Chapter 155: The Man-Eating Pool

The dark water’s surface terrified Xiao Chen and the others. Naturally, their primary fear stemmed from the sheer unfamiliarity of the place. Had they been out on the vast ocean, no matter how harsh the environment, they would not have felt this petrified. But in an unpeopled, subterranean underground river deep in a dark pool like this, facing such an utterly unknown environment, it was impossible not to be afraid.

Xiao Chen first tested the water temperature, then instructed the other two soldiers, "You must be careful. The water temperature here is only about two to three degrees Celsius. Based on our past experience in this kind of temperature, we can generally endure it for ten minutes. So everyone, pay attention: once you are in the water, try not to stay longer than ten minutes. You all have waterproof watches, set your timers. If you cannot bear it, do not force yourselves. Return immediately to the rope on the rock face and use the automatic ascender to go back up."

Xiao Chen had already repeated this twice, which made the other two soldiers extremely cautious. Matters of life and death left no room for carelessness.

Yet, deep down, Xiao Chen and his companions were acutely aware of the reality. Though unsaid, they all knew there was a ninety-nine percent chance that Zhang Can and Su Xue were already dead. There was nowhere to stop or rest down below. If they fell—and this was merely a hypothetical assumption—if the two of them had fallen from such a high cliff without being knocked unconscious by the impact, without drowning, but had then spent over an hour in this water, even if they hadn't died from the fall, they would have frozen to death. Not a single person could stay in such low water temperatures for over an hour without sustaining severe harm!

Xiao Chen and the others avoided speaking of this aloud simply to spare Wang Qian further grief. Under the current circumstances, if they could find Su Xue and Zhang Can's bodies and bring them back up the cliff, their mission would be considered fulfilled. To bring living people back up—only a deity could manage that.

Moreover, it now seemed that finding the bodies alone would be no easy task. If Zhang Can and Su Xue had drowned and sunk to the bottom of the pool, there was no telling how deep the water was. If it exceeded twenty meters, they had no way to dive that deep due to the freezing temperature and their total ignorance of the pool's bottom topography. If the bottom harbored a turbulent subterranean river, they would be utterly helpless. Whether it was the depth or the currents, these were insurmountable obstacles. For now, they could only do their utmost.

The moment he entered the water, Xiao Chen could not help shivering. The icy water instantly soaked all his clothes and trousers. Yet, water had this peculiarity: after adapting for a few seconds, the initial unbearable shock subsided. However, one could not leave the water's surface; the moment one emerged from the water, the unbearable, boundless cold would instantly strike with full force.

The three men entering the water—led by Xiao Chen—had to race against time, striving to investigate while they could still endure the cold before hurriedly returning.

Just as Xiao Chen entered the water, the two soldiers closely following him stepped in as well. Swimming a few meters away, Xiao Chen suddenly turned back and shouted, "No, everyone, head back immediately!"

Shouting urgently, Xiao Chen pressed the release mechanism on the waist rope, swam backward with all his might, and pulled himself along with the assistance of the mechanical device.

Xiao Chen could still endure the initial chill of entering the water, but after swimming barely a meter or two, he suddenly felt a tremendously powerful undercurrent swirling beneath his feet. Such phenomena were not uncommon; they frequently occurred at the ocean surface, which might appear calm and tranquil with zero movement, while violent undercurrents raged beneath. This undercurrent clearly indicated that a subterranean river must be flowing right through the bottom of this pool; otherwise, a stagnant body of water would never exhibit such conditions!

However, Xiao Chen had shouted too late. The other two soldiers were already swimming vigorously forward. Of the three, Xiao Chen was turning back while the other two swam past him. Hearing Xiao Chen's warning, before they even had time to reverse direction, they were suddenly yanked into the depths of the water by a massive suction force!

Because Xiao Chen had detected the danger earliest, turned back and swam at top speed, and activated his mechanical ascender well in advance—coupled with the fact that the sentry left behind on the rope had already stretched out his hands in anticipation—when Xiao Chen swam toward him rapidly, the guard grabbed his clothing. Pulling together with all their might, with a loud splash, Xiao Chen broke the surface of the water. On the rock face, the other soldier hastily helped him secure his safety harness upside down.

Disregarding the freezing cold on his body, the moment he was secured, Xiao Chen grabbed a spotlight from his comrade and shone it downward. The surface of the water remained as calm as a mirror, without a single ripple or trace of movement, save for the water droplets continuously dripping from his own body, creating tiny ripples on the water's surface that expanded in concentric circles until they vanished.

Looking at it this way, it was hard to believe that just moments ago it had swallowed two living human beings. The sheer magnitude of that suction force still left Xiao Chen shaken with lingering fear. The plastic rope on their gear was actually a high-strength nylon cord capable of bearing a hundred kilograms of weight. For that nylon cord to be snapped sheer in half by the sheer tensile pull of the water—the force was utterly terrifying!

There were no monsters in the pool, nor any obvious dangers exposed on the surface, but Xiao Chen knew they had no way of finding Su Xue and Zhang Can anymore—not even their bodies. Two of his own comrades had now been dragged down into the water's depths, swept away toward some unknown subterranean river, destined perhaps to rot in this deep, freezing underworld for the rest of their days!

There was no need to call out; shouting was useless, for there would be no reply. Xiao Chen and his remaining companion bit their lips so hard they drew blood. Watching their comrades get swallowed alive without being able to offer any rescue—that kind of anguish was truly unbearable!

At the top of the cliff, Wang Qian's face was ashen, his fingers trembling uncontrollably. Every single second of the situation below had been transmitted clearly to them via the walkie-talkies. In the blink of an eye, the lives of two more soldiers had vanished. How could he possibly accept this?

After a long, heavy silence, Wang Qian, with a pale face and trembling hands, finally picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Xiao Chen... come back. Immediately... pull back immediately..."

Twenty minutes later, Xiao Chen and his comrade, who climbed back up via the semi-automatic hoist, were completely exhausted. Xiao Chen in particular looked ashen and chilled to the bone, his lips turned a purplish-black. The people on the cliff quickly hauled him up, hastily unclipped his safety harness, and stripped off his clothes.

Xiao Chen had been frozen stiff for twenty minutes, rendering his body completely immobile; he could not even take off his own clothes and trousers. With the help of the others, he was stripped completely bare, quickly dressed in dry clothes by his comrades, and finally wrapped in a thick wool coat. Once bundled up so warmly, the color in Xiao Chen's face visibly improved.

The other soldier had not entered the water and was merely fatigued; he only needed rest. Seeing that Xiao Chen was out of danger, he spoke in a low, somber voice, "Mr. Wang, our... our two comrades have sacrificed themselves..."

Wang Qian's eyes grew moist. Overwhelmed by grief and helplessness, he said, "I am so sorry..."

Xiao Chen also chimed in anxiously from the side, "Mr. Wang, I'm sorry, we failed the mission..."

Wang Qian shook his head, speechless. A lump stuck in his throat, he was truly heartbroken. Zhang Can, whom he regarded like a biological brother, and Su Xue, his eldest sister's daughter—the loss of these two made the blow even harder to bear. If regret pills existed, he would have swallowed one without a moment's hesitation.

Although this was all for the old master's sake, if the old master ever truly found out about this, he would undoubtedly fly into an even greater rage. The old master had always been especially fond of Su Xue; heartbreak was a minor concern. What Wang Qian feared most was that if the old master suffered a sudden surge of grief and anger and something untoward happened to him, Wang Qian would never be able to forgive himself!

Yet, as things stood, such an outcome seemed entirely possible. Leaving aside the gravely ill old master, even Wang Qian himself could no longer endure this torment. Right now, he wished he could just jump down there himself and wash his hands of everything!

After resting for a while, Xiao Chen detailed the events that had unfolded after descending, carefully describing the conditions within the pool. Although he only spoke of their own direct encounter and omitted any mention of Su Xue and Zhang Can, everyone present knew with absolute, ten-thousand-percent certainty that Zhang Can and Su Xue, who had fallen over an hour earlier, had zero chance of survival. Even if they hadn't died from the fall, choking, or drowning, they would have frozen to death!

The only reason Wang Qian had insisted on descending to take a look was his lingering reluctance to accept the result, though deep down he had long anticipated it. Later, he had thought that even if they were dead, he had to bring their bodies home.

Yet now, the fate that had befell Xiao Chen's bodyguards plunged Wang Qian back into an icy abyss. Clearly, the bottom of that pool was a ferocious undercurrent; anything that fell in was inevitably swept away.

After lingering for a while longer, Wang Qian waved his hand gloomily and commanded, "Let's go back!"

His voice and tone were utterly dejected. Zheng Dabao was equally helpless. He wanted to comfort Wang Qian, but didn't know where to begin or how to console him. After all, the dead could not be resurrected; failing to save the deceased, how could one comfort the living?

Seventeen men were now reduced by two more. Having lost three men upon ascending the snow mountain, only fourteen remained. The fourteen men walked in total silence, dejectedly packing up their tools and equipment before retreating along the original path back to the cave entrance.

Arriving at the mouth of the cave, Wang Qian stepped out and cleared away the accumulated snow outside. Visibility remained extremely low, though the blizzard had subsided, primarily because the wind had died down.

Zheng Dabao looked up at the sky and scanned the surroundings, a hint of joy finally breaking through his expression. "The weather might be clearing up. As long as it stops snowing, we can set off. It's bound to be arduous, but with some care, we can make it through."

Wang Qian let out a heavy, depressed sigh and said, "Fine. When we can travel, we'll head out and go down the mountain!"

Zheng Dabao was momentarily startled, unsure of how to respond. Truth be told, in his professional opinion, turning back was undoubtedly the best choice. Yet had Wang Qian insisted on pressing forward, Zheng Dabao would never have refused; he would have followed him to the bitter end.

Wang Qian was no fool. Although desperately determined to fulfill his wish, under these circumstances, persisting in that goal would only result in more deaths—it was entirely possible they would all lose their lives. To knowingly force such a course of action was simply not Wang Qian's style.

In truth, Wang Qian's heart was already shattered. On one hand, he could not accept the imminent death of the gravely ill old master; on the other, he could not accept the deaths of Su Xue and Zhang Can. Yet if they pressed on, the soldiers protecting him, along with Zheng Dabao and his men, risked losing their lives as well. How could he bear to continue?

Returning inside the cave to rest, not a single person spoke a word. Losing comrades in the line of danger was the most agonizing sorrow of all.

After resting for half a day, Zheng Dabao ventured out once more to observe the weather. To his surprise, the moment he stepped outside, a vast, blinding expanse of white stretched seamlessly from the mountains to the skies. The wind was gone, the snowfall had ceased, and though the accumulated snow was deep, it had finally stopped!

"The snow... has stopped..." Zheng Dabao called out toward the cave entrance, unable to suppress the joy in his heart.