Chapter 47: The Children Have Been Found (Please Subscribe!)

"What is that place used for?" Wang Anguo suddenly asked.

Seeing Wang Anguo suddenly focus on that spot, Mine Manager An felt his heart skip a beat, and a flash of panic crossed his eyes.

Still, he forced a calm expression and said, "That's an abandoned shaft we used before!"

"Let's go take a look!"

"Officer, that place is already more than half buried, there's nothing to see there!" Mine Manager An said hurriedly.

"It's fine, we're just conducting a routine search to make sure nothing is missed!"

With that, Wang Anguo led his men toward the location.

It was evident that the shaft was very deep, with the entrance alone standing three to four meters high.

However, likely due to being abandoned, the entrance was piled high with mud, sand, and gangue.

Abandoned shafts and pits like this were extremely common in the mining area, which was why it hadn't attracted anyone's attention.

After looking at the entrance for a while without finding anything unusual, Li Gang sighed and said, "Captain Wang, it looks like there's nothing we're looking for here. Should we pull back?"

Wang Anguo, however, shook his head and said, "Wait a minute!"

Then, to Li Gang's astonishment, Wang Anguo turned to the team members behind him and ordered, "Dig this open!"

"Dig... dig it open?"

Before Li Gang could question further, Wang Anguo said in a deep voice, "Dig!"

Hearing that Wang Anguo intended to re-excavate the abandoned mine shaft, Mine Manager An felt his heart leap into his throat. He anxiously said, "Comrade, this shaft is huge and very deep. If you dig it open, you'll have to fill it back in for us; otherwise, a few of us alone won't be able to handle it!"

Ignoring him, Wang Anguo instructed his men, "Hurry up and dig! Dig deep!"

Hearing the phrase "dig deep," Li Gang suddenly recalled what that charlatan had said that morning: "If you dig deep in this direction, you will definitely find what you're looking for!"

Surely that guy's talk of digging deep didn't mean this, did it?

Though hard to believe, Li Gang quieted down.

Soon, the partially blocked entrance of the shaft was cleared open.

The moment the entrance was breached, the experienced Wang Anguo spotted something unusual.

Logically speaking, this shaft had been abandoned for many years, and from the outside, it looked as though no one had been near it in ages. Yet, distinct human footprints were clearly visible right at the entrance.

This meant someone had been coming into this shaft, and more than once!

This discovery instantly heightened the vigilance of Wang Anguo, Li Gang, and the others. Leaving the rest of the team to continue clearing the debris at the entrance, Wang Anguo took Li Gang and prepared to question Mine Manager An once more.

However, when he turned around to look for the fellow, he found that the man was gone.

"Where is he?" Wang Anguo hurriedly asked Director Zhou standing nearby.

"He said he was going back to tidy up the mess hall and feed his dog."

"Which direction did he go?"

"That way!" Director Zhou pointed toward the direction where the workers had been eating earlier.

Taking a closer look, Wang Anguo indeed spotted a figure hurrying off in that distance. Realizing the fellow was likely attempting to flee, he immediately commanded, "After him! That man is suspicious!"

At Wang Anguo's command, the police officers and armed police nearby immediately gave chase.

Seeing pursuers closing in, Mine Manager An bolted, running for all he was worth.

Meanwhile, a similar scene unfolded where the coal miners had gathered, as those workers also scattered and fled in all directions.

Wang Anguo shouted at the top of his lungs, "Catch them! Don't let them get away!"

Although he had brought over two hundred men this time, they were heavily dispersed, and only about thirty officers had accompanied him directly to inspect the Kanan Coal Mine.

Aside from those assigned to excavate the abandoned shaft, very few personnel were stationed in the surrounding area.

Now that these individuals were scattering in every direction, Wang Anguo felt a sudden surge of anxiety.

At the same time, a thrill of excitement coursed through him. Although the children hadn't been located yet, the desperate flight of these people made it clear they were hiding something.

Li Gang was also somewhat bewildered; the situation had reversed so rapidly that his mind struggled to keep up.

Though it remained unclear why those people were running, out of professional instinct, he led his men in pursuit while signaling the surrounding militia for reinforcements.

Spotting the signal flare and hearing the warning shots fired by Wang Anguo and his team, the surrounding armed police and militia converged from all sides.

While joint efforts were underway to capture the fleeing miners, the search inside the abandoned shaft achieved a breakthrough.

As the shaft entrance was opened, several police officers equipped with flashlights descended immediately to search the interior.

Pitch-black though it was down below, the further the officers ventured, the more excited they grew. Just a few dozen meters in, they encountered clear signs of human habitation, such as ubiquitous traces of human waste.

This indicated that people were living inside the shaft—and quite a few of them.

Venturing more than a hundred meters deep into the shaft, they discovered a large iron door blocking the way forward.

The iron door was embedded directly into the rock walls of the mine and secured with a massive heavy-duty lock, looking remarkably sturdy.

Lacking a key, the officers first struck the lock a few times with stones, only to find it remained completely immovable.

They had no choice but to send someone back up for a hammer and crowbar!

Tools were quickly delivered down the shaft.

Through the concerted hammering and prying of several officers, the lock on the iron door was finally shattered.

Then, with a mix of excitement and trepidation, they pushed the heavy iron door open.

The instant the door swung open, everyone was stunned by the scene before them.

A foul, decaying stench, heavily mixed with the reek of urine and feces, permeated the gloomy, dim shaft. Even before stepping inside, the pungent odor provoked dry heaving among the men.

Guided by the beams of their narrow flashlights, the searching officers finally beheld the interior of the mine.

Inside the deep yet narrow shaft lay a few tattered straw mats, upon which huddled more than a dozen tiny figures.

These were precisely the abducted children!

The children wore ragged, thin garments. Normally, that wouldn't have been an issue since it was June, when even a pair of shorts wouldn't feel cold outside.

However, inside the freezing, damp mine shaft, the chill bit deep. To keep warm, the children had huddled tightly together.

Moreover, most of them were covered in grime, and their spirits were low, clearly having suffered greatly over this period.

Several lay motionless on the ground, leaving it unclear whether they were dead or alive!

Perhaps frightened by the commotion of smashing the lock, the children shrank back in terror, shivering uncontrollably—a sight that deeply ached the hearts of the police officers.

Without hesitation, the officers stepped forward to check on the children's condition!

They found that while most of the children were in poor shape, they had sustained no serious injuries and would recover with time and proper care.

However, several children had fallen ill and were running high fevers, their conditions critical.

Without delay, the officers carefully scooped the children up from the mine shaft one by one...