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!"
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
. 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!"
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
