CHAPTER 1183: CHAPTER 1183: GATHERING (6)

As soon as she crawled into the hole, faint sounds of hurried footsteps reached her ears.

Her heart tightened. An Yiqing quickly commanded, "Someone’s coming! Find the mechanism! Seal the entrance!"

Ah Mi and Dashan fumbled around frantically, not daring to waste even a second.

An Yiqing listened to the increasingly distinct sound of footsteps outside, cold sweat dripping continuously down her forehead. She couldn’t see anything and could only feel along the walls with both hands. Instead of finding the mechanism, she managed to cut her hands multiple times on sharp edges of the stones.

Suddenly, Ah Mi let out an alarmed cry from behind her.

"Xiao Yu! Over here! There’s a small lamp here—it’s exactly like the one outside!"

With Dashan’s help, An Yiqing almost leapt to Ah Mi’s side in a few large strides. Her hands quickly latched onto the lamp. Ignoring her injuries, she grasped the lamp tightly and twisted it with all her strength.

Soon, the sound of gears turning echoed above their heads. Light at the entrance began to fade until, with a loud "bang," the wooden panel and concrete sealed the opening completely, plunging the hole into absolute darkness.

The rustling of movement followed as Ah Mi struggled to retrieve a phone from her pocket and turned on the flashlight.

"The phone has less than 30% battery left. What should we do?"

"Head forward. We should find an exit ahead. We need to move faster—they’ll likely figure out the entrance soon."

The bedding in Grandma’s room had been overturned. Once those people returned, they’d definitely grow suspicious. A little effort would reveal the hidden tunnel.

They didn’t have much time left.

"Dashan, be careful not to bump into Grandma."

Ah Mi led the way, lighting the path for An Yiqing, while Dashan followed closely behind, carrying Grandma on his back. Thankfully, the tunnel was tall enough to accommodate one person’s height; otherwise, carrying someone through it would have been a daunting task.

Seconds ticked by. The quiet tunnel was so still that even the faintest of breathing could be heard alongside their footsteps. As the narrow passage extended further, the space gradually widened. Where it had initially allowed only one person through at a time, it now expanded enough for four people to walk side by side.

After about ten minutes of walking, the tunnel began to feel stiflingly hot. Probably due to the lack of proper ventilation and the years of disuse, much of the airflow was blocked by accumulated dust, making oxygen scarce. Dashan and An Yiqing tried to take long, measured breaths to ensure that Ah Mi, who wasn’t trained in ancient martial arts, and the injured Grandma could have more air.

"Thud—"

A dull sound echoed as Ah Mi, in her rush, tripped and fell face-first to the ground.

An Yiqing hurriedly bent down, fumbling around to locate Ah Mi’s body, and laboriously helped her up. With her impaired vision, limited air, and the rising heat, An Yiqing found maneuvering difficult and disoriented. She was still recovering from her injuries, and her movements were somewhat clumsy as a result of lingering issues with her eyes and brain.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

Ah Mi winced but climbed up from the ground with a big grin, shaking her head boldly. "I’m fine. Xiao Yu, watch your step! I think there are stairs ahead."

As soon as Ah Mi spoke, a deafening roar erupted in the distance—

"Boom—!"

The ground of the tunnel trembled faintly, and debris began raining down from above.

"What’s going on? Is it an earthquake?" Ah Mi exclaimed in shock, quickly taking off her coat to drape over Grandma, whom Dashan was still carrying on his back.

"It must be those people discovering the secret under the bed. If they couldn’t find the entrance mechanism, they’d resort to using explosives to blast it open! Dashan, hold onto Grandma tightly—we need to pick up the pace!"