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墨書 Inktalez
My apprentice could no longer hold back and finally spoke, " Senior Brother, you have no idea, this place is practically a Spider Cave! Come and see." He climbed to the cave entrance, gripping the edge with both hands, and sprang up to stand outside the cave.
I followed him up, and he shone his flashlight upwards. In an instant, I understood what he meant by "Spider Cave."
Before us was a massive fault almost vertical to the horizon. Within the range of the Wolf Eye Flashlight, there were countless square openings, each about a meter on each side, densely packed together. There were so many that I couldn't even count them, and surely there were more in the areas where the light couldn't reach.
I couldn't help but glance back, and a chill ran down my spine as cold sweat broke out on my palms. Behind me was an expanse of darkness—nothing above or below, nothing at all. The passage we had come through was nowhere to be seen; it might have been completely concealed in the darkness or perhaps something had changed, causing it to vanish entirely from this bizarre cave.
At that moment, a cold wind blew from somewhere, making me shiver violently. A term suddenly flashed through my mind—isolated and helpless! Damn it, we were truly cut off and trapped; there was no way back.
With a heavy heart, we returned to the cave. The ceiling was too low for us to stand, so we had to sit down. Fortunately, my legs felt weak enough that sitting was just what I needed.
Before I could ask anything, my apprentice spoke first. " Senior Brother, while you were unconscious, A Li and I checked all the nearby openings. Almost every hole we crawled into led to another identical tunnel within eight meters. Initially, I thought that since we jumped here when things hadn’t changed much yet, we should start searching from this cave and spread outwards. It would just take more time to try them one by one; I didn’t believe we couldn’t figure it out! But who knew that these tunnels were like a maze? I barely crawled into one before getting completely lost! Senior Brother, isn’t this just bizarre?"
Being inexperienced in tomb raiding myself, I had little knowledge of this field. Aside from following someone who was 1.75 meters tall during an expedition in the Qinling Shaft where we encountered a quadruple coffin, I had never truly engaged with anything like this before. So I had no idea what a "tunnel" should look like. I vaguely remembered something Old Qiao had said and wondered aloud, "You mean these tunnels are as confusing as a maze?"
"Exactly! It's the tunnel right behind us!" my apprentice replied while pointing to a dark shadow on the wall not far behind me. "Fortunately, I had tied a rope around my waist at that time. When things felt off, I quickly retraced my steps."
I thought for a moment and said, "You remember Old Qiao? These tunnels are meant for Tomb Raiders to access the burial chamber easily. Think about it—they were in such a rush to find treasures that they wouldn’t have bothered making the paths so complicated; that would just be asking for trouble! Besides, these passages were dug for their own people; there was no need for such unnecessary complexity!"
My apprentice slapped his thigh in realization. "That’s exactly right! So Senior Brother, what should we do now? Should we split up into three teams and check each nearby tunnel one by one? We can see which ones aren’t filled with all these twists and turns; those should be the real ones!"
I immediately said, "No way, the three of us absolutely cannot split up. The situation here could change at any moment, and if we separate, the variables become too great. What if we get lost again? Moreover, our resources are limited; we only have two flashlights, and three people acting separately won't be enough."
A Li also chimed in, "I support Brother Qian Yi's plan. The three of us must stay together, which is why I stopped you from acting on your own earlier."
The junior brother pouted and muttered something I couldn't quite catch. I shot him a sideways glance and asked A Li, "What do you mean by acting on your own?"
Just as A Li was about to speak, the junior brother shouted, "Actually, it’s nothing much. I just wanted to save some effort and help everyone avoid unnecessary trips. It’s for the organization and the people!"
I was left confused and turned to A Li, saying, "This guy talks nonsense. Comrade A Li, you should handle the secretarial work."
A Li smiled in agreement. "Sure thing, Commander! While investigating the tunnels with Dui, we found this." He pulled out a paper-wrapped item from his pocket and handed it to me. I opened it to find a black powder. As I sniffed it lightly, a strong sulfur smell hit me. I immediately reacted, "It's gunpowder!"
A Li nodded. "Dui suggested that we simply blow up these tunnels. If we flatten them, who cares about mazes? But I asked, where will we be when the explosion happens? Dui said he would control the amount of gunpowder properly. We can find a cave further away to hide in while he blows one side up. Once it's flattened, we can move to that side while he takes care of the other."
I said, "Comrade A Li, I want to commend you on behalf of the organization for your successful intervention that prevented significant casualties among our members and saved at least four lives. The party and the people will forever remember your contribution; history will remember it as well! And as for Comrade Dui Er, due to your reckless actions that nearly led to disaster, the organization has decided to temporarily relieve you of all duties, including your right to speak. From now on, you will be just a brick in this grassroots effort—move wherever you're needed."
The junior brother protested urgently, "I object! I protest! The right to speak is a fundamental human right! As the highest commander of this operation, you have no authority to strip that away from me! I demand reinstatement of my rights!"
"Alright then, let's hold a democratic vote based on the principle of majority rule. Those in favor of temporarily revoking Comrade Dui Er's speaking rights, please raise your hands!" A Li and I raised our right hands simultaneously. I raised an eyebrow at the junior brother and said, "Objection denied; ruling upheld!"
The junior brother was so furious he nearly jumped up but then bumped his head hard against the granite ceiling with a thud, causing him to wince in pain and gulp nervously. "How can you bully people like this? Comrade A Li, didn’t you go inside twice yourself? You went in once and came out once; why don’t you recall what that tunnel was like?"
His words struck a nerve with A Li; his expression changed instantly as he lowered his head in silence. "…I can't remember clearly."
The junior brother chuckled, "Deliberately losing important information, Commander Qian, how should we handle this?"
I realized that if this continued, the democratic resolution would escalate into internal conflict. I quickly smiled and said, "Well, let's discuss this later. Right now is the time to unite all our efforts to overcome difficulties. Comrade Dui, based on your previous good performance, the organization has decided to trust you once more. We are lifting all sanctions against you and restoring your position as Director of the First Action Division. Next, let's work together on how to break the enemy's comprehensive blockade."
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