84: Underground Hole

After the injured man was carried in, Wu Cuiling hurried forward to check his condition.

Tian Ming also followed. The injured man’s cold-proof suit was already in tatters, and the flesh on his body looked as if it had been bitten by some animal, with bright red flesh exposed and covered in blood. Dr. Wu quickly directed the others to carry the injured man into the temporary operating room.

The men who brought him were also terrified, as if they had encountered something horrifying. Seeing Tian Ming there, they quickly said to him, “Boss, we dug up a large empty space while excavating earthwork in the work shed.”

Seeing that they were still shaken, Tian Ming waved his hand, “Don’t rush, slowly tell me what exactly happened.”

“This empty space is about three meters wide and bottomless. Engineer Yuan told us that whoever went down to check would be given 3 kilograms of meal tickets. That injured brother volunteered to go down. He was tied with a safety rope and took a flashlight before descending,” one person said, trembling.

Another person took over, continuing, “After descending about 70 meters, we saw a flash of light from below, and then heard that brother’s scream. We quickly pulled him up and found him in this state.” As he spoke, the man pointed to the injured person being urgently treated by Dr. Wu in the operating room.

Tian Ming frowned. What kind of thing could injure someone like this?

“Grandpa Yuan, what exactly happened?” Tian Ming asked, pressing his walkie-talkie.

There was a few seconds of silence on the walkie-talkie, and then Grandpa Yuan’s voice came through, “There’s a big hole in the work shed, about 70 meters deep, and it’s pitch black at the bottom.”

At this point, Grandpa Yuan’s voice suddenly trembled, “I just thought of sending someone down to check, who would have thought such a thing would happen?”

“Maintain order at the site, don’t let anyone approach that hole, wait for me to arrive, understand?” Tian Ming said into the walkie-talkie.

“I’m already maintaining it. Many people have fled the excavation pit and don’t dare to go down to dig earthwork anymore. Boss, how is the injured man?”

“He’s being rescued. I’m coming over now.”

Tian Ming rushed to the scene. A huge empty space had appeared in the center of the work shed. The people who were originally working there kept far away from the empty space. Many were trembling, clearly terrified.

Seeing Tian Ming appear, Mr. Yuan, accompanied by Chen Hu, quickly walked over. Chen Hu, on the other hand, had restrained himself much more. Since being confined for two days, he had come to terms with reality. At least on the surface, he had become more compliant.

“Boss, that’s the hole,” Mr. Yuan said, pointing to the empty space in the center of the work shed.

Tian Ming looked at the empty space. The bottom of the hole was pitch black, and there was a faint wisp of heat rising from it.

“When that fellow worker went down just now, did he see anything inside?” Tian Ming turned to ask Mr. Yuan.

Mr. Yuan shook his head repeatedly, “No, it was pitch black down there, we couldn’t see clearly at all. When the injured man was carried out, everyone around was scared stiff, and no one dared to approach that place anymore.”

Tian Ming was silent for a moment before speaking, “You all stay up here and guard. I’ll go down and take a look.”

“Boss, you really shouldn’t go down. I’ll just fill this pit later,” Mr. Yuan said.

If they didn't know what was inside the empty space, the fear in everyone's hearts would persist. There weren't many places in the Shelter where earthwork could be excavated, and if everyone remained afraid, it would affect the progress of wall construction.

“I want to see what’s inside. Filling it would waste manpower and resources, and everyone would still be uneasy and certainly afraid,” Tian Ming said.

Tian Ming led the way towards the empty space, with Mr. Yuan and Chen Hu following behind him.

Chen Hu suddenly spoke, “Boss, you still shouldn’t go down. That man was only down there for a mere dozen seconds, and when we pulled him up, he was bitten into that state.”

“After being confined for two days, are you now concerned about me?” Tian Ming’s tone was very calm, and he didn’t turn his head.

Chen Hu was stunned after hearing this. He was indignant when he previously defied Tian Ming, but ever since his confinement, coupled with the ideas Mr. Yuan had instilled in him, he had begun to agree with Tian Ming’s thoughts. As the Boss of the Shelter, he could completely hide and survive, not caring about anyone's life or death. Regardless of the purpose, everyone in the Shelter owed Tian Ming. Although he was unwilling to admit it, this was the truth.

Chen Hu said, “It was my fault for contradicting you before, Boss. I apologize to you, I’m sorry. Please don’t go down. If something happens to you, the order we’ve so painstakingly established in the Shelter will collapse.”

Tian Ming smiled faintly and held out his hand. Mr. Yuan quickly handed him the flashlight he was holding.

“You all stand up there. No matter what sounds you hear from below, do not act rashly. There’s nothing in this world that can kill me.”

Tian Ming threw a stone downwards, and other than the sound of it hitting the bottom, there was no other movement from below. Tian Ming leaped and jumped directly in.

The airflow around Tian Ming automatically formed a cushioning effect, and he slowly descended, enveloped by an invisible barrier. As the flashlight swept around, this empty space resembled a well. Although its opening was small, its interior was vast.

After descending about 10 meters, the interior of the empty space no longer had soil layers, but rock layers. The surrounding temperature had also risen considerably, to about 10 degrees Celsius.

Tian Ming continued to descend, and the temperature grew higher and higher, at least twenty degrees Celsius. After descending about 50 meters, Tian Ming finally saw the bottom of the empty space. The air here was flowing, and the oxygen content was not low.

After landing, Tian Ming looked up. The top of the empty space was about seventy meters from the bottom. The space here was very large, at least six or seven hundred square meters. There were many scattered rocks at the bottom of the empty space.

As Tian Ming swept his flashlight, countless small points glowing with green fluorescence appeared in front. They seemed to be the eyes of rodents reflecting the light from Tian Ming's flashlight.

These were all enormous rats, each about the size of a cat. This entire space was filled with such rats; for someone with trypophobia, seeing such a scene would surely make their scalp tingle.

The rats did not swarm him. They also sensed the terrifying nature of the person before them.

Tian Ming extended his hand towards the rats, palm facing upwards. The carbon in the air immediately condensed into countless carbon fiber arrows.

With a thought from Tian Ming, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, these carbon fiber arrows, like missiles, accurately struck the rats' heads, almost all of them a single fatal blow. However, there were too many rats here. The remaining rats squeaked and fled, disappearing instantly, leaving behind a ground full of rat corpses.

At this moment, a strange thought popped into Tian Ming’s mind: I wonder if these rats are edible?