and raced up the steps.

As I turned, the match burned down, and with a sharp hiss, the fuse flared to life. Hearing that sound, I ran even faster, taking the steps three at a time.

Above was the exit. If I made it out, I would survive; if not, I’d be buried alive right here on the stairs.