Chapter 96: Ruins Entrance
“Did you all hear that?”
Inside the Doomsday Ruins, Doghead and his team were slowly exploring under the protection of their beasts. The Lion King tilted his head toward a nearby teammate and asked.
“Hmph, we’re not deaf.”
Flower Scorpion followed coldly, “That deafening sound—it’s just like the Thunder Type-2 Revolver, and there were two consecutive shots.”
“Was it Ten Thousand Snakes?”
Doghead asked thoughtfully from the side.
“It should be him. No one else has been seen carrying that kind of firearm lately.”
“And with the power he showed before, only he could fire twice in such quick succession.”
Perhaps because Flower Scorpion had witnessed the might of the Thunder Type-2 Revolver before, she understood its power better than the others. Her expression turned grave as she voiced her deduction.
“Should we keep exploring?”
A small, thin man with a moustache—Mole—spoke up hesitantly.
Hearing his question, the others hesitated. They knew the Doomsday Ruins were dangerous, but they hadn’t expected to feel such a strong sense of peril on just the first floor.
“Lion King, what do you think?”
Flower Scorpion turned to their captain. After all, only his beast could unleash such explosive power in a short time.
After a brief moment of thought, the Lion King finally said,
“Everyone knows deep down that the inheritance within this ruin isn’t something we can hope for. We came in with a bit of luck in mind.”
“Since it’s so dangerous, we’ll just explore the first floor. We’ve already collected quite a few valuable items.”
“Besides, with so many people entering the ruins, any dangers on this floor will soon be exposed anyway. What do you all think?”
The group exchanged glances. Though reluctant, they knew his words were true, and they could only nod in agreement.
Seeing their consent, the Lion King quickly issued orders.
“Mole, your beast has a special sensory ability. You’ll be fully in charge of scouting the surroundings. The rest of us will ensure your safety.”
“Understood.”
Without hesitation, Mole agreed. As the one with a sensing beast, he was a top-priority member for protection—there was no reason to refuse.
With that settled, the group, equipped with night vision goggles, stopped heading toward the second level of the ruins and began searching the empty rooms around them instead.
Meanwhile, as Zhou Ming eliminated the ambushing desiccated corpses, the intensity of battles across the ruins began to rise noticeably.
The news about the zombies also started spreading among the Beast Tamers and hunters.
“The Radar Sensory Domain can still detect zombies hiding in the dark, but it can’t pick up the Ironthread Snake. Seems I’ll need to slow down.”
In a corridor, Zhou Ming muttered quietly as he glanced at a headless zombie on the ground.
Having focused most of his attention on the Radar Sensory Domain, Zhou Ming finally noticed a faint green dot—an almost unnoticeable one—revealing the lurking Leopard-headed Zombie before him.
Once prepared, the fight was much easier.
After confirming the area was clear, Zhou Ming resumed moving toward his target. Though his pace was slower, everyone else was equally affected by the zombie threat.
Thanks to his Radar Sensory Domain, Zhou Ming actually became the first to reach the entrance leading down to the second level of the ruins.
When the base was first constructed, several stairway passages had been built besides the elevator, as a safety measure.
Through his Serpent Pupils, Zhou Ming spotted a three-meter-tall passage ahead.
After centuries, the metal door had collapsed, leaving only a gaping, abyss-like entrance.
Uncertain of what awaited below, Zhou Ming didn’t rush in. Instead, he sent his serpent swarm ahead to scout.
Before the serpents could enter the passage, a piercing beam of light shone from a distant hallway.
Zhou Ming immediately recalled the serpents and hid in the shadows.
Moments later, a five-man team arrived—one of them sitting atop his beast, holding a large searchlight aloft.
Arrogant.
That was Zhou Ming’s first impression of them.
As they drew closer, he observed their condition. All five were wearing Saint Elephant Type-2 Combat Suits—the same advanced gear Scorpion-Lion had once used, resistant to ordinary firearms.
Each also wore a sturdy helmet, and their beasts were all at the peak of Low-rank Ferocious Beast level.
They might not be unstoppable, but few would dare provoke them.
No wonder they dared to use a searchlight so blatantly—they were clearly from a major faction.
“Looks like our luck’s good. We’re the first ones here,” one of them said cheerfully as he looked at the untouched layer of dust on the floor.
“Boss, are we really going straight in? Those zombies we fought earlier were no joke—what’s waiting on the second level could be worse.”
Frowning, one of them voiced his concern.
“Relax, Da Zhuang hasn’t even made a move yet.”
As he spoke, the leader turned and called out to a towering, two-meter-tall man.
“Da Zhuang, you’ll lead the way this time. Don’t worry about ammunition.”
“Got it. Leave it to me!”
Instead of displeasure, Da Zhuang’s voice carried excitement at the order.
That was when Zhou Ming finally saw him clearly—a muscle-bound giant of a man, like a living titan, stepping out from behind them.
A massive ammo box was strapped to his back, and he held a Hive-Type I Heavy Machine Gun in his hands.
Damn.
That was Zhou Ming’s instant thought. His entire body tensed, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.
The Hive-Type I Heavy Machine Gun wasn’t a normal handheld weapon—it was mounted on armored vehicles as a heavy-fire armament.
Except for high-tier Ferocious Beasts capable of manipulating elemental energy particles, no low-tier beast could withstand its roar.
And judging by what their leader said, Zhou Ming guessed this elite team had been supplied with spatial gear, likely packed with enough ammunition to sustain them.
The weapon was powerful—but it devoured bullets like no other.
Zhou Ming waited, breath held, until the five figures vanished into the pitch-black passage. Only then did he dare to breathe freely.
Facing such a metallic storm, he knew there was only one option—run for his life.
Otherwise, he might just end up as minced flesh plastered across the tunnel walls.
After ensuring they had truly left, Zhou Ming still didn’t enter immediately. He wasn’t about to risk walking into an ambush.
Only after waiting a while did he send his serpents ahead to probe the stairway. Finding nothing unusual, Zhou Ming finally followed, descending toward the second level of the ruins.