BPIFC -Volume 1 – Chapter 58 Hope for Survival

Seeing that the injured man was neither Huang Ran, Meng Qiqi, nor Zhang Zhiyan, Sun Desheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately arranged for the wounded man to be sent to the hospital and contacted the Second Investigation Room and Shen La for reinforcements. Only after that did he turn to Xiao Yifeng, who was preparing to leave.

“Old Xiao, don’t go. Stay and help. Old Yang won’t need the equipment you brought. Pick out a set—you might end up using it.”

“Dasheng, stop joking.” Xiao Yifeng shook his head and continued, “Those were the rules Director Gao established back then. The Fifth Room doesn’t participate in field operations. Besides, we’re logistics people. You can’t use me like those big idiots from the Second Room.”

“I really don’t have much choice.” Sun Desheng rarely sighed. “Besides, I’m not asking you guys to go down personally. Huang Ran and the others are still trapped below, their lives hanging in the balance. The three of us will go down and take a look. You stay above and coordinate. La Zi and the others should arrive in a few hours. If La Zi can bring Director Wu over, then everything will be solved.”

Hearing that he wouldn’t have to descend himself, Xiao Yifeng reluctantly agreed.

After handing things over to Xiao’s subordinates, Sun Desheng, accompanied by Che Qianzi and Yang Xiao carrying the equipment cases, followed the police commander to the disaster site—the ancient tomb entrance, which was still spewing thick smoke.

A temporary shelter had been erected over the entrance. To facilitate Huang Ran’s operations, aluminum scaffolding and pulleys had been installed around the opening.

Communication equipment and various tools previously used by Huang Ran’s group were scattered everywhere. Three nylon ropes still extended deep into the tomb, while people above ground frantically directed rescue efforts.

The air was filled with the smell of rotten eggs.

After the Song Dynasty tomb had first been discovered, the local cultural relics bureau had requested a full excavation. But Boss Wan feared that doing so would delay construction of Phases Three and Four of the resort, so he used his connections to keep postponing it.

To appease the media, only a small exploratory investigation by experts had been allowed.

His original plan had been to wait until the entire resort was completed and accepted by inspectors. By then, whether the problem inside had been handled by the Bureau or Huang Ran, the excavation would not damage the resort’s reputation.

He never imagined that Fatty Huang, who had guaranteed success, would end up causing such a disaster.

Now, seeing Sun Desheng return, Boss Wan pinned all his hopes on him.

Running alongside Sun Desheng, he babbled continuously:

“Director Sun… as long as you can settle this matter, I’ll give you ten percent of the resort shares…”

“Director Sun… my entire fortune is invested here. If anything else happens, I’ll have no choice but to jump into the Pearl River…”

Sun Desheng had no patience for him and pushed him aside.

Along the way, they saw two more severely injured men being carried out. One of them was a foreigner Sun Desheng had seen before leaving earlier. The man appeared lifeless and was probably beyond saving.

The police commander explained:

“These were only the personnel stationed above ground. They’re already injured this badly. We’ve sent three rescue teams into the tomb, but we’ve lost contact with all of them. We don’t know whether they’re dead or alive.”

The entrance area had become complete chaos.

One policeman, putting on a gas mask, shouted loudly:

“If I don’t come back in fifteen minutes, don’t come looking for me. Report to headquarters immediately. Everyone get back! There’s poisonous gas inside—everyone who went in hasn’t come back!”

Just as he was about to charge inside, Sun Desheng grabbed him.

“This is no longer your responsibility. Everyone withdraw beyond the outer cordon. Keep monitoring the area. If there’s another explosion or anything unusual, expand the perimeter immediately.”

The officer was about to object when his superior hurriedly introduced Sun Desheng.

“This is Director Sun of the Ministry of Public Security’s Emergency Affairs Office. From this moment onward, Director Sun commands this rescue operation. Everyone must obey his orders.”

Sun Desheng glanced toward the tomb and then at Yang Xiao.

Seeing the deep frown on Yang Xiao’s face, and the meaningful look he gave, Sun immediately understood.

Nodding, he turned to the police commander.

“You don’t need to stay here anymore. From now on, only me and the experts from the ministry remain on-site. Everyone else withdraw beyond the cordon. Without my order, nobody comes near this place.”

“It doesn’t matter whether you understand or not. An order is an order. No questions. No objections.”

Though Sun Desheng was usually smiling and carefree, when he became serious he carried genuine authority.

The police officers and medical staff didn’t understand why they were being driven away, but after witnessing the earlier catastrophe, they were already terrified. Having someone else take over was exactly what they wanted.

Once everyone—including Boss Wan—had left, Sun Desheng asked: “Old Yang, it’s not something simple down there, is it?”

Yang Xiao didn’t answer.

Instead, he cut his fingertip with a fingernail and walked to the entrance, letting blood drip into the area occupied by the tomb.

Three or five seconds later, he suddenly pulled his finger back.

A thin strand of mist stretched from the wound, like a thread of fog trying to burrow into his flesh.

Yang Xiao blew the mist away before finally turning around.

“It’s a Severed-Life Formation.”

“Huang Ran and the others must have triggered some mechanism, releasing death qi mixed with methane gas. A tiny spark ignited the methane, causing the explosion.”

“Fortunately, death qi is incompatible with ordinary air. It can only rage inside the tomb and can’t spread outside.”

After hesitating for a moment, he finally continued:

“Dasheng, prepare yourself.”

“The center of the explosion was underground.”

“Huang Ran and the others couldn’t possibly have survived. Once the death qi disperses, we’ll go down and collect their bodies.”

“If you said anyone else couldn’t survive, I’d believe you,” Sun Desheng shook his head.

“But that’s Huang Ran.”

“Would he die so miserably?”

“I’ve already calculated his fate. He still has to compete with me. We’d fight for another ten or twenty years, and in the end he’d lose by one move and I’d shoot him dead.”

“Die here? I’m the first one who refuses to believe it.”

Despite saying that, Sun Desheng made no attempt to rescue anyone immediately.

Instead, he kept checking his watch, calculating when Bureau reinforcements would arrive.

At that moment, Che Qianzi, who had been standing quietly behind him, suddenly exclaimed:

“Huh?”

He looked around.

“Did you hear that?”

“Who’s talking?”

“Someone chanting scriptures?”

Sun Desheng, Yang Xiao, and Deputy Director Xiao all strained their ears, but none of them heard anything unusual.

Just then, one of the communication devices lying on the ground crackled to life.

First came static.

Then a rustling sound.

Finally, a man’s voice emerged:

“Stephen… we’re trapped below…”

“Hurry and come down to help us…”

“Our oxygen won’t last much longer…”

“Call Sun Desheng back…”

“Down here… down here…”

Before the fragmented message could finish, the communicator dissolved into static again and fell silent.

Sun Desheng recognized the voice instantly.

His eyes lit up.

“Old Huang really is lucky!”

He turned to Xiao Yifeng.

“Old Xiao, stay up here and coordinate.”

“The three of us are going down.”

“When the Bureau people arrive, have them come down immediately to reinforce us.”

With that, Sun Desheng opened his equipment case and took out a breathing mask connected to an oxygen tank…