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墨書 Inktalez
We could only navigate along the banks of the Underground River, clinging to the Stalactites as we moved downstream. Jack and I had already agreed on this point. Going down into the river would certainly increase our speed, but we lacked the materials to build a raft. Relying solely on our own abilities to drift downstream would jeopardize our safety. Moreover, we had an injured person with us, and the conditions downstream were unknown. If there were no places to climb ashore and rest, we could face total disaster.
The original plan was for Jack to lead the way while I stayed at the back to take care of the two Lao People. However, my comment clearly angered Jack, and I didn’t want him to seize the opportunity to blow up and force me through a medical check to prove his master's degree in medicine or create a disastrous medical incident. So, I quickly moved to the front, ignoring Jack's furious shouts from behind.
Fortunately, our plan required two Glow Sticks for illumination, regardless of our positions in the line. Naturally, I had one in hand. As a result, my movements were noticeably faster than Jack's; by the time he reacted, I had already climbed up among the Stalactites along the bank of the Underground River. The two Glow Sticks couldn’t be too close together; otherwise, they wouldn’t provide adequate light for everyone, especially for the two Lao People who needed clear visibility of their path. Jack reluctantly stayed at the back.
This change in position altered our order. I was now at the front, with A San closely following me. The Glow Stick in my hand not only served to light my way but also needed to ensure A San could see clearly. A San had to stick closely to me.
Behind A San were the two Lao People. Buasong was slowly climbing up the steep wall with Fumi on his back. I intentionally quickened my pace due to Jack’s presence, soon leaving both the Lao People and Jack behind. However, I kept an eye on the Glow Stick behind me; in this environment, I couldn’t afford to let our two groups lose contact. Once Jack began illuminating the path for the two Lao People, he had no time left to shout at me.
The shapes of the Stalactites were generally quite unique and favorable for climbing, though there were still a few spots that posed significant challenges—especially for the two Lao People, who found them almost insurmountable. As I scouted ahead, I had to find ways around these difficult areas so that the two Lao People wouldn’t get stuck.
Thus, while we crawled along the Riverbank Cliff, we weren’t fixed at one height; it wasn’t excessively high either since that would also pose difficulties for the Lao People. Overall, we moved in a wave-like pattern along the cliff face. At points where we needed to turn up or down, I would mark them so that both the Lao People and Jack knew when to ascend or descend.
The sound of water from the Underground River was consistently loud. The rumbling noise was pervasive; although Jack and I weren’t far apart in a straight line, his voice reached me as faint whispers. Even when he shouted loudly, it barely carried over. Fortunately, we could communicate through light signals, which proved far more effective than shouting and kept our connection intact despite the distance.
Sometimes I had to wait for Jack as he assisted those two Lao People. At those moments, it became evident how different he was from Fatty; if it were Fatty in this situation, he would have been impatient and wouldn’t have dawdled behind like this—he would have taken Fumi onto his back himself without hesitation, even if his speed wouldn’t have been any faster.
Jack was patient and diligent about ensuring a clear path and providing protection. Aside from his earlier loud shouts directed at me, I hadn’t heard him express any dissatisfaction towards the Lao People.
I wasn’t judging who was better between them; it was uncertain which approach would yield better results in this situation. However, one could discern a person's character from such events—Jack seemed more like someone who adhered strictly to rules and possessed refinement.
I sat on a rock, watching the light emitted by the Glow Stick behind me. There was a protruding Stalactite at that spot, and I signaled to those behind me that there was danger and we needed to detour, then paused to wait for them.
Because I had to keep stopping to wait for them, A San and I didn’t feel tired; instead, we felt a bit bored. At that moment, A San leaned against the rock beneath me, watching me cautiously. I noticed an interesting situation: throughout this journey, A San had been very polite to me, even somewhat in awe. This was particularly true on this stretch of the riverbank.
I found this quite puzzling. This time, reuniting with Jack and the Vietnamese, the biggest surprise for me was undoubtedly Jack. He had disarmed the Vietnamese barehanded and made two of them obey him without question, giving off quite an aura of a Protagonist. However, it was hard for me to believe he hadn’t succeeded through some trickery; after all, he didn’t have Captain America’s shield or Wolverine’s regenerative abilities. A single bullet from an AK-47 could take his life. I knew these two Vietnamese wouldn’t hesitate to shoot an American Guy without any psychological burden; if they were in a bad mood, they might just pull the trigger.
But regardless of how it happened, Jack succeeded, and he had the two Vietnamese completely submissive. I hadn’t heard a single word of dissent from them towards Jack. This time, Jack and I arranged our formation so that A San would follow him. I could see A San’s unwilling expression. I thought he would be happier if I took Jack's place at the front, but throughout the journey, I didn’t see any sign of relaxation on his face.
I kept my eyes fixed on Jack’s Glow Stick; if he signaled for help, I would need to rescue him as quickly as possible—by pulling him out of the water. The greatest danger we faced at that moment was falling into the Underground River, and the ones most likely to cause such a situation were the two Lao People.
At that moment, I realized that while I was looking at Jack, A San was looking at me. This made it hard for me to concentrate; I wasn’t used to being scrutinized so closely by a man. It was a coincidence that I found myself in a higher position; I withdrew my gaze from afar and lowered my head to look at A San, signaling with my eyes a question.
A San immediately put on a flattering smile. “I am on your side.”
Something tightened within me; I could feel my face twitch slightly. “I’m not interested in men.”
The glow from the Glow Stick was weak, but even so, I could see A San’s face redden.
“That’s not what I meant, Mr. Zhang; you misunderstood. I mean I'm standing with you.”
This relieved me; after all, I was someone with a normal orientation and didn’t want to constantly be on guard against being taken advantage of or something worse. However, A San’s words carried deep meaning; it was clearly an attempt to divide me from Jack. Even now he still couldn’t be at ease, thinking that I might betray my friend for an enemy—or perhaps he feared Jack too much and wanted to find an ally. Or maybe he knew something about the Underground River that I didn’t know—after all, this tomb raiding operation was organized by the Vietnamese; they should have more specific information that Ah Xiang hadn’t revealed yet.
My personality has a contradictory and restrained side; instead of responding immediately to A San’s obvious insinuation, I fell silent for a moment. I was contemplating how to extract information from him about the ancient tomb we were planning to raid—this information would be crucial for our escape from here. (To Be Continued…)
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