BEFORE THE WORLD FROZE, I BUILT MY OWN KINGDOM

Chapter 11: The Hot Spring in the Cave

When Ethan heard that Tyler Finch knew of a hot spring with an outlet temperature of 120°C, his interest flared at once.

It was probably an exaggeration. But if Tyler was that sure of himself, the water had to be at least 90 degrees. And according to Tyler, the spring was still undeveloped.

Wasn't that tailor-made for Ethan?

Seeing how strongly Ethan reacted, Tyler regretted his earlier outburst. He hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

"Take me there. If what you say is true, I'll give you five thousand dollars," Ethan said.

"Are you serious?" Tyler's eyes went wide. Ethan's generosity had clearly caught him off guard.

"Tell you what. I'll send you a thousand now, and the rest when we're done," Ethan said grandly.

He pulled out his phone and made a show of getting ready to pay.

Tyler didn't stand on ceremony. He brought up his payment code and held out his phone. Ethan sent the money right away.

He took Tyler to his car, and following Tyler's directions, drove up the mountain behind the hot spring resort.

After seven or eight kilometers, Ethan parked on the roadside at Tyler's suggestion.

Each of them shouldered a backpack with dry clothes inside. Hot springs were full of steam, and whatever they were wearing would be soaked through.

Then they walked into the forest.

The deeper they went, the harder the path became. There was practically no road at all, only branches lying across both sides, and slopes to climb and cliffs to scramble down. It was obvious that no one had set foot here in years.

Ethan kept one hand over his forehead and silently followed behind Tyler.

He had two reasons for keeping his hand there. One was to keep the branches from scratching his face. The other was to make sure he could pull defensive gear out of his extradimensional space at any moment.

Whenever they came to a spot that required climbing, he kept his distance from Tyler and found another way up, so he would never be caught at a disadvantage. After all, he and Tyler had only just met, and he had flaunted his wealth in front of him. In this wild, empty place, who could say the man wouldn't try something?

You always had to guard against other people. Three years in the apocalypse had left him with that much vigilance, at least.

After more than an hour on the mountain trail, Tyler stopped at a cliff wrapped in mist. He caught his breath, then pointed at a crack at the base of the rock.

"The water outlet's in a cave in there. Go look for yourself! All right, I've brought you here. Pay up! I'm exhausted!"

Ethan squinted and studied the crack carefully. It was extremely narrow, wide enough for one person at most. If he rushed in alone, wouldn't he be completely at someone else's mercy?

So he laughed. "Hehe, not so fast. I'm not familiar with what's inside. Since you've come this far, you might as well take me in!"

Tyler was displeased. "What a pain," he grumbled.

But it was only grumbling. He still led the way. The rest of the money was almost in his hands, and there was no need to cause trouble now.

Following Tyler's steps, Ethan crept along the edge of the cliff until he reached the crack.

Suddenly a wave of heat, thick with the smell of sulfur, blasted into their faces.

Ethan squinted. Through the rising steam, he could just make out a wide space beyond the crack.

On impulse, he took a headlamp from his backpack and put it on. Then he pulled out a high-powered flashlight, switched it on, and handed it to Tyler.

"Here. It's too dark in there. Don't fall," Ethan said.

Tyler was a little surprised. He had thought Ethan was just a curious tourist, and he hadn't expected him to be so well prepared. But he didn't dwell on it. He couldn't care less what Ethan did, as long as he got his reward.

He put away his phone, which he had just switched to flashlight mode, and took the flashlight from Ethan.

Then the two of them squeezed into the narrow crevice, one after the other.

The deeper they went, the hotter it became. The scorching steam and the heavy stink of sulfur were almost suffocating.

After struggling forward for several meters, they finally reached a much wider opening.

Tyler climbed out first, and Ethan followed close behind.

The cave was far bigger than he'd imagined. Ethan estimated it at no less than a thousand square meters. When he looked up, the ceiling was easily ten meters above the ground.

In the beam of his flashlight, the cave walls glittered with clear mineral crystals that scattered the light into colors.

An old story came to his mind, of a hidden valley reached through a passage barely wide enough for one person, which suddenly opened into a bright, wide-open world.

But this was no paradise. Not for the two of them, at least, not in their present situation.

In the center of the cave, a small pool nearly two meters across was bubbling with boiling water. The steam it threw off made the whole cave feel like a giant steamer, and it was deeply uncomfortable. The roar of the water told him the flow had to be enormous.

Yet one thing puzzled Ethan. With so much water, none of it flowed out of the cave, and the inside was only slightly damp.

"All right, you've seen your hot spring. Let's get out of here fast, or we'll steam to death!" Tyler urged.

"Give me a little longer," Ethan said. Curiosity pulled him toward the outlet despite the heat.

"Stop!" Tyler shouted.

Ethan froze. He wasn't stupid. He understood at once that something dangerous lay ahead, and he stopped dead, afraid to move.

Tyler stepped forward and pulled him back. Then he took off his jacket and began waving it over the ground again and again. The steam on the floor scattered with every sweep, but he didn't stop. He kept waving the jacket while he moved forward, one careful step at a time.

Ethan seemed to understand. He followed slowly behind.

Before long, an enormous cliff edge appeared in front of them.

Ethan's pupils shrank. That was close. If Tyler hadn't stopped him in time, he would probably have fallen.

Ahead of them, hot water poured out of the outlet without pause, cascading down the cliff face in a magnificent waterfall.

The rising steam hid how deep the drop was. He picked up a stone the size of his palm and threw it down, but the roar of the water drowned out every other sound. He couldn't hear it land at all.

Ethan wasn't bothered by that. He loved this place.

It was practically made for his doomsday bunker.

"I can't take it anymore. Let's get out of here!" Tyler urged again.

This time, Ethan didn't argue. The two of them hurried out of the cave.