“Zhao Qiang, don’t worry too much. At the moment the accident happened, I think I saw them not falling like me, but floating in the air. It’s just that the situation was too chaotic at the time, and I was in danger, so I didn’t pay much attention. But they haven’t fallen yet, so they must have had some kind of adventure.”
Zhao Qiang thought that Yang Shiyun's body had been modified, so maybe she really could lead her sister out of danger at the critical moment. Even if they hadn't escaped danger, they should have landed by now. But he had just walked almost the entire vicinity and hadn't seen any corpses on the ground. Now there was a light every few steps, so he couldn't have missed it. Therefore, they must be alright.
Zhao Qiang calmed down, and Donna finally had a chance to look around. She immediately exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, where is this? What a huge space! Is this underground? Where is all this light coming from? What's going on here?"
Zhao Qiang shrugged and said, "I don't know what happened either."
Tang Ju said, "Didn't you say this was a scenic spot? How come there's such a strange place, and you dug so deep into the earth? You don't have any secrets you're hiding, do you?"
Having someone to talk to made Zhao Qiang relax. Moreover, thinking about the search and rescue of the Yang sisters, Zhao Qiang felt a heavy burden on his shoulders. With a goal in mind, especially in front of women, Zhao Qiang regained his confidence and courage. What could this underground world do to him? It couldn't possibly trap him.
Volume Two [733] Forward
A smile returned to Zhao Qiang's face. Although Donna couldn't see it clearly because they were underground, she could sense that Zhao Qiang seemed to have grown taller, which must have been due to his increased confidence.
"Zhao Qiang, are we going to die here? Just tell me, what secrets does this place hold?"
Zhao Qiang said, "There's no secret, we're really digging an underground scenic area." Forget about secrets, if we can't get out, it's all for nothing, and that inexplicable attraction disappeared after the fall.
Donna pouted: "You're still lying to me. I've never heard of such a deep scenic area."
Zhao Qiang pointed around and said, "Look, isn't this place beautiful? If I could visit here, I think my life would be worthwhile."
Donna said, "Go ahead and make it up. I know you're wary of me. But who told me I'm American? I don't know if I'll make it out alive after falling here. I might be buried deep underground, which would save me the trouble of finding my body. Maybe a few thousand years later, the earth's crust will shift and rise to the surface, and they might mistake it for a close relationship between us."
Zhao Qiang said, "You're overthinking it."
Donna said, "No, I really think there's no hope of getting out. It took a long time to fall down, and it's so deep. How are we going to climb out? What tools will we use? You have nothing but a backpack. We might starve to death before we find our way out. Handsome, I like you. Since we're not going to survive anyway, why don't we stay here and have a few happy days?"
Once Donna opened her heart, she wasn't so afraid anymore. Since she was going to die sooner or later anyway, she might as well die quickly before she died. She had a strong liking for Zhao Qiang, and she expressed it very readily at this moment.
Zhao Qiang stared at Donna's chest. Because of the impact when she fell, Donna's clothes were somewhat torn, and a large expanse of her snow-white flesh was exposed. Zhao Qiang felt a little uncomfortable; it really looked tempting. He stroked his chin and said, "How do you want to have some fun?"
Donna made Zhao Qiang feel a little hot, so she simply took off her outer clothes and said, "What do you think? But the rocks here are really uncomfortable. Shall we find a better place?"
Zhao Qiang casually said, "Okay, let's go then." After saying that, Zhao Qiang picked up his backpack, which contained some water and food, as well as a few first-aid kits and a tube, but unfortunately it was interrupted and could not be used.
Donna followed behind Zhao Qiang, expecting him to pounce on her like a savage once she took off her outer clothes. After all, Donna was only wearing a close-fitting garment underneath, without even a thick bra, and the clothes had several holes, exposing her tender breasts. Any man would lose control, especially in such a repressive place, where he would always need to find a place to release his pent-up desires. However, to her surprise, Zhao Qiang didn't even glance at her, completely unlike the lustful woman he had seen earlier.
"Hey, wait for me, why aren't you interested in me anymore?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Didn't I say we should find a flatter place?"
Donna asked, "So where are you planning to go? Do you have a plan?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Let's just follow this stone wall and see where it leads." Since the crack where they had fallen was no longer visible, and Zhao Qiang didn't have any particularly brilliant ideas, he could only point ahead casually. They would walk along the stone wall, taking whatever they encountered as it came, rather than standing still. If the Yang sisters were going to fall, they should have already come down; waiting any longer was pointless. Of course, Zhao Qiang could also choose to climb up from here, but that idea wasn't very good; it was better to find another way out.
Donna followed behind, stumbling along. She was just an ordinary person, and walking in these conditions was extremely difficult for her. However, Donna wasn't a rich girl either, and she still managed to keep up with Zhao Qiang's pace. In just a few minutes, the two of them had left the place they had just been in far behind. Ahead, there was still a faint mist, and the ground was still shining through the cracks. However, the further they went from this place, the weaker the light became, as if the real source of light was moving away.
"Ouch!" Donna suddenly cried out from behind him. Zhao Qiang turned around and saw Donna squatting on the ground, one hand covering her foot, her brows furrowed. "I... I hurt my foot."
Zhao Qiang stepped back and squatted down. He pulled Donna's hand away and then saw a sharp piece of stone embedded in the sole of Donna's shoe, piercing it and injuring her foot. Blood seeped out from the seam of the shoe. Zhao Qiang carefully pulled Donna's shoe off and took off her socks. The wound was about half an inch long and was bleeding profusely. Zhao Qiang opened his backpack, took out a first aid kit, sprinkled hemostatic powder on it, and then wrapped Donna's foot with gauze bandage.
"Can't you walk more carefully?" Zhao Qiang complained to Donna. Now that Donna was injured, it would definitely affect their speed. Staying underground for even a minute longer would be dangerous. Although they hadn't seen any real danger yet, just thinking about how there was no water or food here was already frightening enough. If a prehistoric monster or an underground human kingdom were to emerge, things would probably be even worse.
"You're not going to abandon me, are you?" Donna asked Zhao Qiang. Although she didn't think Zhao Qiang was that kind of person, no one could predict what might happen in this isolated underground place, especially since she had accidentally injured her foot and was now a burden.
Zhao Qiang squatted down next to Donna and pointed to her shoulder, "Come on up, you can't walk by yourself anymore."
Donna's face lit up with joy. She leaned on Zhao Qiang's shoulder and then wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you, you're such a gentleman."
Donna made no attempt to hide her breasts pressed tightly against Zhao Qiang's back. She even deliberately hugged him tightly, squeezing her two plump, tender breasts out of shape. Back in America, Donna had already realized that Zhao Qiang was no ordinary man. Now that she had the chance to get close to him, she was not about to let it go. Naturally, she spared no effort in seducing him, even if it was just a madness before her death.
Zhao Qiang touched Donna's buttocks, deliberately using a bit of force, grabbing her two plump buttocks and rubbing them as he walked. This was his way of compensating for the loss he had suffered. Donna was a little out of breath from Zhao Qiang's touch, but Zhao Qiang didn't stop. She could only breathe in Zhao Qiang's ear. For a moment, the two of them completely disregarded the underground world.
Suddenly Zhao Qiang stopped. Donna glanced at the stone wall beside her, which was still towering into the clouds, its top still unknown. The stone wall didn't seem to end there, so why did Zhao Qiang stop? Did he want to 'do it' here? Donna felt a mix of excitement and worry, wondering if Zhao Qiang would cherish her. People are more prone to overthinking when they realize they're in a desperate situation.
Donna waited a while, but Zhao Qiang didn't put her down, which puzzled her. "What's wrong? Put me down. Do you want to stand here forever and turn into a stone pillar?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Listen carefully."
Donna listened and asked, "What?"
Zhao Qiang said, "The sound of flowing water."
It turned out that Zhao Qiang stopped because he heard the sound of flowing water, which had nothing to do with his plans for a final, passionate encounter with her. Donna said with some disappointment, "It's nothing, really. The humidity here is so high, and it's deep underground, so it's only natural that there's an underground river."
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "With water, we can survive a little longer. After all, there are only two bottles of water in our bag, and we can't take them out to drink unless absolutely necessary. Besides, have you noticed that the lighting here is a bit different?"
Donna got off Zhao Qiang's back. Her feet hurt as soon as they touched the ground, so she had to stand on one leg. However, she had to admire Zhao Qiang's strength. He carried her for so long without even breaking a sweat. "Is there anything different about the light?" With Donna's keen observation skills, she naturally couldn't notice anything unusual unless the change was extremely obvious.
Zhao Qiang said, "Look at the light overhead. Don't you think it's not the light shining through the cracks in the ground?"
Donna looked up and observed that it wasn't as dark as before, but the light shining through from the ground wasn't much, and the surrounding fog wasn't as heavy as before. Her vision was much wider, which eased her depressed mood a little.
"Just like you said, it seems a bit brighter, but what does that mean?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I don't know either, but judging from the surrounding situation, we must continue forward."
Donna asked, somewhat bewildered, "Are we just going to keep going like this, aimlessly and endlessly?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I really hope we can find a volcanic crater and then climb up along the volcanic duct."
Donna casually remarked, "It's a pity this isn't 'Heart's Adventure.' Although there's some light here, I observed that the temperature isn't high, so it's unlikely that the light is generated by high-temperature magma. In other words, it's generally impossible for a volcanic conduit like you mentioned to exist here. Perhaps waiting for external rescue is the only solution, rather than wasting all our energy on endless walking. Who knows how big this place is? If we stray too far from the crash site, the rescue team won't be able to find us when they arrive."
Zhao Qiang said, "The rescue team? I'm afraid they won't be down for at least ten days or half a month. Even if we sit on the ground and don't move, we can't hold out until then. Moreover, I really don't want to see them come down, because it would be a huge mistake for them to come down. You fell from there, so you know how dangerous it is."
Donna's face darkened: "Yes, if it weren't for you, I might have died from the fall. I don't know how Yang Shiyun and Yang Shiqi are now. It's definitely dangerous for outsiders to come in. But without outside help, how can we get out?"
Zhao Qiang did not answer. Although he felt much more at ease now, it did not mean that he had thought of a way out. For now, he could only continue to move forward and see how things went. It seemed that things might change a lot ahead. At the very least, the surrounding light was much brighter, and he could indeed hear the sound of flowing water. Any change was better than no change at all.
Zhao Qiang squatted down, but Donna shook her head: "Zhao Qiang, your physical strength is limited. I think it's better if you go ahead and scout the way, and come back to pick me up if necessary. It's better than dragging me along and making you a burden."
Zhao Qiang glared at him: "Just do what I tell you to do, stop with all this nonsense!"
Donna pouted after being scolded, but still clung sweetly to Zhao Qiang's back. It was a good thing that Zhao Qiang didn't abandon her, and he didn't molest her in this desperate situation as she had imagined. Even when she made advances towards Zhao Qiang, he only indulged in verbal sparring and didn't touch her at all. Of course, touching her buttocks didn't count; how could you walk on someone's back without touching their buttocks?
The two fell silent for a moment. Zhao Qiang focused on walking forward. The cracks in the ground became fewer and fewer, but the surrounding light became brighter and brighter. It was obvious that the light was no longer coming from underground. Moreover, even Donna could hear the sound of flowing water.
Volume 2 [734] onwards
"Water!" Donna pointed excitedly ahead. Zhao Qiang saw it too. The light was now bright enough to fill the world in front of them, making it look more like a wasteland. The pale light gave it an extremely desolate feel. The stone walls looked no different from normal rocks. Streams of water flowed down from the high mist. It must have been water from an underground river seeping out from the cracks, eventually converging into a river at their feet. The river meandered into the wasteland, forming a large pool, before disappearing underground without a trace.
Zhao Qiang put Donna down, and the two squatted by the stream. Zhao Qiang first took a sip and tasted it. It tasted very sweet, much better than the polluted drinking water on the ground. Donna then took a sip as well. The two were indeed thirsty. They had been traveling for at least six or seven hours. If it weren't for Zhao Qiang's strong stamina and ample energy reserves, they probably would have collapsed from exhaustion.
"I'm going to take a shower," Donna said, wanting to take off her clothes. This time, she really didn't want to have sex with Zhao Qiang. Her body felt sticky, which wasn't a good thing for a girl who cared about her appearance. The cool water was irresistible.
Zhao Qiang stopped Tang Na: "No, firstly the water is cold, and secondly, you have an injury on your foot. You can just wash your face."
Donna didn't insist. "Okay, do you have a bottle in your bag? Let's fill it up and take it with us. It looks like there might not be any water for a short distance ahead after we leave this stream." At this moment, the view was wide open, and all that could be seen ahead was barren wasteland with no trace of any river, which is why Donna said that.
Zhao Qiang said, "There are two bottles of water, but none of them are empty."
Donna nodded: "Then let's drink a few more sips and fill our stomachs to the brim."
Zhao Qiang didn't take out the water from his bag, but he did take out two boxes of chocolate. There were also two boxes of luncheon meat and six packs of compressed biscuits in the bag. That was all his belongings. Xu Changhe had put the two boxes of chocolate in on a whim. He knew that Zhao Qiang liked to eat such high-calorie foods, but he couldn't find any more on hand. He only had a large supply of canned food and compressed biscuits. But in order to reduce the size of the bag, he didn't take any more. If he had known that he would be stuck here, Xu Changhe would have stuffed the entire supply truck in.
Donna took a sip of water, looked up, took the chocolate Zhao Qiang offered, and after thinking for a moment, returned it. "I'm not hungry right now, you can have some. I know you were carrying me with a lot of effort, and I'm the one who made you suffer. If I hadn't insisted on getting down, this wouldn't have happened."
Zhao Qiang said, "Don't be silly, eat. You're injured. Whether you insisted on coming down or not, things are already like this. Don't blame yourself. This matter has nothing to do with you. On the contrary, I'm the one who dragged you and Yang Shiyun into this mess."
Donna carefully broke off a piece of chocolate, then pushed the rest to Zhao Qiang. She gently licked the chocolate, looking completely blissful. She had eaten this stuff many times before, but the thought that she wouldn't be able to get out anytime soon, and possibly never, and that this might be the last time she ate chocolate, naturally changed her mood, and even the taste seemed to have changed.
"If I can get up there, I don't plan to go back to America," Donna said firmly, opening her eyes and taking a bite of chocolate.
Zhao Qiang said, "Oh, why would you think that? The environment in the United States is much better than in China."
Donna said, “But my dreams aren’t there. I think China might be more suitable for me. I can ask Sister Xinyu to arrange a job for me at the company in Hong Kong. You don’t know, do you? My dad didn’t plan to go back to China this time. People get old and they might get homesick. But my mom disagrees. The two of them are arguing about this. My mom says China is too backward. She doesn’t want to settle here with my dad, and she doesn’t even want to come back to see my uncle.”
Zhao Qiang said, "Your mother may have some misunderstandings about China. I think I will explain it to her later."
Donna suddenly looked at Zhao Qiang with a determined gaze: "I hope to gain your trust."
Zhao Qiang knew what Donna wanted to ask. She was the kind of girl who would get to the bottom of things; otherwise, how could she be a reporter? Zhao Qiang said, "Okay, I admit I lied to you. The scenic area was just a facade; we're actually digging something out here."
Donna immediately perked up, her eyes widening. "What is it? A prehistoric relic?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I don't know about that, because all the excavation work is being done based on my intuition."
Donna was somewhat surprised: "This kind of thing can only happen in your country. If it happened in our country, we would definitely call you crazy, and the government would never invest a lot of money in this excavation."
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "**Countries have their advantages, but it's a pity that the strong feeling disappeared after we fell here, otherwise our direction would be clearer."
Donna pointed ahead and said, "Then aren't we just moving forward aimlessly?"
Zhao Qiang said, "More or less, but don't be discouraged. As you can see, we found water and unknown light filling the air. Maybe we're heading towards our destination."
Donna grinned: "You have a great attitude. I wonder if there are any fish in the pond ahead. If there are, we can catch one to eat. These foods are easy to preserve, so we should plan for the long term."
Zhao Qiang agreed with Donna's opinion. He ran to the pool in the distance and took a look. It was very clear and you could see the bottom at a glance. There were no fish, not even a shrimp, let alone any water plants.
After drinking a lot of water, Zhao Qiang ate half a pack of compressed biscuits, which replenished about 10% of the energy he had previously consumed. He then carried Donna on his back and the two of them continued on their way. After walking for more than an hour, the surrounding light made the world look like a clear, cold moonlit night, or even brighter. Moreover, the terrain was no longer flat, but undulating, with mountains-like rocks gradually appearing, probably having fallen from the towering archway.
"When will this end? Although I enjoy it very much, I feel guilty for letting you carry me like this," Donna said loudly on Zhao Qiang's back. She felt safe and comfortable holding Zhao Qiang's neck, but this was not a long-term solution. Even an iron man couldn't carry Donna for a lifetime.
Zhao Qiang turned around and made a shushing gesture: "Don't make a sound, I heard you."
Donna immediately covered her mouth. "What was that sound? Was it the sound of water? I'm thirsty again, but damn it, where is the stream?"
Zhao Qiang said, "It's the sound of water, and even more water." Zhao Qiang's hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people, so he heard it, but Donna did not.
Zhao Qiang quickened his pace. He was now practically carrying Donna as he ran across the wasteland that had turned into hills. Since it was all about consuming energy anyway, it was just a matter of time. The increasingly clear roaring sound in his ears drew Zhao Qiang to hurry over.
"It's a waterfall, it's the sound of a waterfall!" Donna's ears could clearly receive the sound signal. The roar was getting closer and louder. After rounding a low hill, the two of them suddenly realized that the hands that were holding Donna's buttocks had unconsciously let go. Donna fell to the ground with a thud, but she didn't care about the pain. She helped Zhao Qiang up and the two of them just stared blankly ahead.
"This is a magical world," Donna finally exclaimed, the pain in her foot bringing her to her senses first.
Zhao Qiang rubbed his eyes: "This is a magical underground world."
What appeared before their eyes was a world completely different from the wasteland they had just seen. The hills and wasteland ended here, and in front of them was a large pit, like a giant basin. On one side, a huge waterfall cascaded down from the rock wall, and the water from the waterfall nourished the land in the basin. Under the bright light, patches of plants grew, which brought a touch of green life to the gray underground world. It seemed that they could smell the fresh air in the basin just by standing here.
"This dream is absolutely earth-shattering! It's a shame my camera is long gone." Donna was somewhat dazed; she simply couldn't believe what she was seeing. Even if she were to be trapped underground forever, this discovery would make her die without regrets.
Zhao Qiang picked up Donna and said, "Let's go down and take a look."
Donna glanced at the path ahead: "There's a sheer cliff here. How are we going to get down?"
The two were currently at a height of about 150 meters above the basin, and the drop was almost a clean break. At this moment, Zhao Qiang couldn't care less about that. He immediately separated his energy to protect himself and then jumped. Donna was so frightened that she hugged Zhao Qiang's neck and pressed her face tightly against his chest. The whistling wind was blowing past their ears, just like falling into a huge crevice, which was terrifying. Only this distance was much shorter. With a bang, Zhao Qiang's body bounced up like a big ball. After several collisions with the ground, he finally dissipated the force of the fall and stood up steadily with Donna in his arms.
"Looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death." The waterfall and green world were right in front of them, but it took more than an hour to get to them. Even though Zhao Qiang had been carrying Donna the whole time, she felt like her bones were about to fall apart.