Chapter Ch18.1 - I’ve got this Tyrant’s back (18)
Chapter 18: I’ve got this Tyrant’s back
The earth was shaking.
The old but intact mine tunnel suddenly began to fragment. Thunderous roars boomed from far and near. Stones and dust were constantly falling, and the ground shook so much, they couldn’t stand steady.
The searchlight they’d carried all the way with them rolled to the ground because of the shocks and in the blink of an eye, it was crushed underneath the falling rocks. The remaining glow from the light was quickly swallowed up by the darkness, leaving only the little light far above the ventilation shaft.
There were manually installed blowers on the ventilation shafts, which might fall off the rock wall at any time. But once they leave here, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the poisonous gas wafting everywhere.
This place was already very close to the exit, but it now seemed like an impassable chasm.
Despite the desperate situation, Gu Yuan smiled calmly. He pulled Lu Deng into his arm, and leaned over to protect him tightly. “Don’t be afraid.”
Through the breathing mask, it came out a bit muffled. It buzzed softly in his ears and it was as if their hearts resonated.
Lu Deng blinked and leaned quietly in his arms, groping for his hand.
The electronic voice of the system was getting more and more anxious. It constantly issued progress reports. The special envoy from Planet Galileo had found that the situation underground was not right and took a gamble to head down from the exit and risk a search.
Perceiving the extra strength on his palm, Gu Yuan used the weak light to meet that bright shine in his eyes that has never once dimmed. He concentrated for a moment and nodded with a smile. “Okay.”
Since his young man wanted to keep going then what else were they waiting for?
As he said this, he took a deep breath and took off their masks. He took the person in his arms and buried him deeper in lapels of his jacket. He then stood up again.
Although his body was extremely exhausted, Gu Yuan still did not slow down. All the way, he avoided rocks constantly falling on his head while firmly guarding the boy in his arms, groping his way forward in the dark.
After walking for a while, the air gradually became fresher.
The burning sensation in their lungs gradually faded. Lu Deng slightly propped up his body. As though sensing something, Gu Yuan looked back and realized that the falling rocks had completely blocked the way behind them.
After the poisonous gas was blocked by the fallen rocks, the vent was twisted and stretched, expanding it. Due to the constant changes of the terrain, fresh air slowly circulated in.
A light of surprise burst into Gu Yuan’s eyes, and the arms holding the other couldn’t help tightening.
The corner of his lips silently ticked up. Lu Deng’s right hand fumbled in his pocket and then took out the last piece of candy. He peeled it with one hand and fed it to Gu Yuan’s lips.
The sweet scent of milk spread softly. Gu Yuan raised his eyebrows, too surprised to utter a word. He opened his mouth and bit down on half. Holding the remaining half with his lips, he lowered his head to feed it to the boy’s mouth.
He moved away after the lightest touch against the petal of the other’s lips. The sweetness of it melted from the tip of his mouth.
Gu Yuan took a deep breath and wrapped him in his arms. He continued to move forward.
Each step forward increased their hope for survival bit by bit.
The toxic gas was no longer a threat, but they were still in danger of a cave in and from falling debris. Gu Yuan tried his best to walk carefully, groping in the dark and stumbling forward. But his footing was still, as expected, unstable and he would stumble every few steps.
Lu Deng lightly gripped his hand and Gu Yuan steadily gripped it back, wrapping that hand in his palm.
Injuries before them and poisonous gas behind. The young man’s hand had long lost its familiar warmth of the past but its strength remained steady and constant as before.
Gu Yuan felt a pain in his heart. He relaxed his movements to wrap tightly the person in his arms, trying to transmit the warmth of his body to him. But suddenly, the ground beneath his feet shook violently.
The arms wrapped around his shoulders and neck tightened. Lu Deng tried his best to lift up his body and leaned against his shoulders.
A new wave of violent tremors came. The mine tunnel floor under their feet couldn’t take it and began to fracture and shift.
The ground was giving way under his feet and the sound of falling rocks bombarded his ears. Gu Yuan’s heart sank. He pushed Lu Deng up onto a narrow platform used for when machines excavate the rocks. He said anxiously, “Don’t move. Wait for me. Wait for me to come back to pick you up!”
The road of mine tunnels was originally tangled and complicated. These earthquakes threw them even more into disorder. Lu Zhiguang didn’t have enough physical strength anymore and couldn’t go very far. If they rashly walked about, they were bound to run into disaster.
Gu Yuan felt anxious just thinking about what might happen if they ran into mishap when he couldn’t even take care of himself. Gu Yuan kept his eyes locked on that silhouette that was unceasingly being pulled away as his body sank down quickly and he was plunged into the lightless darkness.
Lu Deng opened his mouth to answer. But try as he might, only a hoarse breath came from his throat.
Thinking of the poisonous gas he had inhaled in desperation, Lu Deng raised his hand and stroked his neck. His heart sank instantly but his expression quickly calmed. He called forth Gu Yuan’s life level monitoring.
Below was an undiscovered underground river. The intense shaking had shifted it up. Falling down there from up here was not necessarily a dead end.
All around him were the roars of crashing rocks. Lu Deng sat quietly on the same spot. He closed his eyes and his pale, clear features revealed calm.
“Host……”
After who knows how long, the voice of the system rang in his mind. Voice carrying the utmost caution, it said,
“The mission target has been washed ashore. I have lifted the barring of the mission target’s life monitoring instrument for the Galilean delegation. The special envoy searching for him will soon find him…”
Due to the poisonous gas, Lu Deng could no longer vocalize any sounds. However, this has not affected his ability to speak in his mind. “Thank you.”
“The host is not leaving yet?”
The system was a little anxious and the electronic voice sped up slightly. “When all is said and done, this rescue operation by the Galileans violates the sovereignty of Planet Guar. After they rescue the mission target, he will be immediately taken away by the Galileans. He won’t be able to come back to pick up the host!”
Even with a map, Lu Deng’s body was not strong enough to stand up and leave.
If Gu Yuan doesn’t return, sooner or later, Lu Deng will either be crushed to pieces by the falling rocks or suffocate because the cave-ins have blocked out all the air.
In case he did not take the initiative to withdraw, the feeling of death will be 100% simulated. The system couldn’t bear to see its host suffer like this, but it didn’t dare to make the decision for him, It could only try to persuade him.
“He will.”
Lu Deng pursed the corners of his lips, patiently responded to it in his mind. His eyes fell towards the empty darkness. His uninjured hand fumbled several times. He picked up a stone and placed it in front of him.
Gu Yuan said that this time just counting to ten was enough.
It wasn’t convenient for him to speak and it wasn’t easy to find stones of the right size. He could just count slower.
Again, a bit slower.
*
When he fell into the underground river, Gu Yuan lost all consciousness.
There was darkness all around, and the cold water forced the last bit of air out of his lungs. His whole body was so cold that it could freeze his blood to ice. Only his chest retained the slightest bit of warmth.
Even in the chaos caused by suffocation and cold, there were thoughts that stood clear in his mind.
Lu Zhiguang was waiting for him.
All through out he had been carefully guarding him in his arms. He couldn’t bear for him to be bumped or knocked about. Now he was alone in the cold darkness, waiting for him to go back and pick him up.
Such thoughts filled his mind, his chest. It penetrated into his blood, and etched into the core of his bones. Even if he were to die and his bones turned to ashes, these thoughts would still burn clear.
A hand groped his side, as if intending to help him up. Gu Yuan gritted his teeth and tried to avoid it, but his body didn’t have any strength left. That other pair of hands stretched up and dragged out his dripping wet body.
The chaotic sound of multiple voices talking all at once entered his ears. But these weren’t the cold and cruel voices he had long gotten used to during his torture sessions. Rather, these voices were filled with unfamiliar joy and excitement.
Someone helped strip off his tattered clothes and wrapped him in a large blanket that soaked up the cold river water from his body. Someone was injecting him some unknown drug. Someone then tried to carefully support him up, intending to carrying him on their back.
A flash of lightning flashed across his heart, and Gu Yuan roused his spirit. He suddenly pulled away from the arm by his side, staggering to stand firmly.
“Mr. Gu, you’re awake!”
Galileo’s envoy, dressed in military attire, his young eyes filled with ardor and reverence, stepped forward and steadily supported him. “We’re from Galileo, we’re here to take you home!”
He had grown accustomed to the darkness and the light in front of him dazzled his eyes. Gu Yuan frowned and looked at him, remembering what Lu Zhiguang had told him while coughing from the poisonous gas.
It was unclear whether it was done instinctively or consciously but Gu Yuan nodded and thanked the few people in front of him. He raised his hand to take the searchlight from the hands of the young man beside him, turned and walked back towards the direction from where he had come.
“Mr. Gu!”
The envoy hurried to catch up with him. He raised his hand, as though he wanted to support him but he was politely refused by Gu Yuan.
“Thank you for coming to pick me up. I still have something to do. I shall be temporarily borrowing your searchlight.”
Although he was soaked in from the underground river and his face was pale from cold, the man, whose clothes had just been changed, still had on his face his inherent sternness and calm. He nodded slightly to the other and lifted the searchlight in his hand.
“This is the territory of the Guars. You can’t stay here for too long. Otherwise, you will be giving them something they can use against you. Leave me two nutrient injections. Return to the station and wait for me. When I get out, I will go and find you.”
Due to his high-position in society and the constant challenges he faced in the business world, Gu Yuan was easily able to grasp the crux of their negotiation with the Guars. Hearing what he said, a little hesitation flashed in the eyes of the envoy.
Conducting this secret search of Gu Yuan would indeed give the Guars something to hold against them. If it weren’t for the extremely accurate coordinates given to them by the unknown agent, they wouldn’t be taking on this desperate risk.
Seeing that the envoy was still hesitant, Gu Yuan stretched out his hand to the young man and picked out two nutrient injections from the case he carried on his back. He also took out one of each kind of the necessary medicines. Finally, he took a roll of bandage and put everything in the backpack beside him.
That was Lu Zhiguang’s schoolbag. The boy’s body was already at its limit, so he took charge of carrying the schoolbag. However, they were separated too quickly and this remained with him by mistake.
But it didn’t matter. He’s going back to pick him up and soon, the bag will be returned to its original owner.
Gu Yuan pressed against his chest. His palm touched the warm wood. A soft and tender expression flit across his brows.
The strong tremors had caused the river to move and the underground river was turbulent. However, despite all that the Pingan Kou hadn’t been washed away. This was a good sign. Lu Zhiguang must still be sitting there quietly, waiting for him to pick him up.
This time he only had him count to ten, so he needed to pick up his pace.
“Mr. Gu, it’s dangerous here!”
Seeing that Gu Yuan had unexpected started heading back, the special envoy hurried to catch up. “Are you going to find the agent who protected you? We’ve received messages from him. The communication system he uses is very powerful. He must be an agent from some higher-order galaxy. Agents like him must have a way to protect themselves…”
He wanted to persuade Gu Yuan to stop but when he met those calm and sharp dark eyes, what he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.
“Thank you, I’m going back to find my—”
The youth’s clear and gentle eyes flashed and floated in his mind. Gu Yuan’s expression slightly gentled. He lowered his eyes, pondering for a moment how to word it. He then raised his head, and the corners of his lips made a gentle arc.
“–my lover.”
His gaze was so gentle and sincere that the envoy finally couldn’t speak. He stopped in his tracks and watched as that silhouette gradually submerged into the darkness.
The state of Gu Yuan’s mind was similarly chaotic.
Everything was in turmoil and no one could escape unscathed. Even his hopes for the future, all the could do was hide them in his heart. What more any ideas of love?
But he had fallen in love.
He has undoubtedly fallen in love.
Love. It’s just that saying this word would concentrate so much emotions. His body, as before, was still chilly, but his blood was whistling hot inside his body, as though it was sizzling and burning because of that word that pierced his heart. His heart began to jump in his chest but it seemed to be a rumbling roar in his ears.
His eyes began to grow hot. Gu Yuan held the wooden Pingan Kou and lightly pressed it against his lips, quickening his pace.
The tremors have subsided. The Guars were probably convinced that they had buried him deep underground. Everything was quiet again as if it all that had never happened. However, the mine tunnels that went up and down were, as before, still fragmented.
He was washed down from the middle reaches of the underground river. There was no way to walk back to where he’d been by tracing the way he came. However, he firmly remembered the distance between where the air vent was and the spot where they were separated.
A broken mine tunnel was still a mine tunnel. As long as he pieced together the original state in his mind, he could find his way back.
Lu Zhiguang must still be there waiting for him—Gu Yuan refused to think about any other possibilities. He was already an arrow at the end of its flight. He was only able to endure to the present with the power of his cherished wish. If he placed even just a little bit more thought on that wish, it would be a devastating mental blow that he, in his present state, just couldn’t bear.
The light of the searchlight swayed, and Gu Yuan trudged forward with one foot in front of the other. Crushed stone tumbled down under his feet, but he had no time to attend to it.
He has finally reached the place where the two of them separated.
The mine tunnel had completely broken and deformed due to the huge earthquake. Rocks stood tall like a dense forest, obscuring most of what he could see. Gu Yuan placed his hand on a stone platform to stabilize his footing, calling out the young man’s name loudly. However, he never received a response.
He must not be calling out loud enough.
He swept the light across every visible corner, but there were still a lot of places covered by the numerous stone walls. The light swayed, casting eerie shadows.
Gu Yuan couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to the stone shadows. He could only anxiously run about, his voice gradually becoming hoarse. He could vaguely sense blood in his throat.
His young man has always listened to him. He wouldn’t have gone around running around on his own. And with Lu Zhiguang’s physical condition, he couldn’t have gone far by himself.
He should be able to find him.
He could clearly feel anguish curling in his gut. Gu Yuan’s body was growing cold and he almost missed a step several times. Regardless, he still held on to that one last hope, rushing between the tall stone walls, looking in even the most inconspicuous gaps.
He mustn’t fail to find him.
*
Lu Deng leaned against the stone wall inside a narrow space, still holding a stone in his hand.
He hadn’t changed his spot; it was just that the shifting of the rocks had made his space extremely narrow, almost completely blocking out the light. Even a meticulous search might not be able to unearth his position.
He had heard Gu Yuan’s voice, but his strength was completely exhausted. He couldn’t make a sound. He couldn’t give any kind of response.
The light and shadow kept swaying back and forth. He listened as Gu Yuan’s voice gradually became hoarse. He could imagine the hissing pain as Gu Yuan forced himself to call out even as his throat turned raw.
Several times, Gu Yuan’s footsteps even came very close to him. They might have even been separated by just a single stone slab. Maybe if he just turned a corner. If only he could say a single word; just one word–
But he couldn’t say anything.
The poison gas had completely deprived him of his voice. He could only let out short gasps. If he had enough strength, he could have run out to find Gu Yuan himself, but now he couldn’t even lift his hand.
Brushing past each other like this felt awful.
His chest was empty, it felt cold. His eyes were made dizzy with the changing play of light and shadow. Lu Deng tried to move his fingers and tossed down the stone. The faint sound mixed in with the sound of Gu Yuan’s rapid footsteps. Even he couldn’t tell it apart.
Such little movement has completely exhausted his strength. He couldn’t do anything else.
His pale lips moved slightly and air flow past over vocal cords paralyzed by the poison gas. Lu Deng tried to lift the corners of his lips, to call out Gu Yuan’s name one last time.
His body slipped and fell along the stone wall. The bell around his neck shook, emitting a slight sound.
Gu Yuan stopped abruptly.
The sound of the bell was extremely faint but he couldn’t have misheard it.
His blood that had started to freeze over suddenly surged; so fast, it created black spots before his eyes. His chest filled with pain mixed with ecstasy, hitting his heart hard. He almost pounced on that spot where the sound came from. He pushed the stone slabs away and the hand holding the searchlight couldn’t help but tremble. He scanned through every corner that he might have overlooked.
In the narrow space between the stone slabs, the light swept across a shadow.