Chapter 976: Discovering Treasure

He Yuzhu wanted to grab onto something, but the stone wall was wet and slippery, without even a single edge to dig his fingers into; he thought to himself that it was all over.

He hadn't fallen for long before his entire body landed in the water with a "splash."

Water sprayed everywhere, and a chill instantly enveloped his whole body.

Fortunately, the water was not deep; he quickly stood up and discovered that the water at the bottom of the cave only reached his waist.

He cupped a handful of water to his lips and licked it with the tip of his tongue—it was actually fresh water!

A wave of pleasant surprise washed over He Yuzhu; although his fall had been a sorry sight, he wasn't worried about being unable to climb back up, and this fresh water, in fact, made him exceptionally invigorated.

The fresh water reserves on the ship were limited to begin with, so being able to find a water source here meant the days ahead for everyone would be much more comfortable.

But just as he was calculating how to climb back up, the surface of the water suddenly rippled with an unusual disturbance.

Immediately following, a cold, thick, and tough force lunged out from under the water, rapidly wrapping around his lower leg; the sensation was wet, slippery, and smooth.

That thing quickly coiled upward along his thigh, and in the blink of an eye, it had wrapped around his waist.

He Yuzhu's pupils constricted; in a flash, his right hand struck out like lightning, fiercely pinching the "seven inches" of that thing—the texture was slippery, as thick as an adult's arm, yet the muscles were exceptionally firm.

His heart sank as he recognized this to be a python.

He Yuzhu pinched the python's seven inches with a backhand grip, exerting all his strength; the veins on his nose stood out.

The python was also struggling with all its might, its body coiling tighter and tighter.

Time ticked away second by second, with man and snake locked in a stalemate, pitting their full strength against each other.

He Yuzhu could have directly stored the snake into his space, but at this moment, he preferred to go head-to-head and decide the victor.

Before long, the python intensified its efforts, and he felt his lower limbs go numb, presumably because the constriction was too tight, obstructing blood circulation.

A sensation of numbness and swelling exploded along his spine, and his whole body felt as if an electric current were coursing through it.

This was a feeling he had never experienced in his two lifetimes; his scalp felt tight, and he even began to see stars.

Yet, he dared not loosen his grip in the slightest.

The snake's body continued to writhe incessantly, its cold, slippery scales repeatedly scraping against his forearm.

"Hah—!" He Yuzhu let out a violent shout, and a surge of scorching, brute force rushed from his waist to his shoulder blades, his five fingers suddenly locking tight.

This pinch exerted at least five hundred pounds of pressure.

The snake's body stiffened abruptly, and then, like a snapped cable, it slid off him, limp and lifeless.

"He Yuzhu—! He Yuzhu! What on earth has happened to you!"

Bureau Chief Zhang's voice had gone hoarse from shouting.

He Yuzhu raised his hand and tossed the large python upward.

"Bureau Chief Zhang, here is a large python for you; it's enough for our breakfast."

Bureau Chief Zhang above was truly startled when he suddenly saw a large snake being thrown up.

Only after he picked up his flashlight and saw that the python had long since stopped breathing did he settle down slightly.

"Are you alright? Factory Director He, are you injured?" Bureau Chief Zhang reverted to his original form of address.

Only then did He Yuzhu feel a wave of dizziness; having transmigrated for so long, this was the first time he felt this body couldn't hold up.

He shook his numb arm and said, "Bureau Chief Zhang, don't worry about me. I'm going to look around down here; it seems there are traces of people having lived in this cave."

"You must be careful. I'll throw the Rope down; once you've finished looking, climb up along the rope," said Bureau Chief Zhang.

"Don't be in a hurry, the space down here is very large, I'm afraid I'll be delayed for a while." As He Yuzhu replied, he took a high-intensity flashlight from his backpack.

The moment the beam of light pierced the darkness, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Water channels, underground rivers, and stalactites—none of these were particularly rare.

What was truly strange was the open space beside the underground river, where over a dozen stone houses were stacked.

He Yuzhu walked to the stone wall and carefully examined the interior of the stone houses; there were many intact daily necessities placed inside, mostly made of brass. The types of items in the dozen or so stone houses were roughly the same.

After finishing his inspection, he continued walking forward along the stone wall.

Not long after, he saw several stone caves carved into the stone wall; most were naturally formed and then manually refined. The cave entrances had originally been fitted with wooden doors, but they had long since rotted away; with a slight push, the wooden doors shattered into splinters with a crash.

He walked into the first stone cave, where grain was piled up, all blackened and spoiled; it must have been there for a hundred or even several hundred years.

He Yuzhu continued forward and pushed open the second rotted wooden door, immediately seeing treasures packed to the brim: over a dozen large wooden crates that had fallen apart, filled with porcelain.

He picked up one piece to examine it closely; it was Blue and White Porcelain exported during the Yongzheng reign.

He opened another crate, which was filled to the brim with golden coins and many oxidized, blackened silver ingots.

Opening another wooden crate, the collection was similar to the second, still gold coins and silver ingots.

The next crate was filled entirely with Nanyang-style jewelry and many gilded Buddha statues.

"I've struck it rich!" He Yuzhu whispered to himself. He did not continue to look through the remaining crates, as Bureau Chief Zhang was waiting above.

He quickly stored all the dozens of wooden crates into his space. He did not want these treasures to fall into the hands of outside explorers; as for his own team, he only intended to set aside two crates and let everyone share a few pieces each; he absolutely could not let gold and silver treasures disrupt the established operational plan.

He continued searching forward; another stone cave was piled with silk fabrics, but the cloth had long since completely rotted away.

He Yuzhu simply stored it all into his space to be handed over to archaeologists for research later.

He did not turn back, but instead pushed forward for another three or four hundred meters.

The reefs underfoot became increasingly dense, and seawater surged through the stone crevices, bubbling with white foam; suddenly, a small cave entrance appeared ahead.

At high tide, one could only see a sliver of the sky, but at low tide, the entrance should be quite large.

After all, inside the cave was an old wooden boat three meters wide and three meters high, its outer hull covered in oyster shells, as if wrapped in a layer of hard stone scabs.

He Yuzhu lifted his foot, intending to board the ship, but quickly retracted the movement.

He was afraid that with the slightest pressure from his feet, this rotten boat would shatter into firewood on the spot.

He simply waved his hand and directly stored the entire ancient ship into his space, intending to organize it carefully after he was properly settled.

Having stored away all the treasures in the cave, he returned to the area beneath the cave entrance where he had fallen.

Bureau Chief Zhang above was already anxious, incessantly calling out He Yuzhu's name.

He Yuzhu tugged on the hanging rope and climbed back to the surface in a few quick movements.

As soon as Bureau Chief Zhang saw him appear, his face turned pale, and he hurriedly asked, "Factory Director He, what exactly is that place down there? And what is the deal with that giant python?"

He Yuzhu caught his breath and replied, "I had just fallen down and steadied myself when that beast coiled around me, squeezing me until my whole body went numb; I nearly lost my life in that cavern."

Upon hearing this, Bureau Chief Zhang slapped his thigh, his tone full of lingering fear and regret: "Why didn't you call out to me at the time? I could have jumped down directly, and the two of us, one in front and one behind, could have surely worked together to subdue it!"

He Yuzhu shook his head with a bitter smile: "To be honest with you, I was struggling just to breathe at that moment; I couldn't make a sound at all. Later, I used every ounce of my strength to strangle the python to death with my bare hands, and I nearly lost half my life doing it."

Bureau Chief Zhang stared blankly for a long while before asking again, "What exactly is that place at the bottom of the cavern?"

He Yuzhu said, "It is a fairly large underground cavern, ancient in age, and it looks like a hideout used by pirates several hundred years ago. What is interesting is that there is fresh water inside the cavern; we can gather everyone nearby and set up a few tents to stay. Even if enemies pursue us later, there is no need to panic, as the depths of the cavern connect to a Haikou, so we still have a way to retreat."

Bureau Chief Zhang nodded repeatedly: "That plan is sound!"