Daxiong put on an air of absolute denial, arguing, "There’s nothing crooked or odd about it; the vines outside must have jammed the hoist!"

With that, he switched on his flashlight and began inspecting every part inside the elevator car.

and I also turned on our flashlights to look around, but we discovered that vines only grew on the elevator doors, with no other plant life anywhere else. Furthermore, this type of lift could hold at least ten people; even if caught by a few vines, its power should be enough to snap them upon activation.

I was still puzzled when Daxiong suddenly yelped, shouting, "Oh my god! This dead thing has grabbed my leg!"

We looked and saw that Daxiong, looking only upwards, had accidentally stepped on the hand of a skeleton. The hand had caught onto his trousers and he couldn't shake it off, no matter how hard he struggled.

Daxiong wasn't afraid of heights or anything else, only ghosts. What we had said earlier must have had some effect, because now he was practically terrified enough to wet himself.

I secretly found it amusing and said to him, "You stepped on it yourself, and now you’re complaining. Don't move, I’ll unhook it for you."

Not minding how dirty the remains were, I used my hand to pry the skeletal fingers off Daxiong's trouser leg.

As I did so, something fell from the skeleton’s finger—a silver ring.

Luckily, my reaction was quick, and I managed to catch the ring; otherwise, it would have dropped into the barbed wire mesh below.

Upon closer inspection of the ring, I froze, because it looked familiar, like I had seen it somewhere before.

I stroked my chin, trying to recall, and suddenly understood.

Wasn't this the ring contained in the iron box I found on the wall of the cave entrance?

So, I took out the iron box I carried with me and opened it. The ring was still there.

It turned out to be a pair of rings, identical in pattern and style, only the inscriptions inside the band differed.

At the time, not knowing Russian, I couldn't decipher what was written.

Now that Daxiong was present, I asked him to help me read what was inscribed on them.

Daxiong shone his flashlight on them and said, "The larger ring says, 'Matiusha, I will accompany you for a lifetime,' and the smaller one says, 'Chakov, I will live and die with you.'"

So that’s how it was. It seemed the owners of these rings and the skeleton before us were husband and wife.

I examined the remains in front of us. Based on the size of the bones and the shape of the jawbone, I judged this to be a woman—meaning she was Matiusha, as inscribed on the ring.

It seemed this couple shared a deep destiny, as both their rings ended up in my possession, yet we couldn't find her husband’s body.

However, * reminded me then, "Did you remember? When we were taking the lift earlier, that fellow who offered us cigarettes—maybe that was her husband. He knew you had his ring, which is why he came looking for us."

"What! He gave you cigarettes!" Daxiong blanched, his face turning green when he heard this. He pointed at me and exclaimed, "You... you've been dealing with ghosts?"

I nearly burst out laughing and comforted him, "It’s alright. I believe they are good people and won't harm us. Don't worry."

After speaking, I turned and looked at the woman's remains. Her hand bones and flesh had rotted away, leaving no way to put both rings on. I had no choice but to take off the Christian cross amulet I carried, unhook the chain, and thread both rings onto it.

Then I hung the pendant, now holding the two rings, around the woman's neck.

Next, I made the gesture of a Christian prayer and said, "Matiusha, may you and your husband Chakov ascend to heaven to enjoy a better life."

Having done this, I told Daxiong, "Quick, press the button one more time."

Daxiong pouted and muttered, "I don't believe it, but let’s see if it’s really that effective."

Daxiong slammed his large palm onto the control panel as if swatting a fly.

With a loud clang, the entire elevator car began to tremble.

It shook for about three seconds, then suddenly the light went out again, and the lift still hadn't moved.

Daxiong burst into laughter, pointing at me, "Hahahaha! See? I knew you were trying to pull a fast one on me."

Just as he finished speaking, the elevator car violently shook once more and began to slowly ascend.

Daxiong stared at his surroundings in horror, then looked at his hand, muttering to himself, "I... it must be because I slapped it. Amitabha..."

He kept chanting Amitabha, which looked quite comical.

Once the lift started, although its speed was very slow, it ran smoothly, climbing seven or eight meters every half minute. We would surely reach the cave ceiling eventually.

Both * and I were exhilarated. We took out the two cigars from the iron box and lit them, letting out a long sigh of relief.

After chanting for a while, Daxiong suddenly caught the scent of smoke in the air. He quickly opened his eyes, saw us both smoking, and shouted, "Hey! I say! Are you two going to smoke by yourselves? What about mine?"

and I ignored him, continuing to smoke and watching the ground below.

After shouting a few times, Daxiong snatched the iron box from my hand. Seeing it was empty, he swallowed hard, then asked cheerfully, "What kind of smoke is this? It smells truly fragrant. Are those old Russian cigars? That's quality stuff."

I took a drag and replied noncommittally, "So what if it's good? There are only two, earned by * and I risking our lives. You get none!"

Daxiong's face cycled through red and white before he pointed downward and yelled, "Look! Those green thorny monsters are catching up!"

I jumped, looking down in alarm, realizing at the same time that I had been tricked.

But Daxiong's hand was already reaching out, snatching the cigarette from my hand, and he gloated, "Here you go, Comrade Nie Chuan, so innocent and pure!"

watched from the side, shaking his head helplessly, then handed his cigarette to me and said, "Here, you smoke mine."

I smiled faintly and pushed his hand away, saying, "You two smoke. I don't feel like it anymore. I thought I saw a dark shadow flicker down there when I looked below."

"Oh?" * showed surprise, turned on his flashlight, and shone it downwards.

This startled us all, because through the wire mesh on the ground, we saw a person standing on the floor beneath the elevator, looking up at us.

At first, I couldn't make out who it was because the person's face was too blurred, almost like a terracotta warrior made of mud. Only upon closer inspection did I judge by the hairstyle, build, and clothing that the person was none other than Liang Qian!

Liang Qian's eyes were large, the black pupils reflecting the beam of our flashlights. Although her expression was resolute, I could still detect a trace of despair and reluctance.

I understood the despair that comes when hope for survival slowly vanishes. If Liang Qian couldn't catch our lift, she might very well be trapped forever in this underground world.

Yet, given her character, she hadn't even bothered to call out to us. If I hadn't had sharp eyes, we might never have realized someone else was chasing this elevator car.

"Quick! Make the lift stop!" I roared at Daxiong.

Daxiong shouted back, "No need to tell me! I’ve already slapped that button several times, it won't stop!"

Hearing this, my heart panicked. I knelt down, thrust one hand through the mesh, and shouted to Liang Qian, "Quick! Find a way to jump up from the wall, I’ll grab you."

Honestly, even as I said it, I found it ridiculous. No matter how agile Liang Qian was, kicking off a wall would let her jump at most two or three meters. Our lift was already eleven or twelve meters above the ground. There was no way she could reach us.

Liang Qian listened to my words, her eyes flickering slightly, her lips moving, but she said nothing.

I grew more anxious and yelled at Daxiong again, "Is there any rope! Get a rope!"

interjected from the side, "There's no time. We used up our rope coming down the sinkhole. The ropes we got later from Boss Wu’s group are only three or four meters long each. By the time we tied them together, the lift would already be much higher."

"Then what do we do! We can't just leave her!" For some inexplicable reason, a profound sadness washed over me. The thought of letting a woman die trapped in this subterranean world was unbearable.

"Wait! Did you hear that? Sounds like movement..." * whispered.

At his words, we all quieted down, listening intently.