After walking for a while, the surrounding walls became narrower and narrower. What used to be wide enough for two people to walk side by side was now difficult for even one person to walk on.

"Professor, have we gone the wrong way? I suspect there's no road ahead."

This time, Zhang Junjie took the lead. He had a high opinion of himself and wanted to make a good impression on Guo Ziqi.

"Keep walking, there's bound to be a road ahead."

Liu Zijue spoke with absolute certainty, leaving Liu Junjie with no choice but to sling his backpack over his shoulder and walk sideways inside. It was much better than walking through no gaps at all.

The narrow passageway felt increasingly crowded and stuffy the more people there were. As their heads drew closer to the ceiling, Xiang Wan guessed that it was a gradually narrowing passage, and she wondered where it led.

As we walked, the person in front of us suddenly stopped.

Why aren't you leaving?

Guo Ziqi bumped into Liu Junjie's back, pushing him forward. With a "thud," Liu Junjie fell down before he could even shout.

"Liu Junjie, Liu Junjie, where are you?"

Using the light from Liu Zijue's flashlight, Guo Ziqi stared wide-eyed ahead and saw only a dark hole.

"Xiao Guo, what happened?"

Liu Zijue stood behind Guo Ziqi. The passage was too narrow for him to squeeze through, so he pulled hard on Guo Ziqi's backpack to prevent her from falling down as well.

"Professor, there's a hole ahead, Liu Junjie fell in."

Guo Ziqi's voice trembled slightly, as if she was quite frightened.

"Don't rush, I have a glow stick here, try throwing one."

Since Liu Zijue couldn't turn around easily, he asked Xiang Wan to open his backpack, find the glow sticks inside, and hand them to her.

The bright green glow sticks were thrown down. Xiang Wan couldn't see what was happening ahead, only hearing a slight scraping sound that gradually faded into the distance.

"The cave entrance is very deep, should we continue?"

Guo Ziqi was a little scared and didn't dare to make a decision on her own. Liu Zijue glanced at the side and said, "Let's go down too. We don't know if Xiao Zhang is alive or dead. We can't abandon him for the sake of morality or reason."

"Professor, could you step back a little? I'm about to fall."

As Guo Ziqi spoke, she pushed herself back forcefully, causing everyone else to involuntarily take several steps backward. Yao Jiang, the biggest guy, got stomped on a few times by Sanpao and got angry, yelling, "Why are you backing away? Don't you know where we are? If you want to go back, you should break up now and save your energy."

"You're wrong about that. That young lady is here for tourism; she has no right to worry about other people."

Sanpao's teasing was mostly directed at Xiang Wan, but Guo Ziqi was furious and embarrassed. "Have you ever seen anyone travel to such a godforsaken place? If you're out of your mind, take your medicine. If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."

"Alright, alright, stop talking. Anyone have a rope in their bag? Hand it over, we're getting ready to go down."

As Liu Zijue spoke, he pulled Guo Ziqi's bag back and reached out his other hand to Xiang Wan. Xiang Wan was still thinking that there was no rope in her bag when she was poked by the person behind her. She took a rope from behind and handed it forward.

"Xiao Guo, you go ahead and scout the way. If you encounter anything suspicious, give us a signal and we'll pull you back up."

Liu Zijue's words successfully changed Guo Ziqi's expression.

"I... I've gained weight recently, and I'm afraid such a thin rope won't be able to hold me up. Why don't we let Wu Xiangwan go down? She's the lightest, and we can save some energy."

As soon as Guo Ziqi finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in the corridor, followed by the voices of others.

“That’s right, it’s not difficult for lighter people to go down.”

"It doesn't matter who goes, she should do something for all of us."

Xiang Wan remained silent. She was powerless here, and those people would find an excuse to deal with her sooner or later. It was better to observe and wait. The fact that only Guo Ziqi and Liu Zijue remained showed that this place was still dangerous. Sanpao and Yao Jiang had acted as their stepping stones, and Xiang Wan didn't want to follow in their footsteps. If she really had to go down, she could take this opportunity to leave openly. With the system at her disposal, she could bypass the dangers and reach her destination directly, acting alone—far better than wasting time and effort following this group.

"Xiang Wan, you make the decision yourself. If you don't want to go, no one will force you."

Liu Zijue continued to play the good guy. If he really cared about her, he wouldn't have passed the problem on to her. Instead, he would have directly given orders and decided on the candidates.

Xiang Wan was silent for a while, then looked up and said, "I can go down, but I have a condition."

"You're trying to do something for everyone, but you're still making demands? How pretentious!"

"If you're so capable, then you go do it!"

Four words shut Guo Ziqi up, and her ears were finally at peace.

"Liu Junjie hasn't made a sound since he fell down. There are only two possibilities: either he's knocked unconscious and hasn't woken up yet, which means there's a pit at least 20 meters deep below; or he's landed far away and his voice can't reach him. The worst-case scenario is that he might be entangled in something, preventing him from making a sound."

So, if you want me to go down, you must prepare the necessary tools for me. Rope, lighter, dagger, pistol, bomb, climbing axe—you can't leave out a single one. Also, share some water and food with me, so that if you abandon me, I won't starve to death.”

"Cough, cough, Xiang Wan, you're probably overthinking it. How could we possibly abandon you?"

Liu Zijue looked at Xiang Wan, and felt increasingly embarrassed as he spoke, seeing her calm gaze.

“Professor, I don’t doubt you, I doubt them. They haven’t given me a single kind word since I came in. I bet that if I get into danger, not one of them will come to my rescue.”

The calm analysis silenced those people.

Liu Zijue sighed and said, "Xiang Wan, I will never let this happen."

"So, either meet my conditions and let me go down, or let Guo Ziqi go down. It's your choice."

The problem was thrown back to Liu Zijue. Wasn't he the team leader? Now was the time for him to show his abilities.

Neither Yao Jiang nor Sanpao interrupted. At this point, it was clear that whoever spoke up would be the next to be released. These two valued their lives and wouldn't argue with a woman.

"How about I go down? Now that we're here, we can't be afraid of this or that."

Liu Zijue spoke these words with righteous indignation, and all three except Xiang Wan objected.

"Give her whatever she wants. Professor, you can't get hurt, or we're all doomed."

After a flurry of persuasion, Xiang Wan had gathered all the things she wanted. She secured her backpack firmly to her back, then climbed along the top of the passage to the opening in front of Guo Ziqi.