Chapter 22: Escaping the Deep Cavern, Leveraging the Terrain; Stockpiling Diligence Points for an Upgrade

He rushed into the passage, not daring to linger even a bit!

Bearing the excruciating pain as if his whole body were being torn apart, he shielded his mother and younger sister, racing down the steep passage.

The chaos and rumbling of the earthquake behind him gradually faded, but danger was far from over.

The pursuers would very likely catch up shortly.

"Wen'er… your wound…"

Liu Shi looked at her son's wound that kept oozing blood, her voice choked, her heart feeling as if cut by a knife.

"Brother, put me down, I can walk on my own!"

Chen Wan also said through tears, trying to lessen her brother's burden.

"It's fine… Mother, Wan'er, I can hold on."

Chen Wen gasped for breath, but his voice was unusually firm.

His eightfold physique granted him recovery and endurance far beyond ordinary people.

Although his injuries looked horrifying, they had not damaged his foundation.

He carefully listened to the sounds behind him, confirmed there were no pursuers for the moment, then stopped at a relatively concealed corner to catch his breath.

He gently placed his mother and younger sister down, leaned against the cold rock wall, and panted heavily.

Sweat mixed with blood soaked his clothes.

【Current Stamina: 25% (multiple injuries, stamina recovery speed halved)】

【Diligence Points: 385】 (Rescue 200+ plus battle gains along the way)

Diligence Points have already accumulated to a considerable number; although there is still some distance to the next upgrade, hope has greatly increased.

Now the most important thing is to treat the injuries and restore stamina.

"Mother, Wan'er, how are you? Are you injured?"

Chen Wen anxiously checked his mother's and younger sister's condition.

"We're fine, just a bit weak; those villains didn't really beat us, they just locked us up……"

Liu Shi shook her head, tightly gripping her son's hand, as if afraid he would disappear again.

Chen Wan also leaned against her mother, her little face pale, but her eyes now had a pillar of support.

After confirming his family was safe, Chen Wen let out a slight sigh of relief.

He immediately took out from his bosom the hard rations and water flask he had found earlier, still unfinished.

"Mother, Wan'er, eat something, drink some water, restore your strength."

Seeing the food and water her son handed over, Liu Shi and Chen Wan finally felt extreme hunger and thirst, and began eating quickly in small bites.

Chen Wen, meanwhile, seized the time to treat his own wounds.

He had no medicine, so he could only use the system's precise guidance and his eightfold control to perform the most basic wound cleaning and bandaging.

He tore off a relatively clean piece of inner clothing, tightly bound the wounds on his shoulders and legs to stop the bleeding, while the wounds on his back could not be treated for now.

【Performing battlefield emergency bandaging, medical knowledge proficiency increased (x Bonus)! Diligence Points (WP)+10!】

【High-intensity focus and endurance, willpower increased! Diligence Points (WP)+5!】

Even in this situation, effort can still yield rewards!

After simply treating the wound, his stamina recovered a bit.

Chen Wen knew they couldn't stay here long.

"Mother, Wan'er, we must keep going. We need to leave the mine area as soon as possible."

Although Liu Shi and Chen Wan were weak, they both nodded firmly.

Chen Wen observed the surroundings. This passage leads upward to the 'Crow's Nest'; going downward, it's unknown where it leads.

The pursuers would likely come from above, so they could only go downward.

He once again hoisted his weaker mother onto his back, took his younger sister's hand, and cautiously explored downward.

The passage wound downward, becoming increasingly damp, and the sound of water grew louder.

It seemed they were approaching the underground river system again.

If they could find the underground river, perhaps they could find a way out.

Along the way, they passed some abandoned small mine pits and branch paths.

Relying on his eightfold perception, Chen Wen avoided some potentially dangerous auras in advance, choosing a relatively safe route.

At a fork in the path, they discovered a small exposed vein of low-quality Nether Energy Crystal.

Chen Wen felt a stir in his heart, had his mother and younger sister rest aside, and went over himself.

He needed Diligence Points!!

Only with greater strength could he better protect his family and bring them to safety!

He took out the rusted mining pick he had previously picked up and began digging at the vein.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Under his eightfold strength, even the hard ore became relatively brittle, and he soon knocked off many fragments.

【Mining Nether Energy Crystal Ore (low quality), Diligence Points (WP)+3…+3… (ongoing)】

Although each yield is small, the efficiency is extremely high! Diligence Points began to steadily increase.

"Wen'er, this is……"

Liu Shi watched her son tirelessly digging those stones emitting an ominous blue light, feeling somewhat worried.

"Mother, don't worry, I'm useful."

Chen Wen didn't explain much, just worked harder. Soon, this small vein was completely mined out by him.

【Total mining of low-quality Nether Energy Crystal Ore, Diligence Points (WP)+45!】

【Current WP: 445】

Not a bad harvest! At this rate, as long as we find a few more opportunities, it's not out of reach!

Just as he was about to call his family to continue forward, his sister Chen Wan timidly pointed to a crack in the rock wall behind the ore vein.

"Brother... over there... over there seems to have wind?"

"Wind?" Chen Wen immediately became alert. Wind meant there might be an exit to the surface!

He immediately went to the crack, and indeed, a wisp of extremely weak air carrying the scent of earth seeped out!

There's hope!

He carefully examined the crack, finding that although it was narrow, it seemed possible to widen it manually!

"Mom, Wan'er, step back a bit."

He raised his pickaxe again, concentrating eight times the force at a point, and began precisely chiseling that crack!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Rock fragments flew, the crack expanded at a visible speed, and the smell of fresh air became increasingly obvious!

"Excavating escape tunnel, digging proficiency increased (x Bonus)! Diligence Points (WP) +25…+25…!"

Finally, after some effort, a hole large enough to crawl through was broken through! Outside was darkness, but the air was fresh, with faint starlight!

It was night! They had truly dug through to the outside of the mountain!

"Success!" Chen Wen could not hide his excitement.

"Successfully opened escape tunnel, surviving desperate straits! Diligence Points (WP) +100!"

【Current WP: 595】

The huge WP harvest foretold that they finally saw the dawn of freedom!

However, just as they were about to crawl out of the hole, Chen Wen's superhuman hearing picked up the dense footsteps and clashing of armor coming from deep in the passage below!

The pursuers have already come down!

And they are fast!

"Quick! Get out!"

Chen Wen's face changed, and he immediately helped his mother and sister crawl out of the hole first.

He himself followed closely behind.

At the moment half of his body protruded from the hole, he glanced back at the dark passage.

We can't let them chase out so easily!

A flash of fierceness crossed his eyes as he summoned eight times the force, heavily striking the rock wall at the edge of the hole with several blows of his pickaxe!

Boom—rumble! The fragile rock wall instantly collapsed, large amounts of rubble falling, instantly blocking more than half of the entrance to the escape tunnel they had just opened!

"Destroying terrain, hindering pursuers. Diligence Points (WP) +30!"

【Current WP: 625】

Although it cannot be completely blocked, it is enough to severely delay the pursuers' speed!

After doing all that, Chen Wen finally crawled completely out of the hole.

A cool night breeze brushed his face, the stars across the sky clearly visible. They were in a hidden spot on the mountainside.

Temporarily…… safe.