Chapter 826 Collapsed Tunnel (2/2)

The snake repellent was very effective. After the snake repellent had been scattered in the tunnel, the groups of snakes inside began to disperse and slithered away through the gaps around the tunnel.

Having scattered the snake repellent powder twice in a row, all the snakes in the tunnel had dispersed. It was only after all the snakes had dispersed that Li Du and the others were able to continue with the excavation.

With the inside of the tunnel covered with powder, Li Du and the others had a much harder time excavating. They were not able to use the tunnel fan, or else the snake repellent powder would fly everywhere and completely cover their bodies.

Because they were unable to use the tunnel fan, staying inside the tunnel, which was humid and stuffy, was simply torturous.

Luckily, as both Brother Wolf and Godzilla were hardworking, able to endure hardships, and compliant, they did not complain and continued with the excavation while wearing face masks.

After the tunnel had been completely excavated, digging deeper was next. This time around, they had to use tools such as the rock hand drill machine.

Due to having scattered the snake repellent powder, digging this tunnel required much more effort than digging a new tunnel in the number 115 mine had. The people inside the tunnel were mainly the ones suffering.

This was the reason why the miners gave up on digging the tunnel after they had discovered that there were groups of snakes inside. Even though using the snake repellent powder would definitely chase the groups of snakes away, the powder was too torturous.

Li Du was able to endure the torture as he was sure of gemstones' location. If he had not known whether there would be gemstones further in, he would also have not been able to press on.

The circumstances reminded Li Du of the Chinese saying, ”The sharpness of a legendary sword was due to being honed, and the fragrance of plum blossoms was due to the cold, bitter winter.”

This saying that was created by those who came before was, as expected, wise. After having suffered, they finally reached the gemstone vein and dug out rocks that contained black opals.

Li Du gave Godzilla and Brother Wolf a reward of 100,000 dollars each.

After receiving the money, both of them were even more willing to endure the hardship and still wanted to continue digging, even when it began to rain at the end of May.

Among the subordinates, Li Du was the most fond of them, as both of them had a, ”If my master treats me well, I have to repay him,” attitude.

Li Du giving them money would not make them greedier and would only win their gratitude and respect. Both of them would work even harder to repay him.

However, with the continuous autumn rain, Li Du stopped them from digging for safety reasons.

Brother Wolf put forward his opinion saying, ”There are gaps between the rocks underground. The rainwater will flow into the tunnel through the gaps. With that, the snake repellent powder will be washed away by the rainwater before long. When that happens, the groups of snakes will return.”

Li Du shook his head and said, ”If that's the case, let's wait 'til the weather gets better. We can scatter the snake repellent powder again. I will definitely not allow you to continue digging. Brother, you have also seen water seeping into the tunnel. Because of that, the tunnel is dangerous.”

The quality of the land around Lightning Ridge was relatively decent mainly due to the sturdy layers of rocks, which made tunnel collapse incidents less likely to occur. However, it did not mean that they would never occur.

The autumn rain continued for two days. On the night of the second day, the autumn rain suddenly became a storm.

After braving the rain to catch small lobsters on the morning of the third day, Li Du returned and cooked up a large pot of spicy small lobsters and enjoyed it with beer.

The instant that the pot of small lobsters was served, the pot suddenly trembled and a dull sound could be heard. Bang!

Ah Meow and the other three furry children, who were lying on the floor, jumped up and, with anxious looks, gazed to the west at the same time.

Li Du instinctively made a joke. ”The thunder was so loud, even the pot jumped from the vibrations. I thought that the small lobsters were still alive.”

With a grave look on his face, Brother Wolf said, ”No, boss. A tunnel has collapsed!”