civilwarnovels Chapter 4636 Desperate Escape (8)
Chapter 4636 Desperate Escape (8)
Chapter 4636 A Desperate Escape (Part 8)
"You're simply...you're absolutely amazing..." Superman made no attempt to hide his admiration. He couldn't fathom how Batman had come up with this plan, and how he had actually succeeded.
Although Superman didn't know the correct way to complete the game, he knew that Batman's method was definitely unorthodox, but they actually succeeded.
“This is the result of meticulous calculations, Clark,” Batman said calmly, without any hint of boasting.
“I observed from the beginning that the water in the water dungeon you are in is not seawater. This means that we are not in the deep sea, there is no deadly water pressure, and we can withstand the impact of the water.”
“But the water washed away all the walls,” Clark said.
“That’s a problem with the wall,” Batman said. “You can even pry the bricks off the wall with your bare hands. How sturdy can you expect from this wall?”
"Oh, right." Superman suddenly realized.
"I've calculated the volume of the passageway and the two rooms, and the amount of water needed to fill those places. Based on the maximum drainage rate, the time it would take to fill the entire space is within our breathing range, so we can let the water fill the entire space."
"However, the drain is quite small. If we use this drain to drain all the water in the entire space, we might have already drowned. So, after the water fills the whole room, we need to close the door tightly. If we only drain the water from two rooms, it won't be long before we have breathing space again."
"What if the door leaks?" Superman asked.
“Your door is absolutely leak-proof,” Batman said. “If it were leaking, you wouldn’t have been in danger of drowning in the first place.”
"Oh my god," Superman thought of that.
“I’ve observed the drainage speed of the drain before, and it’s very fast. The water in your entire room was drained away in no time. So even if there’s a leak in the door, it’s far slower than the drainage speed of the drain, which can still give us breathing space quickly.”
Superman stared intently at Batman, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration and worship, especially after he noticed that the water in both rooms was indeed being drained away at an extremely rapid pace.
"But how do you know the water will stop flowing in? What if there's a lake on top?" Superman was still trying to think.
Batman shook his head and said, "Since I can distinguish seawater, I can also distinguish lake water and river water. Although it is freshwater, the smell and state of natural water are different. Don't be fooled by the fact that the water that is poured in seems to simulate the turbidity of river water. The amount of sand and microorganisms in it is obviously insufficient, so it does not have the smell of natural water."
Batman's feet were already on the ground. He looked up at the ceiling and said, "Actually, this place isn't under any natural body of water. The damp smell near natural bodies of water is different. There's a lot of humid smell and microorganisms mixed in there, which is easy to smell."
Superman sniffed hard, but couldn't actually smell anything. He sighed and said, "Actually, I couldn't smell anything before either. Maybe I should try to smell more in the future."
"Yes, with your super sense of smell."
“Oh, Eric, you’re going to say something like ‘I’m not able to move around easily,’ or ‘I’m a psychic, my body is fragile,’ and then send me in alone while you stay outside to face the danger.” Charles’s tone gradually turned cold. His blue eyes, devoid of any gentle smile, were as cold as a starless universe. “Do I need to remind you? You’re just an ordinary person now! You have no superhuman abilities, just like me. You have no right to act tough anymore.”
“I’m not trying to show off,” Eric said. “The fact is, I’ve probably had ten times more life experience than you. Leaving me to handle things is the smartest choice. Charles, don’t make me feel like you’ve lost your most basic judgment just because you’ve lost your mental capacity.”
“Oh, yes, you’re going to say it again, that you came from a concentration camp, that you fought in wars, that you were a secret agent, that you dealt with all sorts of dangerous people, so all the disasters you faced weren’t disasters, and all the suffering you endured wasn’t suffering.” Charles spread his hands, staring directly into Eric’s eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t accept any of this, I don’t accept your experiences, and I don’t accept your statements. No one should have to endure what you’ve endured. You can’t change my mind!”
“This isn’t the time to talk about this,” Eric said. “My mental and physical health classes can wait. I suspect this is a race-the-fast game, and if we fall behind, things could get worse. So you have to get in.”
“No, absolutely not,” Charles said. “Eric, you always say now is not a good time to talk. Not before a crisis, because you have to prepare for it; not during a crisis, because you need to get through it; not after a crisis, because you’re exhausted and need rest. You’ve been running away like this for decades, and when I try to talk to you, you see it as trouble. You must feel very uncomfortable not wearing that lousy helmet of yours, right?”
“Charles, we never seem to see eye to eye on this, and it’s not just my fault,” Eric said. “If I were as unrealistic as you, I’d be dead in a concentration camp by now. Let’s put philosophy and psychology aside and look at the real world, okay?”
“I…” Charles stopped abruptly at this point.
Both he and Eric felt a subtle tremor. Years of wandering had instilled in them a heightened sense of crisis. Eric suddenly pulled Charles towards him.
wow——
The floodwaters surged in. Eric instinctively raised his hands to shield himself, and the two were quickly submerged.
Just as Eric was instinctively flailing his limbs trying to adjust his position as he sank into the water, he felt Charles grab his waist and push him toward the door. He struggled desperately.
But Charles was clearly a professionally trained swimmer with exceptional swimming skills, just like in the movie where he jumped off the boat to save Eric from the water. Keep in mind, it was nighttime on the ocean, right next to a huge ship, and Eric was completely uncooperative. Anyone who has ever swum in the sea understands the significance of rescuing someone in such conditions. The young Charles simply pulled Eric out of the water.
It's safe to say that if he weren't such a good swimmer, he wouldn't have been able to hold his breath for more than ten minutes in the water dungeon. Paralyzed for so long in the real world, this skill is basically useless, but in the dungeon, returning to the water is like coming home.
He skillfully positioned himself horizontally, parallel to the ground, and wrapped his arms around Eric's waist. This made it impossible for Eric to reach him with his hands or legs, and his struggling limbs could hardly touch him. Meanwhile, Eric could use his legs to push against the wall beside him and move forward.
He grabbed Eric and slammed him against the door, which burst open, and the two were swept inside by the water. They were then drained away through the drains around the room. Soaked to the bone, they lay on the floor.
“What did I tell you?” Charles turned to Eric and said viciously, “There was a way that would have the best of both worlds, you didn’t have to sacrifice anything! Why can’t you understand, you damn bastard—for decades, I’ve always been right!”
Eric lay on the floor, panting, slowly turning his head to look at Charles, then grinned.
"Ouch!!!" The two figures, embracing each other, were swept into the room by the water. After the water receded, Harley wiped the long hair stuck to her face back, and Pamela propped herself up to sit up and spit out a few mouthfuls of water.
"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"
“We’re really something else,” Harley said, tossing her head. “I bet no matter how many people participate in the game, no one will ever use this method.”
“It was pure opportunism,” Pamela said, “but now it seems like the right solution.”
“I already said, physical fitness is a fitness skill, and physical advantages are advantages.” Harley vigorously wiped her face. “If it were a male teammate, this move definitely wouldn’t be possible.”
Pamela looked at the door. The method they used couldn't have been simpler: they hugged each other and squeezed in.
Pamela, who was walking ahead, also saw the words on the wall, and she and Harley guessed that only one person could enter. However, they thought that the door might only open a crack for one person to pass through, and then immediately close the door after one person had passed through.
Harry's quick thinking kicked in, and she realized that their advantage was that they were both girls, relatively small and thin, and quite flexible. They could even manage to switch positions in the passageway by turning sideways. Perhaps they could even squeeze through the narrow doorway that only allowed one person to pass at a time.
This wasn't the correct solution, but it worked by accident. Just as the two of them hugged each other, ready to try it out, the water rushed in. The door was indeed spinning very fast, but they were hugging so tightly that they were practically one person, so there was no difference in their order of arrival, and they were both swept in by the water.
Harley also looked at the words on the wall and quickly realized what they meant. She said, "It's a word puzzle. Look at the shadow of the torch."
Pamela turned to look at the wall and noticed that the way the sentence was written was a bit strange. The words were written at varying heights, and the letters within each word were also different heights, clearly indicating a deliberate design.
The two torches on the wall, though near the edge, are not at the very edge. This means they will cast each other's shadows. The shadows, on the other two walls and the ceiling, form an angle, and the center point where the two lines intersect lies precisely on the letter. The intersecting lines pass through four letters.
“B…L…O…T? Stain? What stain?” Harley spelled out the word with some confusion. She walked over to the wall and began to examine the tiles carefully.
“Oh, I found it.” Harley pointed to a wall tile above. The tile was a darker color than the others, but not very noticeable. A closer look revealed some black stains on the tile, which was exactly the clue the word referred to.
She reached out and pressed the brick, but there was no reaction. Pamela also leaned closer to look, then said, "This looks like a scorch mark, doesn't it? Should we burn it?"
Both of them looked at the torches on the wall. Harley reached out and took one of the torches down, then used the flame to scorch the brick in the wall. Suddenly, the door they had just entered through slowly moved.
“I understand,” Harley said. “This is a safety measure to prevent idiots from getting in, not a clue to get out.”
“Wait a minute,” Pamela said, “if we take away a torch, the angle changes, could it form a new word?”