The “Muffled Oil Bottle” behaved differently than before; he seemed a bit strange, hardly moving, leaning in the corner, turning his head to look at me and saying lightly, “I have no impression, but I know that this is just the beginning.”

In the incredibly eerie atmosphere, the Fatty and the Muffled Oil Bottle recounted to me what they had experienced. I had expected to hear a very complex story, but to my surprise, they described it in an exceedingly simple manner.

After I left, their actions were about what I expected; they began to salvage using the simple equipment brought by A-Guai. The bones found on the rocks were discovered among the branches of a dead tree. It was speculated that due to the siphon tide, the larger bodies had become lodged in the branches, while the equipment thrown into the water ended up elsewhere, hence getting caught on that fence.

The last time they went underwater before going missing, Fatty was the first. He was already prepared to surface when he saw something flash briefly in the beam of his flashlight, seemingly some kind of metal.

Since they had gone underwater to salvage something, he was naturally drawn to it immediately. But when he swam over, he found nothing there, only some large rocks. His helmet’s oxygen was nearly depleted, and he couldn’t examine the gaps in the rocks closely. Assuming the flash was from a small piece of metal or glass, he didn’t think much of it and prepared to surface.

At that moment, he suddenly felt “something bite him,” and a wave of numbness instantly spread through his hand and then his entire body within seconds. He thought to himself that it was bad and wanted to rush to the surface, but it was too late; he passed out the next instant. When he woke up, he was already lying in this cave.

The Muffled Oil Bottle’s situation was slightly more complicated than his, but not by much. He had gone down to look for Fatty, so he entered the water in a hurry. After being in the water for a short time, he suddenly felt something was off. He wanted to turn back, but it was too late. Underwater, even though he was skilled, his abilities were still limited.

His exact words were: “I felt something move behind me. It was too late to turn around. When I woke up, I found myself in this place.”

I thought it was strange; how could such a thing happen? To suddenly lose consciousness and then wake up in another place seemed like something out of a science fiction story. Was this the inside of a UFO?

Looking again at the stone cave, all around were rocks. If it were a UFO, it was from the Stone Age. I felt things were becoming increasingly unreliable. Damn it! Fatty and the Muffled Oil Bottle had been “bitten” by something and lost consciousness. If they had been poisoned by some creature, they should have drowned, yet they ended up in this place. It looked less like a mysterious phenomenon and more like something man-made; someone must have drugged them and moved them here.

But if it was man-made, how could we explain our current situation? This was a completely enclosed cave; who could have penetrated the rocks to stuff us inside? Liu Qian?

Fatty pondered the situation at that time, still filled with doubt. “I can’t figure it out. My vision was fine underwater. After I was stabbed, I was still conscious for a short while before passing out. I immediately looked around, but there was nothing.”

“Maybe it’s some kind of bug or fish, small enough that once it sticks to your back, you wouldn’t even notice it. Do you have any wounds on you?” I asked. It didn’t make sense to feel pain for no reason, and if something had stung him, there would definitely be marks.

“I checked as soon as I woke up, and there are no marks at all.” The fat guy showed me the spot where he was supposedly stung, and indeed, there was nothing. “I really don’t think it’s a bug. Think about it, even the little brother got hit—what kind of bug would dare to bite him?” I clicked my tongue; this was too bizarre, it didn’t make sense! All the events were illogical, completely unlike anything a ‘human’ could do. Was the lake god toying with us?

The fat guy continued to explain that the only way in and out was through a crack about the size of a wrist at the top of the cave. That salamander was discovered from there. A lot of seepage was coming from that crack, and for the past two weeks, they had basically eaten nothing, surviving only on water. He had lost about six kilograms, and his skin was sagging. To avoid exhausting themselves, they mostly sat still.

On the other side outside, there were some wooden frames left over from previous excavations that could be used for firewood. They only burned a little each day, and luckily, oxygen wasn’t a problem.

When I suddenly appeared before, they thought I had seen the marks on the salamander and had come over, knowing how to get in and out. Little did they know, I didn’t even know how I got in, which left the fat guy feeling disappointed.

I took a deep breath, recalling something, and asked, “Since you guys suddenly fainted, why did you think I would follow the siphon tide? How did you think following the water flow would lead me here?”

The fat guy replied, “It was the sound. I don’t know where this place is, but I know it must be near the siphon tide’s opening because at night, the seepage outside contracts in a regular pattern, and the sound is very distinct, almost like breathing. Only when you’re very close to the siphon tide would there be such a significant sound. If you discovered the salamander and were led near the siphon tide’s opening, you might find the crack that leads here.”

I couldn’t help but curse inwardly; so that’s how it was—too idealistic!

The fat guy’s theory had no basis, and it turned out that following the siphon tide was a dead end. But since I hadn’t died, I didn’t want to complain any further.

After hearing all this, I stood up shakily. Although I absolutely believed the fat guy, the strong urge inside me still made me want to see this cave for myself, to closely examine the stones.

The fat guy sighed and shook his head, saying, “Don’t waste your energy. Come on, think about it—damn it, I’ve been stuck here with the little brother for two weeks. What have we been able to do in these two weeks? At first, I didn’t believe it either. I thought there might be a secret passage, so I kept looking, searching little by little. Do you know what it feels like to look at a stone a thousand times? By the end, I felt like I was going to vomit, but there was just nothing.”

His expression was one of deep anguish, and I could imagine the kind of feeling he was experiencing. But without seeing it for myself, I felt an emptiness inside, so I decided to ignore him.

Struggling to climb along the rock wall, I took a thorough look around. The fat guy was absolutely right; the rock wall was indeed a solid mass, with only the slightest natural cracks that were too small for even a knife to fit into. The largest crack was at the top of the outer cave, but it was only as wide as an arm, with a continuous flow of water cascading down from above, creating numerous puddles of varying sizes on the ground, which then trickled down through the gaps in the rocks below.

Where could this cave be located? Could it be near the spot where I nearly drowned? Looking at these chisel marks, they were quite similar to the rock traces I saw in the well below, indicating they were definitely made by the same group of craftsmen.

So, we must be in the rock layers beneath the lake. I’m not a geology expert; I only know a bit about mechanics, and I have no concept of anything beyond that.

When I struck the rocks, they emitted a dull sound, suggesting that there couldn’t possibly be a secret passage here. Moreover, if there were a secret passage, the fat guy, who was here earlier, would have discovered it by now.

I went over to inspect the pile of objects nearby. Earlier, I noticed what seemed to be a few stone mill-like items in the corner. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be cast iron furnaces, still containing iron slag, and next to them was a sturdy shelf filled with a large number of tools.

Additionally, there was a clay statue, about the height of a beer bottle, depicting Guan Yu and other deities I had never seen before, perhaps representing the gods of a minority ethnic group.

I attempted to move it, but whether it was due to my complete lack of strength or its weight, it wouldn’t budge. The fat guy mentioned that he had already tried moving it, and that there was no passage beneath.

Returning to the fat guy, I finally confirmed that he was right. Although I had believed him before, this certainty came from deep within me. A sense of anxiety began to rise within me, a natural reaction to being in a confined space.