Five or six miners, whose injuries were relatively minor and who still had some strength, gathered around the spot where the beam of light was pointing.
Under the murky beam of light, all that could be seen was a pile of dark, damp coal slag and stones of varying sizes, nothing special.
Jiang Chan jumped off the coal pile without hesitation and rushed to the front.
The icy black water immediately reached her calves, and the biting cold made her shiver.
She shoved the flashlight into the hands of an elderly miner who was watching most closely. “Uncle He! Shine it here!” Uncle He instinctively caught the magical glowing stick, his hands trembling, the beam of light swaying with it.
Jiang Chan had no time to pay attention to him; fragments of Little Stone's memories were churning wildly in her mind.
Location!
This is it!
That narrow, almost forgotten entrance to the crack! She crouched down, her icy hands plunging directly into the piercing black water and coal dust.
The rough stones cut her frozen fingers, but she didn't feel much pain.
soon!
My fingertips touched it!
It wasn't loose coal slag, but a cold, hard rock wall with irregular cracks!
She felt her way along the crevice, and near the bottom, the crevice seemed to widen a little, but it was blocked by a pile of even larger rubble and cinders!
"Here!" Jiang Chan's voice was hoarse with excitement. She gripped the edge of a loose boulder tightly with her fingers, turned her head and shouted, "Move this big one first! Be careful not to fall on your foot!" The beam of light immediately focused on her.
Zhu Zi was the first to roar and pounce, his dark hands gripping the edge of the stone, his feet digging into the slippery ground: "One! Two! Three! Lift—!"
"Hey!"
"Push harder!"
The men strained with all their might, veins bulging on their necks.
The heavy stone moved slightly on the slippery ground, making a dull groan.
Finally, with a loud crash, it was flipped over into the water beside it, splashing up a large amount of dark water.
More small pebbles and accumulated coal slag were exposed below.
Jiang Chan immediately pulled out a metal folding knife.
With a snap, the blade bounced off.
"A knife?!" Zhu Zi was startled.
Jiang Chan didn't even look up. Her right hand gripped the cold knife handle, while her left hand's fingers dug deep into the coal dust and gravel, prying forcefully outwards. "Stop talking nonsense! Pry! Use your hands! Quickly!"
No one questioned the knife that had appeared out of nowhere anymore.
The instinct to survive overwhelmed everything.
Zhu Zi, Li Da Chui, and the others immediately rushed over, frantically digging through the loosened rubble and coal dust.
No one complained of being tired, no one complained of getting dirty; every dig was done with a desperate, ruthless spirit.
The only sounds in the air were heavy breathing, the clanging of stones rubbing together, and the screeching of metal blades prying open gaps.
Time passed little by little.
The air grew increasingly stuffy and thin, each breath feeling like inhaling scalding hot sand.
Sweat mixed with coal sludge streamed down his face, carving deep furrows into his features.
The beam of light swayed, and under its beam, the gravel and cinders were cleared away little by little.
finally!
A twisted, narrow, upward-sloping crevice in the rock was revealed!
It was only about a foot wide, and the inside was dark. A faint, musty smell wafted out from the depths of the crack!
"It's working! It's really working!" Zhu Zi's voice trembled with excitement, and even the coal mud covering his face couldn't hide the intense will to survive shining in his eyes.
Everyone's spirits lifted instantly, even the old man who was paralyzed in the water struggled to raise his head, a faint light igniting in his turbid eyes.
Gaps!
The entrance to the Rat's Trail!
Jiang Chan leaned closer to the gap, took the flashlight, and shone it inside.
The beam of light struggled to pierce the darkness, barely revealing a narrow, sloping natural rock crevice passage, barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through sideways. It was filled with angular stones, damp, and seeping water in some places.
"Quick!" Jiang Chan turned around immediately, her voice urgent and hoarse, "Zhu Zi! Uncle Hammer! You're strong! Widen this opening a bit more! Quick! Quick! Use this pickaxe..."
Jiang Chan took out the tools provided by the system and handed them over.
Zhu Zi wiped the coal dust and sweat from his face, exchanged a glance with Li Dachui, gritted his teeth, and rushed to the edge of the crevice again, desperately trying to pry open the sharp, protruding rock edges with his tools.
"Keep it up!"
"Almost there! Just a little more effort!"
Just as everyone was ignited by this sudden hope and frantically dug with all their might—
Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!
A deafeningly loud bang suddenly exploded directly above their heads!
It felt like the earth's heart had clenched painfully!
The entire mine suddenly shook violently!
"Ah—!" A terrified scream pierced the air instantly!
"It collapsed! It collapsed again!"
"Oh my God—!!"
Countless pebbles and coal chunks, illuminated by the beam of a powerful flashlight that swung wildly and finally managed to stabilize, fell like a collapsing curtain of hell, carrying smoke and the stench of death, crashing down from the sky!
Thump thump thump! Thump thump thump!
The rocks crashed into the water, hitting the miners and creating terrifying black splashes and painful screams!
"Watch out for your head!" Jiang Chan screamed, instinctively using her small body to shove aside the terrified Uncle He who was standing next to her.
boom--!
Boom—!
The sound wasn't heard by the ears; it was felt by the entire body first.
My feet suddenly lurched, as if I had been kicked hard by a giant.
The roar of death crashed down from above!
It wasn't just one sound, but a continuous, rumbling thud, like an entire mountain collapsing overhead!
"ah--!"
"It collapsed! It collapsed again!"
The desperate screams were instantly swallowed up by the even more terrifying sounds of rocks tearing apart and coal colliding.
The entire narrow space shook violently!
Jiang Chan felt a tremendous force slam into her back, causing her to lunge forward. The icy black water immediately filled her mouth and nose.
The flashlight, which he had been clutching tightly in his hand, flew out of his grasp!
"Little Stone!" Pillar's hoarse roar rang out from the direction she fell.
"Crack!"
A crisp cracking sound mingled with the terrifying roar of the collapse, faint yet piercing.
The pillar of light that tore through the darkness and embodied everyone's hope suddenly leaped in the air and went out abruptly, like a flame whose neck had been snapped!
dark!
A darkness that was thicker, deeper, and more suffocating than before!
With a howl of death, everything was instantly swallowed up!
"Cough cough cough!"
"Help!"
"You're crushing me!"
"My legs! My legs—!"
Screams, cries of pain, coughs, heavy impacts, the sound of rubble rolling down... all mingled into a boiling pot of despair in absolute darkness.
The cold, murky black water was splashed everywhere, mixed with even thicker dust, making it impossible to breathe.
Jiang Chan was knocked down into the water, the cold sewage poured into her mouth and nose, her lungs burned with pain, and her back was hit by several rolling stones, which stung painfully.
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