Chapter 34: Monster
After waiting in place for what felt like five minutes, a sudden, intense explosion echoed from the direction Huǎngzi and Professor Zhang had pursued. The entire cave trembled.The incoming shockwave was so massive it was unbearable. Lǎo Cài and I instinctively covered our ears.A chill ran down my spine. Could it be that the water monkeys hadn't exhausted their hand grenades? Were they using them on Huǎngzi and the others now?But that didn't seem right either. The sound of the explosion was too loud, definitely not the noise a couple of hand grenades could make.A thought crossed my mind. Could it be that the rescuers had returned? Were they launching an assault at this moment?Right now, I was essentially a cripple, unable to muster even a smidgen of strength, let alone get up to investigate. So, I quickly called Lǎo Cài over to check the situation.Lǎo Cài seemed somewhat hesitant, perhaps because he saw how severely I was injured and was not at ease leaving me here alone.I said, "Don't dawdle. If something happens to those two, you should be there to help in time. Don't worry, I won't have any problems for a while."After some consideration, Lǎo Cài agreed. He slowly started to move forward and soon disappeared from my sight.At that moment, my headlamp suddenly went out without warning.I