ID No. 019 - Chapter 9.2

As Chen Yang expected, Zhang Yan asked Zhou Xiaoxiao for the location of the cave and wanted her to lead them there.

Zhou Xiaoxiao was eating a large round flatbread – a leftover from their dinner. It had become tough having gone cold and she struggled to swallow it. “Now? Can we go tomorrow? I’m so tired and sleepy, plus my legs are sore. I really can’t walk anymore.”

The air in the room seemed to be sucked out, giving rise to a suffocating atmosphere.

Zhou Xiaoxiao sensed something was off and abruptly threw half the bread aside. She stood up from the bench, clutching her hands in frustration and helplessness. “I’ve said so much and you guys still don’t believe me?”

No one spoke.

“Fine! FINE!” Zhou Xiaoxiao trembled with anger, shouting herself hoarse, “I’ll take you to the cave right now. There, is that good enough?”

Zhang Yan, whose demeanor was usually calm, asked Chen Yang, “Shall we go together?”

Chen Yang nodded.

Zhang Yan stood up and said, “Let’s go then. The sooner we go, the sooner we return.”

They retraced the path Zhou Xiaoxiao previously took from the cave to Li Dafu’s house.

Zhou Xiaoxiao seemed to know that they wanted to scrutinize the traces she left in her wake. As she walked, she wept and murmured like a monk reciting scriptures.

“Once you see the cave, you’ll believe me.”

“You said that we’d return to the real world if we survived here for two days. Why isn’t that happening??

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have hidden. I should have come back to join you yesterday. Then you wouldn’t doubt me.”

“I hid in the cave for two days. I didn’t dare close my eyes and pinched myself to stay awake. I even stared at the face on my identity card to scare myself. I was going crazy…”

“My head hurts so much. When I go back, I’ll need to see a psychiatrist. My family’s rich, but what use is it? How did I end up in such a terrible situation? I’m going to die because of that damned ID card.”

“Even if this task is completed, there will be another one. I’m sure I’ll end up with a mental illness…” Zhou Xiaoxiao whimpered.

The sky grew dark as Zhou Xiaoxiao led the way, treading on rotting leaves and broken branches as she progressed. She cried as she walked and would scream whenever she got tangled in vines. It was hard to imagine how she had managed to return alone.

Zhang Yan and Zhao Yuan walked behind Zhou Xiaoxiao with Lin Yue lagging a few steps behind. Chen Yang and the young man brought up the rear.

Chen Yang noticed that the man was keeping up with him and seemed quite at ease even though he was using crutches. His breathing was even more steady than Chen Yang’s. He was surprised and said, “You’re using the crutches very well.”

Lin Yue, who was ahead of Chen Yang, pushed aside some brambles. They didn’t touch the young man as the crutch cleared the way.

It was hard enough traversing the mountain, but Zhou Xiaoxiao’s route was even more convoluted. Dense vegetation intertwined and hung low, forcing them to stoop as they passed.

When they stopped, everyone had sore and aching backs.

In the depths of the forest, many unknown plants either sprawled across the ground or reached to the sky, blocking the dawn’s light. It was dark and somewhat eerie.

The temperature here was much lower than outside, giving off a gloomy vibe.

Chen Yang rubbed the goosebumps on his arm and asked, “Where’s the cave?”

“It’s just ahead. Follow me! We’re almost there.” Zhou Xiaoxiao beckoned to them as she glanced behind. “Hurry up, come on!”

Everyone suddenly stopped, their expressions changing as they looked behind her.

Zhou Xiaoxiao looked over too. Then, her eyes widened and she went pale.

“Hua- Huang… Huang Qing?”

Huang Qing spat at the shrubbery by his feet. “F*ck, I’m not a ghost. Why are you all so scared?”

With Zhou Xiaoxiao as a precedent, Huang Qing’s appearance didn’t cause as much of a stir.

Huang Qing looked even more disheveled than Zhou Xiaoxiao. His stylish hair was dirty and matted, as if he had been rolling around in a pit of mud. His face was battered with a large, horrific bruise on his chin. His clothes and pants were torn in several places, while there were scrapes on his hands.

One of his arms hung limply at his side, appearing to be dislocated.

Huang Qing also explained his situation. He said that while searching for clues on the mountain yesterday, he accidentally slipped and fell. While trying to find his way out, he stumbled upon a cave. At that time, he was in pain and too exhausted to make his way back, so he just hid in the cave.

Later, he thought he could hide there until the task was over. But when the time was up, he was still on the island and had no choice but to find a way back to rejoin the group.

This was very similar to the latter part of Zhou Xiaoxiao’s experience. The injuries he sustained also matched the story.

Chen Yang looked at Huang Qing and asked, “Where’s the cave you mentioned?”

Huang Qing pointed and replied, “Over there.”

It was a small entrance. Large chunks of foliage that obstructed the opening had been pulled off, laying on the ground in a miserable pile.

Lin Yue turned on her phone’s flashlight and went into the cave. Zhang Yan followed her in, and soon they emerged fully intact.

“The cave is very small.” Zhang Yan said. “It’s only about ten steps from the entrance to the back of the cave.”

Chen Yang looked at Zhou Xiaoxiao again. “Where’s the cave you’re gonna take us to?”

Zhou Xiaoxiao’s lips trembled as she pointed to the same location Huang Qing had indicated. “…It’s that one too.”

“But that doesn’t make sense.” she muttered, her face pale. “I was too scared to sleep in the cave. I kept my eyes open the whole time. I never saw Huang Qing.”

Huang Qing roared with anger, “That’s f*cking b*llsh*t! I never took a single step out of the cave since yesterday. I was alone the entire time. This woman is lying.”

Zhou Xiaoxiao let out an ear-piercing scream. “You’re the one lying!”

Chen Yang moved closer to the young man. He looked at Zhou Xiaoxiao and Huang Qing, his voice tense as he said, “So you two were hiding in the same cave for thirty to forty hours but didn’t know about each other?”

“But the cave is so small. If two people hid there for a long time, they would definitely notice the other.” Zhang Yan said, voice low and deep.

Huang Qing glared at Zhou Xiaoxiao with bloodshot eyes, causing her to erupt in a violent shudder and take a few steps back.

The surroundings were eerily silent.

Which one of these two were lying?