Lin Chuan thought about it.
“Nie Kuang is the captain of Frenzied Blade, and he’s famous for being ruthless in the hunting circle. It has been a few years since he reached Heaven Realm, so he should be very familiar with using maglev to fight.
“I also saw Li Xina behind Shen Yulong, and he’s famous for being a gunslinger who acts alone. That guy is a ruthless person who can kill superbeasts with normal handguns. Even I would have a hard time running away if he targeted me. Thank goodness we’re in the dark underground, and he will face certain limitations.
“Also, Shen Yulong himself is a fighting-class superhuman. Two years ago, he reached the peak of Earth Realm, and he is one of the outstanding ones in Universe Corporation. Naturally, he is supported by his family with a lot of cultivation resources. I can’t tell whether he has reached Heaven Realm over the past two years.
“That guy has been really cunning since we were in school, and he might have been pretending to be scared just now. It’s to make us lower our guard and underestimate his fighting power.
“It would be better to believe that our enemy is strong. If we face three Heaven Realm fighting-class superhumans, this fight will be difficult. There will be many variables, and I’m not confident in our victory.”
“Even if they’re going to be difficult opponents, we still have to fight.” Lu Siya cast a glance at the people and gritted her teeth. “Everyone, you understand the situation now, right? This is no longer the problem of us getting rich or not. It’s a problem of whether we can get out of this place alive.
“Everyone, get ready for battle. Once we run into the enemy ambush, immediately counterattack without hesitation. If someone dies, I will bear the consequences. Even if we need to kill Shen Yulong, as long as we’re in the right, Sky Pillar Corporation will support us!”
Regardless of whether it was the hunters or mine explorers, they were used to this sort of situation. They nodded and checked their equipment with familiar ease. They then distributed their weapons.
Even Zhang Weiyan, who was a veteran mine explorer with graying hair, hid a dagger in his boot. He also grabbed a handgun from Scimitar’s hand and put it behind him.
Meng Chao was the only one who watched this with slack-jawed awe.
Lin Chuan went up to him and stuffed a large amount of gene medicine and high-calorie nutritional fluid into his hands. He whispered, “If we really end up fighting, don’t think about anything else. Just take care of your own life and run if you can!”
Meng Chao could not believe this. “Big Brother Lin, what’s going on? Are the mine explorers from Sky Pillar and Universe really going to fight against each other?”
“I can’t tell.” Lin Chuan shrugged. “You saw what happened just now. Do they look like they can happily hold hands and look for the mine together?”
“B-but…” Meng Chao stuttered. “We’re humans. The northern offense is raging right above our heads. We’re fighting against monsters. We’re at a critical juncture, so how can we start fighting among ourselves?”
“There you go again. Didn’t I tell you that there is no such thing as humans?” Lin Chuan whispered. “It doesn’t matter even if war is raging. Monsters might be fighting against humans, but that won’t stop a Crystalline Nine-headed Dragon from eating dozens of Demonic Halberd Pigs every day.”
Meng Chao found himself speechless.
“Listen, greenhorn. If you want to survive in this brutal world, set aside those thoughts. They only belong to students.”
Lin Chuan slapped Meng Chao’s shoulder and said earnestly, “I know that the university teaches you to be united, to work together, and that a common will is as strong as a fortress. They make it seem as if all humans are close family and that there is no conflict between you. Even if there really is, you can solve it by backing down and communicating sincerely.
“Yeah, while we’re in Dragon City and while spotlights, CCTVs, and everyone’s eyes are trained on us, that’s the case. When Lu Siya and Shen Yulong attend a charity dinner together, they can even chat and dance with each other!
“But we’re in the wild.
“There’s no spotlight here, no CCTVs, and there are no eyes watching us. No matter what happens, even if we kill another human and toss their corpse into an abyss or a bottomless pit, in less than twenty-four hours, the monsters and microorganisms will devour him or her clean. Not a single piece of their bone will be left. No one will ever know how they died.
“Do you think that everyone can remain the brightest face of humanity in this sort of situation?
“I’m telling you, behind the fog is the depths of the wild. And over here, it’s not uncommon for superhumans to fight among themselves for crystal mines, high-grade superbeast materials, the interests of mega corporations, or settle conflicts between their families.
“Veteran mine explorers and hunters have all experienced it. At the very least, they’ve heard about it, and that’s why they prepared for it a long time ago.”
Meng Chao clenched his fists and said, “But—”
“But why haven’t you heard about it before, right?” Lin Chuan asked. “The Survival Committee will never tell the citizens about what happens in the wild. It would corrupt the bright image of superhumans and make everyone come to a swift realization that aside from the conflict between humans and monsters, there exists other conflicts.
“Of course, don’t worry about it, we’re logical. We will not take the initiative to attack Universe’s mine exploration team. But if they decide to kill us, we will have to defend ourselves. It won’t trample on your morals, right?”
Meng Chao thought about it. “Will they ambush us?”
“Who knows? Qin Hu from Frenzied Blade has a grudge against you, right? I could see the fierce look in his eyes when he left. It looked like he wanted to skin you alive. He might incite his employer to attack us,” Lin Chuan said. “You shouldn’t think about harming others, but you must be wary of others. We must be prepared for the worst, so we can protect ourselves.”
Meng Chao nodded with a solemn expression.
If they took the initiative to attack, he would definitely not sit around twiddling his thumbs.
Besides, based on the memory fragments from his previous life, there was a high possibility that the mine exploration would end in failure and Lin Chuan would die, which is why Dragon City would not hear of his name again.
If that were the case, the possibility of both sides fighting was very high.
Even if Meng Chao had a grudge against Qin Hu, he did not want to walk down the path of death where they crossed swords the moment they met each other.
After all, this did not just concern the safety of two mine exploration teams, but also the success and failure of the northern offense. It would also affect whether the countless destructive sparks would explode above Dragon City decades later.
Once he thought about it, Meng Chao asked, “Can’t we work together to explore the mine and share the right to mine the Red Radiance Jade mine?”
Lin Chuan threw a strange pitying glance at him as if he was staring at a naive child. “Let’s not talk about whether the corporations behind the teams would be willing to do so nor the grudge between Lu Siya and Shen Yulong. Let’s just focus on them hypothetically smiling and coming to an agreement. How can you promise that they won’t be hiding knives behind their backs with the thought of making the other party lower their guard? Then, at the most critical moment stabbing the other in the heart?
“After all, monsters live here, and spirit energy magnetic field interference is very strong. We’re in the dark underground where danger is everywhere. It’s really easy to kill one person or even a hundred. And it’s just as easy to destroy their bodies and be rid of suspicion. Besides, the right to mine the Red Radiance Jade mine first is linked to an extravagant profit. It’s enough to make even ancient eminent monks become greedy.
“Even if Lu Siya was willing to believe in Shen Yulong, Shen Yulong would not believe in Lu Siya.
“And since Lu Siya knows that Shen Yulong won’t believe in her, how could she possibly believe in him?
“But even if the leaders of both teams were willing to trust each other, what about the teammates? We have dozens of people on both sides, and if just one person starts getting evil thoughts, it’ll be like a spark being ignited in a barrel of gunpowder. For example, let’s say Qin Hu seizes the chance to kill you deep underground. It’ll stir up a chain reaction, and with a boom, everyone will be killed by the explosion.
“Do you understand now? Once we get locked into this dead end where we suspect each other, we can only pray that we will stay far away from each other in our mine explorations. We can’t run into each other again, and once one side discovers the Red Radiance Jade mine, they have to pray that the other side will retain absolute rationality and morals, that they will be willing to accept defeat and will leave on their own.
“Otherwise, only God will know just what will happen.”
Meng Chao remained silent.
Lin Chuan sighed. “I told you before that I didn’t want you to accept Lu Siya’ invitation and join the mission. I even told you that you’d regret it.”
“No, I don’t regret it at all.” Meng Chao shook his head slowly and said firmly, “Perhaps I know even better than you just how ugly humans can be, but no matter how ugly we can be, humans are humans. We will definitely think of a way to break free of being trapped in this darkness!”
Lin Chuan cast him a deep glance.
Meng Chao did not back down. He stared right back into Lin Chuan’s eyes.
In the end, Lin Chuan was the first to look away. Without another word, he turned around and left.
Since something like this happened, it was only natural that the group could not continue resting.
Many people had just entered deep meditation, which was similar to REM sleep, but they were forcefully awakened, and it was a torture to their minds and bodies.
But everyone knew just how severe the situation was. Their competition was right in front of their faces, and whoever managed to find the Red Radiance Jade mine first would have the initiative in terms of morals, the law, and the right to defend themselves in a fight.
They had already lost so many of their people underground that they just could not accept going back empty-handed.
Soon, the group packed up and took their weapons in a reverse grip. Then, carefully, they seized every second that they had to continue their exploration.
With Lu Siya’s guidance, they drew closer to their target.
Gradually, faults in the rock that had only occurred in the last month or two appeared around them.
The shattered underground folds created a 3D maze that was shattered by nature’s ax and then put together in a mess.
There were certain parts where they had to use ropes and spiked shoes to climb cracks or cliffs. If they dropped, they would fall down a hundred meters.
There were certain places where they had to swim through swift subsurface streams.
Different crystal mines released spirit energy at different frequencies, which resulted in drastic changes in temperature. One cave was as hot as a steel refining furnace, and the next cave, the walls were covered in sharp icicles.
The switch between extreme cold and extreme heat affected the superhumans’ vitality magnetic fields.
The powerful interference affected a humans’ optical nerves and perception of space. Even the experienced mine explorers found themselves lost, and they started moving around like lost spirits.
Even with a superhuman’s powerful physique, they could not handle such high-intensity torture, and all of them were near a mental breakdown.
But compared to the treacherous environment and the difficulty of their work, what made them the most wary was the shadows of Universe’s mine exploration team occasionally popping up in their field of vision.