"Don't follow me, Tan Jiao!" I shouted. "Go over there and stay with them! Keep away from the lake!"

  "You told me to follow you!" she shouted, with a hint of tears. I felt a pang in my heart and suppressed it.

  However, she ran slowly and eventually fell behind me. I finally arrived at the lake shore. But the lakeshore was already tens of meters apart, how could I get across?

  I lifted my head and saw Wu Miao's eyes from afar, her mouth opening and closing as if saying "Brother don't come over..." At this moment there was nothing in my mind except for Wu Miao. And also in a very distant city, it seemed like our mother was smiling at us. They are all still alive now.

  I was just about to jump into the water and swim over.

  At this critical moment, I saw the lake surface. I stood alone on the shore, looking at the lake surface that was countless times wider than me. This is the most bizarre scene I have ever seen in my life. The sky was gray, the ground was dark, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, wind and rain poured down. But the huge lake surface was calm. All the water of the lake, however, was moving in the same direction, rotating. It seemed as if an invisible giant hand was stirring the lake surface.

  Not only rotating, but also descending.

  The lake's surface is gradually declining at a slow pace visible to the naked eye.

  What does this mean? It means that the bottom of the lake is like a huge hole suddenly opened, and the water in the lake is leaking out, so it produces a giant whirlpool, and everything in the lake will be sucked away. A ship ten times larger than the Dianbei people would be crushed into fragments by such power.

  I raised my head and gazed at the sky, this vast and ever-changing scene of light and shadow, only to feel that my entire body had stiffened like stone.

  At this time.

  The ground beneath my feet suddenly collapsed. My heart skipped a beat, but it was too late. The lake water rushed towards me like a grey dragon, pouring over my head. I didn't have time to look for Wu Miao, and in an instant I had fallen four or five meters down. Then I was carried by the muddy water and crashed into some rocks, continuing to slide downwards.

  Everything around was collapsing, falling down, the whole world seemed to be crumbling. In the midst of tumbling and drifting, I suddenly realized - that power not only sucked away the lake water, but even the riverbank was knocked down, we were also heading towards the bottom of the lake!

  Tan Jiao!

  This name is like a sharp dagger cutting through my heart, I just lost her, I didn't care about her! My heart hurts intensely, in the torrent I desperately turn around, searching for her trace.

  Fissures on the ground above, flashes of lightning constantly flashing in, shining bright and dark. Everything around is eerie as if it were another world, layered, rugged, and fractured rocks, faint fluorescent lights from the ground, incredibly fast torrents, carrying everything to deeper places.

  I saw several figures bobbing up and down in the flood, Chen Ruying, Yan Yuan, Zhu Jihui... Fortunately, everyone was not far apart, I dodged the impact as much as possible, searching for Tan Jiao's trail.

  I saw her!

  Her face was deathly pale on the water's surface not far from me, and she was bobbing up and down. I saw her choke back several mouthfuls of water. I swam towards her with all my might. She also saw me, but was completely unable to resist the torrent. There were several times when I almost reached her, but the torrent whirled around, and she was swept away again.

  "Tan Jiao!" I roared.

  I plunged into the water, confident that with this acceleration I would reach her first. I spotted a bend and instead of slowing down, I used my shoulder to crash into it. This impact almost shattered all my bones. But because of this blockage, she had been carried by the floodwaters and suddenly crashed into my arms.

  I wrapped my arms around her and pressed her head into my chest. I also felt her two hands tightly embracing me, so weak and helpless.

  I lifted my head and looked forward at the dimly lit ground that seemed to be teeming with ghosts.

  So it was, so it was.

  We may be about to arrive at that place. The secret that twists and turns time is just ahead.

  Never let go - this is the only thought I have left before falling into darkness.