He quickly woke up from his brief coma.
The reason for waking up could be suffocation caused by water accumulation, or severe pain like a broken leg. But no matter what, he didn't die in such a bad place.
Because his vision was too dark, Zhou Yu couldn't even tell whether his face was facing up or down. It wasn't until the rain from above the cave hit his face that he had the most basic sense of space. The flashlight disappeared in the fall and was probably scrapped due to water damage.
He held on to the cave wall, stood up awkwardly, took a few deep breaths and began to confirm the situation he was in.
The water at the bottom of the cave is almost up to your chest, and there is no sign that it will stop rising anytime soon. The space was small when he fell, and there was no chance to take a buffering position. The legs that hit the ground first obviously suffered the most damage, but they did not lose their mobility. There is no obvious feeling of blood loss, but it may also be caused by excessive body temperature and sensory paralysis.
The biggest threats now are the rapid depletion of physical strength due to hypothermia and the gradually rising water. Now that the rope has fallen off, if he can't find help, he will be trapped in the middle of the cave even if he can still crawl.
Thinking of asking for help, he reached into his shirt pocket under his coat.
When he arrived, because of the heavy rain, he didn't have time to think carefully, so he just put the phone into his shirt pocket to avoid getting splashed by the rain. What was an unintentional move at the time has now become a life-saving straw.
Fortunately, the hard metal square plate was not lost in the previous bumps and was still lying deep in the pocket. Probably because of the fall into the water just now, the surface of the phone was inevitably wet.
Zhou Yu opened the screen with trembling fingers. Perhaps because of hypothermia or because of the water marks on the screen, it took him several attempts to unlock the sliding screen lock. During the ten seconds when the phone screen was shaking randomly, he almost thought that the only rescue tool had been damaged by water. Fortunately, the phone that is turned on normally still has one-fifth of the battery and one bar of signal left.
He raised his head and thought drowsily for a while, then opened the call log and dialed back the number he called recently.
The melody of "Canon" similar to the one on Zhang Mumu's mobile phone came from the receiver, but it was the version played by the violin. After almost half a minute, the call was finally connected.
"Hello? Classmate Zhou?"
Chen Wei's voice came from the other side. It seemed that he had indeed saved Zhou Yu's number.
"...You picked up too slowly."
Zhou Yu said with eyes closed. The speaker of the mobile phone had been filled with water, and the cave echoed with his breathing and the sound of flowing water. Only by concentrating all his energy could he hear Chen Wei's words clearly.
"You should also pay attention to the time. Normal people would not get up at this hour. Anyway, what do you want from me? Have you heard any strange stories again?"
"Do you have a climbing rope or something?"
As if he didn't understand what he meant, Chen Wei asked: "What did you say?"
"I just fell into a deep hole with a lot of rainwater and the water is rising. I need a rope to get out."
"...Are you kidding me?"
"Do you think my tone sounds similar?"
After Zhou Yu said this, he started breathing heavily again uncontrollably. He didn't know if this was an hallucination caused by the pain in his leg, or if the oxygen at the bottom of the cave had indeed become thinner.
Finally realizing the seriousness of the situation, Chen Wei immediately asked: "Where are you?"
Zhou Yu reported the address of the factory. Chen Wei, who lives in the east of the city, is obviously not very familiar with this area. He checked every word carefully and then said: "I will find a way to rush over immediately. How is your physical condition? Were you injured when you fell into the hole? ?"
"The calf may have a slight bone fracture, but it can still move."
"Do you want me to call the ambulance and the police?"
"No need, just bring the rope."
"I understand, then just hold on a little longer. I'll leave right away."
Chen Wei finished this sentence at a rare speaking speed, and then hung up the communication. That no-nonsense attitude almost made Zhou Yu look at him with admiration.
After successfully sending out a cry for help, he relaxed slightly and leaned against the cave wall to wait blankly. The constant sound of water rushing in the darkness was really depressing, so he quickly turned on his phone again and looked at his surroundings to maintain his sanity.
The landscape at the bottom of the cave cannot be said to be pleasing to the eye, it is just a chaotic and dirty mud puddle. If there is anything special about it, it is that although the size of the bottom of the cave is narrow, it is a coincidence that it can accommodate an average-sized person squatting there. Taking into account the openness at the entrance and the narrowness of the bottom, the entire cave is shaped like a trumpet. Zhou Yu could never figure out how this hole was formed naturally, or what the person who made the hole planned to do with it.
It would have been ideal to use it as a burial pit, but it turned out that there was nothing that looked like bones underneath, and digging so deep was completely unnecessary.
While thinking in a daze, he suddenly felt that his situation seemed familiar.
When and where did he jump down from the entrance of the cave?
...Ah, it was in a dream. It was the dream of dancing skeletons that led him to find the red leaves for the first time.
If the scene in the dream was the reality deep in the cave, at least it wouldn't be as disappointing as it is now.
...It would be nice if I could get a reminder from those skeletons every time I jump down this hole.
The water level continued to rise, the pain in his feet gradually diminished, and his thoughts became cloudy.
At this moment, a skeleton suddenly fell from the top of the cave.
To be precise, it was just a palm-sized skeleton model that emitted green fluorescence. It floated in the air until it landed in front of Zhou Yu.
The skeleton grinned and smiled strangely at Zhou Yu. Will-o'-the-wisps burned from the holes in its head, emitting a misty, ever-changing green light.
Zhou Yu narrowed his eyes slightly. He saw a chain hanging from the skull's neck. The chain swayed, and it danced with it.
That gesture was undoubtedly an invitation. So without much thought, Zhou Yu reached out and grabbed the chain hanging around the skull's neck.
Crash, crash.
The sound of chain links colliding came from above. The slender but solid chains slowly pulled him up from the deep cave.
He grasped the chain with his left hand and inserted his right hand into his pocket, quietly waiting for the moment to rise to the ground.
An eerie and harsh singing voice came from the cave roof, which was still far away.
“That day the old king came to the garden.
He asked the attendant to call the little prince.
He asked the little prince, where is the queen?
He asked the little prince, but the prince refused to answer.
The prince said nothing and dropped his thumb.
The prince shook his head and dropped his index finger.
The prince closed his eyes and dropped his middle finger.
The prince closed his mouth and dropped his ring;
The prince screamed loudly, but his little finger was gone! "
The chain keeps rising. Like the night owl's chattering song, it became clearer and louder.
"Then the little prince returned to the garden.
He used a knife and an ax to chop off the old man's head.
He took the finger bones and made five swords.
What is the thumb called? The first is betrayal.
What is the index finger called? The second is called revenge.
What is the middle finger called? The third is called lies.
What is the ring finger called? The fourth is called curse and punishment.
What is the name of the little finger? It’s called death in the end! "
In this song, the chain rose to the top of the cave.
Zhou Yu let go of his hand and stepped on solid ground.
In the abandoned warehouse, there were three other people standing besides him.
The person twisting the chain with his arms was a strong man nearly two meters tall with muscles as strong as iron. The person holding the skull with both hands was a girl so skinny that she had almost no flesh and blood, with only skin attached to the bones.
Then, the third person, the one who sang the evil song, bowed to Zhou Yu.
"Good morning, little girl. You don't seem to have 'Revenge' with you."
The short fat man known as Ferris said with a grin like a vixen. He pretended to hold his chest with his hands. The five skull rings were still dazzlingly pale in the dark night.
