Debi landed with a dazed expression, her breath still uneven from the high-altitude glide.
"We should thank God the weather is good today," she muttered. "If there had been wind, we would've been blown off course for sure!"
Jiang Chen had already detached his parachute and was busy collecting the supplies airdropped from the plane.
"Alright, Debi, snap out of it. Time to start exploring," he said matter-of-factly.
Debi rolled her eyes. Without a word, she pulled out a small notebook and scribbled something down:
"Definition of a straight man: Jiang Chen. Zero emotional awareness."
The live chat erupted with laughter.
[LMAO, Jiang really said 'deal with it' and moved on.]
[Debi is literally still processing her life choices, and he's already setting up ropes.]
[How can someone be this fearless AND this dense at the same time?]
[If I were Debi, I'd fall for him just from the adrenaline alone.]
But Jiang Chen was oblivious.
In just a few short minutes, he had already set up an entire system of climbing ropes, securing them to the rocky terrain.
Then, something unexpected happened.
A familiar chime rang in his mind—
Ding—
[Congratulations! You have arrived at the expedition destination: Arabika Massif Mountain!]
[Mission Rewards: Level 1 Fish Eye Ability Card, Level 1 Dark Eye Ability Card, Veryovkina Cave Map, Terrain Scanning Locator.]
Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. "That's… a lot."
Ding—
[Would you like to use the Level 1 Fish Eye Ability and Level 1 Dark Eye Ability?]
His curiosity piqued.
The Fish Eye ability would allow him to keep his eyes open underwater for 30 minutes—no discomfort, no visibility issues.
The Dark Eye ability would enhance his vision in darkness, essentially giving him built-in night vision.
Supernatural abilities.
Without hesitation, Jiang Chen activated them both.
A cool sensation washed over his eyes, but aside from that, nothing felt different.
"Guess I'll have to test them in the right conditions," he thought.
He then pulled up the cave map and the terrain scanning locator, both of which would be crucial for the descent.
Ding—
[Main Expedition Mission Unlocked: Break the existing human record, uncover the true depths of Veryovkina Cave, and become the first explorer to reach the unknown.]
Jiang Chen's lips curled into a smirk.
"A challenge, huh? Sounds like my kind of mission."
Meanwhile, Debi had finally recovered. She adjusted her gear and walked over to the entrance of the cave, standing next to Jiang Chen.
The opening wasn't large—barely big enough to fit a minibus. It was surrounded by thick, overgrown weeds, blending almost seamlessly into the mountainside.
If you weren't looking for it, you'd never know it was there.
Jiang Chen stared down into the abyss, a glimmer of admiration in his eyes.
"I have to respect the first person who discovered this place. Without them, this hidden world would've remained buried in obscurity, its mysteries lost to time," he said, gripping the rope before taking the lead in the descent.
Debi followed closely behind.
The moment they entered, their eyes widened in awe.
From the outside, Veryovkina Cave seemed plain, unassuming. But once inside—it was like stepping into another world.
Sunlight poured in through the narrow entrance above, forming a brilliant pillar of light that stretched downward like a golden bridge to the heavens.
The cave's limestone walls, formed over millions of years, shimmered under the sun's touch, radiating a deep golden hue.
Ancient water erosion had sculpted the cave ceiling into mesmerizing spiral patterns, as if a celestial river had once flowed through, carving a path of dreamlike beauty.
For a brief moment, it felt less like an underground abyss and more like a lost golden temple—hidden beneath the surface of the Earth.
The live chat erupted.
[This looks like a fantasy movie scene!]
[Mother Nature, you did it again!]
[I was NOT expecting this… it's breathtaking!]
Jiang Chen took a deep breath, his voice echoing softly through the cavern.
"The craftsmanship of nature is beyond anything humans could ever replicate."
"Yeah," Debi murmured, spinning slowly in place to take it all in. "I never imagined something this beautiful was hiding underground."
But just as she finished speaking, Jiang Chen's sharp eyes locked onto something embedded in the rock wall.
His expression darkened.
"The unwritten law of nature…" he muttered.
"The more beautiful something is—the more dangerous it tends to be."
He stepped closer, pointing at a rusted piton drilled into the stone. Attached to it was an old, weathered lock—and dangling from it, a rope.
It was clearly left behind by a previous team of explorers.
But the truly terrifying part?
The rope dangled freely into the abyss.
Its lower half was completely severed.
Jiang Chen's fingers brushed over the frayed end of the rope, his mind piecing together what must have happened.
Someone had climbed down.
And they never climbed back up.
A deathly silence filled the air.
Debi swallowed hard, following the rope's path into the darkness below.
The realization sank in like a stone in her stomach.
Had they fallen?
Had they been swallowed by the abyss?
The viewers, who had been enchanted by the cave's beauty just moments ago, now felt an overwhelming chill crawl up their spines.
[Oh god… what happened to the last person who was here?]
[I just got goosebumps.]
[This just went from stunning to terrifying REAL quick.]
[There's no bottom in sight… Just looking at it is making my legs weak.]
Debi's face paled slightly, her grip tightening on the rope.
Jiang Chen, however, said nothing.
Instead, he simply gestured for her to keep moving.
She hesitated for only a second before following his lead, both of them continuing their descent.
With every meter they dropped, the light from above grew dimmer.
The golden beauty of the cave slowly faded, replaced by an all-consuming darkness.
Soon, there was no more sunlight.
No more breathtaking views.
Only the deep, suffocating void of the abyss.
It felt alive—like a monstrous maw, swallowing them inch by inch.
The chat was silent.
Everyone was holding their breath.
What lay ahead for Jiang Chen and Debi?
No one knew.
But one thing was certain—
This was just the beginning.