Chapter 1389: A Bat Cave
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
The hovercar switched into auto-drive and flew toward Camelback Island, which was located off the northwest coast.
Xia Fan admired the view from the window before turning to stare at Cheyenne.
Staying on the barren Holy Tomb planet since he was a child, XIa Fan had never seen a young woman before her.
The youngest woman in the Holy Tomb planet was the female dancer, but in truth, she only looked good thanks to her cultivation and advanced technology. Her actual age was already over a hundred years, and no matter how well she maintained her skin and complexion, the crow’s feet in the corners of her eyes simply could not be masked, while Cheyenne was just a little over twenty, her skin was fair, and her body possessed the vitality of a young woman.
Her long chestnut-colored hair draped over her shoulders, and Cheyenne was hugging her tablet computer, hard at work.
!!
Actually, she was definitely pretty enough to earn a living through her looks alone, but she ultimately became a Special Bureau investigator despite the extreme danger. In that aspect, Xiao Fan admired her greatly for exuding the heroic valiant aura unique to female warriors.
“We’ve got the results,” Cheyenne lifted her head and met Xia Fan’s gaze. “There were no residents from Camelback Island that attended the summer auction four years ago.”
Xia Fan nodded, “That means to say that the culprit is very much likely not a local, but a temporary resident, like perhaps a tourist.”
Cheyenne knit her eyebrows together. “Why do you think that the culprit is targeting this sapphire pendant? If all he wanted was the pendent, there were thousands of ways to get his hands on it. Is there a need for him to have killed so many innocent children, and even extract their organs afterwards?
“It has to be said that such a complex act of killing would surely delay them for longer. The longer a culprit remains at the crime scene, the more likely they would be discovered, no?”
Xia Fan noncommittally expressed his doubts, “I don’t think so. The removal of the organs and being able to rebuild another human would affect the investigation work greatly. The focus of the police would be completely focused on the cruel methods that the killer used, and they would ignore the essence of the matter.
“Hunter grandpa once told me a story about a beast called the Snow Ape. It was very hard to capture them, because they were far too clever. Anyone who wished to catch one would first have to grab one, then create the impression that it had been beaten by savage beasts to act as bait, and then be tossed near the habitat of the snow apes.
“The moment the Snow Apes saw that a fellow ape had been killed, they would become enraged and begin killing the beasts around indiscriminately, searching for the one that had killed their own. That would be when these Snow Apes would be the most distracted, and you could proceed to capture the real goal: the Snow Ape Queen! The moment the queen was captured, no matter how clever the Snow Apes were, they would all be in a rush to surrender. That was the method used to capture an entire community of Snow Apes without wasting much effort.
“In any case, when it comes to hunting, the most important factor is to study the habits of who or what you’re up against, and then proceed to lie. I believe the killer shared the same idea as well. Seeing just how cruelly he butchered the kids, the police would all be completely agitated, and would be misled into thinking the culprit was a killer. But it is in my view that not only was the killer a deviant, he was also very calm and smart. The reason why he acted with such violence was all for the sake of shifting the investigation’s focus.”
Cheyenne stayed silent. She was already aware of how different Xia Fei’s thinking always was compared to her own. As for the grandparents that he often spoke of, Cheyenne had already thought nothing of it. After all, according to Xia Fan’s own words, he had grown up in a large family.
—
After a long journey, the coastline of Camelback Island appeared in the distance.
This was a large island with an area of fourteen hundred square kilometers, with tens of thousands of residents living there.
There was a mountain that looked very much like a camel’s hump on the island, which was where the island got its name.
The hovercar parked near the foot of the mountain. After Xia Fan got off, first he looked all around his surroundings, then he curled his tongue up and let out that ultra frequency sound wave. He hailed the wild beasts from all over the mountain. Before arriving at Camelback Island, he had even bought two big bags of food, most likely in preparation for these animals.
In no time, Xia Fan found himself surrounded by hundreds of wild beasts of all sizes. Among them there were even a pack of terrifying mountain jackals, the sort that would mobilize in a pack and enjoyed scavenging rotted carcasses.They were ferocious by nature, yet they appeared to be as docile as a domesticated dog under Xia Fan’s control.
Even more shocking was the fact that there were also wild hares next to Xia Fan, right beside the jackals. The beasts did not attack one another despite their food being so close, and even the mountain cats, rats, and other small beasts like macaques were all behaving obediently in front of Xia Fan.
Xia Fan sat on a big rock and distributed the food to the beasts who had turned up. Meanwhile, the beasts were acting like they were one big family, getting along with each other as they ate the food Xia Fan had brought.
Xia Fan smiled as he asked the animals questions, even telling jokes and having a blast with them. His questions ranged from understanding how the situation in the mountain was, whether they could evade the hunters, and if they would go hungry during the winter.
Cheyenne shook her head and sighed.
Xia Fan was the only weirdo that could communicate so enthusiastically with a bunch of animals, even treating a venomous coral snake as a scarf as it coiled around his neck. Meanwhile, Xia Fan was not in the least bit afraid, only commenting that the snake was making him feel itchy.
—
Time passed, and Xia Fan had the animals scatter. All that was left was a gray macaque. The monkey leapt onto Xia Fan’s shoulder, his hands holding onto peanuts.
“I’ve figured it out. In the summer four years ago, there once were three strange men that lived in the mountains, but the animals say that they disappeared into the deep and seemingly bottomless bat cave, and never returned,” Xia Fan told Cheyenne with a smile.
Cheyenne nodded, “So, shall I inform the police and begin a large-scale search of the place?”
Xia Fan waved his hand to the negative, “There’s no need for that. Four years has already passed, and while we have no idea where they went, we might be able to find clues if we head to the bat cave and take a look around.”
“Okay,” Cheyenne agreed after some thought.
…
The macaque led Xia Fan and Cheyenne to a mountainside near Hump Mountain.
There was a sudden split in the cliff wall there, forming a crevice in the rock. It was very narrow, only big enough to fit one person passing through, and the insides were dark and gloomy, leaving it impossible to know where it led.
The macaque began to act jittery and afraid when they reached the place, and was unwilling to enter the place no matter what. Xia Fan had no choice but to let it go, handing over the last of his food to it. The monkey carried the woven shopping bag away as it made its way back to the forest.
Taking a strong sniff with his nose, Xia Fan shrugged, “The mix of odors is too much, and is filled with the stink of bat guano. I really can’t get any trace from four years ago, so if you’re not scared, we can go in and take a look.
“But I need to state this before we enter: I won’t be able to control the bats inside. The best I can do is get them to settle down, so they don’t end up attacking us.”
“And here I thought you could control any animal out there!” Cheyenne was startled to learn about Xia Fan’s limitations, as if she had discovered new land.
Xia Fan shrugged helplessly, “I only know some techniques to control animals, and they are not like a special ability that controls beasts. There are plenty of creatures that I can’t control, so there’s nothing strange about it.”
There were survival packs and a medical kit in the car they had taken from the Special Bureau. Cheyenne had made sure to bring them along when they began their ascent of the mountain just now, and so she took out two mounted lamps that they could wear on their heads and they began to make their way into the crevice.
—
After covering a distance of approximately a kilometer, the way ahead began to open up, and the crevice widened, turning into a huge cavern.
Using their headlamps to look up, they saw countless black things hanging from the ceiling. They were bats, and in numbers ranging to the tens of thousands. Because Xia Fan was maintaining a low whistle to keep them calm, the bats were not disturbed by them.
The path they were taking was soft because of the shocking amounts of bat guano that had collected over the years. There were plenty of insects of all sizes there, living off the guano. There were also plenty of snakes hidden in the cracks along the rocky walls. It was no wonder the monkey was unwilling to enter the place, it must have been afraid of the bats and snakes!
Cheyenne was already as white as a sheet, but she did not say a word as she followed in Xia Fan’s footsteps. Xia Fan had found a snake to lead the way, so the path they took had fewer insects, but the smell was still something that Cheyenne had a hard time ignoring.
Finally, Xia Fan and Cheyenne made it past the bats’ sleeping cave. The path ahead narrowed again, only able to fit two people standing side by side. The ceiling was also a lot lower, making it so that an adult would have to stoop lower in order to continue forward.
It was here where Xia Fan and Cheyenne began to find traces of people having lived here in the past.
The person who had lived here had constructed an alloy mesh which prevented the bats, snakes, and insects from the bats’ cave from entering, essentially partitioning this cavern into two parts.
With a bang, Xia Fang kicked the alloy mesh away, bent his head, and entered.
“Look here, there once was a fire here.” Xia Fan pointed to the charred pieces of wood on the ground and said. “From the accumulation of ash, we can tell that they lived here for up to half a year. There are even empty cans, a portable gas stove, vacuum food packaging, and empty mineral water bottles.”
“Why would someone want to live in such a wretched place?” Cheyenne asked, a little disgusted.
“I don’t know, but they must be doing something very important, which is why they persisted and stayed despite such atrocious conditions,” Xia Fan replied.
There was a stack of empty cans and bottles in the corner. Xia Fan picked one up and pointed his light at it. “Sure enough, it’s pickled lemon flyfishes. It has quite the pungent smell.”
Xia Fan turned around and looked at the alloy mesh that he gad kicked down, “The situation is getting more and more interesting. The mesh was still up and intact, which means the three did not return the way they came in, but went even deeper into the cavern.
“The animals told us that none of them know how deep this cave goes. It has been four years, so I believe there must still be ways out even deeper inside. Since the three have not left after making it so deep, we ought to go and take a look too.”
Cheyenne nodded with a furrowed brow.
—
The two continued to head deeper into the cave. The path they took would occasionally widen, and also narrow up. At its crampest, they needed to have both hands on the ground and crawl like animals. In fact, the deeper they went, the damper the air in the cave grew. Gloomy and cold, the sound of echoes traveling in the space were spooky.
Suddenly, Xia Fan came to a halt. He picked something small up from the ground and examined it, before passing it to Cheyenne.
“It’s a button!” Cheyenne said after she could tell what it was. Startled, she added, “A pearl button. So small, it must be from a child’s shirt…”
Xia Fan nodded, “Perhaps we’re already getting closer to the truth now, but there’s still something I can’t make sense of. From the point we entered the cave until now, we’ve already moved in an arc for approximately 17.32 kilometers. According to the average slope of the cave being at 21 degrees, we ought to be at least three kilometers below sea level right now. Those three suspects who entered this cave before us, just how did they leave?”
Cheyenne found it strange too, “Could this cave lead to the mainland, or to a different island?”
Xia Fan stroked his chin thoughtfully, “The shortest distance from Camelback Island to the mainland is at least 134 kilometes away, and the closest island is 229 kilometers. The likelihood of it is rather low.”
Cheyenne did not say another word. Xia Fan had only glanced at the map once, and he already committed the surroundings of the island to memory. Considering how he was able to remember a good deal of what he read, that was not exactly surprising.
The only question was… why were these three potential suspects headed so deep into the cave? Were they so deep in the mountain before, or after they attacked the children?
No matter the case, Xia Fan and Cheyenne were left befuddled. The actions these suspects had taken already exceeded their understanding. Just what could be their purpose for killing a bunch of kids and then holing themselves up in such an accursed palace?
Cheyenne gathered her wits and said to Xia Fan, “It doesn’t matter. We’re still going to continue our way ahead.”
It might be because of how peculiar this case felt, but Xia Fan began to pick up his pace. Cheyenne was also a special ability user who had received formal training, so she was still able to barely keep up with Xia Fan, despite not having the speed special ability.
—
After about another hour, the way ahead gradually opened up, and the ground became a lot flatter.
Suddenly, Xia Fan came to a stop yet again. He turned his light toward the wall and asked Cheyenne behind him, “If I’m not mistaken, Camelback Island should have formed after a volcanic eruption, and it only has a history for two thousand or so years.”
Cheyenne checked the data on her tablet computer and confirmed, “Yes, that’s correct.”
“Then what’s with these murals here?” Xia Fan pointed to the wall. “I dare bet that these carvings on the wall are not merely two thousand years old.”
