<h4>Chapter 1040: Chapter 1047: Dangerous Situation (4)</h4>


    "Ling Chen, Ling Chen!" Xia Mutong stood at the edge of the crevice, calling Ling Chen’s name loudly.


    Seeing that Ling Chen was not responding, Xia Mutong couldn’t help but stomp her foot, cursing inwardly, "That bastard!" At a time like this, he still refuses toe out. Does he really want to stay inside and wait for death?


    After thinking it over, Xia Mutong gritted her teeth and said to her colleague beside her, "Give me the rope and let me go down."


    "Captain Xia, what are you going to do?"


    Xia Mutong said angrily, "I’m going to bring that bastard up."


    "No!" A male police officer hurriedly shook his hand, saying, "The ground around here has already cracked and could copse at any moment. We should evacuate quickly."


    "But there are still people down there. I can’t just watch them die without trying to save them," Xia Mutong said urgently, "I’m the person in charge. Just follow my orders and don’t worry about anything else. Quick, give me the rope!"


    Seeing Xia Mutong’s determined expression, the male police officer hesitated for a moment but finally handed over the rope obediently. Xia Mutong took the rope and immediately wrapped it around her waist. Then, she walked to the edge of the crevice and lightly tapped the ground with her foot to test it. As she did so, the ground on both sides of the crevice suddenly cracked, and the cracks spread rapidly.


    Seeing this, her colleagues standing nearby were shocked and quickly grabbed Xia Mutong’s arm to pull her back from the edge of the crevice. As everyone retreated about four meters away, there was a ’boom,’ and the ground around the crevice copsed instantly, raising clouds of dust.


    Xia Mutong patted the dirt off her body and hurriedly got up from the ground. Suddenly, the crevice before her had be a huge pit, blocked at the bottom by rocks, making it impossible to go down. Furthermore, the surrounding cracks were gradually spreading, and the area of expansion was growingrger.


    "Captain Xia, let’s evacuate quickly; it’s too dangerous here."


    Thinking of Ling Chen still underground, Xia Mutong lightly bit her lip, a hint of worry shing in her eyes. After pondering for a while, Xia Mutong spoke, "Evacuate everyone, and inform the firefighters to bring equipment and rush to the scene for rescue; make sure to get the people trapped below out."


    "Yes!"


    After retreating from the scene to a safe area, Xia Mutong found Nanrong Hao, who was receiving treatment in the medical vehicle, and questioned him in an interrogative tone, "Tell me, what exactly happened? Why were you down there?"


    Nanrong Hao remembered Ling Chen’s instructions and feigned ignorance, "Officer Xia, I also don’t know what happened. We’ll have to wait until Chenes up to find out the details."


    Hearing this, Xia Mutong felt a surge of anger and said coldly, "You were down there, and you don’t know what’s going on? Nanrong Hao, I’m warning you, don’t y dumb with me. Do you believe I won’t take you back to the police station?"


    Nanrong Hao responded indifferently, "Captain Xia, I honestly don’t know. I got hit on the head by a rock earlier, and it’s still buzzing. I can’t remember a lot of things. How about this, let me rest first, and if I recall anything, I’ll tell you right away."


    "You..." Xia Mutong red, struggling to suppress her anger. She realized that anyone close to Ling Chen was just as infuriating as he was.


    "Captain Xia, the firefighters have arrived."


    Upon hearing the report from her subordinate, Xia Mutong ignored Nanrong Hao and immediately led her team to the scene.


    A few minutes passed, and several firefighters approached Xia Mutong to discuss the rescue n.


    "Captain Xia, going in now could be very dangerous," a firefighter said. "We just surveyed the scene, and the entrances leading to the basement are all blocked by rocks. Additionally, the ground has various degrees of cracks and is at risk of copsing at any moment. If we use drilling equipment, it could expand the cracks and cause the ground to cave in."


    Xia Mutong frowned and asked, "Then what should we do? We can’t just watch Ling Chen die in there."


    "Captain Xia, after our discussion, it’s not suitable to carry out a rescue at this time. The risk is too high. Even if our people go in, there’s no guarantee they could get out."


    "I don’t care," Xia Mutong said firmly. "This is what you specialize in. I’m giving you half an hour; no matter what method you use, you muste up with a solution for me."


    ...


    At this moment, in the dim basement, Ling Chen was still following those small red snakes. His n was simple: these snakes would surely head for Song Mingzhe. By following them, he couldn’t only find Song Mingzhe but might also find Zhu Hong.


    While pondering, the light in front of Ling Chen suddenly went out. ncing at the phone in his hand, Ling Chen cursed inwardly. He had been using the phone’s shlight, severely draining the battery. Now, it had less than one percent left, not enough tost two minutes.


    As the battery indicator shed a few times, the phone automatically shut down, and darkness enveloped him.


    With the phone screen dark, Ling Chen’s keen ears caught the rustling sounds around him. There was no need to look; those small red snakes were undoubtedly returning.


    In the pitch-ck environment, the small snakes had an advantage. Ling Chen gripped the phone tightly, his body slowly pivoting in ce as he listened attentively to the movements of the red snakes.


    Suddenly, the sound of something cutting through the air was heard. Ling Chen swiftly turned around, flicked his wrist, and threw the phone. A secondter, a faint noise was heard as if something had hit the wall.


    Meanwhile, Ling Chen leaned back, raised his right leg, and gave a fierce kick. Although he couldn’t see anything in the darkness, he could feel through the impact that he had killed at least seven or eight red snakes.


    After waiting silently for over twenty seconds, there were no more sounds. It was unclear whether all the snakes had been killed or had escaped in fear, but they hadn’t attacked Ling Chen anymore.


    Seeing the crisis resolved, Ling Chen didn’t pause for a second, heading forward immediately. Even without the snakes to guide him, he only needed to determine the right direction.


    However, because the surroundings were too dark, with stones scattered everywhere, and rocks asionally falling from above, Ling Chen’s speed slowed significantly. After advancing a few dozen meters, he suddenly stopped and looked ahead. There, he noticed a light. At this moment, a light meant there was someone there. It was likely that Song Mingzhe and the others were in front.