The students rested while Shizu, Larissa, Umi (the guard with the coral), and Taro finished raising a second wall. Lin observed the situation with the cold calculation of a combat veteran. Two walls of furious shadow stalkers, two companions lost in the depths, and night approaching. The decisions they made in the next few minutes would determine who survived. "We need to decide on teams quickly," she announced with a firm voice, immediately capturing everyone’s attention. "One group must return to camp to alert Zhao, while another remains here to attempt rescuing Ren and Han." "I’m staying," Taro declared instantly. "Me too," added Larissa. Lin nodded, but raised a hand to stop the chorus of volunteers that would follow. "I need the rescue team staying with me to be small and specific. Larissa, Taro, Umi, Matilda, Min, and Mira will stay with me. We’ll work on creating a rope long enough to lower down the hole while keeping the walls strong." Several voices began to protest, but Lin silenced them with a look. "The rest," she continued, "I need you to form a team to reach Zhao as quickly as possible. And that means tunneling beneath the colony." A tense silence followed these words. Creating tunnels in this area was a desperate tactic, something all gatherers avoided for good reason. "But the tunnel could lead us directly to a larger shadow stalker hive," objected Hikari, her firefly trembling nervously on her shoulder, its light flickering with her anxiety. "It’s a risk we’ll have to take," Lin responded, her tone making it clear there was no alternative. "Shizu with her wolverine will lead the tunnel team. Mako with the night ambusher, Hikari with the firefly, and Luna at the front. You need beasts with offensive capability to give Shizu time to quickly seal any breach into the main hive if you find one." Luna stepped forward, her shadow wolf manifesting in a dark aura around her. "I’d prefer to stay and support you here. There are enough people to find Zhao. We won’t all fit at the tunnel front." Liora and Luna exchanged glances. "I want to stay too," argued Liora, her voice usually serene now laden with tension. "My fire could be useful in keeping shadow stalkers at bay if a wall here fails." Lin observed them for a moment, her expression softening briefly before returning to her usual determination. "I understand how you feel, but reaching Zhao and bringing him quickly is the best way to help. Your abilities are particularly good because they don’t take up much space and can make the tunnel-front efforts safer." Larissa took her cousin’s hands. "Go," she said with unusual firmness. "Bring Zhao as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, we’ll keep the wall strong and prepare everything for the rescue." After a moment of hesitation, Luna and Liora nodded, reluctantly joining the tunnel group, their shoulders tense with unspoken concern. "Good," Lin turned to Shizu. "Start the tunnel about twenty meters down from here, where the softer ground begins. Maintain that medium depth, neither too shallow nor too deep. And if you reach another shadow stalker tunnel, seal it immediately and change course." Shizu nodded, her wolverine fully manifesting as she prepared for the task, earth already shifting beneath her feet. "The rest," Lin turned to the rescue team, "we’ll begin preparing the rope. Matilda, we’ll need your turtle to produce flexible, resistant wood. Mira, reinforce the line with your moss and give it better grip." As the tunnel group quickly departed under Shizu’s leadership, those remaining with Lin immediately began rescue preparations, their movements purposeful despite the mounting tension. Taro, Larissa, and Umi reinforced both walls, adding additional layers to contain the increasingly agitated shadow stalkers. The impacts from the other side intensified, indicating the creatures were coordinating their efforts to bring down the barriers, each thud reverberating through the stone. "They won’t hold forever," Taro murmured, beads of sweat sliding down his forehead from the continuous effort. "They don’t need to hold forever," Lin responded while helping Matilda generate the first section of the improvised rope. "Just long enough." Min, working nimbly to help intertwine the wooden filaments, looked down toward the dark hole where his friends had disappeared. "Do you think they’re okay?" he asked, his voice betraying a concern he would normally keep hidden beneath laughter and jokes. "It’s Ren," Larissa responded with confidence she didn’t entirely feel. "He’ll take care of Han. He’s probably already looking for a way up while meticulously classifying every rock he finds by its usefulness in cultivation. You’ll be there to heal them when we find them." ♢♢♢♢ "We don’t need to reach the surface from here," Ren explained, beginning to systematically strike the identified point with a diamond-covered fist. "We just need to get out of this specific area and find some natural tunnel before the owner of this... collection returns." With each blow, small crystal fragments fell to the floor, glittering in the light of his mushrooms. The wall was surprisingly resistant, but gradually began to yield under his relentless assault. "Do you have any idea what creature could have made this?" asked Han while joining Ren’s efforts but finding his strength insufficient to damage the covering. Ren paused briefly, his mushrooms pulsing in a pattern that Han had learned to recognize as concern, the light dimming and brightening in rapid succession. "No," he finally responded. "But most likely, that means something..." He stopped when a crackling began to spread from the point they were attacking. Small fissures branched across the wall like webs of light, reflecting the glow of his mushrooms in fractured patterns. "It’s giving way," Han observed with renewed enthusiasm. With one final powerful blow, the wall finally yielded. The crystal broke with a sound similar to ice cracking, revealing compact but natural earth behind. Ren immediately pressed his hands against the earth, his mushrooms pulsing intensely as he felt the vibrations transmitted through the ground. "Can you sense anything?" Han whispered, watching with fascination as Ren’s mushrooms changed their pulse pattern. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎 "Movement," Ren responded quietly. "Several creatures, but distant. Nothing immediate." With a quick glance toward the chamber to ensure they were still alone, he closed his eyes briefly, concentrated, and his hydra fully manifested. The hydra glowed with a faint but unmistakable light. It didn’t yet have multiple heads and only measured about four feet tall, but it did have a more complete armor than what manifested over Ren’s body. Its scales shifted with iridescent patterns as it moved, small crystalline structures embedded within them. "She can help us dig faster this way," Ren explained simply. Without wasting time, he directed the hydra toward the earthen wall. The diamond claws began to work with surprising efficiency, tearing away large chunks of earth and quickly creating an ascending tunnel. As it worked, Han alternately observed the tunnel’s progress and the chamber entrances, tense for any sign of danger. The silence between them extended for several minutes, broken only by the sound of earth being removed and the occasional brief instruction from Ren.