I asked Jiang Lingxi what she had discovered. She pointed to the cave wall and said, "This is a structural lava composite cave."
I didn't understand and asked again, "What?"
She explained to me, "A structural lava composite cave means that this place is a complex cave formed by the simultaneous action of geological structure and water erosion."
"Can you say something we can understand?" Fatty said.
Jiang Lingxi said helplessly, "In other words, the terrain where we are is very complex and extreme. Most water caves have a relatively stable course and no fault zones, while structural caves have severe fault zones."
I roughly understood what she meant and asked, "Are you saying that the waterway we're on by boat will have a waterfall ahead?"
She nodded, "Exactly!"
At this moment, Fatty discovered something and shouted, "Look at this!"
We gathered around and found a chain on the tin boat. This chain was tied to a ring on the boat and was likely meant to deal with hidden complex underground rivers.
It seemed Jiang Lingxi was right; the path ahead was definitely not smooth, otherwise, there wouldn't be this chain.
Having discovered this, I asked if we should continue forward.
Jiang Lingxi said, "Although the cave's structure is complex, if we are careful, this is also the most likely place to find an exit. After all, underground rivers eventually flow into surface rivers."
She was a professional in geological exploration, and after she said that, we could only continue forward.
The oars on the tin boat were useless; we simply pulled the boat forward by the chain.
The boat moved forward slowly. I noticed that the cave walls had become somewhat different, as if they had been coated with wax, very smooth. When the flashlight shone on them, we could faintly see some reflections.
As if sensing my curiosity, Jiang Lingxi explained to me that this was the vitrification of the rock, which formed under such conditions because of a fiery explosion that occurred here.
I was stunned and said, "Could it be that this place was blown up by the Japanese invaders?"
She said, "You're overthinking it. This kind of vitrification is usually a reaction caused by volcanic eruptions and lava flows, requiring extremely high temperatures. If there had been large-scale blasting here, this place would have collapsed long ago."
"So, does that mean there's a volcano down here?" I asked.
Jiang Lingxi nodded, "Didn't you notice that the water temperature isn't cold?"
I touched it and found it was indeed true.
She said, "There must be a volcano under this underground river, but it's probably dormant."
It wasn't strange for there to be volcanoes in the Greater Khingan Range; I had heard of the Arxan volcano group before.
At first, the current wasn't very strong, but after a short while, it became rapid.
The chain tied to the boat didn't need us to pull it; it moved on its own. The entire tin boat, as if equipped with an engine, was being pushed forward relentlessly.
Now it seemed that the chain wasn't for us to pull ourselves forward, but to be used as a brake.
To prevent any accidents, Fatty and I turned around, grabbed the chain, and let it out little by little, slowing the boat down.
However, doing this was extremely strenuous, and soon both my hands and Fatty's became sore.
Fatty asked me, "Brother Xiang, why would those Japanese invaders hide the treasure in a place like this? Don't they worry about the inconvenience of taking it out later?"
"Perhaps they didn't think that far ahead at the time," I said.
"In my opinion, if we find that treasure, we'll each take a share, and the rest will be turned over to the state."
I said with a wry smile, "So you came down here for the treasure?"
Fatty laughed, "The treasure is secondary; the main thing is that I'm worried about you."
As we were chatting aimlessly, Jiang Lingxi suddenly said, "There's something on the water!"
Upon hearing this, Fatty and I quickly held onto the chain tightly, bringing the boat to a halt.
Looking in the direction Jiang Lingxi was pointing, there was indeed an object floating on the water.
The object was in a straight line with us, floating motionless on the water.
Logically speaking, our tin boat was moving forward in the water, so how could that thing float on the water without moving?
"Let's go take a look!" I said, releasing the chain to let Fatty control the speed, pulling out my pistol, and preparing for anything.
As the boat slowly approached, we discovered it was a backpack, seemingly belonging to someone who had come down before.
The backpack was floating on the water, as if it were snagged on something.
I took the steel pipe from Jiang Feng and tried to nudge the backpack over, but it was incredibly heavy.
So, I had Fatty maneuver the boat closer, used the steel pipe to jam the chain, and the three of us men went to pull the backpack.
With great effort, we finally managed to move the backpack. It turned out the backpack was caught on the chain in the water, which was why it wasn't moving.
Fatty cut the backpack strap that was tied to the chain with his knife. Instantly, a huge force almost pulled me off the boat.
"Why is this backpack so heavy?" I asked.
Fatty said, "Perhaps there's something inside it."
Just as we were exerting force to pull the backpack up, a human face emerged from the water with the backpack.
It was a pale face devoid of any blood, with wide-open eyes staring directly at us.
Jiang Lingxi screamed in fright. Her scream startled me as well.
However, I quickly realized that this face looked familiar; it belonged to Old Man Qu's man!
Fatty was even calmer than I was and cursed, "Damn it, it's a dead person!"
The three of us were holding the backpack, unsure whether to let go or not, and froze there for a moment.
After thinking for a moment, I said, "Let go."
As I said that, Fatty and Jiang Feng simultaneously released their grip, and of course, I did too.
Soon, the corpse sank, leaving only the floating backpack on the water. However, due to the rapid current, the backpack disappeared in the blink of an eye.
It seemed that someone else had traveled this path before, but they had most likely all met with misfortune.
This made the previously calm atmosphere tense again.
I noticed a look of tension on everyone's faces.
"Brother Xiang, how do you think that guy died?" Fatty asked.
I pursed my lips and shook my head, not quite sure myself.
"It seems we still can't let our guard down," I suggested. "The three of us will take turns pulling the chain. That way, none of us will be too tired, and we'll all stay alert."
Starting with me, just as I pulled out the steel pipe and prepared to pull the chain, the boat inexplicably stopped moving.
The boat seemed to be caught by something underneath. Even with the chain loosened, it wouldn't budge!