Chapter 077: Escape from the Infernal Demon Valley

Three days later.

Li Tianque was jolted awake by the thunderous crack of lightning. Waves of excruciating pain rippled through his body, and the air he breathed was thick with the acrid stench of burnt flesh. Where was he? Why was the thunder so deafening, so terrifying?

He looked around and found himself in a mountain valley. Overhead, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, yet the sky above was shrouded, never showing daylight. Not far ahead, a solitary beam of light pierced the gloom. Danger surrounded him; thunder roared ceaselessly in the sky, and the valley seemed to shift and narrow, threatening to crush him. That shaft of light was unmistakably the only exit—the gate to life.

Memories flooded back. Li Tianque understood exactly where he was and what he needed to do next. He sprinted desperately toward the light, bursting out just as the rocky walls on either side were about to close in. Behind him, thunder crashed, the earth trembled and split. As he escaped, his limbs felt weak and he collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

He could sense the cancer cells within him tirelessly repairing his battered body, and his heart raced with dread. The valley he had just escaped from was located in the Erlun Mountains of the far northwest, known as the "Sotuls Valley," translated by the Kang language as "Hell Demon Valley," a forbidden place in the eyes of the local Kang herdsmen.

Even when pasture was scarce in the Erlun Mountains, herders would rather let their cattle starve on barren flats than allow them to graze in this lush valley. The so-called "Hell Demon Valley" was littered with countless bleached bones, and outsiders spoke of it only in hushed tones.

Many scientific teams, domestic and foreign, had ventured here, only to leave empty-handed or perish entirely. Some expeditions even reported supernatural phenomena: ghostly armies marching, horses devouring men and their own kind. Later investigations revealed a powerful magnetic anomaly within the valley. The deeper one ventured, the higher the magnetic readings became. Electromagnetic effects caused the valley’s magnetic field to interact with atmospheric charges in the clouds, triggering massive thunderstorms that targeted any living creature entering the valley.

Additionally, geologists discovered that beneath the swamp at the valley's lowest point lay a deep subterranean stream. Entering the swamp recklessly would result in being instantly sucked into the river below. The stream was riddled with six openings, each exerting a tremendous pull; once a person or animal was caught, escape was impossible without external aid—survival was out of the question.

Thunderstorms above, deadly currents below, and the high-altitude plateau setting in the northwest had rendered "Hell Demon Valley" a true forbidden zone on earth.

Three days ago, after undergoing hellish torment, Li Tianque had managed to successfully synchronize with an exterminator device during testing. His device, No. 9, was called "Terminal Illness."

This ninth exterminator was the most unique among them. It had no tangible form, yet like the others, it was subject to usage restrictions. After successful adaptation, a super cancer cell core began to grow within Li Tianque, induced by a special aflatoxin. This core generated endless new cancer cells. However, his body had adapted to these cells; they were not harmful. On the contrary, they greatly enhanced his physical abilities.

In modern society, cancer is a terrifying word for nearly everyone, but Li Tianque could control his cancer cells thanks to this device, even training them to become weapons. Of course, when he manipulated them in battle, cancer cells would be consumed in proportion to their deployment, and sometimes he risked depletion.

At those times, he had to replenish them by ingesting specially formulated aflatoxin capsules. The limitation was clear: for each mission, Li Tianque could carry only three capsules.

Through the first stage of training, Li Tianque had learned to control his cancer cells to achieve three abilities: proliferation, overflow, and infiltration. The training was agonizing, but he endured.

After a day of treatment following his training, Li Tianque immediately joined Wu Miaoran, Su Mido, and Ling Chi for their current assignment.

This was a commissioned task. Their client was a fellow professional—a renowned prairie livestreamer known as "Tartar Bro!"

The four were invited to Tartar Bro’s prairie restaurant to shoot a review video and to investigate a mysterious incident. As Tartar Bro’s yurt was deep in the northwest grasslands, far from any roads, the team parachuted into the remote city of Luosa and rented an off-road vehicle for the journey.

Along the way, navigation proved useless, so Tartar Bro sent them a PDF route map. But Wu Miaoran, confident in her driving skills, refused to check the map and insisted on taking a shortcut.

As a result, the four mistakenly entered Sotuls Valley—Hell Demon Valley.

Soon after their off-road vehicle entered the valley, it inexplicably malfunctioned. All electronic components failed, the steering wheel lost control, and the vehicle careened wildly.

Simultaneously, lightning flashed overhead and thunder crashed down. The vehicle was struck, and Li Tianque lost consciousness.

When he awoke, he found himself at the valley’s exit.

Li Tianque’s backpack was still on the vehicle, now vanished without a trace; only his small satchel remained. Inside were his dead phone, a nuclear radiation detector, some compressed biscuits, a company-issued tactical water filter, a can of energy drink, and three bottles of aflatoxin.

The vast northwest was sparsely populated; this place was even more desolate. After nearly three kilometers, his biscuits were almost gone, the energy drink long finished, his lips dry and cracked, and his strength rapidly waning.

He realized he needed to find supplies quickly.

Fortunately, Li Tianque had always possessed a remarkable memory, perhaps enhanced now by the influence of the Nightmare Eye. He recalled almost perfectly the map Tartar Bro had sent them, and so he set out for Urkolo Township, twenty kilometers southwest of Death Valley.

He decided to detour first to the nearby Siweiwei River, collect water and food there, then follow the riverbank, finally crossing the bridge to reach the Y9527 country road—soon he would arrive.

Most importantly, herders often passed by the river; with luck, he might borrow a good horse or sleep in a yurt.

As the saying goes, “A mountain in sight exhausts the horse,” and a river is no easier. Though the distance was only about two kilometers, it took him nearly an hour to cover.

The Siweiwei River originated from the Holy Snow Lotus Mountain, passed through sheer cliffs, and flowed into the Gobi wastelands. Its waters were deep and pure, a blue silk ribbon that soothed the soul.

Yet when he reached the shallows to collect water, the river seemed strangely sinister—chilled, ominous, and heavy with gloom.

But Li Tianque didn’t dwell on it. He crouched down, opened his filter flask, and began filling it.

He lowered his head, the mouth of the flask aimed at the rushing stream; his reflection appeared in the water, fragmented and twisted by the shimmering waves into a vaguely frightening visage.

Before the flask was full, he impatiently took it up, shook it to filter, and gulped the cool water down.

The icy, clear water poured over him, sliding coolly down his throat.

Satisfied, he let out a contented sigh and bent down to fill it again.

Suddenly, he froze. In the blood-tinged river, a narrow human shadow had appeared.

The figure’s features were indistinct, but it was clearly visible behind him.

A chill ran through Li Tianque’s heart. He spun around to look…