Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The cave entrance was pitch black, and hot air, carrying sulfur and an even deeper, fishy smell, poured out continuously.

The flashlight beam shone in, but seemed to be swallowed by the darkness, illuminating very little. Only the rough, rocky ground beneath my feet stretched out in the beam.

"Walk."

After Zhang Qiling finished speaking, he bent down first and crawled into the cave.

"Zhang Qiling" followed closely behind, his figure disappearing into the darkness.

The others followed in turn.

The cave entrance was wider than I had imagined, enough for two people to walk side by side, but the air was hotter and more humid, and the stone walls were damp with water droplets.

The pulsating sound of the "core" was even clearer here, thump...thump...like the heartbeat of a sleeping behemoth, causing a dull echo in the narrow space, making people's eardrums numb.

The levitating live-streaming ball flew in front of the team, its green light striving to illuminate the path ahead.

The camera pans across swaying rocks, through deep passages, and the silent silhouettes of people moving forward.

After the battle ended, the barrage of bullets finally became dense again.

The passage is naturally formed, rugged and uneven, sometimes going up and sometimes down. Sometimes you have to climb steep slopes and sometimes squeeze sideways through narrow crevices in the rocks.

The temperature continued to rise, and sweat quickly soaked through my clothes.

The smell of sulfur in the air had faded somewhat, but there was an indescribable sweet and fishy odor, similar to the secretions of some kind of biological glands, which made people dizzy after smelling it for a while.

After walking for about half an hour, a different kind of light appeared faintly ahead.

It wasn't the light of a flashlight, but a dim, faint blue-green fluorescent light that seemed to come from deep underground.

The passage suddenly opens up, connecting to a huge, unimaginable underground space.

The group stood on the platform at the exit of the passage, speechless with shock at the sight before them.

This is an incredibly vast underground cavity, as if the entire interior of the mountain had been hollowed out.

The top of the cave is extremely high, hidden in endless darkness. Only tiny fungi or minerals that emit a blue-green fluorescent glow cling to the rock walls, like an inverted starry sky, providing a faint light source.

Below the cavity lies an unfathomable abyss, a vast expanse of swirling, impenetrable darkness, like an uncharted chasm.

In front of the platform where they were, and on the hollow rock walls that were faintly visible in the dim fluorescent light, were countless huge and indescribable architectural structures attached, embedded, and suspended.

These were not simple houses or pavilions, but towers, palaces, corridors, and bridges of extremely ancient and strange style, constructed entirely of dark blue stone, bronze, and some kind of black wood...

They exist in a way that defies gravity and common sense, either clinging tightly to vertical rock walls, extending out of rock walls and suspended in mid-air, or connected by incredibly thick bronze chains, spanning huge voids.

These buildings are layered and interconnected, forming a vast, complex, bizarre, and breathtaking three-dimensional "city of buildings" suspended above an abyss.

The building's surface is covered with traces of time's erosion, and vines and glowing moss climb all over the broken walls and ruins.

Many buildings have collapsed, leaving only skeletons, with massive stone beams and bronze components jutting out into the darkness below.

The entire "city of buildings" was silent and lifeless, except for the pulse of the "core," which emanated continuously from the deepest part of the abyss, from a certain core location of this massive structure.

"My God..."

Fatty Wang plopped down on the edge of the platform, not caring about getting dirty, tilting his head back, mouth agape, completely speechless.

Wu Xie was also stunned, his glasses reflecting the dim fluorescent light and the blurry outlines of the buildings.

"This...this is the Zhang Family Ancient Building? Not just a building...this is a city...a city suspended above an abyss..."

“It’s not a city,” Xie Yuchen’s voice was filled with suppressed excitement and disbelief, “it’s… a fortress, or rather, a prison. Look at the layout and structure of those buildings, they’re mutually supportive, layered with defenses, and the internal passages must be intricate and complex. This doesn’t seem like a residence, it’s more like a place for… imprisoning, researching, or suppressing something. Moreover, it’s much older than we imagined, and some of the building styles are ones I’ve never seen in any records.”

"Suppression..." Zhang Qiling stared at the lifeless, three-dimensional city, slowly uttering two words, "'Nuclear'?"

"Very likely," Huo Xiuxiu interjected, taking out a portable device to monitor the energy levels in the air. "The readings are soaring here. The 'core' is right below us, or deep within this complex. The entire architectural structure may have been built to confine, guide, or utilize the energy of the 'core.'"

Zhang Qiling did not participate in the discussion.

He stood at the very front of the platform, his sharp gaze sweeping over the massive three-dimensional building complex below.

The pull of blood reached its peak here, like countless thin threads extending from different locations deep within the complex, drawing him in.

However, one of the most obvious and urgent pulls points to the lower part of the complex, to a relatively complete tower-like building with distinct multi-layered eaves.

"There," he said, pointing to the tower.

Zhang Qiling sensed it too and nodded: "The strongest one is inside."

"How do we get across?" Black Bear looked down into the bottomless darkness, then at the aerial walkways suspended in mid-air, made of rotten planks and rusted chains, looking like they could break at any moment. "Playing aerial acrobatics?"

There are indeed several suspended walkways leading to buildings in different directions along the edge of the platform, as well as some rusty bronze staircases fixed to the rock face.

But no matter which road you choose, it looks extremely dangerous.

Aning checked the safety rope and rock bolts: "We can use ropes and pulleys to build a simple cableway. But it needs a fixed point and a reliable anchor point on the opposite bank."

"Look there," Jiang Xun Gu pointed to the rock wall on the side of the platform, where there was a narrow walkway carved into the rock and sloping downwards. There was a rusted bronze railing on one side of the walkway, which meandered downwards and seemed to lead to the lower part of the building complex. "There is a path down, but I don't know where it leads."

"Let's take the plank road," Zhang Qiling decided, "it's more stable."

The plank road is steep and slippery, and many parts of the bronze railings are rusted and broken, so extra caution is required.

The group was tied together again with safety ropes, and one by one they slowly descended.

The plank road clings to the rock wall, with a dizzying abyss on the outside and a desolate, three-dimensional city below, its eerie blue glow flickering in the darkness like countless watchful eyes.

The levitating live-streaming sphere flew along the outside of the walkway, capturing the breathtaking scene and the eerie architecture above the abyss.

After walking down the boardwalk for a long time, it finally connected to a relatively wide sky corridor paved with stone slabs.

The corridor connects several buildings, some with broken doors and windows, and the interior is dark.

Zhang Qiling did not stop and led everyone to continue towards the tower with the strongest sense of attraction.

Walking through these ancient buildings that have been silent for countless years feels strangely eerie.

A shadow seemed to flash behind the broken window frame, and whispers seemed to linger in the empty room, but upon closer inspection and listening, there was nothing there.

Only the omnipresent dust and the eternal heartbeat remain.

Finally, they arrived at the tower.

The tower has seven stories, with upturned eaves and corners, and its ancient style is relatively well preserved.

At the bottom is a tightly closed, heavy bronze door. The door is not carved, but has only a circular, recessed, intricate pattern with a small hole in the center.

Zhang Qiling walked to the door and looked at the pattern.

He took out the flat bronze box that he had obtained from next to the remains of "Zhang Qiling" from his pocket.

The size and shape of the box bear some resemblance to the outline of the recessed pattern on the door.

He tried pressing the bronze box into the recess.

Perfectly fitted.

But the door remained closed.

Zhang Qiling stepped forward, stretched out his hand, and slowly moved his fingertips along the patterns on the door, feeling the extremely faint flow of energy within.

"It requires... activation. Blood, or... something else."

Zhang Qiling paused for a moment, then pricked his fingertip again, dripping a drop of blood into the small hole in the center of the pattern.

The blood was dripped in and quickly absorbed.

The pattern on the door suddenly lit up with a dark red light, flowing along the lines.

But it only lit up for a moment before going out again.

The door remained tightly shut.

"Not enough," said Zhang Qiling, "or rather, not right."

"Try this," Xie Yuchen suddenly said.

He took out the jade eye that he had obtained from the Qinling jade box.

The jade eye seemed to sense this as well, and the central vortex emitted a soft glow.

Zhang Qiling took the jade eye, hesitated for a moment, and gently pressed it into the small hole in the center of the pattern that had absorbed the blood droplets.

Size, a perfect match.

The moment the jade eye was inserted, the entire bronze door shook violently!

The pattern on the door shone brightly, turning from dark red to a deep, dark blue!

The vortex at the center of the jade eye began to slowly rotate, emitting a low hum.

"Creak—Boom—"

The heavy bronze door slowly opened inward.

Behind the door was not a room, but a spiraling bronze staircase extending downwards.

Below the steps, a massive energy surged forth, more concentrated, purer, and yet more unsettling than outside, along with... a strange echo that seemed to come from ancient times, a chorus of countless people chanting in unison.

At the end of the stairs, a deep blue light shimmered.

The origin of the "nucleus" seems to be below.

Zhang Qiling withdrew the light from his jade eyes, which had dimmed slightly, and met the gaze of "Zhang Qiling".

The two took the lead and stepped onto the downward spiral staircase.

The people behind took a deep breath and followed.

The floating live-streaming ball flew into the entrance, where green light illuminated the ancient bronze steps and the deep blue light below.

New unknowns lie beneath our feet.