Chapter 152: Re-exploring the Glacial Cavern

Three hours later, the scouts who had gone down into the cavern returned, but the news they brought back was discouraging. Following the cave downward, they had traveled nearly ten kilometers before their path was blocked by a deep, dark pool of water. Its depth was unknown, and it was presumed to be a subterranean river, making further progress impossible, so they had turned back.

Wang Qian nodded to show he understood, then said, "If we can't find it, then so be it. I feel terrible that everyone has been put through all this trouble because of my personal affairs. From the start of the journey until now, we've already lost four lives. I've been thinking, as soon as this blizzard stops, we should head back. I simply cannot bear to see so many brothers suffer and exhaust themselves for my sake alone. Given this kind of weather and terrain, pushing any further will only bring more danger."

Zheng Dabao fell silent for a moment, unsure whether to comfort Wang Qian or encourage him to press on. Yet, his own men were genuinely in grave danger, and in such an environment and weather, he had no confidence. What made it even harder was that he had zero certainty; whether they could find the legendary Golden Fairy remained a complete unknown. Of course, even if they found it, the notion that it could cure all ailments like a celestial herb was highly unlikely.

Changing the subject, Wang Qian continued, "There is one more thing I need to discuss with you. My brother... little Zhang obtained over a hundred diamonds from inside this rock wall. He stated himself that he wants to share them with everyone. I suggested giving two diamonds to each of you. My proposal is that once we reach the foot of the mountain, we find a good buyer to sell the diamonds, and then give each of you the cash equivalent of two diamonds, which will be at least six million yuan. What do you think? Of course, if you'd rather take the diamonds and sell them yourselves, that's fine too!"

Zhang Can quickly took out the diamond bag and poured out a handful for everyone to inspect.

Zhu Senlin was momentarily stunned. He had gone down to scout with Zheng Dabao and the others, never expecting that in just these few hours apart from Zhang Can, such a massive fortune had been acquired. This was greater than any wealth he had ever obtained in the past. As Wang Qian said, two diamonds were worth six million, meaning over a hundred of them must be worth at least three to four hundred million. It was truly a pity!

It seemed now he would only get two, rather than splitting half with Zhang Can. Still, Zhu Senlin could not complain. Since they weren't found in his shop, nor explicitly stated to be a joint discovery, Zhang Can was fully entitled to keep them as his own. Moreover, Zhu Senlin knew very well that under no circumstances should he cross Zhang Can. Even if he received little or nothing, he must avoid falling out with Zhang Can, otherwise he would end up with nothing at all in the future.

Zhu Senlin was not unfamiliar with diamonds. He stepped forward to pick up two and examined them closely, confirming they were genuine. Besides, in such a remote area, inside a cavern where no human had ever set foot before, who would bother to make fakes?

After putting the diamonds down, driven by envy and covetousness, Zhu Senlin picked up a hammer and began hacking fiercely at the sandy wall, searching carefully through the sand. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he searched, there was only sand left, with not a single diamond to be found.

As for the others, not a single person felt dissatisfied. Aside from Zheng Dabao, who was exceedingly wealthy and indifferent to the value of two diamonds, the rest were thrilled by the prospect of six million yuan in cash. To them, it was the largest sum of money they would ever earn in their lifetimes, and they had no complaints whatsoever.

Zhang Can spoke up again, "Brother Wang, regarding the shares, I think we should also include Abudo and the three men who died in the mountain landslide near the railway office. I would like to ask you, Brother Wang, to give out those three shares on my behalf."

Wang Qian was startled. It was truly remarkable that Zhang Can still remembered those three men. Of course, to Zhang Can, this sum of money might not be excessively large, but such a sentiment was rare. How many people who struck it rich would still remember those who died helping them?

Almost everyone had no objections. Naturally, Zhu Senlin could not say he wanted a larger share; since it seemed impossible to find any more on the sandy wall, he had no choice but to remain silent.

Suddenly, Su Xue spoke up, "I want diamonds!"

Zhang Can was taken aback, then nodded, "Of course, help yourself to whatever you like."

"I don't want them now!" Su Xue shook her head and said, "When we get back, since this is your line of work, you must know many master craftsmen. Help me find a good craftsman to process them and turn the two diamonds into a diamond ring. I want rings."

"Oh..." Zhang Can gave a bitter smile, but agreed nonetheless, "Alright then, I'll ask around when we get back."

What Zhang Can hadn't expected was that Su Xue had something completely different in mind. Once these two diamonds were made into rings, she would treat them as engagement rings given to her by Zhang Can. She would keep one, and naturally, the other would be kept for Zhang Can. Since she had fallen for him, she was determined to win this man for herself.

Inside the cavern, day and night blurred together without distinction. The bodyguards occasionally went out to observe the conditions; the blizzard remained as ferocious as ever, and the cave entrance had drifted shut with heavy snow. Clearing it away revealed a visibility of only a few meters, with nothing visible except blowing snow, and the biting cold wind howling like knives.

They had no choice but to retreat back into the depths of the cave and huddle together. In weather like this, forget about ascending; even retreating down the mountain was impossible. Zheng Dabao's biggest worry was that if the blizzard was too severe and the mountain passes were sealed even after it stopped, they would face a massive crisis. Once the mountain was closed, traveling up or down was extremely difficult. Mountain climbers typically chose the period between March and August to avoid severe blizzards, and generally, no one climbed after October. This latter period was when blizzards struck most frequently, and running into a fierce storm on the mountain meant almost certain death.

Their current expedition had started in mid-September. In the past, such harsh blizzards rarely occurred at this time, but Zheng Dabao was no deity and could not predict that they would actually run into a super-blizzard.

They cooked another meal of beef soup in the cavern and ate. Everyone had recovered from the pleasant surprise of the unexpected diamond windfall. The grim reality of their situation was clear to all: if the blizzard persisted for ten days to half a month, they would be in dire straits. While life safety wasn't an immediate concern inside this cave, their provisions could only last for about ten days. If the blizzard lasted longer than a week, they would be in grave danger, facing the threat of starvation once their food and alcohol ran out.

Because Zheng Dabao was extremely experienced, he had prepared two or three days' worth of extra food beyond the expected requirement. Otherwise, under normal planning, their supplies would only last a week. They could only hope the blizzard would pass soon.

After finishing the afternoon meal, everyone began tidying their sleeping areas and preparing to crawl into their sleeping bags to rest. In this environment, Zheng Dabao had to strictly ration the food. Normally they could have three meals a day, but now both food and alcohol had to be strictly controlled. Alcohol was especially crucial; if it ran out prematurely, eating would become impossible, as the beef, frozen solid like a block of ice, could not be consumed otherwise.

Zhang Can pondered and decided he could not sleep. When Zheng Dabao and the others went scouting, he hadn't accompanied them, which made a significant difference. Because of his X-ray vision, being on the spot gave him an absolute advantage in surveying the environment compared to Zheng Dabao.

"I'm going down to take a look. You guys go ahead and rest," Zhang Can thought that since Zheng Dabao's group had already explored the way down, there shouldn't be any danger, so scouting a bit further was safe—it was just a matter of walking a little longer.

Su Xue stood up almost without hesitation and said, "I'm going with you!"

At that moment, Zhu Senlin sprang to his feet and shouted loudly, "Brother, I'll go with you!"

Zhu Senlin was so eager, of course, because he didn't want to leave Zhang Can's side for even half a step. If he hadn't gone down with the others earlier and had instead chosen to stay behind with Zhang Can, whatever Zhang Can did next, he would have followed closely, and perhaps he could have gotten a larger share of the diamonds. Regretting that misstep, he seized the chance the moment Zhang Can decided to head down into the cave again.

Going down with Zhang Can was naturally different from going down with Zheng Dabao's group. Zheng Dabao and the others lacked the ability to spot hidden treasures, whereas Zhang Can was different. His keen eyesight and meticulousness were truly astonishing. Who knew? Perhaps this trip down would uncover another massive batch of diamonds somewhere, and regardless of how it was split, he would surely get a generous share!

Seeing that both Su Xue and Zhang Can were heading down, Wang Qian thought for a moment and smiled, "Then I'll accompany you two down. Sitting around here is getting stuffy and depressing anyway. I might as well take it as a stroll to look at these multi-million-year-old glacier caves."

Since Wang Qian was going, Zheng Dabao naturally couldn't stay idle. He also stood up with a smile and said, "Brother Wang, if you're going, how can I be left out? Haha, well, it's freezing cold up here anyway, so I'll go down to move around and warm up."

Since Wang Qian was descending, his bodyguards had to go as well. However, four of them had already been down and knew there was no danger. After a brief discussion, the remaining three who hadn't gone down decided to tag along just for the scenery.

A total of eight people went down this time. Since Zheng Dabao had already been down and knew the conditions, they didn't bother preparing rock-climbing gear, heading down empty-handed with only illumination lamps.

To be honest, Zhang Can's real intention in going down was to reach the very end, or perhaps along the way, to use his X-ray vision whenever possible to check if there was a way to break through to the outside world. No matter how fierce the blizzard was, once they reached the lower slopes of the mountain, it wouldn't matter. Even if they couldn't reach the bottom, bypassing the most dangerous zones would still be a great advantage.

Having been down before, Zheng Dabao took the lead with a lighting lamp. The three bodyguards flanked Wang Qian right behind him, followed by Zhu Senlin, with Zhang Can and Su Xue bringing up the rear.

Walking at the back, Zhang Can scanned his surroundings while seizing every opportunity to use his X-ray vision to peer through the walls. He figured that finding an exit right at the start was unlikely, and even if there was one, it would still be within a hazardous zone and of no use.

The ice walls inside the cavern were thick, hard, and freezing cold. Under Zhang Can's X-ray vision, however, the vast majority of the walls turned out to be solid rock rather than thick ice. The air inside the cave was actually quite dry, meaning the energy of his Water-Averting Bead was of little use—the bead's energy manifested its effects best in humid environments, and ideally, completely submerged in water.

It had taken Zheng Dabao's group an hour and a half to go down and another hour and a half to return. Outdoors, an hour and a half of travel would barely cover twenty or thirty meters, requiring safety ropes and painstaking step-by-step progress. Inside this cavern, however, it was far less difficult—akin to climbing an ordinary hillside in winter. In an hour and a half, one could easily cover at least fifteen kilometers.