"It seems you need a little help."
Just as the three were at a loss about ascending the mountain, a familiar voice reached their ears.
Following the direction of the voice, Xiao Yu's eyes lit up, "Sister Little Snake!"
Indeed, the speaker was Little Snake, a former notorious bandit who had now transitioned to security work, a decent profession.
"Why are you here?"
Chen Long pulled Xiao Yu behind him, asking cautiously.
Chen Long didn't have a particularly good impression of Little Snake, after all, she was once a bandit, and his niece adored her so much that Chen Long feared Xiao Yu might be led down a path of crime.
Little Snake paid no mind to Chen Long's wariness, stepping aside slightly, she said, "Not just me, but them too."
Behind Little Snake, several familiar faces appeared: Bull Warrior, the reformed Tōru, and Bull Warrior's sidekick, Pak.
"Hooray, Team Dragon is assembled!"
Upon seeing Tōru appear, Old Man exclaimed with a headache, "Oh dear, Tōru, wasn't I supposed to have you watch the shop? If you're here, who will look after Old Man's antique shop?"
Tōru, now aligned with the protagonists, no longer possessed the fierce demeanor from his days with the Black Hand Gang, appearing rather憨厚 (hān hòu - simple and honest) now.
Tōru scratched his head and said, "Sheriff Black will arrange for someone to help out."
Little Snake explained to Chen Long why they were there.
Tōru was worried about Chen Long and the others. Little Snake and Bull Warrior were reinforcements invited by Black.
After the revival of Shendu, Black feared that Shendu might cause further trouble in this matter. As his own agents could not directly enter China to assist Chen Long and the others, he sought help from Chen Long's old friends, Bull Warrior and Little Snake.
In the spirit of loyalty to good brothers, they agreed without hesitation.
Little Snake entered the country under the guise of a mountaineer, providing Chen Long and the others with plenty of climbing equipment. Bull Warrior and Pak, in turn, contacted a friend of theirs in China who was passionate about mountaineering and had scaled many snow-capped mountains, possessing considerable climbing experience.
"Alright, enough talk, let's get up the mountain quickly."
Time moved forward, and on the snowy mountaintop.
"Finally, we're here."
Looking at the slightly dilapidated temple in the distance, Cassahra let out a long sigh. After such a long and arduous trek, victory was finally within reach.
"Wow, I never knew there was a temple here!"
Ah Qiang was also very curious about the temple before him.
However, before his curiosity could linger, he was grabbed by the collar by a nearby mercenary and roughly lifted, who snarled, "You still have the nerve to be surprised. If it weren't for you, why would we have only arrived now?"
"I didn't expect you were looking for a temple, let alone me. The entire village didn't know anything about it."
Ah Qiang did indeed have experience hunting in the mountains and was familiar with the mountain paths. However, his familiarity only extended to a certain point. As they ascended past the mountainside, Ah Qiang was lost, and fearing he wouldn't be paid, he ended up leading them in a roundabout way, causing them to take many detours.
"Forget it, let's just get what we need and leave this cursed place quickly."
Cassahra had had enough of this desolate place and didn't want to stay a moment longer. Since the temple was right in front of them, they would quickly go in, retrieve the item, and leave.
Just as Cassahra and the others were about to enter the temple, a loud roar halted their steps.
"You all... stop right there!"
Following the direction of the voice, the speaker was none other than Chen Long.
Don't ask how Chen Long and his group managed to catch up to Cassahra in just one day. The credit goes to Ah Qiang.
Ah Qiang led Cassahra and the others on a tour of nearly the entire mountain, while Chen Long and his group, with the help of Bull Warrior's friend, found a shortcut up the mountain and made rapid progress.
Indeed, finding a reliable guide was of utmost importance.
However, Cassahra was no longer in the mood to settle scores with Ah Qiang.
"You, stop him."
Cassahra ordered the mercenaries around him to block Chen Long and his group, while he, with two mercenaries, rushed into the temple.
The numerical advantage was immediately evident. Cassahra had legally entered this time and brought more people. With the substantial funds from the Umbrella Corporation, Cassahra had brought in over twenty mercenaries, more than double the number of Chen Long's group.
Although it was only a matter of time before Chen Long and his group, bolstered by righteousness, defeated these mercenaries, Cassahra didn't intend to defeat the protagonists with this small contingent of mercenaries. His goal was simply to stall long enough to find the item and escape.
Due to China's strict customs, even Cassahra and his men did not have firearms. They had purchased cold weapons after entering the country.
A dozen fierce-looking men drew their batons and charged aggressively towards Chen Long and his group.
Chen Long and his group were unfazed, meeting them head-on. Fighting three against one, they still held their own, even showing a slight edge. Even the two children, Xiao Yu and Pak, worked together to hold off a mercenary wielding a baton.
The mercenaries were bewildered. They had experienced countless firefights in the past, considered themselves battle-hardened veterans, and yet now they couldn't even defeat ordinary people and children.
When Cassahra first rushed into the temple, he was stunned.
His first impression of the temple was its size.
It didn't appear that large from the outside, but who would have thought that upon entering, it would be so vast? Cassahra alone saw three doors, making it feel like a small maze.
"You go left, you go right, I'll go through the middle. Contact me via radio immediately once you find the item."
Not long after Cassahra entered the temple, Chen Long, having dealt with the mercenaries before him, also entered the temple. Similarly, Chen Long was awestruck by its size.
However, there was no time for Chen Long to hesitate. He quickly chose a door and pursued them.
Within the maze-like temple, Chen Long, Cassahra, and two mercenaries rushed around like headless flies. Sometimes Cassahra would just leave, and Chen Long would enter moments later. Shortly after Chen Long departed, the mercenaries would push open a room door.
After an unknown duration wandering the temple, Cassahra finally found the correct room after opening countless doors.
Pushing open the door, he was met with a sudden expanse. The first thing that caught his eye was a massive redwood screen, inlaid with a golden dragon in the center. The surrounding area was etched with obscure carvings. The spacious room was covered with a red carpet, and on either side of the room stood a row of blue stone pillars, four on each side, with different trigrams inscribed on them.
In addition, there were various jade artifacts and stone carvings. With Cassahra's keen eye, he recognized their considerable value at a glance.
However, Cassahra didn't waste time collecting the jade artifacts in the room, heading directly towards the center of the room.