At this moment, a strange warning suddenly came to his mind. Without even thinking too much, Ke Lan pulled out the shotgun from his chest and turned around immediately.

A dark, humanoid figure stood behind him, staring down at him.

The outline of that face was not very familiar, but it was definitely unfamiliar. Ke Lan stopped the finger that was about to pull the trigger.

"Liao——"

Before he could finish his words, the black shadow quickly stretched out his hand and pushed Ke Lan hard!

Behind Ke Lan was the bottomless abyss that had once imprisoned the "primordial species"!

"Bang!!"

The shotgun fired, but because the body had lost balance, most of the bullets hit the air, and only a small part hit the black shadow. In Ke Lan's last glance, he only saw the black shadow staggering back a few steps and then disappearing from his sight.

And Ke Lan fell straight into the abyss——

"Why?"

This question was the only thing left in Ke Lan's mind. He even forgot the fear of impending death... He couldn't figure out why Liao Zilang appeared here, and why he pushed himself down...

This can't be an illusion, right?

That figure...is it really Liao Zilang?

The powerful recoil of the sawed-off shotgun caused pain on the wrist of his right hand. Ke Lan wanted to reach out with his other hand to rub it, but he found that he had completely lost control of his body...

The sound of the wind whistled in his ears, and the weightlessness of falling at high speed made him feel as if the blood in his body was rushing wildly, and his internal organs were torn apart and hurt...

He was still falling, the flashlight had already fallen somewhere, and the darkness completely swallowed him up.

The next second, a blinding white light suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. It was as if countless high-lumen shadowless lights were turned on in the dark room. For a moment, Ke Lan even thought he had gone blind - "Gudong!"

The white light lasted for less than half a second before disappearing. Then, Ke Lan felt himself being thrown violently into the water. The strong impact was like a heavy punch, and severe pain came from all parts of his body...

I can’t faint… If I faint… I’ll really die…

Ke Lan bit her lips so hard that her sharp canine teeth even sank deeply into the flesh.

Control of his limbs returned to Ke Lan's hands once again. He struggled desperately in the water, trying to get as close to the surface as possible.

At least four or five ribs were broken, and his spine seemed to be injured... Fortunately, he was not paralyzed...

The left side of my body hit the water. My left arm and left leg had completely lost all feeling. My right leg cramped after just a few kicks. I curled up in the water...

But what made Ke Lan feel a little unbelievable was that... he was actually floating up continuously. He could feel a force in the water that was constantly pushing him back and pushing him toward the surface.

“…This can’t…be…another illusion…right…?”

Finally, his body broke through the water, and the long-lost fresh air with a hint of salty seawater entered the mask.

"Woo--" Ke Lan took a deep breath and changed his posture in the water with some difficulty. When he looked up, he saw an icebreaker anchored on the water not far away.

It's the Pioneer!!

Ke Lan was stunned until the searchlight on the ship shone on him. Then he reacted and waved his only arm that could move vigorously.

Soon, a lifeboat came over and several sailors worked together to pull him out of the water.

"Ke... Ke Lan?! It's really you? But, but why are you wearing such... such an antique outfit?! What happened?" A sailor suddenly exclaimed. Although she couldn't see the face under the mask, Ke Lan recognized her just by hearing the voice. It was the female first mate on the Pioneer, Caroline.

"…It's a long story, don't ask me yet… I'm dying." Ke Lan said weakly. He felt that he was at the critical point where he would pass out at any time.

"Okay, okay... hold on, I'll get you on the boat right away!" Caroline nodded hurriedly.

…

…

When Ke Lan woke up from anesthesia, she found herself transferred to a luxurious box. When she opened her eyes, she saw the gold-rimmed crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"It seems like he's really back..."

To be honest, he was really a little scared. After opening his eyes, he found himself back in that dark cave. There was no light or heating, only air mixed with toxins and rocks full of radiation...

He wanted to raise his hand, but found that he was wrapped in bandages like a human dumpling. There were a lot of monitoring equipment beside the bed, and at least a dozen bags of medicine hanging on the IV stand...

"Are you awake?" A guy in a white coat poked his head over. "How do you feel now? Don't rush to speak. Just blink."

Ke Lan blinked.

"You have twenty-six fractures and countless bruises and contusions. Add to that the poisoning, radiation, blood loss, and internal organ damage... It's truly a miracle that you're still alive... The medical care on board can only do this to the limit. If you want further treatment, you'll have to stay in the Ark's medical cabin for at least half a month."

The doctor glanced at his watch and continued, "The captain has already contacted the transport plane for you. It should be here in two hours."

"...Can...can you help me call my companions?" Ke Lan said with some difficulty.

"You need to rest now." The doctor shook his head.

"…There is something urgent." Ke Lan insisted, "Just call one person in, that guy… nicknamed Hound…"

"Well, okay." Seeing Ke Lan so stubborn, the doctor sighed helplessly, walked to the door, and shouted outside: "Who is the hound? The injured person has something to tell you."

In less than two seconds, the old dog rushed into the room and stopped only when he ran to Ke Lan's bed.

"I know you have a lot of questions for me." Ke Lan gave Lao Gou a look, then said to the doctor, "Sorry, could you step aside for a moment?"

As soon as the doctor walked out, Lao Gou asked hurriedly, "What on earth happened to you down there? What happened to your equipment... and the things in your backpack... those antiques from decades ago?"

"Don't be impatient. Tell me first how many hours have passed since I went into the water." Ke Lan asked.

"Not counting the time you spent in surgery, a full four hours passed from the time you went into the water to the time you reappeared. We all thought you were dead."

Four hours... Ke Lan was slightly stunned. It seemed that his guess was correct. There were indeed some problems with the time and space on the island. He spent at least a day and a night there, but for Lao Gou and the others, it was only four hours.

"Old dog...you said you thought I was dead...then...where is Liao Zilang?"

"He was rescued more than ten minutes after he entered the water. He is a much better swimmer than you, but at that time you were swept away by the undercurrent."

Ke Lan was silent for a moment... If Liao Zilang escaped after encountering an undercurrent underwater, then what did he encounter underground on the island?

And... undercurrent... why didn't he feel anything at that time... Ke Lan clearly remembered that he suddenly saw the giant eye stone pillar during the peaceful diving process, and there was no undercurrent at all.

"Why don't you answer my question... Do you want to drive me crazy?"

"Old dog, before that, I need you to confirm something very important." Ke Lan said solemnly.

"It's very important." He emphasized again.

"You say." Seeing Ke Lan's expression, the old dog suddenly became serious.

"Do you have any way to confirm Liao Zilang's identity?"

"What's the meaning?"

"I suspect... the Liao Zilang you rescued might not be the one who went into the water with me..."