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墨書 Inktalez
We crossed the bridge, and the scene before us gave the illusion that we had entered a familiar place once again, yet it felt eerily cold.
The environment mirrored that on the other side of the bridge, as if it had been cloned from the past.
Everyone's mood was somewhat grim; it was easy to see that the space ahead felt like a dead end.
The two inlets of the stream were still gushing with water, the sounds of bubbling and trickling intertwining, causing a chill to rise slowly within us.
The Mercenary began to laugh, his laughter growing more pessimistic, as if he were sinking into the depths of hell.
Fat Ma asked, "What are you laughing at? Aren't you a Mercenary? Are you afraid of dying?"
The Mercenary's laughter abruptly ceased, and his tone turned serious. "This is clearly a dead end. When I was on missions before, there was at least a chance to survive. In this situation, how am I supposed to live?"
His words left Fat Ma silent.
Fat Ma was experienced in these matters; having been underground so many times, he estimated that this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. The threat here wasn't solely from the Zongzi lurking underground or from traps; there were human manipulations at play as well.
I felt completely lost; what could we do here? Everything was laid out before us in plain sight.
I urged everyone to gather their spirits and search for an exit.
However, only Fat Ma, the Mercenary, and I set off. The three of us began to examine our surroundings. There were some potted plants neatly arranged in a line; some had already wilted while others were still blooming.
We started to feel around and knock on the walls in search of any hidden mechanisms, but we failed. After searching for a while longer, we still found nothing.
"Let's take a break and eat something," Fat Ma said, clutching his stomach.
Niren and I exchanged glances and shook our heads before following Fat Ma to grab some food. After we finished eating, Shovel stood up, dragging his weary body. "Let me help you!"
I nodded. Since there were no mechanisms on the wall, we would have to look for opportunities on the ground.
They had already started moving, and I was momentarily distracted when a few potted plants caught my attention.
Fat Ma was adjusting the position of the last potted plant. A sense of foreboding washed over me, and I wanted to tell him to stop, but it was too late.
As soon as the last pot was moved, a loud rumble echoed through the chamber, and the entire tomb began to shake violently. Fat Ma had triggered a mechanism, and it seemed like the whole place was about to collapse.
The ground started to crack, and water surged up from below, slowly rising to my knees.
Rubble fell from above as we dodged debris, panic setting in among us once again.
Suddenly, a crack appeared in the wall, widening little by little—it was an exit! My eyes lit up.
"Everyone, hurry over there!" I shouted. The ground had opened up significantly, and water gushed out like a fountain.
Hearing my voice, they all began to move toward me. I struggled to make my way toward the exit as the water quickly rose to my chest.
The exit was only a few meters away. When I reached it, I grabbed each of their hands one by one and pulled them up—first Fat Ma, then Xiao Hui, followed by several others.
Suddenly, a white figure surfaced in the water. I recognized it immediately and shouted desperately for the last person to hurry up.
"Fat Ma," I shouted, "hurry up and shoot."
Fat Ma followed the direction of my pointing finger.
The last person had already been dragged under the Water Surface, with no chance to surface again.
After understanding the situation, Fat Ma immediately fired a burst of bullets at the Water Surface, but it was too late; a spurt of blood erupted from it.
Everyone watched in horror, feeling utterly powerless. Each person was filled with dread.
"He's dead," said the Mud Man softly.
Fat Ma nodded in agreement. "There's nothing we can do now."
I pulled out my Submachine Gun and fired a burst at the Water Surface to vent my emotions. The deceased was the Mercenary who had been talking to us just hours ago; now, he was gone, just like that.
"Let's go, the water is rising," Shovel reminded us.
Fat Ma patted me on the shoulder, urging me to move quickly.
Without hesitation, we began to flee deeper into the tomb.
At one point, someone said, "No need to rush so much; there's a drainage outlet here." He pointed to an opening in the tomb passage.
We crossed over that opening, and as the floodwaters began to rise at that spot, they were drained away. Thus, a watershed was formed, and we all gasped for breath.
At the same time, our hearts felt somewhat calmer.
We leaned against the wall to rest, listening to the sound of water; at that moment, it felt like the happiest time.
After gathering our thoughts, we continued to move forward. Our lighting tools had broken down, leaving only two or three that still worked.
Fat Ma, Xiao Hui, and a Mercenary were with us.
However, we still had flares and some explosives, as well as firearms.
The tomb passage was constructed from bricks, and due to its age, some moss had grown on top.
As we walked along, something suddenly jabbed at my foot. I moved my foot away and crouched down, asking Fat Ma to shine the light over.
As the light illuminated the area, I found a pen holder—specifically, a steel pen holder. This was definitely a modern item; had someone already been here?
I felt a surge of alarm inside me.
Fat Ma said to me, "What's so interesting about a pen holder?" Suddenly realizing something, he cursed under his breath, "Damn it."
I warned everyone to be cautious and then tucked the pen holder into my pocket.
After this incident, everyone was on edge. The fact that someone had been here suggested there might really be an exit, which gave us hope.
We walked a bit further when Mud Man reminded us, "There's a sound."
I halted in my tracks as everyone looked at him, waiting for more. Mud Man listened intently and after a moment said in confusion, "It's the sound of water; strange!"
I too found it odd; could it be flooding again?
"Seeing is believing," Xiao Hui reminded us at that moment.
Shovel moved forward, and we had no reason to stop; there was no retreat behind us.
After walking about one hundred meters, the light revealed a single plank bridge. A tree trunk, roughly the size of a bowl, spanned the two ends of the tomb passage. Below, the sound of rushing water roared defiantly, as if saying, "If you fall down, you're done for."
The single plank bridge was about five or six meters above the flowing water. Looking down, a gust of wind carrying moisture blew up at us. Under normal circumstances, it would have felt refreshing, but in this situation, it only added to the eerie atmosphere.
The wooden plank was approximately four meters long, but it had aged significantly; some parts were already decayed. The most challenging aspect was that this plank was a round log, making it unstable.
"What do we do now?" a mercenary asked.
"We have to cross," I replied. Then I added, "I'll go first." Just then, Fat Ma said, "No, I'll go first."
The Mud Man chimed in after Fat Ma's comment, "With your build, it's obvious you won't make it across; stepping on that will just break it. Let me go first." Without waiting for Fat Ma's retort, the Mud Man placed one foot on the round log.
He stepped firmly onto it with one foot and then brought up the other foot. Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I called out to the Mud Man.
He turned back to look at me and asked, "What is it?"
I said, "Come down first; I have something to tell you."
The Mud Man thought I was trying to stop him and replied, "Old Sun, don't try to compete with me this time."
This seemed to be the first time he called me Old Sun. I hesitated for a moment before saying, "I really have a way."
"Really?" The Mud Man asked uncertainly.
"I said firmly, 'Of course.'
At that moment, Fat Ma shouted, 'Mud Man, if Old Sun tells you to come down, then come down.'
The Mud Man cautiously stepped back and asked, 'What do you have in mind?'
I replied, 'First, let's tie you up with a rope. That way, we have an extra layer of security.'
I took out a rope and secured it around his waist. Then we held tightly onto the ends of the rope as the Mud Man stepped back onto the Single Plank Bridge. With this added safety measure, we felt a bit more at ease.
With each step the Mud Man took, we loosened the rope slightly.
We could all feel the Mud Man's nervousness through the rope; it trembled continuously but eventually stabilized. Finally, with one last deep breath, the Mud Man crossed over first.
Next was the Mercenary. The two Mercenaries made it across without incident, followed by Xiao Hui. As Shovel crossed, there was a loud crack like breaking wood, but fortunately, it held together and Shovel made it safely across. That left only me and Fat Ma.
I glanced at Fat Ma's sturdy build and said, 'You go first!'
Fat Ma's expression turned serious as he replied, 'Old Sun, you should go first. The log is about to break; your weight should be fine.'
I urged him, 'It's precisely because the log might break that I want you to go first. If I cross first, you'll have even less chance.'
The ends of the rope were already in their hands.
Seeing my urgency, Fat Ma stopped insisting and secured the rope before stepping onto the log.
However, after just a few steps, the sound of tearing wood became unmistakable. Fat Ma froze in place, too scared to move, drenched in cold sweat."
The rope on the opposite side was pulled tightly.
Fat Ma turned to look at me. I was anxious behind him, urging Fat Ma to steady himself and be careful; the log wouldn’t break just yet.
After receiving my response, Fat Ma gathered his strength and began to move across. In the end, he made it safely to the other side.
The beam of the searchlight on the opposite side shone down on me, illuminating my face to a pale white. A drop of sweat trickled down my nose and into my mouth, and I tasted the saltiness. I spat out some saliva, my palms already slick with cold sweat.
I knew that this log probably couldn’t bear my weight any longer.
Fat Ma shouted at me from across: “Old Sun, hurry up!” Even the voice of the mud man urged me on, along with Xiao Hui’s insistence.
I took a deep breath and thought to myself, “If I die, then so be it!”
The rope tied around me had already been brought over by Fat Ma. I spread my arms to balance my weight and then stepped onto the log.
As soon as I stepped onto the log, it slipped slightly.
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