Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Old Five pulled a cold flare from his leg pouch, lit it, and tossed it into the cave. The flare illuminated the chamber as it flew in, but after offering them a fleeting glimpse, it abruptly extinguished.

"Better not go in," he advised. "It died out too quickly."

Everyone had witnessed the flare's behavior. Their cold flares were custom-ordered by Old Five, designed to burn for over five minutes given sufficient oxygen. The sudden, unannounced extinguishing of the flare after being thrown in indicated that at that depth, the cave lacked adequate oxygen density and likely contained various harmful gases.

Not only humans but most animals would be unable to survive under such conditions.

Second Brother and Third Brother both turned to Old Four. Third Brother asked, "Are you certain the red fox's den is here, Old Four?"

"Absolutely, I saw that fox run in with my own eyes!" Old Four declared confidently. "And I already went in to check—there's no problem at all... Old Five, is there something wrong with your light?"

Hearing this, Old Five grew suspicious himself. He lit another cold flare and tossed it in. A strange glint flickered in Old Four's eyes. The other three intently watched the flare's trajectory; this time, it didn't extinguish, continuing to burn steadily after landing.

Third Brother looked at Old Five.

Old Five rubbed his head, a little sheepishly, "Huh? This one really is faulty! I'll go back and settle accounts with the seller..."

Old Four smiled and said, "Now we can go in, right?"

Second Brother suddenly looked at him, "You seem very keen for us to enter?"

"Oh, come on!" Old Four explained, "We're talking hundreds of thousands here! Who doesn't have financial difficulties at home?"

Otherwise, why would we risk our lives for this money? What isn't there in the mountains? Tigers, bears, leopards—they're manageable; a few shots and they'll submit, willing or not. But the true dangers are the small things: swarms of mosquitoes, insects that might bite you at any moment with lethal venom, venomous snakes hidden in trees or grass, carnivorous wasps—any one of them could lead to an undeserved death.

"Alright, Second Brother, enough talk, let's go in quickly!" Old Four urged again.

Third Brother nodded, "Let's go, everyone be careful."

Seeing he couldn't avoid it, Old Five pulled out a collection of small tools from his bag. First, he used a spray bottle to mist everyone. Second Brother and Third Brother instinctively turned in the spray, ensuring the liquid coated their bodies. When Old Five sprayed towards Old Four, Old Four stepped back, frowned, and said, "What's that strange smell? It's a bit nauseating. I'll skip it."

Old Five looked at Old Four in surprise—this was a specialized repellent for venomous insects, snakes, and ants, an exclusive concoction he'd bought from a local folk doctor who refused to share the recipe, only selling the finished product. It was incredibly expensive; a small bottle cost eight thousand yuan, supposedly containing some now-banned ingredients, without which the effect couldn't be replicated. Every drop used was one less available.

But undeniably, its efficacy was remarkable; most insects and snakes detested the smell and kept their distance.

Old Five usually hoarded this item, only using it when absolutely necessary, as it was a lifesaver in critical situations. Yet Old Four had avoided it!

Old Five said little more. He distributed emergency daggers, medicine, ropes, and even simple gas masks. Second Brother and Third Brother took them, hanging them around their necks. Old Four shook his head, saying, "It's just a hole, why all the tension? Isn't it too much trouble?"

Third Brother and Second Brother both looked at Old Four. They had entered caves many times, especially those in the Little Green Mountains—what dangers weren't lurking there? Such large, deep caves were highly likely to house fierce beasts or swarms of venomous insects, compounded by potential air quality issues. In fact, the danger was far greater than exploring the mountains. Why wouldn't one prepare thoroughly? One needed to be alive to spend the money earned.

—Old Four was acting strangely.

But both men were shrewd and kept their thoughts to themselves, intending to see what Old Four was planning.

Finally, fully equipped, none of the three moved first. Old Four took the lead, stepping inside, "I'll clear the way."

The three then followed him in. The tunnel appeared deeper than the cold flare had suggested. They walked for nearly five minutes before entering the first chamber, which was about three meters high. Inside, another path led deeper, but this passage entrance was low, requiring them to crawl through—not too difficult, as it was relatively spacious, wide enough even for a larger person to pass.

Old Five lit another cold flare and threw it in. Seeing that the tunnel beyond where the flare landed remained deep, he couldn't help but murmur, "This is truly deep... Do we really need to go down?"

Even if this cave was indeed the red fox's den, capturing it alive in such terrain would be incredibly difficult. After all, they couldn't outrun a fox in such a place, so they would have to shoot, and with bad luck, kill it with a single shot.

Third Brother deliberated for a moment, "Let's go one level deeper and see what the situation is like."

If the next level presented the same conditions, they should abandon the mission. After all, this wasn't a rabbit hole, small and narrow enough to smoke out a rabbit. If they tried smoking out this cave, they'd probably need tons of fuel.

"Alright." Old Four was the first to get on his hands and knees and crawl in. Old Five sighed. With Old Four leading, Second Brother would naturally take the rear. He followed Old Four in, with Third Brother close behind, and Second Brother last.

Crawling on their bellies, their progress was inherently slow, but the tunnel grew progressively narrower the deeper they went. Old Five, burdened with the most gear, struggled to crawl. He couldn't help but ask Old Four ahead, "Old Four, aren't we there yet? Can you see the exit up front?"

"I crawled through this part earlier too. Just another thirty meters, and it's the exit," Old Four replied.

Old Five had no choice but to continue crawling. Suddenly, a dull thud echoed in the tunnel, and Old Five found himself immobilized. He looked back and saw that his equipment was snagged on a protruding rock. Groping for his small pickaxe, he said, "Wait a moment, I'm stuck."

Generally, rocks in caves are heavily weathered, so in theory, a few forceful strikes with a small pickaxe should dislodge it. Old Five struck the rock over a dozen times, but the rocky projection remained unyielding, only shedding a bit of rock dust. It seemed it wouldn't break off.

The passage was too narrow now for anyone to get past and help him. He had no choice but to reach back and try to free his equipment himself. As he struggled, his arm pressed against his chest, constricting his breathing. Sweat dripped from his forehead, blurring his vision, and he blinked hard.

Ahead, Old Four asked, "Not done yet?"

"Almost," Old Five replied, looking up. The light on his head swayed, dazzling him. He blinked again, trying to see more clearly, when suddenly he noticed that Old Four's legs seemed like some kind of soft-bodied creature. But with another blink, they were just legs again.

Old Four started crawling forward again. After he moved some distance, a draft of fresh air indeed flowed in. Old Four's voice came from far away, "I'm out. Hurry up."

Old Five finally managed to free the equipment from the rock. He forcefully shifted it from his back to his front and was about to crawl forward when a hand grabbed his ankle. Puzzled, he said, "Third Brother?"

Third Brother tapped his leg three times.

This was their agreed-upon signal, used when speaking or typing was inconvenient. Three taps meant "danger, be alert." In the current situation, it almost explicitly warned Old Five to be wary of Old Four.

Old Five lightly tapped Old Four's arm with his foot, indicating he understood.

Old Four was acting strangely, and everyone had noticed.

To be honest, if Old Four hadn't led them into this cave, they would have suspected he had switched sides and reported them to the police—though it wasn't far off. Now they suspected Old Four was planning a double-cross.

Perhaps during the time they were separated, he had already captured the target and didn't want to share the profits, so he decided to lead them into this cave to kill them—after all, if they died here, even their bones might never be found.

Old Five continued crawling forward. As the one responsible for equipment, he was the weakest in combat, so he had some self-defense gear, such as three wrist-darts on his arm that could be launched with a press of a mechanism, tipped with anesthetic.

Soon, Old Five saw light ahead. He took a deep breath but then frowned—the smell in the cave was unpleasant. He hadn't noticed it earlier, but now, closer, he caught a foul, fishy stench.

It was hard to describe—not like decay, just purely foul, somewhat like the smell of stink bugs mixed with fish from childhood.

Perhaps there was a lot of water inside?

Old Five suddenly considered this.

"Still dawdling?" Old Four called from outside. Old Five responded and crawled forward, finally emerging from the tunnel. He felt a sense of relief wash over him. Looking at Old Four, he complained, "Old Four, why didn't you warn me? It was so tight; I almost got stuck to death in there!"

Old Four said, "You've gained weight, man. Can't blame me."

Old Five chuckled. Soon, Third Brother and Second Brother also emerged. Only then did they have time to look around. It was just another cave chamber, full of oddly shaped rocks, nothing special. Old Four pointed ahead and said, "I only reached this point earlier. There's a cliff cave up front, at least twenty or thirty meters deep."

A "cliff cave" refers to a shaft that drops straight down, like a cliff, generally impossible to traverse by human strength alone. Tools are needed to drive pitons into the rock wall for rope access—excluding those reckless enough to simply jump.

The three followed Old Four forward. After about five minutes, they saw the cliff cave ahead—pitch black and plunging straight down to an unknown depth.

Third Brother stared into the chasm, "Let's go back. There's no need to go down."

With such a sheer drop and no footholds, this type of cliff cave usually led to the top of another chamber at the bottom. This meant that if one were to jump from above, there was a high probability of falling several to tens of meters into an unsupported void below.

No matter what, a fox couldn't possibly jump up and down from this cave unless it were a flying demon.

"We're already here, why not go down and take a look? Who knows, we might find some treasure," Old Four said.

Third Brother frowned. "Don't do anything reckless."

"It smells really foul down there," Old Five added. "Fourth Brother, what are you thinking? There's probably an underground river below. A fox couldn't possibly jump up and down from here. What, are you planning to hand over some discovered animal to the state for a commendation?"

Second Brother, who had been standing silently behind Old Four, suddenly stepped forward and pressed a sharp dagger against Old Four's neck. "Cut it out!" he warned.

Feeling the cold steel on his neck, Old Four's head suddenly rotated 180 degrees, his neck twisting like a corkscrew. He stared directly at Second Brother with a bizarre smile. "Oh? You're all too clever..."

In the next instant, the thin human skin tore apart, and a slimy, grayish-brown creature burst through it. Its mouth opened and closed, revealing golden, ring-like teeth as it let out a creepy giggle. "Aiya, I was planning to save you all to eat slowly!"

"Jump down, quick! You won't die. My children are all down there—they'll catch you~"

The three men's pupils contracted in horror. Second Brother recoiled three steps. They couldn't hear its voice, but that didn't lessen their astonishment at the scene before them. The creature writhed, its mouth gaping wide as it lunged toward Second Brother.

"Bang—!"

A gunshot rang out. The creature froze, then slowly turned its head to see Third Brother holding a gun, unblinking as he emptied the entire clip.

"Bang! Bang! Bang—!"