Chapter 068 Harmonica
The first group set out first, and two hours later, the second group set out. An hour later, the third group set out. The intention of this arrangement is obvious, because they are afraid that the situation inside is unclear and the whole army will be wiped out.
Chen Jian wanted to be in a group with his father, but was scolded by Professor Chen. The professor took the first group in first. The others had to wait there. Time passed very quickly, and the second group was about to set off. Watching everyone walk into the deep black hole, I inexplicably felt a sense of tension and anxiety.
As time went by, I couldn't sit still anymore. Even though I knew there was no threat to me here, I was still nervous and kept walking around in circles.
Li Daming sat cross-legged on the ground, his hands on his knees, and closed his eyes to rest.
At this time, I actually admired him a little bit. Li Daming has strong self-control and self-discipline. He must be anxious inside, and the danger he faces is much greater than me, but his self-control at this time is admirable.
What surprised me even more was the man named Wang Yuantong. He was the most plain-looking of the ten people, and we didn't pay any attention to him at first. But now that we were assigned to the same group, we found him interesting.
He was the only one with a bald head in the team. At this moment, he was leaning against a tree, reading a booklet in his hand with great interest.
Chen Jian sat on the ground, hitting the leaves with stones out of boredom, killing time. It seemed that I was the least calm person.
The last team of these three people had no leader, so a captain was temporarily appointed. Li Daming was the tallest among the short ones and became the temporary captain.
After waiting for a while, Wang Yuantong put down the book in his hand and said, "Captain, it's time to set off?"
Li Daming opened his eyes from his dozing state, stretched himself, and told everyone to check their equipment and pack their backpacks. Li Daming walked in front in a mountaineering windbreaker, with a bit of the wind whistling and the cold water of Yishui, and the others followed behind.
When I arrived in front of the deep cave, a gust of evil wind blew out and almost blew away my formless consciousness. Wow, boom! This place is too eerie.
I have no words to describe the scene before me. "Evil" is too small, and "weird" is not accurate either. The darkness and fear before me are too vast, like a sea of nightmares that can drown a person.
Li Daming was the first to walk into the cave. His figure was swallowed by the darkness. The dazzling light of the flashlight looked like a firefly in the darkness.
Chen Jian was the second to go in, and Wang Yuantong was the third to go in, humming a little tune. I have no form, and cannot hold a flashlight. In the bardo realm, I am not afraid of anything, except getting lost in the dark.
I had no idea how . When I encountered danger, I could think of leaving, but when I came back in, I still couldn't find the way in the darkness, so it was still useless. And I couldn't touch any lighting tools.
In this situation, I can only follow the team closely, follow their flashlights, and dare not be distracted. If I lose them, I will not be able to find them even if I have great skills.
Fortunately, this hole does not completely swallow the light. The light flickers in the darkness, and under normal circumstances it is still relatively clear.
Li Daming walked very slowly, and every time he turned a corner, he would make a mark on the wall. His markings were extremely professional, just like those of a veteran exploration team member. It seemed that he had not wasted this year, and had learned a lot.
While he was making marks, the team members gathered around to watch. There were also other marks on the wall made by the previous team. It seemed that this team of ten people was indeed carefully selected, and each operation was very consistent with the process and very standardized.
After walking a short distance, I discovered the pattern of this cave, which is that there are a lot of bends. There is a bend almost every few dozen steps. From my experience, it is not too bad, and I can definitely get out, because there are no forks in the cave, and the bends are one-way .
After walking for more than an hour, Li Daming asked everyone to sit down and rest, drink some water and eat some compressed biscuits to replenish their energy.
"How is it?" I said, sitting next to him.
Li Daming shook his head and whispered, "I don't know, but one thing is certain, the real test has not yet begun."
Just as he finished speaking, Wang Yuantong suddenly asked in the darkness: "Captain, who are you talking to?"
"No, I was talking to myself." Li Daming glanced at me and shook his head slightly, indicating that I couldn't say anything more.
The cave was very quiet, with no other sounds except for the panting of a few people. If you said anything casually here, people would hear it.
Chen Jian said: "I don't know what's wrong with Brother Damin these days. He always likes to talk to himself."
Li Daming changed the subject: "Okay, it's time to set off. I don't know what the two teams ahead are doing, or what they've discovered."
He stood up and continued walking forward, with Chen Jian and Wang Yuantong following behind.
I have learned my lesson this time. I will not talk to Li Daming easily unless there is something special. It is enough for Li Daming to know that I am there. A tacit understanding has been formed between us.
Li Daming stopped walking and looked at his watch: "This speed is not good. We have only walked three kilometers."
"It's not that we can't do it." Wang Yuantong said, "This place is really too dark, and the consumption is three or four times the usual amount."
"That makes sense, but we are an elite team, otherwise why would we be assigned as the advance team?" Li Daming said, "From now on, I will speed up my pace. Chen Jian, do you have any connections?"
"Brother Damin, I'm fine." Chen Jian said excitedly.
Wang Yuantong scolded: "Chen Jian, we are at work now, on a mission. Even if Li Daming is your brother, you can't call him brother. You have to call him captain."
"Yes, Captain!" Chen Jian said loudly in the darkness.
Li Daming laughed and shone the flashlight forward. Although the height of the cave ceiling was not as magnificent as the cross-section of the cave entrance, it looked like a huge garage, and five or six large trucks could be parked side by side without any problem.
The flashlight illuminated an area, and Li Daming said in a strange voice, "Hmm," "Did you see it?"
I saw something strange on the ground, not very big, like a personal item.
A few of us ran over and got closer. Li Daming squatted on the ground and shone a flashlight carefully, and then we could see clearly what it was.
It turned out to be a harmonica, very old in style and covered with rust, stuck between two pieces of rubble.
Li Daming and Wang Yuantong looked at it, and Wang Yuantong said, "Captain, it might have been dropped by someone from the two groups in front." Li Daming thought about it, reached out to pick up the harmonica, blew it with his mouth, and stirred up a lot of smoke and dust.
"It looks like it has been abandoned for a long time." Li Daming said, "It doesn't look like it was left behind by the first two groups."
Chen Jian suddenly said, "Can I take a look?"
Li Daming casually handed him the harmonica. Chen Jian took it and looked at it over and over again with a strange expression. Wang Yuantong asked curiously, do you know him?
Chen Jian's lips trembled as he said softly, "This, this is my harmonica."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly heard the ticking sound of a clock coming from deep in the cave.
Li Daming seemed to remember something, and suddenly raised his head and shone the flashlight over there. We all saw that above the opposite cave wall, there was a huge clock hanging, and the hands of this clock were strange, moving backwards counterclockwise.
I screamed, “The difficulty has begun!”
Li Daming was somewhat stunned, and muttered, "The harmonica turned out to be a mechanism."
Chen Jian was particularly scared: "Captain, Brother Yuantong, why is there a clock here?"
Li Daming comforted: "Don't panic, this cave is strange and weird, and whatever happens is reasonable."
The reason for this strange situation at the scene may be known only to the two of us.
I said, "Damin, you are not suitable to talk to me now. Just nod your head when I say something. We only have 24 hours now."
Li Daming nodded.
"To solve the problem here, the only clue is the harmonica," I continued.
Li Daming expressed his approval, and gestured to me to stop talking for the time being. He asked Chen Jian, "Is this harmonica really yours?"
Chen Jian didn't know whether he was scared or nervous, his face was pale and his lips were shaking. He couldn't speak clearly: "The harmonica is really mine!" He said word by word: "It was a gift from my father on my fifteenth birthday."
Wang Yuantong suddenly asked, "Chen Jian, aren't you only fourteen years old? You haven't even had your fifteenth birthday yet. How could your father give you a gift?"
Chen Jian paused. "Yes, I'm only fourteen. Why did you say fifteen? It's as if the words just came out of my head without even thinking."
"Don't worry about how old it is." Li Daming said, "Are you sure this is a gift from your father?"
Chen Jian's face was filled with fear, and the harmonica fell to the ground. Wang Yuantong quickly picked it up and blew it, "What's wrong with you? Did you see a ghost?"
"My father didn't give me this harmonica now." Chen Jian said in horror: "Why does it look so familiar to me? It seems to have been with me for a long time."
Before Li Daming could say anything, Wang Yuantong laughed: "Maybe this is something from the future. You received this harmonica when you were fifteen, and it accompanied you for many years. Now it has traveled through time and space and returned to the present when you are fourteen years old."
Li Daming's eyes fell on him.
I whispered, "Damin, something is wrong. Something is wrong with Wang Yuantong."
Li Daming nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on Wang Yuantong.
Many of the words Wang Yuantong just said should not belong to this era, such as "future" and "time travel". These words are too modern.
