Chereads / The Final Exploration / Chapter 35 - Chapter 34

Chapter 35 - Chapter 34

It's hard to describe the feeling that mist gives people. Up until now, I haven't seen any mist that is shaped like that. My most vivid memory is of that gray mist, which feels very heavy, yet it's constantly drifting.

The mist quickly rushed in from the door at a very even speed, making people feel that it was calm and unhurried. Due to the lighting, it was impossible to see clearly. We turned to help the soldier put down the deputy leader, and when we turned back, the entire preparation room was pitch black, with all the light blocked by the mist.

However, the tightly closed valve successfully blocked the mist from spreading again. The quality of these decades-old three-defense facilities exceeded my imagination. Despite this, I still subconsciously dare not get too close to this door, always feeling that the mist might come in through the gap at any time.

I was secretly amazed and wondered what I would look like if I were still outside at this moment. Would I be like the corpse found in the waterfall cave?

Chen Lu-Hu, who was standing by, called me for help. The deputy squad leader helped us lift him onto the writing desk. He was covered in blood, and the young soldier was gasping for air as he frantically checked his wound.

I asked Xiaobing where he found the deputy platoon leader. He said it was just a little distance below, at the middle of the dam's water outlet, where there was a cement buffer strip to prevent people from falling in. The deputy platoon leader was not as lucky as me and fell all the way down until he hit the buffer strip and passed out. You can go from this machine room to there, and Xiaobing went straight down. The thick fog was almost at his feet, but fortunately, the platoon leader was still holding the flashlight tightly, and Xiaobing saw him and ran all the way to carry him back. The fog almost followed them, and he didn't even have time to close the door.

We all have experience with emergency medical situations, which are common occurrences in the outdoors, especially with injured personnel from falls. At this time, my hand was also very painful and I could hardly lift it, but I gritted my teeth and helped to undo the deputy squad leader's shirt.

"The deputy squad leader's heartbeat and breathing are normal, but his consciousness is a bit unclear. His whole body is soft and there is a wound on his head. It is estimated that he was knocked unconscious by the last blow. This can be a big or small issue. I have seen people fall from a big tree, hit their heads and bleed all over, but the next day they were okay and climbed trees as usual. I have also seen people hit with a fist-sized rock while cracking mountain walnuts, and their heads were hit and they died. It's a miracle that there are no significant external injuries."

"The little warrior looked at Lingling. Seeing the deputy leader in such a state made him choke up, but I patted him to ease his worries while feeling a painful twisting in my own heart."

Upon lifting it up, it was confirmed that there were no bone fractures, or at least not ones that serious. However, there was a large swelling in the wrist area that was very painful, indicating a potentially severe joint sprain. Unfortunately, there is no easy treatment for this, so all I can do for now is endure it.

We stopped his bleeding and let him lie down. I asked the soldier how they arrived here and how they found this triage room.

"The soldier looked bewildered and said it wasn't he who found it, but rather Yuan Xile brought them here."

"He said their leather raft had been carried by the current, all the way to the edge of the dam. They found a place to climb up, and as soon as they got up, Yuan Xile went crazy and started to run. He and Chen Luohu chased after him and followed him all the way here. When they arrived, Yuan Xile immediately shrank into a corner and never moved again."

"I was dumbfounded by the complexity of the architectural structure inside the dam. It was not about how many rooms there were, but rather that its purpose was completely different from our usual living spaces. In fact, the walking habits that regular buildings give us are of no use in special building situations. This is also why when we explore abandoned buildings, we do not recommend going too deep. For example, in a chemical plant, if you try to run inside, you probably won't run more than a hundred steps before having to stop because some places you think are roads are not roads at all. A hydroelectric power station is even more different; its architectural structure is designed completely for bearing pressure and serving electrical machinery. The fact that Yuan Xile was able to run through such a complex building and arrive here in one breath can only illustrate one thing: she is very familiar with this structure, and she must have been here before."

"I suddenly feel a bit sad. If that's the case, she must have made a considerable effort to come back to the place where we met her. Damn, we brought her back again, and if she hadn't lost her mind, she would probably have strangled us."

The soldier told me that this is already the second time the fog has risen. The last time, they released water first, but it didn't rise as high as this time. Yuan Xile heard the alarm and went crazy, wanting to close the doors here. He is an engineering soldier, knowledgeable about poison gas and three-defense measures, and at that time, he also realized that the fog might be poisonous.

I asked him to explain, based on his understanding, what is this all about?

"He said that from an engineering perspective, there must be a water level sensor here. Once the water reaches a certain height, the dam will automatically open the gate to release water. Obviously, this device has either been operating regularly for the past twenty years, or it was activated recently."

"And the abyss under the dam is so deep, he estimates that this layer of fog was caused by the high-speed falling water, buoyed up by the upward blowing crosswind. Also, he doesn't know what it's made of."

"The analysis of this soldier is really very reasonable. Later when we went back to consider it again, we also felt that this was the only possibility."

I asked him his name at the time and he said his name is Ma Zaihai. He is a soldier from Leqing, Wenzhou and has been a senior engineer for three years. He has not retired yet.

"I asked why he's still a private, and he said it's because of his poor family background. Every time the squad leader recommended him for a promotion, he would be passed over and they've gone through four different squad leaders. The assistant squad leader is in the same boat, but he got promoted one level because he fought an Indian. The two of them have been stuck in the same squad while the first squad leader has already been promoted. He asked if I could help him talk to higher-ups and maybe get him promoted to assistant squad leader."

I couldn't help him with this matter, so I could only laugh and remain silent. I thought to myself that I should focus on staying alive and figure things out later based on the current situation.

The dense fog persisted, and outside the sealed door was pitch black with no sign of clearing for two hours. We huddled inside the metal chamber, only able to observe the outside through a small window, unable to see anything clearly. Luckily, it was relatively quiet inside the sealed chamber, and we could hear the roaring sound of water flow. The clearest sound inside was our breathing and the sound of the entire concrete dam bearing pressure.

No one knew when the thick fog would dissipate. At first, we talked, but later we rested quietly in the cabin. The deputy leader lost consciousness for an hour and a half before waking up. He was weak, but still alert and seemed to be alright. Ma cried tears of joy, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

After a while, I began to worry that the oxygen in the room would run out, but I soon found out that there was an old ventilation system installed in the baseboard. Later in 1984, I visited a naval base where a captured Japanese submarine was displayed, and I remembered seeing a similar long, rectangular window on the baseboard that resembled the ventilation system of the Japanese submarine. Perhaps, what I saw back then was a salvaged system from a scrapped submarine. This underground shelter was built in the power plant room of a dam, apparently to cope with the special geological phenomenon.

At that time, there was no one I could consult with regarding the matter. I was left to imagine on my own what had actually happened in that place.

Obviously, Yuan Xile must be very familiar with this place. Her exploration team must have stayed here for a long time. I don't know what happened to them here, but obviously, what they encountered, we will soon encounter. The situation I know now is that Yuan Xile is confused, and another person, who seems to be from their exploration team, died of severe poisoning halfway. It can be certain that what happened here will not be too pleasant.

"Where did everyone else go? According to Ma Zaihai's words, Yuan Xilei is so terrified of this fog, could it be that the others have already sacrificed? Another crucial question, what did the Japanese think at that time?"

"All these things are completely clueless. In my mind, a huge "deep mountain" bomber flashed by, and then a huge abyss and ghostly mist flashed by, almost headache-inducing. It seems that there are only a few clues, and repeated thinking cannot get any inspiration."

I pondered aimlessly for nearly three hours, but the fog didn't dissipate. I felt inexplicably pained and thought about Wang Sichuan, whose fate was unknown. Where were Old Cat and the others now? How were we going to get back? These questions plagued me, and in my anxiety, I fell into a fitful sleep.

At that time, I didn't realize that it would be my last sleep inside that cave. After a series of unsettling short rests, the real nightmare began.

After waking up, I tried to communicate with Yuan Xile once again, but it was soon declared a failure. The poor woman's fear seemed to have reached its peak, she couldn't bear to hear any sound. Whenever I spoke to her, she curled up even tighter and her head instinctively avoided my gaze.

"I had no choice but to give up and start discussing with the vice squad leader and others about the route and method of leaving."

Fortunately, Ma said that their skin raft should still be there when they arrived. If the current is not too strong, we can paddle against it and return. But now we don't know if we should paddle against the underground river or look for the place where we fell into the water and return to where we were separated from the old cat.

"The wisest route is the route taken by Yuan Xile, but I don't know how she got there. If she is still conscious, she could guide us for a journey."

"The deputy team leader said it would be great if we could find a map or blueprint. There must be such a thing here. If we can find it, we will know how the Japanese planned it back then. Then we can find the shortest and safest route. Many of the facilities here have already decayed. It may not be realistic to force our way back."

"I also nodded, thinking to myself that it was indeed true. Those who work in engineering can learn a lot just by looking at blueprints, but I'm guessing that these blueprints were completely destroyed during the evacuation."

Several people were discussing and brainstorming there. Gradually, my mind became clearer. At that time, I was relaxed because no matter what, we were now returning. We knew what our destination was, and we also had a choice to choose our own route. Happiness always comes with having choices. This is the motto I came up with later.

We just didn't realize the most crucial problem at that time, which was not on our way home, but right in front of us.

After ten hours, we probably finished the plan and counted the remaining food and fuel. When we explored the holes and windows again, we found that it was still pitch black. It was then that I suddenly thought of the crucial question.

How long will this fog maintain outside? My goodness? A day or a month?

Before I raised the issue, no one thought of this problem. In everyone's mind, the fog always dissipates quickly. After I raised it, we also did not realize the seriousness of the problem, only feeling a little panicked, hoping that my thoughts would not become a reality. Ma Zaihai told me that although the fog did not come up last time, it also receded relatively quickly. He estimated that this fog would definitely dissipate in a few more hours, otherwise the crosswind could also blow it away.

I agreed without thinking too much because in such a situation, it's always better to find reasons to calm yourself down than to worry. We had forgotten the decision we had just made. The ghostly mist had been stirred up by the raging waters, and since the drowning had not stopped, the mist would inevitably continue to churn up. There was no way for it to dissipate.

"Soon, Ma's theory about the horse standing in the sea began to lose credibility."

We waited anxiously and quietly for five or six hours, but the fog still lingered outside our cabin without any signs of dissipating.

At this moment, the once ambiguous panic gradually became a reality. We began to have to acknowledge the proposition that this thick fog might not go away in a short period of time.

For us back then, admitting to this proposition was quite painful, as it meant that our evacuation plan was indefinitely delayed. However, I also knew that waiting any longer at that point would be like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

"At this moment, we added up again. The high spirit, plans over ten hours ago now seem like a joke. The situation is quite embarrassing."

The deputy squad leader and Ma Zaohai spoke to me about the need for patience. Would it be self-defeating to consider such things now? I told Ma Zaohai that we have to face reality. It seems that as long as the floodgate is not closed, the fog will only become thicker and will not dissipate. In that case, we must take measures: on the one hand, we must allocate rations and water to delay survival time, hoping to wait for the fog to disperse, and on the other hand, we must actively think of ways. Especially for the first measure, even if the fog might dissipate after an hour, we must be prepared for it to take a month.

After I finished speaking, Ma's face turned very ugly. He said to us that the food problem was still manageable because they brought enough compressed biscuits and vegetables in several packages. When they rushed to rescue us, they had to abandon a large amount of equipment and only brought food. The main problem was water. Ma and Chen Luohu only had two water bottles, one of which was not even full.

"After hearing this, my heart sank and my throat suddenly became dry. When I was marching in the early stages of entering the cave, I also thought about drinking urine when there was really no water. I felt blocked in my heart and thought that I was really stupid at that time. Now it's karma in the present life."

"At that time, our pants were already dry, otherwise we could have wrung out water. My mind was racing, but it was of no use. Soon, I felt hopeless."

In my memory, there are not many experiences where I was trapped. The most dangerous one was in 1959 in Eastern Sichuan. At that time, I had just started working and the local geological bureau organized a cave exploration. We were trapped in a karst cavity due to flooding for three days and two nights. Fortunately, the water eventually receded. At that time, there were more than ten people with us, and we had enough dry food and water. What we lacked the most was experience, so there was a lot of crying. Now, we are more experienced, and running out of water is much more dangerous than crying.

At this moment, Ma Hai suggested staying in the sealed compartment until the fog cleared. We may need a stroke of luck to get through this. However, if we can reach other places, there may be opportunities. For example, we could try finding old water pipes or steam pipelines that might have water inside. Should we give it a shot?

"I thought to myself, where could there be such a pipeline here? But then he crouched down and pointed to the ventilation duct near the kick plate. He said that this ventilation duct is connected to an air filtering device, which was a technology used by the Germans during World War II and later learned by the Soviet Union. Most of our underground facilities have been improved using this device. There may be water pipes inside."

I seem to have seen a glimmer of hope, but the opening of the pipe is too narrow to fit in a human head. How can a person get in?

"The horse in the sea said that its size is small and there shouldn't be a problem. As it spoke, it lay down and first removed the mouse-proof net, then tentatively tried to enter."

"I also lay down and realized it was impossible. The size of the opening was wider than a horse's shoulders, and he was a man with a large military frame. There was no way he could squeeze through. The air hole was also too small for anyone to pass through."

The horse made many absurd movements on the slippery sea, but its head could only be tilted and stuck in, unable to enter even a bit. In the end, it twisted its neck and had to back out.

"Others, Chen Lu is very smart, I am tall, the deputy squad leader has a head injury, and as for Yuan Xile, it goes without saying that this proposal is just a waste of time."

"I sat on the ground feeling depressed. Several people were silent, and Chen Luohu even held his water bottle tightly as if he was afraid we would try to take it from him."

"I didn't have the mood to deal with him, my mind was blank. Just at this moment, suddenly with a "pa" sound, adding insult to injury, the emergency light in the sealed cabin suddenly went out, and we immediately smelled a burnt smell, obviously the electrical wire had finally aged and burned out."