At this point, my third uncle let out a long sigh, pinched his brow, as if he didn’t want to talk about what happened next. Hearing this, I felt a cold sweat all over; with him stopping, I could finally catch my breath.

This situation was truly shocking; listening to it all made me feel a bit suffocated, especially when I heard about the discovery of a third person. It felt like I was listening to a storytelling session, realizing that things had developed in such a way. Who could this person be? I thought to myself. From their actions, this person was quite decisive. The oxygen tank valve couldn’t have been accidentally opened or loosened by itself; it must have been this person who did it. Moreover, it’s highly likely that they opened it while tailing my uncle inside, meaning the oxygen inside would be running low.

This underwater tomb was quite a distance from the surface, and without oxygen, my uncle and Jie Lianhuan would inevitably suffocate to death here. This person would return to the ship and wouldn’t mention anything about my uncle, ensuring that the ancient tomb would never be discovered. The people on the ship wouldn’t be able to find them, and it was naturally impossible to expect anyone from the ship to come to their rescue. This was a truly malicious scheme; it was clear that this person wanted my uncle and Jie Lianhuan to die inside.

Thinking about it this way, my uncle’s situation at that time was actually worse than ours; he was alone and had gone much deeper into the sea than we had. However, my uncle was now sitting in front of me, casually picking his feet and drinking tea, so it was obvious he had eventually found a way out, which meant I didn’t need to be too anxious.

Both of us steadied ourselves, and after a moment, my uncle continued to speak. At that time, seeing the situation, his mind immediately went blank. He rushed to tighten the gas valve, and after securing it, he felt a chill run through his entire body from fear.

In that moment, he thought he was done for; he was certain he would die, and in the way he feared the most—suffocating in a sealed ancient tomb. He regretted his carelessness and was filled with hatred. For my uncle, dying in the ancient tomb was one thing, but if he died due to a trap, it would be a matter of fate. However, being killed by someone else left him feeling greatly unwilling and frustrated.

He immediately checked the oxygen gauge. After seeing it, his teeth clenched tightly. His own oxygen tank, possibly due to the leak-proof feature of the valve, hadn’t completely emptied and still had about one-tenth of the oxygen left. Jie Lianhuan’s oxygen tank also had some left, but it was barely anything—just enough for three or four breaths before it would be gone.

This was likely because the gas had been released for a relatively short time; if it had been a few minutes later, there might have been several empty tanks. This amount of oxygen was almost as good as none. When they entered, my uncle had used half of his oxygen, while Jie Lianhuan had used a bit more than half. This amount of oxygen was far from enough to get them out.

Thinking of this, my uncle fell into despair. He looked around the pitch-black tomb room, and an overwhelming sense of fear washed over him. He thought, could it be that he would really suffocate to death here? The more he thought about it, the more afraid he became, and it was genuine fear, not just tension or anxiety. At that moment, he had a thought: he couldn’t die here; if he were to die, it should be somewhere else. In that instant, he almost considered jumping into the water entrance to drown himself.

However, Third Uncle is indeed a formidable character. His fear was quickly suppressed. He slapped himself and cursed his lack of ambition, then calmed down and began to think about what to do next.

When I, Fatty, and the Silent Oil Bottle were trapped, we had no oxygen at all, so we could only place our hopes on finding an oxygen tank. However, Third Uncle still had some oxygen at that time, and the amount was just awkwardly sufficient. Thus, all his thoughts were quickly drawn to this limited oxygen supply. He first began to consider whether this little bit of oxygen could possibly last until we got outside.

After calculating, he realized it was impossible because there was too little oxygen. Although he had been very careful and cautious when entering, moving slowly, if he could go out a bit faster, it would shorten the time significantly. However, he had used five portions of oxygen while coming in, and now he would need one portion to go out. This meant that the speed of exiting had to be five times faster than when he came in.

It took about thirty minutes to come in, so going out would take six minutes? He wasn’t a fish; how could he possibly do that?

Now Third Uncle felt a bit uneasy again. He immediately slapped himself again to shake off his fear and forced himself to think further.

Where could he reach in six minutes? Exiting from here would take about three minutes, so in six minutes, he could only reach the exit of the vast abyss, which was already the fastest speed possible.

Once he entered the abyss’s exit, it would take about ten minutes to get out, which means a half-hour journey. If luck was on his side, he might complete it in sixteen minutes. He looked at his watch; the tide was about to recede. By then, the entrance would be partially exposed above the water, and a bit of air would enter the cave. Thus, perhaps he could breathe some air before even reaching the entrance.

So, if he could hold his breath for another minute, he only needed to find ten more minutes’ worth of oxygen.

But where could he find this ten minutes of oxygen? There was absolutely no way here. Third Uncle scratched his head and reflexively looked around, hoping to see something that would inspire him.

But what could there be in an ancient tomb to inspire him? Would he discover a ceramic oxygen tank from the Ming or Qing Dynasty?

Thinking like this was essentially pointless. Third Uncle, frustrated, slapped the surface of the water at the entrance. At that moment, he saw his reflection in the dark seawater below. He adjusted his flashlight, and the reflection became clear. Suddenly, he realized he had found something that could provide him with ten minutes of oxygen.

Third Uncle had a sudden burst of inspiration; what he saw was the diving suit he was wearing.

But how could a diving suit serve as an oxygen tank? Third Uncle thought very cleverly. He tied up the sleeves and legs of the diving suit, then gathered the air inside by pulling it tight. After that, he tied up the neck, and the diving suit transformed into an airbag. He jumped into the water, untied one sleeve, and used it as an oxygen tube to breathe.

Once he submerged, he found it indeed worked. Damn it, he inhaled for about three to four minutes before he felt the air becoming murky.

There’s hope! He was overjoyed, immediately resurfacing, running to strip off the interlocking clothes and turning them into another airbag, then filling both air sacs with air. He thought to himself, “I’ve got ten minutes now!”

He couldn’t wait even for a moment, so he immediately dragged all his belongings and prepared to go into the water. My uncle’s personality was not one to hesitate or choose a conservative approach, so he didn’t hesitate at all at that moment.

However, even if the oxygen could last until he got outside, only one person could barely make it out. That person had to take two oxygen tanks, while the other person had to wait for him to come back. If that person died halfway, then no one would return. The psychological pressure was immense.

At that time, my uncle didn’t feel that it was such a serious matter. He thought to himself that the oxygen for Jie Lianhuan was already insufficient, and this was just making it worse. Moreover, he wasn’t in the mood to care about Jie Lianhuan; he had already entered a state of extreme excitement.

He placed Jie Lianhuan on the coffin platform, then used the waterproof bag he had just used to smash someone’s skull as a pillow to make him more comfortable. Then he returned to the entry point and jumped into the water without a second thought.

As my uncle expected, six minutes later, he had already entered the abyss. Surprisingly, there was still a little oxygen left.

At this moment, my uncle’s heart calmed down, and he couldn’t help but admire himself, thinking that if this couldn’t kill him, he would get back to the boat, and that bastard who had plotted against him wouldn’t scare him to death.

He struggled to drag the two large air bags behind him, which involuntarily helped him float upwards, saving him some effort. He relied on his memory to swim toward what he thought was the exit of the abyss. However, to his surprise, when he swam to what he believed was the entrance, he was stunned.

There was nothing there, just a patch of uneven coral reef.

Huh? He was puzzled and shone his light to the side, illuminating a lot of area, but he still couldn’t see any exit.

Suddenly, he felt a chill. Damn, things weren’t going as smoothly as he had thought; it seemed he had remembered the location of the entrance incorrectly! Feeling nervous, he broke out in a cold sweat and looked at the oxygen gauge, only to see that the reading had already dropped below zero.