Chapter 402

Chapter 402

As we ventured deeper, more and more twisted stone statues appeared before us.

I have to say, in this unknown passage ahead, these neatly arranged statues looked exceptionally creepy.

"What's the deal with these statues?" After passing countless statues, Andy stopped and couldn't help but voice his confusion. "Are they clues or something?"

I chuckled, "If they were clues, do you think we'd find them first, or would these statues get us first?"

Carl looked uneasy. "I hope these statues are just here to freak us out. We've already seen a ton of them, and who knows how many more are waiting for us up ahead."

I turned around, peering into the pitch-black depths of the passage, and sighed, "Yeah, let's hope these statues have nothing to do with any clues."

Then I added, "Let's keep moving and see if we find anything new."

We walked until we were exhausted and stopped to rest. That's when I noticed that this wasn't the only passage. Every so often, new passageways appeared on either side.

We had been so focused on the statues that, due to our limited visibility, we hadn't noticed the other passageways.

Andy reached out into the nearby passage, using the candlelight to see. "Why are there more passageways?"

I hadn't used our only flashlight to save power, but now I had to take it out to check the road ahead.

What I saw shocked me. The path ahead was filled with countless passageways.

The three of us exchanged glances.

Carl asked, "Which way do we go?"

"Can we even go this way?" Andy was speechless. "Who knows if more passageways will appear once we go in, and we'll end up getting lost in here."

"We don't have enough supplies to explore other passageways," I said, pointing to the statues leading to the main passage. "For now, let's follow the path with the statues. That way, we won't get lost."

Andy and Carl weren't foolish, so they didn't argue with my suggestion and followed me along the path marked by the statues.

After walking for what felt like forever, we came across a long-decomposed skeleton.

It looked like the person had been dead for a long time, with some bones already turned to dust.

At the same time, I began to understand this seemingly endless passage and stopped to discuss it with Andy and Carl.

"Have you ever seen an ant's nest?"

Andy shook his head. "What does this have to do with an ant's nest?"

Carl nodded, looking around. "The structure here does resemble an ant's nest. The complex passageways, once you lose your way, you might never get out. These statues might be markers. As long as we follow them, we shouldn't get lost."

"Now that you mention it, that does make sense." Andy quickly understood. "These statues do serve as guides."

My gaze remained on the skeleton beside me, my brow furrowed. "So, the designer might have left this, or someone did it on purpose to prevent others from getting lost?"

Carl chose the latter. "The designer created such a complex passageway to keep intruders from discovering the secrets inside. That's why there are so many new passageways that confuse us. So, it must be someone else's doing."

I pointed to the skeleton. "Could it be him?"

No, it should be them.

Because in front of the skeleton, more guiding statues stood, indicating that someone had taken over the task from this skeleton and continued to place statues deeper into the passage.

Just as we were about to move forward, the writing above the skeleton stopped me. It was densely packed with words.

"Wait, there's writing here."

I leaned in and saw it was in Atlantean. Even though I had a basic understanding of the language, it was hard to comprehend the words carved into the stone fully. I could only guess to fill in the gaps.

"I am a citizen of Atlantis. The tyrannical king, in his quest to return to distant Atlantis, forced my clan of craftsmen to live in this dark passage forever, to perish while seeking the path to the old kingdom…"

"Return to distant Atlantis? Seeking the old kingdom?" Andy looked at me, excitement on his face. "Alex, does this mean the Atlanteans were looking for a way back here? Does it mean they had some clues about how to return?"

My palms were sweaty, and my heart was racing. "It seems so. If we keep going, we might really find some clues here."

In the passage, I couldn't tell the exact time, so I had to estimate based on our hunger and sleep patterns.

After about a day, we encountered a second skeleton, with another message carved above it.

"I increasingly doubt that the king of Atlantis abandoned our clan of craftsmen. How could this dark passage lead to our homeland? I've lost track of how many years I've spent here. Are my family safe? Only these silent statues accompany me, and I will die alone, carving these statues in this endless passage."

Then, the third, fourth, fifth skeleton…

"My future, my path is uncertain. Am I really not just heading towards my doom? Does our distant kingdom really require passing through this dark passage? I don't believe it!"

"I'm tired of this life. Someone save me, I'm going crazy."

"This is not the path to our homeland, but the road to hell. I'm dying, but I don't want to die. Someone save me."

"There's nothing here, nothing but endless darkness accompanying me."

I thought that the deeper we went, the more hope I would see. I felt like I had become one of those foolish people carving statues in this passage, actually hoping that the way forward would lead to my homeland.

But the deeper we went, the more the sense of despair overwhelmed me, suffocating me.

After counting countless skeletons, with our food, water, and candles running out, I finally saw the light of death.

Not just skeletons, but light.

Sunlight, leading outside.

Humans crave light, so I didn't look at the writing above the skeletons. Instead, I headed straight for the light source.

Until that warm light fell on me, I felt alive again.

Andy and Carl felt the same, showing expressions of relief after a narrow escape.

"I thought we'd starve to death in that passage." Andy, with his scruffy beard, looked like he had returned to the Stone Age.

Carl and I weren't much better. Our beards had grown wild from lack of grooming, covering our chins, and we smelled terrible, like three primitive troglodytes.