Chapter 154: The Search

Nothing could be heard except the echoing reverberations bouncing back and forth through the cavern, seeming to repeat the phrase "Am I calling... am I calling..." until it finally faded away.

Wang Qian, whose composure and poise had always remained unshaken in the face of any crisis, was now utterly panic-stricken. His voice trembled uncontrollably. Several of his bodyguards, fearing he might lose his footing and fall, tightly grabbed the fabric of his clothing, while two others pressed firmly against his feet to prevent him from slipping and plunging into the deep abyss below.

The men directed all their illumination beams toward the base of the rock wall, yet the light was still insufficient to clearly pierce the depths. Down below, there was no sound to be heard, nor was there any trace of Zhang Can and Su Xue, who had fallen.

Zheng Dabao was likewise in a state of utter turmoil. He knew how deeply Wang Qian cared for his beloved niece. Of the two people who had fallen, one was his direct nephew-in-law's—wait, his sister's daughter—and the other was his dearest friend. Seeing the expression on Wang Qian's face, Zheng Dabao knew immediately that disaster had struck. He could never have imagined that such a catastrophe would occur!

The bodyguard who had gone up to fetch equipment and summon help moved with extreme speed. Although the ascent usually took an hour and a half, he had run up in just half an hour. Upon hearing the news, the men at the top panicked, grabbed all available ropes and lighting equipment, and rushed back down. The descent was even faster, taking less than half an hour.

However, the round trip up and down had taken nearly an hour. For them, it was undeniably the fastest possible time. Yet for those who had fallen into the water, this elapsed time was undoubtedly fatal. Not a single person could survive being submerged in water for an entire hour.

As soon as the reinforcement party arrived, Wang Qian cried out urgently, "Get the ropes out immediately!"

Wang Qian's voice kept trembling incessantly. In truth, there was no need for him to give the command; the others had already taken out the ropes. However, their specialized mountaineering ropes were typically only thirty meters long, because excessively long ropes naturally added weight, and for them, added weight translated to increased difficulty in climbing the mountain.

They used connecting carabiners to link the segments together. Since the true height of the cliff was unknown and mere estimation was clearly inadequate, all the ropes were connected to avoid wasting any time, reaching a total length of approximately two hundred and fifty meters. This type of specialized climbing rope had a load-bearing capacity of five hundred kilograms, meaning it could support the weight of six or seven sturdy adult men.

Zheng Dabao and his subordinates hurriedly anchored the end of the rope to the rock face. To guarantee absolute safety, they established five anchor points on the rock. Ordinarily, during their climbs, they only set up two safety anchors; here, to achieve the utmost level of safety, an anchor was placed every single meter, totaling five anchors. Fundamentally, safety was now completely assured.

Without a second thought, Wang Qian grabbed a safety harness and moved to clip it onto the rope. Zheng Dabao and Wang Qian's bodyguards instinctively snatched the safety carabiner away from him. Given the circumstances, not only did Wang Qian lack their robust physical stamina, but how could they possibly allow him to take such a risk by descending?

Especially Wang Qian's seven bodyguards, who were elites selected from the nation's special forces. Their paramount training emphasized loyalty to the country and the people, and failure was never an option. Protecting Wang Qian was their primary mission; if something were to happen to him, how could they ever fulfill their duty?

Venturing down into the hazard was naturally their responsibility. If Wang Qian were to suffer any harm, it was a consequence they could never accept.

Zheng Dabao waved his hand, and two of his subordinates moved simultaneously to restrain Wang Qian, preventing him from attaching the harness. Turning to Wang Qian's seven bodyguards, Zheng Dabao said, "If you are going down, I suggest only about four of you descend first. Because the rope is so long, the load must be reduced. For safety's sake, cutting the weight-bearing load in half is the wisest course. Since we don't know the conditions below, proceed with the utmost caution. Please prepare yourselves."

The four descending bodyguards were each equipped with communication devices. These transceivers functioned exceptionally well within a range of five hundred meters, and a mountaineering team would naturally carry such gear. However, because they had not split into separate groups during this trip, they had used them very few times, and upon reaching the absolute bottom of this deep cavern, the communicators were useless, as communication between the upper tier of the cave and this lower level was entirely impossible.

Wang Qian's eyes were bloodshot. Knowing that the bodyguards and Zheng Dabao would never permit him to descend, he gripped the hands of the four departing men tightly. Choking back tears, he said, "Xiao Chen, there were eight of you who came this time, and now only seven remain. I have always looked upon all of you as my own family. I have no misgivings about letting you go down. All I want to say is... while searching for Su Xue and Zhang Can, you must ensure your own safety as well..."

At this, Wang Qian choked up even further, holding the bodyguards' hands with a profound sense of anguish.

Zheng Dabao could only offer silent comfort to Wang Qian. Without the slightest hesitation, the four bodyguards swiftly locked their safety carabiners, equipped themselves with individual lighting units, and fitted waterproof headlamp caps. Because the lower depths would be even darker and they might need to conduct searches directly in the water, everything had to be prepared in advance to avoid the catastrophic waste of time that would result from having to ascend again for forgotten supplies.

Zheng Dabao instructed several of his men to drive additional pitons into the rock, then secured the four men with safety carabiners linked to the main ropes, ensuring that no one near the precipice's edge needed to worry about falling. Once the four men below rescued the survivors and brought them back up, these anchoring measures would be essential for hauling them to safety.

The four bodyguards slid down the ropes one after another at a moderate pace. Wang Qian, Zheng Dabao, and the others pressed against the edge of the cliff, watching intently. While lighting the depths from above offered poor visibility, observing the four men directly was quite clear; each individual carried two lamps—one on their head and another strapped to their waist—making it easy to track their descent against the slick rock face.

The cliff had originally been estimated to be roughly a hundred meters high. As Xiao Chen, the leading bodyguard, called out their progress upon reaching the fourth rope junction, they had already covered a distance close to a hundred meters. Yet the four points of light had only descended slightly past the halfway mark, still short of two-thirds of the total distance.

Throughout this process, the four men below maintained constant contact with those above to provide reassurance, and more importantly, because Wang Qian desperately awaited news of Su Xue and Zhang Can.

After descending another dozen meters or so, Xiao Chen reported once more, "There is still about twenty meters left between us and the water's surface. We can see the water quite clearly now. From our vantage point, however, the surface is completely still, with no ripples, and we see no sign of Zhang Can or Miss Su."

Wang Qian hastily called out, "Look closely! Check the surrounding areas as well. You must find them both!"

"Understood, rest assured, Mr. Wang. We will do our utmost to search for young Mr. Zhang and Miss Su," Xiao Chen replied immediately.

Watching the four specks of light continue their downward journey, the watchers above could no longer discern details; they could only see the four glowing points. The darkness below was so profound that panoramic visibility was impossible, and when the flashlight beams swept across the subterranean pool, the water appeared completely black.

Zhu Forest's heart was gripped with a terror that rose to his throat. He stared blankly down the cliff, a tumult of conflicting emotions raging within him. Everything had been going so well; despite the physical exertion of the trip, the rewards were immense. The value of the two diamonds was equivalent to winning the grand prize in a lottery. Yet with disaster befalling Zhang Can, everything was instantly nullified. Could the Old Stone Studio, devoid of Zhang Can, ever continue to generate such vast fortunes as it had in the past?

The answer was a definitive no!

Zhu Forest could not help but internally curse Wang Qian once again. Why on earth did they have to come to such a godforsaken place? Had they stayed in Jincheng—or anywhere else in the country or the world—they could have continued to amass great wealth, living comfortable and leisurely lives. Money, beauty, whatever they desired was within reach. But now? Their road to riches had abruptly hit a dead end.

Although he had only known Zhang Can for about a month, Zhang Can had miraculously brought Zhu Forest immense wealth, swelling his total assets to several times what they had been before. Naturally, no one would ever refuse money, and no one ever felt they had enough. Thus, Zhu Forest still yearned for even greater financial riches.

Yet Zhang Can's accident completely severed Zhu Forest's dreams.

Xiao Chen and his three companions descended the cliff face, every inch of the journey laborious and exhausting. Having zero knowledge of the environment below, they dared not slide down freely, and the rock wall was dangerously slick, forcing them to proceed with extreme caution.

When they were only seven or eight meters above the water, Xiao Chen and the others could finally clearly inspect the terrain directly before them. A vast expanse of pitch-black water lay motionless, exuding an eerie, profound solitude without the slightest ripple.

Furthermore, the surface area of this subterranean pool was astonishingly large, making it hard to comprehend that they were still inside a mountain. After descending for over an hour through winding tunnels drilled deep into the rock from above, how could such a massive underground body of water possibly exist?

Halting near the water's surface, Xiao Chen, positioned at the lowest point, briefly consulted the other three soldiers. He then handed three of the illumination lamps to the soldier highest up on the rope, who would use them from the rock wall to illuminate the area for the remaining three. Meanwhile, Xiao Chen and the other two would enter the water to investigate firsthand.

To ensure their safety, Xiao Chen and his two companions each tethered themselves to the main descent rope using much thinner secondary cords they carried.

Though slender, these cords possessed sufficient tensile strength to support their weight. Designed for portability, they were lightweight and slightly thicker than fishing line; a two-meter length weighed only about half a kilogram, yet could withstand a pulling force of one hundred kilograms.

Furthermore, at one end of these thin lines—specifically attached to each of their bodies—was a compact mechanical retrieval device. With a simple press of a switch, the mechanism would automatically wind the cord, hauling their bodies back to the main ropes along the cliff wall.

Before entering the water, Xiao Chen tested the temperature. It was freezing, roughly two or three degrees Celsius, though certainly much warmer than the sub-zero temperatures outside, which must have plummeted to minus thirty or forty degrees.

Even at this temperature, Xiao Chen and his men knew they could not remain in the water for more than ten minutes without risking severe hypothermia and losing their capacity to function. They had to preserve enough physical mobility to trigger the motorized winches and pull themselves back up the cliff.

While reporting the situation to Wang Qian up above, Xiao Chen instructed the other two soldiers entering the water: "Everyone must exercise caution. Our initial limit for entering the water is ten minutes, but judge your own limits. If you reach a point where you cannot endure it before the ten minutes are up, immediately activate the mechanical winch to return and leave the water. Do not try to push through it. Remember, this is not something to endure; if you freeze solid, the situation becomes infinitely worse."

Because neither Zhang Can nor Su Xue could be seen from the water's surface, and not a single trace of movement could be detected, Xiao Chen felt a heavy weight pressing upon his heart. To be frank, falling from such an immense height—even without freezing—would generate an impact sufficient to render someone unconscious. Plunging into the water thereafter would result in death within two to three minutes; effectively, a person would drown unconsciously, completely devoid of sensation!