Chapter 257: Chapter 257

This was supposed to be a stuck mechanized floor tile, yet Jing Shu pried it open bit by bit with sheer force! The person who designed this mechanism probably never anticipated that someone would forcefully pry it open instead of using a switch.

Indeed, beneath it was a standard controller for opening and closing, with obvious seams! Jing Shu hammered down on it with the drill bit, and the seam slowly widened!

Due to the vigorous exertion, Jing Shu started to experience oxygen deprivation, and her consciousness began to blur. Nevertheless, she persisted. Every pore of her body yearned for fresh air. Breathing like a bellows, she relived the imminent approach of death from her previous life, which made her push even harder! And at that moment, she felt something unusual about the Magic Cube Space in her mind!

But Jing Shu didn’t have time to check on the Magic Cube Space.

Finally, with the two bodyguards also joining in to help, with a BANG, the mechanism’s panel was violently dismantled and fell.

The secret passage below opened!

Jing Shu inhaled deeply, feeling an unprecedented sense of well-being. Every pore in her body seemed to open up, bringing a dreamlike comfort, but her head still spun as if she were about to ascend to the heavens.

If she had to describe it, it was like having a 40-degree Celsius fever. Her feet felt like they were floating off the ground, walking made her feel like she was swirling, and people’s words sounded as if heard in a dream.

"Jing Shu? Jing Shu?"

"Let’s go; we’re heading down. Wang Chuan and Da Mao have already gone. Jing Shu? Are you feeling unwell? Don’t scare me," Su Malie said, shaking Jing Shu. Having just woken up, Su Malie felt no discomfort. Jing Shu, however, had been exercising vigorously under extreme oxygen deprivation, leading to hallucinations and auditory illusions. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on N0veI.Fiɾe.net

"Oh, okay." Jing Shu felt as if everything were a dream, not very real. She didn’t even know how she’d climbed down. She faintly remembered Su Malie yelling at her to hold onto the rope, so she grabbed it.

Jing Shu knew that continuing was no good; she had to save herself. So, she drank half a drop of undiluted spiritual spring water.

The anticipated intense hunger did not come. Although her head still spun violently, Jing Shu knew the effects of the Spiritual Spring must be working elsewhere. At this moment, her life was the most important thing.

"We must find the exit as soon as possible," Wang Chuan said. "We are now walking down a passage without an elevator. If an ’elevator’ were to come barreling down on us, we might all be done for here."

Two steel ropes in the passage suggested that the fat man must have ’taken the elevator’ down. Jing Shu was still in a delirious state. If she were lucid, she would have been extremely surprised to find several passages underground, hinting at a vast network with unknown destinations.

Jing Shu’s actions today were like chiseling open a firmly shut elevator door. But with no elevator inside, the group proceeded down, following the elevator’s hoist ropes, possibly reaching the third floor, or maybe the second.

"I’m just worried there might be another door at a different exit, and we’d need to break through it again," Wang Chuan said. "No matter what, we must find the exit. Da Mao, the first thing to do once we find an exit is to contact Mr. Su. If something happens later, I’ll cover our retreat."

"You still have Ermao and Sanmao to take care of at home; you’re the hope of your family."

The passage was long. Initially, there were two or three branches and turns, but without exception, each was sealed by a heavy-duty door with a locking mechanism that was impossible to open. After trying many methods in vain, the group had no choice but to continue forward.

Usually, at the end of such a passage, whether it was the top or bottom of an elevator shaft, one could climb out because it would just be a frame structure.

Jing Shu’s consciousness had not recovered. In fact, she didn’t even know if her condition was worsening, as she increasingly felt as if she were dreaming. The sensation was so surreal. She even discovered something terrifying – had she lost her sense of pain? She pinched herself hard but then forgot whether she actually had or not. Had she pinched herself... or not?

Jing Shu drank another drop of the spiritual spring water. But what exactly was happening to her body? Why was the Spiritual Spring, which was supposed to heal all ailments, having no effect on her? Jing Shu had always wondered what the thought process of a person in a vegetative state was like, and now she probably knew. It felt like her mind was clear, but when it came to performing any action, she just couldn’t do it.

Just a moment ago, Jing Shu had been overwhelmingly strong; now, she needed to rely on Su Malie to walk.

"Jing Shu, just hold on a little longer! Hold on, and as soon as we get out, I’ll find you a Doctor immediately!" Su Malie urged. Initially, she had thought Jing Shu was just lacking oxygen and would be fine after resting for a while. Even Wang Chuan had said it was a symptom of oxygen deprivation and had given Jing Shu a bottle of mineral water. But it seemed to be of no use, and Jing Shu’s condition was only getting worse!

"Jing Shu... Shushu... Shushu..."

It seemed to Jing Shu that someone was calling her, but every word sounded drawn out, and she couldn’t make them out clearly. Was her condition getting even worse?

"We’re almost there! We’ve almost reached the bottom!" Wang Chuan’s excited voice came through. "Be careful, that’s the thruster’s frame! Once we climb under that, we’ll reach the exit!"

However, just at that moment, a CREAKING sound came from behind them, followed by the rapid movement of the two nearby ropes. Although they couldn’t see the elevator, the moving ropes indicated that an elevator was rapidly hurtling towards them.

Wang Chuan’s voice reached them, and Su Malie, pulling Jing Shu, ran towards the lowest point, with Da Mao and Wang Chuan following close behind.

"Run another hundred meters! Run and then jump over!"

Jing Shu also started running. She ran instinctively, her pace surprisingly fast—even faster than Su Malie’s. In fact, she ended up leading Su Malie.

But with four people squeezed into the narrow passage, they couldn’t move very fast. Even though a hundred meters sounded close, it felt like an eternity spent running on the brink of death.

And does a normal elevator even move that fast? It felt terrifying, like a vertical lift plummeting from above! There wasn’t even the sensation of a steady speed, was there?!

The most critical point was that those two hoist ropes were moving way too fast. It was as if the Grim Reaper itself were chasing them!

The only spot of light in the entire passage was the exit!

Jing Shu was the first to leap out. Su Malie followed right after, jumping across. But at that very moment, the thruster elevator from above crashed down.

How fast does an object fall from a great height?

It’s so fast that by the time you realize it, it has already hit the ground. In less than two seconds, from sighting it to impact, it smashed down with a DEAFENING CRASH.

Da Mao leaped out right behind them. Immediately afterward, a HUGE BOOM resounded, so fast it was impossible to react even with the blink of an eye.