Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 198

Xiangzi pursed his lips and looked in the direction from which the ripples came.

“It’s right down there,” she said confidently.

Perhaps because it was close to the signal source, the direction became more specific. This time it was no longer some vague direction like front, back, left, or right. The source of the fluctuation was the bottom of the sinkhole.

The Tale of the Lost: The Spirit of Youth: Chapter 238 Drown

A sickening scraping sound echoed through the hollow as the beast's claws gripped the rock wall, slowing its descent.

Chu Hua landed steadily on the ground.

Mio jumped down from behind her and patted the small pebbles that had landed on her shoulder.

"I never expected you to come down in such a direct and violent way," she said, turning the back of her head to Chu Hua.

"We're pressed for time," Chu Hua replied indifferently.

She looked up.

The opening above our heads was only about the size of a fist. It must be at least tens of meters deep now, probably below sea level.

"It's not over yet. Do you think this is the end?" Mio glanced at her and took the flashlight from her waist.

With a snap, the flashlight switched on, illuminating the view at the bottom of the sinkhole.

The cone-shaped stalactites were still dripping water, and the dark, slippery stones formed a circle, making the underground space feel cramped and oppressive.

Chu Hua's pupils had just adjusted to the brightness of the light below when they were stimulated by the flashlight beam, causing them to shrink to slits. It took a while for them to readjust.

"Not at the bottom yet? How deep is it here?" she asked.

"It's very deep," Mio said as she walked toward a crack at one end of the pit.

It was a crack that looked as if it had been forcibly cleaved open, just wide enough for one person to pass through in one direction. Similar cracks are very common in earthquake-prone areas.

Chu Hua silently followed behind Mio, watching her back.

Why did you come here in the first place?

“An adventure,” Mio said.

"I don't remember you being the kind of person who likes to jump around."

On the contrary, it is me.

Chu Hua didn't say the second half of what she was saying; she changed her mind.

Is it really just an adventure?

“Of course not.” Mio sighed. “I was the first person to discover the sinkhole. The research team also wants me to be their guide. All in all, I’ve been here several times.”

"..." Chu Hua remained silent for a while after listening.

“I can earn money and save it up without my parents knowing.” Seeing that Chu Hua didn’t speak, Mio explained again, “Once I’ve saved enough money, I can go to a big city.”

"Would you come to such a dangerous place so many times just for money?"

Just the path she just came down from there would have been very dangerous for her to do alone without Chu Hua carrying her.

Generally speaking, a scientific expedition team would not allow a teenage girl to act as a guide, but Mio later added that she was the only local person who had gone down there, and that she herself had asked to be the guide for the expedition team.

"What do you know?" Mio glanced back at Hatsuka. "I'll do anything to get out of here."

"These lines sound so familiar." Xiangzi pursed his lips and leaned against Chuhua's back.

However, Mio's calm tone didn't sound like something she said without thinking during an emotional outburst.

She probably really tried everything.

It was this indifferent tone, as if all efforts had failed and the tone had become thin and cold, that made Chu Hua feel particularly uncomfortable.

However, the source of this discomfort was not Mio, but herself.

He easily left the island, developed his career in a big city, and even became a star.

From the perspective of a successful person, whatever she says is seen as sarcasm towards the other person.

So she silently shut her mouth and obediently followed behind Mio.

Xiangzi quietly lay on Chuhua's back, experiencing the emotions surging from within the Soul Gem.

Xiangzi wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that she and Chuhua were starting to think more and more alike in some ways.

She blinked and glanced around at the quiet surroundings.

The battle on the sea surface had long since ceased to affect this place. All that remained were the dripping of water and the sound of footsteps in the pool, so quiet that it felt as if this place belonged to another world.

They followed Mio all the way down.

It's like walking on the road to hell, passing through a gate that no one else can pass through.

I will continue walking alone.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally emerged from the narrow crevice.

The flashlight beam shot out from the narrow crack and shone on the stalagmites hanging upside down more than ten meters away. Wherever the light reached, the densely packed stalagmites looked like flowers blooming upside down.

Or rather, they are more like people who are imprisoned.

When Xiangzi recalled the stories about the sea witch, and looked at the upside-down stalactites, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Combined with the black pus that kept surging upwards from below, which Xiangzi saw as a tangible substance, perhaps only a true hell could compare to this place.

"Be careful, there's a cliff ahead," Mio warned.

“I know, I see things more clearly than you do,” Chu Hua said.

Compared to Xiangzi and Mio, who can only see with the light of a flashlight, Chuhua can see much more.

Her beastly eyes widened to their maximum size, reflecting a faint green light. She raised her head and scanned the surroundings.

"This... is too exaggerated." Chu Hua opened her mouth slightly.

She was unable to describe in words what she had seen.

The cave was unimaginably vast; the place they were standing on was merely a tiny corner, a small stone platform just big enough to step on. Looking ahead, there were still dozens of meters to the other end of the cave wall. Looking up, the ceiling was another dozens of meters away. Looking down, there was a bottomless abyss shrouded in mist.

Chu Hua's thoughts were exactly the same as Xiang Zi's. This was no underwater cave; it was an abyss, a scene straight out of hell.

"But...why is there no sound at all?" Chu Hua murmured. "Is the Sea Witch really here?"

“If what you say is true, and the sea witch is in the sinkhole,” Mio shone her flashlight downwards and gestured with her chin, “she might be at the very bottom.”

"The very bottom?"

"Yes, the expedition team said they detected a large area of ​​flat land at the very bottom using instruments."

"How deep must it be?"

"They say it's over a thousand meters, but nobody's ever gone down there." Mio flicked her flashlight to illuminate the path to the side.

She held onto the wall and continued walking down the path.

"Over a thousand meters?!"

"Ah."

"How long will it take?!"

"I don't know, but I will take you to the deepest point I can go down."

"...No need." Chu Hua covered her forehead, saying with a headache, "I can fly down from here—"

If I had told you it was such a deep abyss, I wouldn't have needed anyone to guide me; I could have just jumped in.

However, before she could finish speaking, Chu Hua caught a flash of light out of the corner of her eye, heading straight for Mio.

Time seemed to slow down.

Chu Hua used all her strength to shatter the stone platform beneath her feet and ran towards Mio, who was still in a daze.

锔——!

A purplish-red laser beam grazed Chu Hua's shoulder.

She embraced Mio as she fell into the endless abyss.

=====

P.S.: I know you all love laser bugs, so I added this in.

The Lost Tale: Youthful Spirit - Chapter 239: The Liberation of True Names

锔——!

The laser beam almost grazed Chu Hua. If she hadn't pushed Mio away, the laser beam would have gone far beyond just grazing her.

Chu Hua, holding Mio, fell down from the shattered rock platform.

Falling into an unknown abyss.

Xiangzi clung tightly to Chuhua's neck, falling with her.

The wind blew against his cheeks, and Xiangzi forced himself to open his eyes, observing his surroundings as he fell.

Sure enough, the attack just now was only the beginning. Faint purple light flickered in all directions of the cave, as if something was gathering.

"Chuhua! There are lasers too!" Xiangzi shouted. "They're aiming at your falling trajectory!"

Upon hearing the sound, Chu Hua spread her wings, her descent abruptly halted, and several laser beams shot past directly below her.

"There's more at the nine o'clock position diagonally above!"

Xiangzi pointed to the glowing spots that had gathered on the rock wall.

Chu Hua glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, then folded her wings again, hugged Mio tightly, and fell down with gravity.

锔——!

This time, the laser passed overhead.

But it wasn't over yet. More lasers shot in from all directions of the cave, almost weaving a large net, trying to envelop Chu Hua.

The lasers are incredibly accurate and can even predict Chu Hua's next move. Only by dodging the lasers the instant they are fired can one barely manage to graze them.

The laser beam pierced the rock wall, and the high temperature instantly melted the rock it touched. A large, dark red bump appeared on the rock wall, and like a popped pimple, it spewed out a ball of lava.

It's hard to imagine what it would be like to be hit by such a laser. With Xiangzi's occasional reminders, Chu Hua could only spread her wings and dodge the laser beams shooting out from the darkness time and time again, falling down continuously.

How deep is a 1,000-meter abyss? Xiangzi had no concept of the number, only that they had been traversing the abyss of the cave for quite a while, probably more than a minute.

Even if Chu Hua could fly, and would adjust its position from time to time, or even fly horizontally for a distance, it would still take too long.

With a descent time approaching two minutes, the fall should have already exceeded a height of one thousand meters.

With its wingspan spread, it can reach up to five meters or even more; just standing there, it exudes a strong sense of oppression.

But even with such a large wingspan, compared to the seemingly endless abyss of the cave, it is nothing more than a fallen leaf the size of a palm.

Chu Hua was as insignificant as a swift soaring into the storm, passing through the curtain of lasers time and time again, falling into the unknown underground world.

wandering.

come down.

Sink.

Lost in the mist at the bottom of the abyss.

......

......

......

Bang!

Suddenly, it was as if they had passed through a thin film; the fog that had been obscuring their vision vanished instantly, and the smooth ground loomed larger and larger before their eyes.

Chu Hua flapped her wings, scattering magic downwards to slow her descent. With a slight tremor in the ground, she landed steadily on the ground.

"Is this the very bottom?" Chu Hua looked up at the canyon shrouded in smoke.

They couldn't see anything anymore, and they didn't know where they were.