Chapter 8 Riddle 3

It’s hard for me to describe the feeling at that time. If I had to say it, then a more accurate description would be that when we were resting and discussing things just now, this black spot was just a black rock. But now, it was like I could see more things, more details.

When I could only see a black rock wall, it was just a formless mass with nothing strange about it. But now, it was like I could see the whole black spot spreading out in front of me. This kind of panoramic vision was actually an illusion—I think it was all in my head—but it produced a huge irresistible attraction.

None of us raised any rational doubts. Instead, we just picked up our equipment without saying anything to each other and began climbing towards that gap. The voice in the satellite phone reappeared after a while, disappeared, and then reappeared again but we just ignored it.

The gap was at the very center of the black spot, but I didn’t find it peculiar at all and just endured the pain in my wrist as I climbed up.

When we reached the opening and looked in, we found that the gap was actually very tall. It was at least several stories high and the black rock inside was the blackest color I had ever seen. As we pointed our flashlights inside, it almost seemed as if the darkness inside was spinning.

“Whatever happens here should surpass everything we’ve experienced before,” I said. But I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth. I couldn’t say for sure whether it would surpass Poker-Face’s experience behind the bronze door.

This was different from when I was walking down the underground river before. At that time, I had predicted that the end of the underground river should be an extremely magical place, a space that was inaccessible to humans. But I could still guess what would be there: a temple, an ancient tomb, an underground city where people lived, or unspeakable relics. Or maybe even a magnificent crystal quartzite cave.

But this time, I honestly didn’t know what I would see. I didn’t have any knowledge of this civilization to support my theories.

I looked back at the gap we had just entered and saw a lot of those black corpses looking at us from the top of the stone temple across the way. But they didn’t seem willing to approach this black spot at all.

Poker-Face walked further inside the gap, which was littered with gravel that made it very difficult to walk. I swept my flashlight over the black rocks and said to him, “Get behind me. This time, you’re the special one. Fatty and I will protect you.”

Poker-Face looked at me and then started carving a mark on the stone wall. That mark wasn’t for me but for the Zhang family.

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