FI CH 40

Chapter 40: Underground Labyrinth (X)

At first, the cave was narrow, but as they continued walking, the passage gradually widened. Unexpectedly, there wasn’t the kind of danger they had anticipated.

Bai Hua could already hear the sound of rushing water in the distance—like a waterfall. Mixed in with the roar of the torrent, there seemed to be… faint cries for help.

Because of the overwhelming echoes, Bai Hua wasn’t sure if he was just imagining it. “Is someone there?”

Kurosawa seemed to hear it too. He simply said, “Let’s check it out.”

Bai Hua took the lead, and the two of them hurried toward the source of the sound. The shouting grew louder and clearer, and Bai Hua was even able to distinguish who it belonged to. Just as they emerged from the cave’s exit, he heard He He’s voice calling out, “Bai Hua!”

Outside the cave was a cliffside, but across the open air, a thick steel mesh was laid flat, completely sealing off the way forward. Looking down from above, what lay beneath was like a natural pool—only it resembled more of a prison.

Bai Hua not only saw He He, but also An Shi—and even their own teammates. Both squads were here, twelve people in total, no one missing.

Kurosawa, meanwhile, was analyzing the structure. They were standing at the highest point of this place, and along the stone walls below were four drainage outlets. From this, he could deduce that An Shi had been swept down here by floodwater from one of those drains. The other three likely served the same function.

They were indeed unfamiliar with the underground city’s layout, and didn’t understand the complex mechanisms or design. But one thing was clear—this pool-like cage was intended to detain people. It could easily drown anyone trapped inside. It was even possible that in the past, during external invasions, prisoners were flushed down here the same way they had been.

Kurosawa couldn’t be sure how deep the water at the bottom was, but all of their teammates were floating on the surface—their feet couldn’t touch the ground. The stone walls on all four sides were slick with moisture, almost vertically sheer. With this kind of height, those below had no way to climb back up. Even if the water rose high enough to reach the top, there was no way to escape through the drainage pipes, and breaking through the sealed steel mesh above was impossible. This place had no exit.

Bai Hua looked at the people below. The members of the first team had been trapped inside for far too long—their faces were pale, and they were on the verge of physical exhaustion.

“What should we do?”

No matter how they looked at it, the only viable rescue seemed to be from above. Fortunately, Kurosawa had noticed the hidden door earlier, which allowed them to escape the flooding just in time. If all of them had ended up trapped below, they might never have gotten out.

“There has to be a way.”

From the moment they arrived, Kurosawa had been scanning the surroundings nonstop—clearly trying to figure something out. As he’d said, he could see every hidden door in the underground city. That might be more useful than any other ability—and right now, it was their best hope of saving everyone.

Hearing that, Bai Hua felt an unexpected sense of calm. Even if he couldn’t contribute much in a situation like this, he still wanted to help however he could.

The two of them split up and started searching. Their eyes swept carefully across the stone walls, not overlooking a single crevice or recess. Bai Hua didn’t have Kurosawa’s ability to visually detect hidden doors, so he resorted to the most primitive method: knocking on the walls, one section at a time with his bare hands. Unfortunately, they checked every section and still found nothing.

Though they hit a dead end, they refused to give up.

Bai Hua unintentionally glanced toward the cave entrance and suddenly remembered that they had passed a slightly sunken alcove along the way. He reached out and pointed in that direction.

“Could it be inside the cave?”

“Let’s try,” Kurosawa replied.

The two of them headed back into the cave, returning to the spot that had caught their attention earlier. Kurosawa examined the wall for a moment, then ran his hand across the surface and knocked a few times before confirming, “This is it.”

Following Kurosawa’s instructions, Bai Hua broke through the weakened stone surface, revealing a narrow tunnel behind it. He crouched and crawled inside to take a look—surprisingly, the passage connected to one of the drainage ducts. He continued along it and reached the drain’s opening, where he proceeded to completely destroy the pressure-release mechanism. That way, if they had some rope, they could pull people up one by one through this new opening.

Bai Hua quickly backed out of the tunnel, returned to the cave, explained his plan to Kurosawa, and notified the people below.

Several hours later, after the last person had been hauled up through the opening, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief—though exhaustion had completely overtaken them.

The two squads, now reunited, either sat or collapsed along the cave walls. Between the mental strain and total physical fatigue, no one wanted to speak.

Back during previous missions, He He had been in the habit of sticking close to Bai Hua. But as he approached this time, he noticed Kurosawa was there too. Despite the short span of time they had spent together, it felt like something had shifted—there was now a subtle atmosphere between the two that made it difficult for outsiders to intrude.

He He paused in surprise, then smiled quietly and sensibly chose to stop a few steps away, sitting down to rest at a respectful distance.

A while later, Bai Hua noticed He He and offered him a small smile, exchanging a few polite words.

Their mission from the start had been to carry out a rescue. Now that everyone was accounted for—some even injured—there was no need to continue any deeper.

After resting, the group briefly discussed their next steps and decided to head back the way they came. However, they deliberately avoided the drainage route and instead followed Kurosawa’s guidance toward the lowest level of the underground city.

The lowest level appeared to be a kind of water reservoir, with pools of various sizes—some shallow, others so deep their bottoms couldn’t be seen. Every person present had been endangered by water already, so no one had any interest in exploring further. All they wanted now was to return to the surface as quickly as possible.

Partway through, Bai Hua began to feel a strange flutter in his chest. At first, he thought it was just exhaustion, so he didn’t pay it much attention.

In the darkness, Kurosawa couldn’t see his expression and didn’t notice anything was wrong.

Bai Hua’s pace gradually slowed. Since he was walking at the very end of the group, no one noticed his condition. He didn’t understand what was happening—his vision began to blur, and he noticed his body breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Bai Hua.” Suddenly, a familiar voice called out behind him. It was Kurosawa’s voice.

But Bai Hua’s consciousness was already slipping—he couldn’t even tell whether Kurosawa had been in front of him or behind. Still, the sound of that familiar voice made him instinctively stop and try to turn around.

A sudden splash came from the rear of the group. Everyone immediately tensed, snapping to attention to see what had happened.

Only then did Kurosawa realize Bai Hua, who had been behind him, was gone. He rushed toward the source of the splash, and the others quickly gathered around.

None of them had realized there was a well in that spot. Judging by the sound of the splash, the well was extremely deep.

He He took the opportunity to do a headcount—only eleven remained. Bai Hua was definitely missing. Without hesitation, He He stepped toward the edge of the well, ready to jump in to rescue him.

Kurosawa stopped him with an outstretched arm.

“I’ll go. You all keep heading up.”

“But—”

Kurosawa looked He He in the eyes.

“I’ll bring him back. I promise.”

He He seemed to realize something from Kurosawa’s gaze. He nodded. “Okay.”

Kurosawa gave An Shi a glance but said nothing before jumping into the well.

An Shi stood still, unmoving. When he noticed He He looking at him curiously, he finally said, “I have another mission. You all go on ahead.”

He He didn’t question it—he knew An Shi frequently received secret missions and was used to operating solo. Of everyone here, An Shi was probably the one person they didn’t need to worry about.

After watching the others safely leave, An Shi slowly turned around.

He had been walking at the rear of the group and had been keeping a close eye on Bai Hua the whole time. That voice that called Bai Hua’s name—he had heard it too. But it hadn’t come from Kurosawa.

It had come from the person they’d long suspected—an ability user who could imitate others’ voices.

The hint Kurosawa had just given him was crystal clear: that person was still nearby.

And now, it was up to An Shi to take care of this hidden threat.

(To be continued…)