Safety rope.
For explorers venturing into dangerous locations like mountains and caves, this is considered an essential piece of equipment.
However, in this bizarre, ever-changing cavern, the meaning of this safety rope required some careful consideration.
"There are three rules that mention a safety rope. One is at the Great Slide, one is at the Great Cliff, and another one passes through three areas: the Great Space, the Artery, and the Heart. The last of these ropes is already damaged and must not be gripped, especially when you are lost."
Gao Hai didn't touch the safety ropes nailed to the wall, merely crouching down to observe them carefully.
"So which area could we be in now? The Great Slide is a very, very long slope, right? This place doesn't seem like it. It's even less like the Great Cliff. So, are we inside the location called the Artery?"
Chika, who had crouched down with Gao Hai, asked with a hint of curiosity.
"But this safety rope doesn't look like it's damaged."
Gao Hai shook his head. Although it was just a cursory observation, he didn't think this secured rope could be described as "damaged."
"No, this rope is definitely damaged."
But at that moment, Chika shook her head, voicing her dissent with Gao Hai's idea.
"It's damaged?"
Gao Hai couldn't help but be taken aback, not quite understanding Chika's reasoning.
"Gao-kun, look closely. This safety rope is already fraying a bit. Many of the originally woven threads have broken, and the rope's color has clearly changed—some parts are dark, some are light. A safety rope with these changes is substandard; it's a damaged safety rope that can no longer be used."
"Ultimately, a safety rope is an explorer's lifeline. Before every expedition, explorers must inspect their safety ropes, covering everything from tension and swing tests to static checks. Every aspect must be covered, including any abnormal discoloration on the rope's surface."
"And this safety rope… hmm, I just took a look. Its original hook has been removed, and it's been knotted. Add in all this wear and tear, and by the standards of a 'safety rope,' this thing is absolutely a substandard, damaged item that would be tossed in the trash by any explorer. I have an elder who knows people who do extreme sports, so I know these things very clearly. I'm definitely right about this."
Chika Fujiwara very earnestly lectured Gao Hai at that moment.
Although, as she was explaining, Gao Hai had actually already recalled the knowledge about safety ropes Xusheng had imparted to him and realized the same thing.
I subconsciously thought about it from a layman's perspective on ropes. Perhaps just receiving the blessing of knowledge isn't enough. I'll need to read some related technical books in my spare time to constantly reinforce the skills Xusheng gave me.
"In that case, we'll follow this rope. We'll pick a direction and follow it all the way to the end."
After admonishing himself internally, Gao Hai stood up and made a decision.
"Eh? Eh? But according to the rule sheet, this rope should be very dangerous, right?"
Chika hadn't expected Gao Hai to make such a decision and immediately questioned him.
"Yes. The original text of Rule Twelve is: 'The safety rope installed in the artery connecting the Heart to the Great Space is damaged. Do not grip it while moving forward, especially when you are already lost.' This means that if we reach out and grab this rope, something bad will happen. And if we're in a state of being lost and not knowing where we are, grabbing the rope is even more dangerous. Unless the rulebook is using fake rules, this rope is extremely dangerous for us right now."
Gao Hai nodded lightly. He looked to both sides of the cave, along both directions of the rope, but couldn't see either end. Only then did he turn back to look at Chika, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"But, does this rule say anything like 'this safety rope will lead us to the wrong place'? It's dangerous, that's true. But it's also the only fixed 'coordinate' we can find in this place. By following this rope, we will definitely reach either the Great Space or the Heart."
The only question was what they would encounter on the way.
Gao Hai didn't say this last part out loud.
He just motioned for Chika Fujiwara to follow behind him, then randomly chose a direction and started moving forward.
"Hmm, I see. Analyzing the visible and invisible information from the text… right, just like a game, just like a game…"
Perhaps because she was still a little nervous, Chika Fujiwara muttered to herself for a while before quieting down and obediently following Gao Hai.
It had to be said, this Chika Fujiwara was quite different from the lively girl Gao Hai remembered. The willfulness and troublemaking from the original manga were completely absent in the girl behind him. On the contrary, she was obedient to the extreme; after her initial bout of confusion, she had been very well-behaved.
Perhaps this was just the multifaceted and complex nature of personality in different situations.
With that thought, Gao Hai noticed the path ahead was beginning to narrow again, so he bent down to proceed.
From 1.9 meters to 1.4 meters, the passage's height changed drastically over a distance of just ten meters.
Chika, who was around 1.5 meters tall, could continue forward with just a slight bend, but Gao Hai, at 1.8 meters, had to lean his body forward just to move normally.
"Hah…"
Gao Hai let out a deep breath and continued walking forward in the light of his headlamp.
The rock walls on both sides were gradually closing in.
This place was slowly getting narrower.
Clack—
Although Gao Hai was already bending over as much as possible, his helmet still lightly bumped against the cavern ceiling.
And further ahead, the cave was shrinking even more.
"Gao-kun… this place…"
Chika couldn't help but speak up from behind, already beginning to hesitate about whether to continue down this path.
Gao Hai didn't answer Chika immediately. Instead, he crouched down and slowly turned around.
In the cold light of their two headlamps illuminating each other, Gao Hai could see Chika's pale cheeks and slightly trembling body.
She was very nervous. In a cave that was growing increasingly narrow, dark, and with no end in sight, Chika Fujiwara, who had never truly faced danger, was showing her fearful and vulnerable side.
"If the cave ahead becomes so small that we have to crawl through it, and we absolutely can't turn around, we must stay quiet and stop talking to each other. Understood?"
Gao Hai placed his hand on Chika's shoulder and spoke to the girl earnestly.
"Mmm… understood."
Knowing that Gao Hai was referring to the two rules about narrow areas, the girl nodded firmly. Although her fear hadn't dissipated, she tried her best to calm her current state.
"Good. Whatever you do, don't grip the rope. If your body just bumps into it, it probably won't be a big deal, but absolutely do not grab it with your hands. Okay, let's keep going. We shouldn't linger in this passage."
Turning around, he once again faced the front of the cave.
Gao Hai took off his backpack, held it to his chest, and then began to move forward again.
The path ahead continued to shrink.
Gradually, it reached a point where Gao Hai had to crouch low to continue.
Moving forward in such a narrow cave, it was naturally impossible to avoid touching the safety rope. But after a few accidental contacts, Gao Hai had basically confirmed that the rope wouldn't trigger any anomaly from mere bodily contact.
He could still hear Chika's nervous breathing from behind.
She followed him closely, cautiously, like a little puppy.
Gao Hai still felt an urge to turn back and check on the girl, but the cave was already very narrow. At a height of less than a meter, with the rock walls nearly pressing against his shoulders, it would be extremely difficult for Gao Hai to turn around, so he gave up on the idea.
The smell of blood gradually started to emerge again.
Gao Hai noticed bloodstains appearing on the safety rope. From their shape, it looked as though someone with a bleeding hand had clutched the rope, causing it to be soaked in blood.
Dark red handprints began to appear on the rock walls, and bloody streaks stretched onward.
The bloodstains were fresh.
As if someone had just passed through here.
As if not long ago, an injured person had walked through here, leaving their trail behind.
Clack—
Gao Hai's helmet got stuck again.
It felt like he had hit a protruding rock, but not quite. The texture seemed slightly softer than stone.
"Hah…"
It was very quiet.
In this small cave, it was so quiet he could only hear his own breathing and heartbeat.
Gao Hai tilted his head slightly, trying to get past it.
Clack—
He hit the stone again.
The same texture as before.
So, holding the backpack with one hand, he raised the other to touch his helmet.
A cold and stiff sensation.
He had touched something that had grown cold and rigid.
"…"
He raised his head, looking above him.
He met the gaze of a pale boy's face, the whites of his eyes, devoid of eyeballs, filled with bloodshot veins.
He was lying on the ceiling of the cave, one hand on his chest, his fingers positioned just right to block Gao Hai's helmet.
[Grab the rope, walk out! Everyone, don't give up, we can definitely get out!]
[Keep up, don't fall behind, don't let go, hold on tight!]
[We will get out! All of us will definitely get out! We can all get out!]
It was as if he could hear such voices ringing out.
Gao Hai turned his head and looked at the boy's other hand.
A hand that was tightly gripping the safety rope, that had never let go.
He began to look further down the path.
He saw a dense line of hands stretching out, one after another, gripping that safety rope.
Gao Hai lowered his head, touched his knees to the ground, and in a near-prone, crawling position, continued to move forward, keeping his body low.
Clack—
A leather shoe bumped against his helmet.
Clack—
An outstretched finger bumped against his helmet.
Clack—
The teeth of a wide-open mouth bumped against his helmet.
Gao Hai didn't look up.
But he could hear their breathing.
The sound of those people—the ones gripping the rope, the ones moving forward step by step, the ones lying here—breathing slowly.
The breathing of the people lying above his head, one body after another, paving this entire passage.
Just like normal, like something anyone could do, a soft inhale, and a soft exhale.
Clack—Clack—
Gao Hai just kept moving forward in silence.
He reached out.
Pushed aside a broken leg blocking his way.
Didn't look at the white maggots crawling out of the nose of a girl by the wall.
Bent down to avoid two people piled on top of each other, a mangled mess of flesh and blood.
It was too cramped. He couldn't avoid them completely. Half an eyeball and some black, sesame-paste-like rotten flesh got stuck to his helmet.
"Why are there so many people here? Did none of them manage to escape…?"
Chika whispered from behind him.
"Sorry, I'm just too nervous. Gao-kun, you don't have to answer me."
"I feel like this is going to give me nightmares… ahaha, though I don't even know if I'll survive."
"Is Kaguya really in this game too? Is she okay dealing with things like this? She's actually not very brave…"
As if trying to dispel her fear, the girl behind him took a few deep breaths and quickly became rather talkative.
"With so many people trapped here, their final obsession must have been to leave this place, right?"
"Compared to them, are we really special in any way?"
"Is saying that too pessimistic… It's just, I really can't be optimistic at a time like this, ahaha…"
He could sense the dejection in her tone.
A cute girl like her acting so frightened was very capable of sparking a man's desire to protect and show off.
But at this moment, Gao Hai really didn't have the mental energy to chat with her.
He just lowered his head even further, passing by one corpse after another lying above him, heading deeper into the cave.
[Why am I in this place?]
A line of dark red, bloody words passed by Gao Hai.
[So dark, so narrow, so crowded, where is this place?]
[Have to escape, must escape]
[I am not a tourist, I'm not a tourist, I]
More bloody writings were discovered.
Accompanied by the sound of what seemed like whispering.
Gao Hai crawled forward another stretch.
He just kept his eyes fixed on the path ahead, on the still narrow and pitch-black tunnel before him.
"Those voices… they aren't following us, are they?"
"Or is it that the direction we're heading is the same direction those voices are heading?"
Chika's voice from behind grew increasingly tense.
But Gao Hai simply continued to crawl forward in silence, focused.
Hah…
He could hear his own breathing becoming more rapid as his stamina drained.
How far had he gone? How long had it been?
There was no way to be sure of the answer.
In this godforsaken place, cut off from the sky, a person simply couldn't maintain an accurate sense of time.
If that's the case, what about the instance's time limit? Although 15 days sounded generous, he had no way of knowing how much time had passed in the cave.
The question flashed through his mind without affecting his current state.
Gao Hai continued to crawl forward.
And just then, a cry of distress sounded from behind him.
"Gao-kun, I—I think I'm stuck…"
He heard the sound of a difficult struggle.
"Gao-kun?"
In the girl's trembling voice, Gao Hai had already crawled another short distance forward.
"W-wait, Gao-kun, I'm stuck, Gao-kun…"
She didn't dare to cry out loudly, seemingly worried the sound would attract something else. She could only speak to Gao Hai pitifully.
But Gao Hai just continued to crawl forward, crawling past the narrow section before him, towards a wide area that had finally appeared ahead.
His breathing seemed to grow much heavier at that moment.
The rock walls on either side, the corpses above his head—at this moment, they all seemed to press in closer, as if to crush him flat inside the cave.
But it was also at this time that a pair of hands reached out from the front, grabbing his shoulders and yanking him forcefully forward.
"…"
It seemed like a sound had risen from behind him, only to quickly disappear.
Clutching his backpack, Gao Hai sat up from the ground and saw Chika Fujiwara sitting in front of him, looking a bit grimy.
"I-I'm an explorer. I'm Chika Fujiwara. I'm going to explore the Heart and then leave Red Nut Gray Hole."
Before Gao Hai could speak, Chika was already staring at him nervously and spoke first.
"I am an explorer. I am Gao Hai. I am going to explore the Heart and then leave Red Nut Gray Hole. When did you get here?"
Gao Hai let out a quiet sigh of relief as he spoke, glancing back at the tunnel he had just crawled out of. It was completely empty, with no one inside.
"About… two or three minutes ago? You weren't coming out, Gao-kun, I was worried for so long."
Chika patted her chest, which was slightly constricted by the protective suit, and her tone relaxed as she answered Gao Hai.
"Is that so?"
Gao Hai nodded lightly, and without another word, he stood up and looked around at the enormous cavern dotted with many stone pillars.
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