After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety
Chapter 676 - 666: The Wooden Hut Mezzanine

Chapter 676: Chapter 666: The Wooden Hut Mezzanine

"At the beginning, no one paid attention to this house. Compared to other buildings, it looked a bit too shabby. Everyone thought it was for storing miscellaneous items, even..." Chang Fu glanced in Yin Chong’s direction, "he didn’t know it was Wu Hua’s place, but Master was very sure for some reason."

"We’ve walked around the cabin. It’s not big, with a depth of only about six meters. If there were any movements inside, we should be able to hear them, but now, there really isn’t any sound. Another strange thing is that this cabin only has one door, and not even a window. We can’t see what’s inside."

Jiang Lingxi stood at the door and looked inside.

The light coming in from the door could only shine two or three meters inside before it was blocked by a wooden screen.

Further inside, it was pitch black, as if it were nighttime.

"Have you tried going in with a rope?"

"We have," Chang Fu nodded. He was about to explain the methods they used, "We sent in two people, recording the whole time. We agreed to pull them out after a set time. They wandered around inside and didn’t find anything unusual. It’s just an ordinary room, doesn’t look like anyone lives there. This is the video we took."

Shen Yunqing took the phone and pressed play.

The house had no lights. The recording was done while walking, so only parts of it were illuminated.

Indeed, as Chang Fu said, the inside was empty and didn’t look like a place where someone could hide.

However, it was quite clean, with no dust on the floor or the few pieces of furniture.

The video revealed nothing unusual.

But surely, there was something strange about this house.

Jiang Lingxi glanced at Yin Chong standing in the corner.

"This cabin is built here, and you’ve never seen Wu Hua come in and out of it?"

Yin Chong met Jiang Lingxi’s somewhat cold gaze and nodded seriously, "Never. Wu Hua has always been mysterious. Even inside our walls, we rarely see her. She’s an absolute authority here, and no one dares to spy on her."

Jiang Lingxi thought of the cunning rabbit with three burrows.

Or maybe this cabin indeed hid some secret.

"I want to go in and take a look."

Before Shen Yunqing could speak, "Tie the rope."

Shen Yunqing: "Together."

Chang Fu on the side: "...Boss, Miss Jiang..."

The rest of his words were silenced by Jiang Lingxi’s gaze.

"Where’s the rope?"

Others’ eyes might have errors; she needed to walk through it with her own eyes.

"Didn’t the two who went in before come out safely?"

Chang Fu couldn’t persuade any further.

Shen Yunqing took the rope, paused to wrap it around Jiang Lingxi’s waist, then circled it twice around his own waist, handed the other end to Chang Fu, and took a flashlight.

As the two prepared to enter side by side, Yin Chong moved his foot but then slowly retracted it.

Even if he suggested going in to explore together, no one would agree.

Jiang Lingxi and Shen Yunqing had only one flashlight, so this time Shen Yunqing was in front, while Jiang Lingxi lagged half a step behind him.

After bypassing the screen, they saw the interior of the room as shown in the video.

At first glance, indeed, nothing seemed unusual.

"Look for a hidden door."

Shen Yunqing carefully searched on the floor and basic furniture, shaking his head, "Nothing."

Jiang Lingxi frowned and stood still in the center of the wooden house.

People can’t just disappear without a trace; there must be something they’ve subconsciously overlooked.

Moreover, so much time had passed. Wu Jue and Zhang Ying surely knew this would worry the people waiting outside. Their failure to return with news could only mean they were trapped somewhere and couldn’t get out.

But there were no hidden doors on the walls or floor...

The flashlight beam beside her suddenly shone upwards.

Right, they hadn’t checked above yet.

The old house’s beams crisscrossed to support the cabin’s roof. Looking at it this way, the craftsmanship of this cabin was exquisite, employing mortise and tenon joints without a single nail.

Such craftsmanship can now only be seen in some ancient buildings.

To Jiang Lingxi and Shen Yunqing, it was quite familiar.

The two of them looked up, watching the flashlight light cross one beam after another.

Shen Yunqing felt the rope around his waist suddenly tugged.

The flashlight paused.

He pulled it in the opposite direction, signaling that it was fine.

Just as he was about to shine elsewhere, a soft shout came from beside him: "Don’t move!"

"Look at the beam next to it."

Shen Yunqing followed the instructions, moving the flashlight’s beam, quickly noticing something amiss.

"This beam seems a bit unnecessary."

"I think so too, but now, doesn’t unnecessary imply strange?"

If it were a normal time, Jiang Lingxi would have clambered up along the furniture against the wall, but now, she glanced at her hand still gloved, regretfully giving up.

"Since there’s nothing unusual internally in the cabin, let’s check the beams."

Chang Fu entered looking ashamed.

He stood in front of Jiang Lingxi and Shen Yunqing and honestly admitted, "I was negligent."

He did have someone check, but the inspection was far from thorough.

"I’ll go up and take a look."

Chang Fu couldn’t help grinding his teeth, wasting over four hours without knowing if Master and Zhang Ying were in danger.

Shen Yunqing: "I’ll go with you."

Chang Fu opened his mouth but ultimately didn’t stop him.

Who knows if there are other hidden doors hard to find, the boss’s eyesight is much better than mine.

Jiang Lingxi also wanted to go but didn’t insist, her hand wouldn’t allow it.

She could only watch as the two of them, equipped with recording devices, climbed onto the beams.

The beams weren’t far from the roof, requiring them to crouch once up there.

Soon, Chang Fu’s shout came from above.

"Found it!"

"What?"

Shen Yunqing: "There’s an angle between the inner and outer walls, with a ladder going down."

Jiang Lingxi exhaled softly, suddenly feeling this cabin was akin to an ancient box.

Ancient boxes often had compartments to store important, secret items.

Only the designer and user of the box would know how to open it.

Also, just like the box, it had only one door, no windows.

Shen Yunqing’s voice came down again, "I’ll go down with Chang Fu and take a look."

"Be careful."

Jiang Lingxi watched the display screen transmitting real-time images. This was Shen Yunqing’s perspective.

The staircase in the compartment was steep and narrow, with Chang Fu leading the way.

They descended about twenty steps, and Jiang Lingxi calculated that they were almost into the ground.

But in the illumination range, the stairs continued downward.

"Is your breathing affected?"

"It’s fine, there should be a place connected to the ground, it doesn’t feel stuffy."

"That’s good."

"The signal is weakening, we might lose it further down."

Just as the words left her lips, the staircase took a turn, and Jiang Lingxi saw the screen flash twice before returning to normal.

Chang Fu’s voice intermittently and hesitantly came through, "Down here, seems like there’s a door!"