Juno hadn’t expected Dan Lee to step up at the crucial moment.
Just moments ago when the tunnel collapsed, she felt everything was over.
Exactly how much strength did it take to pry and hold up a collapsing rock wall with a folding entrenching shovel?
Holly stared in shock for a long moment before speaking up.
“I take back what I said earlier.
You’re a real man.” Sam felt a flare of irritation toward Holly, thinking to herself that whether Dan Lee was a real man wasn’t for her to evaluate.
Dan Lee didn’t care about their opinions at all.
He wiggled out of Professor Beth’s embrace and said, “Professor Beth, you and Sarah need to calm down.
The most important thing right now is finding a way out.
The path ahead is completely blocked.” He knew Beth was just overwhelmed by emotion.
Sarah was still looking utterly shaken and terrified.
It wasn’t until Dan Lee pointed out the core problem that everyone realized the severity of their situation: the tunnel entrance had caved in and was completely blocked, which meant they were thoroughly trapped inside.
Rebecca spoke up at this moment.
“Everyone, stay calm.
According to the guidebook, this rock system should have three other exits.
We still have hope.” She intended to reassure everyone; with three potential exits, their chances of finding a way out were high.
Seeing that she could no longer hide the truth, Juno finally confessed.
“Rebecca…
the guidebook and maps are useless.” A bad feeling rose in Rebecca’s heart.
She demanded, “Juno, are you joking?” Juno’s face turned pale.
“I’m not joking.
The truth is, this isn’t Boreham Caverns.
It’s an uncharted underground cave system.” As soon as those words left her mouth, the expressions of the others turned to sheer panic.
Rebecca couldn’t help but lash out at Juno, demanding to know why she would do something so foolish.
“I’m sorry…
I just felt that exploring a cave system that was already fully mapped out lacked any real challenge, so…” Rebecca finally lost her temper and snapped, cursing Juno out.
Only an experienced athlete like her truly understood how dangerous an unknown subterranean cave could be—let alone now, with their exit blocked.
Look at Sarah and Beth; both were clearly terrified out of their wits.
Sam and Dan Lee were complete novices.
This meant all of them might be trapped and die in this pitch-black, sunless cavern.
The only person present who seemed somewhat excited was Holly.
She craved thrill and adrenaline in the first place, and this dire situation happened to fit her warped taste perfectly.
Taking advantage of their bickering, Dan Lee observed the surroundings.
He felt only one emotion: Suffocation.
Rock walls converged from all sides, further compressing their living space.
It was even darker and narrower here, infused with a foul, rancid odor, alongside faint sounds—like a mouse scurrying around.
After the argument subsided, the group chose to face their immediate problem: pick a passage to explore and see if there was a way out.
As the leader—and burdened by guilt—Juno naturally took the lead.
Dan Lee was assigned the second position, which served as an acknowledgment of his capabilities.
After experiencing the cave-in, Sarah was utterly unwilling to take the rear.
In the end, Rebecca took the initiative to bring up the rear.
Thus, the party squeezed into the narrow passage once more, pressing forward.
The deeper they went, the tighter the space became, and combined with the claustrophobic environment, novices like Sam and Holly lost their initial enthusiasm, replaced by a sense of impending asphyxiation.
Fortunately, the tight spot didn’t last too long.
The group soon reached an open cavern, but the path forward ended abruptly.
A bottomless chasm lay before them; the only way across was by rigging a traverse line.
This didn’t stump them.
They had spring-loaded camming devices and climbing gear in their packs.
Anchored with safety ropes, everyone could cross safely.
Rebecca accomplished this easily.
While setting up the safety line, she suddenly discovered an ancient piton embedded in the rock.
This meant an expedition team had reached this place long ago—but they had failed and never made it out.
As Dan Lee and the others crossed one by one, Juno, bringing up the rear, made a foolish mistake.
While retrieving the gear, an old piton snapped, causing a chorus of shrieks to echo through the chasm.
When Rebecca yanked on the rope, the friction tore the flesh on her hand into a bloody mess.
The screams and the sweet, metallic scent of fresh blood gradually attracted certain creatures lurking in the subterranean depths.
Dan Lee looked up.
A dark shadow seemed to flash past the opening of a cavern above.
He was certain it wasn’t a hallucination; something had indeed been drawn here.
He could have offered a warning, but considering the foolish women in the group, they would probably start screaming hysterically before even seeing it with their own eyes, so he didn’t bother mentioning it.
Having crossed the chasm, the path ahead became relatively smooth and wide.
The group arrived at a fork in the cave.
Several dark symbols were carved into the rock wall.
The markings indicated that this cavern system had two remaining exits.
This was the only piece of good news they had received so far.
Looking at the drawings, Dan Lee felt they looked less like exits and more like markings for a monster’s nest.
Juno pulled out a lighter and tested the air at both openings.
Seeing the flame flicker with oxygen and airflow, she was just about to scout ahead when Holly rushed in ahead of her.
Impulsive as always—except while she was thrilled initially, her movements were now driven by fear.
Unsurprisingly, her rush led straight to disaster.
A painful shriek rang out from inside, sounding as though her leg had snapped.
Juno and Sarah rushed in to rescue her.
Meanwhile, a Ghost Card had quietly appeared in Dan Lee’s hand.
The Second Mutant.
Without hesitation, he chose to fuse with it.
His strength, senses, and vision multiplied instantly.
Only this feeling could offer Dan Lee a touch of security in this oppressive environment.
Juno and Sarah carried Holly out.
Holly had a broken leg.
Given their current situation, she couldn’t receive medical treatment, meaning the leg was effectively ruined.
Sarah was muttering incoherently, insisting she had seen a monster.
Juno adamantly maintained it was just a hallucination.
Hearing this, Sarah almost went mad.
“Believe me, it wasn’t a hallucination!
That thing looked like a person!
It wasn’t wearing clothes, its skin was pale greenish-black, and it had fangs in its mouth!” With the team’s morale already hanging by a thread, two were injured and one was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Sam, who had the lowest tolerance for horror, hid in Dan Lee’s arms, bursting into tears.
Nobody had expected a fun expedition to turn out like this.
If Sarah kept rambling like this, even if there wasn’t a monster, everyone would go mad believing there was.
Just as Juno was about to shut Sarah up, Dan Lee spoke.
“I believe you.” Everyone turned to look at Dan Lee.
Sarah looked at him as if grabbing a lifesaver.
That feeling of validation was something none of the others could understand.
As the first person to see the monster, no one wanted it to be a hallucination more than Sarah.
But it wasn’t a hallucination!
It was real!
Dan Lee’s expression remained calm.
“Because I just saw it too.” The cavern suddenly fell dead silent.
If this was real, then not only did they have to find a way out, but they also had to constantly guard against a non-human creature.
The most terrifying part was that nobody knew what kind of creature it was.
Just as the team was on the verge of total collapse…
Dan Lee unslung his backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out several cold, sleek “great equalizers”—firearms equipped with infrared sights and extended magazines.
Since he was already here, how could he not come prepared?