Chapter 83 Rock Climbing: A stamina cap of 179 is more than enough to handle any difficulty...
Fang Zhiyi eventually went into the water and retrieved the backpack.
The backpack was soaking in the water, incredibly heavy. He struggled with all his might to drag it ashore, leaving a wet trail on the bank.
Fortunately, the backpack is made of waterproof material, so only the lower half got a little wet, while the inside remained dry. Opening the backpack zipper revealed it was packed full of items: a waterproof flashlight, a thermal blanket, ropes, a trekking axe, a waterproof jacket… and even solid alcohol fuel and canned food.
Fang Zhiyi quickly pulled out his windbreaker and put it on, which kept out the moisture and gradually warmed his body.
It turned out that going into the water to retrieve the backpack was the right decision, since supermarkets don't have such a complete cave exploration kit.
After getting dressed, Fang Zhiyi lifted his backpack. Ouch—it was still heavy. He tried to stuff the things from his hiking backpack into this new backpack, only to find that the gaming backpack was malfunctioning.
He turned on the channel and found that he wasn't the only one experiencing this.
[Channel] [Cave Survival] [997/999]
My game inventory has disappeared. Is it a bug?
Me too.
Turns out I'm not the only one who lost my game inventory...we're all in the same boat.
[This is likely due to increased game difficulty. Without a game backpack, carrying so many supplies would significantly reduce stamina and hunger, greatly increasing the difficulty of survival.]
Do you still have supplies?
[Didn't you have one? I was carrying a super heavy hiking backpack when I entered the cave.]
[Damn, I fell into the water when I came in. I threw my bag away to swim to shore because I thought it was useless.]
Without supplies, it seems like things are going to get very bad (praying)
[Either go into the water to retrieve the bag, or find teammates as soon as possible, but...would your teammates want a burden?]
Has anyone found teammates yet?
I've been walking for almost half an hour and haven't seen a single person.
In this situation, I think it's better not to encounter anyone than to encounter someone, in case someone tries to steal our supplies.
[...]
The Cave Survival world is more difficult and has fewer players, only 999. But since it's the first time entering the world, many people are sharing information and chatting enthusiastically.
Fang Zhiyi watched for a while, and the negative effect of [Cold] on his body gradually disappeared, restoring some of his stamina. He left the channel, found the avatar in the private chat, and edited a message to send.
[fzy: Are you playing Survival World?]
The dialog box flashed briefly; the message had been successfully sent.
After waiting a few seconds, I received a response.
[Chu Zhao: I'm here]
[Chu Zhao: Where are you?]
The cave is pitch black, and the stone walls are upside down, making it easy to lose your way.
[fzy: I have an underground lake here]
[Chu Zhao: We shouldn't be far apart; I can hear the sound of water.]
[Chu Zhao: You stay where you are, I'll come find you]
【fzy: Okay】
Fang Zhiyi certainly wasn't going to stand there foolishly and wait. The shore was damp and cold; if he stood there for too long, he'd freeze. He slung his backpack over his shoulder, climbed onto a flat spot, and started a fire with solid alcohol, intending to dry his soaked clothes first.
The cave is deep underground, and the temperature hovers in the single digits. If you don't take care to keep warm, you can easily suffer from hypothermia and lose the ability to move.
Blue flames shot out, illuminating the platform and quickly raising its temperature.
By the light, one can see that the cave ceiling is low and the stone walls are carved with knives and axes, with a dark and deep crack that leads to who knows where.
The underground lake was vast, and the blind fish, startled by the firelight, scattered in all directions, making a splashing sound.
While warming herself by the fire, Fang Zhiyi looked around the fresh food supermarket for anything that might be useful.
The backpack contained compressed biscuits and canned food, so food wasn't a problem for the time being. The supermarket's goods were mostly everyday items, mainly food and drinks; the only potentially useful things were probably hardware tools and ropes.
Fang Zhiyi scratched his head and first took out a pack of heat packs and stuck them on his body.
The hand warmer worked, and a warm current flowed to my limbs.
He stood up and stretched his arms and legs, then ate a pack of compressed biscuits, trying to keep his body in the best possible condition.
After finishing his tasks, Fang Zhiyi searched the stone wall for a passage where someone might appear.
Tick-tock.
Water vapor condensed on the stone wall, and water droplets dripped slowly, making a sound.
Unable to perceive the passage of time in the darkness, Fang Zhiyi counted the sound of water droplets falling, roughly thirty or so, before hearing footsteps echoing from within the stone wall.
"...what does that mean?"
Chu Zhao turned sideways and crawled out of the gap, his body a mess, covered in dust and dirt, with pebbles mixed in with his hair.
Fang Zhiyi: "I'm here!"
You have found your teammates.
Please reach the first supply point within 3 days.
A red light flashed in my line of sight, pierced through the sky, and appeared 100 meters above.
This task is neither particularly difficult nor particularly challenging.
The backpacks contained supplies for the last three days of survival, giving them ample time. The difficulty lay in the complex and confusing caves below; it was easy to get lost and struggle to find the path to the supply point.
Fang Zhiyi finished dressing and extinguished the campfire: "Let's go outside first."
Chu Zhao said, "The road ahead is difficult; follow me."
Fang Zhiyi slung her backpack over her shoulder and followed Chu Zhao into the crevice. The path was narrow, and the two of them struggled to move forward, one in front of the other.
Fang Zhiyi felt the pebbles rubbing against his cheek, and moved forward little by little, turning his body to the side.
After walking for about several dozen meters, the road ahead finally became wider.
Fang Zhiyi brushed the pebbles off his head and asked, "Where did you come in from?"
Chu Zhao said, "It's just ahead."
He pointed ahead, where the cave passage changed again, this time becoming low, requiring people to crawl forward, and even a backpack couldn't fit inside.
Chu Zhao knew the way well, took off his hiking backpack, and pushed it inside first.
Fang Zhiyi followed his example, pushing his backpack, kneeling down, and crawling inside.
The road wasn't actually long, but it was so difficult to walk that it took the two of them about an hour to get back to where they started.
Fang Zhiyi crawled out of the cave, his pants and down jacket soaked with water. The place was cramped and poorly ventilated, and he felt a tightness in his chest whenever he made a big movement.
In this situation, it's impossible to light a fire to keep warm, but thankfully I have heat packs on my body, so I don't freeze.
Fang Zhiyi took out a flashlight, shone a beam of light on the opposite stone wall, turned it left and right, and finally looked up.
A crack appeared in the sky above, like a narrow sliver of sky, with steep, sharp cliffs all around, making it look impossible to climb.
Go up, or not go up?
There was a puddle of water at the bottom. Standing in it, the dampness and cold air kept creeping up, and after a few minutes, my feet became numb with cold. If I lingered any longer, my strength would keep draining away, and I wouldn't have the energy to climb out.
Fang Zhiyi made a quick decision: "Let's go up."
Let's at least climb up first and find a suitable place to camp and rest.
Fang Zhiyi had no experience in rock climbing, but fortunately he had plenty of strength and stamina; his stamina limit of 179 was enough to handle any difficulty. He tried to grab the protruding rock above, pushed off the rock face with one foot, and pulled hard to climb to the foothold above.
The narrow passage became convenient at this moment. With his body pressed tightly against the stone wall, he stepped on one side and moved left and right to climb upwards.
Thump.
During the climb, the chosen foothold became loose, and Fang Zhiyi lost his footing and balance in mid-air. Chu Zhao was right below him; if they fell and triggered a chain reaction, they would both be seriously injured.
At the critical moment, he used the active skill of the Dragon Slayer, Frost Dragon Breath.
In the darkness, amber pupils narrowed and elongated, and a mouthful of frost spewed from its mouth. The frost condensed the moment it touched the stone wall, forming a new foothold.
Fang Zhiyi stepped onto it steadily, grabbed an icicle protruding from the stone wall, and continued climbing forward.
Finally, a raised platform appeared ahead. Fang Zhiyi lay down on it, pushed off with his arms, and flipped himself onto it.
Catching his breath, he turned around, reached out and grabbed Chu Zhao, pulling him up with him.
The two lay on the platform, panting heavily. When they finally caught their breath, they saw that the red dot was still hanging 100 meters above them, and the distance had not decreased at all.
“…It was all for nothing,” Fang Zhiyi muttered.
Chu Zhao analyzed: "Perhaps we're going in the wrong direction."
The cave's routes are complex, not straight up and down, but winding and even upside down. Without maps, they couldn't tell which way to go and easily got lost.
Fang Zhiyi stared intently at the red dot above, as if trying to memorize its location and direction.
Chu Zhao opened his backpack and lit a fire.
The temperature is low and the humidity is high underground, so physical strength is consumed faster than on the ground. After climbing just this short distance, both of them are almost out of hunger and energy.
Chu Zhao set up a portable campfire, placed a metal lunchbox on it, and put the solid instant soup cubes from his backpack inside. The instant soup dissolved in the water, bubbling and bubbling, and soon a fragrant aroma filled the air.
"Have some soup," Chu Zhao said.
Fang Zhiyi took the steaming bowl of soup, took a sip, and gradually felt warmer, and color returned to her face.
Hunger has returned to full, but stamina doesn't recover as easily; it's still only one-third full.
If we keep climbing, we might run out of energy halfway up, which would be a problem. We'd be stuck in the middle, with nowhere to rest and resupply.
Fang Zhiyi was no longer in a hurry to climb up and decided to rest for a while.
Sharpening your axe won't delay your woodcutting.
After slurping down the soup, Fang Zhiyi still felt hungry. He took out two packets of instant noodles, opened the packaging, poured them into the lunchbox, added the seasoning and vegetable packets, and the domineering aroma of braised beef immediately filled the entire cave.
Fang Zhiyi took a deep breath.
Yes, this is the right taste.
The savory and spicy broth, the chewy noodles... Fang Zhiyi ate until her nose was sweating, the chill completely gone, and she felt like she had finally come back to life.
Compared to Fang Zhiyi's hearty eating of noodles and gulping down soup, Chu Zhao appeared much more refined, even eating instant noodles slowly and methodically. Fang Zhiyi glanced at him and unconsciously slowed down his movements as well.
After finishing the noodles, Fang Zhiyi felt a little dizzy and closed her eyes, waiting for her strength to return.
Chu Zhao cleaned up the mess and then made the fire burn even brighter.
The two sat side by side in the quiet underground cave, where the sound of rushing water could be heard from afar.
Wait... why is there water here?
Fang Zhiyi opened his eyes, poked his head out and looked down. The flashlight shone down, and the rushing water poured in, instantly submerging the place they had just climbed up.
The water kept flowing and kept surging upwards.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com