"No. Not a single unit sent out a distress signal. The contact faded gradually—first the audio went, then the video became blurry, and finally it disappeared completely."
White Robe took a deep breath. He truly did not know what to do at this point.
Had the people inside encountered danger, or was it merely a loss of signal? If they were in danger, should a rescue be attempted? Or had they simply gotten lost? Should people be sent in to search? If more were sent in and the same thing happened, what then?
Involuntarily, his gaze turned to Ye Zhongming.
At some point, this man, far younger than himself, had become the pillar of the entire Star-Eye Clan.
Ye Zhongming stared into the dark, cavernous openings, uncertain of what decision to make.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Where are the second group of warriors we selected to enter the caves?"
Quite a few volunteers had signed up as potential suicide mission members—enough to form thirty squads of ten. After selecting the first ten units, the remaining twenty were standing by at the Star-Eye Clan's base.
"They're at our base."
"Let's go see them. Whether they go in or not is up to them."
The two left the warriors near the caves to continue monitoring and to stand by for support, then returned to the base to address the remaining 20 volunteer units.
"The first ten squads have all lost contact. I don't know what has happened to them. Though they never sent out distress signals before losing contact, given how long they've been silent, I have to assume they have encountered insurmountable danger and are now missing."
Ye Zhongming looked at the volunteers, who came from various small clans, the Su Clan, and the Star-Eye Clan.
"I don't know what to do next—whether to continue sending people in or to stop here." Ye Zhongming swept his gaze around the group. "I hope someone will be willing to go in and search for our missing brothers and sisters. But I will not force anyone to take this risk. The rewards remain the same. If you still wish to go down, follow me. If not, please return to your respective clans. Regardless, I thank you all for coming."
With that, he and White Robe turned and walked out.
"Will this work?" White Robe asked uncertainly.
Ye Zhongming shook his head. "I don't know. But what matters is that I've been honest with them. I don't want to keep feeding people in. If someone has the courage, they can go in again. But before we go in ourselves, this will be the last exploration."
Not long after they returned, five squads came forward—each a full ten-person unit.
"I am very grateful to you. As compensation, after you come out, you may keep the equipment you've been issued. Those with Red Condensation-grade gear may keep two pieces." Ye Zhongming looked them over. The five squads were decent in strength, though only one member—a Su Clansman—exceeded 50,000 Furelai.
"This time, we will change our approach. You will target the five caves among the missing ten that were explored the deepest. After you enter, stop every hundred meters. If there is no danger, our people will follow in, establish simple defensive measures, and wire signal connections at each hundred-meter mark. Only after these are set up may you proceed."
Hearing this, the five squads breathed a collective sigh of relief. Even though they had come seeking fortune, they had been prepared for the worst—especially after the first group had all gone missing. This cautious, step-by-step approach would undoubtedly make them much safer while earning them far greater rewards. They were naturally grateful.
After about ten minutes of preparation, the five squads entered the demon caves.
This time, they moved with extreme caution, stopping at every hundred-meter mark, allowing the following teams to come up, and establishing simple strongholds and wired communication to ensure connectivity.
This method was slow, but it brought peace of mind.
By the time they reached the five-hundred-meter mark, several hours had passed. Within the five caves, aside from the lead exploration squads, several hundred people had already entered, most stationed at the simple strongholds.
"Stop after advancing another two hundred meters," Ye Zhongming said suddenly.
White Robe and the others were puzzled. Things were proceeding smoothly—why stop?
"We've already taken too long. Advancing step by step like this would require feeding countless people into the caves. And there are too many caves here—we don't have enough manpower. I don't know what will happen in the future. We'll have to wait until we've finished our other preparations before continuing to explore this place."
White Robe understood the reasoning.
The Half-Abyss Demon Cave contained tens of thousands of openings. Exploring just five had taken hours and hundreds of people. To explore them all would require throwing every member of the small clan alliance into the effort—and still likely not be enough.
At the very beginning of the hunting campaign, undertaking such a large-scale exploration with unknown consequences was indeed highly unwise.
Still, both Ye Zhongming and White Robe felt heavy-hearted. Halting the exploration meant abandoning the previous ten squads; they would most likely never come out alive.
By the time the advance reached seven hundred meters, the slow progress had drawn the attention of the two Star Lords and the three highest-ranking Su Clan leaders. After hearing Ye Zhongming's report, their moods naturally darkened as well.
Everyone felt that this demon cave was like a giant beast, waiting to swallow them all.
"I see you've set up some formations here. But it's not enough—neither in quantity nor quality. Let the Su Clan handle it. We'll cover this place with formations as a preventive measure."
The speaker was unexpectedly Elder Zhongken Su. When faced with potential danger, he could still distinguish what was important.
"Leave some people behind to continue exploring the other caves. For each cave, only go as far as five hundred meters. Just establish a sturdy defensive post equipped with monitoring devices at that depth. Within the first five hundred meters, the Su Clan will set up formations. We aim to fully occupy the first five hundred meters of every cave in a short time."
Huo Zhi thought for a moment and gave these instructions.
Only the Su Clan could provide the support needed for such a comprehensive exploration. Their involvement also brought relief to Ye Zhongming, White Robe, and the others.
"For now, that's all we can do here. Don't rush. We'll go in for a look when the time is right." Huo Zhi patted Ye Zhongming on the shoulder. "By the way, Jie Su has found an excellent hunting target. He's preparing to make his move, and a few of us old-timers plan to go along. What do you say? Are you interested?"
