"Drip, drip, drip..."
In the not-so-spacious cave, Jiang Fan's footsteps echoed.
The river meandered deeper.
Beside him, there was only enough space for one person to pass.
Having adapted to the darkness of the cave, he could now move more freely.
It was a pity he had nothing for illumination. The shop did have flashlights for redemption, but at 5 survival points, it was clearly not worth it.
It was better to press on and see if he could find anything to start a fire.
Jiang Fan calmed his mind and walked forward.
Spring water continuously gushed from the cave walls, feeding into the underground stream. The flow was not small.
Several streams converged, widening the underground river.
As he ventured further, the underground stream began to rush, and the riverbed broadened considerably.
Moving on, he would have to wade through the water.
And in this raging current, the worst thing was to misstep and be swept away.
Jiang Fan had no intention of anyone coming to his rescue. In this place, the only one he could rely on was himself.
Despair? Impossible.
Countless wild adventures in his previous life had forged his strong will.
As long as there was a path ahead, he would not be defeated.
Making preparations, Jiang Fan took a deep breath and stepped into the river.
...
"Hiss—"
The icy river water constantly stimulated their calves. Both Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei's leg hairs stood on end, clearly visible, being washed by the water.
"Sister Zhou?"
"I... I'm here."
Zhou Niannian struggled to adapt to the temperature of the river. Her skin's respiration was suppressed; only by increasing her breathing rate could she barely maintain balance.
She occasionally responded to Dai Xiaomei's calls, carefully wading through the water.
The rushing river, and what lay within, were unknown.
The fear of the unknown gnawed at their hearts. Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei could only grit their teeth and persevere.
"When will we find a way out? Or is there no way out?"
"Dai Xiaomei, don't say such disheartening things. We will definitely get out."
" Do you think Jiang Fan is still alive?"
"...I don't know either. I hope so."
In the darkness, Zhou Niannian pursed her lips, her gaze firm.
Since they could reach this place, Jiang Fan, being such a capable person, could too!
As long as they kept walking.
Keep walking, and they would eventually see the end.
The two walked forward slowly. They could no longer tell how many meters underground they were, nor did they dare to think about how they could ascend such a height again.
The situation of the underground river was worse than they had imagined.
The water flow ahead suddenly became even more turbulent.
Dai Xiaomei, not paying attention, slipped.
"Ah!"
"Careful!"
Zhou Niannian quickly pulled her up, but lost her own balance and fell into the rushing water.
In the blink of an eye, she was swept a considerable distance away.
"Sister—Zhou—"
Dai Xiaomei cried out with a hoarse voice, using all her strength to reach out.
She stumbled a few steps but could no longer grasp Zhou Niannian's hand, only watching helplessly as Zhou Niannian was swept away.
The underground river was of uneven depth. Zhou Niannian, falling into the water, couldn't even struggle; she could only be carried downstream by the current.
"Ah!"
Lele let out a startled cry upon seeing this scene, covering her mouth.
"Heavens, falling into the underground river, this, this..."
"With such a rapid current, there must be some deep pit or waterfall ahead. If she continues, she'll surely die!"
Faced with this sudden event, Bear Grylls spoke with extreme speed, clearly also becoming tense.
This was not a competition with a complete rescue team standing by, waiting for rescue.
This was an exploration where one could lose their life at any moment!
Anyone who saw this scene had their hearts clench, sincerely hoping for Zhou Niannian's rescue.
"Even the rescue team can't save her now, she's probably going to die."
"Ahhh! I don't want her to die! Sister—Zhou—!!! Get up!!"
"If only Jiang Shen were here, please, Jiang Shen, appear quickly and save her."
Bullet comments streamed in one after another, everyone praying.
Even after seeing Jiang Fan being swallowed by a monster, they still prayed for a miracle.
The next second, Zhou Niannian, who was drifting downstream, suddenly bumped into something.
A pair of hands reached into the water.
"Splash—"
He directly grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up.
Who could have foreseen this?
In the dim light, the small drone couldn't probe too far ahead.
It didn't detect the person standing in front of Zhou Niannian.
Only when she was pulled up and the drone approached did everyone see the person who had pulled Zhou Niannian up—
A miracle had descended.
Breathing in the fresh air, Zhou Niannian coughed violently.
The familiar action, the familiar feeling of being pulled by the collar.
When she recovered, she opened her eyes and looked behind her, seeing a familiar person.
"Jiang Fan?!"
"Mhm. What are you doing here?"
Seeing her recover, Jiang Fan let go, allowing her to stand properly in the water, and asked.
Zhou Niannian, however, thought of her and Dai Xiaomei's actions and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
"I, I saw you get taken away by the black panther, so Dai Xiaomei and I followed, and we accidentally fell into the cave."
"How are you, are you injured?"
She looked up, gazing at Jiang Fan, who was much taller than her.
Even with little light, to Jiang Fan, Zhou Niannian's eyes seemed like stars faintly glowing in the darkness.
Not physically, but a feeling that inexplicably arose.
In his journey where he thought he was alone, he discovered that someone had come looking for him, and he was not alone.
This thought coalesced in his heart, incredibly complex.
"Foolish."
"Hey! I went through so much trouble to find you, and you know how dangerous the journey was, and you call me foolish! You, you heartless guy!"
Zhou Niannian puffed out her cheeks indignantly, wanting to scold him at length.
But a hand descended from above, its warm palm stroking her wet hair.
Miraculously, it calmed her down.
Dai Xiaomei, who had hurried to catch up, witnessed the two clinging together, her expression a little hard to describe.
The post-production humorously added a line.
'I shouldn't be in the car, I should be under it.'
This sent the audience into fits of laughter.
Seeing Jiang Fan safe and sound, and having rescued Zhou Niannian, their hearts finally settled.
"Jiang Fan, forever the god!!!"
"As long as I see that collar-pulling move, it's him, hahaha! This straight man, can't he do a princess carry?"
"That's great, the three of them have finally reunited! Now, let's find a way out."
The cheers of the fans, accompanied by the effects of rockets and airplanes, made the live broadcast room feel like a New Year celebration.
Up to this point, besides the die-hard fans of the streamers, all viewers who were following the wilderness live broadcast competition had converged on the main live stream.
Exploring a depth that humans had likely never reached before was a huge piece of news they couldn't miss.
This news continuously attracted viewers from Dragon Country.
This broadcast was no longer limited to audiences interested in wilderness live broadcasts.
There were many more people interested in this mysterious underground space.
After Dai Xiaomei, Zhou Niannian, and Jiang Fan reunited, they continued to move forward along the underground stream.
Until they reached—
The deafening roar of water. In the faint light, the river ahead plunged into an endless abyss below.
Dai Xiaomei cautiously glanced at the even more turbulent water ahead and stopped, her face pale.
"It's a waterfall ahead. There's no path."