The boss of a foreign organization called the police, claiming that he was defrauded by me

With the water flow guiding their way, they wouldn't wander around aimlessly in this narrow space like headless flies.

Yang Xia looked at the flowing water with great joy and said to everyone, "Don't be too happy yet. It doesn't seem like there's a path where this water flows down."

Before them stood a thick, load-bearing wall, or rather, a massive boulder blocking their path, preventing them from taking another step forward.

Yuan Feng was the first to step forward. He drew his sword, gathered all his strength, and slashed down fiercely.

There was a loud "bang"!
The knife didn't even leave a mark on the spot where it was slashed. In the instant the sparks flew, his knife was already ruined, and the stone he slashed didn't even break a little.

Yuan Feng's eyes widened, his voice trembling slightly: "This is impossible! I've already focused my energy on the blade. Even if it were a stone twice as thick as this, I could easily cut it through, let alone this thin layer."

It's just a thin layer of protrusion, it doesn't look thick, and you could probably chop it to pieces with a few strokes, but it's not damaged at all.

Everyone found it unbelievable, and several highly skilled martial artists stepped forward, wanting to show off their abilities in front of Yang Xia. However, the moment they struck, the effect was exactly the same as Yuan Feng's.

Their situation was even worse than Yuan Feng's; the knife in their hand broke in two and fell to the ground with a "clang," becoming two pieces of scrap metal.

Seeing their precious sword turned into scrap metal, the group picked it up with a heavy heart, realizing that the stone was no ordinary object.

Some people questioned, "This might not even be a rock at all. We're just wasting our time trying to cut it with a knife."

“I also think it’s a waste of time. Maybe this isn’t the way out at all. It would be much better to find another way out than to waste time here.”

The speaker was a tall man, the tallest in the crowd, and also a squad leader, so his words carried weight.

When he chopped at it, the knife in his hand broke in two. The shock made him realize that this stone was not ordinary; it might not be a normal stone at all.

He voiced his suspicion: "Perhaps behind this thin layer of rock lies a continuous mountain range, which is why it's so difficult to cut through. Don't disbelieve me, we've been walking in this cave for so long and haven't even reached the very center. Maybe we're trapped outside the mountain wall."

All of this is possible. After all, everything in this huge cave is like a maze, and they are in it without any special vision, so they can't see what's going on outside and can only explore slowly.

Yang Xia touched the stone, and a question began to form in his mind.

The fact that the water is flowing in this direction indicates that the center is located in this direction. If they take a detour, the situation will definitely be the same as before, constantly circling around the periphery.

To get in, you have to split this rock; only then will you have a slim chance of getting in.

Yuan Feng said, "It's a real pity we didn't bring any explosives, otherwise we could have given it a try."

Meng Yin couldn't help but roll her eyes at him and retorted, "Do you think we're indestructible?"

Playing with explosives in this cramped space—they must have had incredibly long lives before; this was practically sending them to the "Great Perfection" realm ahead of time.

Yuan Feng scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "I forgot about that!"

Several people were scratching their heads in frustration outside, trying to figure out a way to get in, but they just couldn't come up with a solution.

Yang Xia refused to leave. He was unwilling to give up this opportunity because he knew that even if he tried to find another way out from here, the result would be the same.

The very center must be here. As long as they can open this wall, they can get in smoothly.

Mengyin, unwilling to sit idly by and wait for death, offered, "How about I take the others to explore the surrounding area? Perhaps there's a way out elsewhere. We'll return once we find a way out, leaving some men to protect the King's safety."

Yuan Feng agreed with his decision: "Then I'll stay here, you guys go out and search. Be extra careful and don't be careless."

Yang Xia felt that their efforts were only adding to their exhaustion. But seeing everyone trapped here, scratching their heads in frustration, he understood that they wanted to try their luck elsewhere, so he didn't stop them.

After half the people had left, the air here became noticeably fresher, at least the previous stuffiness was gone. With the air circulating, everyone's minds cleared up a bit.

Yang Xia ran his hands along the rock wall, which was covered in moss, indicating that the temperature here was low. Furthermore, water was flowing down the rock wall, and where there was water, there were likely cracks or fissures.

Yang Xia searched carefully around the area for a long time, but still couldn't find a way in.

Left with no other choice, he could only sit there dejectedly, pondering whether he should try a different place.

If this area were completely blocked, other rock walls might be slightly thinner and easier to split open.

At this moment, Mengyin led his men in another direction. They carefully observed the direction of the water flow and finally stopped at a certain place.

Mengyin said to his brothers behind him, "The water is flowing this way, which means that the center we are looking for is behind this rock wall. You all step back."

This area looks rather weak; it might be easy to cleave it open with a single strike.

If he succeeds, he will have made a great contribution, and the king will surely reward him handsomely.

Meng Yin took a step back, shouted loudly, and swung his knife down.

With a loud clang, his knife broke in two, a rather embarrassing situation.

However, there was some progress. At least a palm-sized rock fell down from where he had slashed, landing right next to the knife, as if mocking him blatantly.

Seeing this, the squad leader next to him said, "Maybe you're not hitting the right spot. Let me try!"

The squad leader was tall and could hit the very center, so he felt that everything was weakest in the middle.

He clenched his fists, concentrated all his strength in them, and punched the rock wall hard.

With a "crack," patterns appeared on the stone, and the cracks grew larger and larger, like a spider web covering the entire area.

As the "spider web" spread, stones fell one after another, and smiles gradually appeared on everyone's faces. They knew that this method would work.

Meng Yin patted the squad leader on the shoulder, giving his approval: "You're good, kid. This copper skin and iron body technique has finally come in handy. Hurry up and break through here, I'll go and bring the king over right away!"

The squad leader mustered all his strength and punched the stone several times in a row. Each punch created a "little spider web," and more and more stones fell, gradually piling up on the ground.

But the squad leader was, after all, only flesh and blood, and his stamina was limited. After fighting for half an hour, he was already drenched in sweat and didn't even have the strength to lift his arm.

However, the seemingly thin layer of rock in front of them had not been penetrated. It was as if they had broken through one layer of rock, but there was another layer below, endless and with no bottom in sight.

The squad leader, panting heavily, said, "Is this the right place? My hands don't even feel like they belong to me anymore, and I don't even feel like I've been punched through."

Mengyin was also completely bewildered. This place was where the water flowed, and logically, breaking through here would lead to the very center. But it seemed that they had misdirected their efforts.

He said somewhat embarrassedly, "At least the stones here are easier to break than that one covered in moss. Maybe we're breaking in the wrong spot. But the path in should be around here. You can rest for a bit and try another spot later."

The squad leader could only nod helplessly. He was naturally strong and had brute force, but he wasn't made of iron.

At this moment, Lao Hei stepped forward. He was known for his great strength in the team, and he was on par with the squad leader.

He patted his chest, feeling like he had no way to use his strength. Trapped in this godforsaken place, he was about to go crazy.

"Why don't you let me try? General, you tell me where to attack, and I'll attack there!"

Meng Yin's eyes lit up; he had completely forgotten about Lao Hei.

Old Hei is strong and is perfect for this: "You try coming in here, maybe you can get in from here."

Old Hei walked to the location Meng Yin had indicated, took a deep breath, and his chest instantly bulged. He clenched his fist, which was as big as a sandbag, and slammed it down hard.

The impact was so powerful it felt like the earth was shaking. A deep crater was created in front of them, and insects kept crawling out of it, which scared Old Hei so much that he shrank back.

Despite his burly appearance, he was incredibly timid, even more afraid of these dark insects than any girl.

Meng Yin quickly stepped forward to comfort him: "Don't back down, let's go all out. We don't have time to hesitate now. It's just a few little bugs. Look at your courage, you're not much bigger than a rat."

Old Hei blushed, feeling extremely embarrassed by what he had been told. Then, realizing he couldn't lose face, he raised his fist and swung it again.

I thought it was just one or two insects, but to my surprise, the insects poured out of the small hole like a tidal wave.

This time, it wasn't just Old Hei who was terrified; General Mengyin, standing nearby, was also extremely frightened. Realizing the situation was dire, he hurriedly shouted to those around him, "Quickly, evacuate this place!"

Everyone quickly retreated, afraid that if they lingered for even a second longer, they would become the insects' "meal".

These insects seem to have a sense of direction; no matter where they run, these little insects always arrive in advance, climbing at an extremely fast speed, no slower than a person running.

However, these insects seemed to be afraid of water; after they crossed the small puddle, they hesitated there for a while.

Just when everyone thought they had escaped a disaster, the insects suddenly crawled rapidly along the wall towards them. These persistent creatures terrified everyone, turning their faces deathly pale.

Left with no other choice, the group could only retreat step by step, eventually returning to their original spot.

Seeing that they were drenched in sweat, Yang Xia thought something serious had happened and was about to ask when he noticed the dense swarm of insects behind them.

Although Yang Xia doesn't have trypophobia, seeing so many insects gathered together still made his scalp tingle: "Where did you guys get these weird things from?"

I had only been out for a short while when so many reptiles followed me. Just looking at their colors made me feel uneasy.

Mengyin felt too ashamed to speak and awkwardly lowered her head.

Old Hei explained what happened: "These bugs were dug out when we were digging up the rocks. They seemed to be living in the walls. We didn't notice them when we were digging and released them."

They also tried cutting with a knife, but it was completely useless.

These insects are most afraid of water.

But they didn't have much water with them; their water bottles were full of drinking water, which wasn't enough to fight off these insects.

They didn't know how long they would have to stay in this cave. If they ran out of drinking water, they would soon become dehydrated. Finding water in this place was harder than finding gold, so they were determined not to use it.

As the insects drew closer, everyone panicked. These insects were strange-looking, completely black with hard shells and long tentacles, each as big as a palm.

If they bite you, you'll either die or be severely injured; they'll tear off a chunk of flesh.

Yang Xia caught the key information: "You're saying these insects crawled out of the rocks?"

Old Hei nodded, recalling the scene just now, and was filled with regret, regretting that he had led his men to make such a decision.

But there's no going back in this world. Once you've done something you'll regret, you have to bear the consequences.

These giant insects crawled out of there, and before they could react, they ran straight back.

Unexpectedly, these insects were quite fast, managing to keep up with them and return to the king's side with them.

If they had known they could catch up, they wouldn't have come here, and they wouldn't have brought danger to the king.

Meng Yin was filled with remorse, but there was nothing he could do but bear the consequences.

He said, "Your Majesty, let me lure these insects away."

Although this process is dangerous, it ensures everyone's safety.

If he can turn the tide single-handedly, that would be an honor for him.

Yang Xia shook his head and refused: "No, these insects might be of great help to us."

He could tell that these insects were bloodthirsty; they would become exceptionally frenzied wherever there was blood.

Since they couldn't open the stone, they had to find another way. The fact that these insects could crawl out of the stone meant that they could also burrow inside it.

Such a good opportunity, if we don't make good use of it, it would be a waste to let these insects go to waste.

Mengyin still didn't understand what he meant: "But how can these insects obey our commands?"

Yang Xia picked up the dagger and made a cut on his palm. Then he smeared the blood from his palm onto the stone behind him.

He shouted to the people around him, "Make way!"

At his command, the surrounding people quickly moved aside. (End of Chapter)