The rain still hasn’t stopped.
Large raindrops hit the rock wall at the entrance of the cave, splashing fine water mist. I huddled deep in the cave, looking at the gray sky outside, feeling anxious and uneasy. The rain has been falling all day and night. Not only does it show no sign of abating, it is getting heavier and heavier.
The bottom of the sinkhole has long become a vast ocean. The originally crystal clear stream has now turned into a roaring Yellow River, with the turbid water carrying broken branches and fallen leaves, rushing against both banks. The water level is rising at a speed visible to the naked eye. The few high places where I could barely stand yesterday are now completely submerged under water.
"If this continues, let alone going back, even this cave may not be safe." I murmured to myself, reached out to catch some of the rainwater seeping from the cracks in the rock, and brought it to my mouth to take a sip. The cold water slid down his throat, slightly easing the anxiety in his heart.
I opened my backpack and began to count the few supplies I had left. There are still seven packs of compressed biscuits and two packs of dried meat, so save some and it will probably last for three or four days. There is no shortage of drinking water. I can always catch some by putting half a turtle shell I picked up at the entrance of the cave to catch the rain.
But what worries me most is not the food.
"It's already the fifth day..." I looked at the continuous rain outside the cave, frowning. "Uncle Lin and the others must have noticed that I didn't go back, so they should be worried." With the respect the villagers have for this mountain forest, they may not dare to search deeply easily, but it is inevitable to organize people to search outside. I would be really sorry if this hurt others or made Xiaoyu's family worried.
But right now, I have no other choice but to wait.
“We can only wait for the rain to stop.” I sighed and leaned against the cold rock wall, listening to the never-ending rain outside.
In the afternoon of the third day, things took a turn for the worse.
A dull roar came from a distance, like a sigh coming from deep within the earth, even overpowering the noise of the rainstorm. I rushed to the cave entrance and followed the sound.
I saw a rock wall opposite the sinkhole, slowly sliding down like molten syrup. Large swathes of the mountain, wrapped around trees and soil, crashed down into the raging river, causing waves several meters high.
Landslide!
I held my breath and stared at the area. The landslide lasted for about a quarter of an hour. When everything gradually subsided, the rock wall originally covered with dense vegetation revealed a large gray-white fresh section.
And on that section, I saw something.
The rain was hazy and the distance was far away, but I could never mistake it—there were several unusually regular and huge ring-shaped structures embedded in the gray-white rock formations. They are arranged extremely neatly, like the bones of some kind of creature, but the scale is far beyond my understanding.
"What is that..." I squinted my eyes, trying to see more clearly. The rain blurred his vision, but the clear outline was the backbone of some huge creature, one after another, embedded deeply in the rock formations.
An indescribable excitement surged into my heart. The anxiety of being trapped in the cave was instantly forgotten. At this moment, I just wanted to rush to the other side to see what happened.
But the swollen river blocked the way, and the heavy rain showed no sign of stopping. I had to suppress my inner impulse and continue to wait.
In the early morning of the fifth day, the heavy rain that lasted for several days finally subsided. From the pouring rain to the drizzle, the sky was still overcast, but the visibility was much better.
I can't wait any longer. After packing up the important supplies and collected samples, I carefully waded out of the water.
The river is still fast and icy cold. I broke off a thick branch and used it as a pathfinder stick, and tentatively moved forward step by step. The water was waist deep in some places, and the force of the current made people unstable. The familiar terrain was completely changed by the floods. I had to go around in large circles for nearly two hours before finally reaching the landslide site on the other side.
Standing in front of the fresh landslide that still smelled of earth, I raised my head and took my breath away.
Seeing it up close is far more shocking than looking at it from a distance.
The gray-white sandstone section is more than ten meters high, as if it has been split by a giant axe. Right in the center of this section, three giant vertebrae fossils connected in series are clearly inlaid. Each section is as big as a millstone, showing a warm, jade-like texture. The rain washed away the dust on the surface, making the details of the fossil clearer - every joint surface and every bone seam are extremely well preserved, as if this giant beast had just rested here.
I stretched out my hand and touched the cold stone surface with trembling hands. The touch from the fingertips is smooth and solid, and the power of time is solidified here.
"Oh my god..." I murmured, feeling extremely shocked.
I took out the geological hammer I carried with me and roughly measured the diameter of one of the vertebrae using the scale on the hammer handle. More than forty centimeters. According to this proportion, the length of this creature during its lifetime was probably more than twenty meters, or even larger.
This is by no means any known creature. Neither sauropods nor other ancient creatures from the dinosaur era have ever been found in the strata in this area. The geological structure of the Shuangyang Mountains is theoretically impossible to breed such a huge creature.
I used a geological hammer to carefully scrape some rock samples around the fossils. The rock was dotted with shimmering mineral particles similar to what I'd found in sinkhole soil before. Could it be that it is these special minerals that not only affect the vegetation in the sinkhole, but also create this unknown giant beast?
After much hesitation, I made a decision.
I used a geological hammer to aim at the fragile connection between the last and smallest fossil segment and the rock formation, took a deep breath, and tapped lightly.
The crisp sound of "dang" was particularly clear in the silent rain forest.
The piece of fossil fell with a sound and fell on the soft cloth I prepared in advance. I picked it up, and it felt much lighter than I expected, as if it was not a stone, but some kind of porous bone.
The fracture shows a delicate honeycomb structure with densely packed pores evenly distributed, which may be the reason for its light weight. This structure, common in the skeletons of modern birds, was developed to reduce weight and adapt to flight. But can such a huge creature also fly?
I didn’t dare to think too much, so I carefully wrapped this precious fossil several layers with the remaining thermal underwear, and then carefully put it into the innermost part of the backpack.
As for the remaining two larger fossils in the rock formation, I covered them with a tarpaulin I brought with me and pressed down the edges with gravel. Hopefully this will temporarily protect them from wind, rain, and others who might arrive.
The return journey seemed a lot easier due to the lessening rain and the excitement in my heart.
When I waded across the river again and returned to the vicinity of the cave, I noticed that landslides and floods had changed the water system in the sinkhole. The raging river now branched out into a branch, which happened to surround the giant lightning tree in the center, forming a natural circular waterway, as if it was guarding something.