"Yun Ting ge, I'm done," Gu Luotang's voice came after a moment. Wan Yunting, who had finished earlier, turned back with a flashlight and shone it on Gu Luotang as she emerged. He smiled and said, "Then let's go."
"Okay..."
Wan Yunting then pulled Gu Luotang along, and the two of them wove through the piles of large and small stones, soon arriving at the underground dark river. However, due to the upstream being cracked by the earthquake, the water flow had stopped. The riverbed was dry, leaving only small puddles, and fish could even be seen flapping within them.
"If we had a fire, we could have roasted fish," Wan Yunting said with a smile as he filled an empty mineral water bottle, looking at the fish flopping in the puddles.
Gu Luotang, who was holding the flashlight to illuminate him, also smiled and said, "Isn't this a spring's dark river? Why are there fish?"
Wan Yunting, having filled the bottle, stood up, screwed on the cap, and turned back with a smile, saying, "This dark river also gets rainwater from the outside. Plus, with biological evolution, it's normal for there to be fish after so many years. But I hope there aren't any other dangerous creatures ahead!"
Gu Luotang was startled by his words and said nervously, "Yun Ting ge, don't scare me..."
"Haha."
Seeing that the girl was easily scared, Wan Yunting laughed heartily, took the flashlight from her hand, and said with a smile, "I'm joking. This isn't like a tomb raiding novel, why would there be other creatures? At most, there might be some larger snakes."
"But that's still very scary."
Gu Luotang couldn't help but hug Wan Yunting's arm and say fearfully, "Snakes are what I'm most afraid of."
Wan Yunting shone the flashlight on her and said with a mischievous grin, "Maybe a snake will appear at your feet in a moment..."
"Ah, Yun Ting ge, you're so mean..."
"Haha..."
Wan Yunting laughed loudly. He was actually just trying to scare Gu Luotang to lighten the mood.
After all, the two of them were trapped in this cave, and the exit had long been blocked. They didn't know if they could find a way out downstream. Wan Yunting was feeling very uneasy. If they couldn't find an exit, they would be trapped here to die.
But to avoid worrying Gu Luotang, Wan Yunting could only try his best to appear more lively. All along the way, he teased Gu Luotang, laughing and joking. If people didn't know the situation, they would think they were on a trip.
At this time, it was at the back of Ling Mountain, the entrance to the cave.
"Is this it?"
Jin Xiuwen and Dai Qiuyue followed Huang Jingshan and Nie Xiaoyu up. Seeing the collapsed cave entrance made everyone's hearts sink.
"Don't they have phones? Can we track them?" Jin Xiuwen turned to Nie Xiaoyu.
Xiao Zhao said, "There's no signal inside the cave."
This made Jin Xiuwen's heart grow cold. He glared and said, "So, we don't even know if they're alive or dead?"
Nie Xiaoyu and Gu Xiaozhuang didn't speak. Seeing the excavator that had already arrived, they immediately ordered, "Open the cave entrance first..."
"Old Wan, you're really unlucky."
As he spoke, Jin Xiuwen squatted down, took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, and took a puff, feeling very upset. "I mean, didn't you have too much time on your hands? You were a good doctor, why did you have to come here to suffer?"
"Now look, you've been out of prison for less than a few months, and you're gone like this, without even a chance to get married. I feel it's not worth it for you..."
Jin Xiuwen spoke while smoking and then started crying, unable to accept this fact.
Dai Qiuyue, standing beside him, also had red eyes. She had thought she would see Wan Yunting in the disaster area and help with disaster relief together, but she never expected to hear such devastating news upon arrival.
She hadn't even had the chance to repay his life-saving kindness...
In the blink of an eye, it was noon.
"Luotang, let's rest and have something to eat."
At this time, in the underground dark river within the cave, Wan Yunting had been leading Gu Luotang downstream. However, due to the cave collapse from last night's earthquake, many rocks had fallen, making it very difficult to walk. They had walked for several hours, estimated to be only a few hundred meters, but they still hadn't reached the end of the downstream.
"Okay."
Gu Luotang was also tired. She opened her backpack and took out a small bread for Wan Yunting. "Here, Yun Ting ge, have some bread."
"Thank you."
Wan Yunting took it, but seeing her take out biscuits, he exchanged them with her and smiled, saying, "These are dry. You have the bread."
Gu Luotang's eyes widened, then she tore the bread in half and said, "Here, half each."
Seeing this, Wan Yunting smiled and nodded, then popped it into his mouth, chewing. He looked up at the downstream direction of the dark river. It was pitch black around them, with only the dim circles of their flashlights.
However, the battery of the flashlight was almost depleted, and they didn't have a charger. But Gu Luotang had a headlamp on her safety helmet, with about half of its battery left, which should last for half a day.
At the same time, they both had phones, and Gu Luotang's backpack also had a power bank.
Wan Yunting's phone battery was currently at sixty percent, Gu Luotang's was at fifty-five percent, and the power bank was fully charged.
The two of them drank water to swallow the dry bread. Gu Luotang rummaged through her backpack, finding only six biscuits left. She immediately became worried and couldn't help but say, "Yun Ting ge, if we can't find an exit and are trapped here, what should we do?"
Wan Yunting looked at her worried pretty face while drinking water. He put down the mineral water bottle and smiled, saying, "Don't worry too much. Even if we can't find a way out, I believe the rescue team outside will find us. As long as we persevere, we will definitely get out."
Gu Luotang looked up, her eyes fixed on him, and smiled, nodding, "Yes, but we don't have many biscuits left."
"How many are left?"
"Only six biscuits left."
"It's okay."
Wan Yunting smiled and said, "We'll eat less. Even if they're all gone, aren't there fish in the dark river? At worst, I'll make you sashimi."
This statement made Gu Luotang laugh, but Wan Yunting's optimistic attitude gave her hope.
"Do you want to rest for a while?" Wan Yunting asked.
"Maybe we should keep looking for a way."
Although she was tired, Gu Luotang still wanted to find the exit as soon as possible and go out with the man.
"Alright, but tell me if you're tired."
Wan Yunting stood up, picked up his bag and flashlight. The flashlight immediately ran out of power and went out, plunging them into darkness.
"I have a headlamp."
As she spoke, Gu Luotang turned on her headlamp. Wan Yunting said, "Give it to me."
He took off the headlamp, put it on his safety helmet, and then pulled Gu Luotang to continue walking arduously downstream of the dark river...
Meanwhile, outside, news reports on Douyin and major news platforms that Wan Yunting was trapped in a cave in Ling Mountain due to rescue operations instantly caused a sensation.
Some said Wan Yunting was already dead, while others said they were trapped in the cave and couldn't get out. Simultaneously, Nie Xiaoyu and their military team had launched a rescue, but there was still no news of Wan Yunting and the others' fate.
Therefore, this news immediately spread to Huadu City. His second brother, Wan Dongming, his sister-in-law, Wang Chulin, as well as Ma Zhendong, Niu Qiuling, Jiang Peipei, Huang Yuqing, and other relatives and friends all learned about the matter!
Of course, those who wanted Wan Yunting dead also knew about it!
"Is the matter about Wan Yunting true?"
At this time, at the disaster relief point camp in Jiayou Town, Yao Xiangming, in a tent, received a call from his teacher, Sima Wentang. He smiled and said, "Teacher, I've inquired. The rescue team that returned last night confirmed that Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang, the granddaughter of Gu Yuanbai, did not return."
"Moreover, the army went for a search and rescue this noon, but there's no result yet. But I suspect Wan Yunting must have died inside!"
Sima Wentang, sitting in his office chair in the capital, narrowed his eyes and said, "Are you sure?"
Yao Xiangming smiled and said, "Teacher, even if Wan Yunting wasn't buried in the cave by the earthquake, he was dealt with by those two people!"
Sima Wentang naturally knew that the two people his father sent were to deal with Wan Yunting. Hearing Yao Xiangming say this, he finally felt relieved. "Finally, that troublesome person is dealt with."
"Yes."
Yao Xiangming nodded and smiled, "With Wan Yunting's death, it's a huge blow to the Lingnan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. So, relying on Gu Yuanbai and the others alone, they won't be able to amount to anything."
"Mm, keep following up. Even if he's dead, I need to see the body to be completely at ease," Sima Wentang said.
"Don't worry, Teacher. I'll keep track of the army's search progress." Yao Xiangming replied.
"Okay, that's all for now."
After hanging up, they both ended the call. However, Yao Xiangming believed that Wan Yunting could not escape death...