I contacted Yang Hanxue and Song Bing, and then made a call to Fu Honglang in Shangdu.
Upon learning that I needed his help, he didn't ask many questions and said he would be right over.
Yang Hanxue is a master locksmith, so I naturally thought of having him open the steel door when the time came.
Fu Honglang is from the School of Golden Scents and is skilled at dealing with zombies, making him the most suitable person to ask for help.
As for Song Bing, he has high vigilance, is skilled in combat, and very proficient with firearms. With him around, we would have some assurance no matter what happened.
Everything was ready except for the crucial element. Fatty stayed in the village, and I had Old Man Qu's men take me to Mohe. After picking up the three of them there, we first went to a restaurant.
I explained the situation to them. After listening, Fu Honglang was a little surprised, "Armor-piercing door? You're actually involved with those people? Brother Xiang, you're playing with fire!"
"Brother Fu, I'm also forced to do this," I said. "I still have a friend down there. I invited you all here this time hoping you can help me bring my friend up."
Yang Hanxue asked, "What kind of tomb did they go into?"
"It's not a tomb," I said.
"Not a tomb?" Fu Honglang asked, looking confused.
"Have you all heard of the Kwantung Army's treasure?" I asked.
The three of them were startled at the same time.
Fu Honglang said, "You mean they found the Kwantung Army's treasure?"
I nodded. "It should be correct. I went down there once. That place was a military base of the Japanese invaders. Whether it's the real Kwantung Army's treasure, I'm not entirely sure, but judging by the attitude of the leader of the armor-piercing door, it's highly likely."
Yang Hanxue smiled and said, "Brother Xiang, the Eldest Young Lady sent me here. I don't care about the specifics of what you're doing. As I said before, I'll do whatever you say."
Fu Honglang glanced suspiciously at Yang Hanxue, lost in thought.
They didn't know each other's identities, and I had no intention of elaborating. After all, in this situation, we still needed to focus on finding Jiang Lingxi.
Song Bing also said at this moment, "Mr. Xiang, when I came, Director Wu had already briefed me. You can make the decisions."
Seeing that both of them spoke similarly, Fu Honglang looked at me and said, "Brother Xiang, you asked me to come, which means you think highly of me. Since that's the case, I won't ask any more questions. I'll follow your arrangements."
I raised my wine glass and said to the three of them, "Thank you all for coming to help me. I am deeply grateful. However, what I want to say is that the real purpose of inviting you here this time is not to find any Kwantung Army treasure, but I want you to help me find someone."
"Find someone?"
"That's right. I have a friend who is still underground. I don't know if she's alive or dead now, but I must find her," I said resolutely.
Then, I recounted everything about the situation below, including what happened during my first descent and what Da Kui had told me.
After listening, the three of them looked at each other, all somewhat surprised.
It made sense; if one hadn't witnessed it firsthand, no one would likely believe such a thing.
However, I felt that Fu Honglang and Yang Hanxue would probably believe it, as the things they had experienced were even more incredible than this.
Seeing that everyone was silent, I continued, "This time, I sincerely hope you can help me find the person. However, the prerequisite is that I don't want any of you to get hurt. So, whether you go down or not, you can say so in advance. I won't force you if you don't want to, and I won't blame you."
"Brother Xiang, since I'm here, I can't not go down," Fu Honglang said with a smile. "You don't know, but when I came, your sister-in-law also instructed me to make sure I helped you finish this matter properly."
Although Yang Hanxue didn't say anything, his eyes already conveyed his answer.
As for Song Bing, he smiled and said, "Mr. Xiang, you know my situation. Director Wu sent me here, and it would be difficult to explain if I just went back like this."
"Very well! Then I'll trouble all of you," I said, cupping my hands to everyone.
…
That evening, the four of us drove back to the village.
When Old Man Qu saw the three people I brought, he didn't ask any questions but arranged a meal to entertain everyone properly.
During the meal, he didn't mention anything about treasure.
Seeing the three people I found, Fatty was also delighted. Fatty knew these three people and they were all acquaintances.
Due to the time constraint and my deep worry for Jiang Lingxi, after dinner, we rested for two hours and then prepared to depart.
For some reason, Fatty volunteered this time to go down with us.
I didn't refuse. After all, leaving Fatty alone on the surface felt more dangerous. If anything happened to him up there, I wouldn't be able to attend to him. The people around Old Man Qu were not to be trifled with. If we were down there for a long time, it was hard to guarantee that Fatty wouldn't run into trouble.
We had a general understanding of the situation below. I drew a rough map in the snow with a branch for everyone.
All the equipment was provided by Old Man Qu. He was accommodating and got us whatever we needed.
We returned to the familiar entrance. Looking at the dark abyss below, I took a deep breath and led the way down the rope ladder.
Even though I had been down once before, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous when I arrived at this place again.
After everyone had descended, I handed over the command to Yang Hanxue.
Although they all listened to me, I knew my own limitations. In this situation, we had to choose a leader.
And Yang Hanxue was the obvious choice. He had high vigilance and rich experience.
Having him lead the group was acceptable to everyone.
After all, he appeared to be older, and his full beard made it impossible to tell his exact age.
"Xiao Song, you're in charge of watching our rear. Xiao Fei and I will lead the way. Fatty, you and Old Fu will observe our surroundings," Yang Hanxue quickly assigned everyone's positions.
We formed a echelon and cautiously moved towards the underground river. I kept my nerves tense the entire way, afraid that the zombie might suddenly rush out.
We reached the edge of the underground river without encountering any trouble.
We divided into two teams and boarded two metal boats. The purpose of this was that if we encountered any trouble on the way and one boat capsized, we would still have the other as a backup.
Following the underground river, we moved forward, one after the other. After a short while, I saw something floating on the surface of the water!