Chapter Seventy-Four: The Cave

But now was not the time for hesitation; the most crucial thing was to confirm their safety here.

“Take the flashlights and check inside the cave. See if there are any dry branches or other combustible materials—we need to gather them. Only by lighting a fire can we fend off the wolves’ attack.”

Cheng Zhi and Fatty hurried off with their flashlights, while Zhou Yi stood at the entrance, carefully surveying the surroundings.

The cave was located halfway up the mountain. To the left, the path they had just taken was a saddle between two peaks. Below lay a deep valley, and from the cave mouth, the slope dropped steeply—at its sharpest, nearly sixty degrees—though it leveled out further down.

How had such a cave formed in this barren wilderness? Could this be a result of the Danxia landform?

As he pondered, Fatty and Cheng Zhi rushed out, carrying a few pieces of dry wood—though not much—and quickly tossed them down before gathering close to Zhou Yi.

“Boss, there’s something inside.”

Zhou Yi paused. “What is it?”

Cheng Zhi hastened to explain, “We just went in. While the outside is a natural cave, as we went deeper, there seemed to be signs of human excavation. Would you like to come and see?”

Without wasting words, Zhou Yi turned to go, but glanced at the wood and, after a moment’s thought, pointed to Fatty with an order:

“Light the fire first. This rain won’t stop any time soon. If we go in and those wolves return, blocking our way out, we’ll be truly trapped!”

Fatty shivered, moving quickly to pile the wood—not too close to the cave mouth, but further inside to avoid the wind and rain, since finding firewood here was no easy task.

Cheng Zhi lit the fire; the wood was fairly dry and caught easily after a splash of gasoline. With the fire blazing, the area grew brighter. There was no scent of urine or feces here; in the corner lay some shed fur and dry grass—clearly a den for wolf pups.

“All right, let’s not waste time. Let’s check inside quickly; we still need to keep watch at the entrance.”

Fatty nodded and led the way, flashlight in hand. Cheng Zhi followed, gripping a wooden stick adorned with pine needles or similar, bundled and set alight as a torch.

Zhou Yi did not object; carrying a torch was the safest course in the wild, for most animals feared fire—a primal respect for nature. Still, the torch burned quickly, crackling as they advanced. After a dozen steps, Fatty pointed at the stone wall and called out:

“Boss, look! Wasn’t this carved out?”

Following Fatty’s finger, Zhou Yi looked over.

This section resembled a doorway, recessed half a meter deep. At the top of the naturally formed cave, an overhanging protrusion dangled. The end was not visible, but it matched the surrounding height; the surface bore marks—strikes clearly made by human hands.

To find such traces of human activity in an uninhabited, boundless wasteland—so desolate and remote—meant this could only be a tomb or the hiding place of some secret.

Zhou Yi glanced at his wrist; the map showed no further changes. Even when he tried to zoom in, it remained fixed, as if this scale was its limit.

He put away the control device, now useless, and stepped into the first recessed area.

Fatty and Cheng Zhi followed. With the combined light of the flashlight and torch, they could see more clearly.

The stench of the cave mouth had faded, and it was not as cold here. The edges and ceiling were sheer, carved straight down—a clear sign of human excavation, and not haphazard. The marks were evenly spaced, uniform in size, length, and density—a deliberate, cohesive design.

Moreover, in this hall of nearly two hundred square meters, four pillars stood—not added later, but planned from the start, their positions carved with intent.

Without needing to measure, Zhou Yi could tell at a glance—the width, diameter, placement of the four pillars were all perfectly proportioned.

The vast stone chamber was otherwise empty, but on the east side was a smaller opening. Fatty pointed at it.

“There’s a hole over there!”

Cheng Zhi came over, a puzzled look on his face. “Sir, what is this place? Such a massive undertaking—could it be an ancient tomb, an emperor’s mausoleum?”

Zhou Yi shook his head. “I once read a report about a small pond in LY County, ZJ Province. Locals, curious, drained the pond and found a stone chamber of over a thousand square meters beneath, with remarkable design. Some speculated it was a secret weapons and provisions cache from the Three Kingdoms era.

“But no one ever reached a definite conclusion. This chamber is smaller than that, but judging by the precision of the excavation, it’s certainly not random. Come, let’s check the small opening.”

With that, Zhou Yi headed toward the small opening. It was pitch dark inside; even Fatty’s flashlight wasn’t much help. Cheng Zhi hurried forward, bringing the torch closer.

Suddenly, Zhou Yi heard a faint rustling.

He raised his hand and stopped. The other two halted as well. They had not noticed anything, but Zhou Yi’s gesture put them on alert, and both gripped their weapons.

Zhou Yi took Fatty’s flashlight. The small opening was visible at the edge, but so narrow one would have to crouch to pass through. The sound was coming from within.

Could it be an animal?

Zhou Yi didn’t rush forward. In this world, aside from those wolves, there was a deathly silence—the quieter it was, the more uneasy Zhou Yi felt. Could there be some unknown creature inside?

He handed the flashlight back to Fatty and focused on the small opening, closing his eyes. Since this world allowed him to use his abilities freely, there was no reason to hold back.

He concentrated, sensing the cave beyond.

Inside, only the entrance was narrow; past it, the space was as large as the chamber here, even exuding warmth. Zhou Yi paused, not opening his eyes.

But he found it odd—outside, it was freezing, just a mountain cave, yet “warmth” was the word that came to mind.

Before he could think further, a surge of hot air suddenly whooshed out from inside.

Zhou Yi opened his eyes in surprise.

Fatty and Cheng Zhi crowded over. Fatty had no idea what Zhou Yi was doing; Cheng Zhi understood, having once been examined and awakened in the same way, leading to all that followed.

“Sir, what’s inside?”

Fatty pursed his lips, about to retort, but Zhou Yi shook his head.

“It seems quite warm inside. There are no other animals, and certainly no people. Let’s go in and take a look. There’s no danger.”

Cheng Zhi followed Zhou Yi, crawling through the narrow opening second. Fatty wrinkled his nose—he would have preferred to stay outside, not out of disobedience, but simply because, with his size, going in or coming out was a struggle.

But seeing Cheng Zhi stick so closely to Zhou Yi, Fatty’s sense of crisis spiked. All complaints forgotten, he hurried after them and squeezed inside.

Upon seeing what lay within, Fatty’s eyes widened.

“What the— Is this a candied fruit cave?

What’s going on here? Is there some special significance to stringing things together like this? Or is it, like the Egyptian pyramids, the Hanging Gardens, the Mayan ruins, Shennongjia, or the Bermuda Triangle—are they all on the same latitude? Could this be some special landmark unique to this world?”