Chapter 35: Could I Have Been Mistaken?

He turned swiftly, flying toward the small cave, his heart a tumult of anticipation and anxiety. He knew that this step might well be the key to unraveling the entire mystery.

Yun Yi landed gracefully beside the rock in the small cave. His antennae gently brushed against the surface, sensing the chill of ages past. "First, press the rock in the small cave," he thought, his plan solidified. Though his voice was but a whisper, it carried an unwavering resolve. He darted away like a nimble rabbit, flying back toward the small cave, his mind caught in a cycle of hope and nervousness. He knew deep down that this light press might be the very key to unlocking the enigma.

After a moment, Yun Yi alighted beside the rock in the small cave. He carefully touched the rough, ancient surface with his antennae, as if he could feel the faint, lingering coldness from a primordial era. "Please, don't let anything go wrong," he murmured. With that, he applied a slight pressure, pushing the rock inward. For a moment, his breath seemed to catch; he remained perfectly still, focused intently, fearing that the slightest error might trigger unforeseen consequences. Fortunately, nothing untoward happened when the rock was pressed, and the cave maintained its serene, mysterious silence.

"Ha, it worked!" Joy surged through him. He knew he had taken a crucial step. "Right, I must go to the large cave immediately and press that rock." Urgency filled his mind; he could not wait to verify his hypothesis. He took flight again, quickly reaching the large cave, his eyes locked firmly onto the target rock. He took a deep breath and pressed it, brimming with expectation.

However, this time, he waited for a long while, but nothing changed as he had anticipated. A trace of doubt crept into his mind: "What is happening? Could it be that the time interval between pressing the rocks in the two caves was too long?" He began to reflect on whether he had failed to arrive at the large cave quickly enough, causing the mechanism to lose its linked effect. As he pondered, his delicate antennae, like precision sensors, tapped against the hard rock beside him, as if questioning the stone itself for the answer to his failure. His mind raced with lightning speed, turning over every possibility: was his flight speed between the two caves insufficient? Or did the mechanism have such stringent trigger conditions that the slightest delay caused it to fail? He scrutinized every detail, daring not to miss a thing.

Yun Yi knew that in this perilous underground world, any oversight could be fatal. Though he was as agile as a rabbit, he felt as insignificant as dust in this unknown realm. He had to be more cautious; every movement and judgment was a matter of life and death. Thus, he made a decision: he would try again. This time, he poured every ounce of his strength into his wings, determined to shuttle between the two caves even faster.

He flew back to the small cave and pressed the rock with absolute precision. That moment felt as though the world had come to a standstill, waiting for his next move. Without a moment's hesitation, he beat his wings, flying toward the large cave with maximum speed. The rock seemed to call to him, and he could almost feel the subtle fluctuations in the air. Finally, he arrived and pressed the rock once more.

"Did it work?" His heart hammered against his chest as if to break free. His compound eyes remained fixed on the ancient, mysterious stone, his antennae taut with expectation and nerves. Yet, the rock remained like a sleeping giant, indifferent to his call, lying in silence without the slightest change.

A look of disbelief flashed in Yun Yi’s eyes. Even after shortening the interval between the two actions to the absolute limit, could he still not satisfy the mechanism's harsh requirements? A deep sense of frustration washed over him, threatening to drown him. His antennae trembled—a physical manifestation of his internal turmoil. Yet, there was no retreat in his eyes; the opportunity was right before him.

It was just a matter of flying back and forth a few more times. Who was afraid? He gritted his teeth, his voice soft but firm: "It seems I must be faster still." He knew that every attempt was a transcendence of self, no matter how negligible the improvement might seem.

Yun Yi’s wings vibrated once more. Like a bolt of black lightning, he tore through the darkness of the cave, racing toward the rock in the small cave. His movements were swift and precise, each touch a silent dialogue with the mechanism. After pressing the rock, he turned in the same instant, flying back to the large cave at top speed to press the second rock. Still, the stone remained silent, showing no reaction.

"No, was I too slow again?" Frustration surged within him. He tried again and again, each time giving his all, each time filled with hope. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, the rock seemed enchanted, unmoved by his touch. After more than a dozen attempts, Yun Yi was nearly exhausted. Just as he pressed the rock in the large cave and saw no response, his body involuntarily veered toward the other side of the cave. His strength fully spent, he plummeted from the air like a broken kite.

The fall landed him exactly at the nexus connecting the large and small caves. Lying there, his heart was a cocktail of complex emotions: "Is this some kind of sick joke?" He looked up at the two rocks, his eyes filled with resentment and helplessness.

Yet, in that moment, a powerful will to survive ignited within him: "No, I cannot watch this prize slip through my fingers." He struggled to rise from the ground. His two small front legs strained to support his body, while his four sturdy hind legs braced themselves, readying for an eighteenth attempt. But at this critical juncture, a sudden, inexplicable doubt surfaced in his mind.

"Wait... could my method be wrong?" he muttered to himself, his voice wavering with a tremor that had not been there before. The unwavering belief he had held until now began to crumble.