Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

Emily leaned against a pillar, toying with a small, strangely bright purple flower she had picked from somewhere, her eyes glancing frequently toward the courtyard gate.

An Zhiyu stood quietly a few steps away from her, closing her eyes to rest.

Yamamoto Ichiro and Park Bo-soo sat in the shadows under the eaves. When they saw Lu Changsheng and the others return, they seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but their bodies remained tense.

I didn't see Mark and Kevin, and I didn't know where the long-haired man had gone.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing everyone's state, Lu Changsheng felt a chill in his heart.

Emily chimed in, her tone tinged with amusement:

"We just got back not long ago. What's wrong? Did you run into trouble?"

She keenly noticed Lu Changsheng and Cheng Caijun's slightly rapid breathing and solemn expressions.

Lu Changsheng frowned, his nose twitched slightly, and then he shook his head.

"Why does it smell like blood?"

Lu Changsheng looked around and then at the shadow behind Park Bo-soo.

In the shadows where clutter was piled up in the corner, a large and stiff figure was huddled up.

It was that burly black man who left alone that morning!

His eyes were closed, his face was bloodless, and his huge body was twisted in an unnatural position. His left leg was severed from the knee down!

The cut was a bloody mess, revealing white bone fragments. Dark red blood had soaked through most of his trouser leg, leaving a small dark stain on the ground. The smell of blood was coming from there.

He was still alive, his chest rising and falling very faintly, but he was barely breathing and had obviously lost too much blood, falling into a deep coma.

"What...what is he doing here?!"

Cheng Caijun gasped.

"We didn't do it. When we found him, he was already like this," Park Bo-soo's small scar above his eye trembled slightly, his words somewhat incoherent, "so we dragged him in..."

"When was it discovered?"

Lu Changsheng pressed for details, his gaze fixed on the horrific broken leg wound.

The edges of the wound were jagged, not like a cut from a sharp blade, but more like it was torn apart by a huge force or bitten off by something!

"Just a little while before you came back..."

Yamamoto Ichiro also looked helpless.

Emily walked over, squatted down next to Mark, and looked at the broken leg with a furrowed brow:

"This wound... doesn't look like it was done by a human. There are signs of gnawing."

An Zhiyu moved closer, her gaze falling on some dark green residue near the wound, which looked like moss or some kind of mucus, and then she looked up at the top of the courtyard wall.

"The drag marks are heavy, indicating it came in from outside. But the amount of bleeding from his broken leg... seems off."

Lu Changsheng noticed it too. Although there was blood on the ground, the amount of bleeding seemed relatively small compared to such a severe limb amputation.

Moreover, the skin and flesh near the wound were dark in color, and the blood vessels were an abnormal bluish-black, as if the blood had already begun to deteriorate or coagulate before it was cut off.

A series of footsteps approached, startling everyone. They turned around to see Mark and Kevin, both of them looking rather pale and covered in mud, clearly having gone through something.

"What's wrong?"

Mark came forward and was also surprised when he saw the burly black man on the ground.

"Save them first!"

The next second, Mark stepped forward and produced a tourniquet and bandages.

"I have medical and nursing training!"

Mark immediately crouched down and deftly tied the tourniquet tightly around the black man's groin, trying to stop the bleeding, which, though not profuse, was still seeping out.

Kevin also stepped forward to help, taking out disinfectant powder and bandages to prepare to treat the wound.

Mark acted swiftly, quickly cleaning the dirt and the strange dark green slime from the edges of the wound, while Kevin handed him the medicine.

The two had excellent chemistry, as if they had practiced together countless times.

However, just as Mark picked up a piece of gauze soaked in mucus with tweezers, preparing to clean it further—

A sudden change has occurred!

A sharp and dense buzzing sound, like countless tiny motors starting up at the same time, rapidly approached from afar!

It was incredibly fast; in the blink of an eye, it was already overhead!

Everyone looked up in astonishment and saw a swarm of dark insects flying in from above the courtyard wall and rushing straight into the house!

"Watch out from the sky!"

Lu Changsheng issued a stern warning, and a "protective talisman" was instantly slapped against Mark's back. The talisman's light transformed into a layer of pale golden light, protecting Mark.

Almost simultaneously, the swarm of flying insects arrived!

Countless tiny black beetles, no bigger than grains of rice, swarmed towards Mark and Kevin like a cloud of black smoke!

"Bang bang bang!"

The leading flying insects slammed into the protective shield of runic light behind Mark, producing a dull thud. The runic light flickered violently, dimming slightly in an instant! The impact of these flying insects far surpassed that of the previous poisonous insects!

Mark was caught off guard and felt a tremendous force from behind, which knocked him forward, causing him to drop the tweezers and gauze from his hands.

Kevin reacted with lightning speed, his dagger flashing as he slashed at the incoming flying insects!

"Jingle bells!"

The dagger collided with the insect's carapace, sparks flying! The insects' carapaces were incredibly hard!

But Kevin was clearly unfazed; he swung his dagger, leaving afterimages, and countless flying insects fell to the ground.

"What did you two do? Why are the bugs only attacking you two!"

Emily looked impatient, but hesitated for a moment. The flame in her palm condensed into a fireball, burning the insects in front of Kevin until they crackled and emitted a pungent stench.

An Zhiyu's figure flickered, silently appearing beside Kevin. The knife in her hand moved so fast that it was just a blur, precisely deflecting and piercing the flying insects that Kevin had failed to intercept.

After a brief moment of surprise, Yamamoto Ichiro and Park Bo-soo quickly joined the fray.

Although everyone is of different nationalities and has different thoughts, no one wants to suffer a large number of casualties on the second day of the dungeon.

However, the swarm was simply too numerous and had a clear objective, with most of them still relentlessly attacking Mark's shield and Kevin's dagger defense.

The light of Mark's amulet was already flickering, but he forced himself to stand up and picked up the wooden stick to swing it around.

Although Kevin's movements were swift, the prolonged high-intensity swinging caused his arms to ache, and his movements began to slow down.

"Stop!"

An Zhiyu's cool voice rang out, carrying an unquestionable tone.

Kevin was taken aback and subconsciously slowed his movements, puzzled.

An Zhiyu suddenly turned the tip of her knife, no longer attacking the flying insects, but instead slashing towards Kevin's chest with lightning speed!

"Sizzle!"

With a soft tearing sound, An Zhiyu precisely ripped a long opening in the front of Kevin's combat jacket, revealing a tactical vest underneath, damp with sweat and a few mud spots.

"What are you doing?!"