"Let's not think too much about it now."
Seeing everyone fall silent, Wan Yunting smiled and said, "Perhaps we'll run into them when we reach the underground river, so our most urgent task is to hurry and find them."
"Yes, Brother Yunting is right. We don't have time to get bogged down in overthinking here," Gu Luotang nodded in agreement.
Nie Xiaoyu nodded, then turned to Gu Xiaozhuang and the others and said, "Let's keep going. Hopefully, we can find them within two hours."
"Okay."
Gu Xiaozhuang and Xiao Zhao nodded and continued heading towards the underground river. Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang followed, and the group couldn't help but quicken their pace.
Time was running out, and they had to find the tunnel workers within two hours.
However, behind Wan Yunting and his group, Liuzi, Liang Dazhuang, and Wuge Menghulu were also pursuing them.
"Fork in the road."
Seeing two paths ahead, Liuzi shone his flashlight on Menghulu's face and asked, "Fifth Brother, which way do we go..."
"Take that away."
Menghulu impatiently pushed the flashlight away, then bent down and carefully examined the ground with his flashlight. Spotting footprints on the left path, he stood up and walked in that direction.
"Fifth Brother, wait for me..."
Liuzi quickly followed. However, the two of them were unaware that there would be an earthquake around midnight that night...
"Listen, the sound of water!"
At this moment, Wan Yunting heard the sound of flowing water ahead. Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao, however, listened intently with confused expressions, "Do you hear it? I don't hear anything..."
Even Nie Xiaoyu and Gu Xiaozhuang couldn't hear the water, but Wan Yunting confidently stated, "We're almost at the underground river, only about fifty to sixty meters ahead."
"Everyone, pick up the pace. It's already seven twenty-one in the evening."
As Xiao Zhao spoke, he and Gu Xiaozhuang and the other soldiers quickened their pace towards the underground river.
Around 7:30, the sound of flowing water grew louder, and Nie Xiaoyu and Gu Luotang could finally hear it.
When Xiao Zhao's flashlight illuminated an underground river ahead, the sound of water gushing between the rocks made everyone excited, "We're here! We've reached the underground river..."
"Such cold water..."
Qi Miaomiao ran up and couldn't help but dip her hands into the icy underground river. Wan Yunting's expression tightened, and he quickly grabbed her by the back of her collar and pulled her up, "Be careful of other creatures in the water."
"Ah..."
This scared Qi Miaomiao, making her stumble back, her face filled with nervousness. "Brother Yunting, don't scare me."
"Miaomiao, come back. Be careful, there might really be snakes or something," Gu Luotang pulled Qi Miaomiao, scolding her.
Xiao Zhao and Gu Xiaozhuang and the others shone their flashlights on the underground river. The water was formed by springs and rainwater flowing in from outside. Although the current wasn't strong, they had no idea how deep it was. Since there was no light source, it was pitch black, making it impossible to tell if there were any fish or other dangerous creatures in the river.
"This direction!"
Nie Xiaoyu held her tablet, looking at the topographic map, and identified the tunnel's location, which was to the right.
"Officer Nie, there seems to be another path on the other side of the river!"
Gu Xiaozhuang shone his powerful flashlight across the underground river and spotted a cave passage. Nie Xiaoyu, looking at the topographic map, found that there were two passages leading towards the tunnel.
"We don't know which path those people will come out from!" Xiao Zhao said.
Wan Yunting checked the time and said, "How about we split into two groups to save time?"
"Agreed."
Gu Xiaozhuang nodded, and everyone looked at Nie Xiaoyu. She nodded, then turned to Wan Yunting and said, "In that case, I'll have Xiao Gu and the others go with you. You two can send two people to join our team and cross the river to that path!"
"Okay."
Wan Yunting nodded in agreement.
Nie Xiaoyu looked at Huang Jingshan and Wei Renxin. "You two will come with us across the river."
Huang Jingshan and Wei Renxin were taken aback, "Cross the river?"
"What else, do you expect me and my senior sister to cross the river?"
Qi Miaomiao rolled her eyes at him. Wan Yunting and the others understood that Nie Xiaoyu wanted them to go together to prevent Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao from crossing the river.
"I have no objections," Wei Renxin readily agreed.
"It seems I don't have much of a choice," Huang Jingshan said speechlessly.
"Xiao Gu, you and the other six soldiers will take this path with Doctor Wan." Nie Xiaoyu pointed in the downstream direction of the underground river.
"Yes."
Gu Xiaozhuang and the other six soldiers nodded, then turned to Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, and Qi Miaomiao and said, "Then let's go."
"Alright."
Wan Yunting and the others nodded and said to Huang Jingshan and Wei Renxin, "Be careful."
"Don't worry."
The two waved their hands, preparing to enter the water with Nie Xiaoyu and the others to swim across to the other side of the underground river.
Time was tight, and Wan Yunting couldn't wait to see them cross safely before leaving. After all, with Nie Xiaoyu and the soldiers present, there was no need to worry about Huang Jingshan and Wei Renxin's safety.
Thus, Wan Yunting led Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao, following Gu Xiaozhuang and the six soldiers. They also carried a tablet, following the cave's topographic map and heading downstream along the underground river.
The underground river was deep but not very wide, only about twenty meters. Nie Xiaoyu and the soldiers were all good swimmers, and Huang Jingshan and Wei Renxin could swim, though not very well. However, with Nie Xiaoyu and the others protecting them, they quickly and safely reached the other side of the underground river.
After quickly organizing their equipment, they followed the cave's topographic map to find the tunnel workers.
Hopefully, they could meet them within two hours...
About forty minutes later, Liuzi, Liang Dazhuang, and Wuge Menghulu appeared by the underground river. The two of them looked around with their flashlights and found footprints on the ground downstream. "Fifth Brother, they went downstream."
"Follow them."
Menghulu said, leading Liuzi downstream. They had no idea that Nie Xiaoyu's team had crossed the river via another path, but their target was Wan Yunting, so they didn't care.
"What time is it?"
At this moment, Qi Miaomiao, walking downstream along the underground river, asked. Wan Yunting checked his wristwatch, "It's eight o'clock, one hour left!"
Gu Luotang, wearing a headlamp, looked around and said, "Did they perhaps take another path?"
Gu Xiaozhuang, who was at the front, said, "Don't worry. If they really took another path, Officer Nie's team will run into them, and they'll contact us as soon as they find them. My only concern now is not having enough time."
"Yes."
Qi Miaomiao nodded. They now had only one hour left to find the tunnel workers.
On the other side, Nie Xiaoyu's team, along with Huang Jingshan and Wei Renxin, were also searching according to the cave's topographic map. After about half an hour of searching, around 8:30 PM, neither Nie Xiaoyu's team nor Wan Yunting's team had found the tunnel workers.
"There's only half an hour left!"
A soldier kept an eye on the time. Gu Xiaozhuang shone his flashlight ahead, and there was no news from Nie Xiaoyu's side, indicating they hadn't found the tunnel workers either.
"No matter what, if we haven't found them by nine o'clock, we'll retreat the way we came," Gu Xiaozhuang said to Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, and Qi Miaomiao.
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
Wan Yunting nodded. After all, the remaining four hours were for their evacuation. If they were delayed, they wouldn't be able to escape the earthquake and would all be buried.
Finally, at 8:49, the satellite phone in Gu Xiaozhuang's pocket rang. It was Nie Xiaoyu, which made everyone excited. Upon answering, they heard Nie Xiaoyu's voice: "We've found them. Hurry back the way you came and meet us at the underground river intersection."
"Okay, we're heading back now."
An excited Gu Xiaozhuang finished the call and happily told Wan Yunting, "Officer Nie found them! Let's hurry back the way we came and meet them."
"Alright, let's go..."
With time pressing, Wan Yunting, Gu Luotang, and Qi Miaomiao excitedly followed Gu Xiaozhuang and the soldiers back the way they came, preparing to meet at the underground river entrance they had arrived at earlier...
However, next, they ran into Liuzi and Menghulu!