Natural Disasters Strikes: I stockpiled like crazy!-Chapter 263: Locating Elder Meng

Longmen Base

The Iron Gale Team and Zhao Lin stood around the opening beside the tomb, staring at the dark hole in the ground.

Up close, it didn’t look like a random collapse. The edges were uneven but purposeful, and the slope leading down vanished into darkness. Slightly cool air drifted up from below, carrying a damp, earthy smell that made Zhao Lin’s chest feel tight for no reason she could explain.

For a moment, no one moved.

"Hey! What are you waiting for?" Wang Bo suddenly barked, his anxiety turning into impatience. "We still haven’t found Uncle Meng. Move!"

In front of them, the pockmarked man and his companion were kneeling on the ground. Both were shaking badly, faces pale and swollen from earlier hits.

"This... this is as far as we ever went!" the pockmarked man cried. His jaw was injured, making his words slur. "The person never let us go deeper! We really don’t know where they keep the prisoners!"

The Iron Gale members’ expressions darkened. Zhao Lin’s fingers curled tightly at her sides.

"So you’re saying you brought people here," Wang Bo said coldly, "without even knowing where they’d end up?"

"Spare us! We didn’t mean it! We just wanted food!" the other man begged. Because their mouths were injured, the pleas came out messy and unclear.

But no one felt sympathy.

Everyone in the base was struggling to survive. Others risked their lives hunting beasts or searching ruins. These two had chosen to sell people instead.

To Zhao Lin, they were no different from the monsters outside.

A heavy strike landed. The two men collapsed unconscious.

Only after they stopped moving did the violent anger in the group ease slightly.

They tied the two up tightly, along with the third accomplice from earlier, before turning their attention back to the hole.

Wang Bo switched on his flashlight. "I’ll go first."

He slid down carefully, boots landing on compacted soil with a dull thud.

"It’s not a natural cave," he called up. "There’s structure."

One by one, the others followed. Zhao Lin was the last to descend.

The temperature below was noticeably cooler. Their lights revealed sections of the tunnel reinforced with stone blocks, while other parts were carved straight through earth. The air was still, heavy, and quiet in a way that made every small sound seem loud.

"I didn’t know this mausoleum had something like this underneath..." Zhao Lin murmured.

The others were just as surprised, but no one relaxed. The place felt old and hidden, like something that had been buried on purpose.

As they moved forward, the tunnel branched several times. Some paths were narrow, others slightly wider. The underground quickly became confusing.

"If we keep wandering, we might not find our way back," someone muttered.

They began marking the walls as they walked.

Despite their focus, worry grew heavier in Wang Bo’s chest. The deeper they went, the more it felt like Uncle Meng was slipping further away.

"Let’s try that side," Zhao Lin said, pointing toward the second branch.

They turned.

After only a short distance—

Thud.

Everyone stopped.

"...Did you hear that?" Zhao Lin whispered.

Thud. Thud.

Wang Bo rushed forward and pressed his ear against the wall. His expression changed instantly.

"I hear something!"

The others followed, pressing their ears to the cold stone. Their eyes lit up with disbelief.

It was knocking.

Someone was alive.

Inside the Cell

Elder Meng’s breathing was rough. His arms trembled as he lifted a stone and slammed it against the wall again.

"Is anyone there?! Do you hear me? Help us!"

His hands were already scraped raw, blood dried around his knuckles.

The cell was small and dim. The only light came from faint green mushrooms growing on the ceiling, casting an eerie glow.

Besides Elder Meng, there were two others inside.

One was a man — Zhao Mo — the same person Uncle Meng had saved from toxin poisoning the day before.

Watching the old man struggle, Zhao Mo shook his head quietly. "It’s useless. The others tried before me. No one ever answered."

Elder Meng knew who he meant. The water-type ability users who used to fill the dungeon. One by one, they had been dragged away. None came back.

Still, Elder Meng refused to stop. Waiting quietly felt worse than death.

"Please! Anyone!" he shouted again, hitting the wall.

A sharp, high-pitched voice suddenly cut through the cell.

"Old man, would you stop it already?!" Helen Wu snapped. She was the other person in the cell. "My ears are ringing!"

Elder Meng ignored her.

Being ignored only made her angrier. "I told you to stop! Are you deaf?!"

She raised her hand, gathering water energy, ready to release a water blade at him. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

But before she could—

A water ball shot out faster.

"Ahhh!" Helen Wu screamed as her wrist twisted violently. Blood spilled as the attack tore into her arm. Her hand fell uselessly into her lap.

"You... you bastard!" she cried, writhing in pain.

Zhao Mo lowered his hand, his voice cold. "He’s my benefactor. Try to harm him again and I’ll cut the other hand too."

Helen Wu hadn’t eaten properly for days. She was too weak to fight back.

The cell filled with her cries.

Elder Meng watched, throat tight. Any trace of pity disappeared when he remembered how she had tried to kill him just now.

His arms were numb now. He was about to give up—

Then he heard something.

A faint knock.

He froze.

The sound came from the other side of the wall.

"There are sounds. I can hear sounds!" he gasped.

Zhao Mo rushed over and pressed his ear to the stone. His hearing was sharper.

He nodded. "Someone’s on the other side!"

Both of them began knocking back.

On the other side, Wang Bo enhanced his arms and started striking the wall. The others joined.

"Uncle Meng! Is that you? Answer us!"

But as they hit harder, dust trickled down from the ceiling.

"Wait! Stop!" someone shouted. "It might collapse!"

Through the thick wall, they couldn’t hear voices clearly. Just the knocks.

Then the knocking changed.

A rhythm.

Zhao Mo stopped Elder Meng and began tapping in a strange pattern.

Wang Bo suddenly froze. His expression sharpened.

"...Isn’t that Morse code."

He quickly motioned for everyone to stay quiet.

Zhao Mo had only tried out of desperation, but when he received a response in the same rhythm, hope surged through him.

Half an hour passed.

Slowly, carefully, they communicated through the stone.

They exchanged names first.

When Wang Bo tapped back Zhao Mo, Zhao Lin broke down.

"That’s my brother...Big Brother Mo’s name is Zhao Mo!"

Tears streamed down her face as she pressed her palms to the wall.

"Big Brother Mo!"

Her voice couldn’t pass through, but she couldn’t stop calling.

Wang Bo’s eyes turned red as well. He continued tapping, asking about Zhao Mo’s condition for her.

Inside, Zhao Mo’s breathing shook.

"Zhao Lin... she’s alive...my little sister is alive..." he whispered, forehead pressed against the cold wall.

Separated by stone, brother and sister stood on opposite sides, crying silently.

But for the first time since being trapped—

Hope had finally reached Zhao Mo.