Chapter 1862: Chapter 1862: Lost Wilderness (19)
Due to the limited equipment brought down, they couldn’t even attempt to chisel the walls, so everyone could only look for mechanisms.
Since there was a way in, there must be a mechanism to get out.
The entire cave was almost explored inch by inch by them, but no mechanism was found.
"Damn!"
"Brother Gao..." The voice from the stone wall grew weaker, tinged with panic: "I feel like I can’t breathe, save me... I don’t want to die here, Brother Gao... Help..."
"Xiao Mo, calm down." Gan Lu reminded him: "We’ll think of something, try to breathe less, hold on."
While Brother Gao and the others were brainstorming for solutions, Chuzheng looked up, surveying the ’paintings’ carved into the stone walls, if they could be called paintings.
Since many were already blurred, Chuzheng could only see a rough outline.
This seemed like some kind of record...
Ancient people liked to record history in this manner, so it wasn’t unusual.
Perhaps the Xia Yi Clan really did exist here.
"What’s wrong with you?" Chuzheng noticed Xin Zhu’s pallor, seemingly struggling to stand.
Chuzheng steadied him, Xin Zhu murmured softly: "Voices..."
What voices?
There were no sounds here.
"What’s wrong with this young man?" Brother Gao noticed the commotion around Chuzheng and, feigning concern, asked.
Chuzheng glanced at him: "Have you rescued your own man?" Having the mind to care about others.
Brother Gao: "Miss Liu, we’re all here now, it’s unnecessary to be hostile, if anyone has difficulties, let’s solve them together."
Chuzheng coldly refused: "No need." What use is dragging others down?
Brother Gao: "..."
Gan Lu displeasedly spoke up: "Why are you so ungrateful? Brother Gao asked you kindly, and you’re so aggressive, do you think this place is..."
At this tense moment, sounds came from the only passageway.
The sound of someone running, and... the howl of wolves.
Uncle Min charged out from the passageway, seeing so many people, hesitated for a moment, then urgently shouted: "Wolves are coming!!"
The first wolf sprang from the dark, narrowly missing Uncle Min’s neck.
Uncle Min faltered to the ground, rolling to save his life.
"Uncle Min."
Gan Lu pulled Uncle Min up from the ground.
Uncle Min’s gaze caught Xin Zhu, visibly startled; that face... seemed familiar from somewhere.
Dozens of wolves swiftly emerged from the darkness, occupying one side of the cave battlefield, yet they didn’t attack immediately, crouching and growling at them.
Except for Chuzheng and Xin Zhu, the others instinctively huddled together.
They had previously experienced how tough these creatures were.
The wolf in the middle radiated green light from its eyes, its sharp claws scratching deep marks into the ground.
With a low growl, the surrounding wolf pack simultaneously leaped at them.
Though Chuzheng stood outside, she couldn’t avoid being attacked.
"Ah!"
Li Tian ran too slowly and was caught by a wolf, bitten by the pant leg.
"Brother Chen!!"
Li Tian called out to Lan Chen for help.
Lan Chen, armed with an unknown weapon, shot at the wolf.
The bullet hit the wolf’s eye, causing it to growl fiercely, releasing Li Tian.
Li Tian scrambled to his feet, rushing to hide behind Lan Chen.
Elsewhere.
"Qingqing, think quickly." Brother Gao shielded Yao Qing, urging her: "Think of a way to leave this place."
"I..."
"You can do it!"
With eyes red, Yao Qing, though frightened, still tried hard to think.
"That... over there." Yao Qing pointed in a direction.
But it was full of wolves, making Brother Gao’s face change dramatically.
Brother Gao intended to take Yao Qing there, but Gan Lu seemed infuriated: "Brother Gao, are you insane?!"
Moving there would mean being surrounded by wolves; how could they survive?
"Gan Lu, help me divert them." Brother Gao said: "Otherwise, we’ll all die here."
Gan Lu: "..."
Gan Lu’s anger simmered in her eyes, ready to erupt, yet she managed to draw some wolves away.
Brother Gao quickly led Yao Qing through the wolf pack, reaching the spot Yao Qing indicated.
-
Rumble—
The cave shook for several seconds with that rumbling sound.
A dark, deep opening appeared on their left side.
Having just reached there, Yao Qing and Brother Gao hadn’t acted.
The girl at the entrance reached out for something in mid-air, then steadied the boy beside her and entered.
The crowd was astonished.
Was that her doing?
"Hurry." Lan Chen pulled Li Tian, quickly following suit.
"Brother Gao!" Gan Lu called: "Hurry over!"
Brother Gao couldn’t afford to think of anything else, and with Gan Lu’s help, returned and dashed towards the entrance.
The entrance was right where Xiao Mo was, but there was no sign of him inside.
With wolves behind them, they couldn’t afford to investigate closely, quickly running into the passageway.
-
In the cold and damp passage, Chuzheng laid a piece of clothing on the ground for Xin Zhu to sit on.
"How do you feel?"
Xin Zhu held his forehead: "Much better..."
"What sounds did you hear earlier?"
Xin Zhu caught his breath: "Didn’t you ask me earlier why I couldn’t leave?"
"Hmm?"
"I... Whenever I go too far away, I hear this kind of sound." That sound was like the sharp noise from a microphone.
The sound of chaotic footsteps echoed from behind.
"Damn, did we lose them?"
"Seems like they’re not behind us."
Brother Gao and the others gradually caught up.
Except for Yao Qing, even Uncle Min was injured, looking weary and fatigued.
Chuzheng halted here, the people behind naturally stopping, albeit maintaining some distance from her.
No one had seen how Chuzheng opened the stone wall, so naturally, their fear had increased.
After a simple rest and some wound treatment, someone finally broke the silence.
"Why didn’t we see Xiao Mo earlier?"
They had clearly identified the sound coming from there; why hadn’t they even seen a trace of Xiao Mo?
Brother Gao shook his head somberly.
Now even Xiao Mo’s voice couldn’t be heard.
"Uncle Min, where did you encounter the wolves earlier?"
Uncle Min sat smoking in the corner; hearing Brother Gao’s words, he replied: "I heard some knocking sounds and thought to come check, then encountered the wolves at the junction."
Due to human instinct for self-preservation, he subconsciously ran towards the sound.
"Hope those wolves don’t catch up." Brother Gao frowned, worried: "And we still haven’t found Xiao Mo."
"Mr. Xie...?" Uncle Min suddenly realized something: "Why don’t I see Mr. Xie?"
"He... passed away."
Uncle Min’s expression changed: "Passed away? How?"
Brother Gao briefly recounted separating from Xie Ningfeng and then what Yao Qing later reported.
Xie Ningfeng must have encountered wolves after they parted ways.
Uncle Min puffed on his cigarette, unable to shake off the feeling he’d seen that boy somewhere, but where?
