She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 462

Morris said, "We should trust her. Since she left a letter saying to give her 72 hours, we'll wait."

...

Deep within the mountain range, the scent of death mingled with the freezing mineral dust.

Loyce leaned heavily against the icy rock wall, her breathing ragged.

One of her legs was bent at a highly unnatural angle. Waves of blinding agony washed over her, and a sheen of cold sweat broke out across her forehead.

Her tactical suit, which wasn't exactly thick to begin with, had been slashed in several places by jagged rocks. The blood seeping from her wounds froze almost instantly in the frigid air.

Despite the severe trauma, not a single groan of pain escaped her lips. Maintaining icy, calculated rationality, she pulled medical bandages from her kit. Gritting her teeth, she manually realigned her dislocated bone.

The excruciating pain in the freezing environment made her tremble violently. Sweating despite the cold, she managed to gather some sturdy deadwood and tightly splinted her leg, ensuring the fracture wouldn't worsen.

She then injected herself with a heavy dose of painkillers. While waiting for the medication to kick in, she leaned back against a tree trunk for a brief rest.

The process was agonizing, yet Loyce's eyes were astonishingly bright. She raised her right hand; her fingers were wrapped tightly around an irregular, multi-faceted crystal. In the dim light, it refracted a bizarre, shifting glow of eerie blue and dark purple. This was the strange, toxic source that had poisoned Forrest.

She carefully stowed the crystal into her backpack. Then, she checked a sample bag strapped to her side, which contained a slightly smaller ore that gleamed with a pure, silver-white metallic luster.

It was a serendipitous find—a highly pure, rare mineral hidden deep within the veins of the mountain.

Pinned to her chest was a body camera. Taking advantage of her brief rest, she angled the lens to capture her surroundings. The camera had recorded all the hazards she encountered on the way in, mapping out the deepest sections of the mine and the most optimal route.

This footage would be crucial to minimize the danger when her oldest brother inevitably sent a team back in.

Once everything was secured, Loyce forced herself up and began the grueling trek back.

The weather rapidly deteriorated on her return journey. Most of the markers she had left along the way were washed out or covered. She was prepared for that, but she wasn't prepared for the sudden aftershock that violently rattled the ground beneath her.

The rock layer gave way in an instant. Before she could even react, Loyce plummeted straight into a deep, pitch-black natural sinkhole.

Fortunately, the bottom of the pit was piled high with years of decayed leaves and soft mud, cushioning her fall. Combined with her quick reflexes to adjust her posture mid-air, she managed to avoid any fatal injuries.

"Just my luck."

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