I raise furry animals and fly them to my motherland.

Chapter 179: A Convenience
The people at the Archaeological Research Institute looked on with envy; these things weren't available on the market! They must be incredibly effective at replenishing energy!
However, they didn't go down into the tomb, so they could only watch longingly.

Lieutenant Yang then took out a piece of equipment that looked like black goggles and handed it to Xu Ying.

"This is a night vision device. Although it cannot be given away directly according to regulations, I can lend it to you first. I will apply to Commander Qin later, and you won't have to return it."

“This night vision device hadn’t arrived yet when we delivered the equipment to you last time.”

Yang and his adjutant were incredibly fast at pulling out their equipment. In less than ten minutes, Xu Ying was fully armed, with a searchlight on his head, night vision goggles in front of his eyes, and a military dagger strapped to his calf.

Fortunately, Xu Ying had brought a very spacious mountaineering backpack, which was already bulging with supplies and various necessities, almost half a person's height, and felt heavy on her back.

Lou Yiqun's eyes reddened as she looked at Xu Ying, who was dressed in advanced equipment.

The military's equipment is all internally supplied and developed; their archaeological institute is a completely unrelated unit and hasn't even used it yet.

Xu Ying adjusted the night vision goggles in front of her and asked Lieutenant Yang, "Can I lend these night vision goggles to someone in our group?"

Lieutenant Yang nodded: "This situation is acceptable, as long as you don't lend it to strangers or sell it on the market."

"But we believe you won't either."

Lou Yiqun's eyes lit up as he listened, and he was about to ask for it when he heard Professor Mo say, "Xiao Xu, this is for you. Just wear it and don't worry about us old folks."

"It's most convenient for you to wear, so you don't need to worry about us."

Qi Xiao and Chen Su both agreed.

Lou Yiqun clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath how a veterinarian had become the core of the tomb raiding team.

But no one paid him any attention.

Professor Chen Sumo and his three companions arrived at the entrance of the tomb by car, while Xu Ying drove the reptiles there on a sand motorcycle.

Chen Su and his group arrived first by car.

Just as Xu Ying was about to bend down to carry the bulging backpack, she suddenly felt a lightness on her shoulder.

She suddenly turned around and met Qi Xiao's eyes.

The man's well-defined hands had already firmly grasped the strap of her backpack, his fingertips brushing against her shoulder and neck, carrying a burning heat.

"Give me the bag."

Qi Xiao said calmly, "Focus on giving directions."

Xu Ying's ears felt slightly warm: "But it's very heavy."

Before he finished speaking, Qi Xiao had already picked up her backpack with one hand and slung it over his shoulder, while his other hand steadily held his own gear.

He looked down at her, a hint of warmth appearing in his usually cold and stern eyes: "With you and Little Bug leading the way, things are much easier for me."

He paused, then added, "It's only right that I help you share the burden."

Xu Ying looked up at him and smiled slightly, two small dimples appearing on her cheeks: "Thanks then."

Her voice rose lightly at the end.

Feeling much lighter without the backpack, she couldn't wait to take the reptiles to see the tomb raider's tunnel.

Qi Xiao followed calmly, but the area around his ear, hidden beneath his wispy hair, was quietly flushed.

Chen Su had just locked his car when he turned around and saw the interaction between the two. He pursed his lips, a hint of annoyance that he himself didn't realize was in his eyes.

Xu Ying first sent a large army of reptiles to crawl in through the tomb robber's hole to find out what was going on.

The Five Poisons Army crawled in through the tunnel.

About fifteen minutes later, Old Wang's friend, King Cobra No. 2, climbed up to report the situation. Xu Ying and the four others relayed the situation below the tunnel: "My reptilian friends said there are three living people down there, and they were moving about half an hour ago."

"Six meters down the tunnel, a man-made passageway connects to the south."

Qi Xiao nodded upon hearing this, already having a general idea in his mind: "I'll go down first, you guys stick close to me."

He quickly tied the rope for going down into the hole.

Professor Mo couldn't wait to follow Qi Xiao into the tunnel.

The tunnel was narrow and damp, filled with a rotten smell.

Just as Xu Ying's toes touched the silky bottom of the cave, a cool hand touched her shoulder.

Qi Xiao's headlamp illuminated his sharply defined profile as he whispered, "Be careful, the ground here is uneven and a bit slippery."

Just as Xu Ying was about to express her gratitude, a cold needle touched her fingertip.

Several desert scorpions hissed at her as a warning.

[Station Chief Xu, there's a scorpion nest around the corner ahead. They're not related to our desert golden scorpions; their tails are much longer than ours, and they're very fierce. Tell them to get lost.]
[These scorpions are very agitated, clearly provoked. I saw signs of fire near their nest, and several charred scorpion carcasses.]
Xu Ying had a guess in her mind: "It should be a whiptail scorpion."

These scorpions are very venomous; their venom can spray up to a meter away. If the venom gets into the eyes, it can cause blindness. They are also very ferocious and will eat other scorpions.

Xu Ying reminded the others: "There's a scorpion's den around the corner ahead, everyone be careful."

Upon hearing Xu Ying's suggestion, the other four stopped.

Lou Yiqun: "How are we going to get there?"

Professor Mo: "Why don't we all light torches and march together? Use the fire to scare them away."

“No.” Xu Ying shook his head: “They were burned by tomb raiders not long ago. If we move forward with torches, it will only provoke them and they may attack us.”

She thought for a moment, then took out an aloe vera gel from her first-aid kit and said to the swarm of desert golden scorpions.
"You send a message to the whiptail scorpions from afar, saying that my medicine can relieve their burn pain and help them find the arsonists to take revenge."

The aloe vera gel came in a pouch. Xu Ying removed the cap, and the scorpion squeezed it out with its tail.

The leader of the desert golden scorpions wagged his tail to indicate that he had received the message, and then led his underlings, carrying the "peace gift" of aloe vera gel, and wriggled over to negotiate.

About five minutes later.

A small scorpion slithered over, its tail wagging rapidly. It raised its stinger high, its voice brimming with excitement: "Station Chief Xu, the ointment you gave me really worked! They've agreed to let us pass!"

"And..." it paused, its tail tip twitching slightly, "They also said they'd come with us to settle scores with those guys."
Xu Ying's tense shoulders finally relaxed, and she smiled slightly, waving to the four people behind her: "It's all done, let's catch up."

Professor Mo pushed up his glasses, his face full of disbelief: "Back in the archaeological sites, these poisonous little devils were the most troublesome. I never thought that a tube of aloe vera gel could make them cooperate so obediently?"

“So,” Xu Ying chuckled, “it’s not that they’re difficult to deal with, it’s that we’ve never understood what they want—we just trespassed on their territory and then blamed them for being temperamental.”

Professor Mo found the thrilling and dangerous task of tomb raiding so interesting for the first time, and his gaze towards Xu Ying was filled with envy and admiration.

After passing through the scorpion swarm area, the passage gradually widens, eventually connecting to a beautifully constructed brick walkway.

Although the murals on the walls have faded, the sun god pattern unique to the Jingjue Kingdom can still be identified.

“This is the corridor leading to the side hall,” Professor Mo said excitedly, stroking the murals. “Judging by the craftsmanship, it’s definitely of royal quality!”

The king cobra on Xu Ying's shoulder suddenly raised its head and hissed rapidly.

At the same time, several spiders crawled out of her pocket and quickly crawled on her arm.

“Something’s up,” Xu Ying frowned, listening carefully to the sounds the small animals were making.

"Is there a sound ahead? Or a vibration?"