Giant Cave!

"Michael, are we sure we're heading the right way? It feels... off. I haven't seen a single giant rat," Teresa muttered, glancing nervously around the darkening landscape. Her brow furrowed with uncertainty as the shadows stretched longer around them.

Michael, calm as ever, checked his watch and replied, "We're close. Not much further now." His voice was low but steady, filled with a sense of urgency. "We need to pick up the pace, though. Sun's setting soon, and we can't risk getting caught outside. We have to reach the cave before nightfall."

The rest of the group nodded silently, a sense of unease passing between them as they quickened their steps.

James, trailing slightly behind, was piecing together what he'd overheard. The existence of the giant cave wasn't exactly a secret anymore. In the nearby town by the melon fields, word had spread like wildfire. Strange commissions had surfaced, all with one tantalizing goal: retrieve blood crystals from deep within the cave. The pay was astronomical; a single egg-sized crystal was worth tens of millions of dollars.

It didn't take long for the mercenaries to bite. Despite how shady the commissions seemed, the sheer amount of money offered was irresistible. Blood crystals, after all, were rumored to possess mystical properties, and with that kind of backing, even the most cautious mercenaries couldn't ignore the lure. After all, the commissions came through the Mercenary Association, a trusted organization. No one worried about not getting paid; it was the danger lurking in those caves that held the real threat.

Two days ago, the whole city had been thrown into chaos when a G-level mercenary strolled into the association, cradling a blood crystal the size of his fist. It was like throwing fuel onto a fire. Since then, the roads to the giant cave had been flooded with eager adventurers and mercenaries alike, all dreaming of striking it rich.

James rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he followed the group, feeling the weight of impending doom settle in his chest. This feels too convenient, he thought. Something's off. Why do I feel like there's a bigger game at play here?

Just then, Michael's voice snapped him out of his reverie. "We're here."

Ahead, Michael parted the thick melon vines to reveal a vast, gaping hole in the earth, stretching several hundred meters across. As they approached the edge, James peered down into the abyss. The cave yawned open beneath them, its jagged maw lined with countless pitch-black tunnels that disappeared into the earth like veins.

"Whoa... it's real," Fu Fang, the youngest and newest addition to their crew, gasped from the back. He was barely a low-grade G-rank mercenary, relegated to carrying their gear. His eyes were wide with awe.

"Quit gawking, you country bumpkin," Teresa snapped, her voice dripping with disdain. "You're embarrassing yourself." She'd made no secret of her distaste for Fu Fang, a latecomer to the group who had been added at Michael's insistence. She rolled her eyes, her irritation barely contained.

Fu Fang scratched the back of his head sheepishly, offering an awkward chuckle. "Hehe..."

"Enough," Michael interrupted sharply, cutting off whatever retort Teresa was about to throw. "We're going down. Everyone, get ready."

With that, the team fell into formation, cautiously descending into the giant cave. The path they chose was surprisingly smooth, the stone worn flat from what must have been years of use.

James's mind raced as they plunged deeper. The tunnels stretched out endlessly, crisscrossing in all directions, a labyrinth of stone and shadow. He could barely fathom it; this place was colossal, far beyond anything he had imagined. He whispered, almost to himself, "This... this had to be made by something enormous. Maybe... giant rats?"

But the sheer scale of the cavern silenced even his wildest theories. Looking at the vastness before him, James couldn't help but feel a gnawing sense of foreboding. He had a gut feeling that this journey was only beginning and that what awaited them in the depths would challenge not only their survival but their very understanding of the world.

As James crouched among the thick melon vines, he peeked out cautiously, watching his comrades disappear into the giant cave. He was just about to follow them when his sharp ears picked up the sound of hurried footsteps; multiple teams, approaching fast from different directions. His heart raced. Without hesitation, he pressed himself back into the shadows of the vines, holding his breath as more mercenaries rushed past, their eyes focused only on the yawning cave entrance ahead.

Once the coast was clear, James darted forward, slipping into the cave just as the last of the teams disappeared into its depths. The interior was dim, and the cavern's numerous tunnels spiraled in every direction like an underground maze. He hesitated. Which way did Michael and the others go? There was no way to tell now, no footprints, no clues.

With a sigh, he picked a tunnel at random and started his descent, hoping luck would guide him to his companions.

The walls of the passage felt cool and damp as he ran his fingers along the stone. "This... doesn't feel like it was dug by rats," he murmured to himself, his voice echoing in the narrow corridor. The soil was too smooth, too deliberate, as if something far more intelligent had shaped it.

Glowing algae clung to the sides of the passage, casting a faint green light that barely illuminated his path, but it was just enough for James to navigate by. As he ventured deeper, the twists and turns of the tunnel seemed endless, spiraling further into the earth until he lost all sense of direction.

At last, after what felt like hours, the narrow passageway opened into a vast cavern. The sight before him took his breath away.

In the center of the cavern was a massive underground lake, its surface shimmering with an ethereal light that danced across the water. The source of the glow wasn't immediately clear, but it illuminated the entire chamber with a soft, magical luminescence. James gazed upward, his eyes following the towering walls to a ceiling hundreds of meters above, where countless delicate stalactites hung like natural chandeliers.

He marveled at the grandeur of the cave. "If this place had been discovered fifty years ago," he whispered in awe, "it would have put world-class tourist attractions to shame." The sheer scale of the cavern was overwhelming. Even with his sharp eyesight, he couldn't see where it ended.

Surrounding the lake were numerous tunnels leading off in every direction, each one beckoning with the promise of mystery or danger. Where do they all lead? he wondered.

As he took a step forward, entranced by the beauty of the place, a sharp snap echoed underfoot. Startled, James looked down to find a pair of glasses, now broken beneath his boot. He knelt and carefully picked them up, inspecting the thick lenses. One of the arms was missing, likely broken off during some struggle. He crouched and scanned the ground for the missing piece but found nothing.

"These belonged to someone... and recently," he muttered, turning the glasses over in his hand. They were the kind worn by someone with severe myopia. The thought sent a chill down his spine. If these were left behind, what happened to their owner? His mind raced with grim possibilities. If it had been an adventurer or mercenary, would they have simply abandoned such a critical item? If something or someone, had killed them, why was there no blood? No signs of a struggle?

As his mind worked through the mystery, something small and metallic clattered onto the ground beside him. Before he could react, a brilliant flash erupted from the object, searing white light into his eyes. Blinded and reeling from the sudden pain, James cursed instinctively.

"Damn! Who the hell threw a flash bomb?"

His shout echoed through the cave, and for a moment, there was only silence. Then, a soft, melodic voice answered from the darkness ahead.

"Huh? You can speak? You're human... not an alien monster?"

The voice was smooth, almost playful, and before James could even register it, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. His eyes, still stinging from the flash, managed to focus just in time to see a glint of steel, a Nepalese machete; hovering mere centimeters from his throat.

His heart skipped a beat.

The voice, belonging to the figure just out of his view, had unknowingly spared him. Had he not spoken, the blade would have finished the job without hesitation.