Chapter Thirty: Unable to Convince Oneself to Give Up

After leaping off the cliff, Fang Yun struggled against the biting wind, forcing her eyes open to locate the platform situated before the cave entrance where the supplies were hidden. Fortunately, her aim was precise. Just before she was about to crash onto the ledge, she pulled all the quilts from her storage space and dumped them beneath her feet.

"Thud!" With a muffled sound, Fang Yun landed on the pile of bedding.

It took her quite a while to climb out of the heap of quilts, wincing in pain. Even though she had prepared herself and was wearing thick layers, the force of a freefall was not to be underestimated. This impact nearly made her vomit, and her entire body ached with a variety of pains. However, she did a quick check and found no major injuries—a stroke of luck in an unfortunate situation.

Knowing she had little time to spare, she quickly gathered the quilts and tucked them away. Then, pulling out a flashlight, she hurried into the pitch-black cave. After walking about fifty meters, she encountered a crude wooden door. Ma Qibo must have assumed no one would ever discover this place, as he had only bothered with a simple wooden door to block out the wind and snow; he hadn't even bothered with a guard, let alone a lock. This, however, saved Fang Yun a great deal of trouble.

She struggled to push the door open, but when she shone her flashlight inside, she was met by yet another door. This one was far less perfunctory than the last: it was a door made of silvery-white reinforced steel, and to her surprise, it required a password to open. So much for thinking Ma Qibo was arrogant; the man was actually quite cunning. A door like this could likely withstand a cannon blast. If one were to enter the wrong code too many times, it would probably lock down permanently. Anyone else would likely have been defeated by this obstacle.

As luck would have it, in her past life, Fang Yun had served under Ma Qibo and had accidentally overheard him mention a password. While she wasn't certain he used the same code for every lock, at a time like this, she had no choice but to treat a dead horse as if it were alive. She leaned against the door, her breath forming a white mist that blurred the glowing green screen. With fingers stiff from the cold, she tapped in the password from her memory.

"Beep, beep, beep." The mechanical sound of the keys echoed through the vast, silent cave, making her heart race with mounting anxiety. As she pressed the final digit, Fang Yun waited tensely for two seconds. Suddenly, with two sharp beeps, a mechanism clicked behind the keypad, and the steel door creaked open slightly.

Fang Yun felt a surge of joy. She quickly stepped back, grabbed the door with both hands, pulled it open, and shone her light inside. The cave, about five meters high, was packed to the ceiling with cardboard boxes stacked in towering piles, stretching so far back she couldn't see the end. A quick scan revealed that some boxes in the corner had been opened and were empty, likely taken by them for use.

Clamping the flashlight under her arm, Fang Yun used both hands to begin frantically sweeping the supplies into her storage space. As she worked, she even had the whimsical thought of nudging the system in her mind, asking it to help her collect the items. Otherwise, how long would it take to clear all this? Unfortunately, the system heartlessly refused. With no other choice, she resigned herself to the work.

Just as she was lost in the task, Ma Qibo returned to his tent and ripped back the expensive wool rug covering the floor, revealing the entrance to a tunnel. Opening the hatch, he hurried down, his gun in hand, followed by his most trusted confidant, while others stood guard with weapons above.

Li Wangcheng, seeing that Hong Li was still playing coy, felt both annoyed and increasingly worried. His patience had reached its limit, and just as he was about to slam the table and leave, a burst of gunfire erupted outside. The people in the tent were instantly stunned. Hong Li recognized that the shots were coming from the front of the camp, and her expression changed drastically. Ignoring everyone in the tent, she turned and bolted outside, ordering her men to keep a close watch on the captives and ensure no one escaped, before rushing toward the front of the camp. Halfway there, a thunderous "Boom!" nearly knocked her off her feet.

Deep underground, Ma Qibo and Fang Yun also felt the tremors and the blast. Both paused and looked upward.

"Master Ma, such a massive commotion above—it seems someone is breaking in," Ma Qibo's confidant said, stepping forward.

"No kidding! You think I don't know that?" Ma Qibo cursed under his breath. It was only then that he realized he had been set up. Thinking of the various factions—all of whom were still in their tents except for the military and political group—he realized exactly who was causing the trouble on the surface. Now, he was caught in a dilemma: someone might have breached his supply cave, and enemies were attacking from above. He was only one man, unable to be in two places at once, and had no idea which crisis to address first.

Fang Yun, however, was not nearly as conflicted. After a two-second pause, she resumed her work, moving even faster than before. The supplies in the cave were visibly dwindling, and soon she reached the back, where she discovered something unusual. Behind the last stack of boxes, she found a door—a thin, makeshift wooden partition that had clearly been added later.

Fang Yun walked over and pressed her ear against the wood, listening for movement on the other side. She had no idea that just ten paces away, separated only by that door, stood Ma Qibo. Seeing that a portion of his supplies remained, Ma Qibo felt slightly relieved. He then turned his attention to the wooden door leading to the inner chamber, intending to open it and check on the status of his more valuable goods.

Just as he stepped closer to the door, Fang Yun heard his footsteps. Her heart gave a violent leap, and she was just about to pull back and flee when— "BOOM!" An even more massive explosion rocked the area, the tremors far worse than before. Ma Qibo, standing right behind the door, was sent stumbling; had he not grabbed a nearby crate, he would have fallen flat on his face.

"Master Ma! It's bad!" his confidant shouted, running toward him.

"What's going on?" Ma Qibo stood up, his face showing a panic he couldn't hide.

"Those sons of bitches, they've broken through! They're almost here!"

"Are they insane?" Ma Qibo's eyes widened. He could no longer afford to worry about the supplies and turned to scramble toward the surface.

Fang Yun, unable to retreat in time, had heard every word of their conversation. A moment later, the voices faded. She was torn, wondering if this was a trap. But her greed got the better of her; she wanted the supplies in that inner chamber too, because she suddenly remembered what was kept there. In her past life, once she had gained a modicum of status by Ma Qibo's side, he had assumed she was no longer a threat. At the height of her position, he had brought her into that inner cellar to gloat, showing off crates of jewelry and weaponry. Even setting aside the jewelry, Fang Yun couldn't bring herself to walk away from the weapons.