Required equipment
Bring a Rope Gun, Rebreather, air tanks, lighting, medicine and explosives. Save outside. The Shovel is a cave pickup; it is not printed or crafted.
Find Cave C near the river confluence on the western side of the mountains. Three bodies impaled on stakes identify the entrance; the Slingshot can be found nearby. Break the boards to enter.
Zipline and first dive
- Use the zipline to cross the opening obstacle.
- Collect the visible air tank and dive through the deep-water passage.
- Surface and continue until you reach the waterslide.
- Slide down into the next section. Follow the passage near the work lights and boxes into the large chamber.
If you reach the water without the necessary tools, return to the equipment chain rather than trying to bypass it.
Reach the construction area
Follow the large chamber’s right side. Continue past the flashlight attachment and the laptop that reveals Maintenance A. These are intermediate landmarks, not the Shovel pickup.
Proceed through the later hostile section and the second underwater passage. On surfacing, head towards the strongly lit construction wall at the end. Collect the Shovel beside the dead worker and confirm Shovel in your inventory.
Return through the new passage
Retrace the route towards the waterslide. Watch for the collapsed rock wall opening a new exit, blocked by a large Sluggy. Clear the obstruction with explosives and follow its passage down towards the surface.
The final drop cannot be reversed. Confirm that you collected the items you need before dropping; do not try to climb back up the waterslide.
What the Shovel opens next
Use it to expose the Maintenance A hatch for the Maintenance Keycard, or dig the northwestern Shotgun grave. A green GPS marker can require laptop discovery first, so a missing dot is not proof the hatch is absent.