sbdcsierra Chapter 491 Is this something you were born with?
Chapter 491 Is this something you were born with?
Lu Yangyang and Pei Ji led a group of about thirty people into the cave passage.
Unlike transportation channels dug elsewhere, the channels in the mine are wider, and the main channels clearly run downwards. In addition, many smaller channels can be seen extending gradually to various places.
At first, Lu Yangyang didn't quite understand the purpose of these passages, but as they went further down, she quickly realized it and said to Pei Ji beside her, "These small passages were dug out for ventilation, so everyone should be careful not to go the wrong way."
Pei Ji nodded, gave instructions to the people behind him, and then asked her with a puzzled look, "Can this ventilate?"
“Simply digging haphazardly like this certainly won’t work, but we can’t underestimate the wisdom of these people. They dug many intersecting tunnels to let the wind in and then connect them into the mine shaft, thus achieving the effect of ventilation.” Lu Yangyang wasn’t sure if her guess was absolutely correct, but based on her memories of the journey, it was probably pretty close to the truth.
So everyone knows that staying in a cinnabar mine for a long time can cause poisoning, but these people still resort to any means to make money and disregard human life.
Lu Yangyang wasn't sure how long they had been walking downhill until she felt the surroundings become bitterly cold, and then she finally heard a faint sound.
She turned and met Pei Ji's gaze. Everyone slowed their pace and lowered their voices.
However, as they got closer to the source of the sound, they found that there was no way out.
Yes, in front of them was a huge, seemingly empty cave. The cave was pitch black and there was no exit at all.
Lu Yangyang lay down on the ground, pressed her ear to the ground, and listened quietly. Then she got up and pointed to the ground at Pei Ji.
Pei Ji took out a pouch from his waist, then poured out several luminous pearls the size of pigeon eggs, and handed one to Lu Yangyang. They dared not light a fire in the mine, and the glass lamps they had brought when they came down had already been extinguished.
Lu Yangyang was surprised that he was so well prepared. She whispered, "I suspect the mine is down there. Now we need to find out where the door is. No wonder the adults said that after they had the people guarding the mine taken care of yesterday, no one has come out since. It must be difficult to get out."
Pei Ji distributed the remaining luminous pearls to his subordinates: "Be careful, search around."
The group began to explore the cave. Suddenly, a loud bang erupted, shaking the cave floor and causing rocks and ash to tumble down the walls. The noise subsided after a short while.
Everyone immediately stopped making any further moves and quickly gathered together, waiting for instructions.
At this moment, Pei Ji bent down, picked up a few stones, pulled Lu Yangyang along, and then threw one stone to one spot on the ground, and then threw the other stone to another spot. "Can you hear the difference?"
Lu Yangyang saw the spot where he had first thrown it: "There!"
Pei Ji nodded, "When the ground shook just now, the sound was most obvious there. Let's find the mechanism first."
Lu Yangyang looked around and took a deep breath: "No need, I'll do it!"
Then he looked up at a sharp boulder hanging from the cave wall, walked over, grabbed the bottom of the boulder, determined its position, and pushed it hard.
The boulder broke, and Lu Yangyang forcefully hurled it towards the stone slab.
The boulder crashed heavily onto the stone slab, shattering it and causing the slab to split open with a loud rumble, falling into several pieces.
Everyone looked at her in disbelief. "How...how did she do that?"
"That takes a lot of strength!"
Pei Ji had known for a long time that Lu Yangyang was strong, but this was the first time he had seen it so clearly. He couldn't help but lean closer and ask, "Is this something you were born with?"
Lu Yangyang shook her head: "I don't think so. I don't really remember. It's just that I had a cold and fever for a few days for a while, and then I felt like I was getting stronger and stronger. Maybe I accidentally ate something wrong?"
Pei Ji: "..."
Lu Yangyang genuinely didn't remember. Her strength wasn't something she was born with. It was after she started living with her aunt that she began sneaking into the mountains to find food, and then, without realizing it, she found herself getting stronger and stronger, able to protect herself.
If there wasn't some special opportunity, perhaps she really did eat something she didn't know about?
Lu Yangyang never dwelled on this; all she could think about at that time was surviving and having a full meal.
If you have the energy, you can eat an extra meal; why would you have time to think about anything else?
Just as Lu Yangyang was about to call for people to go down with her, she heard voices coming up from below first.
"What happened? How did the door suddenly collapse?"
"Could the door be broken? Damn it, the person who was supposed to come and relieve us yesterday hasn't shown up yet. Are they trying to kill me?"
"Hey, what's going on? Why are you taking so long to get here?"
Listening to the sounds below, Lu Yangyang realized they were being treated as a shift change, seemingly unaware of what had happened at Yuming Mountain. Lu Yangyang gave Pei Ji a look, and Pei Ji immediately understood, saying coldly,
"There was a problem with the building, and it took us a lot of effort to open the door. What were you doing just now? You made such a commotion and almost ruined everything, do you know that?"
The person below grumbled in frustration, but quickly changed their tone.
"Please calm down, sir. Some incompetent fool just now mishandled the mine and caused an explosion. Don't worry, we'll handle it right away. Has the replacement arrived? When can we go up?"
Pei Ji replied, "The situation is special today. We need to renovate the mechanism, so only four people can come up first. Discuss who will come up, and we'll bring you up now to relieve you."
Lu Yangyang crouched down and leaned closer to listen to the sounds below.
"There are about twenty of us, and only four of us went up. What about the rest? When can we get a shift change? I started feeling unwell last night. If we don't get a shift change soon, I'm going to die here!"
"Keep your voice down! What if the higher-ups hear us?! Don't they value their lives?!"
"Shut up, everyone. Zhang Ge and I will go up. You can draw lots to decide the rest. Don't worry, I will ask the adults for permission to find someone to relieve us as soon as possible after we get up there," the person who answered said to the people around him.
"Boss Ma, you must remember your brothers!"
Boss Ma hissed, "I know, stop shouting. Hurry up and find someone to dispose of those good-for-nothings. Don't let their corpses fumes the adults outside."
These people were merely the lowest-ranking overseers; they were not people the agents of the power agency could afford to mess with.
Lu Yangyang threw down a rope and winked at Pei Ji.
Pei Ji grabbed the rope and jumped down first.