In an instant, I was terrified half to death. However, before I could react, the vines on our bodies yanked us, and the two of us spun in the air before falling into the water like a dog rolling in the mud. I was disoriented from the fall; when I hit the water, it felt like being slapped hard with a hot water bag filled to the brim. Luckily, the water was icy cold; otherwise, I would have definitely passed out from the shock.

After flailing for a bit, I resurfaced and quickly looked for the fat guy. I thought to myself that this was bad. This muddy swamp was the place with the densest dark energy; the fat guy was already in such a state, and after falling like that, if he drank any more water here, he would be doomed. Plus, I still had no idea what that shadow was earlier; if it was some kind of swamp monster, even I would be in trouble.

I was bound by the vines, making it difficult to move freely. Even if the fat guy could hold on, I had no way to drag him back up to the tree. Moreover, although I didn’t know why I seemed unaffected by the dark energy in the tree, in this place with such a high concentration, it was questionable whether I could withstand it myself.

But when I poked my head above water, I suddenly realized something was wrong. The surface was covered with bubbles. First, the surrounding dark energy blocked most of the light, making visibility even lower than in fog. Second, the entire swamp was churning with muddy water, completely murky, and I couldn’t see the bottom at all; I had no idea where the fat guy was.

Listening carefully, all I could hear were the sounds of bubbles, nothing else. I could distinctly feel the water current had picked up significantly, and I was struggling to keep my balance. I found it strange; upon further reflection, I realized it wasn’t just the water current. The vines that had originally been wrapped around the branches were now being pulled downstream by the current, and all the tension was being exerted on the vines, dragging me along.

Anyone who has never swum in a natural river wouldn’t understand this feeling. Water is an incredibly heavy substance; even in slow currents, it’s very difficult to maintain your position. With such a strong force pulling me forward, I had already been swept several meters downstream while I was looking around.

At this point, I became even more anxious. I could no longer see my surroundings clearly, and there was definitely a well ahead. I had no idea how big it was, but if those branches were pulled into the well, the force could drag me down in an instant, and I wouldn’t have any strength to resist. Moreover, that beast-like ruin was not far away; this process certainly wouldn’t take long. At this moment, it wasn’t just about finding the fat guy or being cautious of that shadow; just staying alive would be a feat!

Thinking of this, I took a deep breath and plunged into the water to try to free myself from the vines. However, the vines were pulled so tight by the immense force that there was no way to untangle them. When I reached for my dagger, I realized I hadn’t brought it with me at all.

I thought to myself that it was over. Remembering that the fat guy always carried his weapon, I decided to look for him. I swam downstream and splashed into the water. He was also entangled in vines, so I went underwater to feel for him.

The underwater was all mud, and as I groped around, I could feel the bodies of the dead lying everywhere, hardly able to touch anything. However, the fat guy was large and definitely wouldn’t drift far from me. I fought against the water’s current with all my might and finally grasped another taut vine. As I held onto the vine and leaned closer, I suddenly saw a black shadow floating on the water’s surface about two or three meters ahead. It was hazy, and I couldn’t make out what it was.

A chill ran down my spine. Watching that shadow drift, I realized it was the underwater creature I had seen earlier, and I had a bad premonition. The end of the vine was right at that shadow. Could it be that the fat guy had already been eaten by it?

The water was only a little over two meters deep, but that black shadow protruded high above the surface, clearly not a fish. What could it be? As I tugged on the vine, hesitating over what to do, the shadow suddenly quivered, changed shape, and disappeared beneath the water. At that moment, the vine in my hand went slack.

I knew I was in trouble; it had discovered me. Just as I thought about turning around, a huge splash of mud and water erupted from the swamp, and I saw a pair of massive pincers darting toward my neck like lightning.

“Damn it!” I cursed loudly, wondering what kind of monster this was. But it was too close for me to evade. Just as the giant pincers were about to clamp down on my neck, I felt a sudden tightness around my waist. The vine yanked me away, and I narrowly dodged the attack. Just as I was about to thank God, I realized the force around my waist had become incredibly overpowering. When I turned to look, I found myself being pulled near some ruins, with a stone carving of a beast right behind me, its enormous mouth wide open, and the vine had fallen into its mouth, where I could hear the roar of rushing water.

I knew the branch that was pulling me had fallen into a well. I thought to myself, “God, are you playing tricks on me?” I immediately grabbed onto a rock to steady myself and shouted to brace my body, feeling as if my waist was about to snap. In that fleeting moment, water splashed behind me, and that creature was coming again. Panic surged through me, and my hand slipped off the rock. I went through the beast’s mouth, everything went dark, and I fell into the abyss.

In that instant, all the sounds around me disappeared. The mining lamp around my waist spun with my body, cutting through the surrounding darkness. I flipped in mid-air and saw the well walls, which were riddled with grooves from the rushing water, and the muddy water splashing around. However, the fall didn’t last long. My back collided with something, sending a shock through my body that nearly made me spit blood. Before I could recover, I felt emptiness behind me again, flipped over, and then my shoulder crashed into something else. The inside of the well wasn’t vertical; it seemed to have a slope, with smooth, rounded steps protruding from the water’s erosion. I rolled down uncontrollably.

After three or four tumbles, I was completely dizzy. When I finally landed in the water, I swallowed a mouthful of muddy water and struggled to break the surface. I found myself in a narrow well shaft, wrapped in an extremely rapid current, hurtling toward some unknown destination.

The surroundings were pitch black, and the narrowness was conveyed to me by the violent roar of the rushing water. I could touch the walls of the well shaft all around, but I couldn’t grasp anything. Fortunately, I had tied my miner’s lamp around my waist earlier. However, in such a strong current, any slight movement would completely throw me off course, even causing me to flip upside down in the chaotic waters bouncing back from the well walls. So, I dared not move recklessly and could only do my best to maintain my position.

Before long, I heard an even more intense sound of water coming from ahead, akin to the furious roar of a dragon, deafening and overwhelming. My heart sank as I thought, “Damn it, this must be another downhill.” But in the blink of an eye, I found myself falling into emptiness, tumbling head over heels for several times before realizing I had plunged into a void where the water flow had calmed, allowing me to control my body again.

I quickly took out my miner’s lamp and shone it around, discovering that I was in an underground reservoir. Huge columns of water cascaded down from the well shaft walls into the pool, reminiscent of a dam’s floodgate. Water splashed all around, and the noise was thunderous. Suddenly, I felt like a cockroach being flushed down a toilet, having been swept from the sewer into a septic tank.

After flailing about for a bit, I noticed that the water was still flowing slowly in one direction. I swam over, shining my flashlight, and saw a beast’s head on the wall of the well. The water continued to flow into its mouth, but this beast was different from the one above; it was clearly just a diversion reservoir designed to prevent erosion of the well walls. Surrounding the beast’s mouth were enormous, gnarled branches that nearly blocked it, remnants of years of debris washed down from the swamp outside.

A branch I was holding onto got stuck there, and something was hanging from it. I shone my light carefully and was astonished to find it was the fat guy; he had been swept down too.

After returning from Hainan, my swimming skills had improved dramatically, and I didn’t find it difficult to move in the water. I flailed a few times and swam towards the pile of dead branches, finally managing to climb onto the edge. There, I saw that the vines on the fat guy were tangled in the branches, preventing him from sinking underwater. The roaring sound of the water had diminished significantly, and I could finally hear things again.

I dove underwater from the branches and swam over to the fat guy. His face had turned completely blue, his breath was weak, and his pulse was nearly undetectable. I dove down again, grabbed his feet, and lifted them onto the dead branches, using my shoulder to push against his stomach. After a few pushes, he vomited a mouthful of muddy water, and then I used my elbow to massage his chest. The fat guy choked on the water and surprisingly started to react, coughing.

I felt a surge of joy; any reaction meant there was hope. I immediately pushed him again with all my strength, but after a few attempts, I had no energy left. I surfaced to catch my breath, realizing this approach wouldn’t work. If I didn’t perform artificial respiration, the fat guy would drown. I had to pull him entirely out of the water and lay him flat on the branches.

If I want the fat guy to get up, I have to go up first. I thought about starting to climb those piles of dry branches, but unfortunately, the branches at the edges didn’t have enough support. As soon as I stepped on them, they would sink completely into the water, and there was a risk of tipping over. If the branches tipped, the fat guy would be pushed into the water, which would mean I killed him. Besides, there were too many thorny branches here; any sudden movement would lead to getting pricked by thorns, causing me enough pain to bring tears to my eyes. The branches inside had already rotted and softened, making them incapable of bearing weight.

In those few minutes, I don’t know how many times I tried to climb, but every time I took two or three steps, the branches would break and slide down. I ultimately despaired, realizing that with my personal strength, I absolutely couldn’t climb up from this position. The pile of branches that looked as solid as a mountain was actually extremely fragile, unable to support anyone. In fact, there was less than half a meter to the surface of the water above, but that half meter felt like an insurmountable chasm—I couldn’t get over it no matter what.

This feeling of despair was overwhelming. If there had been a sheer cliff in front of me, that would have been one thing, but it was just these branches, and I suddenly felt like heaven was playing a trick on me.

I climbed a few more times, my hands were all scraped up, and I realized that brute force wouldn’t work. So, I supported the fat guy with his dagger, cutting through the vines, and tried to move the pile of branches aside, hoping to find an easier spot to climb on the rock wall, preferably somewhere I could grab onto.

There was no way to go upstream. I struggled to support the fat guy and maneuvered around the protruding branches that were as sharp as spikes. Suddenly, I saw a dry well opening on the rock wall on the other side. It seemed that something had blocked it, as no water was rushing out. Upon closer inspection, there were quite a few of these well openings, but they were all at a high position; only this one was reachable for me.

I was overjoyed and approached it, first setting the fat guy aside, then grabbing onto the crevices in the stones and climbing up. Halfway up, I realized there was a way out and couldn’t help but laugh, then gritted my teeth to push myself to make it in one go.

At that moment, the fat guy beside me suddenly moved and said, “There’s no time left!”

I was startled and turned to look, only to see the fat guy not moving at all, with no expression on his face. I was puzzled and rubbed my temples, thinking I was doomed and starting to hallucinate again. Suddenly, a clear human voice came from behind the fat guy, saying, “There’s no time left.”