1876 On the Verge of Collapse

“I have an idea,” Wu Haibo said.

“We’ll go in one by one. We’ll be no more than three to five meters apart from each other. This will ensure that the team member behind you can still see you.

“Once the member in the rear senses that the member in front of him is in a bad situation, where he is showing signs of sluggishness, twitching, twisting, squirming, or mutating, he should retreat immediately.

“That way, at least we can ensure that the entire team won’t be wiped out in the gaps.

Strictly speaking, Wu Haibo’s plan was still not perfect.

No one knew how long this gap was. Based on the estimated distance between each team member, which was three to five meters, the thirty-two of them could only form a chain that was less than two hundred meters long.

If the gap was more than two hundred meters long, it would not be as easy as they thought to retreat once the entire team entered the crevice and realized that the situation was bad.

However, in such a treacherous and unpredictable environment, this was the best plan they could think of since they refused to give up.

“I’m no stranger to such a situation.”

As the person who proposed the plan, Wu Haibo took the initiative to say, “I’ll take the lead.”

“No, let me do it.”

“No.” Meng Chao shook his head and said, “I can sense the spirit ripples in the depths of the crevice more clearly than you guys. Besides, if there’s a mutation, I can resist it longer than you guys.”

“In that case, I’ll be second,” Lu Siya immediately said.

“I’m an ordinary person. If even I can pass through the crevice without danger, it’s probably safe enough.”

Time was tight, and there was no room for discussion. Meng Chao, Lu Siya, and Wu Haibo quickly formed the first group. They tied the broken ropes around each other’s waists and crawled into the crevice.

This crevice was indeed different.

Although it was still quite narrow, the rocks inside were smooth and delicate as if they had been washed out by an underground river from billions of years ago. There were no edges or corners, and it was even quite in line with the principles of ergonomics. Meng Chao did not even need to put in much effort. He “slid” into the cave like a loach by following the lines on the rocks.

However, he still held his breath cautiously and counted in his heart.

Every time he counted to three, he would turn back and talk to Lu Siya to make sure that their appearances or minds had not changed.

After they crawled thirty to fifty meters in, the crevice gradually narrowed. The rocks around them began to shrink inward. It was as though they were moving from the mouth of a trumpet to the pipe.

No matter how much Meng Chao contracted his muscles and bones, his back continued to brush against the sinking rock ceiling. He could sense the several billion tons of rock seeping into his cells and the depths of his soul. It felt indescribably heavy and cold.

It also felt like a living person being stuffed into the coffin of a little child.

What made it worse was, as the gap shrank, it became difficult for him to turn around and see Lu Siya clearly.

“Sister Ya, are you still there?”

Meng Chao gritted his teeth and tried his best to fold his cervical vertebrae. He heard cracking sounds coming from his skull, cervical vertebrae, and chest cavity.

Even when the pain penetrated his spinal cord and spread through his neural network like flames, he could not sense Lu Siya’s presence.

He could only capture the rocks in the darkness that resembled frozen waves. They swallowed his desperate attempts to perceive his surroundings.

He could only ask the question repeatedly.

“Of course,” Lu Siya answered as calmly as possible.

“Has my appearance changed?” Meng Chao continued asking.

“No, your appearance hasn’t changed,” Lu Siya answered patiently.

Her voice made Meng Chao feel more at ease.

Besides, no matter how narrow and rugged the gap became, the scarlet afterimages of Lei Zongchao continued to sparkle before him.

When he passed through a few extremely narrow gaps, Meng Chao noticed that there were very fresh claw marks on the rock wall, as well as a small amount of clothing fibers, hair, and dandruff.

This meant that someone had indeed passed through this place in the last twelve hours.

Meng Chao used his spirit energy to carefully extract a piece of skin.

Although it was only a small piece as thin as a cicada’s wing, it still contained basic human cells.

It did not turn into the strange substance that was between rubber, crystal, and metal like Zhao Liwei.

‘It looks like my guess was correct. Master Lei did pass through this crevice safely, and he didn’t turn into an unspeakable creature,’ Meng Chao secretly encouraged himself.

By now, he had crawled at least three hundred meters deep into the crevice.

In other words, the entire rescue team, including the other twenty-two members, had crawled into the crevice behind him.

The mysterious environment and heavy responsibility inevitably made his imagination run wild, especially when the gap became increasingly narrow. To squeeze through, he was forced to stretch his limbs to the limit like a yoga master and twist them into a shape that would not appear in a person’s wildest dreams.

Despite Lu Siya’s repeated confirmation, his mind was still filled with doubt.

‘Am I still normal?

‘Have I become a monster that’s more than ten meters long like Zhao Liwei or a Giant Sandworm?

‘The so-called “normal” version of me that Lu Siya saw was just an illusion.

‘No, Lu Siya isn’t around.

‘Perhaps I’ve already been separated from Lu Siya and the rest of the army. There’s nothing behind me except for eternal darkness.

‘I was hallucinating and talking to someone who didn’t exist in my mind.’

Meng Chao knew that these were all false thoughts.

They were a side effect of claustrophobia.

He had to eliminate this feeling immediately, or at least block it.

Yet, no matter how hard he tried to focus or hypnotize himself, he could not stop the intense self-doubt. Like waves of burning black flames, it attacked his spirit defense in waves.

He wanted to shout, dance, advance triumphantly, attack indiscriminately, as well as use any and all means to escape what felt like death row. It did not matter even if he had to become a worm…

‘No!’

Meng Chao shuddered.

He realized that he was on the verge of collapse.

Fortunately, the vitality magnetic field that Battle God Lei Zongchao left behind was especially strong.

The scarlet afterimages burned fiercely, like a dazzling red lighthouse.

Perhaps, when Lei Zongchao trudged through this place, his spirit defense had reached its limit, and he almost lost control.

He knew that his disciples and successors would likely encounter the same problem.

Hence, he left a trail of bright torches that were fueled by souls!