Master of the Starry Sky

On July 5th, the excavation work for the Green Alliance commenced. Led by Lìzhuī, they made their way upstream with the aid of Xiǎo Bā, to carve a path through to the Ji Gōng Ridge water cave. This was the accord forged between Lìng Jùn and Lìzhuī.

The day before, Lìng Jùn personally led a team to survey the Mǎcáo Ridge. Despite the collapse of the cave system, the East Tai Group remained wary and stationed a squadron for defense. With no shortcut available, their only option was to begin from the Demon-Slaying Cave.

The name "Demon-Slaying" was proposed by Fēng Sǔn'ér, with the water cave being dubbed the "Cold Water Cave" and the dry cave named "Sky-Piercing Cave."

Had Lìzhuī not been involved, or had he failed to tame the octopus monster, their mission to clear the waterway could have easily taken a year to accomplish.

Lìzhuī's greatest advantage lay in his gills, which rendered him free from the need for cumbersome diving gear. The octopus monster's role, however, was indispensable—it could use its tentacles to cling to the rocky walls, easily scaling even the 90-degree drops of the waterfall caves.

Despite this, the task remained far from easy, for he had to carry large bundles of ropes, as well as heavy bags of rock nails and hydraulic hammers. He not only had to lead the way, but also to hammer in the rock nails and secure the ropes, so that the others could follow.

Xiǎo Bā, on the other hand, found this labor rather enjoyable. For each rock nail driven into the rock, it earned him a fish.

On the fifth day, they reached the Mǎcáo Ridge water cave. After the collapse of the Sausage and Olive Pit caves, a deep pool had formed. At the bottom, the fish-mouth-shaped spout was heavily pressed by large stones, yet the water still leaked through the cracks, gushing forth.

The entire pool, driven by the powerful currents, churned like boiling water. Fortunately, it resembled boiling water in motion, but the temperature remained warm.

Following the explosion, although much of the cave had collapsed, gaps still remained. Clearing a passage, however, would be no small feat, certainly not something that could be done in just a couple of days.

After escorting the engineering team into the cave and setting up the gantry, Lìzhuī's task came to an end. He returned to the Demon-Slaying Cave to rest.

Three days later, Lìng Jùn's worst fear came to pass—Mí Dàsōng was preparing to betray them and report to the East Tai Company!

Mí Dàsōng, the village chief of Mí Jiā Village, controlled the main entrances to the western cave system. It was for this reason that the Green Alliance had been forced to pay him off.

Although they had previously agreed that Mí Dàsōng would bear the responsibility for life and death, in order to silence him, Lìng Jùn had nonetheless paid six thousand yuan in compensation to the families of the deceased. The others received three thousand yuan each for their trouble. Even Mí Dàsōng, who typically said nothing, was given ten thousand yuan.

However, he didn't see it this way. On the contrary, he felt cheated and thought he deserved more. Thus, he decided to squeeze more from Lìng Jùn. After all, how could he live up to the nickname "Mǐ Dàchóng" if he didn't get more?

Of course, asking him to directly extort Lìng Jùn would have taken a good deal of courage.

After several days of brooding, with no answers forthcoming, he suddenly saw a reward ad on the television, and his eyes immediately lit up!

The Duomo Bridge colonial point in the southern region of Mù'ēn, located 39 kilometers from the Long Lìng River, was home to a small charity hospital called Cí Jì Táng. The hospital itself was a small two-story building, and next to it stood the Fú Dīng company's food processing factory. Despite its modest size, the patient flow was far greater than any first-level hospital.

This was a true public welfare hospital, only charging for the cost of medicines, and even that could be waived for those who could not afford it. Thus, regardless of weather, a long line of patients always formed outside.

On July 14th, even before the hospital opened for the day, a line of thousands had already formed.

Lìng Hú Mín had risen early, seeing patients until noon, then rushing to the lab to check on test results. Among the patients, the bacterial infections were worsening. If thorough control wasn't immediately implemented, a major plague would soon strike this region.

As she fretted, her phone rang. Her heart tightened—trouble had come again. She never gave this number to just anyone, and those who had it rarely called.

"Minjie, get to the sewer right now! I'll have Sǔn'ér meet you at the south exit! Immediately!" Lìng Jùn spoke urgently.

After hanging up, Lìng Hú Mín immediately notified Jiā Xiǎokāng, Lǎo Léi, and the others to go to the backyard.

Lǎo Léi insisted that Lìng Hú Mín leave first, as he and Niu Mèi would hold their ground until the guards arrived. So, Lìng Hú Mín, with Xiǎokāng and Dà Lì, made their way to the underground tunnel, while Lǎo Léi and his wife stayed behind to monitor the situation.

Lǎo Léi instructed his wife to stay by the monitoring screen, while he himself went to the rooftop with fireworks and binoculars.

Half an hour later, as soon as Lǎo Léi saw the helicopter approaching, he immediately contacted Niu Mèi, then lit the fireworks and slid down the drainage pipe into the backyard.

Niu Mèi wasted no time in turning on the loudspeaker, and with her lion-like voice, she shouted, "There are bandits outside! Everyone, please retreat into the hospital!"

Her broadcast immediately caused the crowd to surge toward the greenhouse, and soon both the main building and the backyard were filled to capacity.

Once the broadcast ended, Lǎo Léi also descended and, with his wife, retreated into the tunnel. The broadcast could be heard clearly within a one-kilometer radius, and, naturally, the Special Security Team also heard it.

Considering the large number of patients, and the chaos that would ensue if several thousand people started a riot, suppressing it would not be a simple task. Therefore, the command center dispatched a plainclothes team, who got out of their vehicles several kilometers away and approached quietly.

Normally, when East Tai's security forces mobilized, they would send out large squads, sometimes even hundreds of men, even for trivial matters, all in the name of providing benefits for their brothers. But this time, in order to achieve the element of surprise, the number of personnel was kept to under two hundred.

The Special Security Team's plan was to have the plainclothes team act first once the helicopter arrived, seize the main targets, and then transport them by helicopter, trying to avoid any confrontation with the public.

However, the disruption caused by Lǎo Léi and his wife completely ruined the plan. Moreover, Niu Mèi's broadcast was an outright provocation! The command center immediately issued the order to act.

Upon receiving the order, the Special Security Team from the Southern District swiftly launched an assault.

The backyard behind the main building became the primary target, and the less than two hundred-square-meter yard was soon overcrowded with no less than four hundred people.

Normally, they would first fire tear gas to disperse the crowd, followed by flashbangs to subdue any resistance. But the squad leader, not wishing to waste time, gave the order for everything to be fired at once.

Several 40mm flashbangs, accompanied by tear gas, were launched from three directions. After a series of deafening explosions, everyone inside collapsed to the ground, incapacitated.

Those at the epicenter of the explosions, more than ten individuals, had their skulls fractured, dying from hemorrhaging from all seven orifices. Among them, several children had their heads shattered, their brains spilling out in a grotesque scene that was unbearable to witness!

The bodyguards descended from the helicopter via ropes, using shotguns to smash through doors and throwing tear gas grenades inside.

This backyard was where Lìng Hú Mín and Sǔn'ér stayed. Normally, even the hired doctors and nurses were not allowed entry. Clearly, East Tai had gathered intelligence in advance.

Lìng Hú Mín's study contained a hidden passage that led directly to the secret river of the Duomuqiao Cave. At this moment, she had already been quietly escorted out by Jiā Xiǎokāng and Léi Dàlì.

Lǎo Léi and his wife drenched the basement with gasoline, then exited through the back door. He lit a cigarette, took a few deep puffs, sighed heavily, clenched his teeth, and tossed the cigarette butt inside, before slamming the iron door shut.

They donned their diving masks and entered the sewer.

Lǎo Léi was weighed down with heavy thoughts—not only had he served at the hospital for over a decade, but to him, the hospital was like family. Now, his home was shattered.

From this day on, Cí Jì Táng Hospital was indefinitely closed.

Lìng Hú Mín, a doctorate holder who had studied abroad, was a person of high status and identity. How had she become involved with the Green Alliance? This story, alas, began twenty years ago.

Twenty years ago, Lìng Hú Mín was an obstetrician, and her husband, Tóng Ruìmín, was a surgeon. He loved her deeply, and their marriage was nothing short of blissful. For his sake, she had unhesitatingly given up her noble status.

The only regret was that, after three years of marriage, Lìng Hú Mín had not yet conceived. As an obstetrician, watching others become happy mothers each day left a deep, bitter feeling in her heart.

It was later discovered, after various tests, that there was an issue with the quality of her eggs, which made it impossible for her to become pregnant.

They went to Huì Jiāng City, seeking a clinic specializing in in-vitro fertilization. There, she underwent an egg cell transplant. The embryo development was successful, and after the full term of pregnancy, they joyously welcomed a beautiful daughter into the world.

They named their daughter Pàn Pàn. At that time, she believed herself to be the happiest mother in the world! Little did she know, misfortune would soon strike.

When Pàn Pàn turned one month old, a lawyer from the hospital came to their door. The wretched man had the audacity to say that, due to staff negligence, the embryo had been misidentified, and her daughter's embryo had been mistakenly discarded as waste.

The lawyer hypocritically offered compensation, suggesting that they name their price.

Lìng Hú Mín exploded in fury, shouting, "Get out! My daughter is not a commodity to be bought with money! Whether or not she's biologically ours, she was carried by me, and she's my flesh and blood—no one can take her from me!"

The lawyer slunk away in defeat. She thought the matter was over, but she was naive.

Three days later, that despicable lawyer returned, this time accompanied by a few brutish henchmen. Without warning, they forcibly took Pàn Pàn away!

They went on to file numerous complaints and even tried to gain justice through social media. Just then, the security department intervened, arresting her and her husband, threatening harm to their relatives. In the end, they had no choice but to endure the humiliation and put the matter aside.

They were unwilling to accept defeat, and they suspected a deeper conspiracy behind the scenes. From that moment, they became involved in some fringe groups.

As time passed, their efforts were rewarded. A year later, they found a surrogate mother. Though the pregnancy failed due to the discovery of a malformed fetus, the surrogate secretly preserved the DNA.

A DNA test revealed that the malformed fetus shared the same genetic profile as Pàn Pàn! This confirmed that the hospital hadn't merely mixed up the embryos—they had deliberately switched them!

The reason was simple: cloning success rates were extremely low, and none of the previous surrogates had succeeded. Therefore, in their desperation, they had resorted to the vile practice of switching normal IVF embryos in large numbers to achieve their goal.

Unfortunately for Lìng Hú Mín, she had successfully carried a child to term, and fate had cruelly decreed that she would lose the one she loved. With the support of several social organizations, they filed an appeal to the Arbitration Committee.

Then, as if by magic, the witnesses and evidence disappeared into thin air. In the end, they, of course, lost the case. The outcome of the lawsuit pushed the couple into the arms of these fringe organizations.

A year later, with the support of the Sunshine Association's charity fund, they established Cí Jì Táng Public Hospital. From the moment it opened its doors, Cí Jì Táng was relentlessly harassed by East Tai, with various forms of interference that seemed to never cease.

A year later, Tóng Ruìmín and his wife were forced to sever ties with the Sunshine Association. Cut off from foreign funding, Cí Jì Táng, already struggling financially, deteriorated rapidly and was forced to close six months later.

At that time, Mr. Zhu, the owner of Fú Dīng Company, offered his assistance, generously providing a two-story office building.

However, the main building of the hospital was too small, so Mr. Zhu further funded the construction of a nearly thousand-square-meter greenhouse. After renovations, Cí Jì Táng Public Hospital reopened its doors.

By this time, Lìng Hú Mín had already arranged for Sǔn'ér to lead a team to meet them at the southern slope exit of Niújiǎo Peak. Yet, she had still underestimated the East Tai security forces.

After joining forces with Lìng Hú Mín, the group began to take a small route toward the Mù'ēn Grand Canyon, but halfway there, a drone spotted them.

Three minutes later, two helicopters arrived, carrying special security forces.

"We're heading into the underground river!" Sǔn'ér shouted. With their weapons, facing East Tai's special forces head-on would only result in certain death!

Léi Dàlì growled, lifting Lìng Hú Mín onto his shoulder, and began to run. Less than a hundred meters ahead, there was a vertical shaft that led down to the underground river, which, although it didn't connect directly to the Grand Canyon's cave system, flowed into the Earth Dragon River within the canyon.

This underground river was connected to the Grand Canyon's water system, but the journey was treacherous, full of labyrinthine passageways and whirlpools capable of crushing anything in their path.

"Hǔzi, follow Dàlì! I'll go distract the East Tai forces!" Before they could respond, Sǔn'ér had already dashed toward the hillside.

Sǔn'ér aimed a flare arrow at the approaching helicopters. The so-called flare arrow was merely an arrow with a firework attached to it.

The firework grenade exploded a hundred meters away from the helicopter, causing no harm whatsoever. Yet, it startled the pilot, who instinctively pulled the aircraft higher.

Sǔn'ér was no fool—she knew exactly what would happen in the next moment. Without hesitation, she leapt into the stream below.

As expected, three seconds later, the spot where she had stood was riddled with bullet holes.

In reality, the primary target of the East Tai security forces was the section of Míjiā Village in the Mù'ēn Grand Canyon. This operation was orchestrated directly by the headquarters of the security forces, with only a few special guards on standby in the local area—no further mobilization had been made.

Contrary to expectations of fierce combat, the Green Alliance retreated into the Western cave system, turning the situation into a game of cat and mouse.

The caves of the Mù'ēn Grand Canyon, connected by underground rivers, stretched for miles. The terrain inside was exceedingly complex. The commanders of the security forces, unwilling to risk their elite troops, decided to hold off for the time being, waiting for reinforcements to be rushed in from all directions.