Life must go on; if you fall down, you get back up... Such words felt utterly hollow now, and Kelvier roared in his mind: Try standing up here!

With all ten legs working furiously, he managed only to carve out a small space around him. His heart was desolate—how had he not foreseen this?

Digging relentlessly downward before, and now, he was buried two hundred meters deep!

Two hundred meters! His body was only four centimeters long, which, by that proportion, was akin to an adult man having to dig six thousand meters!

"Dear God, just kill me now!" Kelvier finally cried.

Beside him, the soil stirred, and Number Two, looking dazed as ever, burrowed out and even considerately nuzzled against Kelvier.

Kelvier was speechless for a long moment.

At least he had some help. Kelvier thought, although his body seemed capable of surviving months without food or drink, there was no precedent for this—what if he was wrong? What if he became immobile from hunger in just a week or two?

So, the most urgent task was to dig up to the surface. Starving to death two hundred meters below ground would be too much of a confinement.

Originally, there had been a crevice here, now buried, but the soil was still relatively loose.

In one hour, Kelvier and Number Two managed to dig almost two meters, faster than their previous downward excavation. Some areas weren’t completely filled with soil, and they could simply climb through. At this rate, they would reach the surface in less than a week.

A week? Kelvier was still confident he could make it.

In two days, Kelvier and Number Two reached the end of what had been the fissure on the underground.

Things became much more difficult from there, and their speed was about a third of what it had been.

"About a hundred meters left, and currently, we’re moving at about 0.7 meters per hour..." Kelvier calculated in his mind: "Nearly twenty meters a day, about five days left!"

If it had been a person, they might have been crushed by the earth, suffocated, or died of exhaustion.

Fortunately, Kelvier was now a tough “beetle,” strong, resilient, and capable of working non-stop for twenty-four hours.

Kelvier was pleased and continued leading Number Two to burrow straight upwards.

However, gradually, Kelvier discovered a serious problem: the further up they went, the tighter the soil became!

The speed dropped to half a meter per hour, and then a quarter meter every two hours...

Kelvier then recalled something he had heard on television: some nuclear explosions could melt and solidify the sand below into hard quartz!

Kelvier groaned, realizing the nuclear detonation point might not be far from them, perhaps even directly overhead...

He sighed in relief that it wasn’t too late and, after some consideration, began to dig upwards at an angle.

Their speed gradually increased again, quickly returning to what it had been, though the slanted path meant a much longer journey.

Kelvier had no choice but to continue.

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In a blink, another week had passed. During this period, they occasionally encountered large stones, requiring detours. Given the current situation, it looked like another week was needed. But for Number Two...

Number Two likely wouldn’t last the week.

Its condition was deteriorating rapidly; now it barely had the strength to dig, merely following behind Kelvier. Somehow, Kelvier sensed that Number Two was afraid. Afraid that once it fell, Kelvier would devour it without hesitation.

Kelvier sighed internally but thought: If it's capable of fear, then it's not just acting on instinct. Number Two must possess a sliver of intelligence.

Two more days passed, and Kelvier estimated five more days to reach the surface. By then, Number Two was struggling to crawl, staggering along pitifully behind him.

Fortunately, they found an earthworm. Kelvier was also very hungry, having suppressed the urge to eat Number Two for days. Seeing Number Two’s miserable state, he reluctantly shared half of the earthworm with it.

Three more days passed in the blink of an eye.

Kelvier was nearing his limit, expecting to reach the surface within two days. However, the speed of digging had significantly decreased that day, and Kelvier felt an ominous sense of wrongness. Two hours later, their pace had slowed to about half a meter every two hours.

A cold realization dawned on Kelvier:

Despite all his efforts, he might have reached another blast site below...

Continuing upward was no longer an option; they had to dig diagonally once more.

Kelvier felt a chill in his heart; this time... he might have to devour Number Two.

Turning back, he saw Number Two barely alive, following him for a few steps before collapsing.

Resigned, Kelvier understood that he wasn’t a mole; the soil he had dug up had piled up behind him, meaning the previously dug tunnel was now filled in.

At least the soil was much looser now—Kelvier consoled himself with this thought.

Another day passed.

Number Two was nearly dead, only managing to catch up after Kelvier had dug a significant distance, then collapsing again, struggling to keep up each time Kelvier moved forward.

Kelvier felt far from his limit, yet he sensed he was now burning some internal energy reserve—could this affect his future evolution?

“If there’s no turnaround by tomorrow, Number Two, don’t blame me,” Kelvier muttered as he continued digging, his resolve hardening.

The next day.

As Kelvier closed in, Number Two seemed to sense Kelvier’s hostile intentions. It struggled to its feet, trying to prove it was “still healthy” but clumsily toppled to the side.

“Food!” Suddenly, a thought from Number Two reached him.

Kelvier paused, taken aback—did it know he was about to eat it?

“Food!”

Number Two seemed excited, struggling to dig in another direction.

“Food!”

Kelvier was perplexed. Was this a last burst of clarity, or had Number Two gone mad?

Then a soft click sounded, the first external noise Kelvier had heard in days!

Kelvier froze in surprise and watched as Number Two broke through to reveal a small hole, leading into what appeared to be another cave.

Exhausted, Number Two had collapsed. Kelvier hurried over and quickly expanded the opening, revealing a tunnel in front of them.

A snake burrow?

Kelvier was startled at the thought. He wasn't equipped to handle a snake at his current size.

His feelings were mixed. The tunnel was about as thick as a large apple. The frustrating part was that he couldn't tell which end led to the nest and which to the exit. Rushing forward meant a fifty percent chance of entering a snake’s nest.

But retreating meant an indefinite amount of digging ahead.

After a moment's thought, Kelvier had an idea. He dug a small, half-meter-long escape nook in the tunnel wall, twisting it in several directions. If they did encounter a snake, he could drop Number Two as a distraction, rush to the small nook, and if needed, continue digging their way out later.

By now, Number Two was paralyzed, seemingly having expended its last bit of energy in their final push of digging. It could barely stand, its mandibles opening and closing weakly. Kelvier felt an unexpected pang of sympathy—they had, after all, been through life and death together.

As they progressed, the tunnel widened, but there was no light—clearly, they were in a nest.

Kelvier thought about turning back, feeling a mix of reluctance and caution. After a moment, he cautiously moved closer.

When he finally saw what was inside the nest, Kelvier burst into wild laughter.

“What do they say about every cloud having a silver lining? This is it! Fortune finally favors us!” He lunged forward.

There, in a nest, were thirteen pink, blind mole rat pups, each about half the size of Kelvier.

Kelvier quickly devoured one and then dragged Number Two back to the feast. Surprisingly, Number Two found the strength to struggle up and feed.

After they devoured seven of the mole rat pups, Kelvier was back to peak condition, and Number Two had regained strength as well.

Just then, Kelvier sensed a change in the temperature around them, as if something was approaching. Soon, Number Two noticed it too.

Seconds later, a sharp snout poked through the entrance.

Kelvier tensed up as a fifteen-centimeter mole rat appeared at the tunnel entrance.