Yi Sa’s body lifted into the air as she let out a piercing scream.
At this height, falling would mean certain death, and it would be an ugly sight. Suddenly, she felt another sharp pain in her scalp as her body was suspended in mid-air. Her face felt stretched upward, and her eyes were pulled into slants like those she’d seen in Beijing opera.
“Fuck!” She cursed internally. Being suspended by her hair – were they even treating her as human?
Her hair couldn’t possibly support this weight. Yi Sa could almost hear each strand being pulled out or snapping. Gritting her teeth, she thrust her body upward, bracing her feet against one honeycomb cell while gripping another with her hands. With a sudden twist of her head, she rammed it into Yi Xiao’s ribcage.
This was a desperate move that would harm both parties, and Yi Sa’s head wasn’t particularly hard. After the impact, Yi Xiao released her grip in pain, but Yi Sa herself saw stars and nearly lost her balance. Not daring to look around, she desperately dug her fingers into the slanted surface of the honeycomb cell.
The relief of pressure on her scalp felt incredible. Earlier, each hair had been pulled taut, as if her three souls and seven spirits were being drawn out into thousands of threads. Now they settled back into place, like countless deities descending to take their seats on her scalp.
The sound of footsteps – “thud, thud” – grew closer, likely Jiang Jun returning. A hand suddenly gripped her shoulder – Yi Xiao was truly like a ghost, impossible to shake off or kick away.
Yi Sa desperately reached one arm deep into the honeycomb cell for support while ramming her other elbow backward. After a couple of strikes, Yi Xiao let out a cry and her body swung downward.
Yi Sa quickly looked down.
It was Zong Hang who had climbed up.
Though he was below Yi Sa, he had followed closely, not far behind. Earlier, he had also hidden in a honeycomb cell like Yi Sa. When he heard trouble above, he anxiously peered out and quickly climbed upward. When he reached their feet, he ducked into another cell while grabbing Yi Xiao’s ankle and yanking it hard.
Yi Xiao was caught off guard and swung downward upside-down, but she was fierce. She curled her body, almost pressing her back against the honeycomb, trying to reach up to grab Zong Hang. She missed by an inch, lost her momentum, and swung down again. As she gathered strength for another attempt, Ding Yudie had also climbed up. Yi Sa shouted: “Ding Yudie! Grab her arm!”
Before finishing her words, she moved down one cell and grabbed Yi Xiao’s other ankle, quickly ducking into the nearest honeycomb cell.
Hearing Yi Sa’s urgent tone, Ding Yudie knew this grab was crucial. Looking up at the remaining distance, he steeled himself, pushed off the edge of the cell, and shot upward.
In that split second, Yi Xiao tried to lift herself again. Ding Yudie was terrified – if he missed, he would fall to his death.
But his hand found purchase, and by some stroke of luck, he managed to grab hold. After a crack and Yi Xiao’s piercing scream, it was clear her arm had been twisted backward – if not broken, it was certainly dislocated.
Her scream made Ding Yudie’s legs weak. His feet scrambled until they found the edge of a honeycomb cell, and he slid inside, pale-faced.
Almost simultaneously, Jiang Jun appeared on the opposite honeycomb wall. On this side, Yi Xiao hung upside down like a gecko nailed to the wall, both feet and one arm firmly restrained, with only one arm struggling desperately.
There was no escape now – only confrontation remained. The fewer enemies, the better the chances of victory. Three against one was better than three against two. Yi Sa shouted: “Tie her up, bind her with the others!”
When Zong Hang heard “tie her up,” he was confused at first – how could he bind her when he was just holding one foot?
But hearing the second part, he understood immediately: everyone had been carrying supplies on their backs, so rope was readily available.
He pulled out his binding rope without hesitation and quickly tied his wrist to Yi Xiao’s ankle. Just as he finished the knot, the honeycomb shook violently as Jiang Jun leaped across, grabbed Yi Xiao’s throat, and with his other hand yanked her forcefully toward the opposite honeycomb.
Zong Hang felt an enormous force pull him along, and he was helplessly flung against the opposite honeycomb before rapidly falling, with the wind whistling past his ears. For a moment, he thought it was all over.
But the fall gradually slowed, and he heard tearing sounds from above. Looking up, he saw Yi Xiao’s clawed hand repeatedly grabbing at the honeycomb cells, somehow managing to stop their descent about forty meters above the ground.
Upon closer inspection, he almost cried at his stupidity.
Yi Xiao’s other ankle and arm were tied to corpses with rope, forming a long chain of bodies dragging behind her – and he had tied himself to her! Yi Sa’s instruction to “bind her with the others” meant using corpses as dead weight to restrict her movements, not to handcuff themselves to her like police with criminals.
Yi Xiao’s face was twisted with rage as she looked down, then up again.
It was too high – alone, with the weight of three bodies attached to her, equivalent to three hundred-jin sandbags, and a useless arm, climbing up would be nearly impossible. Better to get to the ground first and then shed these burdens.
She released her grip again, and after several controlled slides and drops, reached the ground. Zong Hang landed hard, wincing in pain but feeling somewhat fortunate – it was still better than falling straight down from that height.
Just as he felt relieved, there was a rushing sound above as Yi Xiao’s claw came down, catching him squarely on the head. The pain was searing, but he managed to roll to the side with all his might.
This roll had unexpected consequences – Yi Xiao fell over.
Zong Hang suddenly realized: that Yi Xiao only had one working arm, and since his hand was tied to her ankle, whenever he stood, she would fall. Even the two corpses were working in his favor – if he couldn’t win this fight, he truly would be useless!
His spirits lifted, and though he had no particular technique, he kicked, rolled, and fought with the advantage of having the upper hand, plus his raw strength. He managed to subdue Yi Xiao. Panting heavily as he tied her up again with rope, he happened to glance up and felt a chill run through him.
Yi Xiao’s eyes had tiny pupils, like two points of light, terrifyingly intense.
He had only seen such eyes on Jiang Jun’s face before.
Yi Xiao’s eyes hadn’t been like this before.
As for Yi Sa, her cell was right next to Zong Hang’s. When Jiang Jun yanked them, she watched helplessly as Zong Hang flew out along with the chain of bodies, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, feeling utterly frustrated.
But there was no time to worry about that – she had her problems to deal with. She could only hope he would have a frightening but ultimately safe experience, protected by the spirits.
She retreated into the honeycomb cell while shouting: “Ding Yudie, hold the line! Don’t go out, and don’t let him in!”
Ding Yudie acknowledged, crouching low with his gun pointed outward and bayonet ready, planning to strike as soon as Jiang Jun showed his face.
Outside, everything was quiet for about ten seconds.
Then suddenly, Ding Yudie felt his body moving.
He wasn’t imagining it – somehow Jiang Jun had made the bottom of the honeycomb cell roll forward like a conveyor belt, and it was getting faster.
Ding Yudie desperately tried to pull himself inward, but the outward roll was stronger than his retreat. His upper body was already outside when he quickly pulled out his hook and caught it on the cell wall, his dangling feet frantically searching for another foothold…
Before he could secure his position, Jiang Jun suddenly shot up from below at an angle, positioning his head to ram into Ding Yudie’s body, apparently intending to knock him flying.
Ding Yudie reacted quickly, knowing that being thrown off meant certain death – here, Jiang Jun was the master, the only one who could leap and dive between the honeycombs at will…
Ignoring the pain, instead of dodging, he moved upward, wrapping himself around Jiang Jun’s head like an octopus, sliding onto his back with legs locked around his waist. Jiang Jun roared in anger, gripping the honeycomb with one hand while using the other to pull at Ding Yudie’s arm. His strength was incredible – despite using all his power, Ding Yudie couldn’t resist as his arm was slowly pried away. Suddenly, Yi Sa’s shout came from above –
“Get out of the way!”
How could he move now?
In desperation, Ding Yudie released his grip, squeezed his legs tight, hung upside down, and quickly wrapped his arms around Jiang Jun’s legs. From this inverted position, he could see clearly: that Yi Sa had jumped down from above.
Ding Yudie thought she was also going to jump onto Jiang Jun, but her trajectory seemed off – if she fell, it would be certain death. He broke into a cold sweat and tried to reach for her, but as she fell past him, her hand flicked upward, looping a rope around Jiang Jun’s neck.
This was the long rope they had tied earlier, with sliding knots at intervals that could be enlarged, with wooden pieces inserted to pull tight – the more tension applied, the tighter it would become.
She had targeted Jiang Jun, knowing that up in these honeycombs, she couldn’t match him in direct combat – she had to latch onto him like a leech, using him as transport –
Sure enough, the rope noose caught Jiang Jun perfectly, like lassoing a horse. Her downward momentum was fierce, and the sudden force pulled both Jiang Jun and Ding Yudie over. The rope tightened around Jiang Jun’s neck, making him feel like he was being hanged, but in this crisis, survival had to come first.
He tumbled and fell for over a hundred meters, constantly reaching out to grab the honeycomb walls. When he finally stabilized himself, he felt the choking pressure increase on his neck. There was no time to untie it; he could only keep moving downward. Ding Yudie felt his head swimming with blood, gritting his teeth and struggling to keep his eyes open. Below, he could see Yi Sa suspended at the end of the rope, sometimes being thrown upward, sometimes crashing into the honeycomb, and sometimes being whipped around by the rope.
This must feel worse than being tumbled in a washing machine.
The fall was too fast – while Jiang Jun managed to land steadily, Yi Sa was practically slammed into the ground. She saw stars, her stomach churning, and when she opened her mouth, everything she had eaten came back up. Weakly raising her eyes, she saw Yi Xiao bound and sitting nearby, gagged with cloth, with three corpses tied to her wrists and ankles.
Where was Zong Hang? Had he fallen to his death or just been knocked unconscious?
Yi Sa’s head was spinning, and her vision was blurry. She could only make out Yi Xiao’s eerily bright eyes, and Ding Yudie seemed to be grappling with Jiang Jun…
With a boom, Ding Yudie was thrown off with a cry of pain.
Jiang Jun seemed to be coming toward her. Yi Sa struggled to get up from the ground, fumbling around but unable to find her bayonet. She grabbed a piece of wood instead, but she was too weak – as soon as she raised it, Jiang Jun knocked it away.
Then Jiang Jun reached out, grabbing her shoulders on both sides and lifting her body.
Ding Yudie couldn’t get up either. Wooden pieces were scattered all around him. He grabbed one and threw it at Jiang Jun: “Don’t move! I’ll shoot! Don’t you believe I’ll shoot?”
That intimidating rifle had long since been lost somewhere.
Countless thoughts flashed through Yi Sa’s mind as if something was about to emerge.
— He had lifted her.
— Ding Yudie had also said he saw Jiang Jun lift Yi Xiao.
— According to Zong Hang, Yi Xiao used to be able to communicate normally with people, so why was she like a crazed demon this time?
…
Yi Sa felt her body moving forward, seemingly getting closer and closer to Jiang Jun’s deformed forehead.
She suddenly realized: last time, Jiang Jun had done the same thing, but was interrupted by Ding Yudie and the others’ sudden appearance. Yi Xiao had become like a puppet because she had been controlled!
She struggled desperately, kicking in all directions. Ding Yudie stumbled to his feet and took two steps in their direction, but his legs gave out and he fell with a thud.
At that moment, Zong Hang quietly crept around from the end of the honeycomb.
Barefoot, holding his breath like a thief, he raised the fire shovel he had prepared to break the red shale and brought it down hard on the back of Jiang Jun’s head.
The impact must have been significant – Yi Sa fell heavily to the ground, but it was a satisfying fall. When she looked up, her attention was suddenly drawn to Yi Xiao: though she wasn’t the one who had been hit, her body was shaking violently, and the bright points in her eyes seemed to be dispersing…
Jiang Jun’s head?
His head was so deformed, and he had repeatedly tried to press his forehead against others to control them, could it be…
Yi Sa lay on the ground, too weak to even turn over, and shouted: “Hit him again, knock him out! Hard!”
After two more dull thuds, she heard the sound of a heavy body falling.
Yi Sa started giggling, feeling extremely pleased, a satisfaction that reached deep into her lungs. Zong Hang came over to help turn her over, and as she lay there looking at his face, she suddenly thought he looked incredibly pleasant.
She said: “Head.”
“Huh?”
“Lower your head, bend down.”
Zong Hang was puzzled but complied, lowering his head.
Yi Sa mustered her strength to raise her hand and tapped his head twice with her knuckles, mumbling: “Smart head.”
Then she let her arm drop.
She couldn’t even keep her eyes open anymore, too exhausted – this ordeal had been too much.
Zong Hang was overjoyed inside.
He also thought he was quite clever.
After seeing what happened above, how had he managed to think and act so quickly, coming up with the plan to use a corpse as a decoy while hiding to launch a surprise attack?
Honestly, not everyone would have that level of intelligence.