A fist-sized, openwork sculpture contained a faintly shimmering object. About the size of a thumb, it glowed with an eerie orange light, resembling both an insect and a curled-up hedgehog. The openwork sculpture's lines were designed like capillaries, crisscrossing and overlapping; even the largest opening was no more than half a finger's width—no wonder the object inside couldn't fall out.
This thing looked like gold but wasn't; when you picked it up and hung it on the dagger, you couldn't feel its weight at all.
"Xiao Qi, what is this?"
"Huh, this thing is strange. This is the first time this system has ever seen it."
Xiang Wan was speechless. There were things that even 007 didn't know. She seriously suspected that this unreliable system was just fooling her.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter what it is once it's in my hands."
Xiang Wan took a bandage out of her backpack, wrapped the hollowed-out ball, and put it in her pocket.
She had the item, but getting out of there was another problem. She tapped and probed the four walls for a while, but found nothing. Then she examined the floor tiles along the cracks in the walls. Taking a dagger, she pried at each tile along the cracks, and near the center, she found one tile that was slightly loose. She held her breath and gently tapped it with the butt of the dagger, hearing a hollow sound.
There's a chance!
She instantly perked up, took out her axe and placed it beside her. Using her dagger, she pried the stone brick open a little, then used the tip of the axe to push into the gap and forcefully lifted the brick. A dark hole appeared before her, about two feet in size, with small pits around it suitable for stepping.
Xiang Wan lay down by the cave entrance and shone her flashlight inside, but the light didn't reach the end; there seemed to be a bend in the path. She lit a lighter and reached into the cave to test the flame. Seeing that the flame hadn't shrunk and the smoke was rising, she knew that the cave had a ventilation shaft.
After tidying up her gear, Xiang Wan threw a glow stick down and then slowly slid down.
The foothold in the cave was covered in dust, and Xiang Wan climbed down, occasionally getting covered in dust. After walking about ten meters, the cave began to slope to the right. Xiang Wan took out her flashlight and shone it inside, but still couldn't see the bottom. She didn't dare to be careless, carefully checking her footing with each step. Judging from the feel of the soil around the cave, it seemed damp. If she wasn't mistaken, the exit should be an underground lake or river.
The deeper she went, the stronger the damp smell became. Xiang Wan took out her climbing axe and held it in her hand to prevent slipping. She didn't want to fall into the water; who knew what kind of creatures might be in there?
As it turned out, she was right. After countless twists and turns, the cave walls became as slippery as if they had been waxed. She lost her footing and slid downwards. She frantically dug her ice axe into the cave's mud, sliding for about ten meters before finally regaining her footing. She turned to look behind her—and lo and behold, the exit was less than a meter from her feet! She could almost hear the sound of water below.
That was close!
Xiang Wan slowly shuffled down, finally finding a foothold near the cave entrance. She carefully extended her foot, gradually shifting her weight. Once steady, she took out a glow stick and threw it down. Twenty meters below, a rushing river stretched into the distance. The river was surrounded by these cave entrances, like a beehive, which startled Xiang Wan. She felt as if she had entered some kind of animal's den.
Just as she feared, Xiang Wan hadn't had time to adjust when she saw a large head emerge from the cave entrance not far away. It looked like a large lizard, intently watching the river. A moment later, a large fish leaped out of the water. The lizard opened its mouth wide, and before she could even see what was happening, the fish changed direction before falling into the water and went straight into the lizard's gaping maw.
Xiang Wan held her breath, not daring to even exhale. If it were to strike her like that, she would die.
She waited silently for the large lizard to fill its belly and retreat back into its burrow. Just as Xiang Wan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she saw countless lizard heads popping out from all around, all intently focused on the river.
These lizards weren't as big as the first one, but they weren't small either. The smallest was as thick as a human thigh, and the largest was even thicker than a person. Damn, can't we just play in peace? Xiang Wan's legs went weak; it was terrifying!
"There's a hole about ten meters down that you can go in."
The system is here to give Xiang Wan directions, but will it be useful? She's not a bird; she can't just spread her wings and fly away.
Are you kidding me?
"I'm not kidding you, it's true!"
The system was so confident, Xiang Wan almost wanted to spit in its face. If she had known it was so dangerous down there, she wouldn't have come this way.
"This is the shortest route to the finish line, bar none."
"The key question is how I'm going to get down!"
"This system believes in you and is confident that you will find the way."
That's enough! These people love to watch the drama unfold, but they can't help at all when it really matters.
At this moment, Xiang Wan only hoped that she was high enough that the lizards couldn't see her. She could wait until they had eaten and drunk their fill before making her move.
She silently watched the lizards hunt, taking turns biting at each other, never daring to relax her guard. Finally, when they had all retreated back to the burrow entrance, she carefully took out a rope, found a protruding rock, gently tied a knot to it, secured the other end to her waist, and slowly slid down the burrow entrance.
The water was churning with moisture, and Xiang Wan's clothes and backpack were soaked in no time, making her feel much heavier. She was only managing to move downhill by sheer willpower; otherwise, her thin arms and legs, which were practically fleshy, would have given way long ago.
Fortunately, we didn't see any other caves during the descent, which gave us a little more peace of mind.
She was almost at the cave the system had mentioned. Two feet, one foot, ten inches, two inches... Oh no, the rope had reached the other end. She was on the verge of tears. Could anything be more miserable? Her feet were so close to the cave entrance; if she were at the bottom, she could easily freefall. The problem was, she was only two inches from the top. Freefall would definitely send her tumbling down. Could anything be more devastating?
There was really no other way; she couldn't just hang there like that and become a lizard's meal. She pressed herself against the wall above the cave entrance, secured herself with her ice axe, then untied the rope around her waist, gripped it tightly with one hand, and slid the ice axe down the wall with the other, pressing it firmly in to hold it in place.
Half of her body was hanging over the cave entrance, the rope already at her head. Xiang Wan pulled out her climbing axe, put it inside the cave, and hung it on the cave wall. After silently counting to three, she let go of the rope, pulled hard on the axe, and her body fell into the cave.
With a loud thud, Xiang Wan fell and saw stars. She didn't dare linger, enduring the discomfort, and immediately ran deeper into the cave.
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