Deep Within the Cave

The cave interior has been artificially transformed into a concrete Secret Passage, which, while making the path smoother and easier to walk on, has made the entire space more oppressive.

The Secret Passage was also longer and deeper than anyone imagined.

Moreover, as you go deeper, the passage becomes increasingly narrow. What was initially enough for two people to pass through becomes only enough for one person, and you even have to slowly move forward sideways.

The cold wall pressed against my body, making the feeling of suffocation grow heavier.

When the width reached a minimum, requiring everyone to squeeze forward sideways, light finally appeared ahead.

Shia was walking at the front, also called out, "Come in quickly! This seems to be a buffer zone."

The last small, narrow opening even has limitations on body size; if the five hundred members of the sorority were to come here, they would probably have to use special abilities.

The class monitor, who was actually Isabella, was completely stuck because of her large upper body. It took several people a long time to pull her through.

The one with the easiest body shape is the Sister Eye. As long as she turns her body to the side, she is almost like a cutting board.

As Luo Di, who was responsible for bringing up the rear, squeezed through the narrow gap, a ray of light shone into his eyes.

After walking for a long time through narrow, dark passages, the sudden openness and light made me feel relieved and relaxed my stressed nerves.

The area is currently a circular area, approximately twenty square meters in width.

An artificial opening was created at the top, leading directly to the mountaintop, allowing the light from the brilliant stars to shine down and illuminate the area, giving those who ventured deep into the cave a chance to catch their breath.

Three forks in the road appeared before us, all shrouded in an even denser darkness, as if it could drown all light.

It's not feasible to split up right now; the team needs to choose a direction.

Hua Yuan pretended to be very scared and came to Sister Eye's side. "Mu Mu, your intuition has always been very good. Why don't you choose?"

The latter's slender arm quickly rose and pointed towards the middle passage.

"Middle way."

Luo Di followed his Sister Eye's gaze to the central passage, vaguely seeing some kind of light. This feeling was very similar to what he had experienced during God-worshipping Ritual, and he echoed her sentiment:

"The middle ground might be the right one."

Hua Yuan pretended to be trying to overcome her fear, adjusted the camera mode on her wristband, and disguised herself as a self-media blogger.

"Let's keep going and see what's inside. We'll try to film something supernatural and post it on the website. That will definitely gain us a lot of followers."

The central passage is also narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time.

The squad proceeded in the original order, with Luo Di still at the end of the squad.

As he followed closely behind the squad leader and stepped into the pitch-black passage.

Buzz!

The tinnitus and glare struck simultaneously, forcing Luo Di to freeze in place and shake his head violently. By the time he gradually recovered from this state, there was no one in front of him.

He was the only one standing in this cramped passageway that felt like it could suffocate him.

Turn your head.

He had only taken one step, and behind him should still be the buffer zone where starlight had just fallen, but in reality there was no buffer zone, and no starlight descended.

Behind them was an identical pitch-black passage.

It seems there was only one cave passage from beginning to end, with no side paths at all.

Did he get separated from his sisters, or was Luo Di all alone from beginning to end?

When exactly did we enter the cave?

Did she sneak up the mountain with her sisters after the God-worshipping Ritual? Or did she already enter the cave alone at the site of the God-worshipping Ritual?

Did Roddy come on this primitive journey with his sisters, or did he sign up alone?

Is this an island? Or is it somewhere else?

Confusion flooded in like a tidal wave, as if the floodgates of his brain had been ripped open and could not be stopped, making Luo Di increasingly confused and his consciousness increasingly blurred.

Even the most steadfast reason was uprooted by this frenzied tide and swept into the vortex.

When confusion fills the entire brain,

The seed called "fear," which had been buried deep within someone long ago, was nourished and began to take root and sprout.

Fear begins to dominate the nerves.

Urging on, Luo Di, whose vision was blurred and whose mind was heavy, began to move like Walking Dead, wanting to escape the current cramped cave and go outside to breathe fresh air.

Despair!

Even the snapping of the tongue, which usually resolves most mental problems, becomes blurred at this moment, unable to dispel the confusion accumulating in the brain, unable to cut off the escalating fear.

However, it still has some effect.

The clicking of the tongue brought a brief moment of clarity.

Make Luo Di realize his current terrible state, that his brain is being invaded by some mysterious force and is filled with strange things.

He didn't have much time left to be conscious.

Luo Di quickly searched for solutions.

He placed his right hand on his lower abdomen, activating the pituitary gland on the back of his hand to make his middle finger hard and long, and then thrust it deep inside.

By stabbing a spot that can cause pain all over the body, one inflicts maximum suffering upon oneself.

Oh my god!

Heart-wrenching screams echoed through the corridor.

This excruciating pain forcibly erased all impurities from the brain, even Luo Di's own thoughts, giving him a feeling of rebooting his brain.

As the pain subsided, Luo Di's vision cleared, and all his thoughts returned to normal.

I had a vague feeling that something was about to grow out of the depths of my brain and dissipate along with the pain.

His frantic escape, driven by fear, had propelled him a considerable distance into the cave.

"Is this the calamity brought about by the monster's incarnation? It has actually made me sink to this extent. If it weren't for the ability to suffer pain that I learned from Mr. Hook, I'm afraid I would have been completely dominated by it."

The monster avatar lurking on this island seems to be targeting me? Why?

Wait... there seems to be something ahead?

Luo Di's thoughts were interrupted by a burst of colorful light emerging from the darkness.

During his unconscious escape, Luo Di lost his flashlight, so he could only turn on the built-in light function of his bracelet.

Such illumination is naturally inferior to that of a powerful flashlight; it can only provide the most basic ambient lighting, allowing the eyes to see the surroundings.

Luo Di, who had initially intended to unleash the Hell Stance, quickly rejected the idea.

We haven't even seen the opponent's true form yet. Once we reveal our trump cards, our chances of winning will be even lower.

The light provided by the bracelet was weaker than expected; it seemed to be resisting the darkness rather than dispelling it. Its maximum illumination range reached just to the end of the passage.

"Have I reached the deepest part of the cave?"

The passageway widened slightly, about two and a half people's width. It ended in less than thirty meters, where an altar and a strange statue stood.

This may be the "Mountain God" worshipped by the villagers.

However, this statue does not wear any robes, nor does it have any ritual implements or staffs.

Instead, they were completely naked, with even some organs and tissues carved on the outside.

The statue was neither sitting dignifiedly nor standing solemnly.

Instead, it uses four stone tendrils that grow from the back of the statue to connect to both sides of the passage, making the entire statue hang in the air, creating a strange statue.

Its face was covered with a skin.

A skin that Luo Di had seen before.

It was during the God-worshipping Ritual that the wrinkled leather pouch, stored in the small metal box, completely covered the face of the deity, making it impossible to see the features.

Not only that,

The passageway floor was also littered with the remains of various animals and insects, including legs, hair, and heads.

It seems that the offerings were dragged here and eaten.

"Could this statue be directly related to the monster's incarnation...?"

Just as he put his right hand on his backpack behind him, preparing to take out the pig's head inside.

Buzz!

An unseen fluctuation emanated from within the statue, bringing with it tinnitus and glare once more! The mental impurities that had just been cleared away by the pain began to pour back in.

Moreover, this time it's no longer just a simple mental interference.

Just as Luo Di was focused on fighting the mind invasion, the stone whisker structure behind the statue began to peel off, transforming into four soft, smooth, starlight-shimmering tentacles that suddenly attacked.

Its speed is so fast that it targets the brain directly.

The tongue flicked violently in the mouth, signaling an impending deadly threat; the consequences of being touched by this thing would be unimaginable.

Luo Di had already decided to stop pretending, and he could already hear the buzzing sound coming from deep within his spine.

Of course, he also remained rational and considered the current situation.

"I can't possibly defeat the monster's avatar alone. I need to try and escape this predicament first, then evacuate the cave as quickly as possible to rejoin my sisters."

Just as Luo Di conceived this idea,

Just as he thought of the keyword "sisters",

In a brain filled with all sorts of mental clutter, a memory image about the sisters suddenly popped up.

A picture of them in a hotel suite.

The image is a bit blurry,

Everyone's appearance has become blurred because of Luo Di's current state; he can't even remember the class monitor's face.

The only image that remained vividly in his mind was Hua Yuan, wearing black leather shoes and white socks, dressed in a school uniform, as if it were a high-definition image that had been separated from his own.

Not only that,

This static memory actually blinked and moved slightly.

Following closely behind,

A familiar voice echoed in my mind.

"Mr. Di... did you miss me?"

As soon as he finished speaking,

The Color Tentacles that were attacking Luo Di's brain were suddenly torn off by something, and the broken tentacles were trampled into a pulp as soon as they fell to the ground.