Chapter 56: Ill Fate

"Go to hell!"

Lou Xiaofan felt nothing but disgust looking at Han Zhiyu now; it was as nauseating as biting into excrement.

As he spat out the words, Lou Xiaofan mercilessly kicked out at Han Zhiyu, who was lunging toward him.

Han Zhiyu stared into the pitch-black abyss as the elevator car swayed violently beneath him. He had been crawling forward inch by inch when the elevator gave a sudden, jarring lurch. His hands flailed in the dark, and suddenly, he grabbed onto a shoe.

To be precise, a foot.

His heart soared with joy, as if he had found a lifeline. Both hands immediately clamped onto Lou Xiaofan’s leg. He filtered out the curses being hurled at him as if he hadn't heard them at all, his voice raspy as he muttered:

"We're brothers. If we die, we die together!"

Han Zhiyu dragged his body forward across the floor. His hands had been aching from gripping the jagged cracks in the metal, but now he refused to let go of Lou Xiaofan no matter what.

"Let go of my leg!"

If Han Zhiyu clung to him, it would be disastrous. It had been difficult enough just holding onto the edge himself; with the added weight of another person, what if the metal gave way?

In the face of life and death, Lou Xiaofan’s expression turned savage. He shook his leg violently, attempting to break free from Han Zhiyu’s grasp.

Despite the frantic shaking, Han Zhiyu remained unmoved, gripping Lou Xiaofan’s leg and dragging himself forward.

"Ah!"

The elevator was plummeting rapidly, and Lou Xiaofan’s arms were struggling to bear the weight of two men; the strain was unbearable. He let out a tortured cry.

His face turned a deep, flushed red, and beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks, falling into the bottomless abyss, drying instantly and leaving tear-like tracks on his face.

"Let go of me! Or we'll both die! Can’t you grab onto a different crack? Brother, please!" Lou Xiaofan’s arms began to tremble, his voice choked with sobs and despair.

He was reaching his limit. His arms truly could not support the weight of two people; the sensation was agonizing.

"We didn't ask to be born on the same day, but we can die on the same day!" Han Zhiyu chuckled, shamelessly declaring his intent.

"We're really going to fall!" Lou Xiaofan screamed, the veins in his muscles bulging.

"I don't believe it!" Han Zhiyu retorted, his shamelessness knowing no bounds.

*Snap!*

Suddenly, the elevator car lurched violently. Lou Xiaofan could hold on no longer. His arms, feeling as if they had been shattered by a thousand blows, lost all strength. His body felt as heavy as lead as it plummeted into the depths.

"Ah!"

Han Zhiyu instantly lost his "handle." He hadn't expected Lou Xiaofan to be so fragile, failing to hold on for even a moment longer. He let out a shriek, finally succumbing to terror.

It was two lives for the price of two arms.

"I told you not to grab me! We're really going to die!" Lou Xiaofan, having lost his center of gravity, clawed at the air, his voice filled with a tragic, tearful wail.

"You fell down too!" Han Zhiyu said, half-dazed, watching a silhouette above him.

"Yeah..."

Lou Xiaofan lay suspended in the air, staring upward. A sliver of moonlight reflected in his eyes. That single, short "yeah" carried the weight of all his helplessness and heartache.

He never imagined he would end up meeting the same fate as Dr. Haoyang.

Fragments of memory flashed before his eyes. This must be the enlightenment that comes before death, he thought.

Lou Xiaofan stared at the sky in a daze, and in his hazy state, he thought he saw a silhouette looking down at him.

But none of that mattered anymore. It had nothing to do with him.

"There's someone down there?" Xuan Yue looked down into the pit, saying with surprise.

"They say this place is a research facility belonging to the military," said the person standing next to Xuan Yue.

"What are they researching?" Xuan Yue asked.

"The meteorite and a new form of energy," the man replied.

"It looks like something out of the ordinary has happened here."

"It must be related to the stone that was released earlier."

"That goes without saying! Wherever it goes, bizarre things follow."

"Let's head back to the Wudang Sect first. There are plenty of ancient texts there."

With a few brief exchanges, the group decided on their next course of action. Xuan Yue turned to look around, committing the pitch-black landscape to memory, then turned and walked away.