HLM – Chapter 783 Underground Exploration

That made sense — without a light source, humans were basically blind. Going into an unexplored place like that was practically suicide.

But Wang Bo wasn’t going down there alone. He might be a “blind man,” but he had eyes — Zhuang Ding, the Queen, Little Wang, and the Fat Cat Brothers. These fellows were all experts at seeing in the dark.

This five-member team was quite formidable: the Queen was the most alert, Zhuang Ding was the fiercest fighter, Little Wang had the greatest combat power, and as for the Fat Cat Brothers — their eyes were the most useful in darkness.

The others didn’t have that kind of courage. Porter shrugged and said, “I’m not going with you, mate. You know, I don’t have kids yet, and Shanni can’t lose me.”

At the mention of the beautiful boss lady’s long legs and perfect figure, a group of employees started swallowing hard. They really hoped the chubby boss would go down there — they’d gladly take on the “responsibility” of comforting his wife.

Thankfully, his subordinates were more reliable. When Uncle Bing heard Wang Bo was planning to explore an underground cave, he patted his chest confidently. “Boss, I’ll go with you. I’ve got some experience in that field — and I’ve got a full set of night combat gear.”

The engineering team also had night vision gear. Porter handed Wang Bo a gas mask. “Here — if the air’s bad down there, this might save your life.”

The chief engineer chuckled. “That’s not necessary. The cave entrance is quite large — look, there’s constant airflow. Otherwise, those fungus flies couldn’t survive down there. They’re not anaerobic bacteria, you know.”

Wang Bo declined the gas mask. Zhuang Ding and the others had much keener senses of smell — if the air turned bad, they’d bolt before he even realized it.

Following Uncle Bing’s advice, their preparation was simple:

Wolf-Eye flashlights — cool light sources that wouldn’t disturb the fungus flies too much.

Quick-ignite torches — if there was danger, they could produce a roaring flame within five seconds.

And finally, knives and guns — both men carried sidearms and long guns.

Wang Bo held a shotgun. Atulu said solemnly, “This gun was passed down from my grandfather. My grandmother blesses it every day. It’s a gun blessed by the gods — it can pierce through any darkness or danger!”

That Maori big guy had even gone home to fetch his treasured shotgun for Wang Bo. He wasn’t kidding — his grandmother, Otutu, really was the priestess of their tribe.

When everything was ready, the employee monitoring the camera feed suddenly called out, “Wait — don’t go down yet! There’s water below — looks deep, too. You’d better take a flat-bottomed boat or an inflatable raft.”

The group crowded around the screen. The footage had become even more dazzling — countless glowing dots shimmered above and ahead.

But what looked like the “ground” wasn’t ground at all — it was water.

No surprise there — the cave was right beside Lake Hawea, and underground water was abundant.

The engineering team did have flat-bottomed boats, but they were too big and heavy to transport easily — and no one knew how spacious the underground chamber was. Using those boats rashly might block the passage. The best option was an inflatable raft.

When Wang Bo had bought his fishing boat, it came with an inflatable raft that he’d never used — now it was finally useful.

Uncle Bing carried the raft on his back. It could hold four or five people, like a small assault boat, inflated using an electric pump. Once deployed, it could be filled in minutes.

The two got ready to depart when Porter suddenly said, “Hold on.”

“What now?”

Porter walked up seriously and drew a cross over their chests. “In the name of Jesus my Father, thank you for the food we eat, the clothes we wear. Please grant us the courage to survive. Hallelujah…”

Wang Bo: “…”

Finally, it was time to descend. Wang Bo and Uncle Bing followed Zhuang Ding and the others into the cave.

The five little fellows had no idea what awaited them. True to the saying “newborn calves fear no tigers,” they showed not a hint of fear and walked in casually.

As soon as Zhuang Ding entered, he wanted to pee to “mark his territory.” Wang Bo was speechless and quickly stopped him from acting on that ridiculous idea.

“If things go bad, run for your lives. Got it?” Wang Bo warned.

The five little guys just looked at him with bright, clever eyes — each one seeming smarter than the last. Wang Bo closed his mouth, realizing he was worrying too much. If danger struck, he’d be lucky to outrun them.

The cave entrance was quite large — at least a hundred square meters. It sloped gently downward, covered in weeds and bushes that blocked the way in. If not for the survey, no one would’ve found it.

As they moved deeper, the weeds and bushes thinned out, replaced by patches of mottled moss — proof that the cave air was heavy with moisture.

The deeper they went, the wider the passage became. After about forty or fifty meters, the slope suddenly grew steeper, and faint lights began to appear ahead.

By now, almost no sunlight reached them — the bushes above had blocked it all. Wang Bo turned back to glance at the faint light behind them, then looked forward again — and froze.

Several greenish glows had appeared right in front of him!

He almost raised his gun — until a big paw poked him, reminding him that it was just Little Wang and the others’ glowing eyes.

“You scared me to death,” he muttered.

Uncle Bing looked back. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Wang Bo said awkwardly. “Let’s keep going. Everything okay up ahead?”

“All clear. Normal.”

After another few dozen meters, the faint light ahead grew brighter — they could see small glowing insects clinging to the walls. There weren’t many of them, but under their soft blue light, Wang Bo could make out their shapes: large larvae, with only their tails glowing a pale blue.

They also hung thin, sticky, transparent threads from their bodies — some as long as twenty centimeters — and the glow traveled along these filaments, gently spreading the light.

According to the camera survey, there was a turn ahead. Beyond that was the scene they had seen on the monitor.

Wang Bo braced himself and turned into a wider stone corridor — and was completely unprepared for what came next.

A dreamlike vision burst before his eyes — a sky full of stars!

It was as if the Milky Way had spilled into the earth. Ahead stretched hundreds, maybe thousands of meters of glowing light — endless. Overhead, rivers of green and blue light flowed and shimmered.

The mingling green-blue dots twinkled like a galaxy — densely packed in some places, scattered in others. Where the light was bright, it shone like sapphires; where it dimmed, it flickered softly like distant lanterns.

Standing at that junction, Wang Bo felt as though he were gazing upon the edge of the universe — stars scattered like the lights of a thousand homes, the glow of gods looking down upon the world.

“This… this is the Glowworm Cave!”

Almost in unison, he and Uncle Bing whispered the words.

At last, Wang Bo understood what the chief engineer had meant — it wasn’t some mysterious riddle or poetic exaggeration.

He was right.

Once you see the Glowworm Cave — you know it’s the Glowworm Cave.