Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The dim red light in the passageway resembled congealed blood.

Viscous and heavy.

The air was filled with the smell of rust.

The shadows that emerged from the depths of the red light moved slowly but steadily.

Step by step.

Footsteps echoed and overlapped in the narrow space, making it impossible to tell how many people were there.

Zhang Qiling stood motionless at the broken doorway.

His hand holding the black gold ancient sword was very steady. The sword was not drawn, but his whole body was already taut like a fully drawn bow.

Zhang Qiling stood half a step to his side, also holding a knife.

His gaze swept over the shadows that were getting closer and closer.

He was watching their movements—the angle of their joints bending, the stride they took, the rhythm of their arm swings.

See if they are alive, and look for any flaws.

When the shadow was ten meters away, its outline became clear.

It's humanoid, but the proportions are wrong.

The arms are too long, almost reaching past the knees when they hang down.

Short legs, bowed, wobble when walking.

It has a big head and a thin neck, like a pole supporting a ball.

The most crucial thing is the face—

It has no facial features, just a flat surface, like a human figure casually sculpted from clay, with eyes, nose, and mouth forgotten.

Seven.

Seven shadows, lined up in a row, walked toward the door.

"What is this thing?"

Fatty Wang lowered his voice.

"have no idea."

Xie Yuchen now had a dagger in his hand.

Huo Xiuxiu and A Ning also drew their weapons.

Jiang Xun Gu raised his gun and aimed it at the figure at the front.

Only Hei Xiazi laughed.

"interesting."

He flexed his wrists and pulled two short sticks from his lower back.

The stick is black, made of metal, and does not reflect light in dim red light.

The shadow stopped five meters away.

The one at the very front raised his overly long right arm and pointed at the crowd at the door.

The movements were very slow, like rusty joints.

Then, all seven shadows moved at the same time.

It's not "rushing," it's "drifting."

Its feet didn't touch the ground; it glided along the ground at an absurdly fast speed.

Five meters is a distance that can be covered in the blink of an eye.

"Disperse!"

With a low shout, "Zhang Qiling!" he slid three steps to the left, clearing the way.

"Zhang Qiling" slid to the right almost simultaneously, the movement like a mirror.

The moment the two men stepped aside, Black Bear burst out from between them.

He held two short sticks, one in front of the other, drawing two black lines in front of him.

The first shadow lunged at him, its overly long arms reaching for his neck.

Black Bear crouched down, raised his staff, and struck Shadow squarely in the chest.

A dull thud sounded, like hitting a solid piece of wood.

The shadow was knocked back half a step, but immediately pounced again.

The other six shadows also flanked from both sides, their overly long arms lashing out like whips.

Jiang Xun Gu fired the shot.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two shots, hitting the heads of the two shadows precisely.

The bullet pierced through, but there was no blood, no brain matter.

Only a wisp of dark red smoke emerged from the bullet hole.

The shadow flickered, its movements unwavering, as it continued to pounce.

"It's no use."

Jiang Xun Gu frowned, sheathed his gun, and drew his sword.

His knife was a modified military bayonet; it was short, straight, and double-edged, making it suitable for stabbing.

He met a shadow on his left, and just as the other's arms reached out to grab him, he turned to the side, stabbed the knife under his armpit, twisted it, and pulled it out.

Still no blood.

Only dark red smoke.

The shadow seemed to be enraged, and it clasped its arms together, trying to hug Jiang Xun Gu.

Jiang Xun Gu took a half step back, raised his leg, and kicked the shadow in the abdomen.

The shadow was kicked backward and crashed into the rock wall with a dull thud.

On the other side, Hei Xiazi was already locked in combat with three shadows.

His fighting style is strange—he doesn't fight head-on, he doesn't block, he only dodges and deflects force.

As the shadow's arm lashed out, he sidestepped, his short stick striking the opponent's elbow joint.

The shadow's arm was flicked outwards, revealing a gap in its chest.

Black Bear followed with another short stick, aimed right at the center of the mouth.

"Thump!"

The shadow retreated, while the other two attacked from both sides.

Instead of retreating, the bear advanced, passing between the two shadows, and simultaneously struck them on the back of the neck with his short stick from both sides.

"Bang! Bang!"

The two shadows fell forward, but immediately got up again.

These things cannot be defeated.

"Zhang Qiling" and "Zhang Qiling" did not make a move; they just stood on the outside and watched.

Their eyes swept across the battlefield, observing and analyzing.

"joint."

"Zhang Qiling" spoke.

"Um."

Zhang Qiling nodded.

They realized it—

These shadows attack with their arms and move with their legs, but their core strength lies in their joints.

Elbow, knee, shoulder, hip.

There is a faint dark red light around the joint, but it can be distinguished against the dark red background.

"blind."

Jiang Xun Gu called out.

"clear."

Black Bear grinned.

He charged at a shadow again, this time not striking its body, but targeting its joints.

The short stick is like a venomous snake, striking precisely at the elbow, knee, and shoulder with each strike.

Each time it was hit, the dark red light at the joint would flash, and the shadow's movement would slow down slightly.

After seven clicks, the shadow's right arm drooped limply and stopped moving.

"it works!"

Wang Pangzi shouted.

"superior!"

Wu Xie also drew his knife, wanting to rush up and help.

"Don't move."

Zhang Qiling pressed down on his shoulder.

Wu Xie was stunned.

"Watch."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than footsteps echoed from the depths of the passage.

More shadows.

This time there were more than a dozen, surging out from the depths of the dark red light like a tide.

"That's about it."

Hei Xiazi took two steps back, standing back to back with Jiang Xun Gu.

"Lead them there?"

Jiang Xun Gu asked.

"Um."

The two exchanged a glance and then retreated simultaneously.

They weren't retreating towards the door, but rather towards the other side of the passage—the direction they came from.

They retreated quickly, but the shadows chased even faster.

More than a dozen shadows, plus the seven that were still able to move, made more than twenty, like a group of sharks that had smelled blood, relentlessly pursuing them.

Hei Xiazi and Jiang Xun Gu rushed into the stone chamber above, passed through the area of ​​kneeling corpses and stone pillars, and ran towards the passageway.

The shadow followed.

Footsteps and sounds of fighting echoed through the passageway, fading into the distance.

The platform fell silent.

Only Zhang Qiling and his seven companions remained, along with the floating live-streaming ball.

In the live stream, the comments scrolled by rapidly.

"Hei Xiazi's move was amazing!"

"Were they deliberately led away?"

"I went to bring warmth to the families behind me."

"Hahaha, that's so mean!"

"Those two guys were really steady; they didn't lift a finger the whole time."

Zhang Qiling walked to the broken doorway and looked into the depths of the passage.

The dark red light remained, but the shadows had already chased Hei Xiazi and his companions far away.

"continue?"

"Zhang Qiling" asked.

"wait."

Zhang Qiling sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

The others also sat down to rest.

Although I didn't do anything, I was on edge the whole time. Now that I've relaxed, I realize my back is all sweaty.

【Ding. 】

The system's voice rang in Zhang Qiling's mind.

[Host, your brother and that soldier are working together quite well.]

"Um."

[Deliberately leading the shadows towards the Wang and Luo families' area—that's a cunning move. But I like it.]

"They brought it on themselves."

Yes, he brought it on himself.

The system paused for a moment.

[However, host, those shadows... something's not right.]

"where?"

They are neither living nor dead. They seem to be some kind of... energy entities. Pseudo-life forms created by mixing human resentment and obsession with the unique energy field here.

"Can it be destroyed?"

[Yes, but we need to find the core. The black bear's attack on the joints only temporarily paralyzed the body. Once the energy flow resumes, it will be able to move again.]

"What's the core of it?"

Each shadow is different. It might be on the head, the chest, or the abdomen. We have to try them one by one.

"trouble."

It's a hassle, but it's nothing to you.

The system laughed.

[Host, you're currently at 70% of your combat strength. With your brothers included, these shadows would be easy prey for you. However…]

"But what?"

However, there are even more troubles to come.

The system's voice became serious.

I sensed a stronger energy fluctuation deep within the passage. This might be the source of these shadows.

"What is the source?"

I don't know. But it's definitely not a good thing.

Zhang Qiling opened his eyes and looked into the depths of the passage.

The dark red light was flowing, like blood flowing in a vein.

Something deep inside was breathing, very slowly and heavily, causing the air throughout the passage to vibrate slightly.

"They're here."

He spoke.

"What?"

Wu Xie asked.

Zhang Qiling did not answer, but stood up and gripped the hilt of his knife.

Deep inside the passage, the dark red light suddenly brightened.

Then, something walked out of it.

It's not a shadow.

It's a person.

Wearing tattered ancient clothing, with disheveled hair, and facial features that are blurry, as if viewed through frosted glass.

He walked very slowly, one step at a time, and the entire platform trembled slightly with each step.

He walked ten meters away, stopped, and looked up.

On his face, those blurry eyes looked at "Zhang Qiling".

Then, open your mouth.

His voice was hoarse and dry, like two stones rubbing against each other.

"Gatekeeper...you've finally arrived..."