"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.