Chapter 97 - 95: Crisis Resolved

Chapter 97: Chapter 95: Crisis Resolved

Emergency response departments and agencies in charge of monitoring geological disasters rushed to Lin Xian Village at once.

The leaders of Wuyuan County were also hurrying over. They couldn’t let the recent tourism boom driven by Lin Xian Village just disappear.

Fortunately, while en route, they received word from the professors in Lin Xian Village that there was currently no danger. The base of a mountain had simply collapsed after being eroded by an underground river.

Of course, a proper inspection was still necessary to prevent a similar incident from happening again and causing casualties.

Lin Xian Village’s situation was also rather unique. With large numbers of tourists arriving daily, such safety concerns had to be taken even more seriously.

Tourists were stopped at Mountain Ridge Town while a large number of engineering vehicles entered the area to conduct a detailed survey of the mountains around Lin Xian Village.

After finding out what was happening inside, the tourists held back at Mountain Ridge Town wanted to go in for a look, even though they were told the danger hadn’t been cleared.

"Old Wang, I just asked around. They said a mountain collapsed and left a huge hole. Do you think it could be an ancient tomb?"

"Stop with the wild guesses. They’ve already started a live stream about it. It’s just a mountain that caved in because the ground underneath was eroded by water."

"Ah! So Lin Xian Village has water now. Do you think there are any fish in it?"

"Probably not. It’s rare for fish to survive in water that comes up from an underground river."

"That’s a shame. If there were fish, I could have cast a line or two."

Hearing this, Old Wang’s companion was speechless. ’To think he’s still focused on fishing while on vacation,’ he thought.

To explain the situation to the tourists, Hu Xia, having learned the news, started a live stream to relay the information they currently had.

This also let the concerned public know that Lin Xian Village was currently safe and that experts were surveying the surrounding mountains to prevent this from happening again.

Lin Feng stood with a group of officials, discussing the aftermath of the collapse and the future development of Lin Xian Village.

"Boss Lin, I think this collapse might actually be a good thing."

One of the officials nearby asked, "How so? Please, elaborate."

"The valley in front of Lin Xian Village was completely unusable before. Now that it’s a lake, we can use it to run tour boats.

Also, a cave has opened up in the mountainside. Our preliminary inspection found it to be very stable; it won’t collapse again.

The passage connects to the other side of the mountain, so we can directly develop the area beyond the cave. The scenery over there is excellent."

"It is indeed. There’s a waterfall over there, and if you go further in, there’s another large valley that’s perfect for developing into a tourist attraction."

They had all seen the drone footage. The scenery deeper in the mountains was actually even better than the area around Lin Xian Village.

Previously, because the route was so treacherous, any development would have required building a mountain path from Lin Xian Village, which was what Lin Feng had been in the process of doing.

Now, things were simpler. They could continue building the mountain path, but they could also just take a boat by water, pass through the cave, and reach the area deep within the mountains.

Lin Feng himself hadn’t expected this reward would bring him so many benefits. ’It was just a bit too terrifying,’ he thought.

’If I get another reward like this next time, I hope I can choose the time and place myself, rather than it being some kind of accident,’ he mused.

Just last night, he’d been worried about where to build the Wharf. He never imagined that a place for it would be created for him overnight.

Judging from the data collected so far, the water wasn’t likely to recede. It had an inlet on one side and an outlet on another.

The water in the lowest part of the valley couldn’t possibly drain away, as it had no outlet.

This was an absolute boon for Lin Xian Village. Many problems were solved at once thanks to this change in the landscape.

Previously, Lin Xian Village’s only source of water was the Well he had built, a solution that came with many problems.

Now that they had this groundwater, it could be used for many non-potable purposes.

They even had a place to cultivate aquatic plants and raise aquatic animals now.

As the inflatable boat returned, everyone crowded around, wanting to know what the situation was like inside.

"Report! It’s clear inside. We’ve inspected the cave ceiling and found no possibility of further collapse.

Our underwater inspection shows the same thing. The current has been rerouted to flow directly into the valley, then back into an underground river on the other side."

"A collapse like this won’t happen a second time? For example, what if the water continues to erode and hollow out the mountain?"

"It won’t. This collapse occurred mainly because there was already a cavern underneath.

Now that the cavern has caved in and the water flows directly into the valley, it’s impossible for it to wash out a new one."

"That’s good, that’s good. So there’s no more danger, right?"

"We haven’t found any danger at present. However, this valley is very deep. To prevent people from falling into the water, a fence should be built and rescue equipment installed."

Hearing that there was no more danger, the officials were finally relieved. If Lin Xian Village were to be ruined, the loss for Wuyuan County would be far too great.

In order to develop tourism in the area, they had widened the county road and planned a series of subsequent commercial development projects.

"By the way, how is the survey of the surrounding mountains coming along?"

"It’s still underway, but the professors here studying the Arrow Tower told us that the surrounding mountains are likely not a danger."

The officials were very happy with this news and gave the order to lift the blockade.

After seeing the officials off, Lin Feng was pulled aside by Hu Xia and the others to discuss how to best utilize the valley that had become a lake.

"Brother Lin, we still need to build the mountain path, and we can run tour boats on this lake. In a bit, let’s go across and see what it’s like on the other side."

"True. Based on the drone footage from earlier, the scenery inside is excellent. With some planning, we can develop it."

Lin Feng said, "We definitely need to go in and check on the situation, just to make sure there are no more accidents."

He thought to himself, ’I still have that Lin Xian Tea specialty product. I definitely have to use this thing.’

As things stood in Lin Xian Village, he had nowhere to plant tea trees. The mountainside on the other side, however, would be perfect.

’They used to grow tea trees there. I wonder what the mountain looks like now, after being left untended for so long?’ he wondered.

The group borrowed a rubber raft from the geological survey team and, accompanied by a member of the team, headed toward the cave.

As the raft moved through the water, Lin Feng looked around and saw that things looked pretty good. The new water level in the valley didn’t affect the development of Lin Xian Village at all.

The valley had always been rather steep, making it difficult to develop, and there wasn’t any particularly nice scenery at the bottom to begin with.

When they reached the cave and got closer, they discovered that the situation here seemed a bit... different.

Hu Zhiming shouted, "This is incredible! The cave that formed from the collapse is absolutely fantastic!"

"It really is amazing. This is almost miraculous. How could it be such a coincidence?"

The geologist piloting the raft said, "It might be a coincidence. When we first arrived, we also found it quite amazing."

Lin Feng thought, ’So much for coincidence. This is entirely the result of my reward from last night. It’s truly powerful.’

The collapsed floor of the cave had formed a smooth, flagstone-like path, leaving behind some beautiful natural rock formations. The ceiling, too, was a rugged collection of strange stones.

The cave walls were also smooth, looking as if they’d been polished. It didn’t look like a collapse at all.

With just a little touching up, no one would ever think this cave had been formed by a collapse.

The most amazing part was three stone pillars in front of the cave entrance, looking like three fingers reaching up from under the water.

From a distance, they looked like rocks jutting out from the cliff face, but up close, it was clear the pillars rose from the lakebed, extending deep into the water.

Only after they stepped off the raft and entered the cave did they discover that the scene inside was even more incredible.