Although they had a way to cross the mountain, they did not act rashly.
Gong Zhu took out a tool similar to a bamboo dragonfly, pulled on the rope on the bamboo pole, yanked it several times quickly, and then released it, pushing it towards the mountains on the left.
The bamboo dragonfly slowly took off, not flying very high, drifting and swaying. The grass in the path it passed stretched its necks out in the direction it flew, like chicks chirping for food. There were so many of these chicks that even the mother bird would get dizzy.
Upon reaching the left hump, unable to fly higher, the bamboo dragonfly crashed into the mountainside.
The grass peeked out and finally swallowed the bamboo dragonfly whole.
Having confirmed that the grass wouldn't suddenly grow into a tree-like giant for hunting purposes, and that it didn't have any strange tentacles, the group embarked on their flight.
Cheng Shuang sat on Long Zhiyan's back, holding the teddy bear, while Si Hai rode in the Magic Hat. Xiao Qi could fly with a single line of poetry, but it was a bit of a waste to use it just to investigate whether there were any suspicious points about the switch.
So in the end only Cheng Shuang and Si Hai flew over, while the three of them stayed behind.
It can fly, but landing is difficult; whatever you put down will be eaten by the grass.
The two could only move at the lowest altitude, where the grass couldn't reach, to look for a switch.
Because it was too late that day, neither Da Bai nor Gong Zhu saw the specific appearance of the switch. They could only guess, through the movement of the fat staff member's back, that he had pressed something, and that it was something like two buttons.
Finding protrusions in a patch of identical grass really tests one's eyesight. Sihai joked, "Looks like we'll have to put in the same effort as playing 'Spot the Difference'."
Cheng Shuang, crouching low, hugged Long Zhiyan's neck tightly and said calmly, "I've never played 'Spot the Difference' before."
Si Hai glanced at the little girl and saw that her face was starting to turn pale and she was gradually losing strength. He lowered his eyelids and deliberately brought up a topic that she would be interested in, asking as he continued to look down, "Have you played any mobile games?"
"Candy Crush and puzzle games." Later, I got a phone that my mom had discarded. "I played murder mystery games twice. My sister said she would take me to play the real escape room version in the future, so I deleted the mobile games."
"Is your sister good to you?" Si Hai asked, but received no answer for a long time. He turned his head and saw that Cheng Shuang's face was even paler, but her eyes were unusually gloomy. He was speechless and immediately realized that he had asked the wrong question.
Even though Cheng Shuang's personality had changed somewhat, she was still that kind and sensible child. She didn't angrily utter any harsh words. Instead, she pointed down and took the initiative to change the subject, saying, "I'll go down and take a look."
As he spoke, he patted Long Zhiyan's head, and the stone dragon flapped its wings and slid down to a lower position.
Just as Si Hai was about to dissuade her from taking the risk, the little girl shouted, "I found it!"
Sihai quickly chased after her, only to see her pointing to two ordinary patches of grass below and saying, "This is it!"
“There is no difference…” The voice stopped abruptly, and Sihai’s eyes swept over the scene carefully, immediately noticing something amiss.
Elsewhere, the grass stretched its necks vigorously, as if hoping that something had happened to them in the air and they would fall into its embrace. But the two patches that Cheng Shuang pointed to were covered with lush green grass and looked no different at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, one could see that they lacked the vitality of the man-eating grass.
It should be said that even the grass on Earth lacks the vitality of the man-eating flower, growing sparsely along roadsides and field ridges, messy yet resilient.
Therefore, these two clumps of grass are most likely just ordinary grass.
This was easy to verify; Sihai pulled out a large steamed bun and threw it down.
The steamed bun landed and rolled out of the area of the two clumps of grass. As soon as it reached the area of the man-eating plants, it was gone in less than half a second, leaving not even a crumb.
Just to be on the safe side, Sihai took out another steaming hot meat dumpling, stuck it in with chopsticks, and placed it on top of what looked like ordinary grass. With the chopsticks in place, the meat dumpling didn't roll off.
A full minute passed, and the rice dumpling and chopsticks remained perfectly intact.
The two exchanged a glance; this was the place.
"No need to go down!" Cheng Shuang said. Then, two large rocks fell from her side and landed directly on top of the ordinary grass. It was visible to the naked eye that two sections of the grass collapsed into the ground.
“The stones won’t last long,” Sihai warned. This is the mountainside, and these relatively rounded stones will eventually fall to the foot of the mountain.
Cheng Shuang nodded, "That's enough. I suspect the switch is similar to a spring mechanism; if there's a stone, it will slowly bounce up."
Si Hai recalled that the gate closed automatically not long after the fat man arrived at the gate, and sighed in agreement, "We still don't have much time."
If there is no exit from the cave, then they will have to return the way they came and find another way out.
On the way back, Cheng Shuang suddenly asked, "What would you do if you didn't see Sister Yue when searching for coordinates?"
Si Hai was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and said, "She's my sister, and she's an adult. Every adult has their own path to walk. Not being found doesn't mean death. Perhaps she'll be accepted by another rest stop before me. Even if she is dead, it doesn't mean it's the worst outcome."
Cheng Shuang pursed her lips tightly. What could be the worst possible outcome?
"If you don't understand, it's best if you never understand." Before landing, Sihai said softly, "No one can accompany you forever, as long as you know how to cherish it."
The girl glared at him and bluntly criticized, "Scumbag theory!"
Si Hai chuckled, noticing that the sadness in her eyes had lessened considerably. So what if she's a jerk! As long as that kid is happy cursing her!
The three of them, Gong and Zhu, did not look relaxed. The cave was open, but it was pitch black inside and smaller than the cave in the artificial mountain.
“I thought this was just a rockery, a place,” Da Bai voiced everyone’s doubts.
"This place is more like a baby of a rockery, everything is a size smaller," Cheng Shuang muttered. Her strength was already waning, and it wouldn't be long before she was back to her weak state, so no one wanted to escape this predicament more than she did.
While the others lingered at the entrance, Cheng Shuang's mind raced. She remembered something important—was the venue for the first carousel really an illusion?
Deserts and rainforests—could they have both once existed on this planet?
Is the withered forest shrouded in a light mist a true reflection of the past of a once-prosperous area?
And the only thing that can witness all of this is this green mountain in front of us.
It has transformed from green hills into rocks, witnessing the changes of history, the birth and death of mankind and all things, yet it has managed to survive on this desolate planet to this day, coexisting with wanderers.
What exactly is it?
"Outside the fence," the little girl said, looking at the cave, word by word, "there are no humans, no trees or plants, no animals, no tall buildings, no rivers, and no mountains."
Everyone stared at her in astonishment, gradually sketching out the route the bus had taken in their minds. The rusty steel structure was the only thing they could see that could be associated with human existence.
But are those really steel?
It was still the steel they thought it was.
Perhaps those are just monsters lurking in the shadows.
They gazed at the high mountains, their minds a jumble of thoughts.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
