Just as he was ready, Fang Chenyi hesitated. He reached down, picked up a fist-sized stone, and tossed it straight into the passage beyond the gate.
But after a series of sounds of the stone striking the rock walls, he didn't hear it hit the bottom for a long, long time.
Eventually, the sound just vanished completely.
"Holy shit, it's that deep?"
Swallowing hard, Fang Chenyi's resolve began to waver.
But then he remembered the old saying: the greater the danger, the greater the reward. Besides, other than it being deep, he had waited for a while without hearing any other sounds, which meant there were no living creatures inside.
He looked down once more into the bottomless darkness, gritted his teeth, and switched on the headlamp attached to his tactical helmet. He then secured the M4 on his back and felt for the dagger strapped tightly to his leg, checking all his gear.
Finally, steeling himself, he turned and planted his feet on the slope.
