Chapter Thirty-Four: Wei Lin (Second Watch—Seeking Votes)

P.S.: The quest for votes and updates continues daily. I, Lao Bei, am still earnestly seeking monthly votes, bookmarks, and recommendations. Here, I sincerely thank “Senior Mei Yu” for the generous reward and monthly vote. This is the very first monthly vote of my life, and I am at a loss for words to express my gratitude. I also want to take this opportunity to thank every friend who has bookmarked, recommended, clicked, or commented on “Chronicles of the Loess.” We are just starting out, but I promise to fight alongside all of you, no matter the cost.

Amid the black fur of the giant rat, maggot-like worms, each as thick as a finger, wriggled incessantly. Through the rotting flesh, its bones were faintly visible.

This monstrous creature resembled a decaying corpse, yet it stood alive before me, swinging its elongated tail and letting out guttural roars.

Horrified by its terrifying appearance, I only noticed half a minute later that the giant rat’s body seemed to be curling inward, its formerly towering back sinking lower and lower, closer to the skeletal pit.

At the same time, an eerie sound emanated from its body—like bones slipping out of place—the rat lifted its head, its blood-red eyes wide open, and its entire body trembled.

At first, I thought something was wrong with the creature itself. But soon, I realized something was amiss. Its head and body were getting shorter, as if... shrinking.

Though I refused to accept such a thing, within seconds, the giant rat had shrunk to a third of its original size—and kept shrinking.

I thought to myself, could this demon also shrink its bones?

But soon, I realized all its actions were directed at me.

After a while, I could no longer see its body in my field of vision. Yet its claws remained firmly embedded in the floor at the entrance of the passageway, neither shrinking nor moving.

Suddenly, a chilling silence fell around us—a silence that foretold nothing good.

Yet, curiosity gnawed at me; I wanted to see what form the creature had taken.

At that moment, someone suddenly grabbed my shoulder.

Startled, I flinched and turned to see a man covered in grime standing beside me.

His face and clothes were dust-coated; I couldn’t make out his features clearly, but he appeared young.

“Don’t just stand there—run!” Without explanation, he tried to pull me into the passage.

“Who are you?” Naturally, seeing a stranger here made me wary.

The man seemed urgent. “There’s no time to explain. If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late.”

“What exactly is going to happen?” I glanced back.

Suddenly, my expression froze. When I looked back, I saw a figure standing outside the passage.

It was half a head taller than me, its belly protruding somewhat, and its head grotesquely huge. In place of hands were the same giant rat’s claws—unchanged.

The enormous claws hung awkwardly at its sides, so large that as it moved forward, it had to drag them along the ground.

Suddenly, I understood: the thing before me was the giant rat—but how could it have shrunk to this size? Size aside, the key was that it was now standing upright like a human, approaching us.

Yet those bloodshot eyes and the swaying tail behind it confirmed it was indeed the rat.

I wanted to shine my flashlight on it again, but the man beside me held me back.

“Don’t shine it—be careful not to scare yourself to death,” he said, pulling me back harder.

I thought, seriously? But I dared not face that thing head-on. So I turned and followed him into the passage.

As we moved, the creature’s rapid footsteps echoed behind us. I glanced back and saw it had already entered the passage and was no more than ten meters away.

“Don’t look back. Keep running. Its claws are too heavy; it can’t run fast,” the man called over his shoulder.

Is that so? I felt like it was about to bite my ass. But there was no time to argue. I tensed every muscle and ran hard after him.

After some distance, the straight corridor curved sharply left at a ninety-degree angle, where faint firelight glowed.

Inside, we entered a room containing several large wooden crates. A torch fixed to the wall cast dim light.

Opposite the entrance, beneath the brick wall, was a low, square doorway, its edges worn smooth, clearly constructed deliberately.

I couldn’t fathom why there’d be such a small door, barely bigger than a dog’s entrance.

I expected the man to lead me through it, but instead, he told me to turn off my flashlight and hide behind one of the crates.

The crates were large, but I felt hiding there made us easy targets. Still, he dragged me down behind the crate.

I wanted to ask him something, but he motioned for silence.

Soon, the footsteps reached the doorway.

The creature seemed to stop outside. I heard its heavy breathing and the scraping of its claws on the floor.

Seconds later, it slowly entered. The torch on the wall cast a massive shadow.

It moved through the room like a specter, searching for any trace we might have left.

The stench emanating from it was nearly vomit-inducing. I clamped my mouth shut, forcing myself to remain silent.

Through a gap between two crates, the creature gradually came into view.

Its body was as riddled with wounds as before, and its hind legs resembled those of a kangaroo, supporting its upright posture. After entering the room, it walked straight toward the brick wall opposite without looking back.

As it vanished from my sight momentarily, I realized something was off about its face.

Because I could only see through a narrow gap, it was a fleeting impression—but I was certain its face was no longer black.

Puzzled, I glanced at the stranger.

He had curled into a ball, his gaze fixed on me in a strange way.

I noticed his eyes weren’t just staring at me—they seemed focused on something I was holding.

After pondering, I realized I had a gun in my hand. Hastily, I shifted it away.

Then, the footsteps turned back.

I concentrated, trying to discern what had changed on the giant rat’s face.

After a while, it reappeared outside the gap. I widened my eyes, staring intently at its head.

The rat’s face flashed before me, and I trembled in horror. My knee knocked loudly against the crate.

The man immediately reached over, covering my mouth, signaling me to stay still.

But it was too late.

The giant rat suddenly froze, then slowly turned toward our crate.

The man’s complexion darkened, but I was rooted to the spot, staring blankly.

The giant rat’s head now bore a human face—and not just any face, but my own.

I’m the sort who’s somewhat vain in private—I always feel unsettled if I don’t look in the mirror first thing in the morning. So I know well what I look like.

But now, to see my own face on a monster’s head, my mind plunged into shock and confusion.

The giant rat crept closer, the face becoming clearer in the firelight.

At that moment, I almost lost it. It was as if I were watching my own head severed and casually mounted on a monster’s neck—and soon, that face might open its mouth and bite me to death.

The thought sent tremors through my body.

Slowly, I gripped my pistol, my mind resolute: if this thing took three more steps forward, I’d leap up and shoot its face to pieces. Damn it—if I’m to die, I won’t die under my own face.

“One...” I counted silently, a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.

Yet, just as it was about to take the third step, it suddenly turned toward the door and then... left the room.

Both the man and I were baffled, but neither dared move until the footsteps faded away.

After catching our breath, I immediately asked, “Did you see its face earlier?”

He nodded. “Don’t be afraid. The monster mimics the faces of those it sees. We were terrified at first, too, but once you understand its habits, it’s easy to avoid.”

“What habits does it have?”

“It can only see what’s directly in front of its eyes. You were standing outside, and its eyes were at the height of your head—that’s why it noticed you.”

I nodded noncommittally. “But can’t it smell us? I heard rats have a keen sense of smell.”

He glanced toward the door darkly. “I don’t know. What I told you came at the cost of our lives. But I don’t think it’s a living creature. Maybe it’s a ‘Nether Lord’.”

Another Nether Lord... Huh, how does he know about that?

I was stunned. “Are you from the archaeology team?”

He nodded. “Judging by your gear, you must be too. Why are you here alone?”

I shook my head. Then I asked, “You wouldn’t be one of the three missing students from Professor Chen’s team, would you? Like, someone named Wei or something?”

His eyes widened at Professor Chen’s name. “Yes. You were with Chen? Where is he now?”

Finding one of the three students Professor Chen mentioned made my heart race. I recounted what had happened so far, though I left out some details. I told him Professor Chen was also searching for them.

“By the way, what about the other two?” I asked finally.

His head dropped. “Dead...”

He introduced himself as Wei Lin. The three—himself, Wei, and Qi Hui—had disappeared from the main tomb chamber. He couldn’t recall the exact sequence, only that they’d all woken up in the skeletal pit outside. Since then, they’d been struggling with the giant rat. In the end, Wei and Qi Hui died under its claws.

I was silent a moment, then asked, “How have you survived these past few days? Your gear is outside, but you don’t look like you’ve gone without food or water.”

Wei Lin pointed to the low door. “There’s an underground water channel inside. Some fungi grow nearby. I survived on moss, wild mushrooms, and spring water. Hah, guess you could say I’ve been a hermit.”

He gave a bitter smile.

I returned a grim smile. Then I took out some compressed biscuits and canned food from my bag, offering them to him while opening a pack myself.

Watching Wei Lin devour the food ravenously, I could imagine how hard these days had been for him.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider supporting it with recommendation votes and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.reading.)