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墨書 Inktalez
Jack and I both looked up at the same time. I was momentarily stunned.
I couldn't understand how Xiao Ting ended up with that guy, Fatty. He was not the type to cherish a delicate flower; when he got rough, it was quite frightening. Of course, that was just his personality.
He dragged Tang Yumo over. It was a forceful drag, pulling her by both arms, treating someone as exquisite as her like a rag doll and bringing her to us.
"She's getting cold; one of you two should warm her up."
"Ugh."
On the matter of Fatty, Jack and I surprisingly found ourselves in agreement for once.
Fatty was not one to lose face; there was no way he would back down in front of his arch-nemesis and best friend. Moreover, he had the upper hand now. He was the only one among us capable of taking action.
Fatty let out a loud, disdainful laugh. But he overdid it, and the laughter triggered a violent cough that sent pain coursing through his body, causing him to squat down and gasp for breath. He looked like he was about to spit blood.
It seemed Fatty was hurt pretty badly too. But he could hold on; it was hard to gauge his true condition. Just as I began to feel a hint of sympathy, Fatty's next move extinguished that sentiment.
"To prevent you two from igniting some passionate flames, let me add some fuel to the fire." With that, Fatty shoved Tang Yumo between Jack and me, as if he were stuffing a piece of meat into a sack.
Jack shouted angrily, "Be gentle! That's a person! I've never seen someone so brutal."
I echoed his anger, "Same here. If he is even human."
Fatty squatted in front of me, and upon hearing my words, his chubby face suddenly loomed right in front of me.
"What’s wrong? You can betray your best friend in front of your lover? Have you let your feelings cloud your judgment?"
"Bah."
I could only consider it a miracle that he managed to dodge the spit I had aimed at him from such close range.
Fatty grinned wickedly, "Good thing I reacted quickly. If you had really spat on me, I would have turned on you and given you a beating."
I was so angry that I could hardly breathe. I was preparing to gather another mouthful of spit. Seeing my stance, Fatty quickly moved to the side.
Jack was staring at him like a hawk. Fatty sneered, "Don’t get any ideas. If you provoke me, just remember that this time you saved me, but that only evens the score. I don’t owe you anything."
I thought about it and realized he was right; Fatty didn’t owe us anything. It was us who owed him. I worried they might actually come to blows. Fatty was unpredictable; he wouldn’t care whether Jack could fight back or not. If Jack provoked him now, it would surely end badly for him.
"It was me who spat at you, so don’t shift the target. If you have the guts, come at me," I quickly tried to redirect Fatty ’s attention back to myself.
Fatty glanced at me. "You’re no different."
However, he didn’t come closer to me, seemingly worried that I might actually spit on him again. Instead, he reached over Jack’s head and grabbed a torch.
"I’m going to get something to eat."
Seeing Fatty turn to leave, I hurriedly called out to him. "What are you thinking at a time like this? You want to eat? First, we need to assess our surroundings and find a way out of here or locate the Eternal Gate. Heimanluo is right above us; how did that beast take a liking to your appearance? Before I fell down, I saw it too—it looked just like you, like twins. That beast has strange tastes."
This time, Fatty wasn’t angry; instead, he chuckled proudly. "Looks like our appearance still has some market value."
"Don’t get too full of yourself; only those kinds of non-human creatures would like your looks—you’re in the same category. Neither of you is human. Stop thinking about food and start looking for an escape route."
Fatty was about to glare at me and retort, but after hearing my last sentence, he lost interest.
"How do we leave? Even if we find a way out, can we escape? I can get you out, but what about the other two? If you can let them go, I won't say another word."
Upon hearing Fatty's words, I lowered my head. Currently, the only one capable of action was Fatty. Given how he had brought me and Tang Yumo here, it was clear that his situation was equally dire. Just like him, the one who couldn't let go of Jack and Tang Yumo was me; abandoning those two wouldn't weigh on his conscience. The only person he couldn't let go of was probably me.
I heard Fatty sigh, and then the flickering light gradually faded away from me. The three of us were suddenly plunged into darkness.
Tang Yumo's body temperature was very low, noticeably lower than mine and Jack's. I had no experience with such close contact with a girl, but I knew this wasn't her normal temperature. It seemed necessary to assess everyone's physical condition to decide on our next course of action. I worried that we might not make it to that moment because Heimanluo could jump down at any time.
I began to feel for my One-Eyed Beast Flashlight. I usually strapped the flashlight to my waist, and this time I had forgotten to turn it off when I jumped down. However, it wasn't lit at the moment; it seemed that it had broken during the fall.
My movements caught Jack's attention.
"Zhang, what are you doing? Who are you touching?"
"I'm not touching you." The words slipped out before I realized they were problematic. "Damn it, I'm looking for the flashlight. Stop messing around."
With a quick motion along the rope, I found the flashlight, but when I pressed the button, it didn't light up.
Hearing the click of the flashlight switch without seeing any light, Jack asked in disappointment, "Is it broken?"
I felt around the flashlight; there were a few dents, but the glass wasn't shattered. I knocked the flashlight against the ground, and a blinding beam of light appeared in my hand.
Jack shouted excitedly, "GD!"
I knew my flashlight was malfunctioning and couldn't guarantee how long it would last. Taking advantage of its brief illumination, I quickly shone it around to observe our surroundings.
Flashlight after a slight scan, I can see it clearly. We are in a Fork in the Road. The moment I saw this scene clearly, my heart felt as if it had been clenched by a hand. It shrank tightly into a ball, twitching like a spasm instead of beating. I think my face must be uglier than a dead person. This pattern of Fork in the Road is very familiar to me. It has often appeared in my dreams over the years. Of course, the first time I saw it was under Lop Nur, the same underground honeycomb tunnel that almost killed us. Jack did not notice the change in my face and expression, but exclaimed: "There is a road. We have a road!" I adjusted the aperture of One-Eyed Beast Flashlight to the maximum, and the range of sight suddenly became larger. When I get up, I can see the whole Fork in the Road without any effort. This is an underground Fork in the Road that I am very familiar with, where three huge passages made of gray-brown rocks intersect. Each passage is at an angle of 10°. The passage is straight and deep and seems to have no end. If there is any difference between this Fork in the Road and Lop Nur underground Fork in the Road, it is that this intersection occupies a larger Ground area, and my One-Eyed Beast Flashlight needs to be opened You can only see the other side with high beam. The cold and fear made my body tremble slightly, and I couldn't concentrate. My mind was so confused. Suddenly, I heard a strange sound, a bit like a long low tone played by an erhu. Then came the roar of Fatty: "Who? Who the hell threw me?!" (To Be Continued.)
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