PCJ – Chapter 431 The Excavation Is Complete

Sun Lei and Yang Jinlong took turns supervising in the tomb, their main purpose being to prevent their subordinates from pocketing any valuables.

Although He Shouye and Long Wuyi’s ultimate goal was clearly not just gold and silver, these precious metals were still an important supplement to their operation. Who knew how many priceless antiques lay hidden beneath the earth? With their substantial investment in this venture, they couldn’t afford to miss any opportunity to recover their expenses.

One of Sun Lei’s men gently poked at a mound of dirt with a hoe, only to have it collapse with a loud rumble. The sudden cave-in startled Sun Lei.

“Be careful, or you’ll end up burying yourself…” Sun Lei began, but his words trailed off as he shone his flashlight on the newly exposed area. A dark, gaping hole appeared where the mound had collapsed—the dirt pile had been hollowed out.

Seizing the hoe from the worker, Sun Lei quickly widened the hole. The thin layer of remaining soil crumbled easily, revealing a deep and expansive burial chamber beyond.

“Quick! Go tell Fourth Master about this!” Sun Lei shouted excitedly.

But after a moment, he reconsidered. “No, I’ll go myself.”

Ahead lay a vast space, likely not far from the main burial chamber. Such an important discovery required the presence of the two key players, He Shouye and Long Wuyi. Additionally, they had promised earlier that Wang Zhenren and Daoist Bai would also be included in the critical moments of exploration.

When He Shouye heard the news, he could hardly contain his excitement. This operation had already cost the lives of six men, not to mention the vast sums of money needed to cover it up afterward. The mounting costs of the endeavor were starting to weigh on him, and he had little patience left.

“Finally, some good news!” He Shouye said, his face breaking into a rare smile.

“Fourth Master, shall we head to the main burial chamber now?” Sun Lei asked.

“Of course. We’ve been preparing for this day for so long. The items inside need to be removed as quickly as possible. The longer we linger here, the greater the risk to us. Something feels off about this area lately—there are more and more strange people showing up around Meizi’ao.”

“You think we’re being watched? What should we do?” Sun Lei asked worriedly.

He Shouye glared at him. “Do you think I can back out now after investing so much?”

Long Wuyi chuckled. “Sun Lei, is this your first time in this line of work? High risk brings high reward. Let them watch—what can they do? As long as they’re not sure what we’re up to, they won’t dare act recklessly. We’ve been under scrutiny before.”

He Shouye nodded. “They probably haven’t figured out what we’re doing yet. That gives us time to wrap things up. Also, we’ll let the film crew into the tomb to start shooting scenes. That should dispel some of the suspicion.”

“Isn’t that risky? What if another ghost shows up in the tomb?” Sun Lei said, concerned.

“If that happens, do you think you’ll still have time to worry about such things?” He Shouye retorted.

Realizing what He Shouye meant, Sun Lei nodded. “True enough.”

If they encountered another entity like the one before, and without Wang Zhenren’s talismanic artifact, none of them would survive. With such stakes, worrying about others would be meaningless. He Shouye’s plan was undeniably ruthless.

“Then it’s settled. Notify the film crew that the tomb is ready for shooting. However, for safety, their activities must be confined to designated areas,” He Shouye ordered.

Sun Lei promptly delivered the news to the crew.

Lin Jianming, already at his wit’s end, was relieved. They had nearly finished all the above-ground scenes, and further delays would mean another production halt. To his surprise, Sun Lei arrived with good news just in time.

“No problem at all. As long as we can shoot inside the tomb, we’re fine. I was about to resort to using fake sets, but they wouldn’t look as convincing. Real tomb scenes will be much better,” Lin Jianming said, immediately agreeing to the terms.

Elsewhere, Shang Jiuyuan also received word of the development.

“They’ve cleared the collapsed section of the tomb? Looks like we can close the net soon,” he said.

“We could act now,” Zhang Jiaohua suggested. “They’ve already collected plenty of gold and silver from the tomb. That should be enough evidence.”

Shang Jiuyuan shook his head. “It’s not enough. Those items alone can be explained as opportunistic theft. The quantities aren’t significant enough to ensure a heavy sentence, and he might even escape prosecution.”

He knew all too well how cunning He Shouye and Long Wuyi were.

Chen Dianzi interjected, “I’m worried for Chen Cheng and Tang Yan’s safety in the tomb. Find a way to get me inside too. If something happens, at least you won’t be fighting alone.”

“That’s easy,” Zhang Jiaohua said. “A few city folks are too scared to go down into the tomb. You can take their place.”

In the guise of a guide for the main characters in the film, Zhang Jiaohua joined the group entering the tomb. Chen Dianzi followed as backup, blending seamlessly into the background.

Meanwhile, plainclothes officers planted in the crew entered the tomb as well. Zhu Qiyou, a detective from Xintian County’s Criminal Investigation Team, ventured slightly ahead, only to be stopped by Sun Lei’s guards.

“What are you doing? No entry beyond this point!” one guard barked.

Feigning ignorance, Zhu Qiyou asked, “Hey, this isn’t going to collapse, is it?”

“We reinforced it. It’s not going to collapse,” the guard replied impatiently.

“You’ve got quite the setup here. Looks like you could use this for a war movie later on,” Zhu Qiyou joked, trying to appear casual.

“Whatever they shoot here in the future is none of your business. Now get moving before I lose my patience,” the guard snapped.