After finally making it past the Nine-Tiered Demon Tower, I walked less than two hundred steps when suddenly my foot sank, as if I had stepped on some giant creature. I shone my flashlight down and saw a massive reptile I had never encountered before. It flicked its long tongue, blending in with the ground due to its similar color. It resembled a giant lizard and a crocodile, but its skin was not as rough, and its snout was rounder and less pointed than a lizard’s. Its tongue was long and red, forked at the tip, and its body was covered in shiny black skin with large white spots. If I had to describe it, I would say it looked like a super frog with a long tail.
In my life, I fear nothing but these disgusting creatures. Terrified, I quickly stepped behind the big guy. He also spotted the strange animal and jumped back in surprise. The only reliable companion for a soldier is their gun, and out of instinct, he raised it and fired a few shots. The reptile twisted a few times and then lay still.
At that moment, Luo Ning, who was at the back, came over. After glancing at the dead creature, he sighed and said, “This is a salamander that lives underground. It feeds on insects and mayflies, and it doesn’t harm people.”
I didn’t feel sorry for killing the creature; my concern was that the big guy’s reckless shooting might wake the bettles in the tower. The gunfire clearly startled the bettles in the Nine-Tiered Demon Tower, and countless blue fireballs lit up like lanterns.
The entire underground space was bathed in blue light, and the wooden tower caught fire. The flames grew larger, and hundreds of fireballs rushed toward us. Despite the size of the fire, we felt no heat; instead, a chilling cold surrounded us, making our teeth chatter.
Seeing the situation was dire, the big guy pulled out two grenades from his belt, ready to throw one to blow up the fireballs. I quickly grabbed his hand, saying, “Throw one, but keep one for us. I don’t want to be burned by that ghost fire.”
Our wooden-handled grenades were standard infantry equipment. They were wrapped in a cylindrical iron casing, with a wooden grip at the bottom. When triggered, the explosives inside would send metal fragments flying to injure the enemy, but their power was not very strong.
The big guy kept one grenade and I took the other. Seeing that several fireballs were already rushing toward us, I pulled the pin and threw the grenade, which began to emit white smoke.
The grenade exploded in a cloud of white smoke, and the shrapnel hit the blue fireballs in front of us, causing many to fall to the ground and extinguish. However, even more fireballs surged in from behind.
Luo Ning led the way, while the other three of us covered the rear, firing our semi-automatic rifles as we retreated. Each of us had about twenty rounds, and within two minutes, we had used them all.
To deal with those strange blue fireballs created by the bettles, we could only shoot at them. Any contact would ignite us in flames. A rifle without bullets was less useful than a stick for starting a fire.
The big guy tossed aside his rifle and pulled out his last grenade, shouting to me, “Old Hu, it’s time! Are we doing this or not?”
I supported Ga Wa with Luo Ning, and the four of us formed a circle around the grenade the big guy was holding. I stared at the grenade, knowing that as soon as he pulled the pin, we would all be finished in a matter of seconds.
The final moment had arrived.
In such a situation, I couldn’t afford to think too much. The fireballs were getting closer, and I had no time to dwell on thoughts of life and death. I worried that overthinking would make me weak. I had always wanted to be a hero, but instead of dying on the battlefield, I found myself facing an unclear end beneath the Kunlun Mountains. It felt unfair, and I steeled myself to let the big guy detonate the grenade.
Luo Ning had her eyes tightly shut, waiting for death, but suddenly she remembered something and stood up, grabbing us. “Do you hear that sound of rushing water? We’re close to an underground river! We need to jump in!”
In the chaos, I had completely forgotten about the underground river while focused on shooting and then preparing for a suicide with the grenade. Hearing Luo Ning’s words made me realize there was still a chance for survival. If we could jump into the river in time, those fireballs, no matter how powerful, wouldn’t be able to harm us.
Without wasting time, we dashed toward the roaring sound of the water, the thousands of blue fireballs closing in on us. The four survivors, driven by the will to live, ran desperately toward the river.
The sound of rushing water was only a few meters away. We barely ran a few steps when we turned a corner at the end of the underground cavern and were met with a large waterfall, which cascaded into a sizable natural underground lake.
I didn’t have time to take in the view. A sudden heat surged through my back, a sharp pain that felt like the fireballs had struck me. I knew that if even a tiny spark touched me, flames would engulf my entire body. In this life-and-death moment, there was no time to think. I leaped into the lake.
In the chaos, I saw the big guy and the others also catching fire, screaming as they jumped into the lake one after another. I plunged into the water, and the blue flames on my body were instantly extinguished by the lake.
Fire and water do not mix. The remaining flying bugs seemed to understand the danger of the water, hovering just a few meters above the surface, too afraid to dive down and attack.
I surfaced to catch my breath and noticed the big guy had also emerged, but I couldn’t see Luo Ning or Ga Wa. Worried that they might not be able to swim and could be drowning, I took a deep breath and prepared to dive back in to rescue them. Just then, I saw Luo Ning surfacing with Ga Wa in tow.
It turned out that Ga Wa had never learned to swim. When he jumped into the lake, he was overwhelmed and nearly drowned. Luo Ning had seen him go under and had dived in to save him. Fortunately, he hadn’t been submerged for long; after coughing up some water, he regained consciousness.
In Tibet, it is customary not to bathe or swim in lakes. Ga Wa was mumbling prayers, asking the Buddha for forgiveness.
The surface of the lake was illuminated as if it were daytime, thanks to the countless fireballs above. The four of us huddled together. Although it was early spring, the underground water didn’t feel cold; instead, it had a slight warmth, likely due to geothermal activity.
The big guy cursed, “Damn it, my gun is lost, sunk to the bottom of the lake.”
I reminded him, “We’re out of bullets anyway. Even if we had a gun, it wouldn’t help us now. We need to think of a way to find a way out. Keep your head down; watch out for those bettles coming down.”
The big guy didn’t believe that the bettles would dive into the lake. He grinned foolishly, but his smile quickly faded as thousands of glowing blue fireballs began to gather, forming a massive flame that swooped down with a whoosh. He hurriedly dove back into the water.
I took a breath and was about to dive down when I noticed Ga Wa was frozen in shock. He was naturally afraid of the water and didn’t dare to submerge. I had to force his head under the water and pulled him by the arm, swimming deeper.
The fireball had a diameter of several meters, and when it touched the lake’s surface, it caused steam to rise. Although the fireball was large, the lake was even bigger. The suicidal attacks of the bettles couldn’t succeed, and they drowned in the water.
The lake bottom was originally dark, but the light from above allowed me to see the underwater environment up to about ten meters. In the depths, countless large fish swam slowly. These fish looked completely different from any I had seen before; they had long whiskers and resembled giant salmon. Living in darkness, their eyes had degenerated to just two white spots.
I was startled by the strange appearance of these fish and accidentally swallowed some water. I looked over to see Ga Wa flailing his limbs, unable to hold his breath any longer, struggling to swim up for air. Just then, the lake bottom suddenly darkened. I guessed that the bettles had mostly died off, so I pulled Ga Wa up to the surface.
The surface of the lake was covered with the dead bodies of the bettles, and without the firelight, everything was shrouded in darkness. I called out to the big guy, “Do you still have a flashlight?”
He replied, “I lost everything; there’s nothing left. I guess we’ll have to feel our way in the dark.”
Suddenly, a light appeared as Luo Ning emerged from the water, wiping her face dry. In her other hand, she held a military flashlight. “I have the last two with me. Luckily, I kept them in my pocket, so they didn’t sink to the bottom.”
We all helped each other climb onto the shore, feeling exhausted and hungry. After more than ten hours without food, even iron bodies would struggle to hold up.
The big guy jumped back into the lake and came back with a fish, using his knife to scale it and cut it into pieces. I took a bite first; the taste of the raw fish was surprisingly good—not too fishy, just slightly bitter. After chewing a few more bites, it tasted quite delicious. Only Ga Wa refused to eat, no matter what.
The three of us devoured the fish, still feeling a bit unsatisfied, so the big guy swam back into the lake to catch another one. Meanwhile, Luo Ning checked Ga Wa’s injured foot, and I walked along the lake’s edge, looking for a way out. With such a strong current from the waterfall, there had to be a way for the water to flow elsewhere.
The waterfall dropped several dozen meters. According to Luo Ning, the water system in front of us was likely an underground tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, and there might be a volcano deep underground, which was why the lake water felt warm.
I took Luo Ning’s flashlight and found an opening in the underground lake. The water flowed out through this gap, leading into a cave that was about seven or eight meters high. The bottom was completely submerged, leaving no path to walk on; the only way forward was to swim through the water.
I returned to Luo Ning and explained what I had found. She had lost her map and compass, so we had to rely on intuition. With her years of experience in surveying, she estimated that we were not far from the unfrozen spring, which never freezes even in the harshest winter, indicating the presence of lava underground. The real question was how to get back to the surface. Wandering around underground wasn’t a solution; our best option was to follow the river, as only areas with a waterway would lead us out.
The big guy returned, looking dejected; he hadn’t caught any fish this time. We didn’t want to linger any longer. The three of us who were good swimmers helped Ga Wa, and we swam in the direction of the water flow toward the depths of the cave.
Although the underground river wasn’t wide, the current was strong. We floated and swam with the flow, which made it easier. However, the water temperature was noticeably warmer than before, and the air was filled with the smell of sulfur. Even submerged, I felt parched.
The big guy grew restless, complaining as we swam, “We might have made a mistake with this reckless adventure. How long have we been swimming without reaching the end? The current is so strong that there’s not even a place to stop and catch our breath. We might as well turn back.”
I scolded him, “What were you doing earlier? We’ve come this far, and now you’re questioning how much longer we can keep going? Are you doubting whether we can achieve our goal? You’re already wavering after just the first step of a long journey? Just grit your teeth and hold on.”
The big guy retorted, “How can you say that? I’m just trying to conserve our strength for the journey! If we keep going like this, it’ll be a loss for our cause. Who will take responsibility for that?”
Just as we were arguing, Luo Ning suddenly exclaimed, “Do you see something behind us? It looks like… a water monster.”
I heard strange noises coming from the water behind us. Turning the flashlight, I saw splashes as a massive dark shape quickly approached. The beam of the flashlight wasn’t strong enough to reveal what it was, but it didn’t seem friendly. We all drew our combat knives, ready for a fight.
The force of the underwater currents and eddies grew stronger, pushing us forward uncontrollably. The enormous creature followed closely behind us, its body mostly submerged, creating waves as it moved. The cave was too dark to see it clearly, but from the sounds, I estimated it was at least seven or eight meters long.
In the final stretch of the dark river, the current grew even stronger. Fearing we would be swept apart, the four of us clung tightly together and tumbled into an opening.
Below was an enormous underground river, with water that was very warm. Countless tributaries, like the ones we had just passed, gushed from the walls, resembling giant faucets pouring into the main river below. On both sides, many protruding rock formations released white, high-temperature gas, and some crevices even had dark red flames flickering. It seemed we had indeed entered the volcanic region that Luo Ning had mentioned.
The water was too hot, and we struggled to climb onto a massive rock at the riverbank. Even the stone felt warm to the touch. With the glow from the nearby lava providing light, I turned off the flashlight to save the battery. I asked the others, “Did any of you see what that was behind us? It was huge!”
Both the big guy and Luo Ning shook their heads, indicating they hadn’t seen it clearly. Ga Wa was in the worst shape; he had swallowed a lot of river water, and his belly was swollen. When he tried to speak, he ended up coughing up several mouthfuls of water. He rubbed his stomach and said, “Oh, I saw that motherfxxker following us, but it fell into the middle of the river.”
To be safe, the big guy stood up, holding his combat knife, and looked around the river. “What monster? There’s nothing here,” he said, turning to come back. Suddenly, a blood-red tongue, over two meters long, shot out from the water, wrapping around his legs and pulling him down.
Fortunately, Ga Wa was quick to react. He stabbed the creature’s tongue with his knife. The monster, feeling the pain, released the big guy and emerged from the water, glaring at us with its two glowing red eyes.
It looked just like the salamander that the big guy had shot earlier, with a frog-like head and a body resembling a skinned crocodile. However, this salamander was enormous, measuring over ten meters long, its body shimmering with iridescent scales. It swung its massive tail, glaring menacingly at us.
I quickly asked Luo Ning, “Luo, are you sure it won’t harm us? Why is this one so huge?”
Luo Ning’s face turned pale as she trembled, saying, “I… I meant the last one… This… this is a Tyrant Salamander. It’s highly aggressive… It was thought to be extinct since the Ice Age. I never expected to find one here.”
None of us had anticipated that such a prehistoric beast, long believed to be extinct, could exist in this isolated environment.
Salamanders are cold-blooded creatures, and the high geothermal heat had made this Tyrant Salamander extremely aggressive. Moreover, Ga Wa had just stabbed its tongue, and the smell of blood heightened its attack instinct. Not to mention, the salamander we had shot earlier might be a relative of this one. In any case, a grudge had formed, and we were now in a fight to the death.
I exchanged glances with the big guy and Ga Wa, and we understood our roles. We flanked the Tyrant Salamander on both sides, forming a pincer attack.
The Tyrant Salamander roared and bared its claws at us. Before we could make a move, it swung its massive tail, knocking Ga Wa to the ground. It then coiled around him and opened its enormous mouth to bite. Although salamanders typically lack teeth, this one had three rows of sharp teeth on both the upper and lower jaws. If it bit down, Ga Wa wouldn’t stand a chance.
Seeing the urgency of the situation, the big guy and I lunged forward. Together, we managed to pry open the Tyrant Salamander’s jaws, determined to prevent it from biting down, or else Ga Wa would lose his head.
Despite being wrapped up by the salamander’s tail, Ga Wa showed incredible bravery. He kept stabbing at the creature’s mouth with his knife, undeterred by its tough skin.
The Tyrant Salamander, injured and enraged, used its immense strength to throw us off. It tossed all three of us to the ground. I crashed into a rock, the impact making my head spin and stars dance before my eyes. The big guy fell into the river but quickly scrambled back to the shore, steam rising from his body as the hot water burned him.
With just three knives against such a massive Tyrant Salamander, it felt like throwing eggs at a stone. We all shouted and made a hasty retreat, with the Tyrant Salamander hot on our heels.
The ground was covered in volcanic rock and ash, making it soft and slippery, which made running very difficult. To shake off the massive creature behind us, we climbed up the steep volcanic rocks along the river valley, using our hands and feet to ascend higher and higher. I was halfway up when I heard the big guy shouting at me to be careful. I looked down and saw the Tyrant Salamander, moving along the rock face like a giant lizard, closing in on me from less than three meters away. Its long tongue was almost licking my backside.
I considered jumping down to escape, but I had climbed too high and wasn’t sure I could make it to the river. A misstep could mean a nasty fall onto the rocks below. Cursing under my breath, I freed one hand to pull out my knife, preparing to fight back. If I was going down, I would take that monster with me.
The other three saw that the Tyrant Salamander was about to catch up with me, but the steepness of the rock face made it impossible for them to reach me in time. They gritted their teeth and stared helplessly.
Suddenly, Luo Ning had an idea. She pressed against the rock wall and shouted, “Comrade Hu, the glory grenade!”
Everyone else realized at the same time—yes, we still had one grenade left that we hadn’t used, and it was in the big guy’s gear. The standard wooden-handled grenades made in China are waterproof. Soldiers stationed at Qinghai Lake often use them to fish. Although we had all fallen into the water, the grenade should be fine. Thanks to Luo Ning’s reminder.
The big guy pulled out the grenade. “Old Hu, catch!” He threw it to me from above.
I quickly bit down on my knife to hold it in my mouth, reached out with my right hand, and caught the grenade. I pushed the safety cap off with my thumb, tossed the knife aside, and pulled the pin with my teeth, igniting the fuse as smoke began to billow.
I aimed down at the Tyrant Salamander’s open mouth and threw the grenade inside. The creature had no idea what it was; seeing the dark object flying toward it, it instinctively used its long tongue to catch it, swallowing it whole. There was a muffled explosion, and although the salamander’s skin was tough, the flesh inside its mouth was soft. The blast obliterated its head from the inside out, and it fell to the rocks below, its massive body twisting and rolling over, exposing its white belly as it died by the riverbank.
I let out a long breath, my body drenched in cold sweat. I hadn’t felt fear in the moment, but now my limbs felt weak, and looking down made me dizzy.
Suddenly, the rock face shook violently, and the river surged. The air was thick with the smell of sulfur, and waves of heat rushed up from below.