After testing the cave for oxygen.
Juno took out the safety rope from her backpack, secured it in one place, and then connected the safety buckle.
"Gear up and prepare to descend."
"Juno, I'll go down with you."
Rebecca had just put down her backpack when she saw Juno preparing to descend, so she said.
Juno shook her head: "NO, since I am the leader and I brought you all here, I should be the first to go down."
While the two were talking.
The others also got ready.
John, carrying a small bag, stretched a bit, preparing to go in light.
Everyone watched Juno slowly slide down, hanging on the safety rope, disappearing into the dark cave entrance.
Soon after, a voice came from below.
"Clear!"
Only then did everyone else, one by one, attach their safety ropes and begin to descend.
John and Sam were the last to descend; he took one last look around, thinking, "Tsk, this is a good place to bury a body."
"Hey, Jhon, come down quickly."
Sam called out, and only then did John follow the safety rope, stepping on the rock wall, slowly sliding down to the bottom of the cave.
As they descended, the view also widened.
The underground of this cave was clearly a world of its own, at least five times larger than the entrance.
John was the last to reach the bottom and unfasten his safety rope; he looked up, and the sunlight from the cave entrance shone in, a magnificent sight.
No light could be seen from above, but it could be seen from below.
Juno looked at the sunlight from the cave entrance and believed it was a sign from God, that this expedition would definitely be safe and sound.
The few of them each surveyed the situation of the rock cave.
Sarah looked around and was suddenly drawn to a rock, or more precisely, a bloody handprint on the rock.
This was a dangerous sign.
Perhaps fearing to spoil everyone's mood, Sarah did not mention it.
Just as Sarah was about to step forward to investigate further, a swarm of bats suddenly flew out, densely packed, heading towards the cave entrance.
Sarah, whose nerves were already highly strung, was so startled that she instantly screamed loudly.
Juno rushed forward to comfort her upon seeing this.
Holly, still holding a camera, was watching the commotion, counting the number of bats as if the more the merrier; this woman was truly annoying.
John glanced down, and a phantom card appeared in his hand; he wasn't sure what kind of monster was down here, but he felt it shouldn't be too strong, right?
"Traces of containment object · Wendigo detected."
Wendigo?
John was quite familiar with this creature; for a period, he had extensively studied various horror legends, and this creature happened to be among them.
The Wendigo is a legendary man-eating monster, with its origins in the legends of the Algonquian tribes of America and Canada.
It is generally believed to be a human gradually possessed by an evil spirit, a man-eating monster with monstrous features; they will resort to cannibalism when facing danger.
It is rumored that after consuming a certain amount, they will transform into a Bloodthirst man-eating demon—the incarnation of a Wendigo.
It just seemed a bit weak in cinematic depictions.
Perhaps the evolution was incomplete.
But setting that aside, its origin certainly seemed a bit more intimidating than a Deformed Cannibal.
Especially in such a confined and dark environment.
Human fear will be infinitely amplified.
Even John, despite being calm and brave, couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive, yet also excited, as the more evil and terrifying a creature was, the more secure he would feel once it became his containment object.
After Sarah's mood calmed down.
Juno led everyone to an opening nestled within the rock crevices; this was the only way to continue downwards, and it could only accommodate 1.5 people at a time.
Juno turned on the light on her safety helmet and immediately went down the hole to scout ahead.
John was still the last to descend; he looked at the bloody handprint on the rock wall and then at the pitch-black cave entrance.
This place was simply a paradise for claustrophobics.
John no longer hesitated and followed into the dark tunnel; because he had paid to upgrade his equipment, the large light on his head was very bright, enough to see the path ahead clearly.
The width of the tunnel was just enough for his arms to stretch out.
John followed the team, moving down little by little; ten minutes later, the space in front of them finally opened up.
If there was still some light earlier because the cave entrance was close, then after delving into the tunnel within the rock crevices and reaching the chaotic cave ahead, it was completely pitch black.
Juno, seeing that everyone had caught up, pulled out a flare from her backpack and threw it out.
The red flare fell from above, briefly illuminating the dark cave; a huge rock cavern appeared before everyone's eyes.
For a moment, everyone was a little excited.
Now this is an adventure!
Everyone started to split up to investigate.
With just one flare, it was difficult for the human eye to clearly see the surrounding environment.
John, with his enhanced vision, could see clearly; this cave was not only damp and dark, but the rocks also seemed to be covered with some unknown secretion.
It was very similar to stalactites dripping, but even more disgusting.
"John, look, there's a puddle here!" Sam was curious about everything; for her first adventure, everything was new.
Sam even wanted to reach out and touch the pool of water recessed in the rock.
John grabbed Sam's hand and said, "Stay behind Beth and don't run around or touch things randomly."
Sam grumbled, "Oh, got it."
Beth found this scene somewhat amusing; she had originally thought John would also act like a child, but now it seemed he was much more mature than Sam.
Juno and Rebecca argued for a while in front of a cave entrance; it seemed Juno won and led everyone into this narrow and dark inner cave.
Just as Juno was about to go in, Holly acted quickly and slipped into the cave before Juno.
"Holly, can't you change your competitive nature?" Juno said helplessly.
"Juno, if you're too timid, let me scout ahead."
Holly's voice came from inside the cave.
Juno had no choice but to lead the others to follow.
This time, John was in the fourth position.
This cave was even narrower; even tiny Sam had difficulty squeezing through, let alone John, a big man, who almost scraped the entrance as he squeezed in.
As he crawled, he suddenly found himself stuck.
Without hesitation, John chose to merge with the Deformed Cannibal Boss's phantom card; the increase in strength allowed him to instantly break free and quickly crawl forward, crawling out to meet up with Juno and the other two.
Tragically, another person got stuck behind, it was Sarah, who was at the very back; Beth, who had already crawled out, crawled back along the cave entrance.
Perhaps because of John's forceful struggle just now, the cave suddenly began to shake, abruptly looking as if it was about to collapse.
Juno and Sam both became anxious.
John, however, unhurriedly took out the folding entrenching tool from his backpack, gripped the shovel with both hands, and precariously propped up the falling boulder, allowing Beth and Sarah to safely crawl out at the last moment.
Beth was a good person; he was a human, not an animal, so if he could save her easily, he would. Besides, the more people there were in this ghostly place, the safer it would be.
It was still the same saying: if there was real danger to life, he didn't need to outrun the monster, just outrun his teammates.
The first thing Beth did after crawling out was to hug John, pressing his head into her ample bosom.
" thank you!"
John: ⊙_⊙
He felt a little suffocated.
...