Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Entering the Secret Cave
Lu Jingming watched Huo Jingrui enter the cave and then made his way to the entrance.
Just as he was about to step onto the rope ladder, he was stopped by a soldier guarding the entrance. "Comrade, please wait a moment. Our captain said that you can only enter after he has checked for safety hazards and confirmed it’s clear."
Lu Jingming wasn’t angry; after all, they were only concerned for their safety.
Twenty minutes later, Huo Jingrui signaled to those above. After another soldier descended, Lu Jingming and the other experts were finally allowed down.
However, they hadn’t expected Jian Zhenzhu to shriek in terror almost immediately after going down, upon seeing the gruesome scene inside.
This time, even Lu Jingming was somewhat angry. They had been aware of the situation here before arriving, and there were still people in the mountains searching for this place. What if those people were nearby? Wouldn’t a scream attract them?
Both Lu Jingming and Huo Jingrui shouted simultaneously, "Shut up!"
Jian Zhenzhu quieted down upon hearing the rebuke.
Anyone lacking courage would be frightened by such a dreadful sight, but for Jian Zhenzhu, a grown man, to be so terrified was quite uncommon.
Besides, he wasn’t the only one who had entered; many others were accompanying him.
Soon, they arrived before the room with the door made of special material. Yunyi said, "This is the place."
Si Huaida stepped forward and examined it closely. "This door requires a password to open."
After saying that, he frowned deeply. "Forcing it open is probably not an option."
While they were still examining the door, personnel from the Armed Forces Department who had arrived next began entering the storage room for valuables under Yunyi’s guidance.
Because Yunyi had made prior arrangements in the room, they wouldn’t suspect her of taking anything, especially since there wasn’t even a single footprint inside.
After all the items were inventoried and cataloged by the personnel from the Armed Forces Department, they were carried out box by box.
However, there weren’t enough people, and it seemed the personnel from the Armed Forces Department wouldn’t be able to transport everything in one trip.
Huo Jingrui instructed the personnel from the Armed Forces Department, "When you return, bring some rice, flour, seasonings, and vegetables. There’s a place to cook in here, and that door probably won’t be cracked anytime soon."
The person in charge from the Armed Forces Department acknowledged the order and then led his men away.
After the remaining personnel from the Armed Forces Department had finished inventorying and cataloging everything in the warehouse, Yunyi thought to herself, Would handing over these valuables count as a significant achievement for me?
She had seen it earlier—twenty-four boxes of gold bars alone, and those boxes were not small. Not to mention twelve boxes of priceless jewelry, each piece a fine work of art.
Beyond that, there were also three boxes of silver dollars, five boxes of Jade Stones, eleven boxes of porcelain ornaments, and finally, the four and a half boxes of jewelry scattered on the floor.
By noon, Lu Jingming and Si Huaida had still not managed to open the door.
Their expressions were somewhat dejected.
Seeing them like this, Huo Jingrui suggested, "Why don’t you rest for a while and continue after lunch?"
Since they hadn’t rested the previous night and had worked intensely all morning, they were indeed very tired and nodded in agreement.
Soldiers brought over a few bed boards, fetched some still-usable bedding from one of the inner rooms, and spread them out, saying, "The conditions are spartan. Please make do."
Already exhausted from the rushed journey and after racking their brains for half the day, the men didn’t care who had used the bedding before; they fell asleep as soon as they touched the beds.
Yunyi found Huo Jingrui and asked, "When do we go into the mountains to search for those people?"