Chapter 301 The Hamster's Great Adventure
The eight men, driven by Li Daoxuan's colossal hand, ran for their lives. As they fled, a massive "wooden castle" suddenly appeared before them.
The wooden box from "The Hamster's Great Adventure" was, without question, an enormous wooden city in the eyes of the eight men.
The sight of the colossal wooden castle startled the eight men, but the enormous hand behind them offered no time for contemplation. It pressed relentlessly closer. The eight could only keep running, keep fleeing. Ahead lay a massive gate.
What was merely a small entrance for a hamster was, to them, an immense gateway, as grand as any city wall's portal.
Such a bizarre wooden castle stood before them, its equally strange, colossal gate left ajar. What ordinary person would dare enter without hesitation?
But the eight glanced back at the encroaching giant hand. Even a second of hesitation felt like a disrespect to their own lives. They plunged through the massive gate.
"CRASH!"
The colossal hand slammed against the gate behind them.
The eight men looked back, exclaiming, "Excellent! This gate, enormous to us, is too small for Dao Xuan Tian Zun. His colossal hand can't get in!"
"Oh no! Then Dao Xuan Tian Zun's colossal hand could still strike from the sky?"
"Blast it! Run forward, quickly!"
Old Nanfeng led the charge, sprinting ahead furiously.
No sooner had he darted into a narrow passageway than he witnessed a terrifying sight. Suspended in mid-air ahead was a colossal axe, an utterly gigantic blade, swinging back and forth with a rhythmic, side-to-side motion.
"Bloody hell! Watch out, a trap!" Old Nanfeng bellowed. "Everyone, beware the trap!"
The seven men behind him halted abruptly. The path ahead was completely blocked by the swinging colossal axe.
"What do we do?
"Do we stop here?
"No... we can't stop... The terrifying Dao Xuan Tian Zun could pursue us at any moment..."
"Then we have to charge through."
"Observe the axe's rhythm carefully..."
"There's a two-breath interval; we can make it through."
Old Nanfeng drew a deep breath. The colossal axe swooshed from left to right. He lunged forward, darting past in a flash. The axe swung back from right to left, narrowly slicing through the air behind him, but missing its mark.
He had made it!
His seven subordinates, their spirits soaring, cried, "Brother Nanfeng, wait for us!"
Each man carefully timed the interval, and one by one, they narrowly slipped past the colossal axe.
In the end, all eight men passed through, shaken but unharmed. They continued their desperate dash forward. Rounding a bend, they found themselves facing a long, steep downward slope.
"What kind of trap is this?
No sooner had the eight men spoken than a deafening roar erupted behind them. They spun around to see a massive black iron ball hurtling down directly at them.
"Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah!"
"Run!"
The eight men scrambled clumsily down the slope. The colossal black iron ball thundered menacingly behind them, forcing them to expend every ounce of strength. They barely managed to reach the bottom of the slope and veered into a small side door.
The iron ball struck with a thunderous "CRASH!" slamming into the wall just behind them.
The eight men, having narrowly escaped with their lives, gulped for air, panting heavily.
One subordinate asked in a strained voice, "Brother Nanfeng, what bizarre place have we stumbled into?"
Old Nanfeng replied, "I don't know, but it's terrifying. Everyone must tread carefully, lest we trigger another strange mechanism..."
No sooner had he finished speaking than one of his subordinates found the ground vanish beneath his feet. He had stepped onto a trapdoor. The board spun, and the man plummeted downwards in a flash. Below, a colossal plastic cockroach, motorized and ominous, its two eyes glowing red, buzzed as it scuttled toward the fallen man.
The remaining seven men peered over the edge of the hole. Their faces went ashen.
"What is that?
"A cockroach that massive?
"It must be a cockroach demon!"
"It's over. Old Seven is going to be eaten."
"Can we save him?
"There's no way! It's too high. We don't even have a rope..."
"Old Seven," trapped below, roared, "Don't mind me, escape quickly! I won't survive this. Flee, I tell you! If you make it out, please look after my son..."
He hadn't even finished his plea when the monstrous plastic cockroach lumbered right up to him. Old Seven let out a choked cry, then collapsed, unconscious, to the ground.
Old Nanfeng gritted his teeth. "Old Seven is finished," he rasped. "Run, quickly!"
The seven, tears in their eyes, pressed on. Ahead lay a fork in the path. Unsure which way was correct, they decided to split into three groups to test the routes. No sooner had one man ventured down the leftmost path than it suddenly flipped, and he plunged downwards. Below was a large net, which entangled him. He looked up to see a colossal plastic spider scuttling towards him.
The man shrieked, "Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah! A spider demon! Run, quickly, run! Help me look after my children..."
The remaining six men's faces darkened with horror. They quickly tried the rightmost path. They finally found what seemed to be the correct route. One man's foot suddenly found no purchase, and he plunged into a large pool of water. Just as he congratulated himself on being able to swim, a super-colossal plastic shark surfaced in the water.
A plastic shark...
"Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah!"
Old Nanfeng burst into tears. "Heavens above!" he wailed. "What kind of cursed place is this? What cursed place, that snatched away three of my good brothers in the blink of an eye!"
The remaining four men hoisted Old Nanfeng to his feet and pressed onward. "Brother Nanfeng, we can't stop," they urged. "We have to flee, keep fleeing! Otherwise, Dao Xuan Tian Zun will send more monsters to devour us!"
No sooner had they spoken these words than the path ahead suddenly split open. The two men at the front plunged into the chasm. Below was a pitch-black, bottomless void. Their screams of "Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah!" echoed as they fell deeper and deeper.
Old Nanfeng, shaking off his despair, knew this was no time for despondency. He quickly grabbed his two remaining brothers, and with a swift leap, cleared the gaping chasm. They continued to run.
Only three men remained!
But they had finally reached the exit of the labyrinth.
Gazing at the mountains, rivers, and trees outside, the three men instantly felt a wave of relief wash over them. They had escaped that dreadful, colossal castle! Old Nanfeng dropped to his knees with a thud. "Had I known we would lose five brothers," he sobbed, "I would never have fled. Digging in the mud at the labor camp would have been better than leading everyone to their deaths."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the colossal golden hand reappeared. This time, it didn't swat or chase them. Instead, it opened before them, and in its palm lay his five brothers – not dead, but merely unconscious.
Li Daoxuan had "picked up" the five miniature figures who had "failed the challenge."
Heh heh heh. This terrifying Hamster's Great Adventure wasn't something every little hamster could successfully complete. For every victor, a multitude perishes. Behind every little hamster that reached the finish line lay a "mountain of corpses and a sea of blood" of countless failed hamsters.
Truly a tragic grandeur!
Upon seeing the colossal golden hand, they knew their escape had been utterly futile.
Then, seeing his five brothers in the hand, Old Nanfeng understood. He immediately kowtowed, bowing deeply. "Thank you, Dao Xuan Tian Zun, for sparing our lives. I will now take all my brothers and obediently return to labor reform. We shall never dare to escape again!"
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