2026-02-13 03:06:04
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Chapter 32: The Collapsing Ceiling
Chapter 32: The Collapsing CeilingEveryone turned to look at Liam with varying expressions of skepticism and desperate hope, and he felt the weight of forty four lives suddenly resting on his ability to accurately analyze patterns that most people couldn't even perceive. His enhanced perception was picking up subtle vibrations in the stone that indicated structural stress building to critical points before release, and his boosted intelligence was processing that data to construct a predictive model. The rhythm wasn't perfectly regular but it followed consistent principles based on physics and geology, which meant it was theoretically possible to anticipate safe movement windows."The collapses happen in waves that propagate across the ceiling from left to right," Liam explained while pointing at the danger zone. "Each wave takes roughly forty five seconds to complete from initiation to final cascade, and there's approximately a ninety second gap between waves whi
Chapter 31: Breaking Point
Chapter 31: Breaking PointThe team staggered away from the carnivorous plant chamber in a state of collective trauma, and several people collapsed immediately after reaching safe ground and refused to move for several minutes. The three deaths had been even more horrific than the bridge casualties because they had happened slowly enough for the victims to scream for help that couldn't arrive in time, and the psychological damage was evident in everyone's hollow expressions and shaking hands. Leah Stone tried to maintain order and organize another rest period, but her authority was clearly eroding as people began openly questioning whether following her leadership was going to get them all killed."Five people dead and we're not even at the extraction point yet," a man named David Park said loudly enough for the whole group to hear. "At this rate we'll lose another ten before we finish, which puts us right at the minimum threshold with no margin for error. Maybe Dr
Chapter 30: The Cost of Progress II
Chapter 30: The Cost of Progress IIDrake looked like he wanted to argue but apparently decided the compromise was acceptable enough. "Fine," he said tersely. "But if the protected individuals can't keep pace even with support, we revisit the question of whether to continue supporting them. I'm not sacrificing the entire team to save people who are fundamentally incapable of surviving these challenges."The protection assignments were made with Amanda taking responsibility for Felix given their existing connection, while Liam volunteered to help Margaret who had low constitution. Other high stat team members reluctantly accepted similar assignments, though Liam could tell some of them resented being asked to shoulder additional burden. The new formation put significantly more pressure on the capable survivors, but it also meant the vulnerable members moved faster and safer than they had been managing on their own.They resumed their march through the cavern system with the modified te
Chapter 29: The Cost of Progress
Chapter 29: The Cost of ProgressThe remaining team members crossed the damaged bridge in a state of numb shock, and the process took nearly an hour because everyone moved with extreme caution after witnessing the deaths. The bridge held despite losing a significant section, though it groaned and swayed alarmingly under each group's weight. By the time the last person reached the far side, the structure had deteriorated so badly that it collapsed completely just minutes after Drake brought up the rear, sending chunks of ancient stone tumbling into the toxic river below.Team Seven now numbered forty eight people instead of fifty, and the psychological impact of those first casualties was visible on every face. The two who had died were a middle aged man named Ronald Miller and a young woman named Anna Baldwin, both level three with relatively low stats who had been struggling with the environmental challenges. Several team members were crying quietly while others stared at the collaps
Chapter 28: Into the Depths II
Chapter 28: Into the Depths II"Nobody is getting left behind," Leah Stone said with steel in her voice. "We're going to keep moving as a unit and we're going to figure out ways to help the struggling members instead of abandoning them. That's my final decision as logistics leader, and if you have a problem with it you can take it up with me after we complete the trial."Drake's jaw clenched with frustration but he nodded curtly and walked away, apparently choosing to conserve his energy for later conflicts. Several team members thanked Leah Stone for standing firm, while others looked troubled as if they secretly agreed with Drake's approach but didn't want to voice that opinion publicly. The incident had revealed deep fractures in the team's cohesion, and Liam suspected those fractures would only grow wider as the trial continued and desperation increased.They resumed their march through the caverns and the environment gradually became more hostile as they penetrated deeper into th
Chapter 27: Into the Depths
Chapter 27: Into the DepthsThe vote resulted in thirty one team members choosing the moderate safe route, twelve voting for the direct dangerous path, and six preferring the longest route that avoided all marked hazards. Leah Stone declared the moderate route the winner based on simple majority, though Liam could see that the dozen people who had voted for speed were unhappy with the decision. Drake had abstained from voting entirely and just stood watching the proceedings with an unreadable expression, and Liam suspected he was calculating how to use the team's divisions to his advantage later.Leah Stone organized the team into a marching formation with scouts at the front to identify hazards, the main body in the middle carrying supplies, and guards at the rear to watch for threats from behind. Drake positioned himself with the forward scouts along with the three highest agility team members including Amanda, while Liam found himself in the middle group with Margaret and Felix. Th
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