Chapter 125: Utterly Down on One's Luck Chapter 126: Achieving Exactly What One Hoped For

An adult with a broad build like Sanders could easily pass through the opening, and Zhao Li was certainly no exception. However, the cave seemed quite deep, requiring a stretch of crawling. Daring not to turn on a light for fear of startling the beast-eared beauty, they could only grope their way forward bit by bit.

Moving further ahead, after sloping downward into the earth for roughly forty meters, the passage changed direction and ran horizontally. After rounding a bend, it became pitch black, devoid of any light, leaving them clueless about what kind of beast had dug this old lair. Groping forward for another dozen meters, Zhao Li bumped into Sanders's body.

Strange. Sanders, who had just transmitted a safety signal moments ago, was now stiff all over, his muscles tightly tensed. Without even seeing his face, Zhao Li knew he must be on guard against something. What kind of thing could give Sanders not even a fraction of a second or an extra movement to warn him?

"Whoosh," "Hiss, hiss," came a low sound, resembling something massive pressing against the ground as it slid over. Combined with that terrifying hissing, it sent a chill down the spine.

"What is that?" The thought had barely crossed Zhao Li's mind when Sanders ahead let out a low grunt. His entire body, like a tightened bowstring suddenly released, lunged forward—as if he had been waiting all along for Zhao Li to descend before charging out.

The moment Sanders stepped aside, Zhao Li instantly felt the space around him suddenly expand. Ahead came a flurry of thrashing sounds accompanied by Sanders's shouts. They were under attack by a creature of massive proportions. Without a second thought, Zhao Li raised his weapon and fired continuously in the direction of the noise. It was a handgun; Sanders could brush off bullet fire, but at such close range, even some ferocious beast was bound to suffer at least minor injuries.

*Click.* The sound of an empty magazine echoed. Zhao Li, having readied a new magazine in his other hand, swiftly jammed it in and resumed firing toward the darkness.

By the flashes of gunfire illuminating the ground, Zhao Li caught a glimpse of the situation ahead. Sanders's muscular frame looked as light as a newborn infant before that colossal entity, easily hoisted more than a meter into the air. The cavernous space appeared far larger and taller than Zhao Li had initially perceived.

He could not make out the full form of whatever was gripping Sanders, catching only a vague silhouette. Unable to determine what manner of beast it was, he could only fire frantically wherever he could see. Deep regret gnawed at him—why had he left his rifle outside? Otherwise, its firepower would far exceed this small pistol.

The bullets were not entirely without effect; each shot caused the behemoth's body to shudder. Even if it failed to wound deeply, it was bound to inflict some pain. Sanders still seemed capable of movement, continuously stabbing wildly at the monster with his military dagger, though his actions appeared agonizingly sluggish.

When Zhao Li had emptied two full magazines, Sanders dropped from midair back to the ground. "Be careful, Zhao Li! *Cough, cough.* An anaconda! *Cough,* what a monster!"

An anaconda. Zhao Li had heard of such creatures; on Earth, they inhabited the Amazonian rainforests, with the largest growing up to ten meters in length. Once ensnared by an anaconda, a victim would quickly be squeezed tighter and tighter until asphyxiated. No wonder Sanders had lacked even the opportunity to speak earlier. The reason Zhao Li could not identify the monster moments ago was simply because it had coiled itself into a tight mass, obscuring its shape.

Fortunately, Sanders possessed Tier 8 strength. Combined with Zhao Li's gunfire and the stabs from his dagger, the pain finally forced the giant anaconda to temporarily release Sanders.

However, this did not mean the anaconda had let Sanders and Zhao Li off. Just as Zhao Li finished reloading his third magazine, the colossal serpent twisted its body a few times and lunged at Sanders once more. Two glowing green eyes flashed in the pitch-black surroundings like a pair of small lanterns.

Having failed to spot the anaconda's eyes earlier, Zhao Li now targeted them instantly, his shots flying true toward the pair of glowing orbs. At such close range, limited though a handgun's power might be, the anaconda lacked thick scales protecting its eyes. In fewer than five shots, both massive eyes lost their luminescence.

"Hiss!" A piercing shriek laden with excruciating pain and fury erupted from the darkness. Zhao Li emptied his pistol's remaining rounds in a frenzy, tossed the weapon aside, and lunged forward with his military dagger in hand. At a time like this, there was no reason to let Sanders bear the brunt alone. In the dark, the lunging Zhao Li suddenly felt as though he had crashed into a solid wall; his airborne figure came to a dead stop and he slammed heavily onto the ground. Ignoring the pain, he sprang up instantly, his hand brushing against a rough, uneven surface.

A moving, elastic object—needless to say, it was the anaconda's body. Without bothering to locate a specific spot, Zhao Li raised his military dagger and drove it viciously inward.

The dagger embedded itself into flesh, vibrating so violently that Zhao Li nearly lost his grip on the hilt. Before he could pull the blade free, the pierced section rose into the air, carrying Zhao Li along with it as he clung to the weapon. Immediately, his body tightened, as if an iron hoop had wrapped tightly around his waist, squeezing him mercilessly.

*Oh no, ensnared by the anaconda.* The thought flashed through Zhao Li's mind, yet strangely, he felt not a flicker of panic. Instead, seizing this opportunity to gain leverage, he wrenched the embedded dagger free from the serpent's flesh and thrust it downward once more into the coils crushing his waist, driving it in up to the hilt.

Another thick ring of muscle layered atop the previous coils of the anaconda. Zhao Li could not determine the serpent's full length, but he was certain it far exceeded the ten-meter limit cited in his memory's common knowledge.

The anaconda's thick body was sturdier than Zhao Li's waist. He had withdrawn his arms quickly enough to avoid being pinned at the elbows, but he could feel that with this second loop of constriction, the anaconda had inadvertently forced the dagger entirely into its own flesh.

The immense force made Zhao Li feel as though he had been thrust into a gallows. His ribs creaked audibly, a sound he could hear clearly himself. Such terrifying pressure was more than even his top-tier ballistic vest could withstand.

Zhao Li held his breath, not daring to exhale even a sliver of air. He knew that the moment he released his breath, the giant anaconda would tighten another notch until he could draw no air whatsoever into his lungs. Holding his breath preserved his strength to struggle.

His hands rested naturally against the anaconda's colossal body, happening to touch its spine. The long-term habit of practicing the Bone-Dislocating and Muscle-Splitting Technique took over instinctively, and Zhao Li applied the technique directly to the serpent's spine.

The anaconda's muscles possessed unbelievable toughness, and its scales were astonishingly thick. Aside from the few rounds aimed at its eyes, Zhao Li could not be certain any other bullets had penetrated its hide. The military dagger, however, had delivered a few solid strikes, though the giant serpent seemed to regard that level of damage merely as a dull pain of little consequence.

To Zhao Li's pleasant surprise, however, while the anaconda's powerful muscles possessed immense resistance, the application of the Bone-Dislocating technique—specifically the muscle-splitting aspect—triggered pain far surpassing that experienced by humans.

When the pain inflicted by both his hands descended upon the serpent's body, the anaconda began to thrash in unnatural convulsions. Instantly, the crushing grip slackened, and Zhao Li could no longer maintain his position in the air, tumbling straight down to the ground. Fortunately, he was not terribly high up; the fall was light and caused no serious injury.

The moment Zhao Li landed, Sanders hit the floor as well, though he still gripped his military dagger tightly. As soon as he touched down, Sanders shouted at the top of his lungs, "Zhao Li, illumination!"

He had carried lighting equipment all along, refraining from using it earlier for fear of alarming the beast-eared beauty. In the current predicament, however, such considerations were impossible. Zhao Li yanked a high-power glow stick from his belt, snapped it fiercely to activate it, and tossed it to the ground.

The illumination from the high-power glow stick allowed the two men to barely make out their surroundings. The sight of the giant anaconda convulsing on the ground, however, was unlike anything they had ever witnessed. Its long body whipped back and forth like a colossal lash, battering the surrounding terrain with resounding cracks and carving a deep trench into the earth. Judging by the sound, taking a direct hit from those coils would be indistinguishable from being struck by a speeding vehicle.

Sanders had demanded that light solely to pinpoint the location of the anaconda's massive head. The only weapons remaining between them capable of threatening the beast were Sanders's military dagger, while Zhao Li's bone-dislocating technique could at most constrain the gargantuan creature without inflicting fatal damage.

"Don't let it settle down!" Sanders and Zhao Li both understood the principle of striking while the iron was hot; a frantic anaconda was undoubtedly far easier to deal with than a calm one. Shouting the order, Sanders did not charge immediately, waiting instead for Zhao Li's cue.

Zhao Li did not disappoint him. Acknowledging the command with a shout, he leaped forward without hesitation. His task was clear: continuously inflict misery on the anaconda to create an opening for Sanders. At a time like this, coordination and trust outweighed all other considerations.

Dodge as best he could to evade the serpent's erratic strikes, Zhao Li repeatedly clamped his hands onto the anaconda's body. Every single time, it forced the creature's massive form into involuntary spasms and distortion. When dealing with a beast that relied on crushing prey with brute force, the Bone-Dislocating and Muscle-Splitting Technique displayed its utility to the absolute limit.

Fortunately, the cavernous space was sufficiently vast to grant Zhao Li room to maneuver and dodge; otherwise, he would surely have been struck by those colossal coils. After a dozen consecutive strikes, the anaconda was nearly coiled into a ball, its muscles trembling incessantly, though the facial expressions of this rainforest king remained unreadable.

Sanders had still not struck. Gripping his military dagger, he kept his eyes locked firmly on the anaconda's head. Compared to its robust body, the head was somewhat slender, yet wide enough to swallow Zhao Li whole without the slightest difficulty. If he missed his strike, finding another opportunity would not be so easy.

The anaconda's tail swept fiercely past Zhao Li's face. Reaching out, Zhao Li caught the significantly thinner tail, a thought flashing through his mind. With a surge of strength in both hands, he executed the bone-dislocating maneuver immediately. A faint crack echoed, and the snake tail gripped in his hand bent into a bizarre angle.

This blow seemed to inflict even greater agony upon the anaconda. Its massive head reared high into the air before lunging downward to slam fiercely toward Zhao Li's position.

Zhao Li scrambled out of the way just in time. The moment he vacated the spot, a deafening crash shook the ground as the serpent's head smashed a deep crater into the earth, burying itself so deeply that it struggled to pull free.

This was the moment. Sanders finally made his move. Springing high into the air, he utilized the momentum of his leap to drive his military dagger downward with all his might into the serpent's skull. Putting his full weight behind the blow, the sharp blade pierced the giant python's scales, breached its cranium, and drove deep inside until the hilt was flush.

Fearing it might still be insufficient, Sanders released the dagger and delivered a crushing punch directly onto the pommel, driving the final exposed sliver of the blade deep into the anaconda's braincase.

A direct strike to the brain—this was unquestionably a fatal blow. Regrettably, whether due to the colossal python's sheer mass rendering it slow to succumb or simply the legendary tenacity of serpents, the stricken creature refused to die, instead thrashing with redoubled fury.

"Don't crawl back in! Let it wrap around you and use that technique again!" Zhao Li had initially taken two steps backward, which Sanders mistook for an intention to retreat into the tunnel, prompting a panicked warning.

That entrance possessed only enough space for a single person to pass through straight. Once inside, they would lose all cover and room to maneuver. If the giant python simply opened its jaws and slithered in after them, it could easily swallow Zhao Li whole. Even if they inflicted damage on the beast in such a confined space, escaping alive would be impossible.

Zhao Li had harbored no such intention to begin with, and even if he had, Sanders's warning immediately dispelled it. Indeed, at a moment like this, being wrapped by the giant serpent was paradoxically the safest option. As long as Zhao Li's hands could contact the creature's body, it could not prove fatal; the worst injuries would be a fall or taking a few buffets from the serpent's coils—statistically the least perilous choice.

Sanders proved himself a true warrior, capable of devising a countermeasure instantly even in such dire circumstances. Making no attempt to resist, Zhao Li allowed himself to be encircled by the giant serpent once more and hoisted into the air.

The violently thrashing anaconda rolled ceaselessly, dragging Zhao Li and Sanders along with it in chaotic revolutions that repeatedly slammed them against the cavern walls. At times, they found themselves crushed beneath the serpent's massive bulk during the rolls, enduring excruciating agony.

To their great relief, however, the struggling grew progressively weaker, and the constricting force binding them diminished until, at last, the massive anaconda fell completely still. Zhao Li and Sanders came to a halt on the floor, maintained in a posture of being loosely encircled by a single coil of the serpent.

When Zhao Li attempted the Bone-Dislocating and Muscle-Splitting Technique once more, the anaconda offered no reaction whatsoever. It appeared Sanders's strike had indeed delivered the coup de grâce. The anaconda had transformed into a lengthy corpse.

Wriggling free from the coils of the dead serpent, Zhao Li felt as though he had been run over by a steamroller; every single inch of his body ached fiercely.

Supporting his lower back, he arched backward to stretch, trying to ease the soreness around his waist where the coils had bitten hardest. Seeing Sanders rise to his feet as well, Zhao Li could not help grumbling, "Damn it, why do I either run into monsters or prehistoric mega-beasts every time I go out? I must not have checked the fortune calendar today—my luck has hit rock bottom."

"Quit complaining. At least we're still standing here talking. That little beauty probably ended up in this giant python's belly long ago," Sanders muttered, rubbing his waist as he walked over. The recent ordeal had left even a man of Sanders's caliber suffering intensely.

Retrieving the glow stick from the ground, he held it to illuminate their immediate surroundings more clearly. Their top priority was recovering their weapons; heaven only knew what other bizarre entities might lurk within this place besides the giant anaconda.

Sanders's military dagger proved easy to locate, protruding directly from the top of the giant python's head. For a creature of this scale, a melee weapon like a military dagger was far more reliable; while compact handguns offered convenience, they were practically useless. At least against this anaconda, aside from scoring minor hits to the eyes, they had played no decisive role.

Retrieving Zhao Li's dagger, however, proved troublesome, as determining precisely where it had been embedded during the struggle was nearly impossible. Having been driven deep into the serpent's flesh, finding a slender dagger within a carcass of such immense proportions was exceptionally difficult. Fortunately, Sanders's keen sense of smell came to the rescue. Since it had pierced the flesh, it would inevitably be stained with blood; all they had to do was search for the bleeding areas on the python's body. Even so, it consumed at least ten minutes of strenuous effort before they finally located the spot where Zhao Li had struck and managed to wrench the weapon free from the monster's body.

With a military dagger in each of their hands, their confidence was bolstered considerably. Armed once more with glow sticks and recovered handguns with redistributed ammunition, they formed a small, functional fighting force again. Only then did they begin examining the colossal anaconda in earnest.

A simple visual estimate suggested the anaconda measured forty to fifty meters in length—several times the maximum ten meters noted in common knowledge, resembling a mythical serpent spirit straight out of legend.

Despite the cave entrance permitting only one person to pass through at a time, the interior space was remarkably vast. The humidity within was exceptionally high, suggesting without a doubt the presence of subterranean water sources or similar features. Anacondas favored aquatic environments and nocturnal activity—criteria that this subterranean cavern system evidently met completely.

"Bad luck!" Spitting bitterly onto the ground, Zhao Li kicked the serpent's carcass. "I only just finished recovering from my injuries a few days ago, and now I have to go through it all over again." The pain inflicted by the anaconda hindered his mobility slightly, a dangerous vulnerability in this perilous subterranean labyrinth where maintaining peak combat readiness at all times was non-negotiable.

"You go first; I'll keep watch!" Sanders was, after all, a Tier 8 expert. Although he likewise required recovery, his condition was still superior to Zhao Li's.

Zhao Li did not stand on ceremony with Sanders; at a time like this, recovering combat capability as swiftly as possible was the ultimate guarantee of survival. Finding a flat patch of ground immediately, he sat cross-legged and adopted the standard posture for foundational physical conditioning to heal his injuries.

After completing seven rounds of nine cycles, Zhao Li emerged from deep meditation. Before he even opened his eyes, a peculiar aroma of roasted meat drifted over, refreshing his spirit and triggering a loud rumble from his stomach. Having subsisted on compressed rations for the past two days, the sudden scent of such a delicacy proved impossible to resist.

"Smells amazing!" Zhao Li blurted out as he leaped to his feet, spotting Sanders handing over a chunk of roasted meat. Serpent meat—he had heard of it, but never tasted it, and had no clue what effects consuming it might bring. Still, it was undeniably non-toxic; during survival training, they had even eaten caterpillars, so why fear cooked meat? Lowering his head, Zhao Li took a bite, grease instantly flooding his mouth and exciting every taste bud on his tongue. Following that initial bite, all reservations vanished, and he embraced the roasted meat like a starving ghost reincarnated, devouring it voraciously.

"Eat slowly. Take over the watch when you're done, and I'll heal!" Now it was Sanders's turn. Wasting no time, he settled into the same posture Zhao Li had used before the younger man finished eating, sinking into silence.

Holding his military dagger in one hand and the roasted meat in the other, Zhao Li stopped eating once he was about eighty percent full. Delicious though the food was, survival took precedence; consuming this much would not impede his movement, but eating any more was hard to say.

This appeared to be a massive cavern serving as an antechamber. Waving the glow stick, he scanned left and right, finding nothing else of note. He did not venture deeper into the cave, deciding to wait until Sanders recovered. However, he did discover patches of dry moss on the ground, finally solving the mystery of where Sanders had procured the fire to roast the snake meat.

Armed with his dagger and pistol, Zhao Li waited patiently for Sanders to recover while intermittently examining the colossal anaconda. Truth be told, creatures of this scale were things Zhao Li had previously seen only in movies and television; he had never expected to encounter one in reality, let alone one that had grown so abnormally massive, seemingly breaking all natural limits.

Could it be that it mutated simply by growing outside of Earth? A thought suddenly struck Zhao Li: what caused this anaconda's abnormal proportions? Could it be related to something extraordinary within this cavern?

Once this notion surfaced, it could no longer be suppressed. Naturally, his first suspect was the mysterious sand grains. After all, the only anomalous natural substance Zhao Li had ever encountered was precisely that. Moreover, this region happened to coincide with the area where Sanders had previously harvested the sand grains, making the probability quite high.

Perhaps the giant anaconda had accidentally or intentionally consumed those grains, acquiring formidable regenerative abilities alongside its monstrous growth. Otherwise, in a rainforest environment such as this, regardless of abundant food or a suitable climate, an anaconda's growth potential was strictly limited and could never reach such magnitude.

In fantasy novels, every peerless treasure was invariably guarded by an excessively powerful entity known as a guardian sacred beast. Perhaps this giant anaconda was precisely the guardian beast of those mystical sand grains.

Unawares, Zhao Li's thoughts drifted back to the beast-eared beauty. Only moments after laying eyes upon her true appearance, she had tragically perished within the serpent's belly. The mere recollection of that exquisitely refined face and its fatal allure caused a sudden surge of heat in his body. Imagining that gorgeous physique resting inside the belly of this giant anaconda filled him with profound regret.

Strictly speaking, finding this location in the first place was thanks entirely to that beast-eared beauty. Did she possess some instinctual ability to locate these mystical sand grains? Sanders had mentioned discovering the sand grains after witnessing a severely wounded deer consume them; could that beast-eared girl possess a similar capability?

"You're awake?" Lost in reverie for an unknown duration, Zhao Li heard Sanders rise to his feet nearby. Checking the time, their healing sessions combined had lasted roughly five hours. This five-hour respite left both men brimming with energy.

Neither spoke of their next move, but the gleaming gazes reflected in the glow sticks' light said everything. Exchanging a glance, Zhao Li tightened his grip on his military dagger. "Shall we continue?"

"Let's move!" Sanders gripped his dagger in turn. Each holding a glow stick, the two men began groping their way deeper into the cavern.

This appeared to be a massive subterranean karst cave, as stalactites soon came into view. Judging by the length and thickness of the hanging formations, they had clearly formed over countless millennia, proving this cavern had existed for a very long time.

Humidity increased the further they went. After advancing several hundred meters, Zhao Li stepped directly into water. The sound of water brought them both to a halt, prompting them to inspect their surroundings closely.

The water beneath their feet was shallow, reaching only to their ankles. Nothing remarkable stood out in the vicinity; aside from pushing forward, no other paths presented themselves.

They had barely survived an anaconda encounter at the entrance; who knew if another lurked ahead in the water? On solid ground, they had relied on sheer luck and Zhao Li's martial arts to dispatch the beast; in the water, such fortune would be entirely absent.

"What do we do?" At this juncture, Zhao Li began to hesitate, weighing the risks and rewards. Perhaps influenced by prolonged association with Kang Hongyuan, he had contracted this habit of meticulous calculation—though sometimes, the variables were simply too complex to sum up clearly.

"We've come this far. It would be a shame not to take a closer look." Sanders bit his lower lip. "Let's keep going!" Free of excessive burdens and traveling alone without the responsibility of answering to bases or subordinates, his decision came easily. "I've never heard of two anacondas inhabiting the same small body of water unless it's mating season." This served as the primary rationale supporting Sanders's decision to take the risk; trained tactical instructor that he was, even calculated risks required a sufficient foundation.

"Let's just hope that behemoth didn't feed on that stuff every day!" Gritting his teeth, Zhao Li steeled his resolve and pressed forward, dagger in hand.

Hearing Zhao Li's remark, Sanders paused briefly. If the anaconda subsisted on those mystical sand grains, it was difficult to say whether another companion existed here to share them—or strictly speaking, to mate with them.

The water grew deeper, transitioning rapidly into swimming depth. The two men paddled forward slowly, maintaining vigilance over their surroundings. Absolute silence reigned; apart from the sound of breaking water, not a single noise disturbed the quiet, creating an eerie, unsettling atmosphere.

Navigating several twists along the waterway, Sanders suddenly grabbed Zhao Li's arm. Suspended in the water, neither spoke, sharing an unspoken understanding. Making a strange hand gesture at Zhao Li, Sanders extinguished his glow stick in a single twist.

The gesture instructed Zhao Li to do the same. Though baffled, Zhao Li followed suit. Instantly, the entire cavern plunged into absolute darkness.

Right away, Zhao Li noticed the anomaly. Within the pitch-black subterranean cavern, a faint glimmer of light flickered ahead. Evidently, Sanders had spotted this subtle illumination before halting him.

Abnormal—thoroughly abnormal. Slowing their pace to minimize the noise generated by their movements, they swam cautiously toward the light source. Advancing gradually until they were within a dozen meters, Sanders dove beneath the surface. Mimicking his action, Zhao Li submerged as well, approaching in stealthy silence.

The terrain curved here, and the light filtered through from around a bend ahead, where an even brighter radiance shone. In the illumination cast around this section of the water, the surroundings appeared entirely tranquil and devoid of anomalies.

Creeping carefully toward the bend, Sanders surfaced briefly to observe before signaling Zhao Li to follow. Rounding the curve, Zhao Li finally beheld the source of the glow.

It was a small islet situated in the water, roughly the size of a soccer field. At the center of the island stood a tall stalactite pillar, radiating a soft luminescence that illuminated the surrounding water. The light was gentle rather than dazzling, yet sufficient to make everything nearby clearly visible.

The instant his feet touched the islet, Zhao Li nearly gasped aloud. Resting quietly beside the glowing pillar was a human form, utterly motionless. Stepping closer to inspect, he realized the figure was none other than the beast-eared beauty he and Sanders had assumed perished inside the serpent's belly.

Dismissing the mystery of how she had escaped the python's jaws for the moment, Zhao Li focused entirely on her. The beast-eared beauty lay comfortably on the ground, entirely still. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, as if deep in slumber. Her face was turned downward, obscuring her features, but she appeared entirely free of the agony of injury.

Zhao Li's gaze shifted immediately to her abdomen, the site of her previous wound. In her slumber, one of her hands still covered the area, obscuring the view slightly. One thing, however, was certain: the wound had ceased bleeding.

Their footsteps were feather-light, failing to rouse the beast-eared beauty. Growing closer, they heard her rapid breathing; it seemed she was not merely sleeping, but trapped in a peculiar state that rendered her entirely unresponsive to external sounds.

Advancing a few more steps, Sanders's eyes suddenly lit up. Pointing in a specific direction, he signaled Zhao Li to observe.

Following Sanders's direction, Zhao Li beheld what his companion wished him to see. Right in front of the pillar, at the pointed tip of a smaller stalagmite, lay a regularly shaped depression. The tiny basin clearly resulted from water dripping continuously over ages; about the size of a bowl and roughly a fist deep.

Within the shallow, crystal-clear water filling the basin, a jumbled pile of multicolored, minuscule sand grains lay submerged. The appearance of those tiny grains matched precisely the ones Sanders had previously given Zhao Li and Li Mengdie to consume.

An overwhelming wave of ecstasy swept through Zhao Li. After days of hardship, they had finally reached this moment. Exchanging glances, they saw the uncontainable joy mirrored in each other's eyes.

The moment he laid eyes on those grains, Zhao Li instantly comprehended the beast-eared beauty's current state. She was not sleeping at all; rather, she was overwhelmed by an intense, irresistible desire brought on by the substance, stripping away her perception of the outside world.

Stooping down, he gently pulled away the hand the beast-eared beauty had pressed against her belly wound. Just as he anticipated, the skin there was smooth as new, showing not a trace of the gunshot wound. Aside from faint traces of dried blood, not a single scar remained.

Startled by Zhao Li's action, the beast-eared beauty finally raised her bowed head, revealing her peerless countenance.

What breathtaking, soul-stirring beauty! Her already mesmerizing face radiated an unquenchable desire, doubling her allure manifold. Her eyes resembled a bottomless abyss of temptation, compelling anyone who saw them to cast themselves in recklessly. Zhao Li took a single glance and lost himself instantly in that inescapable allure. Sanders beside him fared no better, equally dazed and intoxicated.

"#$%^&..." The beast-eared beauty murmured a few incoherent syllables. Before Zhao Li and Sanders could parse her words, a flash of crimson light suddenly appeared around her neck.