Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

As dawn broke, the convoy drove out of the villa area and headed for the dock.

The city was still asleep in the early morning, and the streets were deserted. A mid-sized bus, carrying people and equipment, moved silently among several SUVs. Fatty Wang had taken another nap in the bus, and when Wu Xie woke him up, he could already smell the salty, damp sea breeze.

The dock wasn't large, with a few fishing boats and cargo ships moored there. Their boat was moored in the outermost berth; it was an old-looking iron-hulled fishing boat, but well-maintained, with a dark blue hull and the three characters of its name, "Sea Eagle," faded and worn. Captain "Old Hai" was already waiting on deck, wearing a faded sailor's shirt, smoking an old pipe, his bronze face deeply lined, his eyes like two black pebbles polished by the sea. Behind him stood two younger sailors, one adjusting the mooring lines, the other inspecting the hull.

"Boss Xie." Old Hai nodded to Xie Yuchen, his voice hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against wood. His gaze swept over everyone, lingering a moment longer on Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling," without much change in expression.

"Uncle Hai, thank you for your help." Xie Yuchen stepped forward and briefly introduced the team members, simply saying that they were an "exploration team".

Old Hai grunted in agreement, asked no further questions, and waved for the sailors to help carry the equipment. The equipment crates were carefully lifted onto the ship and placed in the cabin. Everyone then boarded the ship in turn. The ship wasn't large, but it was clearly divided into functional areas, including living quarters, equipment compartments, and a small bridge.

The levitating live-streaming sphere followed them, hovering above the deck after everyone boarded. Zhang Qiling glanced at the sphere, said nothing, and didn't turn it off. The sphere flashed and went into operation.

The comments started scrolling:

Prophet: It's airing! It's airing! Is this time it's going overseas?

To silence the so-called experts: This ship looks a bit old, is it any good?

The male fan club: Where are our husbands going this time? The background is the sea!

"Weigh anchor, set sail," Old Hai gave a brief order. The engine roared, the hull vibrated, and the ship slowly left the dock, heading out of the harbor.

The sea was relatively calm, and the rising sun leaped above the horizon, casting countless golden rays. The sea breeze carried a salty tang, feeling damp and cool on the face. Seagulls flew alongside the boat, emitting clear cries. As we moved further from the shore, the seawater changed from a murky yellowish-green to a deep azure.

Fatty Wang leaned over the gunwale and took a deep breath: "This is the taste of the sea! Freedom! Vastness!"

"Stop being sentimental," Wu Xie said, looking at the boundless sea, feeling a little uneasy. "Fatty, are you seasick?"

"Seasickness? Are you kidding me!" The fat man patted his chest. "What storms haven't I weathered... um..." Before he could finish speaking, his expression suddenly changed, and he covered his mouth.

"Haha, got your comeuppance?" Black Glasses approached from nowhere, his sunglasses reflecting the light. "The seasickness medicine is with Flower Master. Want a couple? You can still take them now."

"Who, who wants to eat!" the fat man stubbornly insisted, but his steps were unsteady as he moved towards the cabin. "I, I'll go check the equipment..."

Wu Xie shook his head helplessly, feeling a little dizzy himself, probably because he hadn't gotten used to the swaying of the ship. He looked at Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling," who were standing at the bow of the ship, facing the sea breeze, standing steadily with their clothes fluttering and their bodies motionless, as if nailed to the deck.

"Aren't you guys seasick?" Jiang Xun Gu also came over, holding onto the gunwale, his face a little pale.

"They probably don't even know what seasickness is." Xie Yuchen came out of the cockpit and handed Wu Xie and Jiang Xun Gu each a small bottle. "Take one, it'll help. It's normal to feel unwell, it'll get better slowly."

Aning and Huo Xiuxiu were checking their diving equipment, retesting some key components. Hei Xiazi was chatting with one of Lao Hai's sailors, inquiring about the weather and currents in the area.

At noon, we had a simple meal on the ship. Lao Hai personally took the helm, and the ship headed southeast. Occasionally, we could see the silhouettes of other ships in the distance, but they quickly disappeared from sight. The further we sailed, the deeper the seawater became, almost turning inky blue, and the sky appeared even higher and more expansive.

In the afternoon, the weather began to change. Grayish-white clouds piled up on the distant horizon, the sea breeze picked up, the waves rose higher, and the ship rocked more violently. Fatty Wang finally couldn't hold on any longer and vomited violently against the ship's side, clutching a bucket. Wu Xie also felt his stomach churning, but he tried his best to hold it in.

"Is the weather about to change?" Xie Yuchen asked Lao Hai.

Old Hai glanced at the sky, then at the radar and instruments: "The weather here changes very quickly. There might be rain ahead, but not much. Fog Reef Island is just below that cloud."

Sure enough, after driving for about an hour, the sea ahead was shrouded in a thick, grayish-white fog. The fog stretched like a giant wall between the sea and the sky, its edges churning and surging, obscuring everything inside. The sunlight seemed to be swallowed up here, and the light dimmed.

"This is it." Old Hai slowed down, and the ship slowly approached the edge of the fog wall. "Visibility is very low inside, the currents are turbulent, and there are hidden reefs. I can only take you to the outer edge; any further in, and the ship could easily run into trouble."

"That's it," Xie Yuchen nodded. "We're going into the water. Uncle Hai, you wait for our signal on the outside."

"Okay." Lao Hai took out a few waterproof communicators. "These will work for short distances. Once you get into the fog, the regular signal will drop. Press this if you need anything."

Everyone changed into their diving suits. The diving suits were specially made, warm, pressure-resistant, and had built-in miniature communicators. Oxygen tanks, regulators, masks, fins, weights, dive computers, underwater lights, weapon pouches... each piece of equipment was checked and put on. With the help of A Ning and Huo Xiuxiu, Wang Pangzi and Wu Xie finally managed to get their equipment in order.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" were the quickest to react, already fully dressed, with their air tanks strapped to their backs, standing on the ship's railing. Both were dressed in black diving suits, which made their slender and agile figures appear even more striking.

Zhang Qiling looked at Zhang Qiling, who nodded. The two made a gesture almost simultaneously—thumbs down—before leaping into the sea. The movements were clean, and they barely made a splash upon entering the water.

"Keep up!" Xie Yuchen ordered.

Hei Xiazi, Jiang Xun Gu, A Ning, and Huo Xiuxiu entered the water one after another. Wu Xie took a deep breath, exchanged a glance with Wang Pangzi, and jumped in as well.

The seawater was icy cold, instantly enveloping his entire body. He felt pressure in his eardrums and quickly pinched his nose, blowing hard to steady himself. Opening his eyes, he saw a slightly blurry underwater world behind his mask. Sunlight shone through the surface, turning into shimmering beams of light, but not far ahead lay a dark, fog-shrouded expanse of water.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" were already a few meters ahead, hovering in the water, waiting for them to gather. The two gestured for them to follow closely, then turned and swam towards the bottom of the fog wall.

The group turned on their underwater lights, the beams piercing the darkness. Then, the two men submerged beneath the wall of fog.

Upon entering the fog wall's range, the feeling was immediately different. The seawater seemed colder, visibility dropped sharply, and the lights could only illuminate two or three meters away. Everything around was a chaotic gray-white, making it impossible to distinguish up from down, left from right, or right; only the turbulent currents jostled against our bodies. A buzzing electrical sound came from the communicator, and we could barely hear each other's short, labored breaths.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" swam at the forefront, their speed slow but their direction steady. They seemed unaffected by the darkness and turbulent currents, always managing to find relatively calm waterways. Occasionally, strange shadows would flit across the edges of the beams of light, their forms indistinct, but they would quickly vanish.

After swimming for about ten minutes, a blurry black outline appeared ahead. Upon closer inspection, it was a reef area on the seabed. The reefs were jagged and riddled with holes and seaweed. In the middle of the reefs, a sloping, man-made opening could be vaguely seen, half-hidden by seaweed and coral.

The entrance to the cave was small, only allowing one person to pass at a time. Inside, it was pitch black and bottomless.

Zhang Qiling stopped at the cave entrance, gestured for a check of equipment, and prepared to enter. He glanced back at the group, his gaze lingering on Wu Xie and Fatty Wang for a moment before he nodded.

"Zhang Qiling" had already swum to the side of the cave entrance, reached out and touched the cave wall, shone the light inside, and then made a "safe" gesture to Zhang Qiling.

The levitating live-streaming sphere, waterproof, stayed close by. The camera captured the eerie entrance to the dark seabed and the fully armed crew.

The live chat became intermittent after entering the fog area due to signal problems, but a few messages could still be seen:

Prophet: Found it!

This is a tactic to silence the so-called experts: This hole looks terrifying.

The male fan club: Husbands, watch out!

Zhang Qiling was the first to crawl into the cave. "Zhang Qiling" followed closely behind. The others entered one by one.

Inside the cave entrance is a downward-sloping passageway, man-made and covered with thick marine sediment and strange, faintly phosphorescent mosses that provide some illumination. The water flow slows down here, but the temperature drops.

The passageway was long, stretching downwards. After swimming for a few minutes, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a vast underwater space. The space was arched, resembling a submerged natural cave that had been transformed. The floor was paved with smooth stone slabs, and one could vaguely see some collapsed stone pillars and traces of carving. Most striking was a massive stone monument standing in the center of the space. The monument was black, its surface covered with traces of marine life, but intricate patterns and characters could still be discerned on it.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" swam to the stone tablet and brushed away the debris. Under the light, the pattern on the stone tablet was revealed—a giant eye, with a swirling vortex at the pupil. Below the pattern, a line of ancient characters was carved.

Xie Yuchen approached and identified it through the communicator. The voice had static, but it was clear: "'The Eye of Guixu, leading to the Netherworld.' It's Wang Zanghai's mark."

"Guixu..." Wu Xie recalled the ancient records about the bottomless abyss at the bottom of the sea.

"Zhang Qiling" pointed to the bottom of the stone tablet. There was a groove there, irregularly shaped, but about the same size as the jade eye in their hands.

Zhang Qiling took out the jade eye, compared it to the container, and shook his head. This wasn't the place to put the jade eye.

"Look there." Ah Ning's light shone behind the stone tablet. There, in the cave wall, there was a crack, and behind the crack, there was a larger space, and... a faint blue, slowly flickering light.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" exchanged a glance and swam towards the crevice at the same time.

The crack was narrow, but barely wide enough to squeeze through. Inside was a much wider cavern, and in the center stood a small, entirely bronze model of a palace. Only the size of an ordinary room, it was complete with eaves, brackets, doors, and windows, its craftsmanship astonishing. The model's surface was covered in verdigris, but the eerie blue light emanated from the cracks in its tightly closed doors and windows.

In front of the palace model, on the underwater stone slab, lay several skeletons dressed in old-fashioned diving suits, their postures contorted, as if they had suffered immense pain before death. Beside the skeletons lay some rusted equipment and tools, as well as a few old-fashioned waterproof diaries.

Wu Xie swam closer and carefully picked up a diary. The notebook had been specially treated; although it was soaked in water, the handwriting was still barely legible. He turned to the first page, and in the flashlight's beam, he saw a line of familiar handwriting:

"Xisha Archaeological Team, Chen Wenjin, July 15, 1984."