Chapter 82: Investigation Begins

The Mana Turbulence came quickly and left just as fast.

Since it was everyone's second time experiencing it, they all acted quite calmly.

After all, humanity's greatest strength was adaptability. Even though this was the second Mana Turbulence, the massive reduction in population that happened the first time did not occur again.

At least according to the World Channel, the daily death toll was maintained at a mere five digits.

It was evident that everyone had grown accustomed to it.

"This damn Mana Turbulence is finally over."

"Yeah. To be honest, during the Great Chill, I thought it was already over."

"Wait! The chill hasn't ended!"

"Huh?"

"What did you say!?"

"Could it be that this Great Chill wasn't caused by the Mana Turbulence? But rather, the chill and the Mana Turbulence just coincidentally happened at the same time?"

"Damn it all! I thought I could go out and explore once the Mana Turbulence ended. I've wasted so much Kerosene these past few days."

"Don't even mention it, I'm in the same boat. I thought everything would be fine once we survived it, but who knew the Great Chill would still be here."

"This won't do. I need to go out and gather materials to prepare for the upcoming Mana Tide."

"I'm going too. I'd rather freeze to death out there than face the Mana Tide unprepared."

On the first morning after the week-long Mana Turbulence ended, just as people were joyfully celebrating its conclusion, they realized that things weren't as simple as they had imagined.

The snow was still falling. Although it had lightened somewhat, it showed no signs of stopping.

The sunlight remained exactly as it had been over the past few days—completely devoid of warmth.

The thick layers of snow seemed to have buried people's hopes entirely, remaining right where it was, mocking everyone who still harbored expectations.

However, some individuals still mustered the courage to step out of their homes.

They had to.

Because they had no other choice.

And among this group of people who ventured outside, there existed an entirely contrasting group.

Today was the agreed-upon day.

After a few days of rest and reorganization, Li Wufeng arrived outside the cave, accompanied by Zhao Doulai, Cam, and Lysara. Each of them carried a long mountaineering backpack.

These three were carefully selected by Li Wufeng.

Not only did they possess combat talents, but they also had combat experience.

Additionally, Lysara possessed a scouting talent called 'Sensing'.

Although it was only D-rank and its detection range wasn't very far, it was still better than nothing.

By this time, a massive amount of snow had accumulated at the cave entrance, but the vines used for concealment had not been destroyed.

From this alone, it meant that at least no monsters had run out from inside.

Of course, it was also entirely possible that there were simply no monsters inside at all.

"When will that external helper arrive?"

Arriving at the cave entrance and noticing they were the first ones there, Zhao Doulai asked Li Wufeng.

"I'm not sure. Shang Chuan only told us to gather here at 8 o'clock."

Li Wufeng shook his head.

Thus, the four of them had no choice but to wait right there in the freezing snow. If they hadn't all chugged a dose of cold resistance Potion before leaving, they would probably be hugging their arms and stomping their feet for warmth by now.

Right at that moment, a violent gust of wind swept past.

Shielding his head with his hands and narrowing his eyes, Li Wufeng saw a person descend from the sky.

This man looked to be about thirty years old, dressed in a well-tailored suit, and appeared exceedingly formidable.

"Hello, are you Mr. Li Huai?"

Upon seeing the arrival, Li Wufeng immediately stepped forward.

"Yes."

Li Huai nodded and then glanced at the nearby cave.

"Shang Chuan already filled me in on the details. Is this the cave?"

"Yes, it is."

"Then let's head inside and take a look first."

With a wave of Li Huai's hand, a gust of wind severed all the vines, revealing the pitch-black cave entrance. He then strode straight inside without the slightest hint of fear.

"Wufeng, should we follow him inside?"

Zhao Doulai asked.

"Uh... let's follow him."

Seeing Li Huai act so rashly, Li Wufeng was left with no other option.

However, right after stepping inside, he glanced back at a tree along the path they had come from. Only then did he take out a Magic Carriage Lantern from the bundle on his back, turn around, and follow the others deeper inside.

Shortly after they entered, a person suddenly darted out from that very tree.

This person had a frail physique and held a crossbow.

Otto. That was his name, and he was Li Wufeng's contingency plan.

If Li Huai had any ulterior motives or tried to make a move against them, Otto would be their final hope.

Although the trick Li Huai just displayed looked genuinely impressive and was certainly worthy of an S-rank talent...

Li Wufeng was certain that if Li Huai actually attacked, Otto would absolutely have the confidence to save them.

...

Inside the pitch-black cave, Li Huai's group advanced cautiously.

They had been walking for about an hour already, but let alone monsters, they hadn't even seen a single blade of grass.

It was completely barren. Calling it desolate would be an understatement; it was utterly primeval.

Clack.

Zhao Doulai stabbed an iron rod with a glowing tip into the ground. He did this at every fork in the road.

This not only prevented them from getting lost but also ensured they wouldn't tread the same path twice while exploring.

Their rest over the past few days hadn't just been simple relaxation.

After all, considering this was an unlit cave, they had prepared quite a few things in advance.

Of course, Young Master Shang footed the bill for all this equipment.

"When is this going to end?"

After placing the marker, Zhao Doulai complained aloud.

"It truly is boring. Have you found anything on your end, Wufeng?"

Li Huai nodded, completely agreeing with Zhao Doulai's sentiment.

Originally, he had been quite looking forward to a 'grand battle', but to his surprise, they hadn't encountered a single thing. It was incredibly depressing.

Thus, he directed his question to the leader of this exploration mission.

"No discoveries at all, but there's a very high chance this cave is a mine shaft."

Li Wufeng lifted the lantern in his hand, bringing it close to the cave wall to illuminate this section.

"Oh? Why a mine shaft instead of a tunnel connecting to somewhere else?"

Li Huai was actually quite surprised by Li Wufeng's answer.

To him, the cave walls were simply too uniform. It didn't look like a mine shaft with its typically pockmarked walls, nor were there any support structures.

No matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like a mine shaft.

Yet Li Wufeng was so certain?

"Well, I can't really explain it. Just treat it as intuition."

Although there was a seven or eight-year age gap between Li Wufeng and Li Huai, there wasn't the kind of generational gap one would normally expect from such an age difference.

Or rather, under their current circumstances, very few people would even have such a so-called generational gap.

"Alright, if it's intuition, then I can't exactly argue with that."

Li Huai shrugged.

There were all sorts of bizarre and wonderful talents in this world. If the other party used intuition as an explanation, there was nothing he could say.

"Also..."

"Also?"

"Don't you think the area we are in right now is significantly larger than the entrance we came through?"

Hmm!

After Li Wufeng pointed it out, Li Huai finally realized that their current location indeed seemed a bit larger than the entrance.