The narrow pass makes it impossible to pass through the fast-flowing river.
The oxygen was about to run out. Lu Li stopped exploring and returned as far as possible.
The river water pushes Lu Li's back, allowing him to return to the island faster, but he may also pass by the island unintentionally and be carried further downstream by the underground river——
A ray of light seeped into the dense darkness.
Lu Li, who deviated slightly from his direction, approached the light on the water and surfaced.
Wow——
Climbing up the rock with dripping river water, Lu Li returned to the fire and sat down to warm himself and relax his breathing.
"Have you found the way to the outside?" Friday asked him, holding the can.
"Next time."
Lu Li gave a short answer.
Whether that's despairing or hopeful.
While waiting for his body to warm up, Lu Li filled up the river water with empty cans and placed it next to the fire to heat it. Before setting off again, he drank the scalding hot water.
With the heat that warmed his body, Lu Li got into the underground river again and followed the last route.
The rock wall began to shrink at the ten-meter mark. This time, Lu Li did not stop and continued upward.
The rapid water pulled him backwards, and his skin was washed away and turned pale. The rock wall quickly closed in, forming a narrow pass only 20 centimeters wide at about fifteen meters.
There was only the thick darkness of the noisy water flow. Lu Li spit out bubbles that were lost in the water flow, stretched his arms into the narrow gap, pressed his shoulders against the pass, and tried his best to stretch out.
At a certain moment, a completely different touch from the rushing water appeared on his fingertips. It was only for a moment, but it was enough to make Lu Li feel a more tranquil and peaceful feeling.
Lu Li touched the air.
With little oxygen left, Lu Li did not turn around and return to the island. He kicked his legs between the rock walls and continued to caress the pass with his hands.
The pass is not all narrow and narrow. Maybe if you keep swimming in a certain direction, the pass will gradually become wider until it can accommodate one person.
That might be where Lu Li entered the underground river.
Before he was deprived of oxygen, Lu Li returned to the island and climbed onto the rocks wetly.
"Found it?" Friday asked.
"Um."
There was only calmness on Lu Li's face, as if he didn't care about the answer he found. Only his words revealed his thoughts: "Can you get the rope or the water bag?"
The former allows him to never lose his way back to the island, and the latter can extend his diving time.
Touching the pass is already close to Lu Li's limit, and it is difficult to improve further unless Lu Li does not consider the return journey.
"I'll give it a try," he said. Friday put his hand into the underground river, fished it out a few times, stretched it back out and wiped it clean on his black robe.
"It can't be done."
Friday was not prepared to help Lu Li get out of trouble.
Lu Li didn't say anything. When his body warmed up, he prepared a can of hot water just like last time. He stayed by the fire for a longer time, holding up the hot can and drinking it slowly, one sip at a time, to build up the temperature.
A few minutes later, Lu Li put down the empty can, entered the underground river, filled his lungs with air, and drilled into the rock wall occupied by the cold river.
Facing the harsh current, Lu Li arrived at the pass again and moved to the right along the pass.
After moving a certain distance, Lu Li raised his palm to explore the pass. There seemed to be some changes in the pass, but it seemed not.
After spitting out bubbles that disappeared instantly, Lu Li endured the burning sensation in his lungs and continued to move.
Stay for another ten seconds.
Lu Li silently calculated the limit he could hold on to, and raised his palm to touch the pass again.
This time the feeling is completely different, the water flow is gentler and the gap is larger, it seems that it can accommodate one person to pass through.
Without hesitation, Lu Li climbed up the pass and climbed up against the current. He quickly passed through the pass with his head pressed against the rock wall, and then his neck, but his chest was stuck by the rock wall.
Lu Li stretched out his arm. This time, half of his forearm was exposed to the water, and the feeling of wind blowing on his skin was clearer than before.
He grabbed the air with his outstretched palm and brought it back to his mouth and nose.
Lu Li inhaled, and thin oxygen and cold water rushed into his nasal cavity at the same time, penetrated into his trachea, and flowed into his lungs.
The foreign body sensation was so unbearable that he wanted to curl up and cough violently, but Lu Li forced himself to endure it.
Breathing will only cause you to lose consciousness due to choking on water.
Hope is in front of him, but Lu Li is facing a choice.
The width of the pass is limited, so Lu Li might be able to squeeze out and return to the outside world. But it might get stuck in his chest, causing him to drown in pain between the cracks.
Lu Li's body crawled back into the pass, indicating his choice: to retreat into the hollow of the rock formation.
Relying on his memory to return to the pass he first touched, Lu Li let go of his hand and let the dark river surround him and return the way he came.
Ten meters, five meters, one meter, around.
Lu Li began to have difficulty thinking due to lack of oxygen.
He should have arrived near the isolated island, but there was still a rock wall above his head, and there was nothing but rich darkness in his sight.
Off course?
Lu Li raised his hands to climb on the rock wall, stabilized his body in the underground river, and moved to the right with difficulty.
Gulu——
A long series of bubbles disappeared in the turbulent water, and Lu Li's body gradually became weak.
As his consciousness gradually blurred, he vaguely saw a warm and warm light shining downstream, like the dawn rising from the horizon, illuminating the entire ocean.
Unable to control his body, all Lu Li could do was to close his mouth and nose tightly before his consciousness disappeared, to prevent his coma and death from being accelerated by the icy water pouring into his lungs, and to let the undercurrent take him to the source of the light——
Just like a boat hitting a rock, Lu Li hit a rock and was pulled out of the undercurrent by a white hand.
Friday put down the "Lighthouse", dragged Lu Li, who had pale and blue skin, onto the rock, squeezed his chest, and let air flow into his lungs.
Lu Li's sinking consciousness returned to his body, and Lu Li's breathing began to recover. He turned over and coughed violently and retched.
"You almost drowned yourself."
Friday said from the side.
"I found...the way to the outside." Lu Li wiped the water stains from the corner of his mouth and leaned against the fire to warm up.
Friday was noncommittal and said in a normal tone as if nothing had happened: "Congratulations, we can get out of here."
This time the rest was particularly long.
Lu Li suffered from hypothermia after being immersed in an undercurrent of only a few degrees for a long time and nearly losing consciousness due to lack of oxygen.
He wrapped his coat tightly and kept the fire burning brighter to prevent hypothermia from turning into a disease.
After resting for a while, Lu Li heated up the river water to warm his whole body again before entering the underground river.
This time, Lu Li did not go straight up, but with some inclination, he went straight to the pass he explored last time and began to move to the right.
The pass gradually became narrower and closed, as if it was about to close not far away. Lu Li continued to move patiently.
When there was not much oxygen left, the pass expanded again, and the pass seemed to become wider than before——
Without hesitation, Lu Li got into the pass, first his head, then his body——
Lu Li got his head out of the water.
The noise under the chaotic water suddenly became clear, and the high-pitched sound of rushing water rang in his ears, as if he was jumping for joy for Lu Li's rebirth.
Lu Li climbed out of the pass and stood up, with river water dripping all over his body. He stood quietly in the calf-deep water and looked up at the sky.
