26: Chapter 26: A miraculous escape from death is sure to bring future treasures.

Weightlessness. An intense feeling of weightlessness made it impossible for Lin Ye to control his body. Earth and stone collapsed all around him, the wind roared in his ears, and mud and debris rained down upon him. Right now, only one thought remained in his mind: Survive!

Lin Ye quickly raised his right arm and pressed the switch. "Boom!" The hook shot out, its three claws biting into a rock wall somewhere above. "Hum—" The cable pulled taut, and a tremendous pulling force surged from his right arm. But this tension significantly slowed his descent.

Before he could even catch his breath, a bone-chilling cold suddenly rose from below. "Splash!" Water sprayed into the air! Lin Ye plunged into an underground river. The undercurrent dragged him to the bottom, tumbling him violently. ...

At this moment, in the Great Xia Live Stream, Lin Ye's exclusive feed had plunged into darkness. Nothing could be seen, only the sound of rushing water could be heard. The hearts of countless viewers sank.

[Damn... a cave-in... this is a death trap!]

[Falling from that height, even a god couldn't save him!]

[The screen is completely black. Is Brother Eye... is he gone?]

[The sound of water is so loud, he must have fallen into an underground river. There's still hope!]

[Falling from that height is no different than hitting concrete. Even a god couldn't save him.]

[I don't believe it! Brother Eye has a tough life; he'll definitely survive!]

At the commentary desk, the atmosphere was like an ice cellar. Xu Mingyuan's face was deathly pale, his hands gripping the table tightly. Commentator Chen Guofeng's eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched so hard he couldn't make a sound.

Overseas IDs arrived right on schedule, celebrating wantonly in Lin Ye's livestream.

[USA: Hahaha! America sends its congratulations! This rat has finally drowned!]

[Island Nation: Yoshi! This is divine punishment! Great Xia's fortune is exhausted!]

[South Korea: The fate of a cheater, it's truly satisfying, simida!]

[India: Facts prove that luck cannot save a rat!]

Great Xia netizens were burning with rage, but against that black screen and the sound of desperate water, their retorts seemed extremely pale. The livestream was filled with a sense of grief and indignation.

[All you foreign dogs, get the hell out! Aren't you afraid of choking on the champagne you're popping halfway through?]

[Brother Eye isn't dead yet! You keyboard warriors, shut up!]

[Even if he dies, he is a hero of Great Xia; it's not your place to talk trash!]

Great Xia Disaster Prevention Administration, command hall. Rapid alarm sounds rang out in the hall. "Report..." A staff member shouted with a trembling voice: "Challenger No. 066, Lin Ye, encountered a geological disaster and fell into an underground fissure... survival rate is less than 1%!"

Intelligence team leader Zhou Jianping rubbed his bloodshot eyes, tilted his head back, and let out a long sigh. Director Wei Tiejun stood in front of the command console, hands behind his back. He watched the dim screen, his jaws clenched, saying nothing. The entire hall was silent.

Meanwhile, in the Third Research Group's laboratory, Lu Chen stood in front of the monitor. On the screen, Lin Ye's feed was very dark. According to the rules of the National Destiny Challenge, if a Challenger dies, the screen will turn black immediately. But now, there were still reflections of water ripples and ambient sounds coming from the feed!

"A bunch of idiots, he's not dead yet, why are you mourning!" He ripped the encrypted hard drive off the computer tower and rushed out of the laboratory.

... Underground cavern. On the water's surface, various debris from the collapse floated around. Suddenly, a metal grappling claw broke the surface and bit into a rock on the bank. The cable retracted. "Splash!" A soaked figure was dragged forcibly out of the rapid current.

Lin Ye lay prone on the hard rock. "Cough, cough, cough—! Ugh—" After spitting out a few mouthfuls of muddy water, he began to cough violently. He rested for a full half minute before he could barely catch his breath. He turned over and lay flat on the rock.

Lin Ye quickly felt around his body. His right shoulder joint was a bit sore and swollen, but it wasn't a major issue. His other joints moved freely, and there were no fractures. His legs and arms had multiple abrasions, and his clothes were torn in several places. He took a few deep breaths; his ribs and internal organs felt no abnormal pain. His survival backpack was still on his back; his belongings were still there.

"Damn it, God, if you want to take me, you haven't dug this pit deep enough." As Lin Ye's voice came through, the livestream experienced a brief pause before erupting into a torrent of comments far exceeding those from before.

[Damn! Brother Eye is awesome!!!]

[This is what it means to be tough! I knew it, Brother Eye would never die easily!]

[Where are the foreign dogs? Come out and bark! Louder! Your Great Xia daddy is still alive and kicking!]

[Everyone stand up! All of you, cry! Cry hard!]

[No one can take Brother Eye away! Even if the King of Hell comes, he'll have to stand guard on the side!]

At the commentary desk, Commentator Chen Guofeng pushed his chair away and stood up with a "swoosh." "Hahahaha! Good lad! A Great Xia man's life is harder than the heavens!" This veteran laughed until tears almost came out.

Su Qinglan covered her mouth, holding back tears of joy, and faced the camera with a bright smile. "A miracle! Surviving a desperate situation!" "Lin Ye has used his actions to tell us that the backbone of Great Xia will never be crushed by natural disasters!"

Inside the cavern. Lin Ye slowly climbed to his feet. Borrowing the faint daylight filtering down from the fissure above, he began to examine his surroundings. This was a massive, natural underground cavern. An underground river rushed past his feet, surrounded by jagged stalactites and damp rock walls.

The ground subsidence just now had only affected a tiny area above the cavern. The rock layers not only blocked the torrential rain outside but also cut off the pursuit of that Mountain Beast.

"What is this? A blessing in disguise?" Lin Ye pursed his lips. He couldn't stay up there because of the waterlogging, but by some twist of fate, he fell into a shelter? But this place was also really cold. The water vapor from the underground river, combined with his soaked clothes, was rapidly sapping his body heat. Lin Ye couldn't help but shiver.

He took off his backpack and opened the waterproof compartment. He pulled out a handful of dry, short twigs and a few withered leaves. He had specifically selected these earlier and tucked them into the inner layer of his backpack. He used his dagger to shave the wooden sticks into wood shavings that would catch fire more easily.

With the flint in his hand, he braced the dagger against the edge. "Crackle—" Sparks flew, landing on the withered leaves. He blew gently, and an orange flame soon began to dance. Lin Ye quickly added more twigs. Soon, a small campfire was burning, its orange light dispelling the surrounding darkness and damp cold.

In the Great Xia Live Stream, Xu Mingyuan let out a long sigh of relief. "Once you lose body heat in such a dark and damp cavern, the outcome is certain death!" "Lin Ye's foresight has become the key to his survival right now!"

Beside the fire. His body temperature warmed up, but his guard never relaxed for a moment. Although this place avoided the natural disasters and giant beasts on the surface, who knew if there were other dangers here?

Lin Ye tilted his head slightly, held his breath, and narrowed his left eye. Eye of Destiny, activate! The darkness in his vision suddenly took on a different color. The next second, he froze. Deep in the cavern, there was a pale golden light point! And surrounding this golden light point were more than a dozen red dots.

A flash of inspiration hit him. He remembered! When he first parachuted in, he saw from mid-air that the Level 2 Floating Island had a golden treasure surrounded by red danger! The location of those light points was not in the hills in the middle of the Floating Island. It was hidden in this underground space!