Chapter 46: Searching the Mining Area

Stepping out of the state-run restaurant, Li Yi was in an exceptionally good mood.

It was not only because he had made several hundred yuan again today, but more importantly, because of his intervention, those dozen or so children had finally been rescued by the police, which meant that more than ten families had been saved from devastation.

Furthermore, the traffickers' den would be dismantled, and those demons roaming the mortal world would eventually receive the punishment they deserved, indirectly preventing countless other families from being victimized.

In human nature, there exists a strong altruistic complex, an innate emotional impulse to do good deeds.

This aligns with what Mencius once said: "The goodness of human nature is like water flowing downwards," meaning that human beings tend toward goodness just as naturally as water flows downhill.

Whenever someone does something beneficial to others and to society, a sense of joy naturally arises in their heart, which is entirely in accordance with human nature.

Li Yi was no exception. Having stealthily done a good deed, his heart was filled with delight, and even his stride seemed to carry a refreshing breeze.

Little did Li Yi know, however, that as he hummed a little tune walking out of the state-run restaurant, Xu Hong was watching him from a gloomy corner not far away.

Having seen that his whistleblowing letter had been submitted days ago without a single ripple of movement from the police, and seeing that local good-for-nothing Li Yi still went about his business as usual, Xu Hong felt as if his heart were being scratched by a cat's claws. That was why he decided to come into town once more to see what was going on!

He had arrived early in the county seat today to wait for Li Yi, and sure enough, after a short while, he spotted him driving the large red mule-drawn cart toward the state-run restaurant. Shortly after, Xu Hong witnessed a scene that thrilled him to the core.

As soon as Li Yi arrived, he was escorted inside by several police officers who had been waiting at the restaurant entrance. This made Xu Hong feel as wonderful as eating an ice pop in the dead of June—utterly blissful!

However, his high spirits did not last long; in less than ten minutes, those police officers left without taking Li Yi with them.

Not long after the police departed, that fellow acted as if nothing had happened, driving his mule cart onward to the supply and marketing cooperative, and then going off to set up his vendor stall!

Upon seeing this, Xu Hong felt as though he might explode on the spot!

Consumed by anger, he decided to march straight back to the Public Security Bureau to report him once again. This time, he was determined to make those police officers drag the man away!

Unaware that he was being targeted, Li Yi went about his usual routine of purchasing supplies and then setting up his stall at the sugar factory's entrance!

Yet what he did not know was that today was destined to be extraordinary.

***

Dahongshan Commune, Mining District!

Wang Anguo, accompanied by more than a dozen experienced members of the criminal police detachment and over twenty armed police officers, suddenly arrived at the location.

First, they went to the local commune headquarters, where they instructed the commune director to assemble all the local militia to assist in their operation.

After all, the area they needed to search was a mining district spanning more than a hundred square kilometers, housing over ten mining enterprises of various sizes; relying solely on their current manpower was utterly insufficient.

Soon, more than two hundred militia members of the Dahongshan Commune were fully assembled, and under Wang Anguo's leadership, they headed straight for the surrounding mines.

Wang Anguo did not immediately search the Red Star Iron Mine, the largest of its kind in the Dahongshan Commune. After all, the Red Star Iron Mine was the biggest iron mine in the entire Qingshan County, employing four to five hundred workers alone. It would be somewhat difficult for criminal suspects to hide a dozen children right under the noses of so many people.

Therefore, Wang Anguo focused his search on the smaller-scale, poorly managed, or even abandoned mines.

However, an entire morning passed, and after searching two iron mines and four stone quarries, they still came up completely empty-handed. Everyone, including Li Gang, felt profoundly discouraged.

Yet Wang Anguo remained steadfast in his judgment. He turned to Station Chief Zhou of the Dahongshan Police Substation, who was assisting with the investigation, and asked, "Old Zhou, how many mines are left unsearched?"

"Only two are left. One is the Red Star Iron Mine, and the other is a coal mine called Kang'an," Station Chief Zhou replied.

"I know the Red Star Iron Mine, but what's the story with that Kang'an Coal Mine? Do you know anything about its situation?" Wang Anguo asked again.

"Not very well. That coal mine used to be a collective enterprise of Kang'an Village, but over the past few years, due to poor management, it's been on the verge of collapse."

"Are there people at the mine?"

Station Chief Zhou immediately answered, "Yes, we sent people there to investigate just a couple of days ago and found seven or eight workers, but we didn't notice anything unusual!"

Wang Anguo immediately declared, "Let's go take a look at that Kang'an Coal Mine!"

With that, the group hurried directly to the nearby coal mine!

When Wang Anguo and his team arrived, they happened to catch the workers in the middle of a meal.

Taking advantage of the moment while Li Gang was explaining the situation to the person in charge, Wang Anguo quickly counted the workers on site and found there were only seven of them, and moreover, these individuals all seemed somewhat abnormal.

First of all, the way these men looked at them was strange. Besides fear, their eyes held a deep sense of vigilance, which was clearly not the normal reaction of ordinary citizens upon encountering authorities.

Secondly, although these men were dressed ordinarily, their clothes were surprisingly clean.

In ordinary circumstances, this wouldn't mean much, but at a coal mine, this posed a problem.

Anyone who had ever been to a coal mine knew that smoke and dust flew everywhere during coal extraction, and workers coming out of the mine shaft could never be this clean.

Instantly, Wang Anguo's guard went up.

After Li Gang finished explaining the situation to the person in charge, Wang Anguo walked over to the manager, whose surname was An, and asked, "Manager An, how many people do you have working at your mine?"

"A total of eight!"

"Why so few? Logically speaking, a coal mine should have anywhere from dozens to thousands of workers. Is this handful of people enough for you?" Wang Anguo asked with a frown.

"To be honest with you, Comrade Officer, we have no choice. The coal here is of poor quality and the reserves are small, so the coal we extract can only be sold to nearby villagers. The profits are truly terrible!"

Manager An continued, "Because the profits are so poor, we can't afford much equipment. Every time we go down the shaft, everyone is terrified for their lives, so not many people in the village are willing to come here to work."

"Does that mean these people are all from your village?"

"They... they all are!"

"Very well, we're just here to conduct a routine search. Not just your place, we've checked every single mine in the vicinity. We kindly ask for your cooperation," Wang Anguo said.

"Certainly, certainly, we will fully cooperate!" Manager An said, wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead.

Immediately following this, Wang Anguo led his men in a thorough search of the small coal mine.

Yet after searching the entire place from top to bottom, they found nothing at all.

Just then, a cave entrance, half-buried under rocks and soil, caught Wang Anguo's attention!