The king naturally did not want to believe Bala.
He sent two bodyguards to stay with him, constantly following Abala. He couldn't just bring two bodyguards to find Jiang Fan and the others, because he now knew Jiang Fan was definitely hiding somewhere.
He could only pretend to patrol around the laboratory with his men, while continuing his own engineering work, maintaining the normal operation of that Rubik's Cube.
However, after dealing with the shadow, Jiang Fan and the others started walking towards the gate.
"I don't know how long it will take to walk like this. Fortunately, we brought enough food. Otherwise, we might starve to death on the road."
Many things had happened along the way, so they didn't feel much time had passed. It was only on the way back that they realized how long the journey was. If they walked on foot, it would take several more days.
Moreover, they had been walking almost non-stop. When Jiang Fan left the tent, he had replenished his food again, as it was very easy to find wild vegetables and fruits in the forest.
For people who had survived in the wild for so long, such problems were not problems at all.
"It's okay. We've found what we need. We can take a break now and don't need to rush. After all, it's still quite dangerous to keep circling outside. Sometimes we really need to rest and hide."
Seeing how tired his companions were, Jiang Fan did not ask them to continue walking. Instead, he found a secluded small mountain area, located a cave within it, and hid inside.
"This cave looks quite dark. We should cover it with grass. It won't be visible from the outside at all."
After Jiang Fan and Yao Song brought Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei into the cave, they themselves went down the mountain to check how hidden the cave was. They found that it was virtually impossible for anyone to discover it, and only then did they slowly return to the mountain and re-conceal it with leaves.
After the concealment, the cave was basically invisible. If Jiang Fan and the others had not deliberately detoured here to hide, they probably wouldn't have seen it.
Finding this cave was purely a matter of luck.
"You can rest assured here. We definitely won't be found outside. As long as we have enough food, we can stay here indefinitely."
"And now we have plenty of golden dried fish, so you two won't suddenly have a mental breakdown. So please rest here for a day or two with peace of mind. When it's safe, we'll continue looking for the gate."
Hearing this, Zhou Niannian was extremely happy, because the cave seemed very large and quite clean. After a little sweeping with those leaves, they could sit directly on the ground.
"Look how suitable this place is to stay. If the conditions allowed, I would even want to stay here forever. This is simply a place for a hidden master to cultivate, and it's not much different from my flashlight."
Zhou Niannian held her flashlight, slightly dimmed the light, and shone it towards the mountain top. Suddenly, the entire cave became as bright as a light bulb, making it very comfortable and cozy to stay inside.
But just as she turned on the light, Zhou Niannian suddenly shouted.
"Help!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan immediately rushed over, came to Zhou Niannian's side, and looked at what was beside her. He found that someone was tied up behind Zhou Niannian.
"What's going on? Why is there someone here? This place is so secluded. Why is someone tied up here?"
Hearing this, the person slowly woke up. Due to the strong light, he couldn't open his eyes at all, and his knees were already festering.
It was evident that he had been kneeling here for a long time, and his lower body was basically paralyzed.
Jiang Fan frowned and walked over with Yao Song. They both held their weapons tightly. Jiang Fan swung his fire axe, preparing to strike.
"Don't worry, I can't pose any threat to you. If you're just hiding here, I recommend you go to the lower level. Someone will come here."
Hearing this, Jiang Fan was extremely surprised. He took a glance behind the person and found that there was indeed another more secluded cave. That place could be called truly invisible.
This was because the exterior of the cave had a bend, which was precisely blocked by this person. Basically, if you entered without a thorough search, you absolutely wouldn't see it.
If this person hadn't been tied up here all along, he probably wouldn't have found where the cave was.
"Who are you? Why are you tied up here? What exactly happened here? Why did it become like this?"
Hearing this, the white-haired and disheveled man on the side smiled faintly.
Seeing the man's calm demeanor, Jiang Fan realized he posed no threat to them, so he asked Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei to enter the cave with Yao Song.
Gun Gun stayed with him to guard the entrance, in case the person the man mentioned would come.
"Tell me, why were you tied up here? If you don't say anything, I can't let you go."
Hearing this, a glimmer of light appeared in the man's eyes, as if he had found a hope to survive.
"Are you serious? If I tell you the truth, can you let me go? I can guarantee that I'm not a bad person, and I'm a good person here. If you can really let me go, I will definitely thank you."
"For so many years, no one has come here by chance, except for the person who tied me here. And he also designated this place as a restricted area, not allowing anyone to enter. That's why it's so deserted."
"If you can really help me get out, I can definitely bring you corresponding benefits."
"At least I can give you some very powerful technology. I am a scientist, and everything I create is very powerful."