Let you raise pigs?But kicked me out of the classmate group?

The clock on the rock face pointed to the dead of night.

Currently, the excavation is only halfway complete.

Time is of the essence. If it gets too late, and the Hellfire people discover something amiss here, it might not be a good thing for them.

Although Sofia had already made a betting agreement with him, intending to help Qin Hao eliminate him.

But Qin Hao doesn't know her, so even if he went, how could things be resolved so quickly?

It's important to know that Hellfire has had close ties with certain families over the years.

When things really come to a standstill, those families may or may not intervene.

Hellfire has helped them do a lot of shameful things, after all.

"The more difficult it is to find out, the more it shows that what happened back then was not simple."

Qin Hao glanced at everyone present, and they were all full of energy.

He turned to Aria and said, "Continue to send more people and speed up the process. I want to see what unspeakable secrets are hidden here."

Qin Hao glanced at his watch, dusted off his hands, and said to Ailiya, "I'm leaving this to you. Have Engineer Wang lead the team to continue digging, and report the progress every hour."

"Are you leaving?" Aria raised an eyebrow.

If the other party wants to leave at this time, is there something else going on?

"Well, the betting agreement with Sophia is still pending final signing, and we also need to set a time for Douglas's meeting."

Qin Hao picked up his coat and glanced at it. "The Gold Price Bureau's matter should be resolved soon. There's a bunch of things waiting to be dealt with."

"After all this mess is over, I'll take you on a trip."

He walked to the entrance of the passage, then turned back and reminded them, "Be careful. If you see anything unusual, stop immediately and wait for me to come back."

"Traveling is great! I haven't traveled in ages."

Aria smiled happily and nodded, saying, "Don't worry about this place, I'll keep an eye on things."

"Don't work too hard."

Qin Hao paused for a moment, then added, "I feel sorry for you."

Hearing those last three words, Aria's heartstrings seemed to be touched.

Qin Hao knew very well that if he let Ailiya leave like this, given her personality, she would definitely feel that he had underestimated her.

As a princess, how can you let people think you're incompetent?

Because Qin Hao needs to give her enough respect.

As Qin Hao's figure disappeared around the corner of the mine tunnel, Ailiya finally withdrew her gaze.

At this moment, Engineer Wang is directing his team to set up new lighting equipment.

Only after Qin Hao left did he dare to yawn.

This man is incredibly intimidating.

No one dared to be the slightest bit negligent in his presence.

Even someone of Aria's status felt much easier to get along with than Qin Hao.

This man is incredibly intimidating.

On the other side, the metal detectors in everyone's hands kept emitting low beeping sounds.

The secret behind this is something not only Qin Hao, but everyone else is eager to know.

At this moment, Qin Hao was pulled back to reality by the wind and waves on the ground.

Once inside the car, Qin Hao rubbed his temples and said to Charlie in the passenger seat, "Contact Douglas's assistant and arrange to meet at 3 PM tomorrow at the manor near the mine."

Charlie's fingers flew across the phone screen, then paused.

"Boss, isn't it a bit too casual to arrange to meet at the mine?"

That guy is someone who's used to dining at the top-floor restaurants on Wall Street.

If this were placed here, people would think that Qin Hao didn't value or looked down on the other party.

"If he wants to discuss cooperation, he has to adapt to my pace."

Qin Hao gazed at the mine fence flashing past the window, his tone indifferent, "Let him know that I don't have time to make a special trip."

That's absolutely true. Qin Hao is very busy and fulfilled right now.

Charlie's phone vibrated less than ten minutes after the message was sent.

He glanced at the message and clicked his tongue in amazement: "Douglas actually agreed, and even said he would follow Mr. Qin's arrangements."

This was absolutely shocking to Charlie.

He felt that the two sides were locked in a tug-of-war.

For example, you could book a more upscale restaurant, or compromise and even just stay in a regular VIP room.

The air near the mines is polluted and not very good.

Qin Hao twitched the corner of his mouth but didn't say anything.

The current situation may not be a good thing for him.

Qin Hao had hoped that the gold mine would solidify his position.

However, there were far too many people lurking in the shadows, coveting it.

As the car entered the temporary camp in the mining area, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

As soon as the car came to a stop, a man in a black suit quickly approached and respectfully handed over a document.

"Mr. Qin, the Gold Price Bureau's review results are in."

Upon hearing this, Qin Hao took the document, squinted, and flipped through a few pages. His gaze lingered on the final conclusion: "It is agreed to grant Mr. Qin Hao the priority mining right for a period of five years."

It was three days faster than expected.

This is quite interesting.

Could it be that the undercover agent he planted worked?
With gold prices in such turmoil, this is the perfect opportunity for Qin Hao to step in and subdue them.

"How did it go, Mr. Qin?" Charlie asked, seeing Qin Hao's condition, unsure of the outcome.

Qin Hao closed the file and handed it to Charlie, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Charlie, it seems someone doesn't want us to manipulate the gold price."

Charlie paused for a moment after taking the document.

The Gold Price Board is notoriously inefficient, but this time it unusually expedited the review process, suggesting someone is pulling strings behind the scenes. Is it an attempt to curry favor, or is there another motive?

Regardless of the circumstances, Qin Hao is destined to stir up this gold price war.

Is it a case of "the magistrate is allowed to set fires, but the common people are forbidden to light lamps"?

Is this something a human being could do?

They left behind a huge mess and expected Qin Hao to clean it up without spending a penny—that's wishful thinking.

"Should we investigate who's behind this?" Cha asked after a moment's thought.

"No need."

Qin Hao pushed open the car door and got out. The cold morning wind rushed into his collar, but he seemed completely unaware.

"Those who have already emerged will eventually show themselves, and those who are hiding... we'll just dig them out."

Last night before I left, I told Engineer Wang to report the progress every hour. Three hours have passed now, but I still haven't received any news.

"Go ask Engineer Wang how the progress is," Qin Hao instructed the bodyguard behind him.

The bodyguard responded and left, returning hurriedly less than two minutes later, looking rather grim.

“Mr. Qin, Engineer Wang said that they dug out some strange things from the rock wall deep in the mine. They are afraid to touch them and want to wait for you to return before making a decision.”

Qin Hao stopped in his tracks.

Something strange?

He turned and walked toward the mine entrance, his pace several times faster than when he came.

Charlie hurriedly followed, his heart pounding. If a seasoned engineer like Wang, who had seen it all, said he "dared not touch it," then that thing must be something extraordinary.

Upon re-entering the mine tunnel, the dust in the air seemed even thicker than before.

The light from the lighting equipment is not far ahead.

Everything was exactly the same as when Qin Hao first left.

Arya was standing in front of a newly blasted rock wall, holding a magnifying glass in her hand, staring intently with a furrowed brow.

"What happened?" Qin Hao walked to her side.

Aria pointed to the inside of the rock wall, her voice low and somewhat strange.

"look by youself."

Following the direction she pointed, Qin Hao poked his head inside, but as soon as he looked in, his pupils contracted sharply and he pulled his head back.

Human bones, so many human bones!

The human bones on the inside of the rock wall are layered on top of each other. Some are embedded in the cracks of the rock, and some are pressed under broken steel bars. The surface of the bones is covered with fine scratches, as if they have been gnawed by something.

"Has carbon-14 testing been done?"

Qin Hao's voice sounded a little strained.

This was the first time he had ever encountered such a scene.

Ailiya shook her head. "Engineer Wang said he dared not touch it, for fear of damaging the scene."

"Because nobody knows what the situation is right now."

Qin Hao took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

Then he crouched down, hovering above a section of leg bone, not daring to touch it.

The teeth marks on the bone were deep, and there were still some dark red residues on the edges.

"It doesn't look like a bite from a wild animal."

He suddenly spoke up, "The even spacing of the serrations suggests they were made with a tool."

"There shouldn't be any wild animals here, right?" Arya said, pursing her lips.

Engineer Wang leaned closer, his face pale, and said, "President Qin, there might be even more down there."

"Have you noticed that the human bones on the inside of the rock wall are not actually scattered and piled up, but arranged in a strange way?"

“Look at their limbs curled up and their spines twisted, as if they had suffered great pain before they died.”

"What's even stranger is that all the skulls of the skeletons are facing the same direction, as if they are kneeling in worship."

Qin Hao observed for a period of time and came to a conclusion.

Everyone looked at each other, but they all agreed with Qin Hao's statement.

“It seems that’s really the case.” Aria nodded emphatically.

"In short, this posture..." Engineer Wang gasped, "doesn't look like someone who has been injured by external force."

Qin Hao shone his miner's lamp under the skeleton. There were burn marks on the rock layer, irregular circles with edges that looked as if they had been charred by fire.

"It wasn't a knife wound, nor was it a gunshot wound."

He touched the scorch marks; they felt cold and hard to the touch.

"It felt like being instantly pierced by some kind of high temperature."

Arya suddenly pointed to the chest cavity of a skeleton.

There's something here.

Half a piece of charred cloth was stuck between his ribs. The cloth was so rough that it was impossible to tell what kind of clothes it was.

The blurry letters printed on the fragments are the "Sector B" markings mentioned in the base log.

"So they are from the base."

Qin Hao picked up the cloth and said in a deep voice, "But he wasn't killed by outsiders."

As the excavation continued, more skeletons were exposed, far exceeding expectations.

Strangely, none of the skeletons showed any signs of struggle, as if they had all lost their lives at the same instant.

Wang found a perfectly intact metal kettle next to a pile of bones, with a date engraved on its body.

It was the day the logbook was interrupted.

"All gone overnight."

Qin Hao stared at the date on the kettle, somewhat incredulous.

"It wasn't an evacuation, it was a sudden disappearance, without even a chance to resist."

This was so bizarre that it sent chills down everyone's spine.

"Then... is it still necessary for us to continue exploring?" Engineer Wang had second thoughts.

The older generation, including his master, had all given him warnings.

The discovery of human bones in a mineral vein is an ominous sign.

Arya looked into the darkness deep within the rock wall, where the metal detector signal was stronger than before.

"you say……"

Her voice trembled as she boldly speculated, "Could it be related to what they dug up?"

Qin Hao didn't say anything, but simply signaled to his team members to speed up the process.

"Keep going, don't stop."

When the last layer of rock was broken through, a silver metal door appeared before them. The door had no lock, only a strange groove shaped like a flower they had never seen before.

“This door…” Engineer Wang stared at the groove, “doesn’t look like it can be opened with a key.”

Qin Hao stared at the groove on the door, while the others were also figuring out how to open it.

Without warning, Qin Hao raised his hand.

He didn't look for the key or use any tools; he simply pressed his palm into the groove, and then his five fingers curled slightly, fitting perfectly into the pattern of the flower.

"Click."

After a soft click, the metal door slowly slid open, revealing a dark passage inside.

"Holy crap? The door's open?"

"They just opened it like that? My friends and I are all stunned!"

Wang and his team were completely dumbfounded.

"President Qin... how did you know..." Engineer Wang asked hurriedly.

Qin Hao didn't turn around, his headlamp shining into the depths of the tunnel, and said calmly, "Just a guess."

He stepped inside, his figure quickly swallowed by the darkness.

Aria was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed.

"Wait for me!"

The air inside the door smelled musty and rusty, and the walls were covered with claw marks, deep enough to expose bone.

Qin Hao stopped at a piece of metal work ID card embedded in the wall, with half a string of numbers engraved on it, which matched the number on the ID card he had picked up from the skeleton in his pocket.

Hello everyone, this is the author. If you have any monthly tickets or recommendation tickets, please feel free to vote for the author. Thank you for the collaboration between both sides. Especially the recommendation tickets, which are available daily and refreshed. Please support the author; the author needs all the data you have, whether it's recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, or donations. Thank you all so much for your support.
When I think back to the beginning of writing this book, I was really tormented.

This book didn’t actually do very well in the beginning, and the author even thought about giving up on it because not many people read it.

But later, as the plot progressed towards the stage of being put on the shelves, everyone's enthusiasm increased, which made me continue writing it.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, this book would not have been so long. Without you, this book would have definitely been killed in the early stages.

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Furthermore, the pacing of this book will remain consistently fast and enjoyable. Don't worry about any heart-wrenching or unhappy parts; I won't write anything like that. It's all pure, unadulterated enjoyment. Finally, I hope you'll all continue to support me! Thank you everyone, I'm truly grateful. Your support is my motivation. Thank you so much! Please give all your daily recommendation votes and monthly tickets to the author! Your support is my motivation. Thank you so much! Please give all your daily recommendation votes and monthly tickets to the author! (End of Chapter)