Chapter 165

When Kurt heard my decision, his face went pale. He spoke with a hint of anger in his voice, "Are you nuts? This is suicide!"

I stayed unusually calm, having already made up my mind. "Chill, trust me. I know what I'm doing."

"No way, this is too risky," Kurt shot back.

I just stared at him quietly, showing no signs of fear, which left Kurt feeling helpless. Even he didn't want to gamble with his life.

In the end, he gave in.

"Don't worry, I'll go first. If something goes wrong, you take the others and leave," I said, patting Kurt on the shoulder, trying to reassure him.

But it was clear he wasn't comforted. Kurt looked at me, speechless.

After a moment of silence, knowing I was determined, he set his own condition. "Fine, but you have to follow my lead."

I nodded in agreement, as long as he let me go down.

Kurt then walked into the woods and returned after a while with a long vine. He tied one end to a nearby tree and the other around my waist.

"You're good to go," he said calmly.

Though his expression was calm, I could hear a trace of worry in his voice.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but joke, "What if the vine breaks?"

"Then it's just your bad luck," Kurt replied bluntly.

"How heartless," I pretended to be hurt, but I knew Kurt was just joking.

The vine looked like it had been carefully selected by Kurt in a short time, and it seemed very sturdy.

As long as there were no unexpected incidents, it shouldn't break.

I tugged on the vine, took a deep breath, and approached the edge of the cliff, ready to start.

"I'm going," I said.

I took a few steps back, then started running, accelerating quickly.

When I reached the edge of the cliff, I leaped, my body shooting out like an arrow.

I could clearly feel the wind rushing past my ears, and my heart tightened with tension.

My body traced an arc in the air before rapidly descending.

At this moment, the vine on the ground at the cliff's edge was quickly pulled out.

Kurt watched the vine nervously, his brow furrowed, and his palms sweating.

My body gradually slowed down under the pull of the vine, finally stopping in mid-air over the cliff.

I took a deep breath and began to observe my surroundings, looking for a foothold to help me survey the area.

Kurt waited anxiously at the top of the cliff, his eyes fixed on me, ready to respond to any sudden situation.

He knew that despite the calm appearance, the danger of this action was undeniable.

I moved cautiously along the cliff, my body pressed against the rock face, but without a secure foothold, I knew every move was a matter of life and death.

As time passed, Kurt's heartbeat quickened. He lay on the edge of the cliff, trying to see me, but it was impossible.

He had no choice but to repeatedly check the vine's stability, ensuring it wouldn't cause any danger.

But after checking the vine dozens of times, he still hadn't seen me.

Kurt grew increasingly anxious.

Meanwhile, I finally discovered some unusual marks on the cliff. I approached them carefully and observed closely.

These marks seemed to point to a hidden cave entrance.

Upon finding this clue, I quickly tugged on the vine, signaling to pull me up.

Kurt, who had been watching the vine closely, noticed the change and immediately started pulling me up.

With Kurt's help, I was slowly pulled back to the top of the cliff.

Once I was up, Kurt quickly checked me over, and only after confirming I was uninjured did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"You're really worried about me?" I teased, looking at him with a playful glint in my eye.

Kurt realized his behavior contradicted his earlier words. "No, I'm worried Mary would be upset if something happened to you," he retorted stubbornly.

I couldn't help but laugh.

I quickly told Kurt about my discovery.

Hearing this, Kurt frowned, surprised to learn there was a cave entrance below.

We exchanged a glance, knowing we couldn't act rashly and needed to plan carefully.

After discussing our plan, we prepared to explore the hidden cave.

We knew this could be a dangerous path, but it was our only option.

Because the vine's length was limited, I couldn't explore further earlier. This time, we had to jump down without the vine.

Initially, Kurt was very reluctant to agree to this plan.

But after some arguing, he finally agreed.

I stood at the edge of the cliff, closed my eyes, and took several deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves.

I quickly calculated the approximate distance and falling speed in my mind, silently thinking, "This should be about right."

However, as I continued to fall without reaching the cave, I began to doubt my judgment.

The wind roared past my ears, and the falling speed increased, filling me with a sense of foreboding.

Instinctively, I reached out and, in my panic, managed to grab a protruding rock, barely stopping my descent.

At this point, the surrounding fog began to dissipate, and my vision cleared.

Looking up, I realized I had grabbed the edge of a platform.

I couldn't believe I had landed here.

With a strong pull, I finally managed to climb onto the platform.

Looking up, I saw the cave entrance about 10 feet above the platform.

I felt a bit lucky.

Turning around, I saw the platform was circular, with a large wooden post in the center, wrapped in some ropes, and topped with a large wheel and a handle.

In front of the wheel stood a wooden plank about 20 feet long and 2 feet wide.

Seeing this, I roughly understood the purpose of the device. I grabbed the wheel and tried to turn it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Strange," I muttered to myself.

I carefully examined the wheel.

After studying it for a while, I discovered the handle was actually a mechanism. It could be pushed in to lock and pulled out to turn.

After figuring out the mechanism, I pulled out the handle, and a strong force came from the wheel.

I gripped the wheel tightly and slowly lowered the plank.

Eventually, the plank was securely placed at the edge of the cliff, with some ropes forming a railing on both sides.

Making sure no one was around, I shouted, "Kurt, you can come down now."

Not sure if Kurt could hear me.

Soon, Kurt jumped down with the vine, unable to see me through the fog.

But I could clearly see him about 10 feet above me.

"I'm here, about 10 feet below you," I shouted.

Kurt roughly determined my position.

He frowned and asked, "How do I get down?"

"Jump!" I shouted.

Hearing this, he couldn't help but curse, "Damn it!"

But in the end, Kurt had no choice but to untie the vine and jump down.

The distance was a bit far, and Kurt almost fell flat on his face.

Seeing me standing there, he couldn't help but curse, "Fuck you."

But he didn't have much else to say.

"Come take a look," I said, revealing the device behind me.

Kurt looked at the device and couldn't help but praise, "I can't believe you were right."

I smiled proudly.

We activated the switch and left the platform, discovering a passage inside. After walking a few steps, we saw a narrow, steep path clinging to the cliff.

I couldn't help but admire the person who designed this platform. Their technical skills and intelligence were extraordinary.

The path was narrow and steep, requiring careful steps.

I led the way, my steps steady, clearly experienced with such treacherous paths.

Kurt followed closely, his eyes alert, constantly watching the surroundings for any danger.

We slowly descended along the path, the wind on the cliff growing stronger, rustling our clothes.

As we went deeper, the environment became darker, with only occasional sunlight filtering through the cracks, illuminating the path.