Dudian immediately understood why the old man's arm had become like that. Most likely, he had conducted a "life structure" experiment on his own body. Judging from the result, the experiment had obviously failed. Although the twisted tentacle on his arm could move according to nerve signals, every time it moved, it would come at a corresponding cost. Otherwise, with the power of that mutated tentacle alone, in this era of cold weapons, it would definitely be a powerful killing weapon!
The hunched old man seemed to have rested well and said coldly to Dudian, "Go and lie down over there." As he spoke, his withered hand touched the small crossbow, as if he would shoot immediately if Dudian refused.
Dudian's face changed. He gritted his teeth and stood up. At this moment of life and death, his mind was in a bit of a mess with anxiety. He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. But it was difficult for anyone to remain composed in such a gloomy and desperate environment. His body trembled slightly, and he moved towards the place the hunched old man pointed at at the slowest speed. It was a workbench, like an operating table, with many cutting tools on the side. Some of the tools still had unwashed bloodstains on them.
Dudian suddenly heard a noise coming from the left side. He glanced sideways and his face immediately changed. In an iron cage, there were more than a dozen big snakes coiled up and wriggling inside. Among them was the same kind of yellow-scaled snake he had seen during the day. Obviously, these were all materials the opponent had caught for the "life structure" experiment.
The hunched old man didn't urge Dudian but just watched him quietly, as if a hunter was watching his prey make its final dying struggle. When he saw the change in Dudian's face, a cruel smile curled up at the corner of his mouth.
At this time, Dudian had already come to the workbench.
"See those chains up there? Tie yourself up," the hunched old man ordered.
Dudian looked at the several chains fixed on the workbench and knew that they were probably the tools the opponent had used to tie up other experimental subjects before. His eyes flickered slightly, but he still picked up one of the chains and wrapped it around his wrist.
A sneer appeared on the hunched old man's face. He was ready to stand up and cut Dudian after he tied himself up.
Bang!
Suddenly, Dudian, who was wrapping the chain, suddenly crouched down and shrank under the workbench. At the same time, he swung the chain and hit the iron cage not far to the side. With a clatter, the more than a dozen big snakes that had been sleeping in the cage were immediately awakened and struggled and wriggled inside the cage.
The hunched old man's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Kid, I wanted to make your death quick, but you just had to be smart. Do you think you can escape from here? Even if I have to damage my body again, I'll still capture you. If you're sensible, come out obediently. I'll forgive you one last time!"
Dudian naturally didn't believe his words. He kicked the iron cage hard. With the cover of the workbench, the hunched old man couldn't shoot him from that angle. Once the opponent approached, he would have a chance to fight in close combat with him.
Although the hunched old man had a mutated tentacle and was extremely terrifying in close combat, his head was still a human head after all, and the vital points were vulnerable. This gave Dudian the capital to fight!
Clatter. The iron cage was only lightly locked with a lock and not tightly fastened. At this moment, under Dudian's kicking, the iron cage immediately opened. More than a dozen big snakes quickly swam out of the cage. Some swam into the darkness, some swam towards the hunched old man, and most of them swam towards Dudian.
The hunched old man sneered coldly, "You're courting death!"
The next moment, his smile suddenly froze. He saw that the big snakes that had been swimming towards Dudian suddenly, as if they had changed their minds, made a turn and swam in other directions. Four or five of them swam towards him.
"How could it be..." The hunched old man opened his eyes wide and suddenly thought of something. He looked at a platform beside him, and his face immediately darkened. "You actually stole the realgar powder. No wonder you had the guts to open the snake cage."
Dudian firmly held a bottle of crushed realgar powder in his hand and sprinkled it all over his body. This bottle of realgar powder should have been prepared by the hunched old man when he caught these big snakes. When he noticed the snake cage, he had thought of the realgar powder. After all, although this hunched old man claimed to be an "alchemist", in essence, he was just a biologist in this era.
Moreover, he was so old that it was impossible for him to catch these big snakes bare-handed. He could only rely on other things.
As a result, he quickly saw this bottle of realgar powder. Perhaps because no one had come here for a long time and he had been living alone, things were placed very casually. It just happened to be in the place where he passed by, so he secretly took it.
"Hmph!" The hunched old man snorted coldly, grabbed another set of brownish-yellow robes hanging on the wall beside him, and put them on. At this time, the big snakes that had been swimming towards him immediately stopped and then wriggled their bodies and swam into the surrounding darkness.
Seeing this scene, Dudian immediately knew that most likely, this robe was sprinkled with realgar powder. It was probably the coat he specifically wore when going to catch big snakes.
"Boy, you'd better come out obediently," the hunched old man stared at the workbench with a sinister gaze, his fingers tightly against the crossbow. As soon as Dudian showed his head slightly, he would shoot immediately! Although the other party was just a child, the successive changes he had caused had already made him feel threatened, and he wouldn't give Dudian any more chances!
Dudian looked up and around the secret room. The only way to survive at present was to subdue this alchemist. And to subdue the opponent, relying solely on the dagger in his hand was far from enough!
That's right, he had a dagger in his hand. This was a cutting tool he had taken the opportunity to grab from the workbench when he squatted down. It was also the only weapon he was going to use to fight the hunched old man in close combat!
Just then, Dudian suddenly saw that on a counter against the wall on the side, there were some bottles and jars piled up, with labels on them. Among them, two items were actually sulfur and charcoal!
These were some of the main raw materials of black powder!
Dudian's eyes lit up, and he was immediately overjoyed. He quickly looked around but didn't see saltpeter. His face couldn't help but change slightly. Without saltpeter, the main raw material, it was impossible to make black powder just with sulfur and charcoal!
He clenched his fists. It was like one foot had stepped into the door of life but was forcefully pushed back.
"Kid, I know you have a dagger in your hand and are ready to fight me, right?" The hunched old man's voice sounded again. Dudian's heart sank. He knew that the old man had noticed the missing dagger on the workbench. He heard the old man continue, "Let's just keep wasting time like this. I'll eat something to replenish my energy. Are you hungry?" As he spoke, he sneered twice.
When Dudian heard him say this, he immediately felt his stomach, which had been hungry all day, burning with gastric juice.
However, he felt a little relieved in his heart. At least he still had time to continue thinking of a way.
Just then, suddenly a green mist floated over.
Dudian's pupils constricted, and he quickly covered his mouth and nose. He didn't expect the opponent to release this thing in this narrow secret room. Obviously, the opponent had an antidote or some other countermeasure.
Dudian pinched his nose tightly, and his heart was pounding wildly. He knew that his time was running out. He didn't stand up and fight desperately in a hurry. He expected that the opponent might have already aimed at his position. As soon as he stood up, he would be shot.
He gritted his teeth slightly, clenched the dagger tightly, and looked at the realgar powder in his other hand. He was just about to throw it out to create a distraction. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration flashed through his mind.