142: Chapter 141 The Story

Li Dongping lay flat on the hospital bed, looking extremely haggard. He became very agitated when he saw Cao Xiao enter and tried to get up from the bed, but Cao Xiao quickly went over to support him.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Li Dongping grabbed Cao Xiao's hand and said excitedly, "Xiao Xiao, it's all thanks to your help this time, otherwise our whole family would be finished! Those beasts, it would have been one thing if they just wanted my life, but they actually wouldn't even let my family go. Once I'm better, I'll make sure they all die a miserable death!"

"Brother Li, don't get worked up! Those people have all been arrested by the police. No matter who they are, they will be severely punished by the law. The man who kidnapped Sister-in-law and the others is currently in a state worse than death; I severed his five limbs, and they can't be reattached. You and Sister-in-law just focus on recovering; leave everything else to me," Cao Xiao comforted him.

"That's good. I, Li Dongping, have a clear conscience. If your sister-in-law and Shanshan hadn't been in their hands, I wouldn't have done something as foolish as suicide," Li Dongping said with emotion.

"Brother Li, what exactly happened with the Xinyuan Mine disaster? Who exactly went to see you today?" Although Cao Xiao had a faint guess about the answer, he still wasn't certain in his heart.

"Over half a month ago, President Chen and I arrived at the Xinyuan Coal Mine. I originally thought it was a large mine, but I didn't expect it to be an ordinary small lignite mine. Moreover, President Chen's shares in it were very few, less than one percent. Knowing this, I originally wanted to leave Xinyuan, but President Chen and several other shareholders warmly urged me to stay. They not only offered me an annual salary of over a million but also put me in charge of production management. Although I was full of doubts, the compensation was very good, so I stayed."

"Since I had just started, I worked quite hard and went down the shaft every day. After gaining a basic understanding of the work, I discovered some anomalies. There was a mining area that was actually outside my jurisdiction; I couldn't even get close to it. The workers there were all very secretive, which made me curious. So I started paying attention to the situation there. By observing the rock and earth they transported out, I deduced that drilling operations were being conducted there. I thought they were prospecting for a new coal seam, so I didn't worry about it further."

"But just a few days ago, there was a huge commotion underground. Strange sounds came from that area, like wild beasts roaring with all their might, making the workers very uneasy. I couldn't ignore that, so I took a few brave workers and went over there to ask the person in charge for an explanation. But when we arrived, we couldn't see a single person. After going several hundred meters deep along the tunnel, we found a group of workers fleeing towards us in panic. Then, I saw a scene I will never forget in my life."

"In the tunnel not far behind those miners, dense black insects were flying like dark clouds. Several workers who ran slowly were swallowed by the sea of insects in the blink of an eye. They didn't even let out a scream before thick smoke rose from their bodies and they turned into a pile of black ash. I was terrified and froze, forgetting to run. It was also my good luck; after I regained my senses, I observed a bit more and found that those insects could only harm human bodies. The clothes left behind by those victims were still intact. Furthermore, some of the flying insects were swarming around the light from the mining lamps. This made me think of the phototaxis of insects. So, in a moment of desperation, I quickly threw away my own mining lamp and told everyone to throw away the lamps on their heads. Those lamps indeed attracted most of the flying insects, but even after the insects submerged the lights, some still chased after us."

"I was running at the very front. In my desperation, I fled into a temporary storage cave by the side of the tunnel and found several boxes of explosives. I took a few sticks and tied them into a bundle, ran into the tunnel, placed them on the ceiling, and lit the fuse. Just as I ran out of the tunnel, the explosives detonated and collapsed that section. Several workers running at the very back were also blocked in. It wasn't that I was heartless; if I hadn't done that then, those terrifying flying insects would have filled the entire mine. Not only would we have died, but all the other workers in the mine would have lost their lives too."

"Once I reached the surface, I called the police immediately. I don't know what those bosses were plotting, but they definitely had no good intentions. By blowing up that tunnel, I ruined their plans, and they wouldn't let me off. Moreover, I felt guilty about this matter, which is why I chose to call the police, wanting to report their conspiracy. But before the police arrived, President Chen found me. He told me to take the blame for this matter myself and not reveal a single word about that tunnel. They took away my phone and directly threatened me with the safety of my family. I only regret that I was blind in the past; only then did I realize President Chen was also not a good person. Originally, I thought no matter how much power they had, they wouldn't dare oppose the police, and your sister-in-law and Shanshan could be notified to hide in another city for a while. So I pretended to comply. I didn't expect that even at the police station, I would receive the same warning. They locked me up, neither interrogating me nor letting me contact the outside world. Until this morning, President Chen came to see me sneakily again, saying your sister-in-law and Shanshan were in their hands. He even produced jewelry from your sister-in-law and told me to write a confession and then commit suicide, otherwise they would kill them. So, in despair, I could only do as they said."

Li Dongping slowly recounted the beginning and end of this mine disaster. Cao Xiao remained silent for a long while. The kind of flying insect Li Dongping saw was something he already had in his space; it was a type of flying ant, a mutated species of ant about two centimeters in size that could spit a strong acid. That acid was even more corrosive than aqua regia; the acid in a single flying ant could completely corrode a person's body. However, this acid was only effective against flesh and blood animals; it was as non-corrosive as ordinary liquid to plants and inorganic matter, similar to the effect of Corpse-Dissolving Water in martial arts stories. The underground space contained more than just flying ants; there were other terrifying creatures that made even Cao Xiao's scalp tingle: white rats as large as bobcats with sharp teeth that could easily bite through iron rods as thick as a thumb; three-meter-long black centipedes with shells harder than steel and claws that could dig into rock; mushrooms that could shoot lethal toxin spores at fifty meters per second; worms several meters long and as thick as a bucket that could swallow rock; shrubs that constantly emitted toxic gas; and ten-meter-long hair-thin transparent horsehair worms. Even an Anjin Martial Artist would be caught off guard and fall victim to these creatures if unprepared.

Even if the country were to develop this underground space, they would pay a heavy price without sufficient preparation. Therefore, Cao Xiao had collected all the dangerous species from the underground space into his space. He set aside an independent area within the research space and, following the ecological model of the underground space, collected a large amount of soil, water, and all biological species to establish a small, completely closed biosphere. The artificial intelligence would constantly adjust the natural environmental factors and supplement necessary substances based on the changes within, eventually allowing this small biosphere to stabilize completely and cycle independently.

Although he had his own suspicions, only after hearing it from Li Dongping personally could he realize what kind of hardships and despair Li Dongping had experienced over these past few days. It was only when he finished exploring the entire underground space that he understood why it had been discovered. The underground space was not completely sealed; at its deepest point, there was a tiny hole winding its way into the coal seam. It was likely that the original owner of Xinyuan had discovered the novel creatures emerging from the hole and, using technological means through the opening, discovered the underground space. Feeling that it contained staggering profits that he couldn't handle alone, he brought in shareholders, sealed the original hole, and drilled a new passage from the point closest to the underground space.

"Brother Li, do you know where that Chen Dingkang lives?" Except for President Chen, basically everyone directly involved in this matter had been caught. This President Chen could be said to be the person who hurt Li Dongping the most; he couldn't be allowed to remain at large.

"He lives right in town. I'll give you the address; you must not let him escape." In Li Dongping's eyes, Cao Xiao was no longer the ordinary youth of the past who was crushed by heavy debt. He had six bodyguards, and his every word and action directly decided the fate of others. Although he didn't know exactly what kind of startling changes had happened to Cao Xiao during this time, at least his feelings for him hadn't changed, so he didn't stand on ceremony with Cao Xiao.

Cao Xiao had Duan Hong and Li Quanshuo go personally to find President Chen, beat him half to death, and then hand him over to the police. Afterward, he stayed to chat with Li Dongping's family. Cao Xiao also briefly recounted his changes during this period. Even with Li Dongping's rich experience from half a lifetime, he couldn't help but marvel at the magic of fate—an ordinary youth transforming into a dragon in a short time and becoming a big shot in his eyes. If Cao Xiao hadn't stepped in to help this time, their family would have been unable to escape disaster. He also felt fortunate that he had selflessly helped Cao Xiao when he was in dire straits, and he felt happy and proud of Cao Xiao's achievements today.

An hour later, Cao Xiao went to the police station again and saw Director Tang, who was currently being bombarded with phone calls.

"Major Cao, you've come at the right time. We've done a background check on the people we caught, and I'm having a headache about how to handle them! Most of them are just representatives of large companies, with only a few being local businessmen. This time, there was direct intervention from the higher-ups, so even when those large companies stepped in, they couldn't protect them, and these people have been abandoned. We are powerless against the true masterminds; those people were very careful and left no evidence. Besides, they are abroad; even if we had evidence, we couldn't do anything to them."

"So none of them are the actual principals! Please give me a list of those organizations, Director Tang. As for these people who were caught, handle them according to the law. Those involved in planning the kidnapping and murder should be sentenced strictly and severely, especially that Chen Dingkang. I will consult Commander Xu in a moment; he is the direct person in charge of this incident. There are startling secrets hidden beneath the Xinyuan Coal Mine, and the higher-ups will withstand all external pressure. You just follow legal procedures and don't worry about other factors. Once I have some free time, those large foreign companies will also have their turn to be unlucky," Cao Xiao said with a cold laugh.

Looking at the list in his hand, Cao Xiao also felt a bit solemn. Three of the investors in the Xinyuan Coal Mine were actually Fortune 500 companies: the Dataku Group from South Korea, the Lester Company from the United States, and the Camon Company from Europe. These three corporate groups had immense economic strength, even more so than Hongdu. In addition, there were seven other relatively powerful companies, all with market values of over ten billion us dollars. Abroad, wealth represents power and status; the combined power of these ten companies is something even a country cannot ignore. But this time was different. The value and significance of the underground space were extraordinary and did not allow for outside interference; the state would never back down. Cao Xiao also held a grudge against these forces; if he had the chance, he would definitely make them suffer heavy losses. He didn't have strong economic power now, but he could control endless natural resources to cut off their raw materials and strangle them, and use more advanced technology to swallow and replace their market, affecting their stock prices. This was the most effective means of attack; no company could withstand it. As long as he was given enough time, he could torment them all until they wished they were dead.

"Also, regarding Mr. Li Dongping's matter, now that he has woken up, has Major Cao learned from him how the mine disaster happened?" Tang Shaolin was somewhat cautious. He was afraid that if the police interrogated Li Dongping, the truth of the matter would touch Cao Xiao's sensitive nerves, because he had already confirmed from other miners that the disaster was caused by Li Dongping blowing up the tunnel with explosives. He found it very difficult to handle.

Seeing Tang Shaolin being so cautious, Cao Xiao guessed his thoughts and couldn't help but smile, secretly thinking that his image was beyond saving. So he said with a bitter smile, "Director Tang, you don't have to be like this. I'm not an unreasonable person. Brother Li told me everything. Those miners were likely threatened by the people from the Xinyuan Company and didn't tell the whole story. To tell you the truth! Below that coal seam in the Xinyuan Coal Mine is a magical underground world containing immense interests. Those foreign forces wanted to get the things below, so under the guise of mining coal, they secretly broke through to the underground space and released some dangerous creatures. Brother Li blew up the tunnel to prevent those creatures from harming more people; otherwise, those creatures would have definitely killed all the working miners. If those creatures appeared on the surface, it would definitely cause a disaster; perhaps Baishui Town would have turned into a hell, with endless consequences. You will receive notification about this matter before long, and what I say will be verified. You can take a few miners who experienced the disaster to the hospital to see Brother Li. The Xinyuan Coal Mine has vanished, and the miners don't need to worry about being threatened; they will naturally tell the truth. So you don't need to be conflicted anymore."

"Whew! So that's how it is! That explains it. Several miners have unstable mental states, which must have been caused by extreme shock. There were already some superstitious rumors outside, and I thought it was just people making things up, but now it seems that while it's not exactly as rumored, it's not without basis either. No wonder a small coal mine would attract heavy investment from those large foreign companies. But that owner of Xinyuan really is a piece of work, a traitor! Hmph!" Hearing Cao Xiao's explanation, Tang Shaolin understood. It was impossible for Cao Xiao to lie to him about such a major matter, nor could he. It could be known just by verifying it. Moreover, the police had indeed found some insect carcasses near the bodies of the victims. At the time, they couldn't understand why there were insects underground, so it wasn't treated as a lead. Now knowing that those insects were actually the killers, the truth of the mine disaster became clear. It turned out those foreign companies were indeed illegally plotting for resources that should belong to the state. He now felt great hatred for the original owner of the Xinyuan Coal Mine; such treacherous behavior was no different from being a traitor.