Chapter 139: The Interconnected Cave

I remained silent for a moment before turning to Guo Fan. "Brother Fan, I understand what you mean. It's fine. If you don't want to get mixed up in this muddy water, I will still pay you in full, and you can leave right now. I won't have any objections. But if you choose to stay with me, I'll double your pay. To put it bluntly, if the worst happens and I don't make it back, I'll leave half a million to your family as compensation."

Things had already reached this point; there was no turning back for me. Besides, given my current situation, what else did I have to hesitate or worry about? But these men were different—they were just trying to earn a living. While danger was part of the deal, no one would throw their lives away for money if the situation became mortally perilous. I understood this perfectly.

Guo Fan fell silent, glanced at me once more, gritted his teeth, and said, "I'm in! But I have one condition. I need to tell Liu Dong. Whether he wants in is up to him, but if he joins, I want his compensation and terms to be the same as mine. If this works out, I'm putting my life in your hands."

I nodded without saying anything. After all, money didn't hold much value for me anymore. If I could use money to recruit a few men who dared to fight tooth and nail, it would be well worth it.

A short while later, Guo Fan brought Liu Dong over to me. Liu Dong appeared remarkably calm and smiled as he said, "Boss, Brother Fan told me everything. This is no big deal. I've run into all sorts of tough situations before; the worst that can happen is death. With the sum you've promised, it's worth it. The fact that you let Brother Fan tell me about this shows you think highly of me as a brother. Say no more—whatever you want us to do, I, Dongzi, am in."

The corners of my lips curled up in satisfaction. My mood improved, and I patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "Don't worry, just wait and see how things turn out. I am definitely not the kind of person to treat my men poorly. However, absolutely none of this can be mentioned to the others."

Guo Fan and Liu Dong both nodded, fully understanding the implications. Besides, the other three men weren't very close to them, so there was no need to worry about their feelings. My own concern was that once the others were let in on the plan, variables would inevitably arise. After all, human hearts were the hardest things to predict. Furthermore, for some reason, I felt the other three men were far less reliable than Guo Fan and Liu Dong, who still retained the discipline of former soldiers.

I raised my binoculars again to survey the bustling scene below, contemplating my next move while searching for any sign of Li Ling. Yet, no matter how hard I looked, she was nowhere to be found. Could it be... A sudden possibility crossed my mind: had Li Ling already entered that cave?

The more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed. But how on earth were we supposed to get down into that cave?

That was the real dilemma. The entrance was right down there, but the moment we charged down, we'd likely be riddled with bullets like a sieve. I wasn't arrogant enough to think my handful of men could simply storm the cavern. Besides, aside from Guo Fan and Liu Dong, it remained a question whether the other fellows would be willing to risk their lives with me.

With that thought, I began to fret. So far, no matter what strategy I considered, there was no bypassing that cave entrance. Yet the guards below were heavily fortified, and their numbers were not insignificant. Through the binoculars, I estimated there were around twenty or thirty armed guards. Combined with the workers and a few individuals who appeared to be overseers, the total workforce down there numbered roughly fifty or sixty people.

Right at that moment, Three-Slice Melon let out a puzzled sound. "Huh?"

I glanced at him and asked what was wrong. He replied, "Boss, are you trying to get in there?"

I looked at him in surprise and nodded. Three-Slice Melon suddenly broke into a grin and told me he had a way. Taken aback, I found it hard to believe; the rest of us had been racking our brains trying to figure out how to infiltrate the cave without coming up with any good solutions, yet Three-Slice Melon claimed he had a method.

Sensing my skepticism, Three-Slice Melon hurriedly explained, "I used to come around this area a lot. I know a few spots that lead right into their cave network. They should connect underground."

He spoke with such haste that we could barely catch his meaning. I gestured for him to slow down and not rush. Taking a breath, Three-Slice Melon elaborated: this entire region lay at the heart of Dragon Head Mountain. There were numerous tree hollows and hidden pits scattered across the mountain—relics of a bygone era whose exact period of origin was unknown. They might have been dug by minor historical states as places of refuge, which was entirely normal, as many small polities had occupied the surrounding lands in ancient times. Three-Slice Melon had mentioned this to me ever since we entered the mountains, though I hadn't paid much attention back then.

Since those minor states were constantly at war, many villagers and small factions would excavate hidden pits and tunnels in the mountains to escape disasters and seek shelter. Three-Slice Melon had just used the binoculars to inspect the small opening on the cliffside below, and he was certain it wasn't drilled by geological surveyors. Rather, it had to be either a natural cavern or a refuge tunnel carved out by ancient people. Most of the various caves at the foot of the mountain interconnected. Judging by the direction, Three-Slice Melon believed we could loop into that target cave through alternative passages. Of course, he had only ever crawled into them briefly in the past, without going very deep, so he couldn't be entirely sure. Moreover, the caves inside the mountain wound back and forth, and many artificially dug tunnels connected with hollow trees, making it extremely easy for anyone entering to get lost.

I remained torn over whether to trust Three-Slice Melon. My worry wasn't the hidden tunnels or tree hollows he described—after all, we lacked any better alternatives—but rather the labyrinthine complexity of those subterranean passages. Getting lost down there would not only cause trouble but also waste a tremendous amount of time.

I was never a person prone to indecision. Since no other options remained, why not give it a try? It was certainly better than continuing to wait idly, and my time was exceptionally precious.

Thus, Three-Slice Melon led us around to the back of the mountain. After hiking for about half an hour, we reached our destination, and he immediately set to work searching for the aforementioned hidden cave. After about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, Three-Slice Melon finally called out in excitement, "Found it! I found it! I just checked a few holes and took a look around. Judging by the direction, there's a very high probability we can get through."

Before I could say anything, Guo Fan interjected, "Keep your voice down! Watch the volume!"

Only then did Three-Slice Melon realize he had shouted too loudly. He hastily choked off his exclamation, trotted over to us, and added that while he had found a few other openings earlier, they turned out to be shallow, dead-end shafts.