Huff Huff Huff

Pant Pant Pant

Qin Hua did not stop and kept gauging out huge portions of soil, hardened rocks, and stones. Her hind limbs were firmly planted on the ground and her hands worked frantically, moving at the full expense of her agility.

Perhaps it was because she was finally able to do something like a bipedal creature or perhaps because of the urgency and the alarming explosion sound, she was going through layers and layers of the earth at a frightening speed.

The dirt and rocks that she had removed so far, quickly piled up and almost formed a small mountain beside her.

Meow. The cat sitting atop the tree jumped down and landed softly on this pile of dirt, looking curiously at what its master was doing. 

Unlike Qin Hua's blood-thirsty beastial eyes, its clear yellow eyes lacked any sort of stress or tension. It calmly paced here and there as if it was on a picnic outing.

[Woof! Coco, stop staring at me and come and help me dig!] Qin Hua roared. 

She didn't even care about the damned cat's contribution but it prickled her that the cute thing was simply watching her while she was slaving away and sweating like a pig.

However, what happened next was even worse. 

Meow. The tabby cat jumped down into the big hole which she had painstakingly burrowed and the second that it did, the ground shook and the earth underneath them started crumbling.

[FUUUCCCCK!] Qin Hua instantly panicked. She could handle a fall or a landslide or whatever was coming, but the small thing would only be crushed into oblivion.

[Damn it, Coco! Are you good luck or bad luck? Woof!] 

She barely managed to pick up the cat with her paws and wrap it tightly, when the two of them fell deeper down into the ground. 

Apparently, she had dug all the way through and the rest of the ground underneath was mostly hollow and as the small cat jumped, it provided the small extra pressure required to crack open the whole thing.

Sila Sila Sila

The both of them fell down and landed with a loud thud. Of course, their conditions were completely different.

While one party was completely unscathed and cushioned during the entire fall, the other party had crashed against hard protruding rocks and was covered in bruises everywhere.

Qin Hua's werewolf transformation had already ended and she picked up her wolf body from the ground, shaking the dust and the sand off of her glossy black fur.

[Woof! It looks like we are in some sort of an underground tunnel?]

Before Qin Hua could take a proper look around, a thick strong putrid pungent smell assaulted her overly sensitive enhanced nostrils.

[Gah!!! Cough. Woof. Cough. Cough.] 

She felt as if the stale air and the putrid smell were choking her and her mind spun.

<Ding. You have been poisoned by toxic fumes>

<Ding. Your health drops by 1 every second>

Her reddened eyes became wide as she read the notifications and immediately turned to look at the cat who was already shriveled and curled up on the ground.

Clearly, her luck wasn't enough to get out of this situation.

Qin Hua knew that both their healths were decent, well hers more than the cat, so she didn't worry about cleansing the poison effect first and looked around to find the source of this toxic gas.

[Damn it. Just what the hell is there in this hole? Should I just climb up? Woof]

Though her werewolf form was in a cool down if she really needed it, she could use her jump skill and her claws together to get out of the hole.

Keeping that option in the back of her mind, Qin Hua blinked her eyes and carefully looked around. The entire area was pitch black, completely engulfed in darkness.

Thankfully, she could clearly see in the dark and it did not hinder her vision. She moved around in the small cramped space, keeping in mind the spot they had both dropped in from.

However, weirdly nothing seemed to be out of place. It was just sand and mud and rock solid earth around her.

[Did some beast burrow this hole and die inside? Is that what is giving this god awful smell?]

The black wolf started wandering further and further into the long tunnel which had now mysteriously given birth to more tunnels. 

The entire thing had turned into a maze in the blink of an eye. [Woof! I am going to definitely mess up here. I better bring Coco also with me.] 

Qin Hua quickly dashed back and grabbed the cat softly by the scruff of her neck. She then once again wandered into the labyrinth of stinking smelling underground tunnels.

At this point, she didn't waste time and directly dashed into the places where the stink seemed to be growing stronger.

After a few seconds, she finally heard some noises and Qin Hua's ears perked up. She dashed ahead and quickly peeped into that tunnel, only to instantly switch on her brakes.

The huge wolf halted as if she was frozen in place staring with her mouth agape and her canines gleaming.

The tunnel had opened into a huge underground cave and coiled in front of her were at least a dozen slimy writhing creatures.

Snakes? No, they looked more like worms! And there were so many of them!

She couldn't even tell where one started and the other ended. Just how many of them were even there?

[Ins...pect…] Qin Hua gulped and what she assumed was indeed correct.

<Ding. Rotten Tendril Centipede; Level 27>

<Ding. A mutated version of the common earthworm; Has an enhanced digestive system that is capable of digesting even metals; Likes to secrete acidic mucus and tenderize its prey before swallowing>

<Ding. Rotten Tendril Centipede; Level 21>

<Ding. Rotten Tendril Centipede; Level 31>

<Ding. Rotten Tendril Centipede; Level 25>

<Ding. Rotten Tendril Centipede; Level 32>

<Ding. Rotten Tendril Centipede; Level 18>

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