Chapter 299: Secret Passage

Chapter 299: Chapter 299: Secret Passage

Not a single soul was in sight, and since it was nighttime, visibility was low.

’Are they in one of these houses?’

But the tracker showed the location was right in front of him, and just a meter ahead was a river...

’The bottom of the river?’

Elder Shaw recalled the video. Although it was dark, he could faintly make out walls in the background. It probably wasn’t in the river. Perhaps the tracker had a certain margin of error.

Anxious, he decided to search the houses one by one.

Just then, Lily Hart and the other two arrived. They were a little surprised to see so many people. ’Aren’t they afraid of tipping off the enemy?’

"Elder Shaw," Lily Hart called out in a rushed, low voice.

Quincy Shaw immediately looked over. Seeing her brought him a slight sense of relief, and for the first time, he showed a hint of vulnerability. At this moment, he was no longer a leader, but a grandfather worried about his grandson.

"Lily Hart, the tracker shows the location is right here," he said, pointing at the river before them.

The three of them looked over in unison, all thinking it was impossible. ’How could they be in the river? Do they even want the kids to live? Don’t they still want to threaten Elder Shaw?’

’They wouldn’t let the children die so easily. At worst, they’d be slightly injured, just to make them anxious.’

Everyone tried to comfort themselves with this thought.

Lily Hart asked, "Have the kidnappers sent you any videos or messages?"

Elder Shaw immediately played the two videos for them. Lily Hart turned up the volume, and after watching them twice, she said, "Listen. Can you hear the sound of water?"

They listened and, indeed, there was. They all turned to look at the rushing river in unison. In an instant, a dozen possibilities ran through their minds.

’Trapped in a metal box and thrown to the bottom of the river. Or thrown directly into the river to drown. Or thrown in with a large rock tied to their stomachs.’

’In any case, they were in the river.’

Elder Shaw murmured, "No, that’s impossible. The video looked like it was in a dark room..."

But they couldn’t rule out the possibility that they were thrown into the river after the video was filmed on the bank.

No matter the possibility, it was a chilling thought. The river wasn’t small—at least four or five meters wide in this section. Some areas had railings, but this part did not.

Two or three more steps forward, and you would fall in. Luckily, it wasn’t too deep, estimated to be a little over two meters.

Lily Hart made a decision. "Let’s get started." It was almost certain they were in the river.

Elder Shaw nodded grimly.

Just as he was about to order his men to get their gear and enter the water, Elder Shaw’s Light Brain buzzed twice. It was another message from the kidnappers, sent from an unknown account.

"Be careful of the bomb~"

The words were extremely provocative. Elder Shaw’s blood pressure shot up as he read it. A blatant threat! ’They must be watching our every move from a distance.’

’But they aren’t coming out to stop us because they’re confident they’ve made all the necessary preparations.’

Right now, he didn’t care who the mastermind was. He just wanted to rescue the three little ones. He shouted sternly, "Hurry! Get moving! Don’t just stand there! Watch out for a bomb!"

"Yes, sir!" they responded in unison.

Those who could swim dove straight in, plunging into the river to search.

Those with water-related superpowers also did their best to search.

In total, dozens of people went in, almost filling this small section of the river and causing the water level to rise slightly. Elder Shaw and the other three searched for clues on the bank.

About ten minutes later, two people surfaced from the water.

One of them said excitedly, "Elder Shaw, on the left bank of the river, we found a few small cabins embedded in the earth. They seem to be made of steel!"

The other added, "We’ve confirmed there’s someone inside—it’s a little boy!"

"Steel cabins?" Lily Hart asked. "The kind with no windows or doors?"

"No, there are cracks, and water is continuously pouring in," the man replied. "We’re already doing our best to dismantle it."

Elder Shaw was frantic. If he weren’t a bit too old, he would have dove in himself. He reminded them, "Be careful of the bomb! Stay safe!"

Lily Hart had a feeling there was a secret passage leading to the steel cabins; they couldn’t just dive every time. She thought, ’System, help me scan the underground situation in this area.’

The System... also knew the situation was urgent, so it had no choice but to comply.

It scanned the area downward, simultaneously projecting the scan results to Lily Hart’s Light Brain.

Sure enough, there was a secret passage underground, and it extended all the way to a low-rise house not far away.

Lily Hart walked over. Frost Shaw noticed and immediately followed her.

This low-rise house was uninhabited, yet it was perfectly preserved. The door, glass windows, and yard were all spotless. One look and you could tell something was strange.

Frost Shaw kicked the door open. In the yard was a dry well, but it was so inconspicuous that if the two of them hadn’t come with a specific purpose, they would have easily overlooked it.

One after the other, they walked toward the dry well. Frost Shaw cautiously scanned their surroundings; there was no one in the house or the yard.

The well was very deep, but according to the System’s scan, the secret passage was hidden below.

The two exchanged a look. Lily Hart pointed at the well and said, "There’s a secret passage down there." She didn’t need to say more. Frost Shaw understood it led to the cabins at the bottom of the river.

Lily Hart lifted her leg, about to jump into the well, but Frost Shaw grabbed her and stopped her. "I’ll go. I’m an Ice Ability User."

So?

’This is water. It’s only slightly related to ice.’

Frost Shaw had already braced himself with his hands and jumped down. Roman Rowe happened to walk into the yard just in time to see his stylish leap. "Hey, hey, hey?"

Roman Rowe hurried to the side of the well. "What’s with him?"

Lily Hart explained, "There’s a secret passage down there." With that said, she lifted her leg, ready to jump in, suddenly filled with a strange sense of adventure.

Roman Rowe grabbed her and stopped her. "It’s fine if he goes alone. We’ll wait for news. Don’t be impulsive."

Her spirit of adventure was cut short.

Lily Hart continued to watch the feed from the System’s scan, and Roman Rowe leaned in to look as well. It was like watching footage from a drone.

Watching the entire scene from a god’s-eye view, Roman Rowe was amazed. ’This function is insane!’

And so, they watched Frost Shaw crawl forward through the narrow secret passage and successfully reach the steel cabin.

But there, on the steel cabin, he discovered a bomb with a ticking timer. The DIDIDIDI sound was rapid and urgent.

Even watching through the screen, Lily Hart’s heart pounded.

The secret passage was damp and narrow. Frost Shaw could only lie on his stomach, completely unable to stand. When he saw the countdown timer on the bomb...

It showed there were only two minutes left...

He panicked for a moment but reacted quickly, freezing the bomb solid to sever the connection between the circuits.

The countdown gradually stopped. Only then did Frost Shaw breathe a sigh of relief and begin to observe his surroundings.

The secret passage didn’t look like it had been recently dug. The earth had been packed down very solidly, and no loose dirt had fallen after all this time.

Looking at the perfectly square steel cabin, it seemed to be completely embedded in the secret passage, its size fitting snugly.

On one side was the secret passage, in the middle was the steel cabin, and on the other was the churning river.

He raised his hand and cautiously knocked on the steel cabin from the outside. He quickly received a similar response.

"Mmmph! Mmmph!"

He knew river water was constantly pouring into the steel cabin through the cracks, but he didn’t know how high the water level was. He could only try to rescue them as quickly as possible.

This side of the steel cabin seemed airtight, and the sound of his knock was heavy, suggesting the metal wasn’t thin.

He quickly rummaged through the tools in his spatial storage. None of them were usable. ’There’s no other way, I’ll have to use my bare hands!’