Pain.
The intense suffocation from his blocked airway continued relentlessly.
But he couldn't die.
Under the excruciating agony, Gao Hai summoned the scalpel Obsession Item once more, struggling to focus his attention again.
His body's injuries were influenced by the anomaly's power; even wounds that should have been fatal wouldn't truly kill him. In this state, the only method Gao Hai could think of to break free was to destroy his own brain and completely sever his consciousness.
"Urgh... Ah..."
With utmost difficulty, he aimed the sharp scalpel at his forehead.
The next moment, Gao Hai released his grip, letting the razor-sharp blade fall toward him.
Squish—
Empowered by the anomaly's force, the blade effortlessly pierced Gao Hai's skull, stabbing into his brain. Thanks to the Obsession Item's ability to extend its attack range, though only a slit appeared on his forehead, his entire brain was thoroughly perforated, with a large hole blown open at the back of his head. Gao Hai could even feel some kind of liquid flowing out from the back of his skull.
Compared to the suffocation's torment, the pain of his brain being pierced was actually milder—almost unnoticeable.
But it seemed he still couldn't die.
This anomaly's power granted Gao Hai an extraordinary immortality. Even with his head blown open, he remained conscious, continuing to endure the searing pain of suffocation.
Damn, what the hell is this thing?
Gao Hai desperately wanted to curse, but with his airway blocked by blood, he couldn't speak. Still, he didn't give up. He pulled out a second scalpel and aimed it at his arm.
Since he couldn't die, he decided to test slicing open his own flesh to see if he could break free this way.
However, his upper arms were jammed immovably by the extremely narrow rock fissure, leaving only about three or four centimeters of space for his forearms to move—and barely side to side at that. Gao Hai tried several times, managing only to slice the skin at his elbow; he couldn't reach further down.
But this scalpel was incredibly sharp. If he dropped it, maybe it could shave off a chunk of flesh from his upper arm?
It sounded like a plan, but if this failed too, he'd truly be out of options.
Using the Blood Scissors? No, its range was even shorter than the scalpel's, and his goal was either escape or death. Even if he severed his arm with it, he couldn't flee—and missing a hand would only make operations harder.
Last shot, then?
Gao Hai hesitated no longer. He'd held the scalpel for a while now; under this anomaly's influence, delaying further might suppress its power entirely.
"Urgh... Hoo..."
Amid the intense suffocation, Gao Hai painstakingly adjusted the scalpel's angle. Though his eyes couldn't see in the darkness, he roughly aligned it and gently released it—blade down—letting it pierce his arm.
Under the extending agony, a large slab of flesh was neatly sliced from his upper arm.
Good, now it shouldn't be stuck... Then next...
Still couldn't move.
Gao Hai froze, trying his partially flayed arm again—still no give.
Silently, the rock walls had shifted, narrowing further without his notice, clamping his trimmed arm firmly once more.
He remained trapped in place, enduring the searing pain from wounds across his body and the suffocation of his blood-choked throat—still conscious, still alive, still immobile, still... unable to die.
Don't give up, don't give up.
Gao Hai silently chanted to himself.
1 hour, 5 hours, 24 hours...
Trapped in absolute darkness, Gao Hai had no sense of time.
To him, those 24 hours felt like a full year, his mind relentlessly eroded every moment by the immobile cavern and unrelenting agony.
36 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours...
Hunger and thirst began bringing intense discomfort.
Gao Hai's throat felt parched; the blood from his severed tongue had long dried, and the blood in his windpipe had crusted too, easing the suffocation somewhat. But in its place came a burning sensation as if his entire throat were aflame.
Gao Hai felt his body temperature rising gradually, every inch of skin and cell screaming in severe pain, generating intense heat.
His heartbeat accelerated.
Dizziness intensified, but he found he couldn't pass out anymore.
His stomach and intestines convulsed violently from lack of food.
"Urgh... Ah..."
Immobile.
Still utterly immobile.
In pitch blackness, only able to endure these torments without moving.
Drip—
Another viscous drop fell on Gao Hai's head.
It was the only sound he heard besides his own—aside from himself.
But now, lost in agony, Gao Hai could no longer pay it heed.
Day 10, day 12, day 15...
Delirious, Gao Hai couldn't gauge how long he'd been there.
His thoughts slowed, unable to reason normally anymore.
Again and again, he kept trying to break free, to suicide, to escape the endless dark.
But nothing changed.
Still trapped here, imprisoned in darkness.
"Urgh..."
Drip—
Dripping water mingled with labored breaths.
What else... can I do...
His increasingly disordered mind struggled to lift his head, gazing upward.
At the ever-silent, motionless corpse.
He didn't know if it would help, but with清醒 moments dwindling and no other options, Gao Hai tried everything possible.
He reached out.
Grasping the face of the thing above his head, then yanking its hair.
After a deep breath, he tugged hard, actually dragging it a short distance—a few centimeters at most—before it jammed too, stuck like him.
He touched its hand.
Extended forward, but clamped on the other side of the rock wall—shifted slightly by his pull.
Fumbling, Gao Hai felt something on its hand, yanking it off with slight force.
It seemed... like a ring.
In his hazy mind, something surfaced.
Andres.
Yes, this man's name was Andres.
He was a cheerful young man, newly married, his wife Hedal just confirmed pregnant. The family joyfully celebrated, and Andres thought of the somewhat famous Red Nut Gray Hole attraction.
Andres was an amateur explorer with certification. Plus, Red Nut Gray Hole was a low-difficulty cave ideal for beginners—fully mapped, no worries.
Of course, pregnant Hedal couldn't join, so Andres brought two friends, entering together for mutual support. After submitting their explorer certs, staff checked gear and gave reminders, the trio passed the Great Slide, heading deeper.
From the unique pulley elevator at the Great Cliff down to the bottom.
Next faced Red Nut Gray Hole's narrowest, most confining [Blood Vessel] area.
A cramped cave averaging under 45 cm high and wide; explorers crawled through this long narrow passage. Pros found it easy, but amateurs faced a real challenge—great sense of achievement upon success.
The sole issue: a fork in the [Blood Vessel] leading to a [dead end]. Explorers first reached a relatively open area, then proceeded to an extremely narrow, near-vertical downward section. Too tight even for children—absolute dead end, must not mistake it.
Andres saw no problem.
Though deep, the [dead end] had explorer warnings. Even if wrong, the sign would alert him—backtrack, no big deal.
Around 2 PM, he and friends entered Red Nut Gray Hole, nearing 4 PM at [Blood Vessel] entrance.
Legend held Red Nut Gray Hole as an Indian god's body; tribe youths passed [Blood Vessel] to [Artery] to [Heart] for adulthood rite, proving warrior status. Andres's group aimed for [Heart] to become "warriors"—their agreed goal.
Progress smooth at first.
[Blood Vessel] dark and tight, but trained Andres and friends advanced steadily.
This lasted until the fork, deciding which way.
Andres chose wrong.
Missing prior explorers' markers, he followed map memory to [dead end].
Reaching the slightly larger area in [dead end], Andres mistook it for [Turnaround Point]—park promo's Indian legend spot where cowards turned back—excitedly pressing on.
The warning sign that should have been there went undiscovered.
Thus, Andres entered [dead end]'s deepest narrow section.
Narrower with each advance.
In the dark passage without room to turn, Andres pushed forward.
Then hit a vertical downward path.
Too late realizing wrong.
Advancing too fast, Andres slid down, head-down jammed immovably.
Friends behind heard struggles, calls for help, tried rescue. Pulling a head-down person up in such narrow, curved cave proved extremely hard; despite efforts, couldn't budge Andres.
One friend backtracked for help; the other stayed with Andres, lest alone in dark something happened.
At that moment, time neared 4:30 PM.
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🎯 Reward for all: +1 bonus chapter at 50 Powerstones.
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 20 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
👻 Join the crew by searching Ms. Medusa on (P). You know the spot! 😉