Black Sky - Chapter 18

In the tunnel, there was only Fatty Qiu’s heavy breathing, and the sound of him and Bai Zi rapidly parting the stagnant water with their legs.

After walking for about ten minutes, Fatty Qiu stopped in front of a pile of sand and soil beside the tracks: “Damn it.”

He shone a flashlight on the top of his head, and saw that the cement wall at the top of the tunnel had cracked, and sand and soil were constantly sliding down.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Zi frowned.

Fatty Qiu walked closer to the pile of sand and soil, and shook his head: “There should be a door here. After entering for a dozen meters, you can reach the room where that woman is being held, but now, she should…be buried.”

Suddenly, a large pile of sand and soil slid down from the cracks above their heads, and Fatty Qiu ran five meters away in fright: “Sister, sh-should we just forget about it, let’s go back quickly…”

Bai Zi, however, walked to a fire escape door on the right side of the pile of sand and soil, and saw that the cement wall inside the door also had serious cracks, but hadn’t collapsed yet.

“This road doesn’t lead there.” Fatty Qiu shook his head.

Bai Zi, however, raised her hand, gesturing for Fatty Qiu to shut up.

Starting two minutes ago, Bai Zi had vaguely heard a slight tapping sound. The frequency wasn’t high, but it hadn’t stopped, and it was still ringing now.

After the two stood blankly in place for three or four seconds, Bai Zi asked: “Did you hear it?”

Fatty Qiu looked blank: “Huh?”

Bai Zi turned her head and walked into the door, which caused Fatty Qiu to panic: “Sister, this is probably about to collapse too, don’t go in!”

“You wait here.” Bai Zi threw down these words without even turning her head, preparing to continue walking inside.

Fatty Qiu, however, grabbed Bai Zi’s sleeve: “Miss Meng will kill me. You didn’t see it just now, she glared at me after handing you the gun. If anything happens to you, what will happen to me and my sister!”

Bai Zi was slightly stunned upon hearing these words—Meng Yilan glared at Fatty Qiu?

“Although we haven’t spent much time together,” Fatty Qiu said earnestly, “I can tell that the relationship between you two isn’t simple. To Miss Meng, you must be very important.”

The more Bai Zi listened, the more confused she became. What did he mean by “the relationship isn’t simple”? What did he mean by “very important”?

She had just wanted to refute, but then suddenly understood— ahh that’s right, to Meng Yilan, I am of course very important, I am a “goods” that could be used to rescue Lin Quwei, after all.

If anything happened to Bai Zi, Meng Yilan would likely lose the person most important to her.

“Don’t worry,” Bai Zi used a hidden force to pry open Fatty Qiu’s hand. “Nothing will happen to me.”

After she finished speaking, she turned her head and walked inside. Fatty Qiu wanted to catch up, but more sand and rocks fell from above his head, scaring him into retreating again and again. When he stood still again, he discovered that Bai Zi had long passed the corner inside the door, and was nowhere to be seen.

The tapping sound continued. Bai Zi walked quickly in the direction of the sound, and after about two or three minutes, she stopped in front of a wall that had a hole that had cracked open for the most part.

After listening carefully for about four or five seconds, Bai Zi could confirm that the tapping sound was coming from the crack in the wall.

Time was pressing, and without thinking, she raised her hand and randomly pawed at the cracks in the wall, and the sand and rocks on the wall suddenly rolled down like dominoes.

Inside the wall was a large amount of sand and soil that had accumulated due to the collapse. Bai Zi continued to dig inside with her bare hands, and before long, she touched a soft texture that was different from the soil. Looking closely, it was actually a hand.

Although it was covered in mud, Bai Zi could still see that the skin of this hand was fair and tender, the five fingers were slender, and the fingernails were coated with transparent nail polish. Moreover, there was an “ID watch” that Meng Yilan had mentioned on her wrist.

Bai Zi thought of the dot in the rift that she and Meng Yilan had detected in the zoo, and then estimated the distance and direction. She determined that this woman was the “target” that she and Meng Yilan had been looking for.

This “target” was indeed in the rift, but not because she had fallen from the cliff, but because she was trapped underground, making it impossible to move.

Suddenly, that hand seemed to sense something, and tightly grabbed Bai Zi’s wrist.

Then, the tapping sound, which had been orderly, suddenly became heavier, and the frequency became faster and faster.

This woman was still alive.

“Wait a moment, I’ll help you dig the hole open.” Bai Zi gently patted the other party’s wrist with her other hand. As if she had heard Bai Zi’s words, the hand that had been desperately grabbing Bai Zi released its grip.

The tapping sound also stopped.

Bai Zi looked around, and didn’t see any tools that could be used for digging. She looked up again, and discovered that there was a broken iron pipe on the ceiling not far away, constantly spraying water down.

After thinking for half a second, Bai Zi came to the iron pipe, stepped on the sand and soil with one foot, and after propping herself up, she stepped on the other foot on the other intact wall.

Then, she used her feet to prop up the two walls of the passage, and quickly climbed to the ceiling.

Although she was in a dangerous situation, Bai Zi couldn’t help but admire her nimble figure in her heart.

Back then, she was someone who couldn’t even do five sit-ups.

The water pouring down from the iron pipe had soaked Bai Zi’s entire body. She looked up, grabbed the pipe with both hands, and then pulled hard, and the iron pipe bent down a little.

At this time, the cracks in the ceiling deepened, and sand and rocks slid down. Bai Zi didn’t dare to delay any longer. She held the top of the water pipe tightly with both hands, and took the opportunity to raise her leg, hanging upside down and stepping hard on the middle of the iron pipe. In the next moment, the pipe was instantly broken.

Bai Zi, grabbing half of the iron pipe, fell onto the pile of sand and rocks.

Disregarding the pain in her back, Bai Zi stood up, and used the iron pipe to smash open the wall next to the crack, making the hole bigger. Then, she forcefully dug away the sand and soil, until she saw the woman’s shoulder.

Bai Zi held her breath, and accelerated the speed of digging with her bare hands. After a few tens of seconds, she could already see the woman’s upper body.

Bai Zi held her breath and accelerated the speed of digging with both hands.

Suddenly, sand and gravel rolled down rapidly, revealing a narrow little room.

All that could be seen was the woman’s lower body kneeling in the small room, not buried by the sand and gravel. Her other hand was holding a wooden stick, which she must have been using to constantly knock on the water pipes in the room, creating a sound for help.

Bai Zi grabbed the woman’s hands, pulled her out of the crack, and carried her to the waterlogged passage.

“You Yuyi?” Bai Zi called out uncertainly.

The eyes that had been closed slightly opened.

Soon, those somewhat dazed eyes became extremely clear. The woman casually looked around at her surroundings, and then stared intently at Bai Zi, who was squatting in front of her.

Bai Zi determined in her heart that yes, this was You Yuyi.

Although You Yuyi’s face was covered in mud, making it impossible to see her features clearly, Bai Zi felt for some reason that You Yuyi’s chestnut-colored eyes were like a leopard’s eyes, staring intently at her as if aiming at prey, as if she was about to devour her alive in the next second.

“Sister…” Fatty Qiu’s shout came from afar, “It’s collapsing…”

At the same time, the wall that Bai Zi had dug out most of just now collapsed instantly like quicksand.

Without thinking further, Bai Zi immediately bent down and carried You Yuyi in her arms, running back as quickly as possible, racing against time. Fortunately, You Yuyi’s figure was similar to Bai Zi’s, and she didn’t use much strength, quickly carrying the person out of the escape door.

Fatty Qiu finally breathed a sigh of relief at the moment he saw Bai Zi reappear.

Bai Zi turned her head to look behind her, and the once long passage had been covered by the collapsed sand and rocks in the blink of an eye.

“Hey,” suddenly, a magnetic and soft voice came from Bai Zi’s ear, “Does it feel good?”

For some reason, when that voice entered her ears, goosebumps broke out all over Bai Zi’s body.

She turned her head and saw You Yuyi in her arms squinting slightly, with the corners of her mouth gently curved, but because her face was covered in mud, Bai Zi couldn’t see the other party’s expression clearly, only feeling that she was staring at her with a strange expression.

Then, Bai Zi remembered the question that You Yuyi had asked her—”Does it feel good?”

Feel?

What feel?

Bai Zi’s gaze moved down from You Yuyi’s face, and then she finally discovered that when she was escaping just now, because she was too anxious, her hand had unrestrainedly wrapped around You Yuyi’s chest.

And hadn’t moved away until now.

But what was even stranger was that You Yuyi didn’t seem to care at all, and even intimately hooked her arms around Bai Zi’s neck.

Coming back to her senses, Bai Zi immediately bent down, putting You Yuyi on the pile of sand and soil as if she had touched something hot.

You Yuyi chuckled softly, her hand still hooking Bai Zi’s shoulder: “What are you afraid of? We’re both women.”

Bai Zi pretended not to hear, pulled off the other party’s hand, and retreated several steps in a row.

Her appearance was exactly the same as Fatty Qiu, who had been avoiding the sand and rocks just now.

“Um,” Fatty Qiu, who had been ignored by the two all along, coughed lightly, reminding them, “It’s time to go back, the cracks above our heads are getting bigger and bigger, it’s probably about to…”

Bai Zi frowned, and turned her head to look at You Yuyi: “Can you walk?”

You Yuyi leaned sideways, propped herself up on the pile of sand and soil with one hand, and stretched out her ankle, which had been scraped, asking back: “What do you think?”

Although this woman was dirty from head to toe, her posture and tone of voice at this time all exuded a charming aura that was hard to ignore.

“Let me do it.” Seeing that Bai Zi was unmoved, Fatty Qiu took the initiative to step forward, wanting to pick up You Yuyi.

Before Fatty Qiu could approach, You Yuyi spoke again, her voice still soft and charming, but the words she said sent chills down one’s spine: “Fatty, you better not touch me, I’m afraid I’ll accidentally strangle you to death.”

Fatty Qiu straightened up again, retreating even further than Bai Zi.

You Yuyi turned her head, and looked at Bai Zi once again.

Bai Zi was still standing there silently.

At this time, a stone the size of a palm fell in front of Fatty Qiu, and he immediately urged in a panic: “No, it’s really going to collapse, we have to leave quickly!”

“That’s right,” You Yuyi stretched out her hands towards Bai Zi. “We have to leave quickly.”

Looking at You Yuyi’s slightly smiling face, Bai Zi suddenly remembered that You Xin had used the idiom “disrespectful to the elderly” to describe her cousin. Now it seemed that she was more than deserving of the description.

Bai Zi finally walked closer, but turned around in front of You Yuyi, and squatted down: “Get on.”

You Yuyi was stunned, and then smiled as she climbed onto the other party’s shoulders.

Bai Zi carefully wrapped her arms around You Yuyi’s thighs, letting her lie on her back.

At the same time, a slab of stone suddenly fell on the pile of sand and soil where You Yuyi had been sitting. Bai Zi didn’t dare to stay any longer, and immediately carried You Yuyi on her back, following Fatty Qiu and running back desperately.

But there was too much stagnant water on the tracks, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t run very fast, but they finally got away from the collapsing area.

After running for about five minutes, Fatty Qiu’s face was already flushed red, as if he was about to faint on the spot. In the end, he had no choice but to stop, propping himself up against the tunnel wall with one hand, panting heavily.

Bai Zi also stopped. She wasn’t tired, but she suddenly noticed that something seemed to be wrong around her.

“Hey,” You Yuyi on her back asked, “What’s your name?”

Bai Zi didn’t answer, but instead walked to the wall, and put You Yuyi down, letting her lean against the wall.

You Yuyi saw Bai Zi take out the handgun on her waist, and she immediately closed her mouth, waiting for the other party’s next move.

Fatty Qiu also noticed that something was wrong with Bai Zi. He followed the other party’s gaze, and aimed at the stagnant water not far away.

The once calm water surface was actually rippling with fine waves, and was approaching Fatty Qiu’s direction.

Fatty Qiu, who had already caught his breath, instantly turned pale again. He wanted to retreat backward with a trembling body. Just then, Bai Zi put away the handgun and pounced towards the rippling water surface.

As if she had grabbed some behemoth, the “prey” in the water struggled extremely violently. Bai Zi was driven by it, constantly rolling in the stagnant water, and water splashed everywhere in an instant.

And at this time, Fatty Qiu and You Yuyi finally saw clearly that what was fighting Bai Zi was actually a mutant, but it was slightly different—it was naked, its skin was extremely white, and its body was covered in sores. Although its figure was extremely short, its strength seemed to be immense.

At the same time, the wall above the three people’s heads began to crack again, and sand and rocks kept falling.

Bai Zi used her right arm to hold the mutant’s neck, gritted her teeth and sat up, and pulled out the gun with her left hand, pulling the trigger at the mutant’s temple.

The gunshot rang out, and the mutant finally stopped struggling. Bai Zi let go of her hand, and before the other party sank into the stagnant water, she saw the tiny white pupils in those eyes, and the jet-black whites—the same as the tall mutant she had seen in the store.

The cracks were getting bigger and bigger, and fine sand was still falling continuously, and even many broken pieces of cement had fallen into the stagnant water.

You Yuyi was about to walk towards Bai Zi, but saw a huge slab of stone smash onto Bai Zi’s body. Before she could react, You Yuyi was dragged away by Fatty Qiu behind her, dodging the large amount of sand and rocks falling from above her head.

Almost in an instant, the place where the three had been standing just now had been covered by a large amount of falling sand and rocks, and even piled up to the top, forming a wall of sand and rocks, completely blocking the road.

And Bai Zi was buried alive under this sand and rock.