Published: February 12, 2025
“None of the units have sent out any distress signals. The communication was interrupted little by little, first the sound disappeared, then the images became blurry, and finally, it completely vanished.”
Pao Bai took a deep breath, feeling truly uncertain about what to do at this moment.
Did the people inside encounter danger, or was it just a loss of signal? If they were in danger, should they go rescue them? Or were they just lost? Should they send someone to search? If they sent someone in and the same thing happened again, what then?
He couldn’t help but turn his gaze towards Ye Zhongming.
He didn’t know when it started, but this younger man had become the backbone of the entire Star-Eye Clan.
Ye Zhongming looked at the dark cave, momentarily unsure about how to make a decision.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “Where are the second group of warriors we selected to enter the cave?”
Since there were quite a few death soldiers recruited, with a team size of ten, they had enough to form thirty squads. After selecting the first ten units, the remaining twenty units were on standby at the Star-Eye Clan’s base.
“They are at our base.”
“Let’s go see them. Whether or not we enter depends on their opinions.”
The two of them instructed the soldiers near the cave to continue monitoring and stand by for support at any moment. Afterward, they returned to the base and stood before the remaining nearly twenty units of death soldiers.
“The first ten squads are now completely unresponsive. I don’t know what has happened to them. Although they never issued a distress signal before going silent, with no news for so long, I can only assume they encountered unstoppable danger and are now missing.”
Ye Zhongming looked at these death soldiers who had come voluntarily; they belonged to various small tribes, including Su Clan and Star-Eye Clan.
“I don’t know what to do now, whether to continue entering or stop here.” Ye Zhongming looked around and said, “I hope someone can go in to search for our missing brothers and sisters, but I won’t force anyone to take risks. The rewards remain unchanged. If anyone wishes to go down, please follow me. If you are unwilling, please return to your tribes. Regardless, I’m thankful that everyone could come here.”
After finishing, he and Pao Bai turned to leave.
“Is this okay?” Pao Bai asked uncertainly.
Ye Zhongming shook his head, “I don’t know, but it’s important to make things clear to them. I don’t want to keep pushing forward recklessly. If someone has the courage, they can go in again, but this will be the last exploration before we go in ourselves.”
Shortly after the two returned, five squads came forward, all fully staffed with ten members each.
“Thank you very much. As compensation, all equipment you receive after coming out can be taken with you. You can also take two pieces of crimson condensation level gear.” Ye Zhongming glanced at them; the five squads were all quite strong, but only one exceeded fifty thousand fuleira, and he was a Su Clan member.
“This time you enter, we’ll change our approach. We will target the five caves that the first ten missing squads entered the farthest.” Ye Zhongming instructed, “Remember, stop every hundred meters. Once it’s safe, our people will follow you in and establish simple defensive measures and wired communication devices at each hundred-meter point. Only after that can you continue.”
Upon hearing this, the five squads sighed in relief. Even though they had come here for wealth, they had prepared for the worst, especially with the first batch completely missing. Now, with Ye Zhongming adopting this cautious step-by-step approach, they felt much safer and knew the rewards would be greater, making them naturally grateful.
After about ten minutes of preparation, the five squads entered the Demon Cave.
This time, they were extremely cautious, stopping every hundred meters and allowing the rear teams to enter, establishing a simple fortress at each hundred-meter point and ensuring smooth communication with wired connections instead of wireless ones.