Unlike the bizarre spatial movement he experienced when traveling to Saint Byron's, Xia De saw no illusions.
As the voice in his ear faded, the surrounding white mist instantly vanished.
He felt as if he hadn't moved at all, and looking around, after the white mist dispersed, he found himself in the familiar circular space, with the ancient god statue still before him, lighting up as he gazed upon it.
But this time, it was no longer the statue space beneath Saint Delan Square; there were no sundries piled against the walls, which were so clean they didn't even have dust.
Although it was still a circular space, this one seemed slightly smaller in area, and the ceiling was higher.
“It worked… However, this statue is also within such a circular space, so it seems the people who placed the statue in Saint Delan Square are the same group.”
A smile appeared on his lips, and then he looked down at the briefcase.
Opening it to check, all the items were present.
This indicated that spatial travel could carry items containing extraordinary power.
But he still didn't relax; instead, he immediately used the Miracle, Echoes of the Past.
Five consecutive times, he heard no human voices, which also proved that this space had likely not been used for a long time.
However, Xia De did not rush to explore the outside world; instead, he turned around and touched the ancient god statue again.
After uttering the incantation, he returned to the white mist area of the Space Labyrinth, and as expected, the blurred paths in the white mist still contained those two wooden signposts.
After touching the signpost labeled 1, the voice in his ear whispered softly:
“The guide will show you the direction.”
The white mist dispersed, and he saw the circular space again.
The sundries piled against the wall already told Xia De that this was the basement of his own home.
It wasn't until he returned from the basement to the first floor and saw Saint Delan Square in the rain outside the window that he finally confirmed that the statue's long-distance teleportation had no waiting time, which was excellent news.
He had just placed Mia with Miss Louisa, which now seemed like an unnecessary precaution.
But there was no need to immediately bring the cat back; Xia De, carrying his briefcase and umbrella, returned to the basement, and through the statue, went back to the new circular space, ready to embark on a new adventure.
He gazed at the statue, and it immediately glowed with a soft light.
Then he opened his briefcase, put important items on his person, and holding his revolver, looked at the curved wall directly opposite the statue.
According to the pattern, the hidden wall's location was right there.
“Can you sense what’s outside this wall?”
“You are only sensitive to elements as a soul; you do not possess the ability of x-ray vision.”
“Alright then.”
He nervously watched ahead, then summoned his Destiny Ring to illuminate the wall, and the wall indeed disappeared.
Outside, there seemed to be no light, only profound darkness.
The light from the statue behind him only stayed within this space, unable to illuminate the external environment.
“Silvermoon.”
He stepped out of the circular space, gun in hand, and then softly called out, causing his fingers to emit a faint silvermoon glow.
What he saw before him was a deep, dark passage, and the location of the hidden wall was at the end of the passage.
The ground beneath his feet was not dirt, but uneven, hard stone, and the surroundings were slick rock walls, with some green moss growing on them like aquatic plants.
It was incredibly dark all around; under the deliberately maintained faint light, an eerie chill made Xia De involuntarily think of many terrifying scenes.
At this moment, even if an ugly merman lunged from the darkness, he wouldn't be surprised.
The passage was not very wide, probably enough for three people of Xia De's build to stand side by side.
As for the height, Xia De believed that with just a slight jump, he could immediately hit the rock wall above.
Because it was so low, he could see the full view of his standing position without needing to raise his fingers:
“But why are there no bats?”
He thought to himself, then searched the ground, but found no animal droppings or footprints:
“How strange.”
The air was damp and cold, and a slight sniff brought a strange smell into his nostrils: decay, and the stench of the tide.
Wherever this was, it had probably been untouched by humans for a long time.
So he slightly increased the light from his fingers to see further.
Only then did he discover a dark object lying where the passage extended forward.
After cautiously approaching, he found it was a group of sea turtles.
These sea turtles looked somewhat ferocious in the darkness, but when illuminated by the Silvermoon light, they merely shifted positions slowly, appearing as if Xia De had disturbed them:
“Where exactly am I?”
As the passage went forward, it also sloped slightly downwards, meaning the hidden wall at the end of the passage was actually at a higher elevation.
Walking out along the passage, he had to be extra careful with his footing; the uneven ground and the slipperiness of the rocks became increasingly severe.
This passage was not very long; he could see the end in about fifty steps.
During this time, besides a group of sea turtles, Xia De also saw a nest of crabs, a few rotten dead fish, and some things that looked like sea anemones.
He also repeatedly tried Blood Echo and Echoes of the Past, but found no traces of human activity.
It seemed that not only the inside of the wall, but also this passage had been untouched for a long time.
Continuing forward, the sound of water became clearer, and about twenty steps from the hidden wall, the ground was already covered in a layer of water.
Further on, the terrain became lower, and the water deeper.
By fifty-odd steps, the standing water had reached Xia De's knees.
He could not go further; the light shining forward clearly showed that the overall downward sloping passage was completely submerged in water not far ahead.
He could feel the water flowing, indicating that it was not stagnant but moving water, and outside should be...
“The ocean.”
This was the answer Xia De tasted after dipping his hand in the water, and the animals and plants he had seen earlier also confirmed this.
Considering that there was oxygen in this enclosed passage, with seawater ahead and a hidden wall behind, and no air vents visible inside the passage, there was reason to believe that during a certain period between high and low tide, at least a portion of the passage would directly connect to the outside world.
“That means, if I enter the water and swim out, it shouldn't take long to reach the outside.”
Pondering this, Xia De turned back behind the hidden wall, and through the statue, returned home with his briefcase again.
After reorganizing his items, he put them back into the box, focusing on a set of dry clothes and boots.
Then he found a large piece of waterproof canvas left by the former Detective, cut it, and completely wrapped the briefcase.
He also found some hemp ropes at home, tied them end-to-end, and then used the remaining rope to tie the strictly waterproofed briefcase to his back, before returning to the cold, damp passage.
He walked fifty steps forward, and the water level was almost at his knees.
He tied one end of the long rope to a rock pillar protruding from the ground and water, and the other end to his waist.
After confirming that both ends were very secure, Xia De waded forward; he could already feel fish swimming beneath the water's surface.
Once the water was completely over his waist, Xia De took a deep breath:
“Spell - Underwater Breathing.”
He plunged forward into the water, and just like when he tried the spell in a basin before, he could open his eyes underwater, and breathing underwater felt as natural as breathing in the air.
The sensation of oxygen entering his lungs made his whole body feel pleasant.
He trudged forward for another few dozen steps on the extremely slippery ground, confirming that the water was deep enough, and then swam forward in the winding, downward passage.
