My Abyss Survival Diary

Chapter 71 Preparing for Evacuation!

The punch landed precisely on Andrei's right cheek, causing his body to tilt uncontrollably to the left, but Simon caught him just before he fell.

The raging flames and toxic fumes surrounding him blurred his vision, and he knew it was time for this battle to end.

With both hands firmly pressing down on his shoulders, Simon's body arched backward repeatedly, then he slammed his head against Andrei's! The first headbutt slammed hard into Andrei's nose, the sound of bones cracking was clear, and blood splattered on his forehead, followed by a second and a third!

Finally, Andrei, his face covered in blood, collapsed to the ground, while Simon, having inhaled too much toxic gas, was in a daze.

"Get out of here! Your body can't take it anymore!" Brienne shouted from inside the birdcage.

Simon abandoned Andrei, picked up the harpoon, and staggered alone toward the edge of the fire.

In his daze, he seemed to hear Andrei's weak murmur: "To be honest, I would have chased after that thief just like you."

We cannot abandon Andrei; he can be taken hostage.

"Ignore him, get out of here!"

"Cough cough cough..."

Simon coughed violently as flames engulfed his clothes. His attempts to stop the flames from spreading were futile. His vision blurred, and he could only see a large expanse of orange-red. He dragged the unconscious Andrei slowly forward in one direction until his legs gave way.

"Help! These two are going to burn themselves to death!" Brienne yelled.

He felt as if he was about to cough up his lungs. He heard noisy footsteps and saw two blurry figures swaying in his vision.

"Simon, you look like a piece of charcoal." He heard Klein's voice.

"Water and cloth, quick, wash his face and give him some water to drink!"

The damp cloth brushed against his cheek, and Klein brought the water bottle to his lips.

Simon waved his hand, took the water bottle himself, and the water flowed into his mouth and body. The cool sensation temporarily suppressed the pain of the burns all over his body, allowing his burned body to gradually recover.

His body was gradually repairing itself; the burned areas scabbed over automatically without ointment, and his coughing gradually slowed down. After receiving the blessing, he had extremely strong resistance to poison; the toxic gas only lingered in his lungs for a few seconds before he coughed it out, without actually harming his lungs.

Even so, his lungs still burned.

His blurred vision gradually cleared with his steady breathing, and he saw Klein's anxious face and the raging fire.

"Don't move, lie down and rest for a while."

"I'm fine, let me get up."

As Simon spoke, he shifted from a lying position to a sitting position, meeting Klein's shocked gaze.

Are you really human?

Simon heard the sound of a gun being cocked, but ignored Klein's question and got up from the ground.

With a grim face, Flanye drew her pistol from her waist, pointing the muzzle directly at Andrei's face.

Just as her finger was about to pull the trigger, Simon swiftly grabbed her arm, raised the gun, and fired a bullet into the sky.

"Let's keep him for now. We need him as a hostage for our evacuation." Simon's tone was calm and sincere. "Once we're on the hot air balloon, whether you shoot him or throw him out of the hole, I won't stop you. I promise you."

After taking a few deep breaths, Frani obediently put down her pistol, but her eyes still held an unyielding hatred.

After dissuading Frani, Simon sat down to rest again.

His dislocated and reattached arm is still throbbing with pain. This kind of injury heals very slowly, and he may not be able to fight at full strength in the future.

The good news is that the fire hasn't gone out, and the flames are the best cover. As long as they don't run into a patrol, they can easily evacuate.

After regrouping, Simon led his squad and the unconscious Andrei toward their evacuation point.

This morning felt different from usual. The soil beneath his feet was unusually damp, and each step kicked up a large patch of mud. Simon could feel that the air was also more humid than usual. The entire forest, or more precisely, the entire abyss, was self-regulating.

The forests in the southwest were also burning, but the fire was not as severe as in the northwest. Under the influence of the heavy moisture, the burning bushes were quickly extinguished, leaving them charred black.

After a long, circuitous hike, they arrived at the Great Hollow.

Simon finally learned the origin of the water vapor...

The entire void was almost completely filled with thick water mist! All around was a vast expanse of white, and it was still spewing water mist outwards, trying to extinguish the burning forest. What they were facing was not an "inanimate object," but a living thing with the ability to think and extremely strong control!

Thick, white, damp air surged up from the depths of the hollow, seeping into and spreading into the burning forest. The flames struggled in the mist, and the orange-red flames were slowly enveloped by the white damp air, shrinking inch by inch.

Simon stopped, his harpoon poking the ground, waiting for the hot air balloon. His lungs still ached, and the phlegm he coughed up contained dark brown ash.

He heard Professor Loris grumbling and complaining. The heavy steam was not very friendly to the elderly. Flannery and Klein were patrolling not far from them, and would immediately shout warnings when they heard the footsteps of the steam-armored soldiers, so that they could take cover.

Time passed slowly, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He kept watch over the unconscious Andrei and stared at the large, misty void.

At noon, the hot air balloon arrived on time.

This hot air balloon is three times the size of the one that came last time.

The airbag was bulging and puffy, with at least twenty patches on the grayish-white fabric. The surface of the airbag was covered with white mycelium, which spread from the edges of the patches to the center of the fabric. The basket was three times larger than the previous one, and its surface was covered with moss and an unknown dark brown liquid.

Breanne stared at it from inside the cage, both amused and exasperated: "It's a miracle that this thing can fly."

"Just get us down there," Simon replied.

But just then, Flannery rushed over, shouting, "The ground to our right is shaking! Steam armor is closing in on us!"

Klein returned a beat later than her: "There are some on the left too, very close to us."

With a loud bang, the people on the hot air balloon fired a grappling hook connected by an iron chain from the machine gun. The sharp hook pierced deeply into the rock wall of the large cavity, and the hot air balloon stopped rising.

"Get up here if you don't want to die!" a hoarse, aged female voice roared at them.

With heavy footsteps, a tall figure burst through the mist, and the nuns were rapidly approaching them!