Chapter 255

Looking at the four stone fissures ahead, all were narrow, just barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through.

According to the sonar scan, all four fissures ran straight through, offering no insight—he had to enter them himself to determine if he could escape the third labyrinth layer.

At this moment, he had already stowed away the scroll.

Because the guide rope had snapped twice in succession, it was now useless; for him, what was in his mind was far more reliable.

"Look, each of these four fissures is lined with sharp fragments—these aren't the brittle rock walls from earlier; they're razor-edged, and a single slip could cut you."

After speaking, he slowly moved toward the second fissure. It was only sixty centimeters wide—his air tank wouldn't fit, so he had to remove his gear.

A sharp *click* sounded as the buckle released; Qin Yun shifted the air tank to his chest and held it gently with both hands. Then, with a subtle kick, he began gliding slowly into the fissure.

He turned sideways, drew in his abdomen, and moved with extreme care through the fissure, cradling the air tank, his motions slow and deliberate. The gap was barely sixty centimeters wide—any sudden movement would cause contact. Even though the diving suit was top-grade, a scrape could still tear it.

Under two to three hundred meters of pressure, no material could be trusted.

But an accident still came.

Just as he was about to pass through the fissure, a sudden undercurrent surged from the opposite side, engulfing his entire body and hurling him backward with such speed that Qin Yun had no control.

In the nick of time, his left hand shot out and gripped a protruding rock fragment—but his whole body was simultaneously yanked back, his back slamming hard against the ceiling rock.

Instantly, several sharp pains shot through his body, followed by a chilling sensation flooding in from his right leg.

One of the drones had been precisely aimed at this spot; everyone saw exactly what happened on the screen.

"This… it's torn?"

"The diving suit is torn?"

"Oh my god, is he going to be okay?"

"I saw blood."

After the current passed and the water calmed, Qin Yun released his left hand and checked his body.

Besides the tear in his right leg's diving suit, there were several other damages on his back—blunt trauma with bruising, but not serious. The worst was the right leg, where a three-centimeter-long gash had been carved by the sharp fragments; the blood was flowing from there.

Fortunately, it was only a surface wound, not penetrating deeper muscles—otherwise, stopping the bleeding under such pressure would have been impossible.

"My diving suit is torn," Qin Yun's voice came through the livestream. "But luckily, the underground river's temperature is still quite high, so hypothermia isn't a risk. If this were a colder environment, I'd have to abort immediately."

Saying this, he pulled out a plastic tube, squeezed a bit of gel onto the wound, and quickly smoothed it over.

"To prevent the wound from contacting anaerobic bacteria, I've applied hydrogel adhesive dressing—it can fully seal the wound underwater, prevent leakage, and won't come off. Very effective."

After treating the wound, Qin Yun looked at the torn diving suit with a sigh.

"This tear in the pant leg means my whole body is now soaked in water—it's uncomfortable. Though hypothermia won't set in immediately, the water temperature is still lower than body temperature; prolonged exposure will eventually cause heat loss. I need to move faster."

Qin Yun adjusted his breathing, glanced at the depth gauge, pressure meter, and air tank flow rate, then continued forward beyond the fissure.

Once he emerged from the fissure, the way ahead opened up. The full true form of the underground river was now revealed—the thick rock layers stretched endlessly on both sides, plunged into utter darkness, sending chills down the spine. Below lay an ink-black abyss; just imagining it would make any ordinary person's hair stand on end.

But Qin Yun, the moment he emerged, plunged downward without hesitation.

On the livestream screen, Qin Yun's depth climbed rapidly.

When he reached 300 meters, everyone held their breath, waiting for the world record to fall.

At this moment, every professional in the livestream felt they were witnessing the birth of a new cave-diving legend—a record thought impossible to break was about to be shattered.

Qin Yun still didn't stop.

"The pressure I'm feeling now exceeds thirty atmospheres—each square centimeter of my skin bears over thirty kilograms of force. An ordinary person at this depth would feel like being uniformly encased in thick concrete, unable to move a muscle."

"At this pressure, breathing is difficult, your eardrums swell painfully, limbs grow heavy, your body stiffens—you'd be completely immobilized."

"All of the above applies to others. I, Qin Yun, am not among them."

"Though I do feel immense pressure, my physical condition is exceptional—I can easily resist this level of force. So I advise everyone: don't dive too deep unless you have to. It's dangerous."

Qin Yun's voice remained calm, but his words made people want to punch him.

"Fucking hell, can't he shut up for once?"

"Haha, bastard."

"I can't even breathe loudly, and you're mocking us?"

"But I have to admit—the bastard's insane. Over thirty kilograms per square centimeter of pressure, and he's moving around like it's nothing."

"Non-human physical conditioning—I'm so jealous of his wife."

Ordinary viewers might just mutter a few comments, but professional divers sensed overwhelming confidence in Qin Yun's steady tone.

Ask themselves—they knew they could never do this. The sheer gap in physical capability was enough to induce despair.

There was no point even comparing.

In the darkness, Qin Yun adjusted the flow rate—the current had now exceeded normal levels. Even for him, at this depth, oxygen demand had skyrocketed.

Every movement drained enormous energy.

And being submerged, though his body temperature remained stable for now, heat would inevitably flow from high to low—nature's law, unavoidable.

Staff monitoring the systems turned pale.

"CCR rebreather malfunction."

The rebreather supplier's technician stared at the flickering numbers on screen, fear flashing in his eyes.

Su Huan, upon hearing this, lost all color from her face.

Qin Yun touched his mask—inside, the helium-nitrogen-oxygen mix was now unstable, especially the oxygen partial pressure, which had spiked abruptly.

A flicker of panic crossed his mind—but he crushed it instantly.

"My CCR has failed. Probably damaged during the earlier impact, causing unstable gas supply. Oxygen partial pressure is rising—if it exceeds safety limits, oxygen toxicity will occur."

Hearing Qin Yun's voice, everyone in the livestream froze.

"Holy shit, what… what do we do?"

"Is Qin Ye going to die?"

"Don't talk nonsense—Qin Ye is so calm, he must have a plan."

"OMG, what's Qin going to do?"

Qin Yun continued: "Oxygen toxicity causes convulsions, unconsciousness, then death. Fortunately, I have a backup air source—but it only lasts one hour."

As soon as he finished speaking, the livestream exploded.

"One hour? How the hell is he supposed to get back?"

"Holy crap, is this really happening?"

"It's over. Too insane."

"Jesus!"

Comments flooded in, gifts poured in like rain—in just one or two minutes, over three or four hundred "Carnival" gifts appeared on Douyin alone.

Qin Yun felt the gas supply shift—oxygen hadn't yet exceeded safe partial pressure, so he didn't switch immediately.

"I'll finish my goal first."

Saying this, he moved his body and continued descending.

He didn't need to check the depth gauge—his body knew the limit.

When he reached the threshold, the system panel and its alert tone appeared simultaneously.

【Dive task completed, received random reward: Art Skill +1】

【Art Skill LV1: You should really switch careers and make a living selling paintings】