133: Chapter 133 Snake Cave

Li Xin hadn't expected the permit to be so easy to obtain.

That day, he had simply filled out a form and left his phone number, thinking there was little hope of it actually going through.

To his surprise, the Cultural Heritage Organization actually processed it. On the morning of the third day, they sent a young man to deliver the permit.

"Li, this is your permit, along with the key to the monitoring station."

The young man explained patiently, "Li, there is a small locked iron box at the monitoring station. At the end of the month, open the box, save the data to a card, and bring it to the office."

Li Xin listened attentively and took the permit. It was a laminated card printed with his photo, Persian text, and a serial number. The coordinates and serial number of the monitoring station were attached to the back of the card.

"Twice a month?" Li Xin asked, somewhat puzzled.

"That's right, the fifteenth and the thirtieth of every month." The young man glanced at his watch and continued, "If you want to go now, we can set off. I have some free time, so I can take you along and show you the route."

Li Xin's heart skipped a beat at the thought of someone tagging along. He didn't say anything aloud, just nodded. "Alright. Please wait while I grab something."

He turned and went back into his room, taking an old earthquake monitor he had bought in Kyrgyzstan out of his space. It looked quite professional, with a small screen that could display waveforms and a slot for a memory card, though he had never used it and wasn't sure if the data would be accurate.

The young man glanced at the device and smiled. "Li, your equipment looks quite professional."

"Haha... it'll do for now." Li Xin laughed and walked out with the young man.

The monitoring station was on the hillside north of the village, about two kilometers away. However, the road was difficult to traverse, covered in gravel, and inaccessible by motorcycle, so the two of them had to walk.

After more than forty minutes, they arrived at a ridge. There was a small, flat area enclosed by wire fencing, with a waist-high iron box standing in the middle, covered by a tarp. Next to it was a small hut for someone to stay in.

Arriving at the iron box, the young man took out the key and opened it. Inside was an earthquake recorder, one size larger than Li Xin's, connected to a solar panel.

"This one belongs to the National Seismological Bureau. You can use yours as an auxiliary device, and the data from both can be compared."

The young man pointed to a concrete pillar next to the box. "Li, you can set up your device here; it's convenient for connecting to power."

Li Xin surveyed the terrain. This location was less than a kilometer from the cave treasure. It was within the scanning radius and closer than the village.

"Alright, this spot is perfect. Thanks!"

Li Xin then took a tripod out of his backpack and set the monitor on the concrete pillar. He connected the power, and the screen lit up. The waveforms began to pulse, looking quite convincing.

The young man also crouched down to look at the data and nodded with a smile. "Hmm, perfect. It should be fine. You can check it yourself for now, and I'll come back on the fifteenth to collect the data with you."

"Alright, thank you for your hard work."

The young man waved and left.

Li Xin stood alone on the ridge, staring at the monitor. This device was now his talisman. With it, his activities in these mountains were legitimate. No one would suspect a serious earthquake monitoring volunteer.

He wandered around the ridge for a bit, then returned to the hut, sat down to rest, and silently recited in his mind.

"AI System, begin Extraction."

[Extraction in progress... Target: Zagros Mountains cave treasure. Current Extraction rate: approximately 3 tons/hour. Continuous Extraction limit: 12 hours.]

He kept watching the system panel as the progress bar began to tick forward slowly.

The first day went quite smoothly. During the day, he pretended to be organizing data in the hut, though in reality, he did nothing but monitor the Extraction status. Occasionally, he would go out for a walk, take a few photos, and scribble in a notebook. He looked just like a diligent researcher.

At night, he continued the Extraction. Progress reached eleven percent. The system load was stable.

The second day was also smooth. Progress reached twenty-three percent.

At noon on the third day, the system suddenly popped up a notification.

[AI System: Zhuzi... A group of ancient sacrificial artifacts has been discovered in the cave.]

"AI System, what kind of sacrificial artifacts?" Li Xin asked.

[AI System: There are about 200 bronze, gold, and silver items inside.]

Li Xin thought about it and decided to wait until the gold was extracted before extracting these.

"Continue Extraction."

Progress reached thirty-one percent. Load was forty-nine.

On the fourth day, the young man returned. He rode his motorcycle to the foot of the mountain and climbed up on foot. He held a folder in his hand and handed it to Li Xin.

"Li, this is the summary of last month's monitoring data. Take a look, and if there are any anomalies, call me anytime."

Li Xin took it and flipped through it. The data was dense, and he nodded. "Alright, I will pay close attention."

The young man didn't stay long and turned to leave. Shortly after he left, Li Xin heard a low, continuous rumbling sound coming from underground.

He crouched down and placed his hand on the ground. He could feel a slight vibration, very rhythmic, as if something was moving underground.

"AI System, what's going on? Is there an earthquake?" Li Xin asked anxiously.

[AI System: Don't worry, this is the release of internal stress in the cave. The limestone layer is slowly deforming, producing low-frequency sound waves. This phenomenon is very common in seismic zones. Relax, you're not going to die.]

"Oh, so will it collapse?" Li Xin frowned and asked.

[AI System: The structure is currently very stable. However, in the long term, the risk of collapse is increasing.]

"AI System, can you speed up the Extraction? Let's finish early so we can leave sooner."

[AI System: This is already the fastest Extraction speed. It cannot be accelerated further. Wait patiently.]

"Alright then. Maintain the current speed. You need to monitor in real-time; if there's any unusual activity, warn me early."

[AI System: Nagging, so much nonsense. I am monitoring at all times. Do I need you to tell me that? Go do what you need to do and stop bothering me!]

"..." Li Xin was instantly speechless.

The rumbling sound continued for about ten minutes, then slowly faded away. Li Xin stood up and brushed the dust off his hands. The villagers said this place was called the "Snake Pit" and claimed that a giant snake guarded the treasure underneath. He had never believed such things. But that sound just now was truly chilling.

On the fifth day, progress reached fifty-eight percent.

In the evening, he saw a White-bearded Elder walking up, carrying a shoulder pole. Hanging from both ends of the pole were two plastic bags containing a naan, a pot of lamb stew, and a pot of tea. He walked straight toward Li Xin.

"Young man, the village chief asked me to bring this to you." The elder placed the items at the door of the hut and caught his breath. "The village chief said it's inconvenient for you to eat while you're up here on the mountain alone."

Li Xin was taken aback. "Thank you, sir. How much is all this?"

"No money needed." The elder waved his hand. "You are helping us with earthquake monitoring; it is only right to provide you with food."

Li Xin thanked him repeatedly, took the items, and opened the pot. The lamb was stewed until tender, with plenty of spices, and it smelled delicious. He tore off a piece of naan, dipped it in the broth, and took a bite.

"Sir, I heard there's a place on this mountain called the 'Snake Pit'?" he asked casually.

The elder sat on a rock and lit a cigarette. "Who did you hear that from?"

"I heard it when the villagers were chatting."

The elder took a drag of his cigarette and was silent for a moment. "Yes, there is such a place. In the mountain ravine to the north, there is a cave, very deep. The older generation says there is a giant snake underneath, guarding a treasure."

"Has anyone ever gone inside?"

"Of course, many years ago, a few young men went down." The elder flicked the ash off his cigarette. "Three went down, but only two returned. The two who came back were not quite right; they were crazy and died within a few years. Since then, no one has dared to go."

"That sounds quite terrifying. Did no one investigate further later on?"

"Actually, many people were curious, but ever since they heard what happened to those three young men, no one dared to go inside and explore."

Li Xin didn't respond. He was wondering if those people had really entered the cave and seen something they shouldn't have.

The elder finished his cigarette and stood up. "Don't go over there at night; it's not safe."

"Understood. Oh, that's right, Elder, I've been looking at the monitoring data, and geological activity has been frequent lately. There might be a major earthquake. Please tell the village head to have everyone keep an eye out." Li Xin said, speaking a bit uncertainly to the old man about his observations.

"Alright, I'll tell the village head. You take care of yourself too."

The old man walked away carrying his shoulder pole. Li Xin continued to stare at the system panel. Progress was at 63%.

The sixth day, in the early morning.

Li Xin was jolted awake. The entire house was shaking, the tripod had fallen over, and the monitor screen was flickering. He lay flat on the ground, covering his head with his hands.

The ground was jumping up and down, as if a giant beast was turning over beneath it. Rubble from the ridge cascaded down, slamming into the hillside with muffled thuds.

It lasted for about ten seconds. Then it stopped.

[AI System: Zhuzi... A 4.7 magnitude earthquake just occurred. The epicenter was 8 kilometers directly below our current location. System load spiked instantly to 91%. Extraction interrupted. Progress halted at 67%. Running self-check...]

"Damn it... Couldn't you have warned me earlier? I could have prepared in advance. Honestly now, are you trying to get a new master?" Li Xin cursed, quickly scrambling up from the ground.

[AI System: ...]

He walked out of the house and looked into the distance. He couldn't see anything, only the sound of dogs barking in the distant village and the sporadic lights turning on in the villagers' homes.

He looked at the system panel.

[Self-check complete. System load has dropped to 72%. Extraction can be resumed. It is recommended to reduce the speed to half of normal to cope with potential aftershocks.]

"Fine, resume Extraction."

[Extraction resumed. Current rate: 1.5 tons/hour. Remaining time needs to be recalculated.]

The progress bar started jumping again. It was slower than before.

Li Xin calmed his nervous state of mind. At this moment, he could still feel slight tremors on the ground, though he didn't know if it was aftershocks or just psychological.

Slowly, it became dawn. He looked towards the hillside, and his expression changed countless times in an instant.

He discovered a large crack had opened up on the hillside, extending from the ridge down to the mountainside, looking to be over a hundred meters long.

"AI System, Scan this crack."

[Scan complete. A cave branch has been detected beneath the crack. This branch is not connected to the main treasure area; it contains a small amount of bronze fragments and pottery shards, presumed to be an ancient sacrificial dumping ground.]

"Will it collapse? Should we evacuate first?"

[There is absolutely no need; it is currently very stable. However, if another earthquake above magnitude 4 occurs, this branch could completely collapse and even affect the main cave structure.]

Li Xin stared at the crack for a few seconds. He stood up and returned to the house.

Progress at 69%.

Not long after daybreak, the village head brought seven or eight people up the mountain. They walked to the side of the crack and gathered around to look.

"This earthquake was quite big." The village head squatted down and took a look into the crack. "I've never seen such a big crack before."

"There's something down there." A young man pointed to the edge of the crack. "Look, are those pottery shards?"

Several people crowded over to look. Li Xin stood to the side, not moving.

Someone picked up a shard and handed it to the village head. The village head examined it over and over. "It's pottery. Old stuff."

"Should we go down and take a look?" someone asked.

The village head hesitated for a moment. "Don't go down yet. Call the people from the Cultural Heritage Organization and let them decide."

He took out his phone and made a few calls. After hanging up, he said to the others, "They'll arrive this afternoon. Fence this area off first; don't let anyone get close."

Several people began moving stones from the mountain to build a low wall around the crack. The village head walked up to Li Xin.

"Does your instrument have data on the epicenter?"

Li Xin pointed to the monitor. "Yes. But I need to export it to check."

"Export a copy for me. The people from the Cultural Heritage Organization will need it too when they arrive."

"Sure."

The village head didn't say anything more and took the people down the mountain. Li Xin stood by the crack, watching them walk away. He squatted down and pressed his hand against the rock at the edge of the crack. The rock was cool and damp.

He thought for a moment.

The people from the Cultural Heritage Organization were coming in the afternoon. They would definitely inspect the crack and might also inspect everything around it. The monitoring station was less than two hundred meters from the crack; they would surely come over to take a look.

But the system was still extracting; progress was only at 71%, and nearly three hundred tons of gold were left to be extracted. It couldn't stop; if it stopped, all his previous efforts would be wasted.

He took a deep breath, went back into the house, exported the monitoring data, and saved it to a memory card. Then, he put everything that shouldn't be there into his space—sleeping bag, food, water bottles, folding chair. He left only the monitor, tripod, notebook, pen, and that old camera.

It looked like a legitimate work station.

A little after two in the afternoon, two off-road vehicles drove to the foot of the mountain. One white, one green. The white one belonged to the Cultural Heritage Organization, and the green one belonged to the Revolutionary Guard.

Six people got out of the cars. Three in plain clothes, three in military uniforms. One of the old men in plain clothes, with graying hair, wearing glasses and a khaki jacket, looked like the leader.

The village head led them up the mountain. Upon arriving at the crack, those people started working. Taking photos, measuring, recording. Someone took out a small drone and flew it around.

The old man with glasses squatted at the edge of the crack, shining his flashlight down, watching for a long time.

"There is something down there," he said in Persian to the person beside him. "Bronze artifacts reaction. And pottery shards. It might be an ancient tomb."

"Can we go down?" the person beside him asked.

"Not now. It's too dangerous. First, do a 3D Scan, then decide after determining the structure."

The old man stood up, saw Li Xin, and walked over.

"Are you the earthquake monitoring volunteer from China?"

"Yes." Li Xin stood up and extended his hand. "My name is Li Xin."

The old man shook his hand. "I am Masoud from the Archaeology Department of the Kermanshah Cultural Heritage Bureau. Can you show me your monitoring data?"

Li Xin took the memory card out of his bag and handed it to Masoud. "It's all in there. The epicenter data, and the previous ones too."

Masoud took the card and looked at it. "You are alone on this mountain, aren't you afraid?"

"I'm used to it. In this line of work, you run all over the place."

Masoud nodded and didn't ask further. He put the card into his pocket and turned back to the crack. The group worked for another hour or so, taking hundreds of photos and scanning the crack with their instruments.

They didn't leave until the sun was about to set. Before leaving, Masoud said to the village head, "Seal this place off first, and don't let anyone get close. We will bring equipment tomorrow to conduct a detailed survey."

The village head nodded.

The off-road vehicles drove away. The village head and his people also went down the mountain. It was dark, and Li Xin was the only one left on the hillside again.

He returned to the house and sat down.

Progress at 76%. Load at 63%.

Almost half left.

He took out his sleeping bag and water from his space and leaned into the corner of the house. He stared at the panel; the progress was jumping, very slowly. With every 1% jump, the wind outside grew louder.

In the early morning, sounds came from the direction of the crack again. This time it wasn't a roar, but a "hissing" sound. It sounded like gas emerging from underground, or perhaps water flowing.

He stood up, walked to the crack, and shone his flashlight down. The beam couldn't reach the bottom; he could only see water droplets on the rock walls reflecting the light. The musty smell was still there, but it was stronger than during the day.

"AI System, what is that sound?"

[AI System: Carbon dioxide and methane gas release detected from underground, but the concentration is not high and will not have a direct impact on the human body. It is recommended not to stay near the crack for a long time.]

"Understood."

He went back into the house, crawled in, and stared at the panel.

Progress at 81%.

After a whole day of this, he was truly exhausted. His eyelids were fighting each other, his head felt heavy, but he didn't dare to sleep. The system was still extracting gold, that crack was dangerous at any moment, and the Cultural Heritage Organization people were coming back tomorrow—all of this made it impossible for him to sleep soundly.

He leaned against his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.

Just nap for five minutes.