Surprised and somewhat startled, Berry Fairy and Lixin glanced at each other unsure of what was happening. A loud chirping could be heard echoing and vibrating from beneath the ground. It appeared that whatever force was causing the ground to tremble seemed to be traveling fast, disturbing the land in its wake.

"What the heck is going on?" Berry Fairy screeched as she tried to balance herself. "I didn't know earthquakes existed in Watashinojinsei-dan Online!"

"I don't think this game does. I think it was caused by creatures beneath the ground," Lixin replied.

"Monsters?!" Berry Fairy exclaimed, gazing at the ground in disbelief.

"Yes, didn't you hear the chirping sound?"

"I thought it was a flock of birds flying by!" She exclaimed, wondering how big the monsters were.

"No," Lixin shook his head. "I don't think birds could make such a low tone. I think it might be wise if we left this area."

But before they could depart, there was another thunderous rumble. The ground shook more violently, and cracks formed on the ground around them.

"Berry Fairy, come quickly..."

However, Lixin's words were drowned out by a groaning creak as the ground beneath them shook and collapsed, exposing them to an inky black void. As they plummeted their screams were intertwined only deafened by the roar of the wind, which blasted into their faces as they fell into darkness.

For the first time since his rebirth, Lixin was absolutely terrified. Shit, he was glad he wasn't afraid of heights or this would be trauma-inducing. The developers weren't pulling any punches when they added this to the game.

He was falling so fast that it felt as if time stopped around them. Although he wished that really had happened his wish wasn't granted.

Immediately after that thought, they landed on the ground with a sickening thud. Their bodies hit the hard rock ground below. With the impact came two painful groans, echoing against the darkness.

[Cora:] [System Alert: You have sustained Fall Damage!]

[Cora:] [System Alert: You have lost 60 health!]

Groaning, Lixin crawled to his feet. He was really glad he had lowered the game's pain threshold. This is because with how much he was hurting now it could have been far worse.

As Lixin's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could barely make out the shape of the panda girl in front of him.

"Berry Fairy, are you alright?" he asked as he looked around for any signs of light or escape.

"Yeah," she groaned, her hand rubbing her buttocks as she stood up. "Where are we?"

"It looks like we're underground," Lixin replied, his voice echoing in the darkness. He walked over to Berry Fairy using the sound of her voice as a guide.

"Duh. Where else would we be? I meant where underground. From the looks of it, we are in some sort of tunnel."

Lixin tried to make out what she saw but could only see blackness. "I can't see anything, so I'm as lost as you."

"That's right! I almost forgot you're not a beastman like me," Berry Fairy said with a giggle. "Looks like I will have to be your eyes."

Lixin nodded and placed his trust in the Panda girl. He just hoped it wouldn't be misplaced. "Then, I'll count on you."

"Don't worry, I'll get us out of here..." Suddenly, Berry Fairy stopped speaking and peered into the pitch-black distance ahead. "Wait... I see something!"

"What is it?" Lixin asked eagerly.

"Light!" Berry Fairy exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Lixin's wrist without thinking twice about it.

But as soon as she touched him, fear bubbled up inside Lixin, and he recoiled at her touch. Memories of his stepmother flashed before his eyes, and he screamed, "Don't touch me!"

Berry Fairy froze with shock when she saw Lixin's frightened face; she had no idea what was wrong with him. She spoke softly to him, "I'm sorry. I won't touch you again."

Once he snapped out of his panicked state he felt guilty and not sure what to do. Lixin took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry for screaming at you, but I don't like to be touched."

"That's okay. I'm also sorry for shocking you. My brother warned me not to be too touchy-feely with others since they might not like it. I guess I should have listened," she awkwardly joked.

Lixin could tell she was trying to clear the tension in the air and smiled at her words. However, he was too shaken up to do much else. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke again.

"You said you saw light?" Lixin asked, trying to focus on something else besides the uneasiness that settled around them.

"Yes!" Berry Fairy exclaimed, glad the conversation had returned to safer waters. "It's about 10 meters away from where we are standing."

"I can make you out a bit, so if you can lead us there I can follow you."

"Okay," Berry Fairy said as she cautiously led the way.

~

As they broke through the darkness, a ground covered with large glowing magenta flowers came into view. They shimmered with an iridescent color that Lixin had never seen before in his life.

He was spellbound and captivated by the beauty of it all, forgetting about his previous incident caused by Berry Fairy's touch.

"Wow," he breathed out in awe as he walked up to them.

"What kind of flowers are these?" Berry Fairy asked. "They're beautiful."

Lixin answered automatically after reading their description with his ingredient-seeking skill. "These are Whooselit flowers."

Whooselit flowers: These blooms are quite unusual. They can be used not just as a light source, but also in food and beverages. However, be cautious since the consequences may be interesting depending on how you utilize them.

"Isn't that the same flower Zinnia wanted to pick for her mother?" Berry Fairy questioned.

Lixin was suddenly struck by a chilling revelation. He remembered what the ghost girl had said. One minute she was heading home and the next she fell.

He recalled their fall and how it caused him to lose 60 health. If the same thing had happened to the little girl she would have died instantly. That would be the best-case scenario.

The most unfortunate thing would be if she didn't die and was stuck in the tunnel, hurt, scared, and had no way out.

"Hey, what's this?" Berry fairy exclaimed as she dug a torn cloth bag out of the dirt. However, next to it was a broken jar and a skeleton. Once she noticed she had dropped the item she was holding in a fright. "Oh my god... OH MY GOD!"

[Cora:] [A quest has been triggered!]

~

Author Says: Omg indeed!