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墨書 Inktalez
After climbing through the most difficult section, the crevice began to narrow. Despite being physically exhausted, the sight of hope ignited my desire to live, pushing me to crawl downward. Soon, the flashlight illuminated the other side of the crevice, and the sharply narrowing cliffs seemed ready to close in. I glanced uncertainly below and muttered, "Where are they?"
At this point, going any further down was pointless. Our penlight revealed that the bottom was nearly closed off; if we went any lower, we would be wedged into the crevice. It seemed they had already descended and found a way out horizontally. The problem was that Liu Squad Leader and I couldn't determine which direction they had taken, and we couldn't split up to search for them. After discussing it, we decided to wait in place. If they found a way out or a safe spot, they would surely come back for us.
Zhao Squad Leader did not disappoint us. About twenty minutes later, a beam of light shone from one side of the crevice, followed by Zhao Squad Leader's voice: "Liu Squad Leader, you actually came down! How did you get down here?"
Of course, I wouldn't just wait here for him. Liu Squad Leader leaned against the cliff and looked toward the flashlight's direction: "Brother Qiang carried me down."
Zhao Squad Leader gaped in surprise as he climbed over to us. After seeing my exhausted expression, he believed it. "Brother Qiang, you're not human."
"Are you insulting me?" I wanted to retort but lacked the energy even for that. All I wanted was to sleep; if it weren't for the crevice beneath me threatening to swallow me whole, I would have dozed off right there.
Zhao Squad Leader didn't realize that his words, filled with admiration and respect, held a deeper meaning.
"We found a flat area; they're all resting there," Zhao Squad Leader hesitated before adding, "Brother Qiang, how are you holding up?"
Clearly, Zhao Squad Leader noticed my terrible condition and was somewhat worried about me.
I was well aware of my state; I was utterly drained. The distance I had crawled down the crevice wasn't long in terms of straight line measurement, but it took quite some time. At that moment, I didn't even have the strength or will to check my watch; my body was extremely fatigued—something I had never experienced in my life before. Every inch of me felt sore and swollen. My mind felt numb, and my reaction time was terrifyingly slow. Zhao Squad Leader's voice reached my ears like an echoing whisper.
I needed to find a safe place to rest; otherwise, I would break down. Staying here would lead to my demise—that was my immediate thought.
"Let's go; we'll head over there." With that, I opened my eyes.
My vision was somewhat blurry; I could sense that Zhao Squad Leader dimmed the flashlight aimed at me. However, his hand holding the flashlight was unsteady, causing it to sway back and forth.
"Zhao Squad Leader, stop shaking the flashlight; I'm getting dizzy."
After a moment of silence, Zhao Squad Leader said, "Let Brother Qiang be in the middle."
This statement was clearly not directed at me, as I saw Liu Squad Leader move to my other side.
As I crawled sideways, Liu Squad Leader, with a pen-like flashlight clenched in his mouth, kept the light focused in front of me. Zhao Squad Leader maintained a very close distance to me, ready to assist at any moment. At this point, the gap between us and the crevice had narrowed to less than two meters, and the slope of the cliff was gentle enough that even in my dazed state, I managed to traverse this distance without incident.
Our return was met with cheers as several people hurriedly pulled me and Liu Squad Leader onto solid ground. I sat down for a moment—not for long, just a brief pause—before slowly lying back and murmuring, "I'm so tired," before losing consciousness.
I dreamt of Li Squad Leader again, the one with a head. However, he held his head in his hands, gazing at it. Strangely, I didn't question how Li Squad Leader without a neck could look at his own head. I seemed to be an outsider in that scene; Li Squad Leader stared at his severed head while I looked at him.
Suddenly, Song Guilong appeared. It was as if he had descended from above or been thrown into the scene. In the dark environment devoid of light, only three figures were visible: Li Squad Leader, Song Guilong, and myself. The moment Song Guilong appeared, I felt as if I had emerged from hiding, waiting for his arrival.
Song Guilong's presence immediately caught Li Squad Leader's attention; he shifted from staring at his head to focusing both heads on Song Guilong. Their eyes blazed with intensity but remained silent. The atmosphere was eerily terrifying.
Song Guilong hesitated for just a moment before turning and running away. Li Squad Leader continued to coldly watch him without speaking or taking action.
In an instant, I became the focal point of this scene and shouted out loud. I sensed that I had yelled but couldn't recall what I had said or even heard my own voice. Then I chased after Song Guilong.
Song Guilong moved quickly, like an antelope darting through the darkness. I chased desperately; soon my throat felt raw, but I knew that if I stopped, I'd never catch up to him again. So I kept going, my steps heavy yet determined.
Ahead, light appeared suddenly before me. It was a large glass house made entirely of big glass panels; there were no lights inside yet it shone brightly as if the house itself emitted light. Only one glass door stood open; Song Guilong rushed into the glass house in a panic but quickly realized there was no way out. I arrived just in time to block his only escape route.
Song Guilong gave me an eerie smile before crashing into the glass wall. There was no sound; the entire scene felt like a silent film as the glass shattered into a massive irregular hole—not a human-shaped gap but large and chaotic—shards raining down around us. I followed closely behind him through this opening and then stopped abruptly as I witnessed a scene that would haunt me forever.
Song Guilong's body was lacerated by shards of glass, deep gashes oozing blood that sprayed forth like a fountain. The blood flowed so rapidly that it did not remain on him; however, behind him lay a trail of soaked ground marked by his blood. I could sense that as he ran wildly, he emitted beast-like howls from his mouth that were soundless. The entire scene was enveloped in darkness, terror, and silence.
I stood there in a daze, paralyzed by an overwhelming fear that kept me from taking a single step. My throat felt as if it had merged with the blood, dry and sweet. Suddenly, I had a strange sensation—I had arrived in hell.
As my throat regained some moisture, I abruptly opened my eyes to see the faces of Xiao Guolin and Liu Squad Leader before me.
"You’re awake!"
"You had a nightmare."
The two voices came out simultaneously. They were no longer ethereal; they were clear.
"Where are we?" I asked.
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