Tomb raiding: The awesome life that started from Ganggangyingzi

"Little Black! Well done!"

Ji Haobo smiled and patted its head, then turned around and handed several shovels to everyone.

"This should be the underground fissure below. Let's clear the snow off first, but everyone be careful, start from the outside."

He estimated that there was probably a thick layer of ice under the snow around the crack, because there was a faint warmth rising from below as water vapor.

Sure enough, as the group, along with Biaozi and Xiaohei, dug away the snow, they found that there was more than 20 centimeters of ice on the rocks of the mountain, which blocked most of the more than 10-meter-long crack.

"Damn, that ice at the entrance is tough! It's easy to fall through if you're not careful, and there's also the risk of triggering an avalanche."

Looking at the dark crack, Fatty Wang felt a chill run down his spine, as if it were a giant maw that could devour him at any moment.

The others also felt this was somewhat troublesome, but Ji Haobo looked up and glanced around at the surroundings and the mountaintop.

"The mountainside here is relatively flat, so the chances of an avalanche are slim. As for the ice at the entrance, it's easy to deal with."

"After I cut a ring around it with a knife, I'll just knock it down. Given the depth of the crack, it shouldn't affect the snow above."

The others thought this method was feasible, since the ice at the entrance was formed by the rising water vapor below, which gradually condensed due to the alternation of hot and cold.

The enormous weight is entirely attached to the inner wall of the entrance. If a mark is made on the ice surface, damaging its integrity, the area below will definitely be unable to bear the weight and will fall into the crack.

Having made up his mind, and just in case, Ji Haobo asked everyone to step aside. He then picked up his long sword, walked over, and began to cut open the ice along the crack.

"click"

As the longsword sliced ​​through the ice at the entrance, a cracking sound rang out, and many cracks appeared on it, but it did not immediately fall down.

However, Ji Haobo flashed and jumped over, landing heavily on it.

"Click"

The ice block at the entrance suddenly broke off with a "rumble" and crashed into the bottom of the crack, squeezing out a large amount of air.

It wasn't until more than ten seconds later that the faint rumble of ice chunks hitting the ground could be heard coming from inside the crack.

"This...this, judging from the time it took for the sound to travel up, the crack must be several hundred meters deep."

Yang Xueli's expression changed slightly. She stared blankly at the suddenly opened crack. She had been silently counting as she fell through the ice block.

Normally, an object falling from a height for more than ten seconds would travel at least six or seven hundred meters. Even if an ice block were to collide with a rock wall, the crack would be at least three or four hundred meters deep.

This depth of a normal cave would not be a problem for her, given her considerable exploration experience.

The key issue is that the cracked rock wall in front of us is not only covered with a layer of ice, but also has a large number of icicles hanging down, making it extremely difficult and dangerous to go down under these conditions.

Of course, Ji Haobo can easily lead everyone down, but it was agreed before we came that under normal circumstances, everyone should go down on their own. Otherwise, what's the point of coming out with us and adding to the trouble?

"I'll send a drone down to take a look; you guys get ready to set the anchor points."

Ji Haobo placed some ropes, tools, helmet, gloves, and other equipment on the ground, then took out the drone.

He naturally did not object to the group's insistence on going down on their own.

No matter how dangerous it is, he'll always be there to protect you. If you don't even have the courage to try after all this, you might as well stay home and wait to die.

As the drone descended into the crack, it gave him a general understanding of the situation inside.

The crack is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. Ice adheres to the rock wall for about a hundred meters at the entrance, but the lower section, although free of ice, is shrouded in mist, making it difficult to see even with a drone.

However, there is a general idea of ​​the depth of this crack; it is at least four hundred meters.

Given the depth and the complex conditions on the rock walls, it would be no easy task for Yang Xueli and her team to descend.

Especially Fatty Wang, who is not only unfamiliar with rappelling but also has a fear of heights.

Therefore, after they had established the anchor points, Ji Haobo made the following arrangements:

"This crack is about four hundred meters long. I'll get you some temporary platforms to stand on first."

Then Shirley went down first to clear the way. You have more exploration experience, so you should help them set up anchor points along the way.

As for Biaozi, you and Xiaohei stay up there and keep watch. We estimate we'll be up tomorrow."

Then they set up a tent to help the two big guys keep warm. Although they weren't afraid of the temperature here, they probably figured if they were comfortable, there was no need to suffer.

After Ji Haobo left, Yang Xueli nodded to the group and, as arranged, went first, with Laura following closely behind.

The remaining two, Lao Hu and Fatty Wang, exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, and walked shakily to the edge of the crack.

"Old Hu, this crack is fucking outrageous! Even the Abyss isn't this big."

"Stop dawdling and whining. With Bo backing you up, what are you afraid of? I'll go first, you follow behind."

Although Lao Hu spoke with great bravado, he was actually quite nervous inside.

After all, few people can remain calm and collected when descending into such a dark abyss.

It took the group more than five hours to finally reach the bottom, their bodies completely exhausted.

It was only because Ji Haobo was there to help that they were able to get down there in less than ten hours.

"Whew...wow, that was fucking thrilling! I almost died on the way."

Fatty Wang was pale and panting heavily; his legs trembled as soon as he landed.

It wasn't the physical exertion that was tiring; with their superhuman strength, they could easily handle it. The real challenge was the psychological pressure they faced during the descent.

"You all rest here for a bit, I'll go check things out ahead."

Ji Haobo glanced around and saw a large amount of broken ice scattered on the ground in the hundreds of square meters of the cave floor.

There was no fog down there, but a faint warm breeze was blowing out from a passage carved out of a crack in the mountain.

"No need, we'll go with you."

Yang Xueli quickly refused. Since they were already down there, why dawdle? She wanted to see if there were any clues left by her father inside.

Lao Hu and the others didn't object. Now that they're grounded, the pressure in their hearts has naturally disappeared.

After catching their breath, the group relaxed, their tense bodies finally calming down. Although they were still somewhat excited, it didn't stop them from going inside to explore.

"Alright, you all follow behind and be careful. After all, I can't be sure if any Dapu Ghost Worms will suddenly appear."

Ji Haobo gave a few instructions to everyone, then reduced the drone's light output to avoid alerting the Dapu Ghost Worms.

The air inside the passage was not only quite humid, but the temperature also became warmer as you went further.

From minus thirty degrees Celsius outside the crack, to around zero degrees Celsius below, and now to above zero, it's like two completely different worlds.

As the temperature rose and humidity increased, moss even appeared on the rock walls of the passage.