Chapter 553 - 360: Overwhelming Hatred, Vowing to Make Him Regret Being Born

Chapter 553: Chapter 360: Overwhelming Hatred, Vowing to Make Him Regret Being Born

"Kid, why did you just come out of that cave?" Li Mai demanded, his face grim.

The members of the other Treasure Hunting Teams guessed that Lin Li had run into the cave to snag some easy loot during the earlier chaos. Naturally, Li Mai had the same thought.

Lin Li glanced at Li Mai, who was questioning him, but couldn’t be bothered to respond. Instead, he started to walk forward.

He shot past them at a speed Li Mai and his men couldn’t possibly react to, heading straight for the valley exit.

"So fast!!!" the onlooking members of the other Treasure Hunting Teams exclaimed in surprise.

Li Mai and his men were stunned for a moment by Lin Li’s incredible speed. They hadn’t expected the young man to dare escape so brazenly, right under their noses.

"Boss, that kid’s getting away!" one of the underlings shouted, turning to watch Lin Li shrink into the distance.

"Damn it, that kid is fast," Li Mai said. "Forget it. Business comes first. Let’s get into the cave and find the Spirit Stone Mine." He had no intention of chasing after Lin Li.

"Boss, that guy just came out of the cave. Could he have already stolen some Spirit Stones?" one of his men speculated.

"Think back," Li Mai analyzed. "His hands were empty, and his pockets weren’t bulging. He probably didn’t take any Spirit Stones..."

It was precisely because he judged that Lin Li hadn’t stolen any Spirit Stones from the cave that he decided not to chase him.

The underlings recalled Lin Li’s appearance and had to agree with their boss. He really didn’t look like he’d taken any Spirit Stones.

Although Li Mai and his men were a bit disappointed they couldn’t stop the young man and teach him a lesson for his arrogance, they knew they had to prioritize. Completing the task given to them by Young Master Zhao was their top priority.

"Alright, let’s go into the cave." Li Mai called for his men to snap out of it, then took the first step toward the entrance.

But just then, a strange sound came from the pitch-black cave.

SKITTER SKITTER SKITTER...

Hearing the strange sound from the cave, Li Mai and his men all stopped in their tracks.

"Boss, I think there are rats in the cave," one of the men said. The strange noise from the pitch-black interior reminded him of the rats he sometimes encountered when he got up in the middle of the night at home.

"It sounds like rats, but... there’s something different about it..." another underling concluded, listening intently.

Li Mai listened to his two men, his expression serious. He remained silent, staring at the cave from which the strange sound emanated.

Soon, the source of the sound was revealed.

"Fuck, it’s a Centipede Swarm..." Li Mai instantly understood what was happening when the first dozen or so large, jet-black centipedes scrambled out of the pitch-black cave. "Everyone, run!" he yelled to his men.

The men who were a beat slower to react froze when they saw the giant centipedes pouring out of the cave. They never would have imagined that sound was coming from creatures like these.

At their boss’s warning, a cold shiver ran down their spines. They immediately turned and fled for their lives.

The jet-black centipedes had originally been hunting Lin Li. But to their surprise, Lin Li was so fast that he’d left them far behind, escaping the cave and disappearing in a flash.

However, they didn’t give up immediately and continued their pursuit, emerging outside the cave.

Although their original target was gone, the jet-black centipedes discovered plenty of other delicious prey just outside the cave and immediately switched targets.

"Holy shit! It’s a Centipede Swarm, and it’s a huge one! Everyone, run!"

The members of the Treasure Hunting Squads, who had been watching the spectacle from a distance, felt their hearts seize with terror and screamed in panic when they saw the massive number of large centipedes pouring from the cave.

Their reaction now seemed even more extreme than when they had encountered the Green-backed Toad Beast earlier.

It made sense, really. Humans are naturally more terrified when facing a seemingly endless tide of terrifying crawlers swarming toward them.

"Get the fuck out of my way! Don’t block my path!" the fleeing Li Mai and his men cursed at the members of the Treasure Hunting Squads who were in their way.

In such a critical moment, with their own lives at stake, the members of the Treasure Hunting Squads naturally weren’t about to make way for Li Mai and his group.

Even if he had threatened them with Young Master Zhao at that moment, it would have been useless.

THUD.

As he was running, one of the underlings accidentally tripped on a rock and fell hard.

Although the fall hurt badly, he knew how critical the situation was. Enduring the pain, he immediately scrambled to his feet, trying to keep running.

But that accidental fall sealed his fate. He would have no more chances to escape with his life.

The jet-black centipedes crawled with terrifying speed. The underling had just scrambled up from the ground and hadn’t even gotten back up to speed before the pursuing Centipede Swarm completely surrounded him.

"Boss, save me!" The trapped underling screamed in terror at the fleeing Li Mai as the jet-black centipedes pounced on him one after another, launching a frenzied assault.