The truck drove out of the mine and along the road for about a kilometre before we rounded the small barren slope and stopped in front of a small rocky ravine washed out by the rain.

The miners who led the way for us told us that a dirt road had been built in the ravine to transport raw coal dug out of the test shaft, but after the mine was sealed, the dirt road was unmaintained, and the dirt road had been almost destroyed by the rains and the large number of stones rolling down from the top of the mountain in the summer. Our car couldn't get in, but fortunately, the test well was not too far, but it was rugged and difficult, and we still walked for more than ten minutes.

Our group carried the equipment and turned around along the ravine to the foot of the main vein of Chengjialing. On the way, Xiao Lei pointed to the vague footprints on the ground and told us that the earliest of these footprints was preserved, two weeks ago, but there was a new line of footprints in almost two or three days, which never broke. The texture of the sole is obviously the miner's mining boots, but the strange thing is that only the one that enters, and there is nothing out.

Although the location of the mouth of the test mine is full of boulders and the hole is completely buried, it is still easy to identify, because it is a test mine, the mouth of the mine is not as tall as we see in the No. 17 shaft, and there is no trace of track on the ground, only a dilapidated "no entry" sign.

Thunder led us down a hidden path next to the mouth of the mine, clinging to the cliff on one side, and heading deeper into the valley. There were more low shrubs in the valley, but there were no leaves at this time, and there were still dark purple dry fruits on the branches, which did not affect our vision much. At this time, we all noticed that more than 20 meters ahead, there was already a thick fog, and the fog was in the valley, so that we could only vaguely distinguish the general shape of the mountain.

In this section of Chengjialing, the mountain is unusually steep, and the cliff in the dense fog is like a black cloud covering the sky, pressing down from above, and there will be a huge sense of oppression when you glance up.

Xiao Lei's investigation last night obviously did not encounter such a situation, and the secret entrance he said was obviously hidden in the fog. Xiao Lei asked us to rest in place for a while, and Xiao Du and he took flashlights and walked straight into the thick fog.

A few minutes later, we saw the flashlight light light up and down in the thick fog, and then we picked up our gear and walked in. The visibility in the dense fog was no more than two meters, and the ground was full of rocks, and from time to time someone in our team accidentally fell, but fortunately, after walking more than ten meters, we saw the figures of Xiao Lei and Xiao Duan.

The simple tunnel is open at the bottom of the cliff, close to the ground, and unlike what I thought, the height of this hole is just over a meter, and the width is no more than half a meter. It seems to have been excavated by relying on the original cracks in the mountain.

Liu Xiaowu held the miner's lamp, holding a strong flashlight in one hand and a sapper shovel in the other, and squeezed into the hole sideways, and after a sound of metal hitting the stone wall, he frowned and squeezed out again.

"Team Cao, the hole inside is artificially dug, but it is only more than half a meter high, only enough for a person to crawl in, it is estimated to be more than 50 meters long, and there are turns, it is difficult to say how long it will take, but it is unlikely to go in a chemical protective suit, even if you squeeze in, there are only some sharp stones inside, and the chemical protective clothing is estimated to be destroyed, we have to change our plan." Liu Xiaowu leaned on the stone wall and stared at Team Cao.

Miner Lao Qin lay at the entrance of the cave and shone it with a flashlight, turned to the Cao team and said: "Captain Cao, from the direction of this hole, it should be in the direction of the main roadway of the test shaft, I came to the mine relatively early, but I have never been down the test shaft back then, I heard the old man on the mine say that the experimental shaft mine is obliquely more than ten degrees downward, about more than 200 meters long, and then there is a large equipment platform, in front of which is a shaft fifty or sixty meters deep, and after the shaft to the end, it is a roadway of more than 100 meters, where it has reached the coal seam. ”

"So I estimate that this hole leads to the main roadway, and it is impossible to hit directly under the shaft, so it should be more than 50 meters long, and then more than 100 meters below the slope, and it will be dug through. ”

"Team Cao, the problem is that the inside is too narrow, and it is very risky for us to all go in, I suggest that I take two people down first, if we do dig through the main aisle, we find the equipment platform, contact you with walkie-talkies, and then everyone come down." If it's not to the main aisle, I'll find a larger area inside to serve as a staging base for supplies, and then I'll tell you to come in. Liu Xiaowu thought for a moment and said to Team Cao.

Team Cao nodded, this is the most feasible plan at present. After Liu Xiaowu took Lao Qin and Xiao Lei into the hole, we began to worry about how a large number of equipment would enter the hole.

The heat source detection equipment and thermal imaging equipment are too large to enter. There is a portable radiation monitoring device, but the two big ones with the best monitoring and analysis results can only be placed outside.

Originally, the technical department also brought an ultrasonic cave detector, which is said to be the world's most advanced space detection equipment, which can help us detect very small holes or spaces hidden behind rock walls, although it is very useful, but it weighs more than 100 kilograms, which is an iron box nearly half a meter high and 40 centimeters square, and it is connected to a computer host, and it cannot be transported in.

As for the testing equipment for air and water samples, although the volume is not large, it must be connected to an external power supply weighing more than ten kilograms, as well as a large set of bottles and cans, which are laborious and easy to break, so obviously they have to give up. Because of the power problem, there is also a set of spotlight searchlights that cannot be entered, originally in the underground it was our high hopes, it seems that there is only a miner's lamp overhead and a dozen large flashlights.

The most troublesome thing is the communication equipment, and the Cao team has brought a set of military radio walkie-talkie devices, which can ensure that the tunnel thousands of meters deep underground can still make clear conversations, but the launch pad can't be stuffed into that small hole.

I looked at Team Cao, who was squatting in the middle of a pile of high-tech equipment, with a sad face, and suddenly had an untimely feeling of wanting to laugh, walked up to him, patted his backpack, and said, "Team Cao, look at it now, my traditional and backward equipment is sometimes more practical." ”

Team Cao didn't have the heart to argue with me at this time, and commanded Xiao Duan and Xiao Lin to find a piece of flat land, set up a tent, and began to check out the equipment that was easy to carry and stuff it into the backpack.

We set up a tent outside the small cave, and the equipment was reorganized, but the walkie-talkie never rang, Xiaoduan picked up the walkie-talkie and called twice, Liu Xiaowu and the others didn't even respond. After more than ten minutes, there was a rustling noise from the walkie-talkie, and the frequency band was adjusted in a small section, and the noise was still the same, which was a strong current interference.

Carefully distinguished, I could hear Xiao Lei's intermittent call, but the sound seemed to be thousands of miles away, very faint, I don't know if it was a problem with the machine, or the echo of Xiao Lei's location, I only felt that his voice became extremely low.

"Team Cao, the hole is more than 200 meters long, but the front has been blocked. ”

Hearing Xiao Lei's report, our hearts sank, could it be that our previous inference was wrong, but how to explain the footprints of those miners along the way? Could it be that Dai Mine Chief was suspicious and led us astray? But how could he calculate so thoroughly?

Soon, Xiao Lei's voice came from the walkie-talkie again. "Team Cao, the ore muck in the gambling cave has just been filled, and it can be dug up, but the inside is too narrow to stagger around, don't come in first, let's see if we can clear a path." ”

The walkie-talkie was silent, and we had to sit down by the entrance of the cave and smoke to relieve our anxiety.

"Lao Chang, why did you say that Dai Mine Chief, why did they plug the hole?" Team Cao held a flashlight and fiddled with it in his hand.

"There are two possibilities, one is that he knows that we will come and plug the hole, creating the illusion of a landslide, even if we are not confused, it can delay our time to go down the well. There is also a possibility that Dai Mine Chief has no intention of coming out of this road at all. But no matter what the situation is, as long as he doesn't have the intention of seeking death, it means that he knows that there must be a way out inside. ”

"Lao Chang, the way out is definitely not the entrance of the test shaft, it can only go to the depths of the mine, and then go inside, will it be dug through the mine roads of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty?

Before I could answer, Curator Qi next to me poked my arm and whispered, "Have you read the county chronicle I gave you?"

I didn't react to Director Qi's meaning, from last night to now, I barely had a moment of free time, the book was in my backpack, but I haven't had time to read it yet, but is this county chronicle related to the underground passage that Team Cao said?

But since Director Qi asked, he must have a reason, and hurriedly turned out the county chronicle from his bag.

Curator Qi opened the county chronicle, and in the middle of the hundred-ten-page thick ancient book, there was a neat stack of rice paper, which was three feet square when opened, and there were runes carefully drawn in small letters.

"Lao Chang, there is a clear record of the closure of mines in the Ming Dynasty in the county annals, which is roughly the same as in folklore. The thing drawn on this piece of rice paper is the pattern on a stone tablet that originally stood next to a mine in the Ming Dynasty. The locals called him the ghost charm stele, this tablet is said to be there in the Republic of China, and then it was lost, this county chronicle is compiled by Guangling in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, he described this sketch according to the rubbing of the ghost rune tablet, as the explanatory material of the Qing Dynasty mine sealing, preserved in the county chronicle. ”

(The world is like a chess game, and if you don't have it, you are the master; life is like a clay pot, breaking the vacuum.) --"Caigen Tan")