Encounter in the Mine

"This is the place. I heard they left behind quite a few machines when they evacuated."

"If we're lucky, the steam engine inside might not be damaged."

"It's the age of Magic Energy now, and those people still want to collect steam engines. I really don't know what they're thinking."

"What do you know? If the upper class played the same game as you, would they still be considered upper class?"

"As long as I can exchange it for money, why worry about everything else?"

A group of five people were standing at the entrance of the mine, looking inside.

They were the "gold prospectors" in the mines, after the steam revolution became popular and Magic Energy.

The steam engine gradually disappeared.

Therefore, things that can be powered by steam engines have become scarce and are things that the upper class likes to play with.

In the abandoned mine shafts, there are remnants of steam engines.

The five men turned on their searchlights and walked into the pitch-black mine, which resembled an abyss.

In the empty mine shaft, their footsteps carried far and wide, echoing back in multiple layers.

Just like there are many other people walking here.

The rock walls here gleam with a dark, cold light, as if forged from darkness itself, swallowing up all light.

Without strong light, the illumination range of a searchlight is very limited.

However, scattered pieces of red ore, remnants from the original excavation, are embedded in this black rock wall.

These minerals emitted a faint red glow in the darkness, a very soft glow that could penetrate the darkness and form concentric halos.

They look like countless red eyes, constantly watching you in the darkness.

But it also tells them that they are not in a darkness that swallows everything, but in a mine.

The atmosphere here is so suffocating it's almost driving you crazy.

The five people all took a deep breath, and one of them spoke up to ease the tension:

"Hey, have you heard? It seems like a few gold prospectors like us have gone missing recently."

"It seems there is such a thing, but it's normal. This line of work isn't without risks. Who knows, the mine might collapse, and we wouldn't be able to get out."

Someone thought for a moment and said, "It seems like either the mine collapsed or they've gone missing."

"Damn it, can't you guys say something auspicious?"

Just as they were talking, they suddenly heard a rustling sound at their feet.

A huge shadow was cast on the ground by the light.

Its menacing appearance makes it look like one of those terrifying, Eldritch Beings creatures.

All five of them were startled, their bodies trembling. "What... thing!"

"It's a rat! Damn it, it scared me to death!"

Everyone looked at the owner of that shadow, which was a giant rat nearly thirty centimeters long. Not only was it huge, but its head was also like a paste, with its facial features all fused together.

"Damn it, how can there be such a huge, deformed rat here?"

Someone drew a long knife from his waist and cleaved the rat in two with a single stroke.

They were used to deformed mice, but they had rarely seen one this big.

The five relaxed, breathed a sigh of relief, and continued on their way.

Along the way, we encountered many more mutated mice, but we ignored them.

Not long after they walked away, someone sniffed the air.

"Can you smell that? It smells like something disgusting and rotten."

"Hoo~ Did I? I didn't feel anything."

"Yeah?"

Ignoring it, they continued walking forward.

But they hadn't gone far when the man's ears twitched, and he asked uncertainly:

"Hey you guys, did you hear that? It sounds like a mouse squeaking."

No, are you having mental problems?

"Besides, isn't it normal to have rats here?"

"No... it's... it's a dense, incessant sound, I... I'm not sure, it seems to have disappeared..."

"Don't overreact. In your current state, you could easily be sent to Arkham Asylum. That's no place for a human being."

"I'm sorry, I was probably just feeling too stressed."

Someone patted him on the shoulder. "Don't be nervous. Look, there's more and more ore on the surrounding rock walls, which means we're about to officially enter the tunnel."

"Before entering the tunnel, there will definitely be an enlarged space to house the conveyor machinery; that steam engine will be ours then."

They looked around at the red aura emanating from them, which seemed to completely envelop them.

That feeling was even worse.

However, considering the money he could make by getting the steam engine out there, the man nodded.

As we continued forward, the space ahead grew larger and larger, with signs of mining visible all around.

Soon, they arrived at a passage shaped like a gourd's mouth.

The space in front is used to house the teleportation machinery.

A hint of joy finally appeared on the faces of the five of them.

Upon entering the space ahead, there was indeed a huge, rusty machine placed there.

Next, all they need to do is verify the steam engine's condition; if it's usable, they can take it.

If not, just wait to go back and get the tools.

The main purpose this time is to get a clear understanding of this area.

Everyone immediately began checking the steam engine for any problems.

However, the person who had been so startled earlier smelled a putrid stench again here.

He looked around suspiciously. There was no red light emanating from here, indicating that there were no exposed minerals.

The darkness, like the air, enveloped them and impaired their senses.

The searchlight's range was only about five meters; he shone it in all directions, but couldn't reach the rock face at all.

"Guys, the excavated space here seems quite large."

Someone said irritably, "So what if it's big? Why are you so concerned? Come over here and lend a hand to open this lid."

However, instead of going over to lend a hand, the person adjusted the searchlight above their head to high beam mode.

Although it consumed a lot of Magic Energy, he wanted to see just how big this place was.

The radiant light gradually brightened, converging into a beam that pierced through the overwhelming darkness and illuminated the rock walls.

However, the moment the light hit him, the man froze, a look of panic crossing his face.

"What... what... what are all these?!"

The others looked up, some of them about to angrily berate the man for not doing his job and what he was doing there.

My gaze unconsciously followed the converging beam of light.

Upon seeing this, their anger vanished instantly, replaced by fear.

On the dark, cold rock wall within the range of the strong light, there were numerous holes of various sizes.

In the afterglow of the light, there were still many holes that were only half or partially visible.

They all turned on their searchlights and shone them in different places.

Without exception, every place that was irradiated had holes of varying sizes.

The smaller ones are about the size of a fist, while the larger ones are big enough for a person to crawl on.

It was riddled with holes, just like a beehive, and no one knew where these holes led.

Someone spoke tremblingly, "I... I said, this doesn't look like it was mined by humans..."

He swallowed hard. "It doesn't seem to have formed naturally either. What exactly happened here?"

"I don't know, this place seems... a bit Eldritch Beings, should we leave first?"

As he spoke, the man turned his head, trying to get a clear look at his surroundings.

However, just as he finished speaking, he quickly turned his head and swept past a rock wall.

In a daze, I saw something reflecting light in those holes of all sizes.

Subconsciously, I turned my head back and stared in that direction.

Upon seeing this, his face turned deathly pale, and he spoke in a trembling voice filled with fear:

"Old... rat!"

So many rats!!!

The others looked over and saw that the holes, large and small, were filled with swarms of deformed rats of all sizes.

The reflection we saw when the searchlight swept past was the reflection from their eyes!

They were unaware that they were about to leave.

As the searchlight swept across the remaining rock walls, all the previously empty cave entrances, without exception, began to reflect a strange, piercing light under the illumination.

Rats, mutated rats, filled most of the burrows!

The rats jumped out of their burrows and swarmed towards the group of people like a tap that had been turned on.

And here, there are hundreds of faucets.

They panicked; most of these rats were much larger than they had ever seen before.

Moreover, there were reports of rats attacking humans during previous rat infestations.

What's more, there are only five of them now.

These mutated rats should be drowned.

The squeaking sounds around them were like a death knell, and the group prepared to run outside.

But as soon as they turned their heads, a large group of mutated rats huddled together, sweeping towards them like a tidal wave.

There was no way out; the mutated rats swarmed around them like a tide.

Their faces were extremely grim; how could there be so many deformed rats here?

However, at that moment, someone noticed that there were no rats in the holes in the surrounding walls that people could crawl through.

It wasn't exactly joy, just an instinctive drive to survive.

Someone immediately shouted, "Quick, it's passable there!"

Before he could finish speaking, he rushed over.

He plunged headfirst into the cave and scrambled inside.

He kicked away the rats that were biting his legs.

The others rushed over immediately, and three of them successfully fell into the cave.

The last person was running too fast and slipped on a giant rat.

The ground was already covered with mutated rats, and this one collapsed.

The surrounding rats completely overwhelmed it, and then only piercing, heart-wrenching screams echoed through the abandoned mine.

The remaining four humans, their faces pale and hearts pounding, scrambled inside with their heads down.

Moreover, the cave has many branches along the way.

These caves are like a giant maze.

They didn't care about anything else and just kept climbing haphazardly.

Fortunately, after they crawled for a while...

No rats were found.

But they didn't relax at all; instead, their expressions became even more grim.

In this dark and oppressive cave, where one can only crawl and not even adjust their posture.

They had forgotten which fork in the road they had taken to get here.

There is no turning back, only the unknown path forward.

Their emotions were on the verge of collapse.

But all they had to do was grit their teeth and continue groping their way forward in the unknown.