Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 383 Deep Water Pool

That's how caves are; all the sections look pretty much the same, and after walking through them for a while, you get an unsettling sense of repetition.

Xu Xiaoyan suddenly stopped, because what lay ahead was no longer the gravel and calcified deposits she had walked through, but a dark, slightly reflective surface.

The beam of the flashlight shone on the surface, reflecting a ripple of light and shadow. The air was filled with an even stronger sense of dampness than before, and ahead lay another pool of water.

She stood there, bent over, the beam of her flashlight fixed on the surface of the pool, motionless. This pool was much larger than the one she had encountered before.

The giant salamander pool is just a small puddle of water covering a few dozen square meters, but the beam of a flashlight sweeping from left to right, from near to far, couldn't even reach the edge of this pool.

The water was so calm that there wasn't a ripple, and the silence was unsettling.

Xu Xiaoyan squatted down and aimed the flashlight at the edge of the pool. The beam of light penetrated the clear water and shone down into the water.

The pool here is much deeper than the giant salamander pool. The beam of a flashlight can only illuminate about one or two meters underwater; below that, it is completely dark.

Something on the bottom of the water was reflecting light faintly, like gravel or fragments of calcified deposits, but I couldn't see it clearly because it was too far away and the light was too weak.

She moved the beam of her flashlight away from the water's surface and swept it along the edge of the pool to both sides.

The rock wall on the left side is recessed about one meter above the pool, forming a protrusion similar to a natural balcony, which is dry and flat.

The rock wall on the right is completely different; there is a not-so-small gap there, and the water in the pool extends all the way into that gap.

When the beam of the flashlight shines in, you can see the reflection on the water's surface extending deep into the gap.

She couldn't quite tell where the water was flowing; the surface was too calm, with no signs of directional movement.

But she guessed that the water was probably alive, just not visible on the surface.

Perhaps the water flows deeper, perhaps the outlet is at the bottom of the pool, or perhaps the gap on the right is the water channel.

She stood up, rubbed her lower back, and raised the flashlight higher so that the beam swept across the entire area above the pool.

The top of the cave becomes very high here, and the beam of a flashlight can hardly reach the top, only revealing a blurry, grayish-white outline of rock, appearing and disappearing in the darkness.

Stalactites hang down from above, some of them already connected with stalagmites that have grown on the water's surface, forming thick stone pillars.

The surface of the stone pillar was wet, and under the beam of the flashlight, it gleamed with a dark, slippery sheen.

She stood there, the beam of her flashlight slowly sweeping across the surface of the pool, her mind racing.

The appearance of this pool completely changed her understanding of the cave. The giant salamander pool should have been just a temporary water accumulation point in the cave, but this pool was different.

Its size, depth, and shape all indicate that it is a long-standing and stable body of water, and is likely part of the entire underground water system of the karst cave.

Especially the gap on the right, which is very likely the outlet of the pool, she needs to go over and take a look.

But crossing over the water was unlikely; she had no boat and couldn't swim, unless she went around the edge of the pool.

There is a relatively wide, raised path on the left side of the edge of the pool. You can walk along it for a while and see if you can get around to the vicinity of the gap.

Xu Xiaoyan hesitated for a moment. Continuing forward meant leaving the main passage, which would also make the path recorded on her watch more complicated.

Moreover, the rocks by the pool are slippery, and one could easily slip into the water if not careful.

But she glanced at the time on her watch again: 3:40 p.m.

Considering that I have come so far and made so many marks, it would be a real pity not to take advantage of this opportunity to find out more.

Finally, she decided to press on and figure out the outline of the pool and where the gap led.

Xu Xiaoyan squatted down and fixed the flashlight to a rock on the edge of the pool, so that the beam of light shone obliquely on the surface of the pool to provide herself with some ambient light.

She freed her hands, took out a pair of non-slip river tracing shoes from her storage space, put them on, and rolled up her trouser legs above her knees, exposing her calves.

Although the path looked dry, the rocks near the edge of the pool were covered in water stains and moss, making them incredibly slippery; non-slip shoes would at least provide some friction.

She carefully took her first step, her foot landing on the limestone. The soles of her shoes made a slight "squeak" sound as she made sure her footing was firm before daring to take her second step.

Xu Xiaoyan moved slowly along the edge of the pool, each step extremely light and steady, and the path gradually expanded from less than half a meter to more than a meter.

The edges were no longer covered by a thin film of water and slippery moss, but by grayish-white, rough-surfaced limestone, which felt much more solid underfoot.

She breathed a sigh of relief, straightened her back a bit, and let go of the rock wall. The view here was much wider than before, and she could see the whole pool more clearly.

Although the beam of the flashlight was limited, with the help of the reflection on the water's surface, she could roughly determine that the pool was an irregular oval shape.

The long axis is about 30 to 40 meters, and the short axis is about 20 meters, which is larger than she initially estimated.

The area in the very center of the pool was extremely deep. When the beam of a flashlight shone on it, the light refracted and scattered on the surface of the water, making it impossible to see the bottom; all that could be seen was darkness.

Xu Xiaoyan continued walking forward, bypassing a thick stone pillar hanging from the cave ceiling, and finally saw the gap on the right side of the pool.

From her perspective, it wasn't a crack or a small hole, but an arched passage that was almost two meters wide and more than a meter high.

The water is shallow at the outlet of the passage, and the smooth limestone bed at the bottom can be clearly seen. However, after about three or four meters in, the light can no longer penetrate, and it is pitch black.

She stood up, moved the beam of her flashlight away from the entrance of the passage, and prepared to turn around and walk back.

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that the color of the rock wall on the left side of the pool was different from the rest of the area. It wasn't grayish-white limestone, but a pale yellow sediment.

Xu Xiaoyan carefully shone the flashlight in that direction.

The sediments were irregularly shaped in flakes and strips, reflecting a greasy sheen under the light, making them look very much like sulfur.

If the guess is correct, this means that this pool is not just cold water, but involves geothermal activity, and there may be hot springs or hot spring entrances at a deeper level.

No wonder giant salamanders can survive here, even though the water temperature in this pool is low.

However, due to the moderating effect of geothermal activity, the temperature difference between the four seasons is minimal, making it an ideal habitat for amphibians.