Duan Hongzhen and the two women were giving their all, but neither the door nor the windows would budge, as if they had entered a completely enclosed space.
The situation grew more and more urgent as the water rose at an increasingly fast rate.
Soon, the water reached their heads. They had tried their best to stay afloat in the water. However, as the distance between the water and the ceiling got closer, they realized that if they didn’t find a way to escape soon, they might drown here today.
There was less and less air and Xiao Tangqiu could feel that he was beginning to lack oxygen. His brain felt groggy as he moved slower and slower. The picture before him was beginning to be a bit blurry.
…… He was probably about to die?
It was pretty ridiculous that he would finally die because of his own stupid suggestion after braving through so many ordeals.
Xiao Tangqiu desperately held his last breath and shouted at Shen Yuan, “I’m sorry…”
Although it was a life and death situation, Shen Yuan was still calm and in control. Even if he was surrounded by fearful screams and cries, he was as steady as a mountain. He looked at Xiao Tangqiu, not saying anything. Despite that, Xiao Tangqiu seemed to understand what he was trying to say.
“Wuwuwu! I’m still very young! I don’t want to die!” Tang Mianmian cried the most, but he was also the one with the most energy. “I’m not married yet, I haven’t been in love, I haven’t even touched a girl’s hand yet!”
At last, the Loli couldn’t help rolling her eyes at Tang Mianmian. “Shut up! The more you cry, the more oxygen you consume!”
Lu Si’er and the little boy, who were originally holding each other and crying because of fear, were shocked by the words and stopped crying at once.
At this moment, the water had already submerged most of the church. The water surface was twenty to thirty centimeters away from the ceiling. They were trying to stay afloat with their heads exposed above the water surface. However, it was obvious that they would soon lose this last bit of space.
Xiao Tangqiu’s eyes began to blur as his consciousness became hazy. “…I’m sorry, it’s all my fault.”
Tang Mianmian was frightened by the Loli and didn’t dare to cry anymore. He sobbed in a low voice, “Wuwuwu… What’s the point of saying this now…”
Xiao Tangqiu couldn’t hear Tang Mianmian clearly and could only repeat over and over again, “I’m sorry…”
The others also gradually showed signs of lack of oxygen. Seeing that the water was about to submerge the entire place, Duan Hongzhen sighed, “It looks like there is really no other way…”
Tang Mianmian repeatedly shook Xiao Tangqiu side to side, but the latter, who was still in a confused state, asked anxiously, “Could there be some other way?”
“There’s no other way, we can only stake it all on this…” Duan Hongzhen said.
Tang Mianmian paused, “Stake it all on what?”
Duan Hongzhen didn’t continue speaking. He turned to look at Shen Yuan, and then at the other two women. They seemed to have gotten the message because in the next moment, the four of them suddenly dived under, swimming towards the huge statue.
Tang Mianmian tried hard to grab Xiao Tangqiu to prevent him from slipping into unconsciousness. Lu Si’er and the little boy also began to feel faint. They could only subconsciously hold onto the nearest person. He ended up having to drag three people by himself.
He stared nervously at the scene underwater and saw them swim towards the huge statue and suddenly attack it.
……No, to be precise, it was the three of them besides Shen Yuan.
Under the blows from all three of them, the statue still didn’t budge.
They turned to look at the Shen Yuan helplessly, and finally, Shen Yuan looked like he was about to make a move,
Tang Mianmian didn’t see how Shen Yuan made his move because in the next second, the water completely submerged the church. The last bit of oxygen was gone and he could only scramble to hold onto Xiao Tangqiu, who was weak.
Just then, there was a loud noise coming from under the water!
Amidst the loud noise, Xiao Tangqiu opened his eyes in hazy consciousness. At this time, the church was completely flooded, and the world underwater appeared distorted. He tried to look down, but only saw a vague shadow…
All of a sudden, his sight became crystal clear, and everything became visible to him, including the pews, murals, stained glass windows and the huge statue in the church. Shen Yuan was right in front of the statue. Although Xiao Tangqiu couldn’t see his expression clearly, he appeared to be in a different state than he usually was.
Shen Yuan’s hair became much longer underwater and reached almost to his waist, floating in the water like aquatic plants on the seabed.
There were large, mysterious black tattoos on his cheeks and neck. Not only there, but also on his wrists and ankles… Xiao Tangqiu tried to identify them, but failed to recognize what kind of tattoo it was.
And at this time, the loud noise drew to an end and the huge statue shattered into pieces!
The moment the statue broke apart, there was a huge shockwave underwater. Xiao Tangqiu subconsciously closed his eyes, but soon opened his eyes again, looking in the direction of Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan was closest to the statue. Now that the statue had exploded, Shen Yuan would bear the brunt of the force…
Sure enough, fragments of the statue hit Shen Yuan, instantly shredding his clothes to pieces. Xiao Tangqiu’s heart skipped a beat, but what he imagined didn’t happen. Shen Yuan’s clothes were shredded, but his body didn’t suffer any substantial damage, only, his clothes had fallen apart to reveal a large tattoo.
Xiao Tangqiu finally saw the black tattoo on Shen Yuan’s body. It turned out to be a serpent devouring its own tail, Ouroboros.
In ancient Greek mythology, the giant serpent whose body encircles the entire world symbolized the undying serpent of eternal life.
The large tattoo of Ouroboros looked mysterious and sinister, strange and unpredictable, just like a forgotten totem from ancient times.
However, before Xiao Tangqiu could take a closer look, he completely lost consciousness from the lack of oxygen. Before that, the last thing he saw was Shen Yuan’s deep and dark eyes and that huge tattoo of Ouroboros.
The sparkling water, the long black hair floating, the mysterious and strange tattoo – Shen Yuan, at that moment, seemed to come from an underwater paradise.
“Qiuqiu! Wake up!”
“Wake up!”
“Wuwuwu, please don’t die!”
Xiao Tangqiu woke up from being shaken by Tang Mianmian. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Tang Mianmian pressing hard on his chest, making the first-aid motions of rescuing a drowned man. Tang Mianmian was so strong that he almost squeezed out his lungs.
Xiao Tangqiu coughed and got up, pushing him away, “Okay, okay, stop! My ribs are about to be broken by you…”
Tang Mianmian saw that Xiao Tangqiu had gotten up, and immediately tears and snot flowed down his face. “Wuwuwu, I’m so glad that you’re not dead. I thought I would never see you again, wuwuwu!”
Xiao Tangqiu coughed and spit out a bit of water. His throat and lungs were burning, eyes red and swollen because he had been underwater for a long time. He was in a sorry state. However, Tang Mianmian was no better than he was. His hair and clothes were all in a mess, and his skin was white and swollen, resembling the horrible state of a newly rescued drowning victim.
Xiao Tangqiu immediately thought of Shen Yuan and turned to look for him. Very quickly, he found Shen Yuan not far away. At this time, Shen Yuan seemed to have returned to his normal state. His hair had turned back to the original short length and his large tattoo had disappeared.
He had put on his clothes again and was sitting on the broken bench with his eyes closed, as if he were resting and recharging.
Xiao Tangqiu stared at Shen Yuan’s cheeks and the other parts of his exposed skin for a long time trying to figure out what that mysterious tattoo was.
It had disappeared completely. There was a little loss and regret in his heart… Although the huge tattoo of Ouroboros was mysterious and strange, it was beautiful and bewitching.
If it weren’t for that glimpse, he would’ve thought that everything had been an illusion or something he had seen in a dream.
After confirming that Shen Yuan was safe and sound, Xiao Tangqiu turned around to look at the situation before him. The huge statue had been smashed by Shen Yuan, and its fragments were scattered all over the floor. However, the water that flooded the church had disappeared as soon as the statue was broken.
The flood came and went without a trace. If it weren’t for the mess on the floor, it would’ve felt like an illusion. Apart from Shen Yuan, everyone else was in quite a mess. Lu Si’er and the little boy sat on the floor, pale and shaking. Naturally, Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian weren’t much better off either. They all looked like survivors after a brush with death.
Duan Hongzhen circled the statue and suddenly smiled. “It seems there’s a way out.”
The two women looked at each other, walked to the statue to get a closer look and froze in place. Seeing their reactions, Xiao Tangqiu struggled to get up and walked over with Tang Mianmian, both men leaning against each other unsteadily.
On the base of the broken statue was an entrance!