27: Look, I won the bet!

The River Valley was in complete chaos.

Men and women gathered from their respective caves to the vicinity of the river channel, crowding together in a panic.

The underground river seemed to match the atmosphere, churning with rare, turbulent waves.

Many Male Beasts shifted their forms, discussing how to break out through the only entrance and exit.

"Let's charge now, don't wait for the guard team."

A few older Male Beasts stomped their feet, urging the young ones to join them. "Once the Earth-traveling Worm swarm truly forms, we won't be able to break out. We can still take a gamble now."

The few stronger young men in the lead, however, could not make up their minds.

Tu Nan pulled Gaia, who was about to step forward.

"What are you doing? They are right; there is only hope if we charge together."

"A flock of sheep won't turn into wolves just by gathering together."

Tu Nan grabbed him tightly. "It's useless for you to go and play sheepdog now."

Gaia was surprised that Tu Nan was actually so sharp-tongued.

Tu Nan was clearly a shy, timid, and weak Foster Mother; he had never heard a harsh word from her.

Tu Nan tried to catch a glimpse of Li, but over there, sand and stones were already flying from the fighting, and the tragic howling was chilling even from such a distance.

"I haven't seen Gray at all." Tu Nan didn't even turn her head as she brought it up again. "Look, Gray, Fiona, Kun Bu—who is here?"

"None of them are."

Gaia's answer was swift; clearly, he had already looked once just now.

"The messenger just left, they should be here soon."

Naive. Tu Nan scoffed at the Big Dog's fantasy.

"Don't bother thinking about it. How could Gray not know when it's this chaotic? That's impossible."

She looked up; there was basically no one appearing in the rock wall passage above anymore. Everyone who could come down had already come down.

She suddenly spoke seriously to Gaia: "I suspect there is another exit above. Do you dare to accompany me up to find it?"

The Big Dog's eyes suddenly lit up. "Are you sure? Then let's hurry and call everyone to run with us."

Tu Nan's face went cold, and she bluntly refused: "No!"

"I can't be sure; it was just a guess."

"They have a sliver of hope charging out together here. If there is no exit above, what then?"

"If I die alone in the jaws of an Earth-traveling Worm, that is my fate, and I accept it."

"But I cannot bear the lives of so many others."

Tu Nan's green eyes seemed to have whirlpools, deep and calm. After finishing such a heavy topic, she suddenly revealed a very sweet, trusting smile.

"I only dare to ask you to accompany me to gamble."

"Or... to die with me."

"Can you?"

Tu Nan pressed toward him, forcing the Big Dog to press directly against the rock wall.

"I, I..."

"Although Li entrusted me to you, it doesn't matter. I can go by myself too."

Seeing Gaia in a dilemma, Tu Nan stopped pressing him. She stepped back lightly, eyes downcast in loneliness, looking as if she intended to go alone.

Gaia grabbed her.

"Fine! Let's go then!" He gritted his teeth and agreed.

"Actually, I also feel they have another exit. Let's go find it and then come back to call everyone." He made excuses to convince himself.

Tu Nan pulled out a weary smile, nodded, and rushed toward the stairs leading upward first.

The noisy voices of the crowd were left behind by the two of them.

No one noticed them.

The first Earth-traveling Worm had already appeared at the passage entrance, but for some reason, it stopped in the distance, and the two sides stood in a standoff.

Tu Nan ran in one breath to the top of the stairs. Before turning inward, she finally couldn't help but look back.

At both ends of the river channel, one side was already ablaze with the fires of war, and the other was by no means peaceful.

More importantly.

Tu Nan looked toward that underground river that had always been docile.

While no one was paying attention, the water level had been rising and now filled the original river channel.

The large, shallower flat land by the riverbank had already been swallowed by the water.

This speed... is extraordinary.

Taking one last look in Li's direction, Tu Nan felt a sense of desolation in her heart.

What if Li doesn't believe her again?

She really has no time to waste this time.

So now, she has no choice but to take Gaia, who believes in her, and run for their lives.

Without further hesitation, she turned and ran toward that sliver of survival.

Meanwhile, Li was currently charging left and right while under siege by four Earth-traveling Worms.

Unlike before, he had to face the challenge alone; the others were too busy with their own affairs, and no one could fight in coordination with him anymore.

At the critical moment of crisis, his heart tightened, and he inexplicably cast his gaze toward the top of the cave wall.

Something that tugged at his mind appeared there, and then vanished.

A cold wind blew behind his head; he urgently dodged to the side and bent his waist. But it was precisely because of this momentary distraction that his cheek gained another bloody scratch.

He was somewhat annoyed. With such an obvious scar, Tu Nan would cry again when she saw it.

His Foster Mother always caressed the old scar on his left cheek, heartbroken. He had already been planning to save money to get scar revision surgery.

These damn worms!

With anger surging, he swung his scimitar even more aggressively with Killing Intent.

* * *

"I suspect it's in this vicinity."

Tu Nan arrived at the location she had eyed last time.

The surrounding passage was empty; the guards who should have been patrolling nearby had all vanished.

Gaia finally felt that something was wrong too. He sniffed hard and confirmed Tu Nan's suspicion.

"The scent is very chaotic. Not long ago, quite a few people passed through here."

Tu Nan groped along that rock wall for a long time, but couldn't find a single gap. She ordered Gaia: "Find where the scent is strongest and check that side."

She was pointing in the opposite direction from Gray's hall to this wall.

This was a simple deduction.

If the exit were between the hall and the wall, then Gray's group would not have passed by this wall.

Gaia went forward to investigate and stopped at the entrance of a vacant cave.

The iron door was closed.

"Kick it open."

Tu Nan commanded; there wasn't much time left.

This was indeed a gamble.

Either live or die.

Gaia stepped back two paces, then suddenly surged forward and kicked open the locked iron door.

A deafening boom echoed within the space.

Without waiting for the dust to settle, Tu Nan impatiently ducked under Gaia's arm and went inside.

This was a room that looked ordinary. A bed, a cabinet with a backboard against the wall, some broken bowls and dishes in the corner—there was nothing unusual about it.

"The scent is quite strong, strange."

Gaia paced around the small cave, anxious beyond measure.

"If there is no exit, let's go back down quickly. Being by Li's side would be at least a little safer."

Tu Nan ignored him and carefully examined the room.

Something had been left behind on the edge of the cabinet. She walked forward and reached out to pinch the object.

It was a long, brown, curly hair.

She turned to Gaia, holding the long hair, and smiled.

"This is it, no mistake."