Lost in the Karst Cave

Ryan followed the fissure deeper underground.

The passage here differed from the straight corridors of the main examination area. It was a naturally formed underground karst cave, its stone walls rough and winding, marked by natural veins and pits.

When the dim light swept over them, moss-like plants could be seen growing on the walls, some faintly glowing a bluish-green.

He crouched and lightly touched one of the leaves with the tip of his knife.

Soft, damp, and carrying a faint vegetal scent.

"There are actually glowing plants." Ryan found that rather surprising.

Along the way, he occasionally heard faint rustling from within the cracks in the rocks.

He listened closely. It was neither wind nor water, but small creatures.

Several squirrel-sized beasts darted out of the crevices, skirting around rocks as they lowered their heads to gnaw at the moss or used their tiny claws to dig out buried insects.

Farther away, tiny glowing insects fluttered in swarms, gathering like specks of starlight on the stalactites overhead and draping the entire cave in a dreamlike veil.

Ryan moved forward slowly.

Although his shoulder wound tugged at his skin, it had mostly scabbed over. Only the occasional burning pain reminded him to move carefully.

As for water, he was not yet desperate to find it—in a short-term state of dehydration like this, what people felt more strongly was psychological pressure rather than mortal danger.

After a long trek and two encounters, the heavy exertion had made him sweat excessively. Ryan's lips were slightly dry and his throat felt a little rough, but he was nowhere near fully dehydrated.

Still, he would not allow that condition to continue.

Survival was a race won through preparation, not by stubbornly gambling on luck.

The cave gradually opened up.

He crossed a stretch of