Chapter 226: The Fight Begins, There Are Still Lights in the Tunnel
"Mmph!"
Meng Ci and Shen Que rushed forward, each holding a cloth, tightly covering the mouths of the two men.
The man holding the bone reacted quickly, swinging the bone like a weapon at Meng Ci.
Meng Ci, with one hand over the man's mouth and the other firmly gripping the bone-holding hand, managed to stop the attack.
Shen Que, meanwhile, had grabbed a man who was unarmed. Shen Que swiftly stabbed the man, not stopping until he had stopped breathing, before throwing the body to the ground.
Shen Que then stepped forward and stabbed the man Meng Ci was holding.
Meng Ci was quick and caught the falling bone in time, without making a sound.
The iron gate swung open, and the eagle charged in first, followed closely by Meng Ci and Shen Que.
"Snore."
"Snore."
Inside the tunnel, walls made of bricks and mud had been built, creating two small rooms.
Most people had laid out bedding in the middle of the tunnel and were sleeping deeply.
Two women, their wrists and ankles shackled with heavy chains, were cleaning by the dim light of a kerosene lamp.
The chains clinked softly with each step they took.
When the women saw Meng Ci and Shen Que, they were so startled that the broom slipped from their hands.
"Shh!"
Meng Ci gestured for them to stay quiet, and the women, quick to understand, clamped their hands over their mouths.
The broom hit the ground with a sharp crack, rousing the nearest man.
The man, still groggy, grabbed a wooden stick by his bed and swung it fiercely at the woman.
"Damn it, can't you clean properly?"
"F*ck, how dare you disturb my sleep. Do you want to live?"
The woman, beaten until her face was bruised, could only bite her hand tightly, not daring to make a sound.
She knew that if any of the others woke up, what awaited her would be even worse torture.
Meng Ci and Shen Que had already quietly hidden behind a short wall, while the eagle remained standing still, lowering its head.
However, its black body blended into the dark tunnel, making it hard to detect.
"Damn it, can't you let people sleep!"
"Too noisy!"
The other man, unable to bear it any longer, cursed loudly and picked up a stone from the ground to throw it.
Perhaps this man held a higher rank, as the other quickly backed down without a word.
"If you wake me up again, I swear I'll kill you."
The man grumbled and rolled over, drifting back to sleep.
After a while, the sound of snoring echoed from the room again, and Meng Ci and Shen Que moved a little further inside.
The two women kept cleaning, but their eyes were glued to Meng Ci and Shen Que.
Meng Ci gestured toward the oil lamps on the wall and table, motioning for them to put them out.
The two women hesitated, fearing that if they were caught, they'd face even worse punishment.
The woman who had been hit earlier hesitated for a moment, then clenched her teeth and walked over to extinguish the oil lamp on the table.
This could be her only shot at getting out of here. If it didn't work, well, at least it would be over quickly.
The other woman still hesitated, but considering that Meng Ci and Shen Que had managed to sneak in undetected, it was likely that the three guards outside and the two at the iron door had already been taken care of.
These two clearly had the ability, so she also joined in turning off the lights.
Two minutes later, the tunnel was plunged into darkness.
Meng Ci and Shen Que, wearing night-vision goggles, began their hunt.
In the dark, the eagle's eyes glowed faintly, like distant stars, letting the women know they were in action.
Soon, the air in the tunnel reeked of blood.
"What the hell! You're sleeping, but you turned off the lights?!"
At this point, a voice came from inside the tunnel, filled with anger.
"A bunch of morons! Turning off the lights like that—what if someone trips?"
"There's electricity in the tunnel."
Suddenly, a frightened female voice reached the ears of the group.
The three people who emerged from the tunnel immediately became alert.
They had lived in the tunnel long enough to adapt to the darkness and know the layout by heart.
"Where the hell are they?"
As soon as he spoke, the man realized something was off and grabbed two machetes from the nearest bedding.
One of the men quickly headed toward the control switch for the tunnel lights.
"Damn it, what the hell, dare to block me."
"Slap!"
The sound of a slap echoed through the tunnel.
Wearing night-vision goggles, Meng Ci and Shen Que saw that it was the woman who had turned off the oil lamp earlier, protecting the light control switch.
But her body was already weak, and after being hit again, she couldn't hold her ground. The man's slap sent her crashing to the ground.
"Slap!"
The lights in the tunnel flickered on, instantly illuminating it as bright as day.
The three men in the tunnel then saw two men, one tall and one short, wearing masks, appear before them.
The seven brothers who had been there earlier were all lying on the ground with their throats slit, blood pooling around them.
"Damn it!"
The moment the man who turned on the light cursed, before he could say anything else, Eagle, who had somehow circled behind him, pounced like a wild animal.
"Shit!"
The man hurriedly clasped Eagle's neck, wondering how the hell this dog was so big.
In no time, the two were locked in a brutal fight.
Meanwhile, Meng Ci and Shen Que moved silently toward the other two men, just as the lights flickered on.
But these two guys weren't pushovers. Even in the dark, they reacted fast and started fighting back.
By the time the lights fully came on, Meng Ci, Shen Que, Eagle, and the bad guys were already locked in a brutal fight.
Meng Ci and Shen Que hadn't spotted these three guys earlier.
So, there were at least three more guys hiding in the tunnel.
Meng Ci and Shen Que kept an eye on the far end of the tunnel, waiting for anyone else to show up.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Eagle, having sensed something, distanced himself from the man he was fighting and barked loudly toward the inner part of the tunnel.
Meng Ci and Shen Que realized that someone else had come out.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"Damn, some clueless punk just stormed in."
Two men emerged from the tunnel, one still pulling up his pants. It didn't take much to guess what he had been doing inside.
When they saw Meng Ci, Shen Que, and their dead brothers on the ground, the two men immediately dropped their carefree attitudes and grabbed the weapons by the bedside.
"Fuck!"
"You two dare to kill my brothers? Then today, you'll die and join them!"
Meng Ci rolled his eyes. "If you wanna fight, let's do it. Enough with the BS."
Soon, both sides were fighting again.