Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

Three days is neither a long nor a short time.

The atmosphere inside the villa found a delicate balance between tense preparation and deliberate relaxation.

The research continued, the equipment list grew longer, but the meals were never missed, and the banter never faltered.

That day at lunchtime, Aunt Chen made one of her signature dishes: boiled fish. The red oil was glistening, the fish meat was snow-white, and the side dishes were plentiful, filling the whole house with its aroma.

"Wow! Aunt Chen, we're having a nice meal today!" Fatty Wang's eyes widened, and he rubbed his hands together, chopsticks already in his grasp.

"Everyone's been working hard lately, let's have some nourishment." Aunt Chen smiled and brought out another large bowl of rice.

Everyone sat around the table, just about to pick up their chopsticks.

Suddenly, Hei Xiazi exclaimed "Eh!" and his chopsticks made a sharp turn in the air. Instead of picking up the fish, he swiftly reached for the condiment bowl in front of Wang Pangzi.

"Fatty, there's not enough chili in your dipping sauce. Let me add some more." As he spoke, a small spoonful of dark red chili powder appeared on his chopsticks, which he was about to shake into Fatty's bowl.

"Hey! Put it down! Blackie, that's not fair!" Fatty Wang reacted quickly, blocking the bowl with his hand. "My dipping sauce is an art! It's all about the perfect balance of numbing, spicy, fresh, fragrant, and hot flavors! If you put that devil pepper powder in, the art will turn into a disaster!"

"Art?" Black Bear's chopsticks hovered in mid-air, a smile playing on his lips behind his sunglasses. "I think it's cowardice. Eating boiled fish that isn't spicy is no different from eating boiled cabbage in clear broth. Fatty, your fighting power isn't up to par."

"Who says I can't?" Fatty Wang retorted, "I'm just holding back, taking it slow and steady! But you, Blackie, stop criticizing me. What's in your dish besides chili peppers? That's not eating fish, that's chili peppers mixed with chili peppers!"

As everyone looked, sure enough, in the small dish in front of Hei Xiazi, half the dish was filled with bright red chili flakes and chili oil, with only a thin layer of soy sauce at the bottom.

"What do you know?" Black Bear slowly put away his chopsticks, poured a small spoonful of chili powder into his own bowl, stirred it, and said, "This is more like it. Eating fish is all about enjoying it to the fullest."

"That's called self-torture!" Fatty Wang protested, turning to Wu Xie beside him. "Tianzhen, you be the judge!"

Wu Xie was carefully picking up a piece of fish when he heard this, and without even looking up, he said, "What reason am I supposed to give? You two, one of you won't stop until you're dead from the spiciness, and the other of you will need to drink water tonight if you eat too much. You're both equally bad, so neither of you should laugh at the other."

"Hey!" Fatty Wang glared.

"Xiao Xie is right," Xie Yuchen said with a smile, elegantly picking out fish bones. "A balanced diet is important; too much of anything is bad. Fatty, you should learn from Xiao Ge and the others; look how steady they are."

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" sat together, their eating movements almost synchronized. They picked up food, removed bones, put it in their mouths, chewed—not too fast, not too slow, their faces expressionless, as if they weren't eating tempting boiled fish, but rather completing some predetermined procedure. In their small dishes, the condiments were simple: a little soy sauce, a little vinegar, a few drops of sesame oil, a few chopped green onions, and nothing else.

"See that?" Fatty Wang pointed at them. "That's called composure, that's called a high level of composure! Unlike you, Black Glasses, who looks like you have a grudge against chili peppers."

"They are them, and I am me." Black Bear picked up a slice of fish coated in chili peppers, put it in his mouth without changing his expression, chewed a few times, swallowed with a slight Adam's apple bobbing, and then said, "Everyone has their own ambitions, oh no, everyone has their own stomach. Right, Dumb Zhang?"

Zhang Qiling raised his eyelids and glanced at him, but didn't say anything and continued eating with his head down.

Zhang Qiling surprisingly chimed in, "My stomach hurts, don't shout."

"Pfft—" Huo Xiuxiu couldn't help but laugh out loud, and quickly covered her mouth.

Black Bear choked for a moment, his sunglasses tilting slightly: "...Fine, you two are ruthless."

The meal was finished amidst much noise. Fatty Wang ate too quickly, his breath coming in gasps from the spiciness, and he gulped down several glasses of cold water. Black Bear remained expressionless, though beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

After the meal, everyone went about their own business. Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu went to the study again. A Ning and Jiang Xun Gu were in the yard checking some of the equipment that had been delivered, mainly lightweight outdoor gear and tools.

Wu Xie helped Aunt Chen clear the dishes. Fatty Wang was sprawled on the sofa watching TV, but his eyes were half-closed, clearly dozing off. Hei Xiazi pulled out a small teapot from somewhere, sat on the rocking chair on the balcony, and leisurely drank tea and basked in the sun.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" went to the old locust tree again. This time they didn't stand, but sat on the stone bench under the tree. One stared blankly at the distant sky, while the other lowered his head and unconsciously drew some kind of pattern on the ground with a small twig, like some kind of ancient, continuous symbol.

The levitating livestream ball floated slowly in the living room, the camera panning across the relaxed (or pretending to be relaxed) state of everyone inside and outside the house. The comments section also lightened up accordingly:

Daily check-in! Fish for dinner today!

The fat guy and the black guy were arguing again, it was hilarious.

The two guys eating together looked like they were copied and pasted.

Blackie can really handle spicy food!

The spirit medium is actually making sarcastic remarks! Haha!

Even when the mute Zhangs are spacing out, they're in sync.

It felt like the calm before the storm.

In the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly. Fatty Wang woke up, rubbing his stomach as he strolled into the yard. He saw Aning and Jiang Xungu fiddling with a bunch of things, so he went over to them.

"Hey, is this a new arrival? Looks pretty good." The fat man picked up a multi-functional entrenching tool, weighed it in his hand, and said, "It's heavy enough, and it's sharpened? Good stuff."

"Hmm, it's custom-made, lightweight, but strong enough." Ah Ning continued inspecting a bundle of specially made climbing ropes without looking up.

"This rope has a pretty flashy color, fluorescent green?" the fat man tugged at it.

"For nighttime signage," Jiang Xungu explained.

"What about this?" The fat man picked up a small black box about the size of a palm, with a few buttons and a small screen on it.

"Portable integrated detector," Zhang Qiling's voice came from the side. He had walked over at some point, picked up another identical box, and said, "Measure geology, metals, and weak energy fields."

"Energy field?" The fat man blinked.

"Hmm," Zhang Qiling pressed a button, and the small screen lit up, displaying a calm ripple. "Like this, normal. If there's an anomaly, the ripples will change."

"Wow, that's high-tech!" the fat man exclaimed. "Could this thing detect ancient tombs?"

"No," Zhang Qiling said decisively, "I can only provide support."

"That's enough!" the fat man said smugly, as if the thing already belonged to him.

Wu Xie also came out of the house and saw the detector. He became interested and discussed its principles and sensitivity with Zhang Qiling. Although Zhang Qiling didn't say much, he explained it very clearly.

Zhang Qiling also came over, picked up a short-handled hunting knife that had been inspected, pulled it out of its sheath to look at the blade, tested the edge with his finger, nodded, put it back in the sheath, and returned it to the pile of equipment.

"Oh, right," Wu Xie suddenly remembered something and looked at Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling," "This time we're going to the Northwest. The environment there is dry, windy, and the temperature difference between day and night is huge. Should we prepare some special clothes for you? I mean, clothes that are windproof and sandproof, but also easy to move in."

Zhang Qiling looked down at his ever-present black hoodie, then at the outfit worn by "Zhang Qiling," and said nothing.

Zhang Qiling glanced at his clothes and uttered two words: "That's enough."

"It's enough, but it could be more comfortable," Fatty Wang interjected. "For example, a windproof jacket with a face mask, pants with tapered cuffs, and we'd need to change our shoes too. Ordinary sneakers won't do for walking on the Gobi Desert."

"That makes sense," Xie Yuchen's voice came from the study window. "I've already ordered them, they'll be delivered tomorrow. Two sets per person, according to size."

"Master Hua is reliable!" The fat man gave a thumbs up.

Black Bear strolled over, picked up a newly arrived, uniquely designed folding crossbow, weighed it in his hand, and then gestured towards a branch of a tree in the distance: "This crossbow has good power, but I don't know how accurate it is. Dumb Zhang, want to give it a try?"

As he spoke, he handed the crossbow to Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling took it, didn't aim properly, raised his hand, and pulled the trigger.

With a soft "whoosh," a short crossbow bolt struck the center of a thumb-thick branch thirty meters away, its fletching trembling slightly.

"Tsk, not bad." Black Glasses nodded, then looked at "Zhang Qiling," "Brother Qiling, why don't you join us?"

Zhang Qiling shook his head and pointed to the tree branch.

Everyone looked and saw that next to the arrow shaft that Zhang Qiling had just shot, a thin, sharp-edged stone shard was firmly embedded in the branch. The stone shard had cut into the branch to almost the same depth as the crossbow bolt.

When did they make their move? No one saw it clearly. Even Zhang Qiling glanced at "Zhang Qiling".

Zhang Qiling remained calm, as if he had merely tossed a stone aside.

"...Fine, never mind." Black Bear took the crossbow back and muttered, "You two have absolutely no sense of humor."

"This entertainment cost is too high," Wu Xie complained. "What did the tree branch do wrong?"

Everyone laughed. Even Zhang Qiling's lips seemed to curve into a barely perceptible smile.

As the sun set, dinner was rather light. After dinner, everyone chatted in the living room, and the conversation gradually turned to the Northwest and the Wang family.

"You guys think that guy surnamed Wang is clearly testing us this time," Fatty Wang said, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, munching on an apple. "Should we prepare a 'surprise' for them too? Like, bring some 'local specialties' over?"

"What local specialties?" Wu Xie asked.

"For example," the fat man lowered his voice, winking, "the fact that Brother Qi and Brother Xiao Ling are just standing there is their biggest 'specialty.' Or, we could bring the live-streaming ball and broadcast the whole thing live, so they can't pull any tricks under the camera!"

"We'll definitely bring it to the live stream," Xie Yuchen said. "It's our protective charm, and also a record. But if the other party really wants to cause trouble, they'll find a way to avoid the camera. As for the 'surprise'..." He looked at Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling".

Zhang Qiling looked at Zhang Qiling. Zhang Qiling was silent for a few seconds, then said, "No need."

"Yes," Zhang Qiling replied, "we'll respond to each move as it comes."

It means to respond to all changes with constancy. Faced with absolute strength and clear understanding, many calculations are futile.

"Indeed," Black Glasses said, toying with a dagger. "In the face of absolute power, skill is a joke. However, we still need to be cautious. Aning, Xiao Jiang, check everything carefully."

"Don't worry, Mr. Black." Ah Ning nodded.

"Get some rest," Xie Yuchen said, glancing at the time. "The equipment will arrive tomorrow. We'll do a final check and then set off early the day after tomorrow."

The crowd dispersed. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" stood in the courtyard for a while as usual before returning to their rooms.

As night deepened, the villa fell silent. Only the occasional chirping of insects and the faint sound of traffic in the distance could be heard.

The indicator light on the floating live-streaming ball switched to a soft standby light, and the camera captured a corner of this peaceful night. The comments gradually thinned out, with only a few "Goodnight" and "Sweet dreams" occasionally appearing.

But everyone knows that beneath this calm, undercurrents are already surging.

My trip to the Northwest is just around the corner.