Lu Zhe nodded: "We don't know if they're brave or foolish, bringing along their concubine, eunuchs, and daughter. They could have lived well here, but they had to dig their own graves."
Shen Bing sighed: "Going from having everything to having nothing at all, they definitely can't accept it."
Lu Zhe asked in return: "Aren't we the same?"
Shen Bing pondered, then nodded: "That's true. Although we couldn't compare to the Emperor before, we grew up under the red flag, basking in the sunshine with bright futures ahead. Then suddenly, we had nothing."
At this, Shen Bing smiled again: "But there are gains and losses. We lost our jobs, promotions, social circles, but we met all of you and fell in love. The only pity is that we can't go on dates to the movies, missing out on some romance."
"Hmm..." Lu Zhe looked around: "Is watching movies that interesting? Playing a naked escape room would be truly romantic!"
"That's not romantic, it's cringe!" Shen Bing said with a reddened face.
Lu Zhe continued: "But really! They have knives, tools, cattle and sheep. They probably even have spare clothes. If they had brought some seeds, they could really live well on this island."
"You think everyone is like you?" Shen Bing sighed deeply: "From what I see now, this island is resource-rich with diverse species. But when I first arrived, I almost broke my arms just to get a bit of coconut water. The Emperor, his concubine, and eunuchs who barely left the palace wouldn't know a thing about finding food in these wild mountains."
Lu Zhe nodded: "That makes sense!"
At this moment, Lu Zhe noticed that the soil near the opening was more damp than elsewhere.
He pinched some soil, smelled it, and detected a faint scent of sulfur on his fingertips.
Lu Zhe's heart stirred: "Could it be connected to a sulfur spring?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm not very sure! But it's very possible that this place is connected to some sulfur spring."
"Is it the one from the volcanic vent we went into?"
"Maybe, or maybe not. I'm not clear on that! But if the steam can permeate through the soil to reach here, I guess this hole can't be too deep. Perhaps we could dig through to another passage."
Shen Bing pointed at the "trumpet opening": "What about that direction?"
Lu Zhe adjusted his tone slightly: "Bing, we now have two choices. One is to continue stacking the gold and silver blocks, trying to go back up. Two is to dig here and see if we can find another passage."
"What do you think?"
"Going up is safer - it's definitely the way back. But at our current pace, just building that gold mountain would take two to three days. Going down is likely a through path, but we don't know where it leads."
Shen Bing looked at Lu Zhe and shook her head gently: "I don't know, but I trust your judgement. You decide!"
Lu Zhe pondered for a moment: "Since we have tools now, let's dig this path and see. We can also try to get some freshwater."
"Isn't sulfur spring water full of minerals and toxins?"
"Definitely not suitable for drinking, but after distilling and filtering, drinking a bit to save your life is better than nothing, at least better than urine."
Shen Bing nodded: "So we'll start digging here?"
Lu Zhe looked at the tools left by the previous inhabitants.
The pickaxe head had a thick layer of rust, but being solid iron, its functionality was unimpaired.
The shovel was in much worse shape, barely usable.
Lu Zhe knelt down and began digging the soil.
His hands gripped the over-twenty-pound pickaxe head like it was a tree branch.
The thick soil felt as soft as potting mix.
Within just an hour, he had dug out a pit.
Then, Lu Zhe pinched soil from different areas of the pit and squeezed it, the soil releasing water when squeezed.
Comparing the moisture levels, he found the soil was wetter towards the east!
"This way..."
He continued digging, the hole getting deeper and wetter, unsure of how much further to go.
"Hey, you're getting yourself all dirty!" Shen Bing reminded him.
Lu Zhe didn't mind: "It'd be weird not to get dirty doing this kind of work."
"Other places being dirty is fine, but not there. You could get an infection."
Lu Zhe looked down, sighed helplessly: "In these harsh conditions, there's no choice."
"Still, you should clean up!"
"No way, we have so little freshwater left. Can't waste it cleaning that."
"Hmm...I've got an idea!"
After some splashing sounds, Lu Zhe was finally clean in that area.
But...another problem arose:
Shen Bing looked at him: "Didn't we agree to restrain each other? How did you end up like this again?"
"Sis, can I help it? Even a celestial being couldn't resist in this situation!"
"Then what should we do? Should you...recite the Dissertation on the Philosopher Zhuang again?"
"What about you?"
"I'll endure it!"
"Forget it, one last time?"
Shen Bing pondered: "Alright, but really the last time!"
Half an hour later, with a "swoosh" sound, the dirt wall suddenly collapsed. In a flash, Lu Zhe quickly shielded Shen Bing as they both tumbled into another place.
For a moment, they were both bewildered.
The pit they had failed to dig through collapsed due to their movements, an unexpected situation neither anticipated.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!"
"Where is this?"
"I don't know either!"
Shen Bing looked around and realized they were now in an underground river passage.
Bioluminescent algae grew on the walls, water rushed past them, and a faint scent of sulfur hung in the air.
They both knew what this meant.
They had really dug through!
But where this path led, they still weren't clear!
Then, she heard Lu Zhe's voice.
"Why don't you get off me first?!"
"Oh!" Shen Bing moved aside tactfully and helped Lu Zhe up.
Lu Zhe rubbed his head and surveyed the situation: "Looks like we really made it through."
"But where does this lead?"
"You stay here and guard, I'll go scout ahead!"
"No!" Shen Bing grabbed his arm.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Bing suddenly said softly: "I...I'm scared!"
Lu Zhe smiled: "Hey, dear! You're the policewoman, I'm just a civilian. You're telling me you're scared?..."
But he couldn't continue with those words.
It was the first time he had seen Shen Bing with such an expression!
Worry and vulnerability were clearly written on her face.
In that moment, she was no longer the poised, confident policewoman he knew. Instead, she resembled a little woman completely reliant on and concerned for her husband.
"If we live, we live together. If we die, we die together. Don't leave me here alone worrying about you."
At this moment, apart from the faint sulfur, the air was filled with romance.
Lu Zhe caressed her hair and nodded emotionally: "Yeah, from tonight onward, we may not be born on the same year, month and day, but we'll strive to die on the same year, month and day!"
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
invincible power, Gu Changge transmigrates into a fantasy world, bound to a sign-in system that grants him cultivation rewards and various peerless treasures daily. While others struggle desperately to break through their cultivation realms, he has long since reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao, becoming a reclusive Emperor whose true strength even he himself cannot fathom. Originally planning to lie low and retire peacefully on Purple Bamboo Peak, the system suddenly issues a new task — take on disciples. With no other choice, Gu Changge casually picks up a few disciples: The eldest disciple, born with a War God Constitution, is thrown a copy of "War God Stratagems" by him, and ends up conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, becoming a peerless War God who sweeps across the cosmos. The second disciple, possessing a Chaos Sword Body, can break all techniques with a single sword, his swordsmanship unmatched throughout history. He points his sword at the heavens: "My master said, the sword and the man stand together. If the sword perishes... my master will give me another one." The third disciple, a reborn Empress who returns to her throne, her elegance and grace overshadowing all beings. And without anyone noticing, his own sect, the Qingxuan Sect, has become the number one sect on the continent. Looking at these unbelievably formidable disciples, Gu Changge, holding the "Primordial Purple Qi" he just signed in for, falls into deep thought: — Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful retirement? How did I become the ultimate master?!
[Dao Companion Rental System]. By renting himself out as a temporary dao companion to daughters of destiny, Qin Hao could obtain generous rewards. His service philosophy was simple: play the role of the devoted lover, resolve their troubles, depart without a trace once the matter was settled, and absolutely avoid entangling karma. However, those daughters of destiny didn't see it that way. That night, all the major powers across the Three Realms and Nine Heavens jointly besieged the Qin Clan, plunging it into an unprecedented crisis. "It's Su Qingyue! The peerless sword immortal who attained the Dao and became an Immortal Emperor in a thousand years, the one who severed the River of Time with a single sword strike! When... when did our Qin Clan make an enemy of her?" Qin Hao stepped forward, clearing his throat lightly: "Ahem, Ancestors, don't panic. She's here for me. To be honest... she's my ex-girlfriend." From another direction, the newly ascended Empress of the Demon Realm arrived with ten thousand demons pressing on the border: "Qin Hao! Today, the entire Qin Clan shall be buried with you!" Hearing this, the Qin Clan ancestors all turned their eyes sharply towards Qin Hao. Qin Hao scratched his head somewhat sheepishly: "The Demon Empress... she's also my ex-girlfriend." Before the Qin ancestors could process this, an aloof figure traversed the River of Time: "The Qin Clan deserves annihilation!" Recognizing the newcomer, the Qin ancestors paled in terror: "It's her! Liu Ruyan, the Extinction Empress who ventured alone into the alien realm and suppressed it for an entire epoch! Didn't she vanish into the River of Time long ago? Why would she cross it just to target our clan?" Qin Hao scratched his head again, looking even more embarrassed: "My fault, my fault. She's an ex-girlfriend too." Watching countless celestial maidens descend, the Qin Clan ancestors were utterly astounded: "You scoundrel! Just... just how many women have you gotten involved with over the years?"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
