Lynn ran to the fork, chose left, ran again, and chose left again.
He didn’t know if these paths he chose were right, but running anywhere was still running, so he just strictly picked the left.
The voices of the cultists behind him followed like shadows: “Chase him!
He can’t run far!” He turned into an even narrower passage, one that was tighter than all the previous ones, the stone walls on both sides practically pressing against his shoulders.
He squeezed forward sideways, his clothes getting torn and his skin scraped raw and burning with pain.
He felt like he was squirming through a stone intestinal tract.
It hurt a lot, but he wanted to laugh.
Because this passage was simply too narrow.
He had won his bet!!!
Those cultists were huge; he could barely squeeze through, which meant those cultists couldn’t squeeze in at all.
Pain is pain, but once it’s over, it’s fine.
He had already been hit by the cultists three or four times; each time hurt so much he bared his teeth, but each time he recovered as if nothing had happened.
Once you get used to it, enduring it wasn’t a big deal.
A youthful male college student fears no hardship!
Hearing the curses and the sound of fabric tearing against the stone walls from behind him, Lynn actually felt a trace of schadenfreude bubbling up in his heart.
He turned back to arrogantly provoke them: “Come over here if you have the guts, you bastards!!!” The cultists were so furious they roared in anger, but they just couldn’t catch up.
Lynn continued squeezing forward, and the angry roars of the cultists gradually faded, until finally, he could barely hear them at all.
The passage ahead slowly widened again.
Lynn squeezed out from the other end of the passage and looked back.
The foremost cultist was stuck halfway, his burly body wedged in the stone crevice, unable to move forward or back, left only able to rage helplessly.
Lynn chuckled, turned his head, and fled from the other side.
After circling around for a long time and finally being unable to hear any sounds from behind, he leaned against a stone wall, slid down to the ground, and panted heavily.
He really had escaped.
He had truly escaped the cultists’ encirclement.
Awesome.
With Thirty Days in hand, as long as he had a breath left, he could still live——!!!!
[You shook them off.] “You sure?” Lynn puffed and panted heavily.
[At least currently, no footsteps can be heard.
Your hearing is more sensitive than your vision; after staying in a silent, dark environment for too long, your hearing naturally enhances.] Awesome!!!
But there was one thing he really couldn’t hold out against anymore: “System Bro, let me ask you something, can I rest for a while?” The system said, [You can.
But you have to make sure this place is safe first.] Lynn resiliently climbed up and roughly searched his surrounding environment.
The space he was in wasn’t large, about two to three hundred square meters.
The floor was smooth stone, with no gravel, no puddles, and no traces left by cultists.
The air was stagnant but not smelly, indicating no one had been here for a long time.
He could sleep.
Great!
“System, I want to ask you a favor.
Can you help keep watch while I sleep and wake me up if someone comes?” The system was sometimes quite easy to talk to: [I can.] “Really?
My System is so generous!” The system silently accepted this flattery: [No need for flattery.
Providing danger warnings within my capabilities falls under normal system duties.] With the danger temporarily lifted, Lynn could no longer withstand the day’s intense nerve-wracking stress.
He found a sheltered corner, curled up into a ball, closed his eyes, and his consciousness went offline.
He was simply too tired.
The moment he closed his eyes, he plummeted into a deep, dark slumber.
…
** …
Luckily, he didn’t dream, and nothing unexpected happened.
Lynn woke up with a sore waist and an aching back.
When he woke up, it was still quiet around him.
The system said, [Awake?
Aren’t you going to rest a bit more?
You only slept for four hours.] “Four hours?” Lynn’s voice was very hoarse; he cleared his throat, but it had little effect.
“I…
cough cough…
I slept for four hours?” [Your body needs rest.
High-speed recovery is not omnipotent; recovering stamina takes time.] Lynn touched his legs; truly, sob sob, they didn’t feel like his own anymore, and his arms were sore too.
His muscles felt like a wrung-out towel; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t squeeze any strength out of them.
“What should I do now?” Where are the subsequent quest guidelines?
Are there any system quests issued?
But the system said, [You are playing a survival game, not an RPG.
Please decide for yourself, host.
But pretty much, it’s about finding an exit.
You are still in this underground cave system.
This cave is very large, much larger than you think; the cultists’ camp is just a very small part of it.] Cave system.
Indeed.
Judging from the distance he ran and the direction of the passages, this cave was very likely a complete underground world, with massive natural cavern clusters, traces of artificial excavation, as well as water sources and an ecosystem.
Speaking of water sources, Lynn licked his lips; he was incredibly thirsty.
He had found an underground river earlier and wanted to go over to it, but he was interrupted by the cultists.
After running all day, he needed water and food.
Also, he certainly couldn’t survive in this underground cave forever; otherwise, he would turn into Gollum from The Lord of the Rings and lose his sanity.
He had to find an exit.
There must be an exit.
The cultists’ supplies couldn’t appear out of thin air; they needed to get materials from the outside.
Finding their route in and out of the cave would lead him to the exit.
Lynn took a deep breath and stood up, leaning against the stone wall.
His legs shook a bit, but at least he stood firm.
He just reached out, holding the stone wall, and shuffled forward step by step.
When you can’t see anything else, your other senses become sharper.
It’s a strange feeling.
He heard the sound of water drops falling in the distance, heard his own footsteps echoing in the passage, and he could hear—wind.
Wind.
Air flowing, passing through.
Lynn stopped.
“System Bro, did you hear that?” [I heard it.
The sound of air flowing.] “Where is the wind coming from?” [The passage on the left.] Lynn felt the stone wall and turned left.
Indeed, the air on the left was fresher than before.
He had walked for a long time, and the muscle soreness wasn’t insurmountable.
Once he got used to it, it was fine.
At first, he walked like a disabled person, holding onto the stone wall, but later he didn’t need to hold onto the wall anymore and moved freely.
Lynn hopped a little; humans really are highly adaptable creatures.
He now had 30 Days to keep him from dying, but he couldn’t fight; he could only wait for backup or run away.
He needed to find some capable teammates as soon as possible.
Whether there were any normal people here was another story.
It was more likely he had to leave here first before finding teammates.
He still had to find the exit first.
[The wind ahead is stronger.] Lynn quickened his pace.
The further he walked, the more he noticed traces of human passages, until eventually, it completely turned into a human-excavated corridor.
It was an artificial hallway, paved with stone bricks, smooth stone walls, with a support frame and oil lamp every few steps.
The hallway was very long, so long the end couldn’t be seen, leading to somewhere he completely didn’t know.
Lynn stood at the entrance of the passage, stunned for quite a while.
“System, what is this place?” [I don’t know.
But judging from the architectural style, it’s not Chaos.
Chaos things wouldn’t use such neat stone bricks; they prefer bones and flesh.] “Then whose is it?
The Imperium’s?” [It is uncertain.
But it shouldn’t be the cultists’ lair.
Go in and take a look.] Lynn walked forward along the passage.
He felt as if he had returned to the civilized world, as if from another era.
Even though he was just at home yesterday.
This single day felt like he had been reincarnated again.
…
At the end of the passage, he saw a door.
It was metallic, thick, and large.
There were patterns on the surface, feeling like some kind of relief sculpture.
When the flashlight’s beam hit it, he could faintly make out carvings of humans, eagles, gears, skulls, and some messy vines, leaves, and branches.
It was a very obvious Imperial style.
These were complete human traces.
This was Imperial architecture.
Light seeped through the crack of the door.
Unlike the dark red light of the torches held by the cultists, this was real, bright natural light.
Lynn placed his hand on the door and gave it a push.
The door didn’t move.
He pushed again.
It still didn’t move.
It couldn’t be locked, right?
Lynn’s mentality was about to break down again.
[…You might need to pull.] “…Could’ve said that sooner.” He grabbed the huge iron ring on the door handle, leaned his whole body back, and pulled with all the strength he had.
The door creaked open with a heavy thud, as if awakening from a deep sleep.
Light poured into the darkness through the crack, stinging his eyes.
He had been in the dark for too long; suddenly seeing light, his vision turned completely white, and he was unable to see anything clearly.
Lynn shielded the light with his hand and waited for quite a while before his vision slowly recovered.
And then came an uncultured sigh: “Whoa——” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Thaniel_a_goodch Please remember to vote!
Thaniel_a_goodchild.