"The Volcano Vent is smooth—a nearly vertical, tube-shaped cave. If we can reach it, we can ride the steam currents straight up to the surface!" Max Easton thumped his chest, golden ripples shimmering. "The Wonderworld is already waving at us!"
Sounds a bit like that scene in Operation Eagle, where the leads get blown out of the gold base by a giant fan. Only this time, we're using Mother Nature's power—and aiming to fly two thousand kilometers.
But as soon as Max hit the water, he let out a miserable scream.
"Hot, hot, hot!" Max scrambled back to shore, rolling and crawling, with steam rising from the wet marks on his body.
Jill Young dipped her hand in, then decisively shook her head. "Thanks to the magma seeping in, this water's probably close to eighty degrees. With your tiny frame, you'd be half-boiled before you even made it across."
"So what now? Plus, who knows how deep this Hidden River is? And with my—" Max gave his chest a shake, golden ripples helplessly shimmering. "I probably won't float in there. We need a boat, even a raft would do, but where are we supposed to find one at a time like this?"
Rumble rumble—another tremor shook the cave, sending rocks clattering down from the walls. The waters of the Hidden River churned, spitting out clouds of steam.
Jill Young made a snap decision: "Wait here. I'll figure something out."
"Hey, where are you going?" Max struggled to stay upright on the shaking ground and shouted after Jill, "There aren't even any trees around here!"
But Jill ignored him, darting off like a gust of wind. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from Max's sight.
The tremors kept getting stronger, and the temperature kept rising. Tiny cracks split open in the ground, spurting out white steam like leaky factory pipes. The steam was mixed with toxic gases, making Max Easton's head spin and his breathing labored. The magma was practically at their doorstep. Max felt like dough tossed into an oven—and this oven was already preheated!
"I'm not gonna... just die here, right?" Max lay limp on the ground, unable to get up. His life flashed before his eyes like a movie montage—every little moment popping up one after another. According to the others, that's called a 'memory reel.' Once it finishes, you're toast.
"What a wild journey—like Mario's adventure. But to collapse right in front of Princess Peach? That's just ironic. Cough, cough... Big Wolf, guess you and I are cut from the same cloth. No idea how you died, but me? I'm about to get cooked... roasted alive..."
Max, dazed and delirious, stared blankly at the entrance of the canyon.
Thud, thud—something heavy was approaching. Through the misty steam, a dark shadow appeared. Another Tyrannosaurus Rex? Honestly, at this point, getting eaten would be a relief—better than roasting to death.
Thud, thud—the footsteps drew closer, the shadow grew clearer. Wait, that shape wasn't big enough for a T-Rex. It was huge up top but skinny underneath... Was that a person? Someone carrying something?
Could it be Her Majesty coming back?!
A gust of wind blew, scattering the smoke, and revealed Jill Young striding toward him. And on her not-so-broad shoulders, she was carrying—a massive T-Rex skull! The upper half of a Tyrannosaurus Rex's skull, to be exact. The original owner must've been a real monster, because this skull was nearly as big as the Timber Raft they built before!
Stride for stride, head held high, Jill Young burst onto the scene like a goddess of war!
With a splash, Jill set the skull down in the Hidden River, where it floated like a giant bowl on the water.
"Whew—" Jill Young let out a heavy breath and grinned at the stunned Max Easton. "Count your blessings, you lucked out today. If this skull hadn’t been weathered enough, or if my martial arts hadn’t just leveled up, there’s no way I could’ve hauled this thing."
"Awooo!" Max snapped out of his daze, no longer dying, and let out a wolf howl. With a perfect fish-dive, he leapt into the skullboat. Jill hopped in too, gave the shore a push with her leg, and off they went—drifting faster and faster down the current.
"First Mate Max, the Wonderworld Lifeboat is setting sail!" Jill waved grandly. "Watch the course, and don’t crash into any hidden reefs!"
Max snapped to attention and saluted. "Aye aye, Captain! No problem, Captain!"
"Don’t call me Captain—" Having narrowly escaped death, Jill was clearly excited, her queenly voice returning: "Call me Your Majesty!"
The current was swift, and the drift was wild. The choppy river tossed the skullboat up and down, but the two inside just howled—half terrified, but mostly thrilled. In a flash, they reached the end of the river, the boat bounced into the air, and with a creak, came to a stop.
Jill steadied herself and looked around, realizing they’d arrived in a vertical shaft—just like a giant well. This had to be the Volcano Vent Max talked about. The skullboat was wedged between rocks, perfectly balanced in midair.
Above them, pitch black—no sign of light. Two thousand kilometers down, sunlight doesn’t stand a chance. But below, a red glow lit things up just enough to see. Jill poked her head out and looked down; a blast of scorching air hit her, making her eyes water. She blinked, adjusted, and peered again—hundreds of meters below, red-hot magma churned.
That fierce, blazing color—it was impossible not to think of hell and death.
"Max, we made it, and we found your updraft—but this steam is nowhere near strong enough to send us flying!" The fierce wind whipped Jill’s clothes, but it was clear they weren’t going anywhere.
(This chapter isn't over yet! ^.^ Click next page to keep reading!)
"There's just not enough water in this Hidden River to make enough steam!" Max was thinking hard, looking left and right, when he suddenly pointed to a patch of rock below. "Look there—isn’t the surface damp?"
Jill squinted for a closer look and nodded. "Yeah, there are water droplets—a whole patch of them."
"If there are droplets in this environment, that means there’s water behind that rock—a big Hidden River!" Max jumped with excitement. "If we break that rock and let the water out, we’ll get enough steam!" Then Max frowned, "But how do we break those rocks? They’re ten meters below us!"
Ten meters—on flat ground, Jill could long-jump that easily. But in midair? No chance.
Just then—rumble, rumble—a deafening roar echoed through the Volcano Vent. The tremors were relentless, making their hearts race. Down below, the magma pool bubbled and surged, threatening to swallow them whole.
"Oh no, a real earthquake! The whole underground is about to collapse—we need to get out of here!" Max spun in circles, panicked. "Whatever it takes, we have to smash that damn rock wall!"
Max looked at Jill, and Jill looked at—Max’s chest. Two golden orbs gleamed from his chest.
"Oh no—"
Before Max could finish his howl, Jill reached into Max’s bra and pulled out a Golden Orb. It weighed over ten kilos—most guys couldn’t even lift it. But for Jill, with her newfound strength, it was just right!
"Ha!" Jill swung her arm and hurled the fist-sized Golden Orb at the rock wall, whistling through the air. Gold isn’t that hard, but this chunk was heavy enough. If it’s heavy enough, even dough could kill someone!
Bang! The rock wall cracked with a spiderweb of lines.
As the Golden Orb bounced into the magma below, Max let out a miserable cry, "No!"
Just as he was wailing, he felt his chest lighten—Jill had snatched the other Golden Orb. Bang! The second orb smashed into the wall, deepening the cracks, and water began to spurt from the bigger fissures.
The second Golden Orb fell into the magma lake, and Max howled again.
"One more shot," Jill’s gaze shifted to Max’s waist, where he’d bundled a whole sack of loose gold in Jill’s jacket. In terms of weight, it beat the Golden Orbs by a mile.
Max pleaded pitifully, "That’s my last gold—can’t I keep it as a souvenir?"
Jill wasn’t having it—she yanked the gold away. Gripping the end of the jacket, she swung the whole bundle like a meteor hammer. Whoosh! The Golden Diva Flail spun in a ring of golden blur, picking up serious speed.
The most expensive throw in history—launched!
Bang! On the third strike, the rock wall took a brutal hit. With a crash, it finally shattered. A torrent of water blasted out like a high-pressure jet, surging down and colliding with the rising magma in an instant.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
"Max, is that enough water?"
"Plenty."
"How strong will the wind be?"
"Explosion-level strong."
"Explosion-level, huh..." The two exchanged glances, then yelled in unison: "Lie down and hold tight!"
Boom! A massive blast of air shot upward—the whole skullboat rocketed like a cannonball, soaring into the sky.