The senior executive looked at the group, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Old Li, for this cave exploration, you will each select two people, and we will each select two. You decide on your team, and I will decide on our team."
Li Jinlong nodded, then turned around and called Li Feihu, Wang Dagui, and Li Quan aside to discuss something in a low voice.
The senior executive looked at the group of people and, after a moment's thought, said to Zhou Xuan, "Xiao Zhou, the two of us... let's go."
Zhou Xuan knew what the Lan executives were thinking, because only he could guard against that kind of deadly thing, and no one else knew this secret, not even Li Yong and Fang Jianjun.
Fu Ying pulled Zhou Xuan aside and said directly, "I disagree."
Wei Haihong was also somewhat worried. Looking at the bottomless cave was truly terrifying. He had experienced many major events and seen many grand scenes, but he had never experienced anything as terrifying as going down into a sinkhole or entering an underground river. He couldn't help but worry.
Zhou Xuan bit her lip and thought for a moment before speaking up: "I'll go down. Although the hole is very deep, the chickens we put in are fine and alive. The kerosene lamp is also on, which proves that it's ventilated. Let's go down and check it out first. It shouldn't be as scary as we think. Don't worry."
It's impossible not to worry. Sinkholes are inherently frightening, especially those with particularly deep entrances, which only amplify the fear.
Both Li Yong and Fang Jianjun wanted to replace Lan's senior management and compete for the remaining spot.
The senior executive understood what they meant; they didn't want him to take the risk first. He smiled and shook his head, saying, "I've already decided. I'll have Ling Hui notify the bureau to expedite the delivery of pulleys and antifreeze suits. Then you can come down. Hehe, judging from the video, there's no danger."
Ling Hui quickly called Director Wu to explain the situation and their needs. Director Wu told them to wait a moment, and he would immediately send people to deliver supplies.
The longest steel wire pulley is one kilometer, which is just right for going down this hole. If it were another hundred meters deep, it wouldn't be enough.
Li Jinlong and his nephew Li Feihu had also made arrangements, and it was decided that he and Li Jinlong would go down alone.
Once the agreement was reached, Lan Gaofeng, Zhou Xuan, Li Jinlong, and Li Feihu began to lock the steel wire rope buckles, put on waterproof backpacks containing necessary equipment, and even some food and drinking water.
Li Jinlong and Li Feihu also carried the tools they used in their line of work. Zhou Xuan, of course, didn't know what they were, as he had never robbed a tomb before.
Originally, the Wang brothers, Qiang and Sheng, wanted to go down first, but firstly, they were not as familiar with the area as Li Jinlong and his group, and secondly, the decision was made by the higher-ups in the Blue Army, so they could only wait.
Wei Xiaoqing is a girl who likes to join in on fun things, but she is still afraid of something as dangerous and frightening as this. She doesn't know the other people, so she isn't worried, but Zhou Xuan is going down with her, so she can't help but worry.
Fu Ying stubbornly clung to Zhou Xuan, who felt both love and pity for her. He sighed and said, "Yingying, don't worry. You saw it in the video, didn't you? There's no danger. Besides, if you're really worried, wait a bit, and when the police bring over the equipment, you can come down with them. How about that?"
Fu Ying then released her hand. Although she didn't speak, she just... 8. o... a different experience!
Li Jinlong was the first to go down into the cave. He was wearing a safety helmet, had the high-intensity light switch on the helmet on, and, with his feet on the rock wall and his hands wearing special gloves, he entered the cave while holding onto the steel cable.
Li Jinlong also had a red cloth wrapped around his waist, which fluttered in the air.
This is the same as the original meaning: red cloth is meant to ward off evil spirits, but Zhou Xuan felt it was even more frightening.
The second one to go down was Li Feihu. Li Feihu was big and strong. Because he often did tomb raiding, he was also very bold and did not show any fear.
The third one is a high-ranking official from the Blue Army. Look at his movements as he went down. He was very skilled and agile, even more decisive and efficient than Li Jinlong and his nephew.
Zhou Xuan was the last to go down. He was the only one whose movements were clumsy and slow as he descended the rock wall. Then he looked up and waved to Fu Ying, Wei Haihong, and Wei Xiaoqing above the cave entrance, and smiled.
After falling another forty or fifty meters, the people at the cave entrance could no longer see Zhou Xuan clearly, only a tiny bit of light. A few minutes later, even that tiny bit of light disappeared.
Li Yong and Fang Jianjun immediately asked everyone to step back a little, and also picked up the stones near the cave entrance and threw them behind them to prevent them from falling and hitting the people below, as falling stones from such a height could be fatal.
Li Jinlong and Li Feihu, uncle and nephew, were not as skilled with pulleys as Lan Gaofeng. They were used to using ropes because even in a deep tomb, a hundred or so meters of rope would be enough, unlike this cave which was thousands of meters long!
Things that are rarely used are naturally less familiar to use. The Blue executives were clearly very skilled, and the decline in their position was natural and swift.
Fortunately, Zhou Xuan had some experience in the United States, and he gradually became more skilled when he was sliding down to a hundred or two meters, and his speed gradually increased.
As you go deeper into the cave, it becomes more spacious, and the diameter of the cave increases to about four or five meters.
However, it took almost an hour to descend to the bottom of the cave, which is nearly a thousand meters deep.
When you reach the bottom, the opening is about ten meters wide, and all four sides are natural stone walls. It was definitely not carved by humans, and such a depth could not have been achieved by human hands.
As soon as Li Jinlong reached the bottom, he softly said, "I've reached the bottom!"
Although he spoke softly, a series of replies echoed from inside the cave: "It's at the bottom, it's at the bottom, it's at the bottom!"
Although it was Li Jinlong's own voice, it gave everyone a chilling feeling.
The four of them went down to the bottom one after another. The Blue High-Ranking Officer adjusted the walkie-talkie, tried it out, and spoke, but there was no response from above.
Somewhat strangely, the Blue higher-ups had Li Jinlong and his nephew, as well as Zhou Xuan, each take a walkie-talkie and try it out. It didn't work when communicating with the higher-ups, but it worked for the four of them inside the cave.
The senior executive said, "Forget about it, maybe we're too far away. Everyone, let's wait and see how things go."
All four of them turned on their bright lights and looked around at the environment at the bottom of the cave.
The cave floor covers an area of about 20 to 30 square meters. There are extended caves on the east and west sides, but no caves on the north and south sides; they are just stone walls.
The cave to the west blew out strong, cold air, while the cave to the east was warm.
The bottom of the cave is also a 30-degree slope, with the lower side being the western black hole that blows air.
The eastern entrance to the cave is about three meters high, and above the entrance are the five characters "Nine Turns and Eighteen Caves" that I saw in the video.
Li Jinlong unfastened the steel wire lock, pointed the overhead flashlight at the cave entrance to the west, and went to take a look. The entrance was much lower, only a little over a meter high. Li Jinlong crouched down and peered inside. It was an underground river with a rapid current, pitch black, and he couldn't tell how deep it was. The downstream section on the right was full, and there were no gaps in the cave. On the upstream section on the left, there was about half a foot of space between the water surface and the rocks above. The cold air was blowing out from this space.
Li Jinlong remained frozen for only a minute or two, his face feeling as if it had been chilled by the winter wind, cold and painful, and he quickly stepped back.
The rocks underground were smooth and clean, without a single stone. Presumably, any stones thrown down or falling from above had rolled into the underground river and been washed away, which is why the underground was so smooth and clean.
Li Jinlong gathered Zhou Xuanlan and several other high-ranking officials together, and then they entered the entrance of the Nine Turns and Eighteen Caves. The ancestor pointed in this direction, but this was the only feasible route; the Yinhe Cave to the west was impassable.
After entering the cave entrance to the east, the cave gradually widened. After advancing fifty or sixty meters, the space suddenly expanded, like entering a large hall of five or six hundred square meters. Stalagmites rose vertically from the ceiling, reaching a height of thirty or forty meters. These sharp, vertical stalagmites resembled large nails. Zhou Xuan wondered if they might fall down and nail him to the head. (To find out what happens next, please log in to [website name] for more chapters. Support the author and read the original version!)
Volume 1, Chapter 98: The First Hole