A moment later, those of us preparing to dive were all geared up. We lined up along the Tuo River, creating quite a sight.

I quietly counted, and there were nine of us, including Uncle Mei and me. But diving isn't a gang fight; more people aren't necessarily better. If we were unlucky enough to encounter a dangerous current, the more who went down, the more who would be wiped out.

Of course, I didn't say these unlucky words out loud, just muttered them to myself.

Finally, Jiang Yongguang pulled down his oxygen mask, just about to give everyone a pep talk before setting off, when Uncle Mei had already plunged into the Tuo River, swimming towards the deeper water.

I quickly shouted, "Uncle, you don't know the location of the crevice, let me lead the way!"

After shouting, I put on my oxygen mask and dove into the river.

Jiang Yongguang stood on the shore, looking awkwardly out of place. He didn't have time for any speeches, so he quickly led his group of Xiaoling Guards and Xiao Liang, the local police representative, one after another into the water. We plunged into the Tuo River without hesitation, leaving only Lao Li to hold the fort on the shore.

Although Uncle Mei was the first to go down, he didn't act rashly. He tested the direction and strength of the undercurrents in the river and didn't dare to swim forward blindly.

At this point, I swam to the front and, following the path from yesterday evening, led everyone towards the crevice filled with corpses.

When I got closer, I realized that the crevice from yesterday was no longer a crevice. It had been blasted open by the fierce underground water, forming a huge underwater tunnel entrance. The raging undercurrent flowed into the Tuo River along this tunnel, creating a whirlpool on the surface.

The Xiaoling Guards were right; the current was indeed rapid and fierce. I tried to swim towards the entrance several times, but each time I was pushed back by the current.

Uncle Mei patted me on the shoulder from behind and raised his hand, signaling me to go back. I understood what he meant: give up while I was ahead, don't fight the current, and call it a day.

Jiang Yongguang, seeing this, quickly swam over and shook his head desperately at me, pointing at the underwater tunnel, indicating that I shouldn't give up so quickly and try a few more times.

As the saying goes, "Accepting a commission, one must be loyal to the task." Since I had accepted Jiang Yongguang's reward, I couldn't retreat at the last moment.

Based on my many years of experience, these underwater currents are usually not constantly rapid and fierce. They're like an old man peeing—in spurts. Generally, they surge for a while, then slow down, then surge again, fluctuating according to a certain rhythm.

I first directed everyone to stand by in an area where the current was relatively calm, not rushing to force our way into the underwater tunnel. Then I swam to the vicinity of the underground water confluence, carefully sensing the changes in the undercurrent.

Sure enough, the undercurrent was very fierce at first, but after about five minutes, the intensity of the current suddenly weakened and became much gentler. The whole process took about seven or eight minutes, then the current became turbulent again, even pushing me away from the entrance.

Having figured out the rhythm, I quickly turned around and swam towards the others, gesturing to them.

The problem was that you can't talk in the water, so conveying messages was very difficult. I played charades with them for a long time, and finally, Lao Li's apprentice, Xiao Liang, was clever enough to guess my intention and used her own gestures to signal the others, gradually making them understand what I was trying to say.

Although there were still a few slow-witted guys who didn't understand the situation until the end, gesturing and asking me questions, the oxygen reserves on our backs were limited, and the rhythm of the undercurrent was fleeting. I didn't have time to explain to them one by one.

Just in time for the next lull in the undercurrent, I took the lead and plunged into the underwater tunnel.

Uncle Mei and Xiao Liang reacted the fastest, immediately following on the left and right. Jiang Yongguang didn't hesitate and swam up close behind. kuai shu ge

The other Xiaoling Guards didn't flinch either, chasing after us one by one. Our group finally plunged into this strange tunnel carved out by the underground water.

Based on my earlier observations, I realized that the undercurrent's weakening only lasted for seven or eight minutes, so we had to find a safe area within that time, or go ashore directly at the ancient tomb. Otherwise, once the next wave of strong current came, the terrifying impact would be unbearable.

I swam forward desperately, using the light from the diving headlamp on my forehead to observe the surrounding environment. It seemed that this wasn't a robbery tunnel but a river channel carved out by the underground water. The rock walls on both sides were very smooth from the water erosion, and the scale of the cave was also very large. However, since the remains of the tomb robbers could be swept into the Tuo River through this waterway, it meant that this place shouldn't be far from the ancient tomb.

Just as I was looking around, I suddenly felt someone pat my shoulder.

I turned around abruptly and saw that female police officer Xiao Liang had approached me at some point. She looked at me with a terrified expression and pointed behind us.

"What's wrong?" I asked, but the sound was muffled and unclear.

But from Xiao Liang's big eyes, filled with horror, I realized that something spine-chilling might have happened.

Seeing that I didn't react, Xiao Liang pointed desperately at the rear of the team again, then held out her right hand and made a nine gesture with her index finger to me.

I immediately understood what she meant.

Nine, representing the total number of nine people who went into the water this time.

"Could someone have fallen behind? Is someone missing from the team?"

I muttered to myself and quickly changed my swimming style, turning back to check the situation of the team.

"One, two, three, four, five..."

I counted them one by one, counting the number of people in the team, but when I counted to the end, I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat!

I finally understood why Xiao Liang was looking at me with such terrified eyes!

Because our team wasn't missing one person, but had one extra person!

When I counted to the ninth person, there was a dark figure following behind him!

It was just that the figure's head didn't have our unified diving equipment—a headlamp. Everyone else had a bright beam of light on their heads, but that figure was black from head to toe. The whole body didn't move at all, like a dead corpse, but it could follow us closely against the current!

I don't know if the timid Xiao Liang was scared shitless by this ghostly thing, but I know I was almost scared shitless. I roared muffledly through my oxygen mask and then swam forward with all my might.

Someone in the team, with an amazing sixth sense, realized that there was something dirty chasing us. He looked back and also screamed in horror, following me and swimming forward desperately.

Xiao Liang was even more frightened. She swayed her exquisite figure like a mermaid and actually caught up with me in a short while, even showing signs of surpassing me.

I was both scared and amused, thinking to myself: "This girl's swimming is indeed amazing, or is she overperforming out of fear? She almost outdid me..."