By the bonfire in the temple at night, I suddenly heard a crisp sound and woke up with a start, holding my alloy knife and cautiously watching the ice cave where the sound came from.
What the hell was in there in the middle of the night?!
I then heard a man and a woman arguing again, but this time, accompanied by the argument.
There was the sound of a sharp weapon slicing through the air.
After this sound appeared, the voices of the man and woman gradually disappeared, and the entire world was left with only the sound of the weapon cutting through the air.
Was it an axe?
Every hair on my body stood on end, and cold sweat streamed down my face uncontrollably.
I had a premonition, as if I had been locked onto.
I wanted to force my body to move, but the connection between my brain and body seemed to have been severed. I could only hear the sound getting closer, closer.
Move, damn it!
The sound of the axe grew louder and closer, as if it would chop off my head the next moment.
I felt a sense of despair. I hadn't brought Lu Yaqin and the others back to the outside world yet, and I was going to fall in a ditch today?
No!
I gritted my teeth, a surge of fierceness rising within me. I bit my tongue hard, filling my mouth with the taste of blood.
As I bit my tongue, I suddenly found that my body had regained control, and the approaching sound of the axe had vanished into thin air!
And the world before my eyes suddenly seemed to become clearer.
I greedily took deep breaths of air. The feeling of surviving a disaster is something that those who haven't experienced it cannot imagine.
After a while, I recovered my senses, took my flashlight, and cautiously walked to the ice cave, shining it inside.
The ice cave was still empty, with only the transparent ice reflecting the light of the flashlight.
Damn it, was this ghostly thing operating on a principle similar to a mirage?
Or...
I turned to look at the solemn and silent temple.
Was something at work inside?
...
When everyone woke up the next day, I told them about the strange things that had happened while I was on watch last night.
Everyone expressed surprise. But I noticed that after listening to me, Xiviel's face showed a trace of confusion, as if something had gone wrong, but she eventually moved her lips and said nothing.
Even though something like this had happened, our progress could not stop.
Xiviel and the others' goal was beneath this ice layer, so after breakfast, we arranged things as usual.
Drill through the ice layer and descend underground.
Perhaps our luck was better today, as the ice layer wasn't as thick as we had estimated during our previous exploration. Before long, Professor Gugov told us that the ice layer had been broken through.
Upon hearing this news, Xiviel, who had been wearing a grim expression for the past two days, finally showed a smile.
However, the smile was strange, containing emotions I couldn't understand.
"Lu Ziye, you go down and scout first."
Xiviel looked at me calmly, but her words were unyielding.
Damn it, she wants to use me as cannon fodder!
I cursed inwardly, but given the current situation, I had no other choice.
Xiviel, you'd better not let me find an opportunity, or it will be either you die or I die!
I held my breath and secured the climbing rope around my waist.
Before I went down, Qu Xiangyun hugged me and gave me a long kiss. Then I adjusted the searchlight on my head, loaded my gun, and gave Xiviel a gesture.
I was slowly lowered down the rope, and the light above my head was gradually swallowed by darkness.
I braced myself against the ice layer with both hands, carefully feeling my way down.
Beneath me was like a swallowing abyss, offering no information at all.
"Hoo—"
I gasped for breath, using the searchlight on my head to illuminate the space below little by little. But for some reason, I had a strange feeling that something was waiting for me below.
Just as I was about to reach the ground, I suddenly heard the sound of dripping water in the silent ice cave.
Could this hard, cold ice melt?
I was puzzled, then realized the source of the dripping sound seemed to be behind me.
I turned and shone my searchlight behind me. The sight made my hair stand on end!
What was that?
Damn!
I saw a man behind me, staring at me intently!
His lifeless eyes revealed a look of resentment.
In the pale light of the searchlight, he looked exceptionally terrifying!
At this point, I was a bit unnerved. Fortunately, this man was already frozen in the ice; otherwise, I would have fired my gun.
I gasped for air, and Qu Xiangyun's concerned voice came from the walkie-talkie clipped to my chest.
"Darling, what's wrong? What's down there!"
I averted my gaze from the man's eyes. Being with a frozen corpse in this dark ice cave was truly uncomfortable.
"There's... a man down here! Pull me up quickly!"
Hearing my answer, Qu Xiangyun seemed about to say something, but Xiviel snatched the walkie-talkie away.
"Lu Ziye, you must continue. First, describe the man's features to me in detail."
Xiviel's breathing was a little rapid. Did she know this man's origin?