Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 279: Chapter 269: It Is the Treasure

”Let’s go down and take a look, shall we? Maybe there’s something good inside?”

Looking at the bottomless tunnel, some people grew eager.

Soon, others began to echo the sentiment, most of them the hired diggers.

This was the most Tang Mo had heard these people speak since they first met.

Zhang Chao’s lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. ”Since everyone wants to go down and take a look, there’s strength in numbers. Let’s all go down together. I happen to have a full set of tools right here. We might just find something good.”

Zhang Chao’s own men naturally followed his decision unconditionally, while the recruited workers just looked at each other in dismay.

No one knew what was down there. The job they had accepted was supposed to be dirty and tiring, but well-paid and, most importantly, safe. This unknown situation had now thrown everyone’s plans into disarray.

”This is an unexpected situation, so it’s not part of the original job. If anyone who goes down finds any treasure, we’ll split it evenly.”

Zhang Chao’s words were quite magnanimous, completely at odds with his established persona as a ruthless foreman who exploited his workers.

Hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up.

If that was the case, then maybe it was worth going down into the tunnel after all. Everyone knew that there weren’t any powerful mutant beasts in the Apocalypse Garbage Dump, and none of them had ever seen such a strange tunnel before. There really might be some treasure inside.

It was impossible not to be tempted. They all glanced at each other; it seemed everyone was planning to go down.

”Should we go down?” Wen Qing clutched Qin Fen’s arm tightly. She, of course, would do whatever he decided.

She already couldn’t stand this garbage dump and wanted to leave as soon as possible, so she naturally didn’t want to go down.

”Let’s go see.”

Qin Fen stared intently at the tunnel entrance, as if he could see right through it to what lay below.

’If I hadn’t received intel that there was treasure here in this Apocalypse Garbage Dump, why would I have come to suffer in such a filthy, chaotic, and wretched place for some woman?’

”Okay.” Wen Qing hadn’t expected a young master like Qin Fen to be willing to go down, but she had no choice but to follow.

’After all, Qin Fen still has a huge role to play in my future plans.’

As for Tang Mo, it went without saying. How could she possibly miss out on something like this? She was definitely going down to investigate.

’Besides, if I’m not mistaken, the thing down there should be very familiar to me.’

’It’s very similar to when I discovered the Crystal Stone Mine in Sand Town. If this is also a Crystal Stone Mine, then I’m going to strike it rich on this trip.’

’After all, both now and in the future, Crystal Stones are the most valuable items. Their uses are extensive; they’re an essential commodity for home and travel.’

In the end, everyone reached a consensus: they all agreed to go down and take a look.

But in this desolate and decaying place, everyone worried about what would happen if they went down and something suddenly went wrong with the tunnel, trapping them.

In the end, they left one of Zhang Chao’s men and one of the recruits on the surface to watch the tunnel entrance. That way, if any accident occurred, there would at least be someone to provide support and relay information.

With the lookouts decided, the next question was who would go in first. Someone had to scout the path.

”I’ll go down first. I’m fast,” Tang Mo volunteered, raising her hand.

’Are you kidding me? If what’s down there is really what I think it is, then whoever goes first gets the advantage, right?’

”Alright!”

Everyone took a step back in unison, then looked at Tang Mo with expressions of admiration.

’So pragmatic of them...’

Tang Mo watched as the group instantly put some distance between themselves and her. ’At a time like this, their coordination is perfect.’

”Jingjing, make sure you stay close in a bit!”

Tang Mo instructed Jingjing, who was always by her side, then nimbly lifted her foot and jumped into the tunnel entrance.

The tunnel entrance, about two people wide, was more than spacious enough for Tang Mo alone.

Tang Mo had just jumped in and hadn’t been sliding for long when she felt immense friction beneath her.

The tunnel seemed to be constructed from some kind of mineral, making it very rough.

If she let herself keep sliding like this, her pants would be ruined. Tang Mo had no desire to arrive at the bottom in tatters, so she quickly took a slightly curved Exotic Beast Bone from her Space. That made the ride much smoother.

After about a hundred meters, Tang Mo did indeed feel an invisible barrier.

The barrier’s fluctuations weren’t like the one in Sand Town that targeted the Spirit Attribute; this one targeted All Attributes.

In other words, as long as your attribute values reached a certain standard, you could pass. It wasn’t too difficult.

The tunnel beyond the barrier seemed different from the part before it. It no longer looked like it was made of ruined walls and garbage, but of massive chunks of rock.

Tang Mo couldn’t tell what kind of rock it was. It looked a lot like the raw jadeite boulders from Yunnan.

’Why is the tunnel made of this rock?’

’If the tunnel was naturally formed, then where did this rock come from? What’s it for?’

Just as Tang Mo was pondering what this rock could be, the tunnel suddenly made a sharp turn. The acceleration made Tang Mo’s hands instantly tighten their grip on the Exotic Beast Bone she was sitting on.

Even so, the bone still scraped against the ore at the corner of the turn.

The speed and force were so great that for a split second, it created sparks.

’That turn was so sudden!’ Tang Mo turned her head to look back.

But in the afterglow of the sparks, Tang Mo saw that the friction had scraped a small gash into the huge chunk of ore at the corner, revealing the crimson ”flesh” inside.

Tang Mo was all too familiar with that crimson color. After all, it was what Jingjing had carried out, piece by piece, from underground in Nasha Town.

Tang Mo sent out her spiritual power to sense it. ’That’s right, it’s a High-level Crystal Stone, no doubt about it.’

The crimson Crystal Stone was encased within the rock, and miraculously, not a single bit of energy leaked out.

’I can’t believe it... the ore that makes up this tunnel is all Crystal Stones!’

Tang Mo had been sliding for so long and still hadn’t reached the end. Who could have imagined that this masterfully crafted tunnel of ore was actually built entirely out of Crystal Stones?

’If I hadn’t accidentally scraped a hole in that rock, I could have wracked my brains and never guessed that the greatest treasure in this tunnel was the tunnel itself.’

Realizing the immense value of the tunnel, Tang Mo quickly used a small bit of her spiritual power to patch up the gash in the rock, sealing it completely.

Once the energy started leaking out, it would be much harder to hide.

Neither Zhang Chao nor Qin Fen were easy to fool.

Tang Mo guessed that the two of them only knew there was treasure down here, but as for what that treasure actually was, they probably had no idea.