My basement connects to another world.

Chapter 7 Someone's there?

the other side.

Another world cave.

The colossal beast charged forward with a crushing force.

The ground trembled beneath its feet, and gravel rained down from the cave ceiling.

Suddenly, it let out a painful howl.

A dozen or so crossbow bolts pierced the grayish-white scales beneath its belly.

The arrowhead tore through the soft armor and pierced the flesh, dark green blood flowing down the shaft, dripping onto the stone ground and rising in wisps of white smoke.

It could not see the golden portal.

It only noticed the small thing in front of it that was emitting a strange smell, and then it suddenly disappeared.

Meanwhile, excruciating pain was spreading from its abdomen.

The giant beast's single eye began to grow increasingly cloudy.

It didn't stop; its massive body continued to hurtle forward with inertia.

boom!

It crashed headfirst into the stone wall at the corner of the cave.

The patches of luminous grass on it were crushed, but the rock wall remained completely still.

The cave's stone was exceptionally thick and hard; when its scale-covered head struck it, only shallow fragments of stone broke off.

The giant beast shook its head and took two steps back.

Its simple mind couldn't understand why the little bug had disappeared.

It howled angrily twice, then charged relentlessly along the cave passage.

Dark green blood continued to flow from the gaps in the inserted arrows, leaving a trail beneath them.

Not far away, a petite figure huddled by a crevice in the rocks, staring at the enraged Grayscale Viper.

"The big guy has gone mad." hope Lu's blue eyes widened, and her cat ears stood up straight.

She just heard a noise.

She missed the last time everyone made a commotion.

There was another noise, and after hesitating for a moment, she immediately followed.

Then she saw it.

A strange, tailless thing, holding a dark object in its hand, was facing the big guy.

"That's a human?!" Hilu's little mind raced, recalling the elders' teachings from her time in the tribe:

"The outside world is vast. Besides our cat-eared race, there are many, many other races."

"One of them is called humankind."

"They are cunning, even more cunning than gray foxes. They are not strong individually, but they can make all sorts of tools."

"Be careful if you encounter this again in the future."

Father and his people had never seen a real human being.

There are only some pictures, which have been passed down from our ancestors.

Hilu never imagined that she would actually meet a human!

But how did that human suddenly disappear?

Hilu blinked. "He can stealth too?"

She sniffled.

There was no smell; it had completely disappeared.

The stealth skills she possesses can only make her figure fade and her aura weaken, but they can't achieve this level of stealth.

Hilu put aside her doubts for the time being and looked back at the berserk beast.

His large, sky-blue eyes narrowed slyly, taking on a sharp edge.

This huge creature, this entire path through the cave is its territory.

But as she ventured deeper, she discovered that even more powerful beings were lurking there.

Hilu chose to stay here for two reasons: firstly, it would save her energy, and secondly, she wanted to kill this big guy and eat his meat.

She hadn't eaten for three days since she accidentally wandered into this place.

But this big guy was very alert.

She tried to get close, but could only sneak a few steps away before its murky single eye began to scan the surroundings.

Hilu tried to attack forcefully, but the creature's scales were too hard, so she had to retreat in the end.

Although they are both at the second level, this big guy is more powerful than her.

Moreover, in her current state, her limbs are weak and her strength is gradually slipping away from her body.

Maintaining stealth skills was much more difficult than usual, and beads of sweat were beginning to appear on his forehead.

But now, it seems like an opportunity has suddenly appeared!

Hilu remained in stealth mode, clinging to the rock wall.

Although my whole body was sore and weak, I was unusually excited, and my sky-blue eyes were sparkling.

"So, the big guy's abdomen is his weak point!"

far away.

The gray-scaled lizard flew into a rage and charged forward, its green blood splattering everywhere.

Hilu followed for a while, then suddenly stopped and waited in place.

A moment later, her cat ears perked up, she used stealth, and her figure faded and disappeared.

"Bang bang bang!"

With a tremendous roar, the crazed Grayscale Lizard actually turned back.

Hilu's cat ears tensed slightly as she held her breath.

With a gust of wind, the gray-scaled lizard rushed past her less than five meters away.

Hilu's eyes followed the departing giant, and then she carefully followed behind again.

The Greyscale Lizard seemed to regain some of its senses, slowing down, but its steps grew heavier and heavier, accompanied by heavy, labored breathing.

Nearly half an hour later.

finally--

With a "bang".

It collapsed!

Its massive body crashed to the ground, its limbs twitched twice, and then it lay still.

The wound below his abdomen was still oozing green blood, which quickly pooled on the ground, making a "sizzling" sound.

The air was filled with the stench of blood.

At the corner of the stone wall, the luminous grass quietly emitted a faint glow.

Hilu huddled by the crevice in the rock, peeking out to observe secretly.

Upon seeing the pool of dark green blood, her snow-white, fluffy tail flicked behind her, as if she had realized something and was in a bad mood.

Although Hilu has only just come of age, her combat skills are still quite rudimentary.

This was her first time truly facing battle, but she had been taught hunting skills by her tribe since childhood.

I waited patiently for a full fifteen minutes.

Then, its figure gradually disappeared from the edge of the rock crevice once again.

Hiru, in stealth mode, carefully walked step by step toward the fallen giant beast without making a sound.

The gray-scaled lizard's belly rose and fell slightly, its turbid single eye half-open and half-closed.

It is still alive.

Hilu did not approach any further.

She went around to the back of the giant beast's head and crouched down.

I waited a while longer.

The giant beast lying on the ground suddenly stirred.

It wanted to raise its head.

The head, covered in scales, struggled to lift itself upwards, and two weak puffs of hot air escaped from its nostrils.

Just then.

A petite figure suddenly appeared above its head.

Hilu gripped the dagger with both hands in reverse and stabbed downwards.

"Sizzle."

It makes a metallic grinding sound.

The daggers seemed to be stuck in the gaps between the scales.

However, the gray-scaled lizard could only lift its massive head with difficulty, lacking the strength to retaliate.

The ten crossbow bolts from Jiangyuan caused it enormous damage.

Suddenly, a flash of light streaked across the dagger held in Hilu's small hand.

The dagger, which had been locked in a stalemate, suddenly became incredibly sharp, piercing through the gaps in the scales on the top of the giant head and disappearing completely.

The gray-scaled lizard's massive body trembled violently, its four sharp claws scratched at the ground, and its thick tail swung up, slamming against the stone wall beside it, causing several pieces of rock to fall.

But that was all; it soon became completely still.

……

It was past 5 a.m. at night.

The main room was quiet, and the sky outside the window was still overcast.

Jiang Yuan had already woken up. He picked up his phone, looked at it, sat up, and got out of bed in his slippers.

He rummaged through the cupboard and found a few packets of compressed biscuits, then pulled out two bottles of mineral water and put them in a black canvas bag.

After firing ten crossbow bolts and hitting the monster, they returned.

He first browsed the forum, and then went to the supermarket to buy some supplies.

If those ten crossbow bolts were effective enough.

So good that the monster was no longer able to chase him lively for a while, or even died directly?

Then he can go further and explore for longer this time.

Jiang Yuan zipped up the canvas bag and slung it over his shoulder.

Then they checked the crossbow again.

The crossbow bolts had been reloaded with ten bolts, and there were more than thirty spares, neatly stacked in the lining of the canvas bag.

Wear sneakers, a protective vest over a T-shirt, and fasten the arm protectors.

I applied a large amount of floral water again.

The strong smell made Jiang Yuan himself frown.

Finally, he glanced at the potted luminous grass in the corner, its leaf veins still shimmering with a faint blue light.

Then, they went to the basement, moved the half-bag of cement aside, grabbed the edge of the wooden board, and lifted it up with all their might.

The cover was lifted, and one could walk down the narrow wooden ladder.

He propped his phone up on the table and shone the flashlight beam at the opposite wall.

Then I became absorbed in it.

A pale golden halo, two zhang tall, suddenly unfolded in front of him.

Tiny particles of light flowed along the edges, while the center was an unfathomable depth.

"If only I could see what's inside the portal from the outside..." Jiang Yuan thought, looking at the halo in front of him.

Before each step inside, he had no idea what awaited him on the other side of the door.

Everything is unknown.

"After the ability is improved... this function should be available, right?"

The ability description on the panel says that increasing power will unlock new features for the dimensional gate...

But what exactly does "power" refer to, and how to increase it, remains unclear to this day.

According to the understanding of gamers on the forum, it's quite simple.

Upgrade it, that's it. But this upgrade method...

Am I also gaining experience by "killing monsters"?

"But I didn't see the experience bar..." Jiang Yuan shook his head, then put the thought aside and picked up his crossbow.

My fingertip landed on the trigger, all my muscles tensed, and I was highly focused.

Step in.

The familiar golden light engulfed the field of vision.

My foot slipped and then landed firmly on solid ground.

The sneakers made a slight scraping sound as they landed on the stone ground.

Vision restored.

A deep blue light surged in from all directions, and the cool, damp air clung to my skin.

The stalactites overhead are jagged and interlocking, and clumps of glowing grass cling to the stone walls, the blue light in the veins of the leaves enveloping the entire cave in a hazy, cool hue.

It was still the same spot where he left last time.

Jiang Yuan did not move.

Holding the crossbow, his gaze swept from left to right and then back again.

The cave was quiet. The monster was gone.

He looked down at the ground.

There were several deep claw marks on the stone ground beneath his feet, stretching from the front of him all the way to the stone wall to his side.

The pebbles around the claw marks were crushed to dust, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared around them. Below the shallow pit, there was a small, rough patch on the ground.

This isn't the only place.

Jiang Yuan's gaze swept across the ground. Rough marks were scattered along the way, as if it had been corroded by something.

At the same time, Jiang Yuan keenly noticed that there was a different smell in the air, like a bitter and astringent earthy smell.

"Was this caused by that gray-scaled lizard running around?" Jiang Yuan was delighted, but also somewhat puzzled.

The good news is that it means his attack caused him considerable damage.

But the corrosion marks don't seem to be the marks left by that monster running around.

He stood there, listening intently for a long time.

Having no clue what to do, I hesitated for a moment and then chose to walk into the cave ahead.

After walking for half a minute, we turned the corner where the monster had charged out last time, and the view suddenly opened up before us.

The cave passage here is obviously much larger, with a very high ceiling and several thick, stalactite-like rocks hanging down from above.

The dried, dark marks were more numerous and larger than before. The stench in the air was stronger, carrying the stench of rotting flesh.

Jiang Yuan frowned. He continued forward, reaching the end, and then turned a corner.

Then he stopped abruptly, his scalp tingling.

The passageway suddenly narrows, like a huge natural stone chamber.

The stone wall was covered with a thick layer of grayish-white spider silk, which almost completely blocked the light of the ghostly grass.

There was a large puddle of dark green liquid on the ground, which was half-dry and had solidified into a sticky gel at the edges.

And the gray-scaled lizard, which was over two meters tall, was in the center of the stone chamber.

His massive body lay sprawled on the ground, his four sharp claws curled up, his thick tail trailing behind him, the bony spikes at the tip of his tail limply pressed against the ground.

Its long, narrow head, covered in gray-black scales, was tilted to one side, and the single, cloudy, dark yellow eye on its forehead had completely dimmed, resembling a cloudy glass bead.

His mouth was half-open, and saliva could be seen between his two rows of sharp, white teeth.

"Dead?!" Jiang Yuan was stunned for a moment.

All ten crossbow bolts he fired landed on the grayish-white scales on its belly.

Dark green blood flowed down the arrow shaft, and a small pool could still be faintly seen beneath the corpse.

Jiang Yuan finally understood where the corrosive marks on the ground came from.

This monster's blood is poisonous and corrosive!

"But how could my few arrows have such a good effect?" Jiang Yuan was delighted. He took a few steps forward with his crossbow and carefully circled around to the side of the corpse's head.

Upon seeing this, his pupils immediately contracted.

A narrow, long, gray dagger pierced through the top of his head.

"There are other people here?!"

Jiang Yuan quickly shifted his gaze from the dagger and scanned the other corners of the stone chamber.

Not far from the monster's corpse, in the shadows of a corner against the stone wall, a petite figure was curled up.

Jiang Yuan's gaze fell on that face, and he was momentarily stunned.