H14 Menace of the Secret Cave

Book Cover

**Menace of the Secret Cave**, the 14th book in The Golden Age of Adventures series was published in May 2017. It is the English language edition of the original Chinese comic, **霸王战甲**, which was published in October 2016.

## Synopsis

AIMING FOR THE TOP! ENCOUNTERING SECRETS OF THE PAST!

Upon finding an ancient sword near a cave on Mt. Song, a villager, as if possessed, goes on a slashing spree. Alex, Lulu and Shaolin disciple Ming Kong are shocked to discover the man under the control of strange worms. What other dangers lurk in the shadows of the dark cavern?

## Cast

* Alex
* Lulu
* Abbot Xuan Zhen
* Ming Kong
* Ling

## Plot

***Spoiler warning!** Plot and/or ending details follow.*

### Chapter 1: Landslide

At Mt. Song, China, at 4 A.M., a landslide revealed an entrance. Yang finds an ancient sword. He slashes his father's hand as if he is possessed.

At 7 A.M., Alex and Lulu are with Ming Kong at a Shaolin temple. Abbot Xuan Zhen disrobes and charges towards the bell to ring it, but he falls of the cliff. He couldn't see without his glasses, but he doesn't wear them in front of visitors. While the monks gathered shovels to dig Xuan Zhen out of the ground, Wong from the market informs them of Yang's slashing spree. Xuan Zhen orders them to go to the market. They leave, while Xuan Zhen is left in the ground.

At the market, Alex ties Yang and Lulu makes him faint. Lulu studies the sword. A red worm jumps towards her from the sword, but Alex electrocutes it. Ming Kong discovers Yang's wrist has puncture marks. Now that he remembers, Yang explains about the secret entrance.

### Chapter 2: Into the Cave

A team from China's World Adventure Union are examining. Tang says the worm is actually a blood vessel. If the cave is its source, it might have to be burned. The Akhator War caused distrust with adventurers. Solving this issue may improve their reputation. Alex, Lulu and Ming Kong are assissted with a site evaluator, "Midnight Belle" Ling (No. 17). Site evaluators are sent by the Union to ancient sites that pose a threat. Their job is to determine whether the site should be sealed or destroyed. Tang gives Ming Kong a flamethrower. They enter the cave.

They find two swords identical to what Yang wielded. Alex electrocutes them to see if there are vessel worms. There are none. Lulu hears giant bats flying towards them. Ling uses her bell to pierce their hearing. Alex electrocutes them. No vessel worms. They go to the opening above. Up there is a puzzle.

### Chapter 3: Mythic Discoveries

There are statues of a crane and an owl with a bowl in front of each of them. In the middle is a box of animal-shaped toys. The solution is to put what they eat into the bird. A fish is inserted into the crane's bowl and a vole for the owl. A downward staircase opens. Down the stairs, the walls display Han Dynasty script. The sword comes from the Chu-Han Contention. It was a war between Western Chu, led by Xiang Yu, and Han, led by Liu Bang. Liu Bang won and Xiang Yu committed suicide.

The staircase leads to what looks like an ancient laboratory. There dead blood vessel worms around a giant monstrous skeleton. The team open a stove, dropping blood and a dead winged snake. Ming Kong thinks it is Fei Yi from The Classic of Mounatins and Seas, a compilation of ancient text on geography, legendary and mythical beasts.

Alex sees a mural of Ragnarok. The Han Dynasty scripture below tells of Ragnarok and experiments to create a creature to fight Akhator. Lulu senses a beating heart behind another scripture. The riddle is "Blood of kings the rat catcher has; Its blood you must pour to open the door." Lulu transforms into a cat and pours her blood. The entrance leads to a chamber with two stoves and a pool of blood. The heartbeat is coming from the left stove.

### Chapter 4: Possessed

The left sotve holds a Qilin heart. It still beats eventhough the body is gone. In the blood pool, Alex takes out the object inside: a jade burial suit. Lulu senses vessel worms from the right stove. Ming Kong burns them. Alex is taken into the pool by the vessel worms in the suit. Alex jumps out wearing the suit, possessed by the vessel worms. He exclaims: "Heaven... wants me dead. My army's defeat is not my fault!"

He kicks Lulu to the ceiling, then bounces off to the ground. He takes off his hat and releases its blades. He throws it at Ling. Lulu pushes her to the ground. "Heaven wants me dead. It's not... my fault."

### Chapter 5: A Spider's Web

Ming Kong releases his iron kick, but Alex uses his bug repellent. Alex jumps in the air where Ling and Lulu are. He throws his drill rope to a wall, pulling him towards it. At the same time, he throws a flashbang at them. They are then electrocuted. Alex throws his hat to them as they are falling. Ming Kong blocks it with his iron stance.

Alex goes around the chamber, levitates in mid-air. In actuality, he is standing on strong and razor sharp wires from his glove. Lulu, Ming Kong and Ling are stuck in a spider's web. Lulu uses her sword to cut all the wires to make a way to the exit. Unnoticingly, she steps on a wire, activating small cube mechanism, releasing poison darts.

### Chapter 6: Awake

Lulu runs to Alex while transforming into her adult form. She trips on a tiny rock, accidentally kissing Alex. Ling takes a picture of it. Alex realises he is being possessed. He breaks free via Akhazane's cells' energy. The jade suit escapes through the right stove while taking the Qilin's heart. Alex thinks the pipes above the stoves connect to the room upstairs. Alex explains the blood vessels belong to Xiang Yu. He could feel his hatred and chagrin under his control. He takes the flamethrower and goes towards the jade suit.

### Chapter 7: No Escape

The jade suit connects with the giant skeleton and uses its arm to open another stove, using its blood to create its "flesh". Alex sees the beast itself (the book calls it Tian Wu (incomplete form)). Alex ties its hand and electrocutes it. He throws the flamethrower away, and the Tian Wu destroys it, having oil all over its front body. Lighters are thrown on it, burning it. Lulu and the others have come to help. Alex goes inside Ling's bell and they all punch it. It lands on the Tian Wu's back. Alex dashes to its face, ready to stab it with Lulu's sword.

### Chapter 8: Crossing Over

The Tian Wu uses its tails to kill Alex, but they are cut by wires. Alex stabs between the eyes. He uses his rope to hold on to a stalactite as he watches the Tian Wu burn. "**Heaven wants me dead. It's not my... FAULT.**" The Qilin heart survived. Tang and the medical team have come due to Ling's S.O.S.

Two days later, the Shaolin monks pray for Xiang Yu. Alex thinks the scariest part of all this is Xiang Yu's hatred still lasts to today. Tang thinks it is someone made a monster out of his body. He hopes to find the one responsible, because they may still be conducting dangerous experiments. The monks have finished their prayers.

Tang announnces the team's new rankings. "Iron Head" Ming Kong is now No. 97. "Star Guardian" Alex and "Miss Kitty" Lulu promote from No. 70 to 68. Ling's remains unchanged, because the higher one's ranking the more points needed to promotion. Xuan Zhen is impressed that Ming Kong used the iron stance technique. The other monks hit him with bamboo, but they all break. Lulu decides to try, so her punch made him fall off the cliff again.

In the Atlantic Ocean, in a submarine, Bobby gives a vial of blood he got in Egypt to Dr. Ming.