The gunshots came from behind Luo Jun, with bullets striking the black face of that monster.
When the monster's head was hit by the bullets, it made a metallic clanging sound. From the impact of the bullets, its head tilted sideways a few times, and its body took two steps back from the inertia.
Luo Jun didn't stand there stunned either. Taking advantage of the two-second gap that person had created for him, he raised his rifle and jammed the muzzle directly into the monster's throat.
"Rat-tat-tat-tat...!"
Luo Jun pulled the trigger madly.
At such close range, even steel would be severely damaged.
Sure enough, after the monster's throat produced a series of metallic collision sounds, its body kept retreating. Possibly injured, it spun around, dragging its thick, moss-green tail, and rapidly fled into the woods, disappearing!
"Damn it! What thing was that?"
Luo Jun broke out in a cold sweat, astonished. He had seen his fair share, but had never encountered such a monster before!
At this point, the man who had fired the shots to create those two seconds for Luo Jun also emerged from the bushes, limping.
Luo Jun pointed his handgun at him.
The man didn't raise his hands, but looked at Luo Jun with a complicated gaze.
Luo Jun recognized him too - he was the disabled man among the coastal survivors, now gripping a gun with his mangled left hand.
Jones looked impassively at Luo Jun sitting on the ground, gun pointed at him. He didn't get angry, but slowly put his own handgun back in its holster. Only when his hand was completely off the holster did Luo Jun relax his guard slightly.
For an elite marksman, it takes less than a second to draw a gun from the holster and fire. So Luo Jun wouldn't fully trust him just because he put his gun away.
Jones didn't drop his gun so that he could interact with Luo Jun on equal terms.
It's just that Luo Jun felt very uneasy about Jones showing up here.
Generally, people shouldn't be able to find this hidden place.
Yet Jones had found his way here.
Why was he looking for Luo Jun?
What was his motive?
It was unknown, so Luo Jun slowly stood up from the ground, glancing behind the man.
"No one else is with me, just myself. I came to find you for cooperation," Jones said very directly.
Luo Jun figured it out - the woman must have told him about it. Damn it, he shouldn't have trusted a woman to keep a secret.
The man dared to come here alone, so he must have guessed that Luo Jun didn't have any reinforcement troops.
"What was that thing just now?" Luo Jun asked Jones.
Jones spread his hands: "I'm not sure either, I saw it for the first time today... I had noticed you earlier, but didn't approach because I spotted a strange black shadow on the rocks. I've never seen such a monster before, so I didn't dare act. I planned to let it leave on its own before getting closer to you. But I didn't expect you to engage it directly."
Hearing this, Luo Jun was mildly startled. He hadn't expected Jones to have noticed him so early. This man wasn't simple.
If it was as he said, Jones could have shot to kill Luo Jun earlier.
It seemed he really meant no harm.
Luo Jun put his gun away.
His mind was filled with scenes from the recent battle with that monster. The creature was at least two meters tall, with a body like a giant gorilla, but slimmer and taller!
Moreover, when it turned to flee, Luo Jun clearly saw it had a thick, alligator-like tail protruding from under its cloak.
Additionally, the claws that peeked out from under its cloak were four-fingered, like massive eagle talons.
But those weren't made of metal.
The parts of its body hidden under the cloak possibly had some kind of metal shell covering them, including its face, which should also have had a black iron mask.
Otherwise, Luo Jun wouldn't have been completely unable to make out its facial features.
Luo Jun thought of Jack's death and the mercenaries who had disappeared in the woods.
They must have also encountered attacks by similar or even more terrifying monsters!
But why did the monsters let some people live and return each time?
How many of these monsters were there?
What kind of person created these monsters?
Could it be that during World War II, some countries conducted experiments here, developing a kind of war machine to replace human soldiers in battle?
But they failed, so they completely sealed off this mysterious island?
It wasn't impossible - all sorts of mysterious experiments emerged during World War II, and the ones that were made public were already horrifying enough, let alone the undisclosed ones.
There were too many questions, and Luo Jun couldn't know the truth.
And now, would the woman in the shelter be in danger?
Luo Jun suddenly felt a bit worried.
After putting away his gun, Jones went straight under the rock to take shelter from the rain.
Luo Jun also put away his rifle and sat down.
He wasn't worried about the monster killing its way back - in fact, he shouldn't leave this place.
Because the height under this rock meant the monster's huge body couldn't get in. If it dared stick its head inside, Luo Jun could just shoot its hands and feet to pieces.
Those parts definitely didn't have that special armor.
Jones offered Luo Jun a cigarette, which he didn't refuse. In this environment, it had been a long time since he'd had access to such a nice thing. Just smelling it brought Luo Jun a wave of relief.
"Jones."
Jones handed the lighter to Luo Jun, stating his own name.
"Luo Jun."
Luo Jun took the lighter, lit the cigarette, and responded in turn.
His gaze fell on the spot where the recent struggle had occurred, where the monster's footprints remained on the ground.
They were three-toed feet, the toes very thick, each as big around as a human wrist, with talon-like claws deeply gouging the earth.
"Three-toed?" Luo Jun had never seen an animal with feet like that.
"It's not just three toes, like an eagle it also has a rear talon. You can see an indentation there from the talon print," Jones said, exhaling smoke.
Luo Jun noticed it too.
"You've been on this island for two months now, and never encountered ambushes from these kinds of monsters?"
Luo Jun asked, now feeling dread toward the monster - a dread not like facing an enemy, but more like the innate fear of a predator embedded in one's biological code!
Just like mice who had never seen a cat would fear one.
Moreover, Luo Jun had emptied his rifle's entire magazine against this monster. Something like this might only be killable with an anti-materiel sniper rifle!
Jones wasn't faring much better - he was the kind of person who simply didn't know what fear was, but just having that huge monster looming over the rocks had frozen his spirit in its tracks.
This was absolutely more than just intimidation by its size.
Not to mention Luo Jun, who had been in close-quarters combat with the beast. An ordinary person would have been paralyzed with terror!
"We were lucky - as soon as we landed on the island, we found a river, so we lived by the river, subsisting on seafood and river fish. So we never ventured deep into the island interior," Jones said, taking a deep drag.
"That little bit could sustain so many people?" Luo Jun asked in shock.
"Our ship sank, but when it went down, we managed to retrieve most of the food from inside. Combined with my forced rationing system, we barely survived... What brought you to this island?" Jones asked curiously.
"Our plane crashed, and we were lucky to escape to this island," Luo Jun replied.
Hearing this, Jones immediately asked, "Was your flight path also near this island?"
"Not that close - we were flying from Los Angeles to Hawaii when we must have rerouted, passing near this island," said Luo Jun.
Hearing this, Jones felt it was all too strange, just like his own shipwreck.
"They only had five more days before leaving this island. After that, we would have no way to leave, so we must find a way to board that ship. Do you have any good ideas?" Jones went straight to the point.
Luo Jun also wanted to get off this island as soon as possible. If they encountered that monster again, they might not be so lucky.