He Yun Kai and Zhu Zili’s flashlights dimmed a bit more; they wouldn’t last long. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the tunnel, their hands trembling, making the flashlight beams shake, which only added to the eerie feeling at the tunnel’s mouth. I believed many wanted to try again, but here, in this darkness, the fear instilled by the tunnel was so overwhelming that even the courage to attempt was lacking, preferring to stay in this bone-filled cave. Because even I believed that if this tunnel could trap us, it might also prevent us from returning.
“You should say something to the students, we need to calm them down,” Liang Yingwu said to me.
“What can I say? What can we say when even we have no solution? You’re better at calming people down,” I replied.
Liang Yingwu sighed, paused for a moment, then spoke to the university students, “Students, I think everyone understands now that we are trapped, for reasons unknown. In short, we can’t get out for now. From what we’ve seen, this predicament seems unlikely to be man-made; rather, this ‘cave’ is exerting some mysterious influence. I believe there must be a solution as long as we, all fourteen of us, work together. We are all well-educated; we should trust in our knowledge and abilities. Today has been exhausting, so let’s rest. Tomorrow morning, we’ll discuss and analyze our current situation in detail. Tonight, think about what could possibly cause our current predicament.”
