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墨書 Inktalez
I stared intently at the King Cobra. Its head was brown, with white patterns around its neck, resembling a collar. It was almost comical that I still had the presence of mind to observe it. My thoughts raced as I realized that it had opened its mouth wide, revealing two sharp, dagger-like fangs, barely forty centimeters from my face. I thought to myself, this is it.
Unexpectedly, in that critical moment, Ayu and another brother named Xu stepped in with their guns. The two bayonets crossed in front of the King Cobra and forcefully swung it aside, sending the snake crashing against the wall on the right side of the door.
Without hesitation, I rushed forward, urgently shouting, "Quick! Don't give it a chance to counterattack!"
Before I could finish my shout, the two brothers had already followed me. The three of us formed a barrier with the wall against the King Cobra.
I didn't know if the King Cobra possessed any intelligence, but I could tell that this one was not just an ordinary cold-blooded creature. After hitting the ground, it immediately coiled up, raising its front half and spreading its neck like a fan, slowly facing us.
It actually took a defensive stance!?
The terrifying King Cobra! I silently thought to myself, wondering if our captain had ever encountered such a situation at the Old Mountain frontline.
"Don't move. We'll hold it here; help will arrive soon," Ayu said. He was my squad leader—sharp-witted and brave, he worked well with me.
I had no better plan, so I nodded. We all held our guns up, confronting the King Cobra. I shouted, "Fatty Hua, close the door!"
Once the door was shut, the snake wouldn't be able to escape. Then we could consider jumping out of the window into the corridor to wait for rescue.
Fatty Hua timidly approached, cautiously slipping out of the room before slamming the door shut. The sound echoed for a moment, and my heart sank!
Perhaps aware that it had been trapped or startled by the noise, the King Cobra suddenly launched an attack!
It was coming for me! This time, the King Cobra leaped into the air like a bolt of lightning aimed at my head. Instinctively, I tried to use my bayonet to fend it off. At that moment, the other two brothers swung their bayonets—one thrusting upward and the other slashing downward—hoping to take it down mid-air.
To our surprise, just before colliding with my bayonet, the King Cobra suddenly dropped in mid-air. The strikes missed completely as it fell to the ground and lunged toward my bare feet!
We were sleeping at that time, all dressed in shorts and tank tops, completely unprotected below. If one of us got bitten, it would be game over!
I was horrified and quickly backed away as the King Cobra slithered towards us in an S-shape. At that moment, no one could predict its next target, and the three of us had no choice but to retreat, breaking our encirclement.
I noticed Xu had retreated to the window and hurriedly shouted, "Xu, you jump out first! We'll leave one by one; we can't escape it anyway!"
Xu responded and flipped himself out, shutting half of the window behind him while keeping his gun trained on the other half. He called out to me, "Haven't seen Fatty Hua; he probably went to get the team leader. You guys hurry up and get out!"
At that moment, the King Cobra lunged at us in a swift motion, separating us. I backed up to the window while Ayu was cornered by the bed across from me. I saw Ayu gesture to me and then pretended to stab at the King Cobra. The snake reared back, ready to strike at his waist.
Seizing the opportunity, I climbed out of the window and closed it behind me. I understood Ayu's plan; he wanted to divert the King Cobra's attention so we could secure the room.
Sure enough, Ayu grabbed the edge of the upper bunk with one hand and tossed his gun up with the other. He then lifted his legs in a perfect pull-up motion and flipped onto the upper bunk.
The King Cobra lost its target and turned to look for me, only to find I was already outside. In a fit of rage, it lunged at the window with a loud crash that echoed through the room. Xu and I quickly aimed our bayonets at the window, fearing it might break through.
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed up the stairs. I turned around to see our captain leading several class leaders who were following Fatty Hua.
Seeing us outside with our guns raised, the captain was startled. He ran a few steps closer and whispered urgently, "Have you all lost your minds? What are you doing with guns in the middle of the night?!"
I approached him and whispered back, "Another King Cobra is in our room; it's trapped inside. But Ayu is still in there."
The captain was taken aback. "Really?" He stomped his foot and rushed to the window to confirm the situation. After assessing it, he instructed several class leaders, "Quickly go get a camouflage net from headquarters!"
Then he turned to me and asked, "Is everyone okay?"
After confirming that everyone was safe, the captain said to me, "This is my fault for being too careless. I didn't expect there would really be a King Cobra here."
I was confused and didn't understand what the captain meant.
The captain waved his hand. "Now is not the time for this. Let's deal with it first, and then I'll explain everything to you." He focused intently on observing the situation inside the room.
As for the King Cobra, it was relentless, repeatedly striking against the window. The captain remarked, "It seems it's looking for you."
I was silent; I wasn't a beauty—why would it be looking for me? Are you out of your mind, Captain? After a while, the camouflage net was brought over. The captain held the net in his left hand and twisted the doorknob with his right hand, swiftly entering the room. I followed closely behind but hadn't had a chance to see clearly before the captain flicked his left hand and spread the net.
By the time I entered, the King Cobra was already struggling in the net. Although this camouflage net was light, it was very sturdy. The more the King Cobra struggled, the tighter it became entangled until it eventually exhausted itself.
The captain held onto the net rope while circling around the King Cobra and instructed us, "Don't make a fuss about tonight's incident. Don't let the Cadets panic. I'll investigate where this snake came from later."
We nodded silently. The captain finally took the snake downstairs to deal with it and told me to come by the team office at noon the next day.
After a night of suspense, sleep was impossible. The four of us lay awkwardly on our beds, discussing what had happened. The other three brothers asked me how I discovered the snake, especially since there were two of them. How could a snake end up in my room? I was just as baffled and found it hard to answer. Everyone speculated wildly, but we all agreed on one thing: from now on, when we sleep, we must close doors and windows!
The next day at the team office, what the captain told me left me dumbfounded.
It turned out that during his time in the Vietnam War, there was an unwritten rule: if you encountered a King Cobra in the wild, you had to destroy its eyes or bury it deep underground. This tradition reportedly originated from Indian snake charmers.
If you killed a King Cobra, you had to destroy its eyes; otherwise, its mate and offspring would see the killer's appearance through its eyes and would hunt them down for ten or twenty years until they found and exacted revenge on them. The bond among King Cobras is incredibly strong—stronger than that of humans.
In modern terms, I felt quite miserable. I hadn't even killed the first snake; it just happened to see me last? Was this going to bring about vengeance from its family?
The captain advised me to stay vigilant in the future, as we didn't know how many King Cobras might come seeking revenge. Fortunately, graduation was approaching, and I was assigned to a city unit, which eased his worries.
As for the origin of the snakes, the captain currently believed there was only one possibility: they crawled up from the sewer. After all, the sewers were interconnected, and it was likely that they emerged from the restroom next to the stairwell on the first floor.
At this point in the story, I glanced at the warriors surrounding me. "Now you understand why I asked you to bury the Snake Head!"
Everyone seemed startled, and for a while, no one spoke. They appeared to be processing the truth of this tale. Only Xuanhua scratched his head and asked, "Squad Leader, do you think today's snake is related to your story?"
I smiled but didn't answer him.
The tale of the Snake Disaster ends here. So, is it true that the eyes of a slain King Cobra reflect the image of its killer? How does a vengeful King Cobra find its enemy? And what about the King Cobra that appeared at our Base—was it looking for me? If so, how did it manage to track me down across countless waters? These questions remained unanswered even for me.
The most crucial part is that I dreamt of three snakes; now two have appeared. What about the third? Will it show up? When will it come?
Even now, I still feel a sense of unease.
I firmly believe it will come; I am waiting for revenge from an otherworldly foe.
That's all for now! Stay tuned for Yinbing Xing, Love Like the Wind, The Work of Chasing the Wind—tomorrow promises even more excitement!
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