When the topic was no longer discussed behind Shi Tou, Lu Rankong sat down next to Lan Yu. Neither of them spoke, listening to the sound of digging machines coming from the distance, getting closer and closer.

There were laughters from time to time in the back. After knowing that the prison had not given up on them, the few people were completely relieved and joked with each other.

"Since your knee hurts, you should have told me at the beginning so I could think of a solution for you." Lu Rankong looked ahead and said to Lan Yu, "In the end, you just endured it and it's now swollen like this."

"What can I do even if I tell you? The cave is so narrow, and it's impossible for you to carry me on your back. Should I smear a layer of saliva on it before you climb?" Lan Yu replied in a low voice.

Lu Rankong continued, "You can wrap your clothes around it. Wrap it thickly, and it won't hurt when you climb up."

Lan Yu moved her lips, wanted to say something but swallowed it back.

"Are you afraid that I will laugh at you?" Lu Rankong asked.

Lan Yu said nothing.

Lu Rankong was silent for a while, then asked tentatively, "Were you like this before?"

"What?" Lan Yu asked.

"Even before, when you did those things—" Lu Rankong glanced at him from the side, changing the words that were about to come out of his mouth, "When you were doing great things, were you also so delicate—and easily hurt?"

Lan Yu's heart skipped a beat and she slowly turned her head.

Lu Rankong looked at him, his eyes calm.

"What do you mean?" Lan Yu asked coldly.

Lu Rankong didn't answer, just looked at him.

Under his gaze that implied a hint of understanding, Lan Yu felt so guilty that she just wanted to turn her head away. But he understood that he could not retreat at such a moment, so he insisted on continuing to look at Lu Rankong, his eyes full of coldness and determination.

Lu Rankong looked away first, and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Although we have been together in the military camp for two years, we have never met before, so I didn't know you. I only knew that you were a very powerful character. Now I know that you are actually not what I thought you were... I feel that you must have suffered a lot."

He was silent for two seconds and then continued: "Why do you have to be so strong?"

It turned out that he didn't suspect that he had changed into a different person. Lan Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Relaxed, yet curious.

He didn't know what K was like before. When he came through, he fainted at the open door. After getting up, he walked into the room in a daze, and then Kong Fei came in.

After an incoherent conversation, he realized that he had traveled to another world. Kong Fei thought that he had lost his memory due to a sudden illness, so he jotted down K's information for him.

Lan Yu knew K's secret and knew that he had entered the military camp hiding his omega identity. He seemed to care nothing about those past deeds and his crazy style of doing things.

What does he want to do?

Where did he go after I took over his body? Should he go to his own place to become the best actor, or continue to stay in this world? If you continue to stay in this world, why have you never come to find me?

"What kind of person was I in your eyes before?" Lan Yu asked in a low voice.

Lu Rankong looked ahead and considered for a while, then said cautiously: "When you looked at me, your eyes were very energetic, but too cold, which made people feel uncomfortable."

K didn't have much contact with him, but once they met, he would stare at him intently, and that look made people inexplicably irritated.

Lu Rankong interpreted this feeling of irritability as a provocation, so he naturally regarded K as an opponent and stared at him every time until the two passed each other.

"Looking energetic?" Lan Yu asked curiously.

Lu Rankong explained: "Of course, I now understand that it is just your habit of looking at people, not that I have any ill intentions."

Spiritual, malicious, cold, and uncomfortable...

Lan Yu said: "Turn around and look at me."

Lu Rankong turned his head to look at him and took a breath.

Damn it, that's it. I really want to hit him, dig out his eyes, and throw him on the ground and step on him.

Lan Yu was looking at him now, with an unscrupulous gaze, a look of scrutiny, and an indescribable meaning, her eyes were cold and grim.

After looking at Lu Rankong for a few seconds, he restrained his expression and asked, "Is that so?"

Lu Rankong clenched his fists and nodded silently.

Lan Yu understood that Lu Rankong's feeling was correct and K had ill intentions towards him.

Is it competition between colleagues? If K wants to move up, Lu Rankong's excellence will definitely be a stumbling block on his way forward.

But K's crazy and suicidal behavior doesn't seem like he's trying to climb up.

While he was daydreaming, he heard Lu Rankong say uncomfortably: "You don't have to be strong in front of me in the future. Tell me when it hurts, rest when you're tired, and cry when you want to—"

Lan Yu glared at him and swallowed the rest of his words.

For the rest of the time, the two of them sat in silence, listening to the boring mechanical sound. The people behind the stone seemed tired as well. They made no sound and were probably resting.

Lan Yu felt sleepy amid the buzzing sound. Her eyelids became heavier and her head heaved.

He touched something in a daze, and immediately leaned over, adjusted himself to a comfortable position, and fell into a deep sleep in an instant.

He didn't know how long he slept until he was woken up by a sudden loud explosion. Before I opened my eyes, I heard a voice over the loudspeaker: "Is everyone inside okay? Are there any casualties?"

"Reporting to the commander, we are all safe and there are no casualties." Liu Junjie replied loudly and excitedly.

"No casualties at all?"

"No, not one."

It seems that the prison has finally dug a passage.

Lan Yu rubbed her eyes and sat up straight. When she turned around, she realized that she had been resting her head on Lu Rankong's shoulder and suddenly felt a little stiff.

Lu Rankong didn't care and whispered, "The warden came to dig us out himself."

As long as you dig through the biggest stone, the rest will be easy. After only half an hour, a gap was dug on the top that was wide enough for people to pass through.

"Brother Bao, Brother Qiao, please wait a little longer, we will go out first." Liu Junjie said.

Lu Rankong replied: "Okay, you go first."

Lu Rankong heard them climbing out under the arrangement of the prison staff, and comforted Lan Yu, "We still have a layer of rocks here, wait a little longer, don't be anxious."

"I'm not in a hurry..." Lan Yu said.

Seeing that Lu Rankong was about to speak, he couldn't help but ask, "Why are you acting weird?"

"What's strange?" Lu Rankong asked curiously.

"You're so long-winded..."

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but ever since he saw him crying, Lu Rankong seemed to be particularly careful with his words, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

He didn't want to expose his vulnerability and arouse sympathy from others.

Especially in front of Lu Rankong.

"Just treat me the way you should. There's no need to be so cautious. I feel uncomfortable." Lan Yu said with her head down.

Lu Rankong was even more puzzled and asked, "Haven't I always been like this to you?"

"Yeah?"

"Think back yourself, was I not good to you? Before you cried, you wanted me to carry you on your back and you were whining there, so didn't I carry you anyway?" Lu Rankong said.

Lan Yu said coldly: "I didn't whine, nor did I want you to carry me on your back."

He glanced at Lu Rankong and said, "I didn't cry either..."

"I really didn't cry, it was all my hallucination." Lu Rankong said.

As soon as he finished speaking, the voice of the loudspeaker exploded in his ears: "Is everyone inside okay? Are there any casualties?"

Someone was just behind the rock they were leaning against, shouting through the gap with a megaphone.

Both of them felt their ears buzzing and they jumped up from the rocks they were sitting on at the same time.

"We're fine, we're all fine, there are no casualties." Lu Rankong shouted quickly.

The voice continued, "Well, you guys step back and hide, we're going to push the rock down."

Lu Rankong and Lan Yu quickly ran back more than ten meters. Lu Rankong saw a dent on the wall of the cave, so he dragged Lan Yu and hid in it. He pressed him against the wall and stood in front of him face to face.

Both of them were breathing rapidly. Lan Yu felt his hot breath on her face and lowered her head a little uncomfortably.

As a result, I buried my face in his shoulder, and my breath was filled with the scent of his body.

There was also a thin smell of sweat mixed in, but strangely he didn't find it unpleasant, and he even secretly inhaled a few breaths.

After standing there and waiting for more than ten seconds, the speaker asked again: "Have you all retreated and hidden?"

Lu Rankong yelled: "Hide it..."

Lan Yu covered her ears and punched him on the shoulder again, "Can you please stop yelling into my ears?"

The other side didn't hear it, so he asked again: "The person inside answered, are you hiding well?"

Lu Rankong turned his head, took a deep breath, and said in a loud voice: "Hide it!"

As the words fell, there was a loud bang and gravel flew everywhere.

At that moment, Lu Rankong closed his arms and held Lan Yu tightly in his arms.

The huge rock that was blocking the passage collapsed and rolled to the ground, revealing a small gap above. The two men waited until the smoke and dust cleared before covering their mouths and noses with their sleeves and walking out of the recess where they were hiding.

"How is it, how is it? 0357, 0356, how are you two?" Someone rushed out from the smoke and dust.

Lu Rankong replied: "Sir, I'm fine."

When the others rushed over, Lan Yu saw clearly that they were the two prison guards in charge of Cave A.

Officer Liu coughed and said, "You guys really scared us to death. You said it collapsed, and the holes they were responsible for were all fine, but we were the only one that got in trouble."

Officer Wang covered his nose and pointed at the two of them with his other hand. "You are lucky this time. The higher-ups are coming to inspect the prison security. The warden has issued a death order to rescue you alive no matter what."

"Come on, come on, stop talking and get out first." Officer Liu pushed him. "The warden is also very anxious and is waiting outside."

The warden was a serious middle-aged man. When he saw them climbing out of the gap, he said nothing and turned to walk out. The prison guards and staff around him followed and took the slide car in front.

The prisoners outside the cave were still waiting, and Officers Liu and Wang were also in a hurry to leave. Anyway, they were not worried that Lan Yu and Lu Rankong could escape from here, so they let them wait for the car behind.

The two men stood there without moving, watching the construction vehicles clear the rocks in the cave. Wait until you hear the sound of a trolley approaching, then walk in that direction.

Lan Yu had just taken two steps when he saw Lu Rankong suddenly standing in front of him, half-kneeling and holding his knees.

Although she didn't say anything, it was obvious that she was going to carry him.

He didn't ask, just hesitated for two seconds before putting his hand on him and climbing onto his back.

Lu Rankong hugged his knees, lifted him up, and walked towards the trolley on the gravel on the ground.

"Do you think it's them?" Lan Yu leaned close to his ear and whispered.

Lu Rankong knew he was referring to Officer Wang and Officer Liu, and replied, "It's hard to say, just keep an eye on it."

"If it's them, their acting is too good. I didn't notice any flaws just now." Lan Yu raised her head and thought for a moment, then leaned closer and said, "Tell me, is that someone in their original place an actor or something?"

Lu Rankong laughed and said, "Maybe, maybe he's just an actor."

"I'm telling the truth."

"What I said is true."

Lan Yu hugged his neck and thought for a while, then said, "But with so many prison guards and staff, it may not be them. I have to observe carefully to see how each one reacts."

"Yes, everyone is a suspect." Lu Rankong agreed, "But even though nothing happened to us, that person definitely won't dare to attack again recently, so we should be safe during this period. Also, he's not sure whether we have entered that small cave and found those crystals. I guess he will find a chance to go in and take a look recently. I'll have the warden send someone to keep an eye on us nearby."

"No, the warden doesn't know who it is. What if the person he sent is that person?" Lan Yu said, "No one can be sure about the prison guards now. We should be suspicious of them."

Lu Rankong sighed and said, "Then we just have to be more careful. But it's okay. As long as our identities are not exposed, he won't be able to take the crystal away."

As they were talking, they had already arrived in front of the rail car. After the two of them entered the truck bed, Lu Rankong pulled down the gate above his head and the rail car drove out of the cave.

Liu Junjie and his friends were waiting at the entrance of the cave. They came up to the car before it even stopped and asked about its life, but were then called back by the prison guards.

"Alright, alright, as long as everyone is fine, everyone get in the car and go back." Officer Wang said, waving his baton.

The warden and his group had already left, and the other prisoners followed them back to the prison. Only those in their cell were left, and they went back to the prison in two engineering crawler vehicles.

It is almost dark now. The sky in the distance looks like an expired salted duck egg, with dark patches of color, and it is gray and chaotic.

"Were you scared just now?" the driver suddenly asked.

Liu Junjie was also in the car and quickly replied: "I was definitely scared to death. When the big rocks first fell down, my heart almost jumped out of my throat. I thought I would definitely die and my life would be lost in it. Fortunately, there was a mining machine there to support it."

"But it's strange, why did the cave collapse? We checked it a few days ago, and the walls of the cave are very solid. We didn't find any safety hazards." The driver asked again.

At this moment, Lan Yu's eyes quickly swept across the faces of the driver and Officer Liu who was in charge of their car.

There was nothing unusual about their expressions, just a hint of curiosity. Officer Liu smiled gently when he made eye contact with him.

Liu Junjie scratched his head and said, "I don't know either. It's possible that the foundation was loosened by digging in the past. It just so happened that two people were loading rocks and the cart overturned and hit the cave wall. That might have caused the cave to collapse."

Officer Liu said, "It's good that you are okay. It's good that you are okay. Go back and take a shower and have a good meal. Although it's past dinner time, the cafeteria has left some delicious food for you to reward. Go after you take a shower."

"Thank you, Officer Liu..." Liu Junjie said with a smile.

They soon returned to the prison, and Lan Yu waited for everyone else to finish taking a shower before going to the bathhouse with Lu Rankong.

Lu Rankong kept looking down at his legs along the way.

"Why do you keep looking at my legs?" Lan Yu asked him.

Lu Rankong said, "Can your knees get wet? Otherwise, you can sit inside and I'll wash them for you so that your knees don't touch the water."

"No need, it's just a little skin breakage, no big deal." Lan Yu refused decisively.

When he arrived at the empty bathroom, he waited for Lu Rankong to open the cabinet to check things, then quickly took off his clothes and went to the cubicle. However, his knees were so painful that his legs trembled several times on the way.

It was not until I finished washing and turned off the water that I realized the bathhouse was completely quiet. I could not hear the sound of water or any other sound.

"Li Baozi, Li Baozi." He raised his head and shouted twice.

Without waiting for Lu Rankong's response, he gently pushed open the compartment door.

The entire bathroom was empty, and he quickly ran to his closet to put on his clothes.

Just as I put on my clothes, the door of the bathhouse was pushed open and Lu Rankong walked in.

Seeing that his hair was dry, Lan Yu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where did you go just now?"

"I'll go get your medicine from the medical officer."

Lu Rankong said.

Only then did Lan Yu notice that he was holding a glass bottle and a small bag of medical cotton swabs.

"Sit down and bring some medicine." Lu Rankong patted the long bench in front of him.

Lan Yu walked over slowly and sat down.

Lu Rankong squatted in front of him, gently lifted up his trouser legs, and looked at his knees with a frown. Then he dipped a cotton swab in some of the medicine in the glass bottle and pressed it on the bruises.

The potion was icy cold and caused a stinging pain. Lan Yu held back her pain and remained silent, only looking down at the person in front of her.

Lu Rankong's hair was still covered with dust, and his black hair had turned grey. There was a dirty mark across his tall nose, like a camouflage.

He looked very focused, just like he usually was when he was carving those stones, and he carefully applied the medicine on the cotton swab to his knee.

The room was silent. Lan Yu looked at Lu Rankong like this and felt that something in her heart was gently touched.

Lu Rankong carefully applied the medicine to both knees, and waited until the medicine dried before lowering his trouser legs. He tightened the lid of the medicine bottle and said, "Okay, I'll put the remaining medicine and cotton swabs back in the cell cabinet. Remember to apply them again tomorrow."

After saying this, without waiting for a response, he looked at Lan Yu inquiringly.

Lan Yu was staring at him, and hastily avoided his gaze, lowered her head and said, "I know..."

"Let's go back." Lu Rankong stood up and was about to pick up his own basin.

"You haven't taken a shower yet." Lan Yu reminded quickly.

Lu Rankong came to his senses and said, "Oh, by the way, I haven't washed yet. So are you going back first or waiting for me here?"

"I'll wait for you..." Lan Yu said, staring at her feet.

Lu Rankong took two steps, then stopped and turned back, saying, "Since you're waiting for me here, why don't you go and rub my back?"

Lan Yu raised her head suddenly and replied quickly: "I don't want to rub your back."

"I just ran a long way to get you some medicine, and now you can't even rub my back?"

"No!" Lan Yu said firmly.

Lu Rankong shook his head and walked towards the bathroom, "What an ungrateful person! I shouldn't have cared about you if I had known earlier, you ungrateful person, ungrateful person..."

Lan Yu watched his back disappear at the bathroom door before turning back angrily.

The heartbeat just now was just an illusion. This person is still so annoying.