Chapter 80

The rain came and went quickly, and before they knew it, it had stopped.

Xiaomo, judging by the footsteps, easily determined that there were three people approaching. Their destination was the lakeside, and the footsteps grew closer.

Suddenly, one of them exclaimed in surprise, "There's a lake here. Let's set up camp here." It was a young man's voice, nothing particularly special about it.

Another young woman's voice followed, "Sister Ying, what do you think?" Clearly, she was seeking the opinion of another person.

Sister Ying's voice was very gentle, and she smiled slightly, "I have no objections. You know this area better than I do, so you decide."

The first woman giggled, seemingly pleased with Sister Ying's modest attitude, and said, "Since Sister Ying has no objections, let's set up camp here. This mountain range is vast, and it will take many days to search through it all."

The man suddenly interjected, "Sister Ying, I heard that you've almost traveled through most of the country to find this thing, right?"

Sister Ying replied, "I've traveled through fourteen of the seventeen provinces in the country." She sighed, "The remaining three provinces are by the sea, and they are densely populated cities, so the chances are slim. This Ba Province might be my last stop." Her tone was filled with worry.

The first woman, hearing this, quickly comforted her, "Sister Ying, don't lose heart. This mountain range we're in is called the Yunduan Mountains, and it's very large. We might find it here."

Sister Ying responded with a soft "Mm," not saying much more. Although her worry didn't diminish, her voice remained gentle.

The man said, "The scenery by the lake is really nice, and the air is fresh. Let's cut some branches and set up the tent."

The first woman smiled and said, "There are four leaning trees over there. We don't need to go elsewhere to find branches. We can just cut them from those trees."

Xiaomo, upon hearing this, was overjoyed: They are coming over!

He was underwater and couldn't speak. Although he heard the three people's voices, he couldn't call out for help. When he first heard their footsteps, he suspected that these three might be with the people surnamed Chu and Wei from half a year ago, who had the same purpose. He was a bit worried, but after listening to a few sentences, he realized they weren't, and he relaxed.

The man said, "Although the rain has stopped for now, the sky is still overcast. It might start raining again at any moment. We shouldn't delay; let's set up the tent quickly."

The first woman agreed, "That's right, we need to hurry."

Xiaomo then heard their footsteps approaching his direction. Soon, they were nearby, and he heard continuous 'crack' 'crack' sounds above him, indicating that the three were cutting branches.

He was at the bottom of a pit, and after the rain, the lake water was a bit murky. The pit was originally covered with leaves and grass, which floated up when the water entered, blocking the view and making it even harder to see the bottom. His hands and feet were pinned, and he couldn't reach out to let them know he was there, which made him very anxious.

After the lake water rose, the pit he was in had merged with the lake. The three people were so focused on cutting branches that they didn't notice the pit by the lake.

Seeing that the three were about to leave after cutting the branches for the tent, Xiaomo became even more anxious. He struggled with his hands and kicked hard in the water, causing a few splashes.

But no matter how much noise he made underwater, it only created a few insignificant ripples on the surface.

However, Sister Ying was very observant and happened to look in his direction. Seeing the rippling water, she couldn't help but say, "Hmm! Why is the water suddenly moving?"

The man replied, "There might be fish."

Xiaomo, hearing that they had noticed the disturbance, was overjoyed. He quickly blew a breath, and a series of bubbles appeared on the surface.

"Hehe!" The first woman laughed and teased the man, "The fish heard you and are blowing bubbles to respond."

The man laughed. Sister Ying also seemed to accept their guess and smiled gently, saying nothing more.

Xiaomo blew a few more breaths, but the three still didn't notice him.

Xiaomo's air supply was limited, and he didn't dare blow too much. If he ran out of air and they still didn't notice him, he would be in trouble.

The three soon finished cutting the branches and started to walk back. Xiaomo was even more anxious: Could it be that I will die here today?

Just then, as the three were coming down from the trees, a mango tree swayed, and there was a light 'thud' as something fell into the water, causing a splash.

Xiaomo then felt a cool sensation on his chest, and something had landed on it. He reached out and immediately realized it was a key, attached to a keychain, seemingly a car key. He felt a surge of joy and renewed hope: They lost their key, so they will definitely come back to look for it.

Sure enough, not long after, he heard Sister Ying softly exclaim, "Ah!"

The first woman, concerned, asked, "Sister Ying, what's wrong?"

Sister Ying replied, "I think I lost my car key." Her voice remained calm and gentle, showing no signs of panic.

Xiaomo couldn't help but think: This 'Sister Ying' is really interesting.

He also knew that such calmness in the face of adversity was a reflection of one's upbringing and education, something that couldn't be faked and took a long time to develop. Such a person not only had good family values but also had sufficient knowledge and life experience.

The first woman asked, "Did you leave it in the car?"

Sister Ying replied, "I don't think so. I saw it not long ago, so it might have been... lost while we were cutting branches. I'll go look for it."

The man called out, "Sister Ying, do you need our help?"

Sister Ying smiled, "No, I can look for it myself. Thank you, Xiaolei."

The man laughed, "Sister Ying, you're too polite."

The first woman added, "Sister Ying, you go look first. Xiaoli and I will set up the tent. If you haven't found it by the time the tent is up, we'll help you look."

"Thank you, Xiaoli," Sister Ying said, her tone sincere.

"You're welcome!" Xiaoli chuckled.

Xiaomo then heard Sister Ying's footsteps approaching. Even underwater, he could tell her steps were light and steady. She soon arrived nearby.

Xiaomo listened intently to her movements and could even hear her light, even breathing. From this, it was easy to tell that her calmness after losing her key was genuine.

Based on her breathing, Xiaomo judged her position and direction. Whenever she looked in his direction, he would blow a breath underwater.

After a few times, Sister Ying finally noticed something was off. She took a few more steps and stood on the mango tree, looking down.

She was now directly above Xiaomo and saw that there was a pit in the water. However, the water was too murky to see the bottom.

Xiaomo, sensing her movement, was overjoyed and blew another breath, this time longer, creating a series of bubbles.

Sister Ying was puzzled and broke off a branch, using it to push some leaves aside on the water's surface.

Xiaomo, though he couldn't see, heard the water and blew another breath.

Sister Ying saw this and turned to the other two, calling out, "Xiaolei, Xiaoli, come take a look. What's going on here? Why are there bubbles coming from the water? It's very strange."

The two were busy setting up the tent and didn't move. Xiaoli replied, "If there are bubbles in the water, it's either fish or something decaying at the bottom, producing what we call methane gas, which is toxic. Don't get too close."

Sister Ying said, "Oh," and seeing that they weren't coming, she didn't call them again. She knew about methane, but the bubbles didn't look like that at all.

She took the branch and poked the water again, trying to gauge the depth of the pit.

The pit was over a meter deep, and her branch was a bit short, so she couldn't reach the bottom. Xiaomo, feeling anxious, blew a few more breaths. This time, the breaths were very short, each forming a single bubble, with about a second between each bubble, hoping Sister Ying would notice.

Sister Ying, though puzzled, couldn't immediately think that there was a person at the bottom of the pit. She broke off a longer branch and poked the water again, this time right above Xiaomo's head.

Xiaomo, hearing the branch enter the water, turned his head. The branch brushed past his ear and touched the bottom of the pit. As the branch was pulled back, he suddenly opened his mouth and bit down on it.

Sister Ying pulled up, but the branch seemed to be stuck. She tried several times but couldn't pull it up, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "Hmm? What's going on?"

She used both hands to pull again, and Xiaomo suddenly let go. Sister Ying, caught off guard, almost fell off the mango tree into the water. She quickly crouched down and held onto the tree to steady herself.

She looked into the water, even more puzzled.

Xiaomo took this opportunity to blow another long breath, expelling all the air from his lungs in a rush, creating a series of bubbles on the surface.

Sister Ying finally realized something and jumped into the water, diving down to the bottom of the pit. Xiaomo moved his face closer, and Sister Ying touched his face.

"Ah!" Sister Ying, usually calm and composed, was startled. There was actually... a person at the bottom of the pit, and it seemed... to be alive.