Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The wall moved.

It wasn't a translation, nor a rotation; it rippled outwards like water. The stone walls rippled, and the center became transparent, revealing what lay behind—a small, square stone chamber, utterly undecorated. In the center of the chamber stood a waist-high white marble platform, upon which rested an object.

It was a bead. The size of a pigeon egg, perfectly round, with a strange color. At first glance, it appeared black, but inside it shone with a dark red light, like congealed blood or burnt charcoal. The surface of the bead was covered with extremely fine spiral patterns, and if you stared at it for a long time, those patterns seemed to be slowly rotating.

"The Muchen Pearl." Xie Yuchen's voice was a little tense.

Fatty Wang's eyes widened: "We finally found it!"

Wu Xie was also excited and took half a step forward, but Zhang Qiling raised his hand to stop him.

"Wait a minute," Zhang Qiling said. He stared at the bead, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

Zhang Qiling stared at the bead and slowly uttered two words: "That's not right."

Before the words were even finished, eight cracks silently appeared in the ground surrounding the white marble platform. Eight hands covered in dark gold armor plates suddenly emerged from the ground and gripped the edge of the platform. Immediately afterwards, eight figures burst from the ground and stood firmly around the platform.

There were eight ancient corpses. Each was over two meters tall, covered in a complete, intricately carved dark gold armor, with even their heads and faces hidden beneath golden helmets, revealing only two dark eye sockets. The armor was of an ancient style, not of the Central Plains type, but somewhat resembling the armor of the ancient Dian Kingdom, yet the craftsmanship was frighteningly exquisite, retaining its luster and showing no signs of rust even after a thousand years. They all held weapons in their hands—knives, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, and forks—each different, the blades also dark gold, exuding a chilling aura.

What was most chilling was their posture. The eight golden-armored corpses weren't standing still, but rather in an extremely strange, relaxed posture, almost like that of living people. Some had their arms crossed, some were leaning on weapons, and one even had its head slightly tilted, its dark eye sockets "looking" at the people outside the wall. There was no stench of decay, no smell of death, only a heavy, bone-chilling, sinister killing intent emanating from behind the rippling stone wall.

"Hiss—" Fatty Wang gasped, his calves cramping a little.

Wu Xie felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively took a half-step back. Hei Xiazi narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses, Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu looked grave, and A Ning gripped her short crossbow tightly. Even the battle-hardened veterans in the official team behind them turned pale when they saw these eight golden-armored corpses that seemed to have just taken a nap and were ready to pounce and kill at any moment.

"This...this is for guarding the tomb?" Kun's voice trembled.

"The Golden Armored Corpse King." Jiang Shouyi's face was deathly pale, his voice hoarse. "The most ferocious tomb-guarding evil creature in Yunnan legends, impervious to swords and spears, unaffected by water and fire, possessing immense strength, and... possessing combat skills from his previous life. Eight of them... This King Xian is truly..."

"Scared?" Wen Jingshan glanced at him coldly, but his own hand gripping the gun handle was so tight that his knuckles turned white.

Inside the wall, the golden-armored corpse, its arms crossed, slightly turned its helmet, and its dark eye sockets seemed to "swipe" at the people outside. Then, it moved.

It wasn't a pounce; he simply slowly raised his right hand, covered in golden armor, and beckoned to the crowd with his finger.

provocative.

"Damn it..." Fatty Wang cursed for a moment, then swallowed the rest of the sentence.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" exchanged a glance and walked forward simultaneously. The two walked in unison, passing through the shimmering stone wall and entering the inner chamber.

The moment they stepped inside, the ripples on the stone wall subsided, transforming back into a solid stone wall, isolating the inside from the outside. Only the suspended live-streaming sphere remained, half inside and half outside, with the camera pointing directly at the interior.

The comments scrolled by like crazy:

Prophet: Here it comes! The ultimate boss guarding the gate!

A solution to the "experts'" skepticism: Eight against two? How can that even be played?

The male lead's fan club: Husbands, watch out!!!

Inside, the eight golden-armored corpse kings moved. Without roars or unnecessary movements, the two at the front, one wielding a spear and the other a halberd, moved swiftly, their spears flashing like dragons and their halberds sweeping across the battlefield, their attacks accompanied by piercing shrieks that tore through the air, directly targeting Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling." Their speed was so great that only two dark golden afterimages remained in the air.

Zhang Qiling neither dodged nor evaded, stepping forward to meet the thrusting spear. When the spear tip was a foot from his chest, his body suddenly slid to the side, as if he had wheels, grazing the spear shaft and instantly cutting into the center of the spear-wielding zombie king. The zombie king reacted extremely quickly, abandoning his spear and thrusting his armored left fist straight at the chest. Zhang Qiling raised his right hand, seemingly casually placing it on the opponent's wrist, guiding and pulling. The zombie king's punch, powerful enough to shatter stone monuments, was deflected to the side, slamming heavily onto the back of another zombie king's blade as it swung its sword.

"clang--!"

A deafening clang of metal rang out, sparks flying. The wielding zombie king was struck by a punch from his own companion, causing his blade to veer off course and him to stagger half a step.

"Zhang Qiling" was even more direct. Facing the sweeping halberd blade, he crouched low and lunged forward, almost skimming the ground as he passed under the halberd. Before he even stood up, his left foot, like a scorpion's tail, slammed into the knee of the halberd-wielding zombie king. That area, with its layers of armor plates, was one of the strongest points of protection, but his kick dented the armor plates, forcing the zombie king to kneel on one knee. "Zhang Qiling" used the force to spring up, his elbow like a hammer, slamming into the back of the kneeling zombie king's neck.

"Bang!"

The kneeling Corpse King's head slammed down, shattering two floor tiles. But its other hand lashed out, grabbing at Zhang Qiling, who had already spun back and retreated, narrowly avoiding a sword thrust from the side. The sword's attack was unpredictable, changing mid-strike into a slash, aimed at his throat. Zhang Qiling leaned back, the sword tip grazing his chin, and his right hand shot out, his index and middle fingers precisely clamping the middle of the blade, twisting it with force.

"Clang!"

The dark gold longsword, forged from fine steel, was bent into an arc by his two fingers! The sword-wielding corpse king seemed to be stunned for a moment. "Zhang Qiling" released his fingers, and the bent longsword rebounded, striking the sword-wielding corpse king's own golden helmet with a muffled "clang".

The battle escalated rapidly. The eight golden-armored corpse kings moved with perfect coordination, advancing and retreating with precision, resembling a small military formation. The clash of swords, the whistling of spears and halberds engulfed the two figures. The dark gold armor and the black figures clashed rapidly, the sounds of collision, tearing, and the clanging of metal blending together, almost indistinguishable from the rhythm.

Zhang Qiling moved with ghostly speed, weaving through the gaps between weapons. His Black Gold Ancient Blade rarely clashed head-on with his opponents' weapons; instead, he would deflect, parry, and redirect the force of attacks at the last second, sometimes even causing the Corpse Kings to attack each other. When he did strike, a flash of light would always be aimed at the joints or seams of the armor. Although it was difficult to break through the armor in one blow, it constantly slowed down the Corpse Kings' movements.

"Zhang Qiling" was even more ferocious. He didn't dodge much, moving with small, agile steps. His hands, elbows, knees, and legs were all weapons, and he held his own against the armored zombie king. A punch slammed into the breastplate, denting the armor plates; a kick swept to the side of the leg, causing the zombie king to veer sideways. He seemed to always be able to find the exact moment before his opponent exerted force, intercepting it and disrupting its rhythm.

A zombie king wielding an axe swung its massive axe with the force of a mountain splitting, aiming a blow at Zhang Qiling's head. This time, Zhang Qiling didn't dodge. Instead, he stepped forward and, at the last moment before the axe fell, raised both hands to firmly block the handle! The zombie king tried to press down, but the axe blade couldn't advance any further. Zhang Qiling exhaled and, using his waist and hips, swung the axe and the zombie king together half a circle, smashing them hard against another zombie king who was attacking from the side using a hook.

"boom!"

The two golden-armored corpse kings collided and rolled away, causing the white marble platform to shake.

Taking advantage of this opening, Zhang Qiling stealthily approached the Corpse King wielding the spear. The opponent's spear was exposed, leaving him no time to defend. Zhang Qiling's left hand moved like lightning, his fingers forming a claw, gripping the gap between the Corpse King's helmet and shoulder armor. His right hand, wielding the ancient black-gold sword, thrust upwards through the gap in the armor plate under the armpit.

"Pfft!"

The blade was almost completely embedded in the ground. The Corpse King froze. Zhang Qiling pulled out the blade, drawing out a trail of dark red, almost solidified liquid. The Corpse King collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Almost simultaneously, Zhang Qiling snapped the neck of the sword-wielding corpse king—even though it might not need to breathe. He used brute force, twisting the helmet and the skull inside half a turn through the golden helmet.

Two out of eight.

The remaining six corpse kings attacked even more fiercely, but their formation was already in disarray. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" felt slightly less pressure and their attacks intensified. Zhang Qiling's blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, targeting the lower body joints; "Zhang Qiling's" fists and feet moved like a mountain collapsing, striking the chest, abdomen, and head fiercely.

Three more zombie kings shattered and fell to the ground under the ferocious attack. The last three, including the one with arms crossed and fingers hooked, were clearly among them. They stood back to back, no longer attacking, but simply staring intently at the two approaching figures.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" stopped and took a moment to adjust their breathing. Both of their clothes were torn and stained with some black and red dirt, but their movements remained steady and their breathing was not disordered.

Outside the wall, everyone held their breath. Wu Xie's palms were sweaty, Fatty Wang's mouth was agape, Hei Xiazi clicked his tongue, Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu looked shocked, and A Ning's eyes held a complex expression. On the official team's side, there was a deathly silence; even Wen Jingshan forgot to move.

The last three corpse kings moved simultaneously. Without any fancy moves, they hurled their weapons at the same time! A sword, a battle-axe, and a trident transformed into three streaks of dark gold light, attacking the two from above, middle, and below, sealing off all escape routes. The corpse kings themselves, unarmed, charged forward in a final, desperate attack.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" moved simultaneously. Instead of retreating, they advanced, charging towards the incoming weapons. In the nick of time, Zhang Qiling sidestepped, his blade tip touching the hilt of the flying axe, changing the axe's direction and knocking the fork away; "Zhang Qiling" then leaped into the air, his feet kicking the thrown blade in succession, using the momentum to pounce on the central corpse king like a hawk.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Snap! Snap!"

The dull thud of fists hitting bone and the ear-piercing sound of bones shattering rang out almost simultaneously. Light and shadow flickered, obscuring the specific movements.

As the dust settled, the last three golden-armored corpse kings lay on the ground in various contorted positions, some with their breastplates completely collapsed, others with their necks broken, and still others with their limbs twisted in the opposite direction. Their dark gold armor shattered, revealing the withered, blackened flesh and bones beneath.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" stood before the white marble platform, slightly out of breath. Zhang Qiling's left sleeve was torn, leaving a shallow bloodstain; on Zhang Qiling's right fist, fragments of gold armor mixed with a little blood were visible.

Inside the stone chamber, only they remained, along with the Muchen Pearl on the platform, which spun silently and contained a blood-red light.

The camera on the suspended live broadcast sphere clearly transmitted the final scene.

The chat went blank for a moment, then exploded completely.