Chapter 76

Indeed, he had never expected that there would be other living people beneath such a terrifying crack, and it seemed that, having heard the commotion, they were calling for help.

About twenty to thirty meters below him, in a horizontal crack, a woman had extended half of her body, twisting her head upward with a face full of panic and confusion, yet also a complex expression of hope and joy, calling for help.

Although the woman looked disheveled and extremely exhausted, Chu Nan could still tell that she was not very old.

The woman also saw Chu Nan and was shouting desperately, hoping that Chu Nan would notice her. Finally, when Chu Nan saw her, her face showed a mixture of fear and joy.

The joy was that someone had finally come, but the fear was that Chu Nan might ignore her and leave her to die.

In the past, Chu Nan would have moved down without hesitation to meet the woman, but now, due to the incident with Su Hui, he had become more cautious. He was seriously injured, and if he rashly went down without knowing the woman's background, it would be very dangerous.

"How did you end up here? Is there anyone else?" Chu Nan asked from a distance of twenty to thirty meters, not moving closer.

In this deep crack, even a casual word sounded particularly loud, so Chu Nan didn't need to raise his voice to shout.

The woman stopped calling for help and, hearing Chu Nan's question, replied, "It's just me and... my boyfriend. A few days ago, we were shopping and the ground suddenly cracked... We... we didn't understand what was happening and rolled down this crack... We survived, but we can't climb back up..."

"We've been here for a few days. Please, save us... save us..." The woman almost cried as she spoke.

The pain and despair of being trapped in this terrifying, dark crack for days had almost driven her to the brink of collapse.

Chu Nan was also surprised. The earthquake had caused the ground to crack, and it was both unfortunate and fortunate for the woman and her boyfriend to fall directly into the crack. Fortunate because they survived the fall of a hundred or two hundred meters and didn't encounter any zombies or mutants, so they survived. Unfortunate because they hadn't awakened, and as ordinary people, they couldn't climb up the sheer cliff.

"I understand. Where is your boyfriend?" Chu Nan nodded but was still not completely at ease, and asked.

"He... he's inside, but he's injured and has lost a leg, so he can't move around." The woman's face showed pain when she mentioned her boyfriend's lost leg.

"Alright, I understand. Calm down, I'll find a way to get you out." Chu Nan took a deep breath. Climbing a hundred or two hundred meters of sheer cliff was not a problem for him, a sixth-level awakened individual, to carry the two of them out.

Hearing Chu Nan's words, the woman couldn't help but cry with joy, her voice breaking, "Thank... thank you... thank you..."

After resting for a while, Chu Nan felt the burning pain in his internal organs slowly fading. He had been watching Cane Ear, who was still lying motionless on a large rock, but was also watching Chu Nan's every move from a distance.

Since Cane Ear didn't make any further moves, Chu Nan decided to ignore it for now. He took a deep breath, regained some strength, and began to move down.

Soon, Chu Nan reached a horizontal crack about twenty to thirty meters down. The woman was waiting at the entrance, trembling with excitement, unable to speak, and repeatedly thanking him.

The huge crack extended at least ten meters inward, large enough to accommodate a dozen people, but it was very dark. The woman, being an ordinary person, had her vision severely affected. If not for the loud noise of Chu Nan and Cane Ear falling, she might not have noticed Chu Nan at all.

However, Chu Nan had superhuman vision and could see clearly even in the darkness.

In a dark corner of the crack, a man was curled up. When he heard Chu Nan's approach, he finally spoke, "Xiao Yu, who's coming in?"

The woman, called Xiao Yu, exclaimed joyfully, "It's the person I told you about who can save us. We'll be saved soon. We can finally leave here." She then felt her way to the dark corner to help the man on the ground.

Chu Nan, holding the spider claw, cautiously walked in. When he saw the man curled up in the dark corner, he felt a chill.

The man's eyes had been gouged out, leaving two deep bloody holes, and his left leg was severed, the wound crudely bandaged with clothing. Both the eye injuries and the severed leg looked fresh, no more than a few days old, and the wounds had not fully healed.

Hearing Chu Nan's approach, the man waved his hand aimlessly, his face showing fear. For him, these past few days had been like living in hell. Suddenly hearing that someone had come to save them, he showed not excitement but fear.

"Did you encounter enemies? How did he get these injuries?" Chu Nan, seeing the man's fearful expression, felt a pang of sympathy and asked.

Xiao Yu, supporting the man, replied, "We fell in a few days ago. His leg was broken, and his eyes... were destroyed..." She sobbed, looking very sad.

At this, the man, called A Yan, comforted her, "Xiao Yu, it's okay. We're saved. You... you go out with them... I... I'm already a cripple... it doesn't matter if I go out or not..." His face showed a tragic expression.

Xiao Yu burst into tears, "No, A Yan, if we go out, we go out together. Don't worry, no matter what happens to you, I won't leave you. We promised to be together forever."

A Yan, hearing this, was deeply moved and tightly hugged Xiao Yu. They both burst into tears, embracing each other.

It was clear that their relationship was very deep.

Chu Nan watched silently, but his brow furrowed when he saw A Yan's injuries.

When the earthquake caused the ground to crack, the two of them had fallen into the crack and were trapped here. Chu Nan believed this part of the story.

However, he didn't quite believe that A Yan's injuries were caused by the fall.

The two bloody holes where his eyes should be and the severed leg... they didn't look like they were caused by natural collisions or falls. Especially the eyes, which looked... as if they had been gouged out intentionally.

Gouged out intentionally... but by whom? Both the man and the woman were ordinary people, not awakened, and they hadn't encountered zombies or mutants, or they wouldn't have survived...

So, who could have done it? There was no one else here...

Chu Nan fell silent, a chill running down his spine.

Suddenly, his figure flickered, and he moved to the other side of the crack.

On the other side of the crack was a large rock. Chu Nan's nose was very sensitive, and he detected a faint smell of blood behind the rock.

Moving behind the rock, he saw a backpack and, more shockingly, a severed leg.

This severed leg belonged to A Yan's left leg, but half of the flesh had been cut off, leaving the rest still attached to the bone.

The temperature in the crack was low, so the flesh, even after a few days, had not rotted.

Chu Nan's heart raced, and he suddenly had a chilling thought. Staring at the leg with half the flesh cut off, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

Almost at the same moment, Chu Nan let out a low shout and turned his body.

A gust of wind sounded, and a dark shadow lunged at him but missed.

Chu Nan quickly retreated, and Xiao Yu and A Yan, who had been hugging and sobbing, heard the commotion and stopped crying. A Yan called out in panic, "Who's there?"

Xiao Yu, with tear-filled eyes, saw a large dog standing at the entrance of the crack. Chu Nan, holding the spider claw, was facing the dog.

Cane Ear had finally arrived. After resting for a while, both sides had recovered some strength. Cane Ear had quietly approached, trying to ambush Chu Nan, but missed.

Their eyes met, and Chu Nan quickly forgot about the severed leg and the cut flesh. His mind and eyes were focused only on Cane Ear.

Cane Ear was becoming increasingly terrifying. Chu Nan wasn't sure if it should be considered a sixth-level mutant, but it was definitely much stronger than a typical fifth-level awakened individual.

With a low growl, Cane Ear launched another attack, like a whirlwind or a demon, its mouth wide open, and its claws extended, striking heavily.

Chu Nan swung the spider claw, and Cane Ear slapped it with its claw, a powerful force hitting the spider claw, which, despite being able to cut through metal, couldn't cut through Cane Ear's claw.

With a "whoosh," Chu Nan activated the Golden Power, kicking Cane Ear with his right leg, which hit Cane Ear. In return, Cane Ear's other claw struck Chu Nan, leaving deep blood marks on his waist.

In the first exchange, both sides were injured. Cane Ear rolled away, its claws digging deep into the ground to stop, while Chu Nan, activating the Golden Power in both legs, kicked powerfully in the air.