“What’s that for?” Wang Anguo suddenly asked.
Mine Manager An’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Wang Anguo suddenly notice it, and a flicker of panic crossed his eyes.
But he still put on a calm front and said, “That’s an abandoned mine shaft we closed down a while back!”
“Let’s go take a look!”
“Comrade Police Officer, it’s already half-buried—there’s nothing to see there!” Mine Manager An hurriedly said.
“No problem. We’re just doing a routine search to make sure we haven’t missed anything!”
With that, Wang Anguo led his men over to the site.
It was clear that the mine shaft was very deep; the entrance alone was three or four meters high.
However, likely because it had been abandoned, the entrance was piled high with all sorts of dirt, sand, gravel, and coal gangue.
Abandoned mines and pits like this were all too common in the mining area, so it didn’t attract anyone else’s attention.
After looking around the entrance for a while and finding nothing out of the ordinary, Li Gang sighed and said, “Team Leader Wang, it looks like we won’t find what we’re looking for here. Why don’t we call it a day?”
But Wang Anguo shook his head and said, “Wait a moment!”
Then, as Li Gang stared in astonishment, Wang Anguo turned to the team members behind him and ordered, “Dig this open!”
“Dig… dig it open?”
Before Li Gang could voice any doubts, Wang Anguo said firmly, “Dig!”
Hearing that Wang Anguo intended to reopen the abandoned mine shaft, Mine Manager An’s heart leapt into his throat. He hurriedly said, “Comrade, this shaft is huge and deep. If you dig it open, you’ll have to help us fill it back in. Otherwise, just the few of us won’t be able to handle it!”
Wang Anguo ignored him and turned to the men beside him, ordering, “Get digging! Dig deep!”
Hearing the phrase “dig deep,” Li Gang suddenly recalled what that charlatan had said that morning: “Dig deep in this direction, and you’re sure to find what you’re looking for!”
Could that be what he meant by “dig deep”?
Though he didn’t quite believe it, he fell silent!
Soon, the partially buried entrance to the mine shaft was uncovered.
The moment the opening was cleared, the experienced Wang Anguo noticed something unusual.
Logically speaking, this mine had been abandoned for many years, and from the outside, it looked as though no one had been there in a long time. Yet, right at the entrance, they found human footprints—very distinct ones.
In other words, someone had been inside this mine—and not just once!
This discovery immediately put Wang Anguo, Li Gang, and the others on high alert. While the rest of the team continued clearing debris from the entrance, Wang Anguo took Li Gang and the others to question Mine Manager An once more.
However, when he turned to look for the man, he found that he was already gone.
“Where is he?” Wang Anguo hurriedly asked Director Zhou, who was standing beside him.
“He said he was going back to tidy up the dining area and feed the dogs!”
“Which way did he go?”
“That way!” Director Zhou pointed in the direction where the workers had been eating earlier.
Wang Anguo looked closely and indeed spotted a figure walking in that direction. Realizing the man might be trying to escape, he immediately ordered, “Give chase! There’s something fishy about this guy!”
At Wang Anguo’s command, the public security officers and armed police officers at his side immediately gave chase.
Seeing someone chasing after him, Mine Manager An immediately took off running.
A similar scene unfolded where the coal miners had gathered; those workers also scattered in all directions.
Wang Anguo immediately shouted, “Catch them! Don’t let them get away!”
Although he had brought over two hundred people this time, they were spread out quite thinly; in reality, only about thirty people had come with him to inspect the Kang’an Coal Mine.
Excluding those digging in the abandoned mine, there weren’t actually many people stationed in the surrounding area.
Now that these guys were scattering in all directions, Wang Anguo suddenly felt a sense of urgency.
At the same time, he felt a surge of excitement. Although they hadn’t found the children yet, the way these men were fleeing made it clear they were definitely up to no good.
Li Gang was also a bit dazed; the situation had turned on its head so quickly that he hadn’t even had time to react.
Although it was still unclear why those people were running, professional instinct kicked in, and he led his men in pursuit while simultaneously signaling for reinforcements from the nearby militia!
Upon seeing the signal flares and hearing the warning shots fired by Wang Anguo and his team, the surrounding armed police and militia immediately converged from all directions.
While they joined forces to apprehend the fleeing miners, the search of the abandoned mine shaft also yielded a breakthrough.
As the mine entrance was cleared, several public security officers immediately descended into the shaft with flashlights to search.
Although it was pitch black underground, the officers grew increasingly excited the further they went. After penetrating several dozen meters, they discovered signs of human habitation—such as the ubiquitous “Oli Gei” snacks.
This indicated that there were people down there—and quite a few of them.
When they had gone more than a hundred meters underground, they discovered a large iron gate ahead of them.
The iron gate was embedded directly into the stone wall of the mine, with a large padlock hanging on it; it looked extremely sturdy.
Without a key, the police officers first tried hitting it with stones a few times, but found that the lock didn’t budge an inch.
They had no choice but to go back up to fetch a hammer and a crowbar!
Soon, the tools were lowered into the shaft.
With the combined efforts of several police officers, the lock on the massive iron gate was finally knocked off.
Then, with a mix of excitement and trepidation, they pushed open the massive iron door.
The moment the gate swung open, everyone was stunned by the scene before them.
In the cold, dim mine, a putrid stench mingled with the foul odor of human waste filled the air. Even before anyone had stepped inside, the acrid smell was enough to make them retch.
By the light of their flashlights, the soldiers in charge of the search finally made out the scene inside the mine.
In the deep yet narrow mine shaft, several tattered straw mats were laid out, and curled up on them were a dozen or so tiny figures.
These were the abducted children!
The children were clad in tattered, flimsy clothing. This wouldn’t have been a problem outside—after all, it was June, and even wearing nothing but a pair of shorts wouldn’t have made them feel cold.
But in this damp, chilly mine, it was bitterly cold, so the children huddled together for warmth.
Most of them were covered in grime, and none looked well—they had clearly suffered greatly during their ordeal.
A few of them lay motionless on the ground—it was impossible to tell if they were alive or dead!
Perhaps startled by the noise of the lock being forced open moments ago, the children huddled together in terror, their bodies still trembling uncontrollably—a sight that broke the hearts of the police officers.
The officers immediately went over to check on the children!
They found that while most of the children were not in the best condition, they were uninjured and would be fine with some rest.
However, a few children were ill and running high fevers; their condition was very serious.
Without delay, the officers carried the children out of the mine one by one…