17: Chapter 17 is already a dead end.

Within the Flying Tiger Archaeology Team,

they had successfully found a hiding place after fleeing all the way.

However, when they saw the peril Shen Yu and Zhang Qilin were currently in, everyone couldn't help but frown.

"Black snakes?"

Upon seeing the situation on the screen, Shi Zhishan looked toward Fei Erfeng beside him in confusion.

"Elder Fei, if I remember correctly, there were corresponding records of these black snakes in the past logs of the Forbidden Land Exploration Official."

"You remember correctly."

Fei Erfeng's expression gradually grew solemn; he was naturally quite aware of it, so he took the opportunity to explain.

"Just now, I saw many people in the livestream chat saying that members of another exploration team encountered problems or even died after entering that area.

According to the records at the time, these black snakes should be called Black Paddle Ghost Snakes, and their toxicity ranks among the highest in the world.

Furthermore, this type of snake prefers living in colonies.

And their reproductive capacity is extremely strong.

According to the logs, once a Black Paddle Ghost Snake is discovered, it is enough to prove that you have already stepped into the territory of the Black Paddle Ghost Snakes.

According to the records back then, the Snake Nest of the Black Paddle Ghost Snakes covered an area of one thousand square meters.

But those were records from decades ago.

Based on calculations of their reproductive capacity, I'm afraid that figure needs to be multiplied by ten."

These words caused everyone present to involuntarily gasp.

The danger of the Wolf Tide was self-evident.

A swarm of snakes would only be more dangerous, let alone such a large-scale colonial nesting ground.

Entering their territory was equivalent to declaring war.

"Then... doesn't that mean Song Yiqing and the other one are in great danger?"

"Extremely dangerous."

Fei Erfeng shook his head slightly with a sigh.

"What a pity, truly a great pity. I originally thought that if we could invite them into the Archaeological Team,

the combination of technology and metaphysics would surely be like adding wings to a tiger.

But reality often fails to grant one's wishes."

This judgment essentially sealed the fate of Song Yiqing and Zhang Qilin.

As for rescue?

This was the Taklamakan Desert Forbidden Zone, not some city; survival was the most critical thing.

The laws here were quite different from other places.

Bai Yao looked slightly desolate; watching the two men in a stalemate on her phone screen, she suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

However, from the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of relaxation on the face of Xue Xingye, who was standing to the side.

It was as if the death of Song Yiqing's pair would bring him the greatest benefit.

Noticing this scene, Bai Yao felt an increasing disgust toward this greasy man.

'Hmph! Stinking trash!'

...

At the same time, another exploration team was traveling along the same main road as Song Yiqing and Zhang Qilin.

They were all wearing professional-grade uniform equipment, but because they were backed by a corporation, they also possessed a large amount of intelligence.

Before they were about to enter the Snake Nest, they had already chosen to take a detour.

The team leader, Wu Ren, was also watching the livestream. When he noticed that Song Yiqing and the other were trapped, the corners of his mouth curled slightly.

"Hehehe, I was originally a bit worried that these two might have the same goal as us.

But looking at it now, there's no need for such concern."

"Captain Wu,"

at this moment, a smaller man named Gong Chen leaned over and spoke.

"How can we be sure they have the same goal as us?"

"Actually, it's quite simple to explain.

Think about it carefully.

Why, out of so many directions, would they choose this specific path for no reason?

So I suspect they also obtained some intelligence, which is why they specifically took this route."

"So that's how it is,"

Gong Chen nodded slightly.

"Then based on the situation, they didn't know the location of the Snake Nest.

That's why they walked straight into it while fleeing from the heavy rain."

"That should be the case."

Wu Ren nodded slightly and continued.

"But we should still thank them.

After all, without Song Yiqing's accurate prediction, perhaps we wouldn't have thought to seek shelter in advance.

If we had waited for the Forbidden Land Exploration Official to release the news before looking for a refuge,

it would have been far too late."

Outside, the rain grew heavier, and visibility was rapidly decreasing.

And this often meant that the severity of the situation was constantly escalating.

The flood that everyone had been speculating about was also brewing.

Everyone from the exploration teams deep within the Taklamakan Desert had their hearts in their throats.

...

Meanwhile, on Song Yiqing's livestream screen,

the standoff on-site continued. The Black Paddle Ghost Snakes were extremely patient; since Song Yiqing and his partner showed no intention of moving,

they also remained completely motionless.

However, the rainwater that was constantly seeping in began to touch Song Yiqing's trousers.

"Hmm?"

Song Yiqing slightly turned his head.

In that mere instant, a Black Paddle Ghost Snake that had been lurking for a long time immediately launched itself!

Its body had been coiled like a spring, and its flight speed was incredibly fast.

In a breath, its open maw was about to land on Song Yiqing.

Upon noticing this, Zhang Qilin didn't pay it any mind.

Because he was clear about Song Yiqing's strength.

Swish!!

A blade light flashed,

and in the blink of an eye, the snake had been cut in two on the spot.

The snake's head even flew over ten meters away under the force of the impact.

But at the same time, as the snake's head tumbled away, rustling sounds began to rise one after another in the surroundings.

The sound of flickering snake tongues occasionally reached their ears.

Under the light of the two men's tactical flashlights, the entire building seemed as if it were constructed from snakes.

There was no empty space at all.

Pairs of green eyes were constantly emerging from the snake swarm, attempting to get closer to Song Yiqing and Zhang Qilin.

At this critical moment,

Zhang Qilin didn't delay either; he quickly unwrapped the bandage on his left hand, used a bit of force to open the wound, and instantly splattered his blood outward.

Swish!!

The blood scattered instantly, and the power of the Qilin Blood immediately caused the snake swarm to show signs of terror.

Right at this time, Zhang Qilin let out a roar,

"Go!!"

As he spoke, he took the lead to pave the way. With Qilin Blood smeared on his black gold ancient blade, he carved out a path of survival with each swing.

Song Yiqing, on the other hand, was happy to take it easy; since the other party had already used the Qilin Blood, his Taotie Bloodline could be saved for later.

After all, in this place, the true horror had yet to make its appearance!