You Hit My Heart

Chapter 2041: Darkness Under the Lamp

On the other side, Khebury, South Island.

Days and nights of searching had taken their toll. Luther was utterly exhausted, having not slept for two consecutive nights. Not finding any trace of Joyce had pushed him to the brink of collapse. Experts from various fields had gathered here.

This included geologists, historians, professional search and rescue teams, and more.

They conducted a thorough search of South Island, but so far, there had been no breakthrough.

Cecelia had returned home to take care of the children. Life had to go on, and it was important to keep the children calm.

Luther sat in a temporary tent, his hands supporting his head. His once sharp eyes were now dull, and his handsome face was pale. He was on the verge of despair.

At that moment,

Aaron suddenly burst in.

"Mr. Warner! We've finally found something!"

Luther's spirit was instantly revived. He stood up immediately, "What did you find?"

"The survey team discovered a hidden passage. The entrance is extremely concealed. You should come and see it," Aaron said urgently.

Luther was stunned for a moment, "A hidden passage?!"

He never imagined such a strange thing could exist. It couldn't possibly be a recently dug tunnel; the engineering required would be too great. He never expected that this island would hide a secret passage, and he had no idea about it.

He quickly followed Aaron to the entrance of the passage.

The captain of the survey team, Captain Stevens, saw Luther and quickly said, "Mr. Warner, it's right here."

Captain Stevens pointed to a very concealed entrance, "We actually searched here before but didn't notice anything. Who would have thought that behind this electrical box, these bricks could actually move?" Luther looked around at his current location. It was right between the guesthouse and the villa resort. This was exactly where Joyce had to pass that night. Such an obvious location, yet they hadn't found it immediately-it was truly darkness under the lamp.

Captain Stevens continued, "It wasn't until our third search that I noticed something odd about the moss here. I studied the brick seams closely and felt they had been moved, causing some moss to appear crushed. It didn't seem like it was due to our search efforts. So I looked around the electrical box and found a hidden lever. Right here."

Captain Stevens showed Luther.

"This lever turns 90 degrees to the right, then 90 degrees to the left, then 90 degrees to the right again. This opens the passage."

Captain Stevens demonstrated.

Sure enough, as he turned the lever, several moss-covered bricks slowly moved aside, revealing an opening large enough for two or three people to enter.

Luther pointed at the passage, "So, Joyce was taken through here?"

"Definitely. The steps going down are full of footprints and drag marks. It seems she was knocked out first and then taken away from here," Captain Stevens nodded. "I've already sent people down to investigate where the passage leads. Please wait a moment, Mr. Warner."

"I'll go down now," Luther said anxiously, unable to wait any longer.

As he reached the entrance, his tall frame swayed; the immense stress nearly caused him to faint.

Aaron quickly grabbed Luther, "Mr. Warner, the situation underground is unclear, and your body is already at its limit. Joyce is no longer on South Island; even if you're anxious, you can't bring her back immediately. Please wait here. The team will return soon with information."

At this moment, an archaeology expert arrived.

Seeing the entrance and the mechanism,

The archaeologist examined it with a magnifying glass and nodded, "Just as I thought. I had Captain Stevens look for such an entrance."

"Yes, it was on the expert's advice," Captain Stevens said quickly. "But South Island is so large; finding it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. At first, I thought the expert was joking, but it turned out to be real. The method to open the passage was also one of several ways suggested by the expert. I tried it and it worked."

"How could there be a hidden passage on South Island? I've never heard of it," Luther said with deep regret. If he had known earlier, he would never have chosen this place for the wedding-wasn't it like shooting himself in the foot?

The archaeologist explained, "This relates to a little-known history from hundreds of years ago involving South Island. I mentioned before that this history was a disgrace and was deliberately erased by historians. In fact, South Island was ruled by Rohomes for quite a long time centuries ago. Now it seems that history indeed existed. A hundred years ago, this place was a military base for Rohomes warlords. This passage must have been built back then; it's an ancient passage with mechanisms set up a century ago. The method to open it follows fixed patterns from that time. If I'm not mistaken, the passage should lead to an entrance by the sea, with an opening on some rocky cliffs."

"What was this passage originally used for?" Aaron asked in confusion.

"Military bases often hold many secrets. The passage could have hidden weapons, ammunition, minerals-possibly even an air-raid shelter. In short, it was a channel for transporting secret materials," the archaeologist explained.

"So you're saying someone who knew about this passage took Joyce from here?" Luther frowned. "This area happens to be a blind spot for surveillance cameras; no wonder they could take her away silently." "Exactly," nodded the archaeologist.

At this moment, the team that had gone down to investigate returned.

The leader reported, "Captain, Mr. Warner, following the passage down leads to a large space inside. We didn't expect this island to be hollow! We estimate it could hold over ten thousand people." "What!" Luther exclaimed in shock.

"The end of the passage is a rocky cave entrance directly connected to the sea above. Because no one has been to that side and ships can't see it due to obstructions, it's extremely hidden! Even locals don't know about this cave entrance," described the team member. "I suspect small submarines once docked here; taking one or two people away through such means would be no problem." Luther was completely stunned.

He roughly understood what had happened.

Elsa's midnight landing on South Island was just a diversion by their enemies!