AWB Chapter 1918 It really was an old lady sneaking into bed, but the old man startled her.
Chapter 1918 It really was an old lady sneaking into bed, but the old man startled her.
The beam of the powerful flashlight cleared a path in the darkness, and Li Xiangnan bent down and crawled into the cave.
Wang Defa and Song Ziming followed closely behind, like two silent shadows.
Zhang Long and Zhao Hu also rushed in without hesitation.
"Old Wei, you stay here and tell everyone to gather as many clues as possible, including the technical team and Old Wang. I'll be right back!"
Guo Qian gritted his teeth, waved his hand, gave Wei Jingfei a few instructions, and then shouted, "Xiao Liu, take a few men and come with me to protect Consultant Li and the others. Be sure to capture any possible culprits! Let's go!"
The situation inside the cave was worse than expected.
Li Xiangnan had been this way before, up to the cave that was attacked yesterday. Li Xiangnan, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu had all traversed this path, so they were moving very quickly ahead.
Even so, it took them about ten minutes to walk this short stretch of road.
The shockwave from the explosion not only destroyed the mechanism, but also caused landslides in many places within the passage, with rubble and mud blocking parts of the path.
The air was thick with the strange smell of gunpowder smoke, dust, and chemical residue, making it difficult to breathe.
Guo Qian had no choice but to go back and ask Lao Wei for a few entrenching tools so that the air inside could be exchanged.
Otherwise, if there are too many people in this passage, the air is already thin, and with the addition of various complex air components, people will quickly become dizzy due to lack of oxygen and decreased vitality.
They walked with extreme caution, because the explosion had affected the mountainside, and loose soil and rocks were constantly falling from above their heads.
The group continued walking, dealing with the landslide, and feeling their way forward.
Relying on his memories of yesterday and his exceptional sense of direction, Li Xiangnan led everyone through the twisted and broken passage.
I passed by the place where I had discovered someone spying on me yesterday, and I also used my flashlight to scan every corner, looking for any possible clues.
Unfortunately, the person was probably quite alert and didn't leave any clues.
The group had no choice but to continue forward.
The passage meanders, seemingly descending all the way, yet occasionally it appears strangely flat, and there is a long, winding section that seems to be circling around some area.
The tunnels here utilized some natural caves, and also included many man-made areas. The deeper they went, the more everyone, including Li Xiangnan, felt the terrifying nature of the project.
This is not a project that can be completed in just a few months; it would be extremely difficult to take shape in less than three to five years.
The more this happened, the stronger Li Xiangnan's premonition became.
At the end of this road lies a crucial secret.
"call……"
The flashlight beam suddenly flickered slightly. Li Xiangnan subconsciously patted his hand, sensing that the group's pace had slowed down, so he paused and asked, "Captain Guo, how long have we been walking?"
"Three...three and a half hours!"
"Three hours?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangnan was startled. He squatted down and looked back, finding Defa with a bitter expression and Xiao Liu rubbing his legs. He waved his hand to signal everyone to stop and took out cigarettes from his pocket to distribute to the group.
Zhang Long and Zhao Hu also silently smoked, but their eyes were warily scanning those around them, fully fulfilling their duties as henchmen.
Song Ziming asked in alarm, "Brother Nan, how far did you go yesterday? How come we're still not at the end?"
Li Xiangnan shook his head, also somewhat puzzled.
Guo Qian reached the front, his forehead covered in sweat, and exclaimed, "Advisor Li, this project is no small feat! In this respect, this young master is quite something; this isn't something a simple group of people could dig through! Just maintaining this group of people requires considerable strength!"
Li Xiangnan neither confirmed nor denied this statement.
A passage that takes three and a half hours to reach its end is not something that an ordinary small-time boss can control!
He reached out and touched the cave wall, looking at the marks of axe and chisel, and said solemnly, "This passage has existed for at least several decades!"
"hiss!"
Everyone was alarmed.
Guo Qian took Li Xiangnan's flashlight to take pictures, only to find that it was completely out of power. He then handed over his own flashlight and exclaimed, "Even the flashlight is out of power! Are we... possibly in the city now?"
Li Xiangnan silently calculated his pace and distance, and said, "Based on the normal route, we're probably in the core area of the city right now!"
"hiss!"
These words left everyone looking at each other in bewilderment!
Wang Defa exclaimed in astonishment, "It really was the old lady who got into bed and was startled by the old man!"
Li Xiangnan patted him on the shoulder, stood up, and said, "Let's go! We might have to walk for a while longer!"
Everyone hurriedly got up. They didn't know how long they had walked, but everyone's stomachs were empty. They checked their watches and found that more than two hours had passed.
Finally, as the last flashlight was about to run out of power, the darkness ahead seemed to end, and a faint ray of light pierced through, and the air seemed to circulate a little more.
"We're here! We're almost here, damn it!" Wang Defa's face was twitching.
"We should be close to the exit soon, everyone, keep going!" Li Xiangnan was excited, but at the same time, his vigilance was also at its peak.
The pungent smell of smoke in the air had long since faded, replaced by a peculiar odor of aged incense and rotting wood.
Guo Qian silently drew his gun and exchanged a glance with Li Xiangnan.
The two of them took the lead and quickly reached the end.
Instead of soil and rocks, there was a rough wooden wall covered with traces of insect damage.
When you shine a flashlight on it, you can see tiny gaps along the edge of the panel. The faint light and peculiar smell are coming from these gaps.
Li Xiangnan gestured for everyone to stop, then leaned closer to the wall and listened carefully.
It was deathly silent outside; there was not a sound.
Everyone had already guessed that they had entered the city, but the silence around them was extremely strange.
Li Xiangnan reached out and tentatively pushed against the wall.
"crunch-"
A very faint yet teeth-grinding scraping sound rang out, and the panel actually opened a crack inward.
It turned out to be an extremely well-hidden secret door, blending seamlessly into the surrounding earthen and rocky environment. It would be extremely difficult to discover unless you got very close!
Li Xiangnan took a deep breath, gave Guo Qian and the people behind him a careful gesture, and then suddenly pushed open the hidden door!
hum!
A strong smell, a mixture of heavy dust, old spices and rotten wood, hit me!
The blinding sunlight streamed in through the broken window frames high up, forming beams of light amidst the pervasive dust.
Tyndall effect!
Li Xiangnan was the first to step out of the hidden door and quickly looked around.
An extremely narrow space, cluttered with miscellaneous items, suddenly appeared before my eyes.
Old, faded prayer flags hung haphazardly in the corner of the wall.
Damaged prayer cushions were scattered everywhere.
Some of the ritual implements, bearing the marks of time, were covered in a thick layer of dust.
In the corner were piles of rotten wood and messy straw mats.
It turned out to be a warehouse that had been forgotten for a long time!
Li Xiangnan looked back and was even more horrified.
The place they crawled out of was actually a hidden door blocked by a heavy, worm-eaten old scripture cabinet!
"Where the hell is this?" Wang Defa followed them out, his fat face covered in dust. He covered his nose and looked around the unfamiliar surroundings in a daze.
Song Ziming followed, his eyes scanning his surroundings. He said in a low voice, "Judging from the prayer flags and ritual implements here... it should be a temple's storage room!"
temple?!
Li Xiangnan felt a chill run down his spine, and a name flashed through his mind in an instant!
“That’s right, it’s a temple!” Guo Qian stood in front of the door with the torn paper window and pointed outside.
Just as Li Xiangnan was about to step forward, he heard Guo Qian solemnly remind him, "Advisor Li, be prepared!"
"???"
Li Xiangnan was startled, a mysterious sense of astonishment suddenly welling up in his heart. He stepped to Guo Qian's side and looked outside with him. When he saw the area directly in front of him, he was suddenly shocked and got goosebumps all over his body!
The scene outside the door exploded before his eyes like a huge, silent thunderclap!
He wasn't looking elsewhere!
It was the ruins of the Mu family!