Tomb Raiding: The Bloodline of Dragons and Snakes, Starting from the Kunlun Divine Palace

"How could this be!?" Upon seeing the Golden Gunner's face, Ling Lingyi and Yu Rongguang were shocked!

"What's wrong?" Xu Zhengyang, Ai Chang'an, and the others also came over.

Chapter 78: The Mantis Men of Kunlun Mountain, Back to Kunlun

"Not human?" Xu Zhengyang lifted the mask of the Golden Gunner, revealing a mantis-headed monster inside.

However, he was spitting out disgusting mucus, and was definitely dead.

Through the mask, one can see that inside the armor is a giant mantis skeleton with a structure resembling a human body.

"Are we going to be fighting monsters like this all along?" Ling Lingyi and Yu Rongguang were completely bewildered.

"Could this be the so-called Mantis Man?!" Amy was quite knowledgeable. "I've seen the corpse of this creature before at the Northern Base, but I've never known its origin."

Just then, a huge propeller sound came from the sky, and then searchlights shone in this direction.

“It’s a rescue helicopter from the Western Rescue Organization.” Ling Lingyi and Yu Rongguang gestured for everyone not to fire. “I’ve worked with them before, and they probably came after seeing Xu Zhengyang’s signal flare.”

No wonder, even though they belong to different departments, they used the same distress flares.

"Ling Lingyi! You've captured the Golden Gunner!" Wang Xiong, the leader of the Southern Base, stepped off the helicopter with the help of his adjutant, Li, and walked in front of the crowd.

"It's a pity it's already been blown up." Ling Lingyi said helplessly. "However, even if it hadn't been blown up, we probably wouldn't have been able to get anything out of it."

"Did you get the Golden Buddha?" Wang Xiong from the Southern Base asked with concern.

"They're digging, we haven't seen it yet." Ling Lingyi and Yu Rongguang pointed to the collapsed cave in front of them.

After more than half an hour of effort, the engineers looked helpless.

"Reporting to the sir, the entire cave has been searched, but the golden Buddha has not been found."

"Oh, who was the first to arrive at the crime scene?" Wang Xiong's sharp gaze swept over the group.

“Reporting, sir! It’s me.” Xu Zhengyang stood up, saluted Wang Xiong, and replied, “I found it lying there.”

"We were afraid he would retaliate again, so we fired a grenade at him from behind before we started digging. But we never expected it to turn out like this!" Ling Lingyi's eyes were full of disbelief.

“I understand.” Wang Xiong nodded slightly. “When I first saw this monster and the Golden Gunner, I couldn’t believe it either.”

“Actually, Lieutenant Li and I have been lying in ambush around here for a long time. There’s more than one mantis man here, and we’ve suffered heavy casualties fighting them,” Wang Xiong said, showing his bandaged wound. “This kind of creature first appeared in the 60s.”

"I just didn't expect that it would actually form a fighting force now."

“I gave a detailed report to the Shenlong Security Department, and they agreed to send agents to support our investigation of these mantis people.”

"Agents from the Divine Dragon Security Department?" Ling Lingyi seemed to have heard of them. "I didn't expect such an organization to actually exist. It must be the legendary 'Dragon Group Agents'..."

“That’s right.” Wang Xiong nodded. “They are not affiliated with our Southern or Northern bases, but exist within the Aerospace High-Tech Department under the name of space development.”

"This Dragon Group special agent organization will only be mobilized when superhuman beings appear. What we need to do now is to bring this Mantis Man Golden Gunner back to the Southern Base and wait for instructions from our superiors."

As Wang Xiong spoke, he waved his hand, and several of his subordinates began to move the armored Mantis Men and Golden Spear Men.

The Golden Gunner and the Mantis were loaded onto the helicopter, and Wang Xiong then gave Ling Lingyi new orders.

"I'll take this Mantis Golden Gunner back to the Southern Base first. Lieutenant Li will stay behind to assign you new tasks. If you have any questions, just ask Lieutenant Li."

After giving his instructions, Wang Xiong boarded the helicopter. After a brief sound of the rotors, the helicopter gradually disappeared into the distance.

"Lieutenant Li, please explain what's going on, or I won't be able to explain myself when I get back!" Xu Zhengyang said anxiously, standing in front of Lieutenant Li.

Although this person was dressed in the uniform of a high-ranking officer, he looked tall and thin, like a frail scholar, and did not resemble an ordinary secret agent.

“Let’s go, we can talk on the way back.” Lieutenant Li looked around. “It’s not safe here either. If the Mantis Men’s accomplices are still nearby, we might be ambushed by them at night.”

“Okay.” Xu Zhengyang nodded.

They found a relatively gentle mountain road and slowly walked back to where the convoy had stopped.

The convoy found an open area to stop, and everyone used the convoy as cover to set up camp.

The armored engineering vehicle that Linglingyi brought had plenty of tents and wilderness survival supplies. It quickly set up a campsite for everyone and lit a campfire.

It turns out that Lieutenant Li's real name is David Li, and he is a paleontology PhD student who returned from the United States.

Because of his passion for paleontology, he was recruited into a special research department and given the benefits of a senior adjutant.

"I think Linglingyi, Dagangya and Aimeishen have all seen this mantis specimen. Both our southern base and their northern base have had samples."

"It's a pity that we saw a live specimen today but couldn't capture it alive," Lieutenant Li said regretfully, shaking his head.

“Although I haven’t seen the mantis man specimen, I did see an old photograph in our security center that recorded the discovery of this specimen.” Xu Zhengyang recalled carefully, “I think it was called something like ‘The 1962 Kunlun Mountain Mantis Man Incident’?”

“That’s right, it’s the Kunlun Mountain Mantis Man incident!” Upon hearing Xu Zhengyang’s words, Lieutenant Li was as if he had met a kindred spirit. “After our commander at the Southern Base told me that the Mantis Man had reappeared on the Western Plateau, I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep, so I applied to come here with the commander.”

Now, Lieutenant Li started talking non-stop.

"In 1962, an expedition team discovered a strange creature that resembled both a mantis and a human while exploring a cave in the Kunlun Mountains."

"Unlike mantises, the animals found in burrows walk upright."

"They are covered in red and black shells, and what's most terrifying is that their arms are all made of blades, which look incredibly sharp!" Lieutenant Li demonstrated the movements of the Mantis Boxing style with his hands.

The expedition team had never seen this creature before, and they were terrified.

Moreover, the mantis-man leans forward, assuming a strong attack stance.

The ending was cruel; none of the expedition members survived.

"The sudden disappearance of the expedition team attracted the attention of the outside world, so another team went to Kunlun Mountain to search for them, but suffered heavy casualties."

"Fortunately, some people returned alive this time. In the end, it took even greater efforts to wipe out the 'Mantis Men'!"

The Mantis was then transported to several secret bases and dissected.

Mantis-like creatures are extremely similar to humans from their face to their neck, but their soft tissues are entirely insect-like.

Their entire torso is covered in mucus, and their leg muscles are exceptionally well-developed.

"The blade on its arm is made of titanium alloy. It's impervious to blades and bullets; only artillery shells can harm it!"

At this point, Lieutenant Li couldn't help but sigh.

Everyone listened intently.

If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you probably wouldn't believe it.

"But why did the mantis people come to steal our golden Buddha?" Xu Zhengyang still couldn't understand.

"Heh, our golden Buddha?" Lieutenant Li scoffed. "It's probably a golden Buddha of dubious origin."

His words reminded everyone that Wu Yutian and Uncle Ming had mysteriously handed over the golden Buddha without providing any details about its origin.

“This golden Buddha must be a guardian artifact of some special species in the Kunlun Mountains, providing them with some kind of energy source.” Lieutenant Li didn’t interpret the golden Buddha as a form of faith. “In other words, it’s not necessarily that they took the golden Buddha from you.”

"It's just that you took away the golden Buddha that they had guarded for generations, and now they've taken it back."

What Lieutenant Li said made a lot of sense.

"What, you still don't believe me?" David Lee also revealed his identity for this trip and took out an appointment letter for the others to review. "I am here as a special investigator to investigate this incident."

"I hope you can tell me the details of this golden Buddha's origin so I can continue my in-depth research and investigation. Linglingyi, you and your team will also cooperate with my work." Although this adjutant is of high rank, he is a researcher with little combat capability and needs the support and protection of other agents.

"Yes, I will lead the team to ensure your safety, but I also hope you won't hide anything from me." Ling Lingyi was still very curious about the golden Buddha and the mantis man.

"And what about you, Comrade Xu Zhengyang?" Lieutenant Li knew the key to the origin of this golden Buddha, and he still had to ask Xu Zhengyang's superior, Jian.

"This is a task entrusted to me by Wu Yutian, the chief producer of the film 'The Climbers'. Since I messed it up, I have no choice but to go back and explain to him." Xu Zhengyang planned to go to Kunlun Mountain again to find Wu Yutian and get to the bottom of things.

“We have no choice but to go back.” Fang Zhanbo shrugged. “My son and I just came here to earn some transport fees. We didn’t expect it to be so dangerous. No way, we have to pay more! Even if the escort fails, we still have to pay more! My son’s emotional trauma deserves at least several thousand in compensation!”

"Zhanbo, don't talk nonsense. We've messed things up, how can we ask for more money?" Xiao Youyi said with his head down. "Let's go back and explain. Sister Ji Wen is still in charge there, she won't make things difficult for us."

"Since everyone is going back, I, Steel Fang, am no coward either. I won't leave the front line with minor injuries, so I'm going too!" Steel Fang said, gritting his teeth and enduring the excruciating pain.

"You shouldn't get involved." Amy rolled her eyes at Big Steel Teeth. "It's not that I don't believe in your determination, but in your current state, without improving your strength, you'll just be a burden. Of course, I'm in a similar situation."

Amy looked regretfully at the flamethrower on her wrist, appearing somewhat dissatisfied.

This equipment is obviously not very effective against the Mantis Men, let alone Mantis Men warriors in armor.

Chapter 79: Fang Zhanbo Analyzes the Origin of the Mantis Man

Titanium was only developed in the 50s. Due to its high strength, good heat resistance, and high corrosion resistance, titanium alloys are mainly used to make compressor parts for aircraft engines, and secondly for structural components of rockets, missiles, and high-speed aircraft.

It must be said that the Mantis people are quite fashionable, keeping up with the trends of social development. They promptly put newly developed materials to good use.

Of course, most people don't believe this story.

At an altitude of nearly 6000 meters, where scientists believe that even mammals cannot survive for long periods, it is astonishing that such a remarkable creature exists.

"Leaving aside the fact that the Kunlun Mountains are covered in snow all year round and the average annual temperature is below minus ten degrees Celsius, whether the mantis people can withstand it. Just considering the oxygen concentration alone, most scientists have denied their existence."

Lieutenant Li was explaining the doubts of the other scientists, which were actually his own sources of confusion.

"As we all know, the air becomes thinner as the altitude increases."

"At an altitude of 6000 meters, the air pressure is less than 0.3 times the standard atmospheric pressure, and the oxygen content is also 0.3 times that of the normal environment. Being in such an environment can easily cause severe hypoxia, which is altitude sickness."

"Therefore, our mountaineering team members usually carry oxygen to prevent altitude sickness."

The other agents remained noncommittal on this point, because for someone like Xu Zhengyang who had undergone brutal endurance training, this altitude sickness wouldn't cause him much harm.

Not to mention other species that may have adapted to this environment through mutation or centuries or millennia of training.

"And through the dissection of the Mantis Man, 613 discovered that part of the Mantis Man is composed of insect structure, part of human structure, and part of alloy material." Lieutenant Li found this even more unbelievable.