PUBANG's books available on Amazon:
https://amzn.asia/d/0aZXI9w
-----------------
The air froze in an instant.
A piercing screech shattered the silence—metal scraping against metal, like a blade dragged over steel.
All three looked up at once.
From the shadows at the forest's edge, three massive silver pythons slithered out. They emerged in sync, closing in from three directions. Larger than the ones they had faced before, their bodies were covered in overlapping stainless-steel scales, their joints exhaling wisps of white mist—mechanical breath.
But the most terrifying thing was their eyes.
Not the usual glowing red, but three crimson beams arranged in a grid-like formation. Cold, calculating. A demon's gaze, locking down every possible escape route.
Fred instinctively tightened his grip around his iron rod, cursing under his breath.
"Damn… Three of them this time. If the boss were here, we might stand a chance against one. But me…"
He turned to run—then stopped himself. He had already tried escaping twice, both times barely making it back alive. A third failed attempt? He refused to face that humiliation again.
Maverick's expression darkened. He knew this snake—it was the one that had strangled that little boy. His fist clenched slowly. A decision was forming.
Dr. Chan took a step back, his lips pale.
"Their formation… This is coordinated computation."
"What does that mean?" Fred swallowed hard, sweat pooling in his palms.
"It's not just three snakes." Dr. Chan's voice was grim."It's a system. A tactical unit."
The mechanical serpents didn't strike immediately. They moved like trained hunting dogs—one coiled low to the ground, poised to pounce; another slipped silently into a pile of junk, vanishing without a trace; the last one circled the perimeter, its massive body churning the debris, sending waves of scrap metal crashing through the ruins.
It was clearing out electromagnetic disruptors.
"They're dismantling our interference system!" Maverick's voice sharpened."They're preparing for a siege!"
Fred's scalp prickled."Do you guys have a plan or not?! If you do, use it now!"
But the other two ignored him.
"The data we collected on the mechanical snakes—it's already been uploaded into their shared network." Maverick's gaze was sharp."From now on, they won't make the same mistakes again."
"Is there still time to run?" Fred asked, his voice strained.
"No." Dr. Chan murmured."We're already surrounded."
The three mechanical serpents advanced at the same time, slow but unstoppable, pressing forward like an iron mountain.
Suddenly, the ground trembled violently.
The junk piles exploded, scattering metal drums, cables, and mangled limbs through the air. A massive steel rod was flung skyward.
"The perimeter is breached!" Dr. Chan shouted.
Before his words faded, an old washing machine was sent flying. A hidden disruptor tumbled out, crackling with purple electricity before shattering against a heap of scrap metal, its fragments falling soundlessly.
At the same moment, one of the mechanical snakes coiled, then lunged—straight at Maverick.
Fred leaped forward, swinging his rod with all his strength.
"Haaah—!!"
He knew he stood no chance. But he also knew that if he didn't stop the snake now, none of them would make it out alive.
Man and serpent clashed amidst the wreckage.
Fred's iron rod slammed against the python's head—but it was like hitting a steel wall. His wrist jolted, muscles tearing under the strain. The rod slipped from his grip and went flying.
A split second later, the serpent's tail lashed out—**THWACK**—sending Fred hurtling through the air. He crashed into a heap of discarded furniture, metal plates splintering, dust bursting skyward.
He tried to move, but something dug into his back—a rusted sterilizer. His leg was pinned beneath an old refrigerator. His limbs were wedged between the jagged metal scraps.
He was trapped.
And the mechanical python was closing in, silent and inevitable.
—--
The serpent's head rose high, its crimson sensor eyes flashing coldly—it had made its decision. It would start by eliminating this old opponent.
Its massive, steel-coated body coiled tighter, wrapping Fred in a flood of iron, squeezing like a juicer crushing fruit.
"Agh… ahhh…!" Fred strained every muscle, his arms locked in a desperate arch as he tried to push back the tightening coils. His throat was raw, scraping like sandpaper against itself, blood beginning to seep from within.
Not far away, Dr. Chan knelt over a circuit board, sweat dripping onto the tangled wires as he scrambled to fix the connection."The wiring's loose—no, the frequency's scrambled—damn it! A full reboot needs forty seconds!"
Maverick was rapidly tuning another device, his face as calm as ever—except for the slight crease in his brow.
Forty seconds.-Too long for Fred.
His body writhed, his legs kicked, but the mechanical serpent only tightened further. His bones creaked, the ominous sound like splintering twigs—soon to be snapped like toothpicks.
Worse yet, the serpent's head lifted again, its sensors flashing as it locked onto its next target.
"Fred, don't move! I've got this!"
Maverick's voice rang out from across the wreckage!
A split second later, he leapt onto a collapsed cabinet, hefting a bizarre weapon onto his shoulder—it looked like a high-pressure cooker assembled wrong. An interference gun. His expression was unshaken, but oddly enough, there was a flicker of excitement.
"I'm gonna die!!" Fred roared, his face turning red from the strain."You two bastards **owe me a round of wild monkey wine**!!!"
Monkey wine—fermented fruit left behind by forgetful monkeys in tree hollows, turning into natural liquor. When discovered by a group of camp youths, it became legendary. The monkeys, drunk beyond belief, threw parties, sang, danced, even pelted each other with banana peels. Humans snatched up the barrels and made them prime black-market currency.
Maverick grinned, flipping the switch on the interference gun."If you survive, I'll buy you ten barrels."
But now wasn't the time for jokes—Fred was **losing**. He fought against the steel coils, already halfway resigned to his VIP seat in hell's tavern.
The interference gun hummed in silence for half a second.
"Zzt—VVVMMM—!!!"
A twisted beam of violet-red energy drilled straight into the serpent's head!
Its sensor eyes flickered wildly before the entire body spasmed—convulsing like an electrified washing machine, its head snapping backward.
"BOOM—!"
The massive steel body tumbled, sending Fred flying like a discarded chip bag. He crashed onto the ground with enough force to ripple the air around him.
He lay there, gasping… and then laughing. Like a student just freed from school.
"Damn… damn…!" His eyes were damp from the rush, half-laughing, half-cursing."You idiot,you finally pulled the trigger!!"
"Relax." Maverick calmly adjusted the interference gun."This is just the beginning."
Suddenly—the second mechanical serpent lashed out!
It shot forward from the flank, its head shifting shape mid-air—**a spinning drill bit**, razor-sharp and roaring at full speed. It aimed straight for the ground, ready to burrow deep and launch a sneak attack from below!
"Oh, trying to run?"
Maverick smirked. Interference gun—firing again.
"BOOM—!"
A shockwave of electricity blasted into the serpent's body—it arched violently, like a struck power cable, before slamming back into the dirt.
It had burrowed halfway. But now? It was stuck. Pinned into the ground like a nailed-down spike.
Its circuits fried, its body twitched, sparks crackling along the metal plating. The overwhelming stench of burnt wires filled the air.
"YES—!!" Fred tried to push himself up—only to collapse again, exhausted beyond measure. He sprawled onto his back and laughed hysterically, flipping the sky a rude gesture.
But before his laughter could fade—
A piercing 'roar' exploded from beneath Maverick's feet!
The third mechanical serpent—the one that had stayed hidden—erupted from underground, its steel jaws widening.
And in one swift move,it trapped Maverick and Dr. Chan inside its coils,squeezing tight. A reverse execution.
—