"No problem," the hotel owner agreed immediately while looking at them suspiciously. "But are you
here to find friends or the treasure?"
"Friends. But those bringing Venus are here to find the treasure." Kerry explained briefly.
The owner was confused. "That's weird. I have lived here since my childhood. I haven't heard of any
treasure here. How do those outsiders know?"
"They're probably deceived." Kerry said impassively. But what he didn't say was, well, he was actually
the one who deceived them.
At this moment, Henry happened to come back, carrying plastic bags in both hands. There were
several lunch boxes in the bags.
Tianye Mu got up first, "Let's eat first, and we'll discuss after dinner."
Kerry and Xiran Xiao didn't oppose.
In fact, the current situation was much better than what Kerry had in mind before he came here. He had
thought that it would take a couple of days to find some clues to Venus's whereabouts. He didn't expect
to find so much information in just one day.
He believed that as long as he followed this clue, he would definitely find Venus and her baby.
...
As for Venus's situation, under the guidance of Mr. Cai, Gavin and his team came to a cave halfway up
the mountain. The baby already fell asleep on Venus's back. Completely wrapped in mud, Venus's
shoes were unrecognizable in style and color.
After a long trek in the mountains, she was exhausted and sat on the big rock beside her panting.
Since the unsuccessful escape that day, she must follow Gavin wherever he went. There was no time
or opportunity to rest.
Moreover, Alisa was very unfriendly towards her, which, of course, she could totally understand. She
knew that if not for Gavin's strict order, let alone Heng Zhang, Alisa would have wiped her neck with a
dagger for many times.
Not far away, Mr. Cai and Gavin were talking quietly.
"How likely do you think this cave houses the treasure?" Gavin asked.
Mr. Cai's replied looking serious, "I don't know, but now that we are here, why not go in and take a
look?"
Gavin glanced at the big black cave. He was about to let his subordinates in when he saw Venus
rubbing legs from the corner of his eye. He raised his eyebrows slightly and uttered, "Venus, come
here."
Venus raised her head and looked at him warily, "Why?"
Gavin answered bluntly, "You go in and see what's inside."
"You are crazy!" She blurted out, "How can I get in?"
"Of course by walk. I do want to see you fly in, but unfortunately you don't have wings." Gavin sneered
and teased her. People standing around them were rubber-necking.
Venus knew that Gavin was setting her up. It was such a black cave. Who knew what was inside?
"I'm not going." She refused.
Gavin smiled eerily and said, "Venus, I think you have mistaken your identity. You are a hostage, not a
guest. You have no right to refuse."
Venus was irritated, "But, with so many men around, you are letting a women go in?"
"Right. What's the problem?" Gavin asked, knowing full well what she meant.
"Of course there is a problem. I, I don't have any experience at all, and I don't know kung fu. In case
there is something in it..."
"That's why I let you go." Gavin gave a sinister smile.
"You..." Venus finally understood his sinister intentions. This guy wanted her to be the guinea pig. How
could she said yes?
Gavin saw Venus looking around, knowing she was up to something again. He smiled, "Venus, I
suggest you save some energy. You can't run away. Now I give you two choices. One, carry the baby
on your back and go in together. Two, leave the baby outside the cave and you go in alone."
"Gavin, you are way out of line..." Before Venus finished speaking, she found Heng Zhang standing
behind her. She was so scared that she stood up immediately and glowered at him, "What do you want
to do?"
"Venus, hurry up and choose. I don't have so much patience." Gavin's tone became cold.
Venus gritted her teeth and stared at Gavin. She had to make the choice that was most beneficial to
the baby. How could she let the baby go in and suffer with her?
"Okay, I'll go in alone." After saying that, she loosened the straps before her chest and took off her
shoulder bag. The baby was sleeping soundly in it just like last time she was trying to escape.
However, Heng Zhang grabbed the bag very rudely and the baby almost fell out of it.
Venus almost fainted from rage, "Heng Zhang, can't you fucking take it lightly?"
"I won't." Heng Zhang also replied viciously.
Venus was driven crazy. She sat down on the rock again, stared at Gavin and said, "I'm not going. You
can kill me if you want to."
"Are you sure?"
Venus looked indifferent, "Yes, I'll die anyway. It's just a matter of time. I don't want to be bullied by this
asshole anymore. You might as well kill me and my baby now. We can also keep each other company
in the underworld."
"You are such a good hostage, how can I let you die?" Gavin sneered, and took the baby over from
Heng Zhang. "He's with me. No one can hurt him. You can feel reassured and go in now."
Venus raised her eyebrows, "Why do I sense from your tone that you're sending me to death?"
"No, I'm just letting you go in to explore. Okay, enough of this nonsense. If there is treasure in it, you
and your baby can have complete freedom then."
Venus didn't really want to die. She was only in her twenties and her baby was only half a year old.
They still have a long life ahead. Why should she die in the hands of these people? What she worried
about was the baby. What if Heng Zhang wanted to hurt the baby after she entered the cave alone? So
she must make sure the baby would be safe.
She subconsciously thought that although Gavin was a bad guy, he was really nice to the baby, so the
baby should have no problems in his hands.
Venus took a few deep breaths, plucked up the courage, and walked to the cave alone.
"Wait."
Venus was delighted and stopped abruptly. Could it be that Gavin got a guilty conscience and decided
not to let her go? But then she heard him say, "Heng Zhang, give her a flashlight and a candle."
Heng Zhang did not refute, took out a flashlight and a candle from the bag and handed them to her.
"Light it up." Venus said, holding the candle. After following them for so many days, she also learned a
lot. A cave like this where no one had set foot for a long time had very thin air. The candle was used to
tell whether there was oxygen. Once the candle went out, one shouldn't go any further.
Venus went across the lush weeds into the cave.
This old cave was like being pulled out of a huge boulder and was surrounded by stones. One or two
meters from the entrance of the cave was a moss-covered place where the sun could shine on. When
Venus stepped on it, it felt slippery and soft. Going further, it got darker and darker. Venus turned on the
flashlight, and the candle in another hand was burning normally.
By flashlight, she saw sharp stalagmites. The road beneath her feet became more and more difficult to
walk, and she became more and more scared.
Darkness means countless possibilities, and people always fear the unknown darkness.
At this moment, Venus suddenly thought of Xiao Xiran, for she was so adventurous that she must be
extremely excited if she were here.
A chilly wind came from the depths of the cave, and the air was mixed with a rotten smell. Venus
couldn't help shivering, and said to herself, "How deep is this cave?"
Just then there were fluttering sounds one after another. After shining the flashlight into the
surroundings, Venus was scared to death, her scalp was numb, and her legs almost knelt on the
ground.
She saw countless bats clinging to the top of the cave, looking at her with green eyes. There were also
several bats that seemed to find no place to stay, hovering in midair and making squeaky sounds.
Venus had never seen real bats before. Most of the times she would see them in movies and TV
dramas. They were generally symbols of evil and blood and always came with dead bodies and blood
stains.
Venus mustered up her courage to shine the light onto the ground. Fortunately, there was nothing
terrifying except for the dark stains.
She didn't dare to gasp, because she was afraid that she would breathe in some strange gas. She
glanced at the candle in her hand. Fortunately, it still emitted warm orange light despite smaller flame.
Venus swallowed hard to calm herself down. She tried to put her hands together and muttered, "I'm
sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you. I'm sorry."
The bats didn't seem to show much interest in her. They did not make any attacks except for staring at
her. Venus continued to move forward.
"Ding Dong Ding Dong..."
The faint sound of water came from the darkness, just like water dripping. Such sounds appeared clear
and loud in this silent cave. Venus followed the sound curiously and walked over. A few meters away, a
green pool with a diameter of over one meter appeared in front of her. The water was clear, but she
didn't know how deep the pool was. The mountain on the top of the pool was very moist. Water drops
dripped down the pointed stalagmites into the pool.
It was unclear it took how many years for the water drops to form such a small pool.
Venus looked around and found that compared with the previous walls, the wall here was no different
except that it was wetter.
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