The Two Became Separated

Mo Li had already forgotten that his speed far surpassed that of ordinary people. He had assumed that Zhong Lichun was following right behind him, so he had no idea that they had become separated. Carrying Wei Dengke on his back, Mo Li ran forward like a madman, not even daring to look back, because he was afraid that the moment he did, he would see those spiders drawing closer and closer.

He had no idea how long he had been running when Mo Li seemed to trip over a raised stone on the ground. His entire body went flying, and he crashed heavily onto the ground. Wei Dengke, who had been carried on his back, was flung out as well and slammed into the cavern wall.

The fall had been a nasty one. Mo Li climbed to his feet with a grimace, then instinctively glanced behind him. By then, there was not a single spider in sight. After confirming that the spiders had not followed, Mo Li let out a sigh of relief. However, he soon realized something was wrong. Zhong Lichun had not caught up. What... what was going on? Where had that girl gone?

Realizing that he had lost Zhong Lichun, Mo Li broke out in a cold sweat once again. He had no idea what condition Zhong Lichun was in. Had those spiders caught up with her? If so, Zhong Lichun would probably be in grave danger.

Just as Mo Li was worrying about Zhong Lichun, Wei Dengke's groan came from behind him. "Ow~! What in the world is going on? My head hurts so badly!"

Hearing this, Mo Li hurriedly turned around. Wei Dengke had already sat up and was rubbing his head. Clearly, the impact from being thrown against the wall had been severe. Still, thanks to that collision, Wei Dengke had finally woken up.

For Mo Li, Wei Dengke waking up was a blessing in disguise. Mo Li stood up from the ground, then walked over to Wei Dengke and asked, "You finally woke up. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts so badly. It feels like I hit my head." Wei Dengke glanced at Mo Li, then answered through a grimace.

"Of course your head hurts. Mine would hurt too if I slammed it into a wall." Mo Li rolled his eyes at Wei Dengke's words, then said with pursed lips.

"Where are we? I... huh? Where are my clothes?" Wei Dengke rubbed his head as he tried to stand. However, the moment he got up, he realized something was wrong. Although he was wearing a windbreaker on his upper body, his bare thighs were exposed below.

Seeing the astonished look on Wei Dengke's face, Mo Li hurriedly gave him a brief explanation of what had happened. After hearing it, Wei Dengke's expression turned serious. This cavern was far too strange and filled with danger. Now that Zhong Lichun's whereabouts were unknown, their mission had clearly encountered its greatest crisis yet.

"Since you're awake, stay here and wait for me. I'll go back and look for Zhong Lichun." Seeing Wei Dengke sink into thought without saying anything, Mo Li spoke up. Afterward, he turned around and prepared to head back the way they had come.

"If my analysis is correct, the inside of this cavern should be extremely complicated. You and Tomboy probably took different paths. If we keep searching blindly, we might get separated too. I think we should go back together." Wei Dengke shook his head and then voiced his opinion.

There was a good chance Wei Dengke's guess was correct. Mo Li did not insist and merely nodded. The two then followed the path they had come from.

However, they did not move quickly. After all, the cavern was crawling with danger. Who knew what trouble they might encounter next? The two remained extremely cautious along the way. Fortunately, they did not encounter any danger on their return.

When they arrived back at the fork in the road, a trace of astonishment appeared on Mo Li's face. Earlier, he had been carrying Wei Dengke and running blindly, so he had not noticed that there was a fork here. This confirmed that Wei Dengke's analysis was correct—Zhong Lichun had definitely taken a different path from him.

There were only two paths here, so the two did not spend much time considering their options before entering the other one. This branch of the cavern was narrower than the other, and its ceiling was much lower, but it was still wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Considering that the green-glowing spiders had chased Zhong Lichun inside, Mo Li and Wei Dengke both heightened their vigilance.

However, after walking a long way into the cavern, the two did not see a single spider. The skeletons had also disappeared from the cavern walls. According to Wei Dengke's analysis, those glowing spiders probably had territories of their own, and this place lay outside their territory. The spiders had likely retreated.

After hearing Wei Dengke's analysis, Mo Li's expression improved considerably. After all, those hideous and bizarre spiders had left him with a tremendous psychological scar.

Unlike Mo Li's relaxed expression, however, Wei Dengke's face had grown even more solemn. Mo Li noticed that something was wrong with his complexion and asked him about it. Wei Dengke's explanation instantly wiped away all of Mo Li's earlier relief. He said that since those spiders were so aggressive, their desire to expand their territory should be equally strong. Since they did not dare enter this place, there was only one possibility: this place had to be extremely dangerous to them.

What kind of danger could frighten those glowing spiders? There was only one answer: this place must be home to the spiders' natural enemy. What kind of existence could frighten those colony-dwelling glowing spiders?

At the thought that there might be an even greater danger ahead, Mo Li and Wei Dengke could not help feeling uneasy. However, they were both grown men. They truly could not bring themselves to abandon Zhong Lichun and flee on their own, so they could only brace themselves and continue exploring.

They had gone roughly another three hundred meters when a terrified scream suddenly echoed from deep within the cavern. Judging by the voice, it was actually Zhong Lichun.

Hearing the scream, Wei Dengke and Mo Li instinctively exchanged a glance. Then they nodded at the same time and sped toward the depths of the cavern.

After running another twenty or thirty meters, the cavern suddenly came to an end. The two had been running through the darkness, and when they saw the wall at the end, they hurriedly tried to stop. Mo Li had been running faster, so he was in front. However, precisely because he was ahead, he blocked Wei Dengke's view. Wei Dengke did not see the dead end ahead. By the time he realized that Mo Li had stopped, it was already too late to stop himself. He crashed directly into Mo Li's back, and the two fell to the ground. What they failed to notice was that there was no floor in front of them at all, but rather a pit. The two fell straight into it.

As they fell, both of them were scared out of their wits. After all, neither knew how deep the pit was. If it was deep, then falling in their current positions would very likely kill them on impact. As he plummeted, Mo Li even instinctively imagined the gruesome scene of his head striking the ground and his brains bursting out.