On the left was a long mountain of coal, and the only way they could walk was the narrow path on the right. Their shoes and trouser legs were bound to get covered in coal dust. Cheng An and Zheng Aiguo walked on the left and tried to protect Jian Dan on the right. In this way, when they reached the end of the cave, Jian Dan's shoes turned completely black.

Compared to the other opening, the inner opening is much wider. As the person just said, this place has been put to good use. The opening is spacious, the steps are very steep, and there are many baskets, carrying poles, and sacks placed near the entrance.

Of course, there were also about ten people who were half-filled and lying haphazardly in the bags, apparently caught the virus while they were being bagged.

Oh, and there were two other people who were probably the supervisors; even though they had fainted, they hadn't put down their whips.

However, I didn't see anyone who looked like a leader. I suppose that makes sense; what boss would personally come and oversee the mining?

"Since someone is loading it, then someone must have already transported it down. There should be someone down there to meet them. Battalion Commander Xu, what about down there...?"

Battalion Commander Xu forced a smile, composed himself,

"I'll send people down right away, and make sure they don't get any contact with the outside world."

After assigning the men to go down the mine, Cheng Rui and the others returned. Covered in soot and grime, Cheng Rui exuded an aura of anger and fear.

"Xiao Rui, what's going on down there?"

"Sister, it's a mine, very deep, but inside it's not even as tall as me, you can't even stand up straight. It's very stuffy in there, there are many people, it's so stuffy, some people have fainted, and some... they've already started to stink."

Jian Dan's face darkened; clearly, the child was frightened.

"Battalion Commander Xu!"

Battalion Commander Xu clenched his fists tightly, and the other soldiers had the same expression. Their faces showed reluctance, grief, and the northern men's strong sense of justice. There was so much he didn't understand.

He went down to check it out himself, and upon returning, he issued a series of orders with swift and decisive action.

"Sister-in-law, I need to send someone back with a message. Can you still hold on? Or will you come down the mountain with me?"

The mission was still unsolved, but such a big discovery had been made here. In any case, this was not something that a battalion commander like him could handle. Besides, he only had a company under his command, which was only a little over a hundred people at most. He could manage to search and guard the area as it was, but if the other side retaliated, or if they sent reinforcements, or if they wanted to do something else, it would be really difficult for such a small number of people to do anything.

Jian Dan had just returned from a walk outside, and seemed a little more relaxed.

"Have the people coming down the mountain already memorized the route?"

To be honest, it's quite a contradiction here. If there are too few people, it's scary; if there are too many, it's hard to escape if you encounter danger.

Battalion Commander Xu did the same, pointing to the people around him.

“Dashan and Qiangzi have both been up the mountain several times before. They're brave enough and have good memories. I plan to have them go down together.”

He gave a simple nod; he was a familiar face.

"Delivering the message is the important matter. I'm not feeling well enough to cause any trouble. Let's go down together after we're done."

Please be careful. I marked the trees along the way. If you are unsure, you can check them.

I've mentioned some precautions for the road before. If you encounter any of these, don't panic. Stay calm no matter what.

Brother Zheng, take our food and water with them.

Remember, safety first.

"good!"

Both of them had already started to leave when Cheng Rui suddenly spoke up.

"Sister, I want to go too,"

"Um?"

Simple surprise,

"What's wrong? Were you scared just now?"

Cheng Rui shook his head. Jian Dan felt that there was something different about the child's eyes.

“Sister, I’ll go down with you and come back with the rescue team. I remember the way, and I’ve been into the mountains with you so many times. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

He glanced briefly at Cheng An and noticed that Cheng An was also frowning. He asked seriously,

"Are you serious?"

"Of course, my uncle said that we lack experience."

"Sister, Xiao An, this path has begun, so I must try my best to adapt and do my best. A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier. Let's treat this as the simplest and most basic mission, and you'll see how I perform."

This child, for no apparent reason, felt a lump in his throat; he just spoke the truth.

After staring at him for a few seconds, Cheng An finally relented.

"If you've made up your mind, then go ahead. We'll wait for you to come back."

She quickly wiped her eyes, turned her back, and hastily grabbed a few things—a dagger, hemostatic medicine, and whatever else—and stuffed them all in. Afraid she wouldn't be able to bear leaving him, she quickly took two steps back.

"Go ahead, don't feel pressured, be careful, I'll be waiting for you to come back."

Watching the child turn and leave, Jian Dan unconsciously followed a few steps.

Battalion Commander Xu sighed,

"Well done, like father, like son."

Jian Dan was still uneasy and muttered to herself.

"I wish Little Grey was here too."

"Don't worry, sis. We've been on quite a few missions with him, and my brother isn't as reckless as he used to be,"

After thinking about it, I decided to stick to the simpler approach.

"Little Grey Wolf recognizes my brother too. If we really run into him, wouldn't that be a good thing?"

A simple frown,

"Is it possible we'll run into them? We haven't seen them on this whole journey,"

"Battalion Commander! Battalion Commander! We've captured him alive!"

Several people looked in the direction of the sound, their simple thoughts diverted by the interruption.

"What's alive?"

Battalion Commander Xu strode forward and asked the same question.

"What's alive?"

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