Originally, Duanmu Huai thought that after such a scare, the two would immediately go back. Unexpectedly, Shajuye shook her head desperately, and even Teacher Shanyuan expressed a desire to continue, because according to the data he got from the earthquake measuring device, the epicenter was in this mountain, so he wanted to see what exactly caused the earthquake!

Are they really risking their lives?

Duanmu Huai didn’t try to persuade them further, after all, it’s their lives at risk, not his—although in their view, it was he who was risking his life, but Duanmu Huai...... so be it, there’s no point discussing it now.

Let’s just go.

So, the three of them set out again, moving upward.

Not long after passing through the campsite, Duanmu Huai and the others returned to the construction site.

Only now, the construction site was an even bigger mess, with materials scattered on the ground, and construction machinery lying haphazardly around—well, who knows how much the insurance company would have to cover.

"Hey—————is anyone there?"

Duanmu Huai didn’t bother to look, he just opened his mouth and shouted.

"Is anyone there? Answer quickly!!"

Duanmu Huai’s roar echoed through the forest, yet the whole forest was dead silent, with no response whatsoever. At that moment, Shajuye’s expression changed slightly, and she tugged on Duanmu Huai’s sleeve.

"Brother, there seems to be a sound over there?"

"Where?"

"Over there."

Saying this, Shajuye pointed to the other side of the construction site, and Duanmu Huai followed her direction, shouting again.

"Hey, is anyone there? Speak up!"

"......the......"

"Help......" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

This time, even Duanmu Huai heard the faint sound coming from nearby. He adjusted his direction again, and then saw a collapsed cave, with the sound seemingly coming from inside—hmm, a closer look should reveal the truth.

Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai opened his Thousand Eyes, and quickly, countless eyes flashed through the darkness. Then, Duanmu Huai saw on the other side of the collapsed cave, several workers either sitting or lying in distress, appearing to be in dire straits.

"Ouch—————!"

At this moment, one of the workers seemed to sense something, suddenly leaping up and looking towards Duanmu Huai’s Thousand Eyes with fear and uncertainty.

"There’s, there’s something! Something’s watching us! Monster! Monster—————!!"

"Hey, are you okay? Calm down!"

"Hold him down, what are you doing, stop yelling———!"

Ugh......

Duanmu Huai silently withdrew his Thousand Eyes.

Forget it, at least their position is confirmed, now......

"Brother? Is there someone down there?"

"That’s right."

"What do we do now?"

"What to do?"

Duanmu Huai raised the military shovel in his hand.

"Just dig."

Fortunately, the cave collapse wasn’t severe. The reason they hadn’t dug themselves out was that a large stone blocked the cave entrance. However, such a stone posed no problem for Duanmu Huai. He clenched his fist and punched the stone, and in the next moment, accompanied by a thunderous sound, the entire stone shattered, revealing a dark hole inside. Seeing the hole open, those workers excitedly scrambled out.

"Finally rescued!"

"I thought we’d be buried underneath!"

"Oh god, finally out!"

The group of workers was evidently extremely frightened, scrambling out of the cave despite their injuries. Upon learning that Duanmu Huai had saved them, they thanked him profusely. Since many were injured, with some even having fractures, they returned to the makeshift shelter beside the construction site for bandages and first aid.

Shajuye and Teacher Shanyuan also joined in helping. As for Duanmu Huai...... well, he refrained, as any wound would start bleeding heavily when he got close. So, he took a quick walk around and found a worker who was relatively unscathed, to ask about the details.

After all, if it was just an earthquake, why would they go into the cave? Isn’t that courting death?

Also, why hadn’t they gone home after work and instead stayed at the site?

Faced with Duanmu Huai’s questions, the worker seemed a bit nervous, but he answered obediently.

"In the afternoon, we dug into a cave."

"A cave?"

"That’s right, exactly......we were just curious at the time, wondering what lay inside. Some said it could be a stalactite cave, others worried it might be a hollow underground. But no matter the reason, the team leader decided to take us in for a look, since the geological survey initially indicated no issues, yet now there’s a cave, which doesn’t make sense......"

"And then?"

"Then......we went in, the cave itself wasn’t complicated, just one path, but it was deep, we even felt like we reached a lake—since someone heard water, and there was moisture......"

Speaking of which, there is indeed a lake beside the campsite.

"Moreover, deeper inside, we heard a strange sound—not water, not from anywhere in particular, but like it was coming from the cave itself, almost like something. It was unbearable, even covering our ears didn’t help, like the sound was directly entering our brains......"

At this point, the worker’s face turned pale.

"Everyone felt something was wrong and wanted to leave, but the team leader insisted on going forward. The deeper we went, the louder that sound became, until we saw......"

At this moment, the worker began to shake uncontrollably, his pupils dilating, but he seemed unable to stop himself from speaking.

"I don’t know what it was, huge, terrifying, like......I don’t know, but clearly, we entered its lair......that thing seemed to hate light, maybe because it lived underground for so long. So when we went in, it charged right at us! Everyone, everyone fled desperately! But the team leader said that running wouldn’t work, he had everyone turn off their lights, and took a flashlight himself to divert the monster, then......ah wah ah ah ah!!!"

Reaching this point, the worker seemed to reach his limit, screaming as he squatted down, hugging his head, shivering and wailing.

Meanwhile, Duanmu Huai watched the worker, contemplating.

So, it wasn’t an earthquake, but the tremors caused by that monster tracking the workers?

Damn, what kind of creature is this? A slight movement causes an earthquake?

......Anyway, going down should reveal the truth.