Therefore, in situations like the one just experienced, the best course of action was to deploy a flashbang first, which would allow for immediate mitigation of any danger.
Now that it was known there was no immediate threat, switching to a flashlight was the most appropriate move.
This tunnel was considerably wider than the entrance. It stretched four to five meters in width, height, and depth. The markings on the walls and floor clearly indicated it had been excavated by something.
As the group realized this, their expressions turned solemn.
They had never encountered a mutated creature capable of excavating such a spacious tunnel. If it were the work of a group, they would have been somewhat at ease, treating it as a beast tide.
However, if a single mutated creature was responsible for this tunnel, the severity of the situation escalated significantly.
Recognizing this, Old Niu swallowed hard and suddenly spoke in a low voice, "Do you think this might be the den of mutated snakes?"
As soon as he spoke, everyone in the hunting team shivered, feeling a chill run down their spines.
"Damn it, Old Niu, can you stop with the wild guesses!"
Someone yelled at Old Niu, but the others didn't chime in, as they were all contemplating the possibility.
It was indeed highly plausible!
After all, all mutated creatures had a normal blueprint. For creatures like rats, tigers, and lions, almost all mutated versions were derived from existing species.
Some might have changed in size due to hybridization, while others might have had certain attributes enhanced. Regardless, they all retained some of their original instincts.
Among these, snakes were naturally fond of burrowing.
Furthermore, mutated creatures often exhibited a characteristic of being an enlarged version of their original blueprint. This meant that, following the current pattern, the existence of a giant snake was quite reasonable.
However, if this were indeed the case, the mere thought of it sent shivers down their spines and made their scalps tingle.
Seeing their reactions, Old Niu instantly regretted speaking his mind. If everyone had berated him like the person who had just cursed him, he would have felt somewhat reassured.
After all, if they still had the energy to curse, it meant they weren't too affected.
But silence was a different matter entirely.
This was something that could easily impact morale.
Despite this, the group showed no intention of retreating and continued deeper into the tunnel, though their steps slowed slightly, and their vigilance increased.
Concurrently, in another space at the end of the tunnel, Li Chonglou hid behind a rock, desperately suppressing his racing heart and concealing his presence.
Not far away, on the other side of the rock, a black snake, its head alone measuring five to six meters long, moved about, sniffing the air with eyes larger than a person's.
The hissing sound of its flicking tongue even echoed within the cave.
Li Chonglou had just spotted a small mutated snake suddenly attacking Old Niu. Due to its speed, he didn't have time to warn him, so he immediately flashed forward and killed it.
However, what he didn't expect was that when he noticed another mutated snake below him attacking, and he stepped on it forcefully.
The ground suddenly collapsed, and he fell in unexpectedly.
Unbeknownst to the others, the moment he fell, he saw this ridiculously large mutated black snake.
And the creature had also spotted him.
In that instant, Li Chonglou and the snake made eye contact.
Li Chonglou was well aware of snake behavior. If he chose to escape upwards at that moment, he would definitely not evade its lightning-fast strike!
After all, a snake's lunge was extremely fast for a human.
Therefore, Li Chonglou made a decisive move. He kicked off the wall and, using the gap beside the black snake, charged directly into the tunnel.
Undoubtedly, his decision was correct. When the black snake realized its prey had entered its lair, it quickly retreated.
This speed was more than ten times slower than its lunge speed. So, by the time Li Chonglou entered its lair and hid behind the rock, it had only just returned.
This led to the scene that had just unfolded.
Even at this point, Li Chonglou's heart was still pounding. While the entire process might sound slow, the actual time involved was extremely brief.
From helping Old Niu deal with the sneak attack to hiding, the entire process took less than a minute. Many of the choices made during this minute were instinctive. Therefore, after finally processing what happened, he couldn't help but feel his heart pound even harder.
It was simply too thrilling.
For example, the instinctive choice he made – if Li Chonglou had chosen incorrectly, opting to escape outwards instead of darting in – he might have already become the snake's prey.
At this moment, besides all this, Li Chonglou was also worried about Old Niu and the others catching up.
Although he had only glanced at the black snake once, he had touched its body when he darted in. That sensation led Li Chonglou to believe that most conventional firearms would only leave a slight white mark on it.
Furthermore, Li Chonglou even suspected that even with Old Niu and the others' strength, it would be difficult to penetrate the black snake's defenses.
While Li Chonglou wasn't entirely sure about this point, as he hadn't truly witnessed their strength or sparred with them.
However, judging solely by their aura, Li Chonglou felt that even Captain Xi Wen would find it difficult to break through the black snake's defenses.
This was based on his experience.
With this thought, Li Chonglou felt uneasy and activated his Sky Eye Scrutiny towards the direction he had come from.
However, it wasn't long before the scene he feared occurred.
Just within his field of vision, the figures of Xi Wen and the others were slowly approaching. In that moment, Li Chonglou felt both anxious and a sense of warmth.
Given such a tunnel, and with the presence of illumination, almost anyone would guess that something dangerous might be lurking inside.
Yet, even so, they persisted in their advance. This undoubtedly indicated that they truly considered him a brother.
As Li Chonglou instantly realized this, his long-dormant heart couldn't help but stir.
He had initially intended to remain detached from everyone during this mission, including Henry the blond, earlier on. Although the group had gone through some hardships together, their relationships would naturally fade and disappear with the passage of time.
However, this time, Li Chonglou felt that he could no longer avoid it.