When I regained consciousness, I opened my eyes and the first person I saw was Fatty, with bandages wrapped around his head, tinged white and red.
Beside him was Song Bing, a cut across his face, the dried blood scab particularly striking.
Then came Fu Honglang, looking at me with concern.
Gradually, my head began to ache terribly. As I tried to touch it with my hand, Fatty stopped me, "Don't move, you're still bleeding!"
"What happened?" I managed to ask, the words difficult to form.
Fu Honglang said, "Logically, that shelf shouldn't have fallen without reason. Besides, the base of that shelf was all fixed..."
He paused and continued, "The specific reason is still unclear, but it's very likely the work of that zombie you mentioned."
"Where's Yang Ge?" I asked.
"Old Yang is picking the lock."
"Picking the lock?" I was taken aback for a moment.
"Yes, Old Yang and I found that steel door had been opened. I also smelled a woman's scent at the entrance. It's almost certainly the girl you're looking for," Fu Honglang said.
I blinked, "You mean, she went inside?"
Fu Honglang nodded, "Highly likely. We won't know the specifics until Old Yang opens the lock."
I slowly sat up from the ground. Fatty handed me a water bottle, and after taking a sip, I felt a bit better.
My head was also wrapped in bandages, suggesting I'd been hit as well.
After recovering somewhat, we quickly went to reunite with Yang Hanxue.
When we reached the steel door, we saw Yang Hanxue holding three crowbars, fiddling with something at different points of the large door.
His expression was intensely focused, and seeing this, we didn't want to disturb him.
After all, when it came to picking locks, none of us could help. He was the expert.
The lock was more difficult to open than anticipated, and Yang Hanxue had been working on it for over an hour without success.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, seeming a bit tired, and finally stopped.
Seeing this, I leaned closer and asked, "Yang Ge, this lock..."
"The lock is open, but there's a bolt behind it, propped from the inside. It will take some effort to open it."
Upon hearing this, my heart leaped with joy. Could Jiang Lingxi really have run inside?
How did she get in?
No matter how she got in, as long as she was hiding inside, she would be safe!
This steel door was very thick. I pressed my ear to the gap and called out Jiang Lingxi's name several times, but there was no response.
"Xiang, my brother, don't waste your energy. This steel door is at least ten centimeters thick. If you shout from outside, they definitely won't hear you inside," Yang Hanxue said.
I gave a wry smile, knowing it was futile, but I was still worried about Jiang Lingxi.
"Leave this door to me. In another hour at most, I'll definitely open it," Yang Hanxue said.
"Then thank you for your hard work, Yang Ge," I replied.
After that, the rest of us sat down to rest, as we couldn't offer any assistance.
I noticed Yang Hanxue's method of picking locks was quite unique. He used three crowbars, along with some steel wire he'd procured from somewhere, gently manipulating one of them.
Every so often, he would stop and ponder something.
Just like that, after an hour and ten minutes, there was a "click," and the heavy steel door was opened!
The moment it opened, the rest of us quickly stood up.
The massive steel door slowly swung open with a low hum, as if heralding something.
Behind the steel door was complete darkness; it seemed there was no power.
Before entering, I called out, "Jiang Lingxi!"
What came back was an echo, sounding as if it came from a great distance.
Yang Hanxue pulled out a glow stick and tossed it inside. We saw that the interior was empty, and in the distance, there appeared to be something large.
It wasn't very clear due to the distance.
"I'll go in first, you follow," Yang Hanxue said.
After watching him enter, the rest of us followed suit.
To be safe, I asked Song Bing to stay outside and guard.
Upon entering, I felt an extreme chill. There was no wind, yet goosebumps prickled my skin.
Yang Hanxue lit several more glow sticks and threw them in all directions, and soon we could see everything inside.
In the distance stood a colossal samurai statue, at least ten meters high, with a large base. On the samurai's head was a chrysanthemum.
Seeing this statue, I was stunned. Frankly, the impact was overwhelming.
It was as if a behemoth was looking down on us.
"Is this a god worshipped by the little Japanese pirates?" Fatty asked.
"It should be a Samurai Soul," Yang Hanxue said.
"Samurai Soul?"
"The Japanese pirates believed in Shintoism, and Shintoism generally worships their ancestors. Looking at this statue, it seems to be an ancestor of the little Japanese pirates, also known as a Samurai Soul," Yang Hanxue explained.
"Why would the little Japanese pirates make such a huge statue here?" Fatty asked.
This was also my question.
Yang Hanxue shook his head, "I'm not very clear about that..."
"What is that over there?" At this moment, Fu Honglang pointed with his flashlight at the short "pillars" beneath the statue in the distance.
Because it was some distance away, we couldn't clearly make out what they were, so we walked closer.
Only when we got there did we realize that they weren't "pillars" at all – they were all mummified corpses!
Mummified corpses knelt on the ground, one after another, in the same posture, each holding a samurai sword, seemingly in the act of seppuku.
I had heard of seppuku before, but I never expected to see it here.
Looking around, I found that there were at least a hundred such mummified corpses!
Some were standing, while others had already fallen.
Each mummified corpse was wearing a military uniform.
"Did the little Japanese pirates commit mass suicide here?" Fatty said. "I was wondering where the people who were here back then had gone. Turns out they were all here."
Looking at the pile of skeletal remains beneath the statue, it was impossible not to feel a tremor of fear.
This was practically a mass grave.
I had initially thought that behind this steel door would be hidden treasures, but I never expected to find something like this inside.
At that moment, I felt that Old Man Qu's information must have been mistaken. This wasn't the Kwantung Army's treasure at all, but merely an underground facility.
But why would such a thick steel door be used to lock it up?
Was it to prevent people from destroying it?
Or was there another purpose?