Green Mountain Wild Man Valley

Kapitel 27

Turning to look at Sergei, General Chen raised his voice considerably: "As for you, Colonel Sergei, you are an agent of the American CIA, the Central Intelligence Agency, and a triple agent of China, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Am I wrong?"

Sergei's forehead immediately broke out in a fine layer of sweat, and his lips trembled as he dared not respond.

General Chen sneered and said, "What do you want? I know perfectly well. Your connection with Gu Jinping is a recent event, isn't it? You think you escaped on your own? Don't be naive! If I hadn't let you go on purpose, would you have led us here? It's just a pity about Liu Chun; he was too vigilant. I had no choice but to kill him."

General Chen sighed insincerely and said, "Alas, you are also confused. You have no idea what Gu Jinping is up to. Do you really think he is after the gems that the Soviets couldn't take away in time? No, no, no, what he wants is what's with you, that bronze mirror!"

Most of my questions have been answered, but this new mystery has piqued my curiosity. It seems that the bronze mirror placed on the spring platform is something left behind by the Japanese and Sun Chuanfang, but what exactly is it?

I suddenly remembered what Lao Gu had said about some legends about the ancient divine object, the Mirror of the Sea. Suddenly, a vague framework formed in my mind.

General Chen's words cleared up my doubts: "Quantai, humph, Zhaohaijing! The Japanese are dreaming! What nonsense about 'those who gave me life are monkeys, those who die are eagles'—it's all bullshit! To put it bluntly, the geographical environment here is very special, so special that there is no other like it in China. Sun Chuanfang and the Japanese are delusional that a bronze mirror can make their soldiers invincible on the battlefield, and even if they die, they can fight with their ghosts. What era are we living in? They still believe in this?"

Ding Gen, who had already disregarded life and death, laughed upon hearing this: "Hehe, interesting, interesting! If there really were ghosts, why would the Japanese need that sacred toilet?"

Sergei stood there dumbfounded. When he saw General Chen glaring angrily at Ding Gen, he quickly capped the vaccine vial and stuffed it into his pocket. Then, he turned around, picked up the bronze mirror, and laughed loudly, "I've finally found my life-saving charm! Haha! So General Chen came for this mirror! Haha!"

General Chen was taken aback. His face turned ashen, and he waved his hand, intending to order the soldiers to fire. Sergei roared, "Stop! I'd like to see who the hell dares to move! Back off! Back off! I'll smash the mirror to pieces, we'll fight to the death, and nobody will get their hands on us!"

General Chen slowly waved his hand, and several soldiers surrounding us immediately retreated to his side, because it was clear that Sergei was going all out and would definitely smash the bronze mirror to pieces if he used force.

Just as General Chen was about to speak, he saw Sergei shaking the bronze mirror, trying to take it off the altar. He panicked immediately: "Don't move it! You can't take that mirror! You absolutely can't take it!"

Sergei sneered, "How am I supposed to run away if I don't take it off? Don't fucking lie to me, I'm taking it off, you deal with it! Get out of my way, I'm not playing with you guys anymore!"

General Chen was so frightened that he turned pale and almost immediately turned to run away.

Sergei looked at General Chen's panicked expression with some confusion, then with a strong pull, he took the bronze mirror off and held it in his arms.

A burst of scorching hot air blew out from the spring, rising into a dark red pillar of fire. Sergei was caught off guard, and half of his face was instantly charred. He screamed and ran towards us. The cave had become a blazing furnace, with extremely hot air constantly gushing out from under the spring. The walls and roof were trembling and shaking, and the rumbling sound underfoot was deafening. In an instant, several large cracks appeared in the floor of the room, and several of General Chen's men immediately sank into them, falling silent before they could even scream!

Ding Gen, dragging his injured leg, crawled to the side of the young soldier Hu Tou. Before he could even unload his submachine gun, he unleashed a barrage of bullets like a storm. This volley of fire didn't stop until all the bullets were gone. Inside the room, only the three of us and the howling Sergei remained alive. The talkative General Chen had been riddled with holes and was left here forever.

I ran over, picked up Ding Gen, tore off a piece of my clothing, and tightly bandaged the gunshot wound on his leg, shouting, "Run! This place is doomed! I'll carry you!"

The three of us carefully jumped over the cracks in the ground. Looking inside, we saw dark red lava flowing slowly deep underground, and the cracks were constantly widening to both sides. The situation was extremely dangerous. This sinkhole in the Lantern Sinkhole was actually a volcano. Such a large amount of water had poured into the cracks and evaporated into high-temperature steam. If it were to explode, we would be doomed to become victims.

Thankfully, we finally escaped the house. The rumbling subsided for a moment, but it seemed to be brewing an even bigger eruption. The mirror on the spring platform was connected to some kind of mechanism; if it were moved, it could detonate the powder keg. We were all pale-faced, not knowing where to run to escape.

Zhang Liheng suddenly shouted, "That vaccine! It's still on Sergei!" Then she turned and rushed inside.

I was shocked and quickly put Ding Gen down, telling him to grit his teeth and keep going. I couldn't leave the little girl behind!

Inside the room, everything was red. Zhang Liheng pulled out a pistol and was searching for Sergei's whereabouts. I followed her nervously, thinking that if we could get the vaccine, not only could I be saved, but Ding Gen's aftereffects might also be cured. It would be such a pity to destroy it.

Sergei, who had been shouting, had vanished. Frustrated, I yelled, "Sergei, come out! We're here to get you out of here!"

I saw Zhang Liheng stumble and almost fall into a crack in the ground. I rushed over and saw a hand reaching out from the crack, grabbing her ankle. It was Sergei, who was completely blind. The bronze mirror was lying on the ground next to the crack. I quickly pushed it aside and pulled Zhang Liheng up.

Zhang Liheng squatted down and struggled to pull Sergei up. I shouted angrily, "What time is it? What do you need a vaccine for? This place is about to be destroyed. Shoot him! Let's go!"

Zhang Liheng stubbornly said, "I won't leave. I want to cure your illness. You promised to be my commander forever. How can you get a vaccine?"

I was almost in tears: "Don't be stupid! Even if I die, you don't need to risk your life! Besides, we don't even know if that vaccine is real or fake!"

Sergei, below, roared, "Pull me up! The vaccine is real, I'll give it to you as soon as I get up there! I'm not lying to you!"

Zhang Liheng also said, "If he can use it to threaten us, I know the vaccine is real. Quick, pull him up!"

I wiped away my tears and, together with Zhang Liheng, pulled Sergei up.

We couldn't stay in the house any longer; the air was scorching hot. We pushed and shoved Sergei to the door, and saw that Dinggen hadn't escaped alone but was still waiting for us. Just as we were about to reach into Sergei's pocket, there was a deafening roar, and the entire house behind him collapsed. I picked up Dinggen and ran for my life, with rocks constantly falling from above, each one hitting our heels! Zhang Liheng held onto Sergei tightly; in her heart, the vaccine was more important than her own life.

Chapter 74 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Chapter 74 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Author: Ghost Grinning

The Finale, Chapter Fifty-Four: Eternal Beauty

Finally, we reached the boulder from which we had entered. Looking around, we could hear the continuous sound of rocks collapsing opposite us, and light gradually shone down from above. Behind us, there was a dark red fire. As for the water in front of us, the once surging current had vanished without a trace, and we could vaguely see the silt below, which was quite high up.

Sergei, his face covered in blood from being hit by falling rocks, stood blankly beside us. I then realized that this bastard still hadn't thrown away that mirror. Looking at the source of the underground fire, I was instantly enraged and slapped him without hesitation. Before I could even curse him, he pulled out a vaccine, held it up in his hand, and weakly said, "The vaccine is real. Take it after you get out, and it will cure the virus. I'm not lying to you."

Zhang Liheng took the medicine bottle and asked him suspiciously, "Where did you get this vaccine?"

Ding Gen suddenly shouted, "Chen Juan! Chen Juan is still there!" He then turned to run back, but I quickly grabbed him, saying, "Are you crazy? Look around, there's nowhere left to get in! Everything's collapsed!"

Ding Gen broke free from me: "Let go of me! I wasn't talking about inside, it's over there! When did it get out?"

We followed him over and saw that it was true. Shen Juan was lying on her back at the exit, her face covered in blood, half of her body buried in rocks and mud. We didn't know if she was dead or alive; it was hard to tell unless you looked closely. So we quickly helped Ding Gen dig her out.

Fortunately, she wasn't buried too deep. As I worked, I thought to myself, while everyone was facing off with their guns drawn, no one noticed her. I never expected that she would run out alone, faint at the door, and actually fool General Chen's men. When we dug Shen Juan out, she was still dazed and confused.

I plopped down, my legs too weak to run anymore. Below me was a bottomless abyss, and behind me were raging flames. There was no way to go to heaven or to hell.

Blood dripped from Sergei's face, one drop at a time, down his chin, many of it scattering onto the mirror in his hand, diluting the original splattered blood and mixing together.

In the short time it took for a few people to catch their breath, the mirror became shimmering and attracted everyone's attention.

The scene in the mirror was blurry, vaguely resembling a white mist. Gradually, a picture emerged from the center, and it looked very familiar to me. It was like watching a short film: a man was being shot and thrown around wildly, then he crashed headfirst into a jade railing, breaking it in two with the force of the impact. He then fell halfway into the pool, face down in the mud, his legs twitching uncontrollably. My heart skipped a beat as I recognized the familiar scene and the familiar clothes!

Isn't that the scene when Lao Gu was beaten to death?

I had heard that this mirror had a special feature: it could reflect the moment before a person died. I told this story to Ding Gen and the others as if it were a myth, and jokingly said that they should definitely try it when they had time to see what they would look like when they died.

Unexpectedly, during this drastic change, the Magic Mirror regained its original special function. Back then, Old Gu died in front of the mirror, and his splattered blood landed on it. Now, it should be Sergei's turn next...

As expected, the scene in the mirror suddenly changed, returning to the swirling white mist. Then, a figure emerged from the center, transforming into Sergei's appearance. After a brief flash with his face covered in blood, he tumbled down the high cliff until he could no longer be seen!

We all witnessed this bizarre scene; Sergei seemed about to die a violent death, and we were too shocked to speak.

Sergei, oblivious to everything, stood there blankly, his blind eyes just black holes. Dingen gritted his teeth, walked up to him, and vigorously rubbed the blood from the gunshot wound on his leg, smearing it on the mirror. Of course I knew what he was going to do, but it was too late to stop him...

The scene in the mirror changed, and in a pristine white hospital, Ding Gen peacefully closed his eyes. We were immediately chilled to the bone; this was unbelievable! Could it really be true?

In the silence, Zhang Liheng cried softly, pulling at me and begging me to try it too. I refused, no matter what. I didn't believe it, absolutely not! If it were true, I'd rather not know what I saw on my deathbed, otherwise I'd live with that shadow for the rest of my life!

Seeing that I refused, Zhang Liheng gritted her teeth, turned her back, bit her finger until it bled, and was about to wipe it on the mirror. I was shocked and reached out to grab her hand, but it was too late!

Almost simultaneously, a powerful force struck from behind, and the cave exploded violently once again. The immense force sent all four of us flying, sliding down the cliff face into the bottomless abyss.

The mirror flashed past me, its reflection filled with an eerie gloom. I saw the beginning but not the end. And even this beginning wasn't in our current environment, so I thought to myself, Zhang Liheng definitely didn't die in this explosion!

Clinging tightly to Zhang Liheng's hand, I rolled and tumbled between the cliffs, scraping and bruising myself all over. Fortunately, I never let go until a protruding boulder stopped my slide, trapping me on the edge of the cliff. Zhang Liheng, on the other hand, was dangling over the rocks with her feet in the air, only one hand still holding onto me!

As I came to my senses, I immediately tried to reach out my other hand to pull her up, but my arm was broken, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't lift it!

Much of the mountain had collapsed in the explosion. The sky above was already tinged with the faint light of dawn. I could only see Zhang Liheng with one eye; her face was streaked with tears. She looked at me and said haltingly, "I saw... me in that mirror... I'm sorry! I can't go out with you..."

I yelled, "That's fake! Don't give up! Hang in there, I'll pull you up with all my might!" Tears welled up in my eyes.

A smile bloomed on Zhang Liheng's lips: "You must live well... Remember me... Don't be so glib anymore... Take the vaccine! Let me... become your eternal love... Only eternity is beautiful..."

As soon as she finished speaking, I felt her hand still holding the medicine bottle. After shoving it into my palm, she was struggling to pull her few remaining fingers back. I screamed in terror, "No! Zhang Liheng, don't! Ah—"

When all I had left in my hand was a small glass medicine bottle, Zhang Liheng faced me and plummeted into the abyss. I even saw strings of tears rolling down her face. My heart ached, and I coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted.

I don't know how much time passed, but I was awakened by a heavy rain. When I woke up, the scenery around me had completely changed. I was all alone, lying on a large rock. Next to me was Ding Gen, who was lying on his side like a dazed person, holding someone in his arms. I looked and saw that it was Chen Juan, covered in blood and her whole body was cold.

I coughed up a mouthful of blood and passed out again.

When I woke up again, I was under the spotlight in the hospital, and several doctors in white coats were performing surgery on me. I vaguely saw the doctors wearing masks and busy at work, and I felt a pang of heartache. I listened to the scalpel touching my body and muscles without any awareness.

…… …… .

A month later, I sat dumbfounded on the hospital bed. Ding Gen said to me, "You know what? I asked the doctor to give you the vaccine, but I didn't take it. I'm waiting for the doctor to develop a substitute. Anyway, I already know my future, and I don't want you to have any aftereffects."

I turned to look at him, my eyes brimming with tears, and instinctively said, "Old Ding! You—"

Ding Gen patted me on the shoulder: "Don't say anything more, I'm never going into the water again! After the sinkhole exploded, helicopters came to search for us very quickly. That's how I brought back Shen Juan's body, but Zhang Liheng..."

This was the first time I'd ever heard of Zhang Liheng's name. My heart ached, and I asked nervously, "What? You found her?"

Ding Gen shook his head: "No, we haven't found any trace of her."

Seeing that I didn't speak, Ding Gen asked in a low voice, "We can't completely lose hope. Did Zhang Liheng end up in that mirror?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

I don't want to say it, but once I leave the hospital, the secret in this mirror is something I'll have to face alone.

I already know where I'm going. That place not only has Zhang Liheng in the mirror, but it's also the most beautiful place in the world. I just don't know when the time will come, or how to find that special place.

Ding Gen left quietly, and Zhang Liheng's image reappeared in my mind. Her short-haired face was covered in tears, and she looked at me with firm eyes, saying: You must live well... Remember me... Only eternity is beautiful...

Is Zhang Liheng alive or dead in the mirror? What is the whereabouts of the Mirror of Reflection? Where will I go to find my eternity? ... (To unravel these mysteries, let me once again lead you into a dangerous and desperate situation.)