Night fell in total silence.
Inside the wooden cabin at the foot of the mountain range, the group sat around the fireplace, each holding a cup of milk as they discussed tomorrow’s upcoming expedition.
Dan Lee leaned in the corner holding a cup of milk, quietly listening as Sam, Sarah, and Juno recounted their past caving experiences.
Every exploration was like a rebirth.
Sam, Holly, and Beth were novice level.
They hovered around Rebecca, listening to her past experiences with curiosity and longing.
People were always fascinated by things they experienced for the first time.
Just like high schoolers trying out new hobbies for the first time.
The only one completely indifferent was probably Dan Lee.
If not for the Ghost Cards, he would have to be out of his mind to follow them into an underground cavern.
Similarly, if he hadn’t already contained two Mutant Cannibals, he wouldn’t have come to explore the cave either.
Mainly because the places his other classmates were visiting were far more terrifying…
By comparison, the monsters in *The Descent* didn’t seem quite so terrifying anymore—they were practically cute.
At least they could be seen and killed.
As for the places others were heading to: abbeys, deserted islands, mental asylums…
and some were even going to Southeast Asia, Thailand, and the like.
If nothing else, the sorcerers in Southeast Asia alone made Dan Lee shrink back.
Dan Lee paused his thoughts and rested his hand on the frame of the M16.
Juno was right about one thing: slinging a rifle while crawling through a cave was definitely foolish and would easily get him stuck halfway.
If only he had a spatial storage item.
If he did, he would find an arms dealer, trade with them, and carry an entire armory of gear—or even a tank…
Only that could soothe his anxious mind and fragile heart.
As if sensing Dan Lee’s thoughts, one of the fifty-five Ghost Cards flew out of its sequence.
[Ace of Hearts] [Function: Item Storage] [Unlock Condition: Contain a vengeful spirit / witch / demon / evil ghost] [Contain any such entity to unlock] Dan Lee hadn’t expected there really was one, but the unlock condition looked overly harsh.
Just reading the names made it clear how difficult they would be to contain.
If ordinary ghosts counted toward the unlock condition, that would be great.
On second thought, he found the idea ridiculous—wasn’t capturing a normal ghost just to use up a card even dumber?
Note: Contained entities inside Ghost Cards are not fixed; they can be replaced upon death.
Wait.
Dan Lee suddenly thought of another method.
Excusing himself to use the bathroom, he walked outside the cabin, summoned the eldest Mutant, and handed him the M16 to sling over his body.
Although the eldest Mutant had low intelligence, he still knew how to use weapons.
Once the eldest Mutant was equipped, Dan Lee contained him back into the card and found that it indeed worked.
However, there seemed to be a limit and restriction.
Only gear that the eldest Mutant could personally use could be stored together inside the Two of Hearts.
If he tried to fit a fighter jet in there, it likely wouldn’t work.
Expecting a low-IQ Mutant to fly a fighter jet…
He’d have better luck waiting for pigs to fly.
Dan Lee’s mind raced.
He pondered: if he forged a set of heavy armor for the Mutant, wouldn’t its combat power skyrocket?
After all, as long as it could wear heavy armor, didn’t that count as gear?
The combat power of a heavy-armored Mutant versus an unarmored Mutant was on completely different levels.
If he equipped a heavy-armored eldest Mutant holding a fully automatic submachine gun, while the second brother—who had slightly less strength—wore light armor…
With the two monsters standing guard in front of and behind Dan Lee, why the hell would he fear any underground monsters?
Wouldn’t he just steamroll through everything?
Too bad.
Since he was already here, if he went back now to forge heavy armor suited for Mutants, the break would probably be over.
…
Returning to the cabin, the group of women were still tirelessly chatting about the adventure.
Dan Lee sat back down in his corner.
Sam noticed him sitting alone and unintegrated; she tried several times to draw him into the conversation.
However, except for Beth, the school teacher, the others didn’t talk much with Dan Lee, nor did Dan Lee have any intention of fitting in.
Finding a comfortable spot, he simply went to sleep.
11:00 PM.
Sam sat right next to Dan Lee.
They were still chatting, having completely forgotten their promise to sleep early and save their strength.
Dan Lee woke up once, but quickly went back to sleep.
There was nothing worth chatting about.
Talking with them was worse than practicing soccer with Sergeant Old Joe.
…
The next day.
The sky was barely breaking dawn, and mist shrouded the mountain, limiting visibility to about a hundred meters.
As the sun rose, the mist gradually dispersed.
However, the morning sun couldn’t provide much warmth.
Everyone gradually woke up and finished breakfast.
Sam suggested taking a group photo.
Dan Lee wasn’t interested in photos and proactively offered to act as the photographer.
After all, in almost all horror movies, the photographer was safe.
Except for found-footage horror movies.
In those, the cameraman really died.
As the six women gathered together and posed, Dan Lee decisively pressed the shutter.
Juno offered Dan Lee a rare compliment, feeling his photography skills were actually quite good.
10:00 AM.
Juno, the leader, drove the jeep deep into the mountains and pulled over at the foot of the slope.
The road ahead was blocked by intricate jungle and narrow paths.
Cars couldn’t drive in, so they had to walk.
Dan Lee put on his gear, jumped out of the car, surveyed the surroundings, and noticed that the trees along the dirt trail were noticeably taller than those on the outer perimeter.
Next to the narrow path was a small stream.
In such a desolate, virgin-forest-like place, did Rebecca, as a professional explorer, really not notice anything wrong?
Perhaps she did, but just didn’t speak up.
For a veteran explorer, stick-to-the-rules routine and familiar places could no longer provide a rush.
Juno, as leader, walked at the very front with Rebecca, taking Sarah along, while Holly was in the middle.
Beth was a teacher at Clam Shell Town’s school, while Dan Lee and Sam were her students.
As the teacher, she naturally looked out for the two kids.
This was Beth’s second time participating in an expedition.
Just like in class, she shared her past expedition experience with Dan Lee and Sam, while telling them to stay close to her after going down into the cave.
Dan Lee couldn’t help but comment under his breath, “Looks like Teacher’s motherly instincts are overflowing.” Sam smiled.
“What motherly instincts?
Beth has always been nice to us like we’re her own kids, okay?” The group walked along the mountain path until noon.
Along the way, they found the carcass of a wild deer.
It had died a gruesome death, half-eaten, though its antlers were still intact.
Wild beasts wouldn’t eat only half, nor would poachers leave the antlers behind.
In fact, one could already tell something was off here.
Yet Juno and Rebecca excitedly led everyone to take a group photo with the deer carcass.
Dan Lee calmly took the photo for them.
After taking the photo, they continued forward.
Dan Lee also saw the source of the stream beside the narrow path—a clear river flowing down over mossy rocks between the mountains.
The group followed the stream for another stretch of road and finally arrived at “Boreham Caverns.” The cavern was located on a flat clearing, surrounded by withered, solitary trees, forming a sharp contrast with the lush green forest at the foot of the mountain.
The cave entrance was an irregular oval shape, covered in moss around the edges.
Dan Lee stood at the edge and glanced down.
The cave went straight down, vertically, into bottomless darkness.
The pitch-black cave mouth looked like a man-eating phantom abyss, awaiting its destined visitors.
Ordinary people really wouldn’t be able to find this godforsaken place.
Evidently, Dan Lee, Juno, and the others were the destined visitors this time.