“Cassian, I found something!” Zinnia immediately called out to Cassian and took a step back from the cave.
It didn’t take him long to reach Zinnia; he was curious about what she had found.
“What did you find?” Cassian asked quickly.
Zinnia pointed toward the vines covering the cave’s entrance; the cave was actually quite large, though it wasn’t very visible from the outside.
Cassian followed Zinnia’s gaze and saw the vines; his eyes narrowed sharply, and he immediately understood what she meant.
“Step back and stay close to me,” Cassian said seriously.
Not wanting to cause trouble, Zinnia obeyed and chose to stand behind Cassian, letting him do as he pleased.
Slowly, Cassian reached out to part the vines, and they were immediately greeted by the sight of a dark, damp cave.
With his sharp eyes, Cassian could see the wheel tracks they’d found earlier were there as well.
“Be careful and don’t stray too far from me,” Cassian whispered as they stepped into the cave.
“I understand. What kind of place is this, anyway?” Zinnia began examining the cave’s layout with curiosity.
[Quest Progress: 15%]
Zinnia was quietly surprised when she received a notification from the System; that’s when she realized their search was on the right track.
This place must be connected to the pollution of the Lume River, so Zinnia was convinced there must be clues there, and she became even more eager to explore the cave.
“I don’t know, it looks like a warehouse,” Cassian replied after finding a few items inside the cave.
“It certainly seems that way.” Zinnia tried to find items that might serve as clues to take back to Old Bailey.
For a moment, they both fell silent, focused on their own searches.
“It doesn’t look like there’s anything significant here,” Zinnia finally said after growing tired of searching.
However, she received no response from Cassian.
Curious, Zinnia turned toward where Cassian was standing.
Zinnia ended up furrowing her brow when she saw Cassian holding something, a look of terror on his face.
It was too dark inside the cave, so Zinnia couldn’t make out exactly what Cassian was holding.
Driven by curiosity, Zinnia slowly walked toward Cassian.
“What’s that you’re holding? Did you find a clue?” Zinnia asked excitedly as she approached Cassian. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Only then did Cassian snap out of his reverie; instinctively, he tried to hide the piece of wood he was holding.
But he was too slow; Zinnia had already grabbed his hand and peered at the piece of wood.
“What’s this?” Zinnia asked curiously.
“None of your business!” Cassian quickly shook off Zinnia’s hand and hurriedly hid the piece of wood in his vest pocket.
“Oh my gosh, what’s wrong with you?” Zinnia furrowed her brow when she sensed Cassian acting cold toward her again.
However, Cassian remained silent and chose to walk away from Zinnia.
Seeing this, Zinnia grew even more confused and began to grumble in frustration.
“What’s wrong with him? He was acting perfectly fine just a moment ago; why is he like this now?!” Zinnia shot a sharp glance over Cassian’s shoulder.
Since they couldn’t find anything inside the cave, they decided to leave.
But at the same time, their steps halted when they heard something from outside.
Without realizing it, they looked at each other in panic.
“There’s someone outside!” Zinnia could feel a cold sweat breaking out on her back as she said that.
“Damn! So they’re still active around here!” Cassian quickly turned toward Zinnia.
The sound of footsteps grew closer to them, so Cassian immediately grabbed Zinnia’s arm and pulled her along.
In a panic, Zinnia could only go along with it, and before she knew it, Cassian had pushed her behind a pile of unused items.
They crouched behind the pile.
Now that he was right in front of her like this, Zinnia could see Cassian’s face more clearly.
Cassian’s features were chiseled, with piercing eyes that sometimes annoyed Zinnia when she looked at him, but she couldn’t deny the fact that he was indeed handsome.
“Stop staring at me,” Cassian whispered sharply.
As if realizing what she was doing, Zinnia blinked rapidly and accidentally bumped into an item behind her.
“Huh? Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“I heard a noise coming from those objects?”
Zinnia’s eyes widened when she heard the sound of a stranger entering the cave; luckily, Cassian reacted quickly and covered Zinnia’s mouth, so her scream was stifled. This story is hosted at novelping . com.
Cassian glared sharply at Zinnia, warning her to stay quiet.
Cassian quietly peeked out from behind their hiding spot to assess the situation.
And unfortunately, those people started to get suspicious and were closing in.
With no other choice, Cassian made a squeaking sound like a mouse, then moved his hand to produce something that looked like a mouse’s shadow.
“It’s just a stupid mouse! Stop wasting time; the Boss will be furious if we’re late!”
“Damn it! I definitely heard something just now!”
Footsteps could be heard receding afterward, but they were still inside the cave.
The two strangers only left the cave after lingering inside for a while, causing Cassian and Zinnia to hold their breath uneasily.
Only after they were gone could Zinnia breathe a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Cassian hurriedly pulled away from Zinnia and stood up to check the area around the cave.
“My heart didn’t stop… I thought we’d be found out.” Zinnia patted her chest gently, making sure she was still breathing.
She glanced slowly at Cassian; she didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling right now.
“They’re gone. We have to get out of here right away,” Cassian said without looking at Zinnia.
Zinnia quickly followed Cassian; she had no intention of slowing them down again.
It was enough that she’d made a mistake that had nearly gotten them caught earlier.
The two of them began walking out of the cave, and something terrible had happened to the creek.
“Wasn’t the water in this creek less murky before?” Zinnia could hardly believe what she was seeing.
A strong metallic odor filled the air, and the murky color of the stream had now turned grayish.
“Don’t tell me those two just did something to this stream?” Zinnia hissed sharply, truly furious at the thought.
“I don’t know, but they’re acting way too suspicious right now.” Cassian glanced at the tire tracks on the ground while clenching his fists tightly.
Just then, Zinnia heard a notification from the System ringing in her head.
Ding!
[Quest Progress: 30% Find the source of the pollution in the Lume River (1/1)]