“Okay, a bet it is.” As he was worried for her, Matthew had no choice but to agree to the bet. As long as Veronica endured the swim and made her way out, then he would gladly agree to anything she proposed.
“I trust that you’ll keep your words. I’ll definitely make my way out alive for the sake of our bet!” She patted herself on the chest smugly while being full of confidence.
“Yeah, I trust that you’ll succeed.” He nodded slightly and reminded, “Have a go first, I’ll follow closely behind you. Remember the phone.”
“Sure.” She nodded in agreement and soon after, she stood in place and did some warm-ups.
When Veronica was a child, her master had taught her plenty of knowledge that she comprehended everything perfectly.
It was especially so after she had watched the movie ‘A Letter to Dad’ that starred Johnny Depp, which sparked her interest in learning how to hold her breath underwater. Ever since then, she had been learning it from her master.
However, the longest she could hold her breath underwater was five minutes. The two hundred meters swim should be manageable for her as long as she persisted slightly longer.
Veronica, in fact, was betting on her life. After all, she knew that Matthew had sustained a serious injury; with the lack of equipment and strength to overcome the slippery cave and climbing condition, that itself was enough of a reason for Veronica to step in. It would be worrisome to ask Matthew, who was wearing leather shoes in a cave with a high fever and injured hand to even do anything. No matter how much she thought about it, she could never come around the idea for him to swim alone. Can a person running a high fever even swim two hundred meters, let alone getting out alive?
“Matthew, if the two of us succeed in getting out, then we’re life-and-death buddies from now on. It would be virtually impossible for me to date a player like you, but we can become great buddies; that would be quite nice.” She was stretching her thighs while doing warm-up moves for her entire body.
Although it was not nice to be called a player over and over again, Matthew had somehow gotten used to it.
He nodded slightly and glanced at the woman by his side. There was a faint smile in his ocean-deep eyes. “Whatever you say.”
After two minutes of warming up, the two of them stood by the edge of the stream. Veronica stood by the edge of the stream and took a deep breath with the phone in her hand.
“I’m off.” She leaped into the water instantly after the simple ‘farewell’.
As soon as he saw her leave, he waited for thirty seconds before entering the water.
The temperature of the water in the hidden stream was extremely cold.
Veronica could not help shivering as soon as she entered the water, but she clenched her teeth and continued to swim on.
The five minutes distance felt like an eternity to her. She recomposed herself and swam forward at a consistent speed while trying to maintain her stamina.
In no time, Matthew caught up with her and guarded her steadfastly behind her.
She silently calculated the time in her mind as she counted down slowly.
Four minutes had gone by, but she was still feeling energized enough to continue.
Furthermore, she was mentally in great condition and reckoned that she could persevere for another two minutes. Though it would be hard on her, she was sure that she could manage.
However, just when she was lost in her positive thoughts as she found success within reach, there was suddenly an intense pain in her head.
Quick but deadly as a lightning, she felt the same pain she experienced in the maze. You know, the feeling of your skull being ripped into two, then yanked around.
Veronica tried her best to stifle the pain as she continued hard to swim forward.
Keep going! Keep going! Veronica, you can’t die here! Think about your parents who adopted and cared for you! You still have a long life ahead of you!
She continued to cheer for herself in her mind.
Meanwhile, Matthew could see every move she made from the flashlight of her phone. Although she was swimming along, she had slowed down significantly. He sensed that something was off, so he quickly swam to her side and grabbed her around the waist to swim forward with her.
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