Chapter 206: 106. The Disaster is Not Over_4
Translator: 549690339
He had grabbed some scavenger’s clothes from the car, which now served as a makeshift pillow.
Having spent the last few days sleeping on the grass, constantly on alert for any nearby activity to avoid becoming prey for grassland animals, he could finally relax and get a good night’s sleep now that there was someone else on watch duty.
The moment his head hit the makeshift pillow, exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave.
As he was being drowned by weariness, Noland Lee reflected on the earlier combat scene.
Truth be told, a First-order Alchemist seemed a bit weak.
Neither the werewolf nor Kent should have been a match for the First Order “Imperial Fist”.
Noland Lee suspected there was a distinction between civilian and military use.
First Order “Imperial Fist” was a military-grade product.
However, the werewolf from the Ferocious Hound Gang and Kent from the
Security Corporation, were just civilians, not professional soldiers of the
Golden Federation.
Thus, it was understandable that the alchemical weapons they used were inferior to the First Order “Imperial Fist”.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, he writhed a few times on the hard stone floor.
He found a comfortable position and drifted off to sleep.
“Creak…creak…creak”
The faint rubbing sound woke Noland Lee up.
He opened his eyes slightly, scanning the inside and outside of the room.
The ancient castle’s grand hall was filled with people sprawled on the floor, their snoring noises echoed throughout the room.
In the courtyard outside, the night-watch security members were chatting under the dim light of a smokeless stove they had set up to boil water.
Everything was peaceful, with no sign of intruders.
The “creak creak” sound that he had heard must have been the result of the wind blowing against something.
Noland Lee turned his body around and went back to sleep.
After a while, the faint but noticeable noise came again.
Noland Lee immediately opened his eyes without moving his body, focusing on trying to locate the source of the noise.
“Creak…creak…creak”
It seemed like the noise was coming from underneath the floor? Noland Lee moved his pillow, pressing his ear against the ground tile.
“Creak…creak”
The sound was indeed coming from underground.
Was there a basement under this ancient castle? Was the noise caused by rats or other animals?
Noland Lee rubbed his eyes and turned on his “Tracking the Living” ability to scan the ground beneath him.
His body stiffened abruptly, and his breath hitched in his throat.
He rubbed his eyes again and stared at the ground, his pupils narrowing.
He hadn’t made a mistake!
There were indeed five living beings beneath the floor tiles.
From the way they walked on all fours, these creatures were definitely not humans, but rather they seemed more like animals living underground or magical beasts.
Perhaps the people in the grand hall had disturbed the rest of these underground creatures.
These underground creatures were following the snoring noises coming from the grand hall, rubbing the underside of the ground tiles with their front limbs, as if trying to find a way to lift the tiles and get up to the ground surface.
The grand hall floor was composed of large square stone bricks.
The gaps between the stone bricks were sealed with cement, leaving no gaps.
For the underground creatures to come up to the surface, they would have to select a stone brick and shatter it completely.
Noland Lee propped himself up with his hands, moving from a flat position to a semi-sitting position on the floor.
He looked around at the sleeping security team members and then back at the ground, finding the situation strangely eerie.
It was as if they were lying right on top of an underground creature’s nest…
Fars Scott was also awakened by the noise from the underground.
He turned his head and saw Noland Lee sitting on the ground. He whistled through the gaps in his teeth to attract Noland’s attention:
“Psst. Ray Lee, did you hear that noise from underground? I heard it too.”
“Is it a rat? Or some other type of burrowing animal?” Noland asked in a low voice.
“Hm, not sure, but it feels odd. Listen carefully, the sound is very regular. It’s moving along the gaps in the stone bricks, as if something is searching for an exit.”
With every word, Fars grew more enthusiastic.
It was clear that anything out of the ordinary would spark his curiosity.
He crawled out of his sleeping bag, tiptoeing past the sleeping security crew members.
He squatted down next to Noland, listening attentively and moving slowly as he followed the source of the noise underground.
“All my years of alchemy tell me that such regular sounds must be made by intelligent beings. There should be a spacious room under our feet, perhaps the castle’s basement, or something similar. The intelligent beings making the rubbing noise must have been burrowing and accidentally ended up in the space under the castle… wait a second, there’s more than one being underground…”
Fars stopped in his tracks and lay flat on the floor, tapping on the ground tiles with his knuckles.
The knocking sound triggered a disturbance in the underground.
The “creaking” sound became more noticeable.
The nearby security members woke up one after another, looking quizzically at Fars Scott with his buttocks in the air, his face facing the floor.
Mark yawned as he woke up, rubbing his drowsy eyes, asking,
“Fars, what are you doing? What are you up to being bent over like that in the dead of night? Do you have some strange… fetish?”
“Shush.” Fars held up his finger, indicating for everyone to stay quiet.
The noise from the ground grew louder as Mark rambled on.
What was initially just a scratching noise against the stone turned into a dull thumping against the ground tiles.
“Bang…bang…bang…”
Noland Lee furrowed his brows as he looked at the ground, his solemn gaze hidden behind his sunglasses..