Chapter 148: The Cave within the Cave

Down below, there was not the slightest sound. Zhang Can and Su Xue quickly sped up their climb, while keeping a close eye on the safety ropes secured around their waists. The lead end of the rope had already been pulled inside by the person who had fallen into the snow pit, and if the weight in the pit became excessive, they had to be careful not to let him drag the remaining three people down with him.

The other three groups had also stopped upon realizing an accident had occurred. Zheng Dabao instructed his group members to stay put right where they were, and ordered his subordinates to secure the foremost safety rope firmly into the snow before hurrying over to the location where someone had fallen into the snow pit.

Zhang Can and Su Xue moved a bit faster because they simply followed the footprints ahead without needing to scout the path. Upon reaching the spot, they stopped beside the person lying prone on the edge of the snow pit and peered inside. It was pitch black; how could they possibly see anything?

Calling out for everyone not to panic, Zheng Dabao unstrapped the bag from his back, pulled out a flashlight, and prepared to inspect the snow pit.

The second person in Zhang Can’s group—who belonged to the same team as the one who had fallen into the hole—let out a shout and hastily tried to pull the rope back up. However, after a single tug, it wouldn’t budge at all, as if it had been tied to some pillar deep inside, refusing to move no matter how hard they pulled. Yet, the person who had fallen in gave no response whatsoever.

Seeing that this snow pit resembled a sinkhole with a diameter of about two meters, plunging into pitch-black nothingness at a depth of about three meters where nothing could be seen, Zhang Can immediately activated his X-ray vision. What he saw in that black-and-white world gave him a profound shock!

The person who had fallen into the pit had landed squarely on three large, sharp, interlocking ice fangs. His chest had been pierced right through, and he had likely died the moment he hit the bottom, which was why there had been no cries for help or response.

Moreover, the depth of the snow pit was around eight or nine meters, and Abuduo's safety rope had become entangled around those ice fangs. To pull him up now by brute force would require snapping those ice fangs; otherwise, it was truly impossible to haul the man up.

Since none of the others knew what it looked like down below, nor had the slightest clue about Abuduo's condition, Zheng Dabao took out a flashlight and shone it inside. It remained indistinct; after all, they did not possess the high-tech gadgets often seen in movies, let alone waterproof illumination flare bombs that worked in the dark.

At that moment, snow began to fall from the sky once again, and the wind grew fierder. The signs of a severe blizzard were fully exposed. Panicking, Zheng Dabao waved his hands at the members of the other groups and roared, "All of you, hurry over here! Never mind the rest, everyone get into this pit. I'll go down first to scout and see if we can wait out this blizzard!"

Anxious, Zhang Can reached out a hand, yet hesitated, unsure of what to say. This snow pit was eight or nine meters deep, but the interior was merely a pit two or three meters wide with solid rock walls all around. Going down was useless; once the blizzard intensified, anyone down there might end up buried alive.

However, Zheng Dabao had already retrieved a rope, secured it firmly outside the pit, tied it around his waist, locked his safety buckle, and began descending step-by-step along the rock wall.

Seeing Zheng Dabao lead by example and show such deep loyalty and righteousness toward a subordinate, Zhang Can realized it made complete sense why these men followed him.

By the time the members of the other groups had all gathered at the snow pit, Zheng Dabao had already reached the bottom. Flashing his flashlight around to inspect the area, he felt a sharp pang in his heart. Abuduo had long since perished, and the blood flowing from his body had already frozen into dark purple ice blocks under the frigid temperatures.

Furthermore, the space inside the snow pit was extremely narrow. If six or seven people climbed down, they would be squeezed so tightly they couldn't even turn around. Once down here, not only would they fail to escape the blizzard, but they would instead be buried alive by the massive snowfall in this pit. He couldn't help but curse inwardly. Now that all the personnel had been called back, it was clearly too late to set off in search of another windbreak. What on earth should they do?

This brother could not be pulled out in time, and now that he was dead, his corpse could only be abandoned in these desolate, snowy mountains. Once the blizzard struck, not just him, but he and his sixteen other living companions would likely fail to escape the same fate as well.

Wang Qian and Zhu Zhulin also struggled over, panting heavily. Several people held flashlights and shone them downward while Zheng Dabao illuminated the bottom of the pit with his own light, giving them a roughly clear view. Everyone froze in place. A sinkhole like this was shaped just like a bottle; anyone who went down could only wait for death. Meanwhile, the wind began to howl, and goose-feather-like snow fell as if pouring from the sky. If they couldn't find a shelter from the wind and snow, they would either be buried by the snow or frozen to death.

Zhang Can grew anxious as well. Continuing like this was extremely dangerous for everyone. He quickly activated his X-ray vision to scan his surroundings, and when his gaze swept across the snow cave wall, his eyes suddenly lit up. He immediately tied the safety rope around his waist and said to Su Xue, "Su Xue, help me hold the line, I'm going down into the hole!"

With that, he asked one of the bodyguards for a pointed ice-climbing hammer. One side of this hammer's head was a striking surface, while the other was a sharp spike, specifically designed for chipping holes and driving pitons into hard ice walls and rock faces to secure safety ropes.

Uncertain of what Zhang Can intended to do, Su Xue looked on in a daze as he clumsily clambered down into the hole. Wang Qian shouted from above, "Brother, what are you doing? This hole is a dead end!"

Down at the bottom, Zheng Dabao was also climbing back up while calling out, "Little Zhang, don't come down! Get out of here right now, this is a dead end!"

Ignoring everyone's shouts, Zhang Can stopped after descending about two or three meters, braced his feet against the rock wall, and began fiercely hammering the rock face with the tool.

Zhang Can's actions stunned Zheng Dabao at the bottom and everyone up above. What madness was he possessed by? Wasn't he just causing trouble at a time like this?

Yet, after only a few strikes, Zhang Can's iron hammer smashed completely through the rock wall, punching a hole. Although it was only about the size of a fist, everyone could clearly see that while the opening was small, the space behind it was unquestionably hollow.

Redoubling his efforts, Zhang Can struck the rock face with all his might. That section of the stone wall was very thin, only two or three tenths of an inch thick. After a flurry of heavy blows accompanied by a clattering din, a large hole over a meter in diameter was instantly smashed open in the stone wall. Inside was pitch black, and nothing could be discerned.

While the others couldn't see what lay inside, Zhang Can squeezed right through the opening. He turned back and called out, "Quickly, come in!"

"Zhang Can, wait..." Su Xue cried out. Who could know what this suddenly smashed-open hole looked like on the other side? They had no idea how deep it was or whether it posed any danger. What if it was a bottomless glacial crevasse? Wouldn't going down there make things even more dangerous?

However, Zhang Can had already crawled inside. Zheng Dabao, having climbed up from the bottom, also reached the mouth of the hole and shone his flashlight inside. The moment he looked, a wave of joy washed over him, and he exclaimed, "Good! Brother Wang, all of you hurry down. It's fine, this place is perfect for sheltering from the wind and snow!"

With that, he too squeezed inside. The people standing around the snow pit stared in bewilderment as they watched the beam of a flashlight flashing back and forth inside the hole. Immediately following that, another flurry of fierce hammering echoed from within. With a series of crashing sounds, a large section of the stone wall was smashed away from the inside, revealing a wide opening two to three meters in diameter. Both Zhang Can and Zheng Dabao stood right inside. With the illumination, one could now see that it was a cavern. Judging from the space where Zhang Can and Zheng Dabao stood, it was quite spacious, and the interior seemed to wind deeper inside—its exact depth unknown—yet it could definitely accommodate all dozen-plus of them to escape the blizzard.

At this point, none of the people lingering by the pit harbored any more doubts or hesitation. One by one, they secured their ropes and descended into the hole. Since it was only a few meters high from the snowy surface above the pit, the descent wasn't difficult. They climbed down one by one, while Zhang Can and Zheng Dabao reached out from inside the cave to receive and pull them in individually.

By this time, the wind and snow raging across the ground had grown immensely fierce. In just this short span, everyone was already covered in a layer of snow two fingers thick. If they hadn't found a shelter from the wind and snow, it truly would have been perilous.

After all sixteen people had gathered inside the cave, they illuminated the space with flashlights to inspect it. Standing just outside the cave entrance, Zheng Dabao looked out at the howling blizzard sweeping across the pit above, his face turning pale as he repeatedly sighed, "That was close, that was so close!"

After remaining stunned for a long while, he turned back around. The others were curiously looking around the cavern in all directions. The cave was surrounded by walls of ice. The ceiling where they stood was only about two meters high, but the cavern ahead sloped downward and gradually widened, capable of accommodating two or three people walking side by side. The height was also sufficient; they would never bump their heads, with even the lowest spots measuring around two meters.

Several of Zheng Dabao's subordinates lit their flashlights and ventured further inward. The cave appeared free of any immediate danger, so it didn't much matter. Bringing up the rear were Zhang Can and Zheng Dabao.

Without any mind to inspect the cave's conditions, Zheng Dabao kept his eyes fixed strictly on Zhang Can. After a long moment, he asked, "Little Zhang, how did you know there was another cave right behind this rock wall?"

This was the question Zheng Dabao most wanted answered. It was obvious that Zhang Can had saved all of their lives. Looking back toward the cave entrance now, the snow accumulation on the snow-covered ground had visibly increased by tens of centimeters in just this brief moment, and the very bottom of the pit was already buried under deep snow, with Abuduo's corpse on the verge of being completely covered.

Zhang Can was taken aback for a second. Earlier, he had used his X-ray vision to spot the inner chamber, and due to the emergency, he hadn't had time to formulate a cover story—saving lives had to come first. Now that everyone's safety was guaranteed, Zheng Dabao was inevitably beginning to question him!

Recovering from his momentary pause, Zhang Can smiled and said, "Hehe... Well, it's like this. I frequently explored caves back in my hometown; there are tons of caves in the mountains there. When you stepped onto the cave wall just now, I heard that the sound was somewhat hollow, which clearly meant the space behind it was empty. After you descended a bit further, that sound turned solid again. I guessed there must be a cave hidden inside here, and judging from the sound, the rock wall shouldn't be very thick either. So I just gave it a try like a dead horse being treated as a live one!"

Dabao froze for a moment. Zhang Can's explanation sounded plausible enough, yet he still felt something was amiss. Logically speaking, his own powers of observation and keenness were quite exceptional, and in this particular area, he should have been much more competent than Zhang Can. Why, then, had Zhang Can noticed it while he hadn't perceived a single thing?

After pondering for a moment, Zheng Dabao felt a sense of release. Earlier, due to the crisis of the blizzard, he had long since lost his composure, and Abuduo's death had thrown his mind into even greater turmoil. How could he not feel heartbroken over the sudden loss of a subordinate who had followed him for years?

He then figured that this young man Zhang Can indeed possessed exceptionally sharp perception. These things could actually be accomplished simply through attentiveness, though how many people could truly master the word "attentiveness"?

"Let's take a look inside the cave!" Zhang Can remarked to Zheng Dabao at an opportune moment. It was evident that Zheng Dabao was far from possessing the calm composure he had shown when first heading up the mountain; his mind was surely far from meticulous, and a couple of casual remarks would easily gloss the matter over.

Even if Zheng Dabao didn't believe him, he wouldn't be able to deduce anything else. In any case, it would never cross his wildest dreams that Zhang Can possessed X-ray vision and the energy of the Water-Averting Pearl. Who could ever imagine such things?