Chapter 142 Only Means Available
"I’m sorry that you had to suffer," Gu Fan quickly picked up his shield, continuing to block the entrance, muttering a thousand prayers in his heart. If they could somehow survive this, he pledged to buy a lottery ticket as soon as they made it home.
"It’s lit, it’s lit!" Xu Haowen was ecstatic. Thanks to his relentless effort, the manual dynamo had finally worked. The makeshift phone charged up again, its light illuminating the path ahead, which was clear of obstructions and ogres.
"Du Jun, lead the way. I’ll cover the rear. Xu Haowen, don’t stop," Gu Fan immediately shouted out the plan.
"I know, even if you told me to stop, I wouldn’t," Xu Haowen felt exhausted from relentlessly powering the generator, but he bit the bullet and continued. The light was their only hope.
"Hurry up. My stun baton needs charging too," Du Jun added.
"When it matters most, none of you brought a spare power source. I’m amazed," Lu Yi finally managed to get up, glancing at Gu Fan dismissively, not bothering to question why he had attacked an ally previously.
Guiltily, Gu Fan shrank back and returned the shield to Lu Yi, who now had the responsibility of covering the rear. Then, Gu Fan took the manual generator from Xu Haowen, charging it with all his might while Xu Haowen merely had to hold the phone for lighting.
The four of them slowly moved forward within the tunnel. Unhindered by any ogres, they eventually strolled out of the tunnel into a residential building.
"As I expected, Queen Qianye must have taken control of the subterranean water source, manipulating the public. The citizens must have dug these tunnels to get water in secret," Gu fan speculated while pacing through the residence. The environment was pitch black, frequently infiltrated by sand leaking in.
If the place was completely covered in sand, they would be blocked off from the outside world. That would mean this way out was no longer an option, and they would need to return to their previous location, possibly running into more ogres.
"I really don’t want to go back, at least not until we’ve fully charged," Lu Yi remarked, sitting down to power the generator.