Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The observation room was very quiet.

The images on the eight black stone slabs silently emitted a faint light, with the huge bronze door image in the center particularly evoking a sense of unspoken oppression.

The last sentence on Wang Zanghai's jade slip—"The key is..."—hangs like a hook in everyone's heart.

"Where is the key?" Fatty Wang circled the white jade platform twice, practically pressing his eyes against the jade slip. "That old Wang, he only tells you half of what he means, it's driving me crazy!"

"Perhaps it's not that they don't want to say," Zhang Qiling said, looking at the erased marks on the jade slip, "it's that there wasn't enough time, or rather... they couldn't say."

"If I tell you, the key might fall into the wrong hands," Zhang Qiling added. His gaze shifted from the jade slip to a corner of the room. There was an inconspicuous bronze table there, on which sat a palm-sized bronze box.

He walked over and picked up the copper box. The box wasn't locked; it opened easily with a gentle lift. Inside was no key, only a small, irregularly shaped, black bone fragment with smooth edges, as if formed by long-term rubbing. One side of the fragment was engraved with a minimalist symbol—a miniature door with a kneeling figure in front of it.

"This is..." Xie Yuchen took the bone fragment and examined it carefully. "It looks like a token, or... an identification mark?"

"The gatekeeper's mark," said Zhang Qiling.

"Was this left by Wang Zanghai to his 'kinsmen'?" Huo Xiuxiu guessed.

Zhang Qiling didn't answer, and put the bone fragment away. He looked at the spiraling staircase: "Go to the top floor."

The group left the observation room and continued upwards. The air inside the tower seemed increasingly stagnant, carrying a musty, spice-like yet mineral-dust-like scent. The spiraling bronze staircase seemed endless, circling upwards into the darkness.

"I said," Wang Pangzi gasped, leaning on the railing, "how many floors does this tower actually have? We've climbed... how many floors already?"

"Eighth floor." Ah Ning glanced at the altimeter on her wrist.

"Only the eighth floor? I feel like my legs have gotten thinner!" the fat man wailed.

"It's a good thing your legs are thinner." Wu Xie was also tired, but he didn't forget to tease Fatty.

"Hey, Naïve, you've gone bad! You've picked up that sharp tongue from Blackie!"

"What does this have to do with me?" The man in black, walking ahead, turned around, his sunglasses reflecting the dim light. "This is the art of language, it's humor. Fatty, that's called lack of exercise. Look at those mute Zhangs, they don't even break a sweat."

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling," who were walking at the front, indeed had steady steps and even breathing, as if they were taking a stroll on flat ground rather than climbing a tower. Hearing Hei Xiazi's words, neither of them paused for a moment.

"Hey Zhang, you mute, can I ask you something?" Black Bear quickened his pace and moved closer to "Zhang Qiling". "Teach me how you crush the joints of the bronze puppet with your bare hands? Next time we meet, I can show off my skills so you won't keep saying I only know how to shoot from behind."

Zhang Qiling glanced at him, said nothing, and quickened her pace.

"Hey, don't go! Or, you could teach me how to recognize those ancient characters, okay? Look at Hua'er Ye and Xiu Xiu, they read those scribbles like they're reading a novel, so cool!"

This time, Zhang Qiling didn't even bother to glance at him.

Zhang Qiling slightly turned his head and glanced at Hei Xiazi. His gaze was indifferent, but Hei Xiazi inexplicably sensed a hint of "you're being noisy."

"Fine, they're ignoring me again." Hei Xiazi shrugged and retreated to Wu Xie and Fatty's side. "These two are mute, boring. You two are more fun, at least you can argue."

"Who argued with him?" Wu Xie and Fatty asked in unison, then glared at each other.

"Look how well we've got in sync," Black Bear chuckled.

Let's talk about the antics (mainly caused by Hei Xiazi, Wu Xie, and Fatty), we've moved up another level. The ninth level.

This level has no rooms; it's simply a massive circular platform. The platform's edge is bordered by waist-high bronze railings, beyond which lies a bottomless, hollow tower. Looking down, one can only see scattered, cold lights on the lower platforms and a deeper, seemingly all-consuming darkness. Looking up, the dome appears closer, revealing its intricate bronze structure and even more luminous star-patterned beads.

In the center of the platform stood a solitary bronze stele. It was not tall, only reaching chest height. There were no elaborate carvings on it, only three deep, powerful, ancient seal characters:

"At the end of the ruins"

"The end of the ruins?" Xie Yuchen murmured. "Is this the top of the tower? But up there..."

He looked up, and there seemed to be space in the dome.

Zhang Qiling walked to the monument and touched the three characters. Then, he looked at Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling was also looking at the stele. He was silent for a few seconds, then walked to the back of the stele. The back was smooth, but in the center, there was a shallow, palm-shaped indentation.

"Should I press it?" Fatty Wang asked curiously.

Zhang Qiling didn't answer, but only glanced at "Zhang Qiling". "Zhang Qiling" nodded.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" simultaneously stretched out their hands and placed their right palms on either side of the palm print indentation.

Perfectly fitted.

Both of their palms were slightly larger than the dent, but the moment they touched, a soft "click" came from inside the bronze tablet.

Then, the entire bronze stele slowly slid to one side, revealing a dark opening below. The opening was small, only wide enough for one person to pass through, and cold air rushed up from below, carrying an even stronger sense of antiquity.

"There's another road below?" Jiang Xun Gu asked in surprise.

"The heart of the tower," Zhang Qiling said. He withdrew his hand, glanced at the cave entrance, and then looked at the others. "I'm going down."

"Together," said Zhang Qiling.

"What might happen next..." Xie Yuchen said with some worry.

"It's alright," Zhang Qiling interrupted him calmly. "Just wait."

After saying that, he braced himself against the edge of the cave entrance with one hand and leaped down lightly. "Zhang Qiling" followed closely behind.

The two figures were instantly swallowed by darkness.

The people on top looked at each other in bewilderment. A moment of silence fell over the platform, broken only by the faint, eternal hum that seemed to emanate from somewhere within the tower.

"Just like that... jumped?" Fatty Wang peered down from the cave entrance, but it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything.

"We know what we're doing," Wu Xie said, though he himself was a little unsure.

"Are we just going to wait here like this?" Black Bear crossed his arms and leaned against the bronze railing. "How boring. Come on, Fatty, Naïve, let's get back to our previous topic. Which of you two is more nervous?"

"You're the one who's weak!" the two said in unison again.

The levitating live-streaming sphere hovered above the hole, its camera pointing down into the darkness. The live chat was intermittent due to the unstable signal inside the tower, but a few comments appeared at this moment:

Prophet: He's gone!

A solution to the experts' dissent: Just how deep is this tower?

The male fan club: Husbands, watch out!

The wait felt incredibly long. The platform was so quiet you could hear each other breathing. Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu were studying the bronze stele and the meaning of the three characters "Ruins at the End of the Ruins." A Ning and Jiang Xun Gu were keeping watch. Hei Xiazi, on the other hand, began to truly "interrogate" Wu Xie and Fatty, asking everything from who had the biggest appetite to who was afraid of the dark, until the two were thoroughly annoyed.

"Hey, can you shut up for a bit?" Wu Xie begged.

"No, this is to improve team understanding," Hei Xiazi said righteously. "Look, I don't even know who snores louder between you two when you're sleeping."

"I know!" Fatty Wang immediately raised his hand. "Tianzhen's snoring sounds like a kitten panting, so weak! Mine is... that's thunderous war drums, so powerful!"

"That's disturbing the peace!" Wu Xie blushed.

"I'm standing guard for you! With my snoring, what demons or monsters would dare come near?"

"The monsters and demons weren't scared away, but my teammates were scared to death first!"

The two started arguing again. Black Bear chuckled beside them, occasionally fanning the flames.

Just as they were making a racket (mainly Fatty and Wu Xie), a noise suddenly came from the cave entrance below.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" leaped out of the cave entrance one after the other. Both were covered in dust, but appeared unharmed. Zhang Qiling was holding something in his hand.

It is a narrow jade box about a foot long. The jade is warm and lustrous, with a deep blue color. There are no patterns on the surface, only a rustic luster that comes with age.

"Found it?" Xie Yuchen immediately stepped forward.

"Hmm." Zhang Qiling handed the jade box to Xie Yuchen. "It's from the inner coffin of the tower. It's Wang Zanghai's keepsake."

Xie Yuchen carefully took it. The jade box was unlocked and opened with a gentle lift. Inside were no gold or silver jewels, only a few rolls of white silk as thin as cicada wings, and a palm-sized, dark gold metal piece.

The silk was covered with densely packed ancient texts, even more profound than those on the jade slips in the observation room, interspersed with numerous star charts, formulas, and feng shui diagrams. The dark gold metal plate had one side smooth as a mirror, while the other side was engraved with an extremely complex, multi-layered, three-dimensional pattern, with a miniature bronze door at the center, surrounded by countless stars and flowing lines.

"This is..." Xie Yuchen's breath hitched, "A star map key? Or... a diagram of the door's structure?"

"Both." Zhang Qiling looked at the metal piece. "Wang Zanghai's lifelong research, and... the 'truth' he saw."

"He said 'The key is...', could this be the key?" Huo Xiuxiu asked.

"It's part of the key," Zhang Qiling said, "or, the 'method' of using the key."

Wu Xie looked at the contents of the jade box, and recalled the warning in Chen Wenjin's letter, his heart heavy. "Brother, what exactly did Wang Zanghai want in the end? Did he really just want to guard this place and observe that door?"

Zhang Qiling paused for a moment and looked at "Zhang Qiling".

Zhang Qiling's gaze fell on the bronze door pattern in the center of the metal plate, and he slowly spoke: "He wanted to go in. But later, he became afraid."

"Afraid of what's behind the door?" Fatty Wang asked.

"I'm also afraid," Zhang Qiling raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over everyone, "about what I'll be like once I'm inside."

These words sent a chill down everyone's spine. Wang Zanghai, a man of extraordinary talent and near-divine insight, ultimately chose to imprison himself in the heart of this underwater tower, to watch over it forever. What "truth" did he see behind the door, or what terrifying future did he foresee?

"These things must be taken back and studied carefully." Xie Yuchen solemnly put away the jade box. "The information here may be more important than all the clues we found before combined."

"It's time to go," Zhang Qiling said. He took one last look at the "End of Ruins" stone tablet, then turned and headed down the stairs.

Zhang Qiling also withdrew his gaze and followed.

The group retraced their steps. Passing through the observation chamber, traversing layers of circular platforms, and descending the long, spiraling bronze staircase, their feelings upon leaving were entirely different from their arrival. This tower was no longer a simple tomb or ruin; it was more like a heavy question mark, a warning spanning millennia, weighing on everyone's hearts.

When they finally emerged from the bronze tower and stood once more in the plaza surrounded by nine blue-flame bronze pillars, they all felt a sense of disorientation, as if they had returned to the mortal realm. The tower gates behind them closed silently, sealing away all the secrets once more.

The floating live-streaming ball flew out, and the chat became active again:

Prophet: They're out! It seems they've obtained something very important!

Specialist to quell dissent: Their faces don't look too good, what's inside the tower?

The guy's fan club: It's good that he came out safely!

"Let's go back." Xie Yuchen looked back at the spiral stone steps they had come from.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" walked at the front. Their figures remained upright and silent under the dim blue light, but Wu Xie felt that there seemed to be something more in that silence.

Something heavier, and something more resolute.

Before leaving the square and stepping into the darkness beneath the spiral stone steps, Zhang Qiling stopped, turned back, and took one last look at the majestic bronze tower that emitted a faint blue glow in the darkness.

Zhang Qiling also stopped, stood beside him, and looked back as well.

Neither of them said anything.

But that moment of silence seemed to contain a thousand unspoken words.

Then they turned and stepped into the darkness that rose above them, never to look back.