Separated

Mo Li had forgotten that his speed far surpassed that of ordinary people. In his mind, Zhong Lichun should have been following right behind him, so he had no idea they had gotten separated. Carrying Wei Dengke on his back, Mo Li ran forward like a madman, not even daring to look back, afraid that if he did, he'd see the spiders getting closer.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Mo Li seemed to trip over a protruding stone on the ground and flew forward, landing heavily. Wei Dengke, whom he was carrying, was also thrown off and hit the cave wall.

The fall was no light matter. Mo Li got up from the ground, gritting his teeth, and instinctively looked behind him. At that moment, there were no spiders behind him. Confirming that the spiders weren't pursuing them, Mo Li breathed a sigh of relief. However, he soon realized something was wrong. Zhong Lichun hadn't followed them. What was going on? Where had that girl gone?

Realizing he had lost Zhong Lichun, Mo Li broke out in a cold sweat again. He didn't know what Zhong Lichun's situation was. Had she been caught by the spiders? If that were the case, Zhong Lichun would be in grave danger.

Just as Mo Li was worrying about Zhong Lichun, Wei Dengke's groan came from behind him: "Ow! What's going on? My head hurts so much!"

Hearing the sound, Mo Li quickly looked back and saw Wei Dengke sitting up, rubbing his head with his hand. It was clear that the impact from being thrown against the wall hadn't been light. However, thanks to that collision, Wei Dengke had finally woken up.

For Mo Li, Wei Dengke's awakening was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. Mo Li stood up from the ground, walked over to Wei Dengke, and asked, "You're finally awake. How do you feel now?"

"My head hurts a lot, like I've hit it," Wei Dengke replied, gritting his teeth as he looked at Mo Li.

"It's supposed to hurt. My head would hurt too if I hit a wall," Mo Li said, rolling his eyes at Wei Dengke's words before pouting.

"Where are we? I... Huh? Where's my pants?" Wei Dengke mumbled while rubbing his head and trying to stand up. But as he stood, he noticed something was wrong. Although he was wearing a jacket on his upper body, his lower body was bare-legged.

Seeing Wei Dengke's astonished expression, Mo Li quickly gave a simple explanation of what had happened. After hearing Mo Li's explanation, Wei Dengke's expression turned serious. This cave was too strange and fraught with danger. With Zhong Lichun's whereabouts unknown, their mission had clearly encountered its greatest crisis.

"Since you're awake, you wait here for me. I'm going back to find Zhong Lichun," Mo Li said when he saw Wei Dengke lost in thought. After speaking, he prepared to turn and head back the way they came.

"If my analysis is correct, the interior of this cave is likely complex and winding. You and the tomboy probably took a wrong turn. If we search randomly, we might get separated. I think it's best if we go back together to look," Wei Dengke said, shaking his head and offering his opinion.

Wei Dengke's guess was highly probable, so Mo Li didn't insist further. He nodded, and the two of them started walking back along their original path.

However, they didn't walk very fast, as the cave was full of hidden dangers. Who knew what trouble they might encounter? As they walked, both of them were extremely cautious. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any more danger on their way back.

Upon returning to the fork in the road, Mo Li's face showed a hint of surprise. In his panic while carrying Wei Dengke, he hadn't really noticed the fork in the road. This confirmed Wei Dengke's analysis: Zhong Lichun had definitely taken a different path.

There were only two paths here, so the two didn't think too much about it and directly chose the other path. This side path was narrower than the other, and the ceiling was also lower. However, it was wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. Considering that the spiders emitting green fluorescence had chased Zhong Lichun into this path, Mo Li and Wei Dengke heightened their alertness.

However, after walking a long distance into the cave, they didn't see a single spider. There were also no more skeletons on the cave walls. According to Wei Dengke's analysis, those fluorescent spiders likely had their own territory, and this was outside their territory. The spiders had probably retreated.

Hearing Wei Dengke's analysis, Mo Li's expression improved considerably. After all, the grotesque and eerie-looking spiders had left a huge psychological shadow on him.

But unlike Mo Li's relaxed expression, Wei Dengke's became much more solemn. Mo Li noticed Wei Dengke's unusual expression and asked for an explanation. Wei Dengke's answer completely shattered his previous relief. Wei Dengke said that since those spiders had such high aggression, their desire for territorial expansion should also be strong. Since those spiders didn't dare to enter this area, there could only be one possibility: this place must be very dangerous for those spiders.

What danger could scare away those fluorescent spiders? There was only one answer: there must be a natural predator of those spiders here. What kind of creature could frighten those social fluorescent spiders?

Thinking of the greater danger ahead, Mo Li and Wei Dengke couldn't help but feel a little panicked. However, they were two grown men, and they couldn't bring themselves to abandon Zhong Lichun and flee. So, they could only grit their teeth and continue exploring forward.

After walking about another three hundred meters forward, a terrified scream suddenly came from the depths of the cave. Judging by the sound, it was Zhong Lichun.

Hearing the scream, Wei Dengke and Mo Li exchanged a glance subconsciously. Then, they both nodded and accelerated towards the depths of the cave.

After running forward another twenty to thirty meters, the cave suddenly came to an end. They had been running in the dark. When they saw the cave wall at the end, they quickly stopped. Mo Li was running faster and was in front. But precisely because he was in front, he blocked Wei Dengke's view behind him. Wei Dengke didn't see the dead end ahead. By the time he realized Mo Li had stopped, it was too late to stop himself. As a result, Wei Dengke ran straight into Mo Li's back. The next moment, both of them fell, and what they didn't notice was that in front of them was not the ground, but a pit. The falling pair tumbled directly into this pit.

As they fell, both of them were terrified out of their wits. After all, neither of them knew how deep it was. If it was very deep, falling in their current posture would most likely result in them being smashed to death. Mo Li, while falling, even instinctively thought of the gruesome scene of his head hitting the ground and his brains splattering.