Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The moment that thing moved, the air in the entire cave seemed to freeze.

It's not a pounce, it's not a jump.

It is "peristalsis".

On the surface of the dark green meat, all the eyes blinked simultaneously.

Then the tentacles that had burrowed into the ground and the corpse suddenly contracted.

The piece of meat bounced up with the force of the impact.

It drew a sticky arc in mid-air.

It crashed straight down on "Zhang Qiling" at the very front.

The speed is astonishing.

But "Zhang Qiling" is faster.

He did not back down.

He didn't even turn to the side.

Just as the piece of meat was about to hit his face, he took a half step back with his left foot.

The body veered to the right in an almost impossible arc.

The piece of meat flew past his shoulder.

The stench that it stirred up caused the stray hairs on his forehead to flutter backward.

His right hand was already gripping the hilt of the knife behind his back.

The sound of the black gold ancient sword being drawn was exceptionally clear in the cave.

The sound didn't resemble the friction of metal.

It was more like a heavy, chilling sigh.

The blade traced a dark arc in mid-air.

There are no fancy moves.

There are no extra tracks.

It's just a very simple horizontal slash.

Cut straight down from right to left.

The target is not the meat itself.

Those were the tentacles that extended from the bottom of the flesh.

The feeling of the blade cutting into sticky flesh was strange.

It's not like cutting into meat.

It's more like cutting into a slick of water-soaked sponge.

But the sharpness of the Black Gold Ancient Sword far exceeds what ordinary people can imagine.

The dark green tentacles offered almost no resistance to the blade.

Like cutting butter with a hot knife.

Seven or eight of them broke off in a row.

What spurted out from the cut was not blood.

It is a dark green, pungent, fishy-smelling viscous liquid.

The chunk of meat emitted a sharp hiss, unlike anything any living creature could make.

The sound does not travel through the air.

Instead, it goes directly into a person's brain.

It stung my eardrums.

It twisted suddenly in mid-air.

The remaining tentacles danced wildly.

It's trying to grab onto something to steady itself.

But it didn't get a chance.

Because "Zhang Qiling" has already moved.

As Zhang Qiling drew his sword, he had already circled around from the side.

His movements are completely different from the precise and calm style of "Zhang Qiling".

More direct.

More violent.

It's more like a ferocious beast pouncing on its prey.

He did not draw his sword.

Instead, it rushed directly to where the meat chunks had landed.

Lift your right foot before the piece of meat has completely hit the ground.

A side kick landed hard on the side of the flesh.

That kick was incredibly powerful.

The chunk of meat was kicked and sent flying sideways.

It crashed heavily against the rock wall on the other side of the cave.

The dull thud of the impact echoed through the cave.

Several fine cracks appeared on the rock face.

The eyes on the surface of the meat chunk started spinning wildly from the impact.

Some even exploded open.

More green slime splattered out.

But it's not dead yet.

The severed tentacles are growing wildly.

It grew back almost instantly.

The heart in the center of the meat chunk, which was still beating, began to beat even more violently.

dong dong.

dong dong.

With each jump, the meat chunk expands by one size.

Open more of the surface eyes.

"This thing...it's indestructible?"

Fatty Wang's voice even changed tone.

"heart."

Xie Yuchen's voice was cold.

"That heart is the core."

"As long as the heart isn't destroyed, it can keep regenerating."

"Zhang Qiling" and "Zhang Qiling" looked at the center of the meat almost simultaneously.

That fist-sized, dark red heart was beating violently.

It was encased deep within the meat.

The surrounding area was filled with wriggling tumors and eyes.

It's virtually impossible to directly attack the heart.

unless……

Zhang Qiling flipped his wrist.

The black gold ancient sword spun around in his hand.

The tip of the knife is pointing downwards.

He didn't rush forward any further.

Instead, they stood still.

Close your eyes.

I took a very light breath.

Then, blow air.

No sound.

At least, to Wu Xie and the others, there was no sound.

But suddenly the air inside the cave began to vibrate.

That's not the wind.

It's not airflow.

It is a more fundamental tremor that acts directly on space itself.

Dust began to fall from the rock face.

The sticky fungi on the ground began to wriggle unnaturally.

Even the live broadcast ball, which was suspended in mid-air, began to sway slightly.

All the eyes on the surface of the meat block widened at the same time.

For the first time, a kind of emotion similar to "fear" appeared in their eyes.

It began to retreat frantically.

The tentacles were clawing wildly at the rock face.

They wanted to escape deeper into the cave.

But it cannot escape.

Because the breath that "Zhang Qiling" exhaled had already become a sound.

A sound of extremely low frequency, almost inaudible to the human ear, but capable of directly affecting biological instincts.

Ghost whistle.

The movement of the meat chunk suddenly froze.

Its surface eyes began to blink frantically.

The blinking frequency is getting faster and faster.

Towards the end, it almost turned into a blurry, dark green halo.

The tentacles' movements also became chaotic.

Some of them stretched forward.

Some shrank back.

Some even started to entangle and knot together.

It is struggling.

In response to those voices that delve directly into the core of its existence.

And at that very moment—

"Zhang Qiling" has moved.

His movements were even faster than before.

So fast that in the live broadcast of the ball, it was almost just a blurry black shadow.

He didn't attack head-on.

Instead, they stepped onto the rock face.

Using the force of the push, he sprinted forward at an angle.

It drew an almost straight diagonal line in mid-air.

The target was the heart in the center of the meat.

The piece of meat sensed danger.

It tried to block it with its tentacles.

I want to use a sarcoma to wrap it up.

They wanted to protect that heart by every possible means.

But it can't do that.

Because Zhang Qiling's ghostly whistle never stopped.

The sound was like countless invisible nails.

Keep it firmly pinned to the spot.

Its every movement became sluggish and chaotic.

The tentacles hadn't fully lifted up yet.

The sarcoma hasn't completely closed yet—

Zhang Qiling's hand had already been inserted.

It wasn't a knife.

It's using his hands.

Bring your five fingers together.

The hand strike was as sharp as a spear.

Insert it straight into the very center of the meat.

Those wriggling tumors.

Those sticky tissues.

Those tentacles that tried to wrap around me.

There was almost no resistance in his way.

His hand was like a red-hot knife plunged into butter.

The journey was smooth and unobstructed.

Until my fingertips touched that wildly beating heart.

Then, clench your fist.

Pull it outwards.

puff-

He forcibly ripped the dark red, still-beating heart out of the chunk of flesh.

All the movements of the meat chunks stopped at that instant.

Those wildly darting eyes froze simultaneously.

Then the pupils began to dilate.

The whites of his eyes were quickly covered by a dark green color.

The tentacles drooped limply.

The sarcoma stopped moving.

The entire piece of meat seemed to have suddenly lost all its strength.

He lay limply on the ground.

There was no further movement.

Only the heart in Zhang Qiling's hand is still beating.

dong dong.

dong dong.

With each heartbeat, a dark red, thick liquid seeps from the blood vessels on the surface of the heart.

It dripped down his finger.

Zhang Qiling looked down at the heart.

Then, apply force with all five fingers.

Click.

A very soft, crisp sound.

His heart was crushed into a lump of indistinct flesh in his hands.

The dark red liquid splattered out.

But before it even hit the ground, he flicked his wrist.

It was thrown onto the rock wall next to it.

The piece of meat stopped moving completely.

The sweet, pungent smell of blood in the cave began to dissipate rapidly.

Instead, there was a more unpleasant smell, like a corpse that had been rotting for ten or fifteen days mixed with chemicals.

"Is it... over?"

Fatty Wang swallowed hard.

"it's over."

Xie Yuchen let out a long breath.

But his brows were still furrowed.

"But this place... we can't stay long."

Zhang Qiling sheathed his sword.

He walked over to the mushy piece of meat and poked at it with the tip of his knife.

The piece of meat was completely dead.

All those eyes were closed.

The tentacles were also dry and withered.

They turned into dark green, old tree roots-like things.

The meat itself was visibly shriveling and turning black.

In the end, it turned into a pool of foul-smelling black water.

Only that crushed heart twitched slightly a few times in that pool of black water.

Then it stopped moving completely.

"What on earth is this thing?"

Wu Xie also came over.

But I didn't dare get too close.

"insanity."

Xie Yuchen squatted down.

Shine a flashlight on the pool of black water.

"But it's different from ordinary Gu."

"Ordinary Gu is an insect, a living creature."

"This... is more like some kind of 'symbiotic' raised from living people."

"Use a living person's heart as the core."

"Using the flesh and blood of living people as nourishment."

"You've raised this kind of thing."

"Judging by the scale, they've been raising them for at least several decades."

"Decades?"

Fatty Wang's eyes widened.

"And that person who was sitting on the stone platform just now...?"

"It should be the first 'sacrifice'."

Xie Yuchen's voice was cold.

"They were used as containers to raise poisonous insects, and were trapped here to die."

"Once his heart is completely eroded and assimilated by the Gu worms, the Gu worms will break out of his body and turn into that thing from before."

"Then it uses other people's hearts as nourishment to continue growing..."

He didn't say anything more.

But everyone understood.

Those few people from the Wang family were treated as "nutrients".

"And these jars..."

Wu Xie looked around the cave.

The broken jars scattered on the ground had been shattered even more during the battle.

But a few remained intact, standing quietly in the corner.

"It should be an earlier experimental subject."

Xie Yuchen stood up.

"The gu worms are raised in jars, and once they mature, they are implanted into a living person."

"But clearly, the worms raised in jars are far less powerful than those raised directly by living people."

"So later, they improved their method..."

He looked at the corpse with a hole in its chest on the stone platform.

Everyone fell silent.

In the live stream, the scrolling speed of the comments slowed down.

"This method... is too cruel."

"Raising Gu poison with living people, how twisted must one be to come up with that idea?"

"These two guys work so well together, one controls the battlefield and the other deals damage."

"I actually felt a little bit of pleasure when my heart was being crushed."

"I don't want to stay here for even a second longer."

Zhang Qiling did not participate in the discussion.

He walked to the other side of the cave.

The equipment belonging to the Wang family members was scattered there.

Backpack, water bottle, flashlight.

There were also several notebooks in waterproof bags.

He squatted down.

Open the top book.

The notebook is blank.

But when you turn to the middle pages, you see some words scrawled in pencil.

"On March 17th, we found the entrance. The smell was very strong; Old Chen said it might be the 'Poison-Feeding Cave'."

"On March 18th, we went down to the second level. We found an altar with a corpse on it. There was a hole in its chest, and its heart had been removed. Old Chen said this was the 'mother Gu' we were looking for."

"On March 19th, something happened. Xiao Liu went to check the jar and got bitten by something inside. The wound turned black, he had a high fever, and was delirious. Old Chen said there was no hope."

"On March 20th, Xiao Liu died. Old Chen dug out his heart, saying he wanted to 'feed it to the mother Gu.' I disagreed, but Old Chen said it was the only way. He said that as long as the mother Gu woke up, we could get what we wanted."

"On March 21st, the mother Gu awoke. But it doesn't eat hearts; it eats people. Old Li was dragged away, and we heard his screams. Old Chen said to wait a little longer, until the mother Gu has eaten its fill..."

The word ends here.

The following pages are blank.

Zhang Qiling closed his notebook.

He handed it to Xie Yuchen, who was walking over.

Xie Yuchen quickly glanced at it.

His expression grew increasingly cold.

"The Wang family came down here on purpose."

His voice carried suppressed anger.

"They knew there was a 'mother Gu' here."

"They also know that awakening the mother Gu requires a living sacrifice."

"They brought the wounded down here, not to look for any clues at all."

"It's all about using the wounded as sacrifices to awaken this thing."

"and then?"

Fatty Wang asked.

"And then what? This thing won't listen to them."

"They should have some methods of control."

Xie Yuchen turned to the last page of the notebook.

There was a line written there in even more illegible handwriting:

"The bone flute is under the altar, Old Chen said. If you blow the bone flute, the mother Gu will obey."

Bone flute.

"Zhang Qiling" and "Zhang Qiling" looked at the stone platform almost simultaneously.

The two walked to the stone platform.

Squat down.

Shine a flashlight into the gap under the base.

There is indeed something there.

A bone flute, about twenty centimeters long, grayish-white, with fine patterns engraved on its surface.

The flute was half stuck in a crevice in the rock.

The other half is exposed.

It was covered in dark green slime.

Zhang Qiling reached out and pulled out the bone flute.

It's very light and cool.

Holding it in your hand, you can feel a subtle, unnatural pulsation.

It's as if this bone is still alive, still breathing.

"This should be what controls the mother Gu."

Xie Yuchen walked over and glanced at it.

"Made from the bones of a special creature, and combined with specific musical rhythms, it can influence the behavior of Gu worms."

"Those people from the Wang family probably want to awaken the mother Gu, then control it with the bone flute and take it out."

"Why take it out?"

Fatty Wang was puzzled.

"use."

Xie Yuchen's voice was cold.

"If this level of Gu worm can truly be controlled, it would be priceless, whether used to deal with people or for research."

"The Wang family never does anything that doesn't make them money."

Zhang Qiling remained silent.

He held the bone flute.

Walk to the side of that pool of black water.

He threw the bone flute in.

The moment the bone flute came into contact with the black water, fine bubbles immediately began to appear on its surface.

The lines etched on the bone quickly turned black and melted.

In the end, the entire flute turned into a puddle of grayish-white paste.

It was mixed with black water.

It's impossible to tell them apart anymore.

"It's better if it's destroyed."

Xie Yuchen nodded.

"Keeping this kind of thing is just asking for trouble."

"And what about these jars?"

Wu Xie pointed to the few intact jars in the corner.

"We'll handle it together."

"Zhang Qiling" spoke.

He walked over to the jars.

Lift your foot and step down.

Click, click, click.

He crushed every can under his foot.

Nothing is flowing out of the jar.

The worms inside must have died long ago.

Either they didn't succeed in raising them at all.

The jars have been processed.

He then walked to the stone platform.

He glanced at the corpse on the stage.

There was a few seconds of silence.

Then, he took out a piece of aluminum foil from the outer packaging of a compressed biscuit from his backpack.

Tear it open.

It was laid on the ground.

Then, he reached out his hand.

They carefully lifted the body off the stone platform.

Lay it flat on the aluminum foil.

The body was very light.

She was so light, unlike someone who is an adult.

Zhang Qiling carefully wrapped the body in aluminum foil.

Then I picked him up.

Walk to the corner of the cave.

Place it on a relatively flat surface.

After doing all that, he stood up.

Look at "Zhang Qiling".

Zhang Qiling nodded.

Neither of them spoke.

But everyone understood it.

They are giving this person, who has been dead for who knows how many years and is trapped here as a vessel for raising venomous insects, the most basic dignity.

Even if it's just a layer of aluminum foil.

Even if it's just moving down from that stone platform.

But at least, he no longer had to be trapped on that altar in that painful, contorted position.

"Let's go."

Xie Yuchen took a deep breath.

"The smell here is getting worse and worse. If we stay any longer, I'm afraid we'll get poisoned too."

The group began packing their things.

We're getting ready to head back.

But at this very moment—

Deep inside the cave, in the passage that went even further down, a series of footsteps suddenly came from.

Very light, very fast.

And it wasn't just one person.

Everyone turned their heads at the same time.

The flashlight beams shone in unison toward the entrance of the passage.

Then, they saw three people.

Three people covered in blood and in a sorry state.

They were the last three survivors from the Wang family's group.

The one leading the group was a middle-aged man known as "Old Fourth" under Wang Cen.

He had a deep, bone-revealing wound on the left side of his face.

It is still bleeding.

Two young men followed behind him.

One of them had a broken arm.

The other one walks with a limp.

The three of them were clearly taken aback when they saw "Zhang Qiling" and his companions in the cave.

Then, the fourth brother's eyes suddenly lit up.

"It's you guys..."

His voice was hoarse.

With an almost frantic urgency.

"Quick, help us..."

"Something's chasing us..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

A low, guttural sound, like the panting of a wild beast, came from deep within the passage.

The sound was getting closer and closer.

The fourth brother's face turned deathly pale instantly.

He didn't even think about it.

Suddenly, he reached out.

He grabbed the young man next to him who had a broken arm.

He pushed it hard towards the entrance of the passage.

"Go and block them!"

The young man didn't even realize what was happening.

He was pushed and staggered forward a few steps.

I almost rushed straight into the passage.

The fourth brother himself turned around and ran towards Zhang Qiling and the others.

He ran very fast.

They practically tumbled and crawled.

As he ran, he reached out his hand towards Wu Xie.

It seems they want to capture Wu Xie and push him back as well.

To buy myself more time to escape.

But he didn't get his chance.

Because the moment he reached out, "Zhang Qiling" had already moved.

It's not about rushing over.

It's not about running over.

It's as simple as lifting your foot.

A straight kick.

He kicked the fourth brother in the chest.

That kick was no less powerful than the kick that sent the chunk of flesh flying earlier.

The fourth brother looked as if he had been hit by a speeding car.

He was sent flying backwards.

He drew an arc in the air.

It flew at least ten meters.

Then it crashed heavily into the rock wall on the other side of the cave.

The dull thud of the impact echoed through the cave.

A spiderweb-like network of cracks appeared on the rock face.

The fourth brother slid down the rock face.

He collapsed to the ground.

Blood was gushing from his mouth.

He tried to get up.

But I tried several times without success.

In the end, he could only lie there.

He let out intermittent groans.

Deeper into the passage, the panting sound had reached the cave entrance.

Everyone gripped their weapons tightly at the same time.

The flashlight beams shone in unison toward the entrance of the passage.

Then, they saw that "thing".