Corpse Recovery Diver
Chapter 363 - 65

Chapter 363: Chapter 65

Li Zhiyuan did not attempt to wake Run Sheng and the others, because, based on his own recent experience, he knew that what the four of them encountered was not an ordinary miasma, but Yin Miasma.

The former can be likened to an ordinary haunted house in a modern amusement park, giving you the feeling of being there, while the latter is more upscale, with obvious interactivity and guidance.

Previously in the "dream," it was clear that someone was deliberately guiding them forward. The most obvious example was that whatever Tan Wenbin said he wanted, it would be arranged for him. The actual purpose was to keep people deliberately immersed in the dream, cutting off from the reality that was unfolding.

In this state, the division between body and spirit was very clear; even he himself could not detect that he was in the Underworld state, indicating that external physical stimuli could not reach the level of spiritual consciousness.

Moreover, if he insisted on trying to wake them by pushing and shaking them, he might inadvertently push them into the water—they were still standing, and they would have had some time before being submerged, but pushing them would effectively be sentencing them to death ahead of time.

Glancing at Run Sheng and the others, then toward the female stone carving by the door, her gloomy, mocking smile was so lifelike and intricate.

Li Zhiyuan subconsciously thought about swimming over to see if he could push the stone carving back to its original place, or take off his clothes to cover the carving, in an attempt to interrupt this effect.

But as soon as the thought arose in his mind, Li Zhiyuan immediately shook his head vigorously.

If he were an ordinary adventurer or survivor, it would be normal to follow this line of thinking, but it would not break away from the mindset of a traditional responder to a test.

Li Zhiyuan didn’t swim towards the stone carving, but towards the staircase, climbing step by step, walking up above the water’s surface, turning around to sit facing Run Sheng and the others below, as well as the female stone carving further away.

His expression gradually became calm, processing the various information he had mastered and could infer, as he reorganized everything and attempted to deduce the situation before him using Feng Shui layout principles.

The former, he couldn’t rationalize—that shadow that appeared and then left at the tail of a snake.

The latter, he could not deduce either, as the Feng Shui layout around him did not show any obvious or clear changes.

But this did not discourage Li Zhiyuan; failure is sometimes a form of trial and error. When the most mainstream thought process was found to be blocked, even the most implausible, ludicrous side paths might indicate the truth.

The shadow in the dream might not be so important because it was just imitating and guiding. Having a room appear at the top of the stairs, with stalactites inside, was already quite unreasonable, and then using the snake carving not just once but twice—maybe there would be a third or fourth time.

Such detailed and grand carvings—surely not just used as a ladder every time. The occasional use of antique paintings to brew tea would be considered "elegant," but constantly doing so would be a sign of a sick mind.

There was subjective guidance, but it didn’t seem man-made. After stepping back from the situation, it even felt a bit ridiculous.

As for that stone carving, since the Feng Shui layout deduced based on it was completely ineffective, then it could boldly be assumed it was totally useless.

He had carefully inspected the stone carving himself earlier—what kind of incredible mechanism could make a non-existent other half of the body suddenly twist out?

Human imagination.

So, he hadn’t fully woken up yet. This was the second layer of the dream—a multi-layered Yin Miasma.

Li Zhiyuan suddenly felt that he could wake Run Sheng and the others. He scooped up the rising water below his feet and splashed it onto their faces, shouting:

"Brother Runsheng, Brother Bin, Brother Liangliang."

Soon, the three of them began to flutter their eyelids, then one by one, they opened their eyes.

"Ah, were we just dreaming?"

"What happened to us?"

"Xiao Yuan, are you alright?"

Li Zhiyuan’s mouth twitched, and he didn’t bother with Run Sheng’s group, but turned around himself, kneeling on the ladder.

The four of them were facing the stone stairs in a daze, but his own consciousness had been completely absorbed by the female stone carving by the door. In reality, what he first suspected to be problematic should have been the stone stairs, and specifically the bottom layer.

Because before entering the scenario, the water had just risen, barely reaching the soles of their shoes.

Li Zhiyuan walked down the stairs, dived into the water, coming to the bottom layer of steps, and struck that layer forcefully with his flashlight, then shone the light on them.

The ordinary stone stairs at this moment surprisingly showed a translucency similar to jade, with fluffy inclusions visible inside. However, unlike the stationary inclusions in ordinary jade, the things inside were moving, like long parasites or small white snakes.

One of which was burrowing out from the edge of the stairs, and it had already made it halfway out. If he hadn’t discovered it in advance and kept watching it with his flashlight, it would have been undetectable as it drilled out and merged into the water.

It had completely burrowed out, and Li Zhiyuan stretched out his hand in front of it, and it bit down on it.

"Sss..."

Intense pain immediately surged through him, the pain was deep and gradually intensifying.

"Ah..."

"Gurgle... Gurgle..."

Li Zhiyuan woke up again.

This time, he was in the water where the level had risen above his mouth, just a bit below his nose—another slight rise would completely cover his mouth and nose, and then his true self would fall into a state of suffocation.