Regardless, since he made sure to pack early, Gerald was able to turn in earlier that night. After all, the more rest he got, the better shape he would be once he got up… It was early morning by the time he finally got up again, and after a simple breakfast, Gerald then patted his backpack before driving off to the highway’s entrance… It was nine sharp when Gerald finally met up with Yann, Tye, and the others. Just as they were about to greet each other, a loud ‘bump’ could suddenly be heard coming from Gerald’s car trunk, followed by a loud, “F*ck!” Raising a slight brow, Gerald—along with several others—immediately went over to investigate… And upon opening the trunk, Gerald was shocked to see Rey lying inside, his arms wrapped around a luggage bag! “…What are you doing here, Rey?” asked the rightfully stunned Gerald. Chuckling awkwardly in response, Rey then sheepishly grinned as he said, “I… well, I just really wanted to come along! So please let me come with you…!” “Wh

Whatever the case was, after parking the car, Gerald and the others immediately headed to the ticket counter to officially enter Mount Dakriont. While a single ticket cost sixty dollars, Tye was the one paying, so Gerald and his party didn’t have to worry about the entry fee. Upon entering, rather than anxiously getting straight to business, the first thing the group did was to find a spot to relax in instead. After eating some of the rations they brought along—to replenish their energy—Tye cleared his throat before saying, “Alright, listen up, everyone. We’ll be staying the night here, but we set off at the break of dawn, understand?” Hearing that, everyone simply nodded in agreement. After all, it wouldn’t be long before night came, and traveling in darkness was never a good idea. Aside from obviously being more dangerous, one could easily lose their bearings as well. With that in mind, it was objectively a better choice to set off once morning came. With that out of the way,

“…Hey, come over! Hurry and have a look at all this!” called out one of Tye’s men who had earlier scouted ahead. Upon hearing that, everyone followed the source of the voice… and soon enough, they all widened their eyes in utter amazement. A little deeper into the cave, a bright light of sorts could be seen glimmering beautifully… What more, all sorts of natural jades and jadeites could be seen growing all over the place! “Holy cr*p…” muttered Rey as he rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He had never seen such pure and natural-looking jades and jadeites in his life! The sentiment was, of course, shared by everyone else there. To think that such a wondrous place existed here of all places… How truly magical! Quickly snapping out of it, everyone immediately began looking around the mystifying cave… Shortly after, Gerald was just in time to notice that one of Tye’s men had taken out a hammer! Knowing full well where this was going, Gerald immediately yelled, “Stop!” Hearing Ger

Regardless, after hearing what Gerald had to say, both Rey and Yann instantly drew in cold breaths. “…A-are you saying that we’ll end up like them, Mr. Crawford…? Are we going to die here…?” muttered Rey, looking incredibly anxious now. “Hey now, don’t go jinxing us again! Have a bit more faith in Gerald! I’m sure he’ll think of a way to get us out of here!” retorted Yann. “I wonder about that… Based on what we’ve gathered after looking around, it pains me to say that there’s a pretty high chance that we really will die trapped here!” replied Gerald. Hearing that, Rey and Yann’s eyes instantly widened. While it was expected for Rey to say things like that, when Gerald said it, it was simply depressing… Regardless, after saying that, Gerald then continued walking deeper into the cave. After all, with how massive the cave was, there was still a chance that there existed another exit at the end… Naturally, Rey and Yann followed him, and it wasn’t too long after when the trio b

Turning to look at Gerald in surprise, Yann couldn’t help but ask, “Is… something wrong, Gerald?” “Yeah, Mr. Crawford! Shouldn’t we hurry and leave already?” added Rey in a confused tone. “Hush. Hand me a small knife, Rey!” ordered Gerald. Obeying Gerald’s words, Rey retrieved a small knife from his belt before handing it to Gerald… The small knife now in his hand, Gerald then walked toward a crystal-clear, emerald-green jade—the size of a chicken egg—that was embedded into the wall… Following that, Rey and Yann widened their eyes as they watched Gerald skillfully used the knife to pry the jade off the wall! “…H-huh? Didn’t you say that we shouldn’t touch any of the jades in here, Mr. Crawford?!” exclaimed the surprised Rey. After plopping the jade into his pocket, Gerald simply replied, “True, but bear in mind that there usually aren’t any traps near an exit!” With that, Gerald continued walking out of the cave, causing the two stunned men to quickly snap out of it bef