Chapter Seventy-One: The Ancient Divine Artifact of Unity

With the help of his night vision goggles, Qin Fei searched the cave walls for a long time before finally spotting a concealed opening, more than a meter high, in an upper section. This had to be the entrance to the artifact chamber. The opening was inconspicuous—so well hidden, in fact, that without prior knowledge of its existence, especially given the darkness inside, Qin Fei would never have found it.

The cave was cold and damp, the walls slick with moss, making any attempt to climb up to that high entrance exceedingly difficult. Below the opening yawned the bottomless pool—one misstep in the ascent, and a fall into its depths would be inevitable.

Outside, gunfire grew louder, a clear sign that the five-man squad pursuing him was drawing ever closer. Qin Fei had no other choice. He retrieved a compound crossbow and a grappling hook from his backpack, loading the hook into the crossbow’s groove and aiming at the artifact room’s entrance.

With a soft thud, the hook shot out and its sharp claws lodged securely in the cave wall. Qin Fei tested the rope—the hook held firm. Without hesitation, he climbed up toward the opening. The chamber before him, narrow and long, housed the Unification artifact. From the entrance, he could already make out a faint green glow emanating from within.

He walked forward for nearly a minute before reaching the chamber’s end. There, in the very center, lay the Unification artifact. It resembled a crown, with two anchors painted at its top, pointing in opposite directions. Qin Fei stepped forward and took the artifact from its pedestal, stowing it in his backpack.

[Ancient Artifact of Unification: A single thread cannot make a cord, a lone tree does not make a forest.]

Qin Fei’s only reason for entering the mine had been to escape his pursuers. The artifact itself was of little practical use to him, but now that it was within his grasp, it would have been foolish not to take it. With this, he now possessed three artifacts in total: Unification, Hunter, and Wisdom.

No sooner had he secured the Unification artifact than gunfire rang out beyond the chamber. The squad had arrived, likely clearing away the snakes and scorpions infesting the area. Hidden within the artifact room, Qin Fei listened intently to the commotion below. Though the sound of gunfire drowned out most of their conversation, he could make out snatches of dialogue.

“There’s no way forward.”

“Let Jiezi have a look.”

After a while, the gunfire faded. Qin Fei heard the distinctive call of a Parasaurolophus. It seemed the “Jiezi” they mentioned was actually this dinosaur. Guided by the dinosaur, the female rider in the squad pointed up toward Qin Fei’s hiding place.

“It seems to be up there…”

“Huh?”

“There’s a path above the cave wall?”

The squad began searching upward and soon discovered the entrance to the artifact room. Each person revealed their own skills—if Qin Fei could climb up with a grappling hook, surely they had their own means. Somehow, they produced a wooden plank and bridged it to the mouth of the cave above.

One of them clambered up onto the plank, crouching as he advanced toward the artifact room. Qin Fei, witnessing this, felt a jolt of panic. He couldn’t allow anyone to reach him. Yet the crouching man held a pistol, and Qin Fei, valuing his own life, dared not reveal himself. So he quietly extended a stick from his bag, slid it under the plank, and with a quick motion, flipped the board over.

With a loud splash, the plank and the man tumbled into the water below.

“There’s someone up there!”

“I know—just get me out of the water first!”

The squad scrambled to rescue their fallen companion. But this action had exposed Qin Fei’s location. Even without showing himself, his interference made clear where he was hiding. Still, he had little choice—had he not acted, they would have reached him in no time.

Now, with the plank in the water, Qin Fei silently pulled out a shotgun and crouched at the entrance to the artifact room, barricading himself with stones and metal from his backpack for cover. He was determined to hold this position to the last.

The squad tried various methods: ropes, planks, even climbing with iron picks, but each time Qin Fei would pop out, shotgun at the ready, firing off rounds to disrupt their efforts. He was careful to change positions with every shot, never exposing himself more than necessary—just the barrel of his weapon would emerge before he fired a few random shots and retreated.

He had no intention of killing them; his only goal was to prevent their advance. After all, they too were armed, and a careless move could be fatal. Thus, the standoff continued—Qin Fei dared not descend, and the squad dared not climb, both sides locked in a stalemate within the cave.

Though their assault proved fruitless, the squad was unwilling to give up. Two of their number settled against the cave wall for a rest while the other three kept watch on Qin Fei’s position. Their plan was clear: to outlast him. After all, Qin Fei was alone—everyone must sleep eventually, but the five of them could take turns resting.

Indeed, Qin Fei had already gone a full day and night without sleep. He was running on willpower alone and knew he could not hold out much longer. As he fought off drowsiness, trying every means to stay awake, a new sound echoed through the cave—the rush of water, growing steadily louder.

“Wake up! The cave’s flooding!”

At this, the squad roused their sleeping comrades and hurried toward the exit. Qin Fei’s fatigue dissipated in an instant. As he suspected, the rising water was caused by the outside sea flooding the marshy mine. The mine ran deep, and for seawater to reach its depths meant the outside world was already submerged. Escape was now nearly impossible.

Sure enough, minutes later, the squad returned, unable to swim out through such a deep and waterlogged tunnel without air. Their focus now shifted from Qin Fei to their own survival as they paced the cave, discussing desperate plans.

Watching the water level rise, Qin Fei pulled from his backpack the LS Trail Stew Recipe he had found in the Hunter’s cave, laying it flat on the ground.

[LS Trail Stew Recipe: 20 grams each of potatoes and corn, 10 grams each of cooked meat and purple berries, one packet of water. Place the ingredients on the diagram to prepare.]