Boonie Bears: Another World Fantasy

Inside the V Group outpost at the foot of White Bear Mountain, the freight elevator shaft was filled with a strong smell of sulfur and stifling heat. Salta couldn't help but cough.

"Cough cough cough, why is it so slow?"

He felt increasingly short of breath, and beads of sweat streamed down his face uncontrollably. But once they hit the ground, they vanished without a trace in no time.

Beth wrapped her coat tightly around her mouth and nose, but the coat was completely soaked with sweat. She looked worriedly at Naya behind Salta, who remained motionless, seemingly isolated from her surroundings and unaffected by anything.

"The smell of sulfur is getting stronger and stronger. If this continues, we'll all be poisoned..." Beth said worriedly, her brows furrowed for a moment.

Salta anxiously walked to the control panel of the freight elevator and frantically pressed the buttons, but the elevator did not respond and continued to slowly ascend, even slowing down more and more. Helpless, he returned to his seat, a frustrated expression on his face.

"Who are you? Why are you thinking of coming back to help her?" Beth asked, sizing up Salta.

Although he wanted to say that it was a "commission" from someone else, Salta still took the blame upon himself.

“She is my people, of course I have to take her back… Even if she dies, she cannot be buried in this place.” After saying that, he turned his head, his eyes showing concern for Naya.

"You're a Deer Clan member too?!" Beth's exclamation echoed in the air, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.

"I suppose so... half." He avoided her expectant gaze and looked away, not intending to continue this unimportant topic.

"So you sneaked in here all by yourself just to give her a better tombstone?" Salta found the question extremely offensive, but he tolerated it because of her awkward phrasing.

“It’s not a tombstone, it’s respect,” he replied somewhat somberly.

Perhaps with a bit of luck, the residual radiant energy within Naya's body might save her life, but the chances are extremely slim. And she'd need the Golden Deer Antlers by her side...

Salta knew this was just Naling's obsession after exhausting all other methods. She probably wanted to see him alive or dead.

"Boom!"

The slowly ascending elevator car suddenly shook violently without warning, then seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible hand, unable to move any further. At this moment, the floor number displayed on the screen inside the car also stopped changing. It was covered in condensation and blurred, but it was still clear that it was frozen on "basement level three".

"What's going on?" Salta gestured for Beth to help Naya up, then quickly walked to the carriage door to check on its condition.

After several attempts, he discovered that the elevator's control panel was unresponsive, and no matter what he did, he couldn't restart the elevator. Left with no other option, he resorted to emergency power-on, hoping to restore the elevator's operation immediately. However, the result was unexpected; instead of returning to normal, the elevator began to fall.

"Could it be stuck?" Salta frowned, looking thoughtfully at the elevator door and the flickering emergency lights.

Such a coincidence?

"Is the elevator broken?" Beth asked, puzzled. However, Salta was not swayed by fear. Instead, he calmly told Beth to step aside and quickly drew his pistol.

"You! What are you doing? If you break the steel cable, we'll fall!" Beth huddled to the side, trembling.

"Stop yelling!" Salta snapped mercilessly. A series of gunshots rang out, and several evenly spaced bullet holes appeared on the roof of the carriage. Then, Salta pulled a small power saw from his toolbox and turned to Beth, saying, "Blonde, can I borrow your shoulder?"

"What are you going to do?" Beth carefully placed Naya in the corner, then stared blankly at Salta.

“I’ll ride on your shoulders, and you lift me up; I need to go up the elevator shaft to check,” Salta explained succinctly. As soon as she finished speaking, dazzling sparks flashed inside the elevator car, metal shavings flew everywhere, accompanied by a piercing cutting sound. The sound was like a sharp, mournful cry, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

After enduring a short period of irritating noise, a small hole, barely wide enough for one person, suddenly appeared in the top of the car. Salta was a little worried about whether Beth could support his weight when he climbed onto her shoulders, but to his surprise, Beth managed to lift him up with a slight effort.

However, their movements caused the elevator car to begin to sway.

"Damn it, how can this three-story building be so high?" Salta couldn't help but curse, his angry voice echoing in the elevator shaft. Looking up, the dark red elevator shaft stretched as far as the eye could see, with each hall door separated by a vertical distance of nearly ten meters.

“The partitions on each floor, the cooling pools and water storage systems are all inside… so a large gap was left during construction.” Beth’s intermittent voice came from inside the car.

"That's a pretty good explanation!" Salta thought. But he hadn't seen these details on the original cross-section he'd obtained through connections. The secrets hidden deep within the building seemed far more complex than he'd imagined.

"Thank you for your answer," he said curtly.

"Maybe we can try using the emergency exit?" Beth leaned against the elevator door, trying to pry it open with her own strength, but the door wouldn't budge.

“There’s no time. We can’t see the volcano’s condition. If lava flows up from underground, we’ll be finished even faster.” Salta kicked the ladder next to him to test its sturdiness.

"Then what do you want to do?" she asked anxiously, looking at him from the cave.

There is nowhere left to go.

“We’ll climb up the elevator shaft—that’s the only way,” Salta said resolutely.

......

“I should have thought of that sooner…” Abu muttered to himself, filled with regret at his belated realization. The V Group’s capture and imprisonment of the white bear had caused the unguarded lava chamber at the foot of White Bear Mountain to reactivate, with magma rising along the magma channels and eventually spreading to the volcanic cone… The air was filled with trace amounts of sulfur, which triggered a strong reaction in Abu, causing him to cough and tear up incessantly.

Naling realized the seriousness of the situation and tried to break the argument she had just started. This quarrel had come at a terrible time.

"Sharp, where is Zhao Lin?"

However, Sharp was like a puppet who had lost his soul, his eyes darting around, as if he was still immersed in Na Ling's earlier scorn.

"I'm asking you a question!!" Na Ling was almost driven crazy by Sharp's mysterious state, her hands clenched into fists.

“Outside the village…maybe—” he said blankly.

Naling swiftly grabbed a bow. As she passed Sharp, her lips moved slightly, but she didn't speak. Finally, she said softly, "I don't want you to become a good-for-nothing... Let's talk properly after all this is over." As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly ran towards the edge of the village.

"Ah Ling!" Abu shouted, leaping off the roof and lashing Sharp with his nimble tail, signaling him to follow. At that moment, none of them noticed that an eagle had silently taken flight from a nearby treetop, its fierce and cold gaze lingering on them for a long time.

In the sky, higher than where the eagles are, a pale gray transport plane is slowly flying over the village, hovering as if it has been waiting for a long time.

......

"It's so great to fly on our own plane—" Fanny, one of the ten Templar Knights and known as the Wolf Girl, stretched out her legs high on the headrest of the seat in front of her, completely unconcerned about her image. A wolf howl seemed to emanate from her cherry-like lips. Then, she ordered the hooded man beside her, "Hey! Half-Deer Man, get me my grooming brush!"

The man, jokingly called the half-deer, rolled his eyes at her. He pulled down his hood, revealing a handsome face that could be described as model-like, which was his ultimate asset in mingling with women, but it didn't seem to have any effect on Fanny, a straight woman.

"Please don't make that dog-like snoring sound, Ms. Fanny. You're a true Deer Clan member... and besides, I remember that's called hair, not fur," he scolded softly. He then tossed his drooping hair like a noblewoman.

Fanny kicked her legs in annoyance, muttering, "So fussy! Alston, annoying!" But she still sat up straight and tidied her parachuting gear and hair in front of the small mirror. Alston pursed his lips, then took a delicate comb from beside his seat and handed it to Fanny.

"You can't be so casual when you're facing old acquaintances later, right, old partner?" While Alston was drinking water, Fanny mischievously poked his chest, causing him to choke on the water and then spit it all out without spilling a drop.

“You shameless woman—” Alston cursed.

Then, the cabin lights dimmed, leaving only faint warning lights on either side. The heavy cabin door slowly opened, and facing the blinding sunset, Fanny jumped up excitedly.

A fierce wind lashed at the two of them, as if a fully powered blower were right in front of them. After putting on their goggles, Fanny and Alston stood still in the extreme jump area.

"Who goes first, you or me?!" Fanny was incredibly excited as she looked down at the seemingly small village and the vast forest below.

"Ladies first," Alston said, giving her a polite bow.

"Then let's meet down here, Alston—the head belongs to the first to strike! Screw you!"

After saying that, Fanny gave him a disdainful middle finger, then nimbly leaned back in the wind, thus beginning this joint land and air operation.

This was also the first time the Deer Clan Templars had fought together since their formation...