freenovelworld Chapter 424 Underground River!
Chapter 424 Underground River!
The strange object turned out to be the entire lake's water; for some unknown reason, it had somehow risen into the sky.
For some unknown reason, the entire lake was suspended in mid-air, as if a huge hole had been torn in the sky, embracing the lake entirely.
Zhong Yuemin's pupils constricted sharply, and he shouted hoarsely, "Run!"
But it was too late.
The lake, suspended in mid-air, crashed down like a celestial river bursting its banks, carrying immense force. The raging torrent instantly knocked everyone to the ground. People were like helpless fallen leaves, scattered and disoriented in the sudden flood.
Even more bizarrely, after the lake water violently crashed against the ground, it did not spread outwards. Instead, it spun rapidly in the center, forming a huge, bottomless whirlpool that generated a terrifying suction force, mercilessly dragging all those who fell into the water into it.
In a short while, the lake water on the ground disappeared without a trace, and everyone was completely swallowed up by the strange, spring-like cave that suddenly appeared on the ground.
In broad daylight, the entire lake and all the people had vanished, leaving only scattered clothes, shoes, bags, and other belongings on the still-wet ground.
……
……
When Zhong Yuemin emerged from the space, he found himself in a dimly lit place, surrounded by uneven rock walls, with strangely shaped rocks that looked like stalactites formed over many years.
He only remembered that the moment he was sucked into that terrifying vortex, he used his willpower to hide in a space, and when he came out, this was the scene before him.
"Is this... underground?" His heart sank.
Without time to think, he quickly looked around, but found no one else. The only person beside him was Yang Qing, who was lying unconscious on the cold rock.
He crouched down, patted her cheek, and called her name twice, but she didn't respond. In the dim light, the woman's face was pale and her lips were purple; she had probably choked on water, and her condition was critical.
Without a second thought, Zhong Yuemin immediately began first aid, clearing the mouth and nose, opening the airway, then taking a deep breath, bending down to perform artificial respiration, and coordinating with chest compressions.
After a series of struggles, Yang Qing coughed a few times, spitting out a mouthful of murky lake water. Her eyelids trembled, and she finally slowly opened her eyes.
"You're awake!" I breathed a long sigh of relief.
Yang Qing's eyes were dazed and weak. She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, then pushed herself up with her hands and asked in a hoarse voice:
"Yuemin, where...is this? Where are the others?"
Zhong Yuemin shook his head and helped her a little:
"I don't know, but I guess they were swept underground by an underground river, and we were all caught in that whirlpool." He explained the situation succinctly.
Yang Qing subconsciously looked down and found that her clothes were a little disheveled and there was a strange sensation on her lips. She couldn't help but look at Zhong Yuemin with a puzzled look.
Zhong Yuemin met her gaze and said frankly and directly:
"You were drowning and unconscious. I just gave you CPR." The tone was calm and undisguised. "It was an emergency; it was just to save someone."
He has always acted with integrity and honesty, and is by no means a petty person who takes advantage of others in distress. He saves lives with a clear conscience, and even if he wants to be intimate, he does so openly and honestly.
Yang Qing nodded and said, "Yuemin, thank you!"
Then he said:
"How did that lake end up above us when we were outside? That's so weird, so unbelievable."
Zhong Yuemin shook his head. "You ask him? Who can he ask? There are too many strange and bizarre things in Death Valley that defy scientific principles."
Say,
"I once read a book about domestic wars, and there was a passage in it that is quite similar to the events we are experiencing now."
What does the book say?
"A similar incident occurred in this canyon before 1945."
At that time, the Northwest warlord Ma Bufang attempted to reach Xinjiang directly through the canyon. When his troops entered the Nalenggele Valley, dozens of soldiers were suddenly lifted into the air by a mysterious force. About half an hour later, they fell to the ground one after another, torn to pieces, with no survivors.
The bloody and horrific scene terrified Ma Bufang, who immediately led his troops out of Death Valley, taking a detour. Before, it was people; now it was the entire lake. Above this valley, there seemed to be some strange force, like a silent tornado, sweeping people and the lake into the air, only to slam them back down as soon as the force dissipated.
The two rested for a while, and Yang Qing recovered some of her strength, but the worry on her face did not diminish.
"What do we do now?" She looked at Zhong Yuemin, her voice filled with unease. "I wonder how the others are doing..."
Zhong Yuemin stood up and looked at the underground river in front of him, which was only half a meter wide.
The river flowed gurgling in the dim light, its current not very strong. "We must have been swept down from above by this underground river."
He analyzed,
"We didn't see anyone else. I guess there are many branches of the underground river here, and they may have been swept away to other places."
He pointed in the direction of the water flow and made a decision:
“We’ll follow the underground river downstream. Since the water can flow in, there must be an outlet. We might run into other people along the way.”
Yang Qing nodded; this was the only feasible solution at the moment.
The two then walked carefully downstream, one after the other, along the dark and damp riverbank.
This underground cave system is intricate and complex, with winding underground rivers that sometimes widen to allow several people to walk side by side, and at other times narrow enough to allow only one person to pass at a time.
The surroundings were eerily silent, with only the gurgling water and their own footsteps echoing hollowly. After walking for more than an hour, the darkness ahead remained endless, as if this dark path had no end.
Just as they rounded a sharp bend, a blurry "figure" appeared out of nowhere in the dim light!
Yang Qing was overjoyed, thinking it was a lost companion, and instinctively ran forward to call out.
"Don't go there!"
Zhong Yuemin reacted swiftly, forcefully pulling her behind him. His expression instantly turned extremely serious; an AK-47 assault rifle had appeared in his hand, which he had retrieved from his spatial storage when Yang Qing wasn't looking. He had captured many during the Sino-Vietnamese War and stored them there.
Faced with Yang Qing's astonished gaze, he only gave a vague explanation:
"I found it in a cave." At this point, they didn't care whether the excuse was reasonable or not.
He pointed his gun at the dark figure and shouted sharply:
"Who's there?! Show yourself! Stop playing tricks!"
However, the "figure" reacted extremely strangely upon hearing the sound. It did not respond, nor did it have the agility of a normal person. Instead, its limbs were stiff and its movements were extremely uncoordinated. Like a puppet on strings, it turned around crookedly and swayed, then opened its arms towards them and "walked" over in a slow but threatening manner, baring its teeth and claws!