Bai Ruoxue's eyes lit up with incredulity as she looked at me and asked, "Do you want to excavate it?"
Her gaze fell upon the wall mural, and I nodded. "Just now, I had a thought. The blazing fire depicted on the mural could very well be ancient people smelting steel, and they likely used the coal from this place."
"If there's truly an abandoned mine here, with luck, we might be able to excavate it. This is our only chance."
Bai Ruoxue gave a bitter smile. "Mount Yanmen is vast. For our hideout to coincide with a mine passage is nothing short of wishful thinking."
I, too, felt disheartened. "In theory, there is a probability of winning."
Scanning the crowd, White Granny spoke slowly. "In our line of work, as long as there's a glimmer of hope, we mustn't easily give up. Otherwise, even with nine lives, it wouldn't be enough. Yuanbao, it's your turn."
Her words sounded particularly familiar, echoing those spoken by my grandfather in my dreams. It's truly a case of like master, like apprentice; they speak the same words.
Liu Yuanbao had been shot twice, though not fatally, but half his body was stained red with blood.
He gritted his teeth, pressing his ear against the wall and listening intently, then repeated the same action on the ground.
Changing positions four or five times, Liu Yuanbao suddenly brightened, excitedly announcing to everyone, "There's an echo here."
Nasal Cannon exclaimed in admiration, "Incredible! This is feasible. We need to compare it to geological prospecting."
"Hush!"
Liu Yuanbao made a gesture for silence and confirmed once more.
"Yes, it's right here."
Immediately, we began digging into the cave walls.
This was a matter of life and death for everyone. Apart from White Granny, gender distinctions ceased to matter; each person participated.
After about an hour, the secret tunnel was already about three meters deep. At this point, everyone looked like African refugees, covered in soot from head to toe.
Bai Ruoxue's hands were blistered from rubbing, and she winced in pain.
Chiseling away with all our might, sparks flew as my shovel struck coal.
Before long, Nasal Cannon shouted, "Bro, how's it going? The bats are increasing rapidly, almost like the divine wind kamikaze squadron."
Glancing sideways, I gasped in shock. Dozens of bats flew overhead like bombers.
"Hold on a little longer, you're almost there."
In a moment, Nasal Cannon yelled again, "Bro, what's the situation? I'm almost out of bullets."
Almost simultaneously, I exerted all my strength, the shovel piercing through, and with a few kicks, a dark hole appeared with a loud crash.
"Quick, let's go."
With a few shoulder bumps, the hole instantly widened.
Huang Erhei disengaged from the battle and escorted White Granny out along with Bai Ruoxue.
Given his broad build, Song Haizhu took a few extra kicks but managed to pass through smoothly.
I escorted Shi Jingxia across and turned back to call out to Nasal Cannon.
"Nasal Cannon, hurry."
Nasal Cannon fired off a few shots, then turned and left with me.
We walked for quite a distance until we were sure the bats wouldn't follow, then stopped to rest.
Inside the mine, thick wooden pillars supported the structure, densely packed like a dark forest.
I remembered when I was young, after my grandfather was executed, our family faced economic hardship, so we sold the locust trees he had planted around our homestead.
The lumber, sawn into three-meter sections, was said to be for supporting the mine.
Everywhere was blackened with soot, with no place to sit.
White Granny's silver hair was slightly disheveled, but she still maintained her gracefulness. Looking around, she seemed somewhat troubled.
"You city folks sure know how to make do. I won't bother you; I'll take a rest first," she said.
Ignoring her, Nasal Cannon leaned against a wooden pillar.
Song Haizhu performed a Dragon Tail Swing, knocking down a pillar with a loud crash, causing debris to scatter.
Nasal Cannon jumped in surprise. "Big guy, be careful, watch out for collapses."
After observing for a while and confirming everything was normal, Song Haizhu carried the fallen pillar over and placed it on the ground.
"Uh... White Granny, please, have a seat."
White Granny was addressed as "Ah Lian" all the way, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Granny, please sit down," Bai Ruoxue said, taking the lead.
Shi Jingxia refused to join them, squatting beside me. I took off one of my shoes and handed it to her.
"Use it as a cushion."
Song Haizhu looked around and picked up a huge black stone, sitting on it.
The black stone was a rock mixed in with coal, glowing red when heated but not coal itself.
Nasal Cannon whispered, "Incredible, look, the big guy isn't as dumb as he seems, he knows to choose a big stone that won't crumble."
"Didn't you hear what White Granny said? Song Haizhu used to be a prominent figure in the Southern faction. Now that he's recovered, don't underestimate him," Shi Jingxia whispered.
"Stop it, or he might hear you. Huang's surname also said, he might not even be able to beat the big guy," she continued.
"Bro, sis-in-law, don't worry, we've got this," Nasal Cannon said, patting the M3 submachine gun.
I asked, "Do we have any bullets left?"
Nasal Cannon's voice lowered even further. "I don't know how to check. Do you?"
I shook my head. "Forget it, as long as we have this, they probably won't dare to make any reckless moves."
Song Haizhu's foot had been pierced by a pickaxe I wielded earlier and hadn't been treated. It was severely swollen, making it impossible to remove his shoe.
Seeing this, Huang Erhei couldn't help but marvel, "Big Pillar, even in this state, you haven't made a sound of complaint. Truly a tough guy, admirable."
Beside him, Liu Yuanbao, who had been groaning in pain, fell silent at these words, his expression contorted in agony.
Song Haizhu reminisced about the past.
"What's this? When I was boxing in Thailand, I was stabbed with dozens of holes by a punch dagger, almost bleeding dry. But I still managed to knock out the Muay Thai champion. Later, I went into shock and had to receive a blood transfusion of 1000 units at the hospital."
I felt like he was exaggerating without a draft. Normally, a person would be finished after losing 1200 units of blood.
But Huang Erhei still gave a thumbs-up, saying many things in science couldn't be explained, especially the human body, which might be more complex than the vast universe.
As the saying goes, "Scholarship knows no equal, martial prowess knows no superior."
Huang Erhei gave a slight bow. "After you've recovered from your injury, let's have a good match."
Song Haizhu returned the gesture. "After this outing, I plan to retire and take care of my old mother. Then, I'll wait for Brother Huang's visit."
"Certainly, certainly," Huang Erhei replied.
Nasal Cannon perked up. "Is it going to be a decisive battle for life and death?"
I said, "In the martial world, harmony is paramount. We can't engage in infighting. You young people are too mischievous."
Nasal Cannon waved his hand. "That's no fun; it definitely won't look good."
Suddenly, Liu Yuanbao said, "Quiet, it sounds like there's something."
Listening intently, we heard the wooden pillars creaking, with coal fragments constantly falling. Looking up, we were shocked.
"Big Pillar, be careful!"