Chapter 11
Undersea Cave
While changing his diving gear, Roger commanded his octopus companion to enter the cave and explore, all while taking a breath.
Most underwater caves are filled with seawater, and entering without caution could lead to becoming disoriented and trapped inside.
However, the octopus, being an aquatic creature, had no such concerns. It proceeded through the cave.
The cave was pitch black and narrow, only enough for one person to crawl through. If Roger’s human form entered, he might even encounter the awkward situation of being unable to turn around. This made Roger quite anxious.
How brave is Holly? Would a normal person dare to venture into these deep and terrifying underwater caves with no end in sight? It would be challenging to turn around if one ran out of oxygen inside.
What kind of courage does it take?
Or maybe Holly simply wants to die?
With these doubts in mind, Roger stared intently at the screen.
If Holly died in the cave, the octopus should have found her remains.
But so far, Roger had found nothing.
It seemed to be just an ordinaryrocky underwater cave.
However, before long, the waterway in front of the octopus came to an end, revealing a pitch-black cave!
This surprised Roger greatly.
After instructing the octopus to stay put, Roger resurfaced and looked at Old Nielsen on the shore.
“I found it.”
Roger then proceeded to inform Old Nielsen about the situation inside the cave.
Upon hearing this, Old Nielsen became somewhat excited.
“Holly must be in there!”
“She must be in there…”
However, his excitement soon faded, and his voice grew low as he realized that even if they found the cave Holly mentioned, she couldn’t possibly be alive until now.
For a moment, Old Nielsen became lost in thought.
He then straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, and with a small package in hand, he walked resolutely towards the sea.
Observing this, Roger furrowed his brow and tried to convince Old Nielsen to stay on the shore while he went to search.
But Old Nielsen’s determination was unwavering.
“Let me go, my child. This is important, more important than staying alive.”
“I have been waiting for this day for a long time.”
Seeing this, Roger fell silent for a moment and no longer objected.
Losing his loved one had always been Old Nielsen’s unresolved issue.
After switching to the real perspective, Roger looked at the old man before him and smiled.
“Old sailor, can you do it?”
Old Nielsen’s pace towards the sea quickened, as if he was fueled by some unknown force.
“Lead the way!”
Splash!
Old Nielsen leaped into the sea, quickly disappearing into the depths.
Observing this, Roger hid his smile, exhaled into the water, and swiftly caught up with Old Nielsen, guiding him along the way.
In the real perspective, Roger possessed all the skills of the game character and instinctively utilized them.
Therefore, despite having little diving experience, Roger appeared to be familiar with the underwater environment.
At the entrance of the underwater cave, Roger signaled to Old Nielsen to go ahead.
This way, if Old Nielsen couldn’t continue, Roger could come to his aid in time.
Old Nielsen no longer refused; he simply wanted to find Holly as soon as possible.
The old man and the young man ventured further into the underwater cave.
Old Nielsen, despite his extensive experience, is physically weaker due to his old age.
After a while, Roger noticed that his speed had slowed down.
But fortunately, Old Nielsen managed to finish this journey.
Haha!
A splash of water broke the surface in front of the cave, and Old Nielsen opened his mouth wide to breathe, then knelt on the shore and started coughing violently.
Roger gently patted his back.
After a while, Old Nielsen finally started to recover gradually.
He stretched out his trembling hand and opened a package, taking out a pearl from inside.
When the package cloth was uncovered, a soft light illuminated the surroundings.
“A night pearl?”
Roger was surprised.
Old Nielsen wiped the seawater off his face and shook his head, saying, “It’s not a night pearl, it’s a pearl lamp.”
“You should know about lantern fish in the deep sea. A pearl lamp is made from the top of a similar fish called pearl fish.”
After speaking, Old Nielsen used the glow from the pearl lamp to examine the surroundings.
Before long, Old Nielsen quickly walked to a corner.
There was a pattern on the ground that looked like a lollipop, seemingly carved with stones or something similar.
“This was left by Holly!”
Old Nielsen said in a deep voice.
Holly drew this. When they were young, they often left this symbol in certain places, indicating that they had arrived here.
He would never forget this symbol.
Old Nielsen didn’t speak to Roger and focused on examining the surroundings with the pearl lamp, searching for Holly’s trail.
As they delved deeper, the cave started to slope downwards.
At this point, the temperature became even colder.
Old Nielsen was already in poor health, and after soaking in seawater for a while, he was now trembling from the cold.
Roger asked about it, but Old Nielsen waved his hand.
He had already entered the cave. How could he stop now, even in such circumstances?
Roger remained silent upon seeing this.
It seemed that Old Nielsen wouldn’t rest until he found Holly, even if it meant risking his life.
After walking for some more time, the two of them found another mark left by Holly.
At the same time, strange sounds emerged from somewhere.
The sound was faint, like something flapping its wings against flesh.
But Old Nielsen, as if he hadn’t heard, focused intently on searching for Holly’s trail.
Then, the cave ahead began to slowly narrow down.
Finally, the two of them stopped in front of a small opening, with a rotten rope fixed in front of the opening. The other end seemed to lead down into the cave, as if someone had descended along the rope.
As expected, there was still a symbol carved on the ground in front of the opening.
“What a crazy old lady…”
Old Nielsen muttered to himself as he took out a new rope, tied it around his waist, and then looked at Roger.
Roger, of course, didn’t want Old Nielsen to take the lead, as it was very dangerous.
But Old Nielsen’s stern attitude stopped him.
“Roger, you’re a good kid. Thank you for bringing me here, but from now on, I have to walk the rest of the way on my own.”
Old Nielsen put his legs into the cave and paused.
“…If possible, I hope you can take care of those sunflowers for me.”
After saying these words, Old Nielsen’s figure disappeared into the opening.
Although the scene was a bit serious and melancholic, a question still popped into Roger’s mind.
What about your granddaughter, Lina?
Roger fell into deep thought.
One was an old lady who valued adventure over life and family, and the other was an old man who valued love over life and family…
It seemed that there was a reason why these two old folks ended up together…
Just as Roger was contemplating, a terrified shout suddenly came from below the cave where Old Nielsen had gone