Chapter 19: The One Who Crawled Out of the Landslide

Including Captain Chang Jieming, the security team had a total of twenty-seven members. Chang Jieming counted several times in quick succession, but only twenty-five men answered the roll. Old He and Little Chen were missing.

“Wake up, everyone!” At his urging, the security guards snapped to attention.

“Did Fei Chengqiang’s gang attack us?” One of the security guards looked around nervously, clutching his stun baton.

“Fei Chengqiang hasn’t attacked. Old He and Little Chen are gone. They went deeper into the cave and haven’t come back. I suspect there’s a problem inside. From now on, we’re staying here, and we need to thoroughly search the cave.” Chang Jieming held a flashlight in one hand and a steel pipe in the other. “I need a few of you who are fully awake to come in with me.”

“I’ll go!” Several men picked up their weapons and hurried after him.

“Eight is enough,” Chang Jieming said. “The rest, guard the entrance. Don’t let anyone from Fei Chengqiang’s side find this place.”

After giving his orders, Chang Jieming led eight security guards into the depths of the cave. This cave was rarely visited, and a thick layer of dust covered the ground, making the footprints left by Old He and Little Chen particularly clear. But as they went about a hundred meters in, the footprints suddenly vanished.

There was no abyss ahead where the footprints disappeared. The men hadn’t fallen. Had they ascended into the sky? Chang Jieming shined his flashlight upward; there was nothing on the cave ceiling.

No—something was off. In theory, such a cave should have large colonies of bats, yet there were none here. As he puzzled over this, a noise sounded nearby—a steel pipe clattered to the ground. Old Xing, who should have been standing there, had vanished.

“Where’s Old Xing?!” Chang Jieming felt a chill run down his spine. One moment, the man was there; the next, gone, even with so many people together.

“I—I didn’t see anything. Old Xing was right here, and then suddenly he disappeared…” The young guard next to where Old Xing had been trembled as he spoke.

“Captain, could this place be haunted?” asked another, older guard.

The suggestion sent a ripple of fear through the group.

“There are no such things as ghosts in this world!” Chang Jieming shouted. “Everyone, check—”

But before he could finish, a young guard dropped his stun baton; before he could even scream, he was swept into the darkness, silent and unseen.

“A ghost!” someone shouted in terror, and bolted for the cave entrance.

Chang Jieming felt his soul leave his body. He shone his flashlight deeper into the cave. This time, he saw it—something within the darkness reflected the beam, glinting eerily. Eyes. Unidentifiable, monstrous eyes.

As the beam illuminated it, whatever was hiding deep in the cave stirred. At last, Chang Jieming saw it clearly—a gargantuan spider. Next to it were the security guards who had just been snatched away. Their mouths were sealed with webs, suffocating them; they thrashed in panic, but the more they struggled, the more silk bound them, cocooning them alive…

Chang Jieming dared not stay another second. He fled for his life.

…

“Xiao An, breakfast is ready.” Su Miao set a bowl of fish porridge, fried dough sticks, and savory pancakes on the table, calling for Xia Xiao’an to eat.

But Xia Xiao’an didn’t answer.

Hmm? Su Miao walked to Xia Xiao’an’s room and knocked. No response. She hesitated, then pushed the door open.

Xia Xiao’an lay in bed, her face flushed. Su Miao touched her forehead—it was burning hot.

She had a fever! It must have been from getting caught in the rain twice yesterday.

Thinking quickly, Su Miao retrieved a thermometer and a COVID test kit from her magical storage.

“Xiao An, let’s check your temperature.” Five minutes later, Su Miao checked the thermometer: 39.1°C. Then she swabbed Xia Xiao’an’s throat and put the sample into the test kit, which turned positive.

Su Miao’s expression changed several times. It was a viral flu. In this condition, if the wrong medication was given or there was no medicine at all, twelve-year-old Xia Xiao’an would be in grave danger.

Su Miao took out the “Barefoot Doctor’s Manual” from her magical storage and, following its instructions, retrieved antiviral medicine for Xia Xiao’an to take. The water she used to help her swallow the medicine was lightly salted—a folk remedy, though she wasn’t sure if it would help.

“Xiao An, drink all the salt water.” Su Miao supervised as Xia Xiao’an sipped it until it was gone.

As an extra precaution, Su Miao placed a fever-cooling patch on Xia Xiao’an’s forehead.

“Sister Su…” Xia Xiao’an murmured weakly.

“It’s nothing, just a little cold. Sleep, and you’ll feel better. Get some rest.” Su Miao tucked her in and comforted her.

“Thank you, Sister Su…” Xia Xiao’an’s voice was feeble. Her breathing was labored, but soon the medicine took effect, and she drifted into a deep sleep.

Watching her sleep, Su Miao returned to the living room, ate breakfast, and took a vitamin C tablet to guard against infection. In a world like this, if she caught viral flu as well, and someone tried to break in, she’d be in grave danger.

As she was thinking this, Su Miao heard something outside. She looked out and noticed that the torrential rains, which had lasted more than half a month, had finally stopped.

But the sky remained gray and heavy, and there was no telling when the deluge might return. According to the prophecy, the downpour would last until December 1, 2123. For now, it seemed only to have stopped regionally.

Suddenly, Su Miao noticed a man crawling out from the landslide area in the distance.

What? That tough? He actually crawled out of the mudslide zone.

Su Miao stared in amazement. In fact, after days of relentless rain, some parts of the mudslide area were no longer as treacherous. However, the runoff from these firmer patches was still swift, and anyone not careful could easily be swept into danger.

Yet this man had not been swept away. He had stubbornly crawled out. Still, he looked unsteady. After emerging, he staggered about fifty paces, then collapsed at the intersection near Su Miao's villa.

Fortunately, the rain had stopped. Otherwise, lying there, he would surely have been washed back by the raging water. Now, though, the water on the ground was less than ten centimeters deep—not enough to sweep a person away.

Su Miao glanced at the empty street. At the moment, aside from this unconscious man, there was no one else around.

Did he escape from the restaurant district? She stood by the window on the second floor, watching, with no intention of going out to help.

She was afraid. If this were a trap, anyone coming to his aid would be in danger.

But soon, Su Miao saw blood pooling around the unconscious man, staining the ground red. It probably wasn’t a trap. If she didn’t help, he would likely die.

Still, Su Miao was frightened. She didn’t know if he was good or evil, and she had no desire to leave the safety of her villa.