I try to think from a different perspective. If I were the “dull oil bottle,” knowing that someone would come to find me in ten years, what preparations would I make? I would leave hints in all the possible places someone could enter here. “To meet my friend, please walk this way, but be careful of slipping.”
If Fatty and Little Flower entered from somewhere else, they might also come across these hints. Why is it on this wall? Chen Pi Ah Si is facing this wall; he should have a fixed route of activity. Why does he move along a fixed path? What drives him?
— Often, there are causes and effects. This statement carries a lot of weight. —
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashes through my mind. I pick up the copper wire and look at the key; the dark green gem behind the key reminds me of the color of the bronze door. The key keeps turning, then stops, slowly pointing in a certain direction. I turn the key again; it spins and stops, still pointing in that direction.
So this is how it works. My heart races, and I dare not put my underwear back on, leaving it on the ground. I pull the meteor hammer and diving suit from the pile of stones and wash them clean by the water’s edge. I put them on, but the oxygen lamp is almost useless, illuminating only a few centimeters. I hang it around my neck, then holding the key, I start to walk forward in the direction the key points.
Before me is pitch black. I take a few steps and touch the rocks in front of me, beginning to climb up. I can’t see anything. After climbing to the top, I worry about dropping the key, so I tie the copper wire around my finger. With my other hand, I feel around in front, behind, left, and right, crawling forward bit by bit through the rubble.
After several hours of climbing, exhausted, my hands and feet are damaged, and I’ve almost lost the sense of touch. At this moment, I finally step onto flat ground. The ground is rough. For the first time, I cannot fully restore the surrounding environment. Perhaps this is a tomb with a bluestone floor, or maybe it’s the divine path inside a royal tomb, or the riverbed of a moat. However, when I reach out with my hand, I can’t touch anything.
I walk step by step in the darkness, as if someone is holding my hand. The oxygen lamp goes out again, and no matter how I try to turn it on, it won’t light up. In the darkness, my other senses start to come into play. First, I hear more sounds; the surroundings seem very empty, with no wind, but there are various sounds in the distance—water sounds? Rain sounds? I can’t tell. Then, all my instincts disappear—my sense of direction, my sense of time. I can’t feel myself moving, nor can I feel the passage of time.
I don’t know how long I’ve been walking in the dark. It seems like only a few seconds, yet it feels like I’ve been walking for several days. This effectively proves that intuition is just a rapid response of subtle senses; its emergence requires a perfect combination of vision, hearing, smell, and the experiences stored in the brain.
My hands repeat the same actions; my feet, all sensations are concentrated in my toes. Plan B. I try hard to recall the various possibilities we discussed when I came here with Fatty and the others. Fatty has watched too many American movies and keeps talking about Plan B, Plan C. Unfortunately, his pronunciation of “B” just sounds wrong.
The place where Fatty and I parted is not far from here. Based on Fatty’s experience, he should find this place faster than Little Flower. If Fatty and I get separated, how did we agree to meet?
There are two indicators. One is a signal flare; if we are in the same open area, the heavyset person will shoot off a signal flare. We promise to regroup before taking any further action. The other is sound; if both parties lose their equipment, they must whistle a rhythmic sound at regular intervals. I can use my fingers or a string to produce a very sharp whistle, but to make it travel far, I still need something that can produce high-frequency whistles.
I stopped, crouched down, and started to feel around beside me. At first, I didn’t move in the direction of the key; I began searching the area, hoping to find something useful. After taking a couple of steps to the side, I felt a human foot standing in the darkness.
I withdrew my hand, drenched in cold sweat, every hair on my body standing on end. I unconsciously reached out again, and I felt another foot. Damn, I thought, there are people standing all around in this darkness.
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