Chapter 24: Escaping Death (5)

  If it were just a matter of using air as a blade, cutting through such solid ground would still be impossible for Zhang Fan's abilities. To put it another way, although he was superpowered, there were also limitations to his powers, and not everything could be done successfully. If the air-formed blade couldn't solve this problem, then what method could break through the ground and reveal an opening without making a sound that would alarm the guards?

  After thinking for a long time, Zhang Fan finally found a solution. He made a mark at the entrance of the cave and then condensed the air into a drill bit, pointing it at the mark and drilling in. The single-point attack method was indeed effective. Before long, Zhang Fan felt that his air drill had fallen through, indicating that he had drilled through. However, at this point, Zhang Fan couldn't transform into a fly like Sun Wukong to fly inside.

  In the same way, Zhang Fan drilled several more holes along the cave entrance until those holes formed a circle around it. These actions also consumed a considerable amount of energy for Zhang Fan. After resting for a while, Zhang Fan began the final step, condensing and compressing the air to its smallest size, then squeezing it into those small holes. Once the small holes were filled with the compressed air created by Zhang Fan, he would suddenly let the air expand, just like how water expands when it freezes into ice blocks. The force generated by the expanding compressed air was also astonishing.

  With a loud bang, the entrance to the cave was finally blasted open by Zhang Fan in the form of an air bomb. The large boulder at the entrance fell into the cave with a crashing sound, but Zhang Fan didn't dare relax and immediately followed up by using his powers to control the air, applying its force to the bottom of the boulder, slowing down its descent. It could be said that Zhang Fan used his superpower to control the air, gently placing the boulder inside the cave.

  As soon as he put down the stone, Zhang Fan flashed into the cave. This way, even if someone inside noticed something unusual and came to check, Zhang Fan could still use the cave as a place to advance or retreat. Crouching in the cave, Zhang Fan listened carefully for a while to the movements coming from above. Fortunately, everything was still like when he arrived, and Zhang Fan's actions had not alerted anyone in the base.

  At this time, Zhang Fan could finally take a good look at the scene in the cave. The cave that Zhang Fan entered was not very big, only more than one meter high. The half-meter-high concrete blocks that fell down blocked almost half of the cave. It was very dark inside the cave, and with the weak light from the entrance, Zhang Fan looked around.

  Zhang Fan fell in one direction, and from the terrain, it was indeed downward. The cave had a long-standing musty smell that made people feel nauseous and want to vomit. Zhang Fan rotated his wristwatch, and a beam of light came out from the diamond on the watch. For Zhang Fan's night vision eyes, this light was enough for him to see the road in the cave clearly.

  The cave was very humid, which could be seen from the slightly damp ground. On the ground of the cave, a puddle of water would emerge from time to time, and on the top of the cave, a few drops of icy cold water would also drip down occasionally. It happened to pour onto Zhang Fan's face, and the chilling sensation seeped into his body through his skin, making his skin go goosebumps again and again. Although Zhang Fan's physical strength was much better than that of ordinary people, it didn't mean that his body wouldn't react like an ordinary person would.

  Zhang Fan rubbed his arm, this place gave him an uncomfortable feeling. Although he had left the center of the base quite smoothly, he still didn't dare to let his guard down.

  The cave was much more lively than the empty corridors of the base. The sound of dripping water, Zhang Fan's footsteps, and the faint rustling sounds of small animals crawling through the cave.

  Zhang Fan walked deeper into the cave, and the terrain became lower and lower. A thin layer of water accumulated on the ground, and Zhang Fan's footsteps splashed in the water, making a slapping sound that echoed far away in the empty cave and reverberated back to his eardrums. The air was very humid, and Zhang Fan glanced at his watch - he had been walking for over twenty minutes. According to Ouni's directions, he should be able to leave this godforsaken place after another forty minutes or so. Zhang Fan kicked a rat that had crawled up to his feet with his toe. There were no other animals in sight, just an overwhelming number of rats that made him unbearable. Not long after entering the cave, rats kept running over to get close to Zhang Fan.

  I really don't know what these mice eat to grow so fat, Zhang Fan kicked another plump mouse flying again. The mice here are much larger than those outside, and they seem to be very aggressive. Zhang Fan first kicked one mouse, then saw two other mice quickly ran up and bit the mouse, making it cry out in pain. Zhang Fan walked far away, but could still hear the mouse's cries getting lower and weaker, don't know if it escaped or was bitten to death by them.

  Zhang Fan didn't have a good or bad impression of mice. At first, when he saw the first mouse, Zhang Fan thought that if they were in a situation without food, catching one of these mice would be enough for a good meal. However, after witnessing mice biting each other, Zhang Fan began to feel a bit wary of these small animals.

  This place is not far from that freak base, could it be possible that these mice are just as freaky? Thinking of this, Zhang Fan couldn't help but quicken his pace. Although the mouse's body size compared to humans is too small, even if they attack people, they won't be able to cause too much harm. But what if they win with numbers? That wouldn't be fun at all.

  Not far from the exit, Zhang Fan discovered a sudden drop in front of him. In fact, it was a sudden drop in the middle of the cave, and this low-lying area had accumulated a lot of underground water. If you want to get to the other side through this cave, there are only two ways. One is to wade through the water, and the other is to fly over it. Zhang Fan didn't have wings on his body, so he could only choose the former, wading through the water.

  From here to the opposite side, even if it's a swim past, there isn't much distance. Zhang Fan felt relieved. However, that feeling of something being off still lingered in his mind and wouldn't go away.

  The water was very cool, and Zhang Fan waved his arms to speed up. He had already passed halfway, and with a few more steps, he could climb ashore. But things often don't go as planned, just as Zhang Fan let out a sigh of relief and was about to crawl onto the shore. A huge splash erupted in the water, and a rustling sound came from in front of the cave entrance, growing louder and louder.

  What is it? Zhang Fan's first reaction was that there were groups of rats here. Holding his breath, Zhang Fan formed an air shield in front of him using the air. This could buffer the danger that was about to come.

  The rustling sound grew louder and closer. At the entrance of the cave, a layer of shadow poured in like water. And the components of that shadow were one mouse after another. They were fatter and more agile than those Zhang Fan had encountered before, their sharp teeth making people shiver with fear in their squeaking cries.

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  Hehe, Xinlu Daren, to be honest, I'm also approaching thirty... As for the term "classmate", I learned it from Zhou Xingwen's classmate, and it just came out naturally, sorry about that.

  Thank you for everyone's support!