Qin Chuan's guess was correct; Song Changqing had approached him deliberately.
Even Song Changqing himself hadn't expected that approaching Qin Chuan would be so simple.
Little did he know that he had already been seen through.
After Song Changqing finished extracting the cocoon before him, he stood awkwardly in front of Qin Chuan, holding his toolbox.
His face showed a mixture of excitement and fear.
Qin Chuan saw the expression on Song Changqing's face but pretended not to notice.
Zhou Zhe, standing beside them, couldn't help but feel annoyed seeing Song Changqing's demeanor, even though he knew Qin Chuan was just playing along.
"Aren't you guys leaving? What are you doing here?" Zhou Zhe's tone was filled with impatience.
"I, I don't need to follow Captain Qin Chuan?"
A calculation lurked in Song Changqing's eyes, but he was too naive. Among the shrewd individuals like Qin Chuan and Zhou Zhe, his intentions were exposed.
Qin Chuan spoke up at the opportune moment, "You should take the samples up first. It's dangerous for us to go further, and we can't protect you. We'll talk about the assistant position when I get back upstairs. You can find me then."
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Changqing, fearing Qin Chuan might change his mind, immediately nodded and pulled his companions along the way they came.
His colleague awkwardly said goodbye to Qin Chuan and Zhou Zhe.
He suddenly felt a bit superfluous, but he glanced back at Song Changqing.
Only this fool thought he was completely hidden.
Unbeknownst to him, Qin Chuan and Zhou Zhe had already seen through Song Changqing's little trick and were now playing along.
The man's gaze darkened.
They hadn't expected Song Changqing to actually do anything significant by Qin Chuan's side.
It was merely a cover.
As the two figures gradually disappeared into the cave, Zhou Zhe's voice, tinged with a hint of complaint, sounded between them.
"Boss, you're not seriously going to let that kid be your assistant, are you?"
"Is there any reason why not?"
"No way, boss. You're serious? That kid doesn't look like a good person at all."
If Zhou Zhe hadn't noticed it at first, he certainly did after Song Changqing's subsequent behavior.
If he still couldn't figure it out, he'd be an idiot.
Qin Chuan merely cast a cool glance at Zhou Zhe.
"Is Song Changqing the only one you can see?"
Hearing this, Zhou Zhe seemed confused. He scratched his head, looking bewildered.
"Who else?"
Qin Chuan, with a look of helplessness, turned and continued walking forward.
Seeing Qin Chuan ignore him, Zhou Zhe quickly followed, "Boss, what exactly are you trying to say? You mean not only Song Changqing has a problem, but the person beside him also has a problem?"
"But that kid just stood there and didn't say anything."
As he spoke, Zhou Zhe recalled what he had observed earlier.
Perhaps it was too dark in the cave, but he truly hadn't seen anything amiss with the other person.
However, Qin Chuan didn't directly reveal anything.
The two continued forward in a peculiar manner, with Zhou Zhe constantly asking questions and Qin Chuan leading the way.
This continued until they reached the end of the path where Qin Chuan detected the smell of blood.
"Boss, there's a strong smell of blood here."
Qin Chuan followed closely. "I suspect this smell of blood is left by the creature that spawned these cocoons, but I've searched the walls for a long time and haven't found anything. Yet, the smell of blood here hasn't dissipated and is getting stronger."
"You mean that creature is behind this wall?"
Qin Chuan turned on his flashlight and meticulously examined the wall.
"If that thing had only stayed here for a moment, the smell of blood would have dissipated over time, not remained so strong. Since the smell of blood persists, the thing must be here."
When they first entered the cave, the liquid dripping from the rock face above, which resembled petroleum, had no smell at all. Qin Chuan had to bring the liquid close to his nose to detect its extremely faint scent.
This could only mean that the cave itself was ventilated. However, for some unknown reason, the wall before them was designed with some sort of mechanism.
It appeared seamless, like a dead end.
Zhou Zhe pondered, "What if we just smash through this wall?"
Qin Chuan had also considered it, but after feeling around for a while, he discovered that the wall was solid.
Smashing it seemed unrealistic at the moment.
Soon, Zhou Zhe also realized that the wall was indeed solid.
"It can't be that the thing is inside the wall, can it?"
At that moment, Qin Chuan, as if guided by an impulse, said,
"It's not impossible."
With that, the two picked up the hammer and sledgehammer that Zhou Zhe had temporarily brought from upstairs and began to pound furiously at the wall.
With dull thuds and flying stone fragments, Zhou Zhe and Qin Chuan hammered at the wall, blow by blow.
Before long, loose stones began to fall from the rock face, along with dust.
A considerable amount of bright red liquid also flowed down.
Zhou Zhe and Qin Chuan exchanged glances, seeing the joy in each other's eyes.
"This is it. Put more effort into it, let's smash through this wall."
"Alright!"
Without delay, Zhou Zhe swung the hammer towards the wall.
...
Meanwhile, Xu An lay leisurely on her bed, idly flipping through a novel.
"Ding-a-ling—"
A doorbell sound woke Xu An. She slipped on her slippers and went to open the door.
As soon as she opened the bedroom door, she shivered.
"Whoosh, it's so cold."
"Who is it?" Xu An asked the person outside.
A serious voice replied from outside the door, "Is this Ms. Xu An? I've come to deliver something for you."
Upon hearing the voice, Xu An recognized it as Qin Chuan's subordinate.
She opened the door.
As soon as it opened, a palm-sized square card was thrust into her hand.
The card had an all-black and gold design.
The man looked at the card in Xu An's hand and then back at Xu An.
His eyes held an emotion that Xu An couldn't decipher.
But Xu An knew what this small card in her hand represented.
"Thank you. Would you like to come in for a cup of hot water before you go?" Xu An felt a bit embarrassed. The person had traveled all this way in the cold just to deliver a card to her.
"No need. I have to report back. Oh, right, Miss Xu An, you know the importance of this card, so please take good care of it."
His determined expression made it seem as though he might return at any moment to take the card back.
This made Xu An feel a little amused.
But she still nodded, "Okay, don't worry, I'll keep it safe."
However, Xu An didn't yet know the value of this card, which was why she was so casual about it.
Just as Xu An had woken up and was talking to Zhou Haimei on the phone, she learned that resource exchange cards, officially sold by the Lighthouse, were being bought at high prices on the Lighthouse itself.