The python's neck, however, was not easily cut open. Its sheer size was immense. Although Chu Jin's military knife could slice through iron, it was difficult against this behemoth.
Su Ling, for instance, was a top-tier expert among the post-apocalyptic survivors. The rocket that pierced the giant python had taken all her psychic energy, channeled into the arrow. After firing, she had lost all strength and fallen from the tree.
Chu Jin, driven by a desperate urge to save them, became flustered the more anxious he got. He completely forgot that his military knife needed patience and stamina to cut an opening in the python's neck large enough for Shang Qi and Su Ling to escape.
Even if Chu Jin could endure the ordeal, it didn't mean Su Ling and Shang Qi could hold out. Chu Jin was toiling away, his arms aching and numb, but he had only managed to cut deeper. It would take a considerable amount of time to sever the python's neck and reveal what lay within. Furthermore, the python's entire body was bone. The sound of his knife hitting bone was a torturous assault on Chu Jin's eardrums. Adding to his woes, although the python was dying, its occasional twitch was still powerful, sending Chu Jin tumbling from its head several times. Fortunately, he had learned to react, moving with the snake's involuntary spasms.
However, as time wore on, Chu Jin realized he could no longer hear any sounds from inside the snake's neck. This silence, coupled with the lack of internal movement, truly sent Chu Jin into a panic. He was terrified, his movements growing more frantic. As he hacked, he called out, "Shang Qi, Su Ling, can you hear me?"
Chu Jin's voice trembled with worry. He had seen documentaries about the inside of snake bellies; he knew it was a hellish abyss. The dense miasma and malevolent energy within were unbearable for anyone. Shang Qi and Su Ling had been inside the giant python for a very, very long time, so long that Chu Jin was losing hope.
If Shang Qi and Su Ling were zombies, he wouldn't be worried at all. But they were humans, not zombies. They couldn't withstand the miasma inside the python's body. Chu Jin dug and chopped, using all his might to try and open the python's neck as quickly as possible. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't achieve his goal. He felt numb, trapped in despair.
The giant python was dead; its life force was gone. The raging inferno continued to burn, growing larger and larger. Yet, the fierce flames did not harm Chu Jin. His hands were bloody and raw. He sat on the python's head, staring at the stubbornly intact neck, a look of dejection on his face. "Shang Qi, Su Ling, are you still alive? Can you hear my voice?"
The only response Chu Jin received was a prolonged silence. This extended quiet only deepened his despair. He had finally found friends who truly clicked with him, and now they were lost in the belly of a snake, and he could do nothing to help.
The air was thick with the rich aroma of roasted meat. In any other circumstance, this smell would have made Chu Jin ravenously hungry, perhaps even leading him to hack off a piece of snake meat with his knife and devour it. But now, he had no appetite whatsoever. Despite his hunger, the scent of the meat made his stomach churn with nausea. This snake meat, though fragrant, had consumed Shang Qi and Su Ling. The thought made him sick.
Chu Jin gave up. He slumped onto the python's head, letting the raging flames engulf him. He sat there, the fire surrounding him, with no desire to jump down and escape.