Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The sunlight was blinding.

Lin Guoce stood within the makeshift cordon at the foot of the mountain, watching his men inventory the equipment and collect the bodies. On the medical stretcher lay two corpses covered with white sheets—the two special forces soldiers who had been killed by the white-haired zombies in the jade coffin tomb.

He was holding a tablet, on which was a list of casualties from the operation.

His finger slid across the screen, and lines of text appeared before his eyes.

"The second archaeological expedition to Huo Yun's tomb: casualty report," he began, his voice hoarse. "Total number of participants: twenty-three. Fifteen survived. Eight died."

The clerk next to him, who was taking notes, looked up: "Team Leader Lin, the list of the deceased and the causes of death?"

Lin Guoce looked at the name on the tablet:

"Liu Changfu, a folklorist. He died from an attack by a swarm of corpse beetles." He paused, then added, "When the swarm of corpse beetles surged out, in self-defense, he pushed his teammate Chen Man towards them. After Zhang Qiling stopped him, Zhang Qiling kicked him into the swarm, killing him."

The clerk paused for a moment, then recorded the facts.

"Wang Hai and Li Zhenguo, special operations team members. In the main burial chamber of the jade coffin, they were attacked by the white-haired zombie, their necks were broken, and they died on the spot."

"Zhao Jianguo and Sun Qiang were special operations team members. During the conflict after Zhang Qiling's identity was exposed, they were subdued by him, fell unconscious, and were not in life-threatening danger. However, they later inhaled an excessive amount of poison gas in the ancient tomb and died despite rescue efforts."

"Qian Yong and Zhou Ming, security guards for the archaeological team. During the initial exploration, they triggered a trap, fell into a pit, and were impaled by iron spikes at the bottom of the pit, resulting in their deaths."

"Zheng Dong, a logistics staff member, was attacked by an unknown creature at the camp and died from excessive blood loss."

Eight names.

Eight dead people.

The clerk finished taking notes and looked up: "Team Leader Lin, about Zhang Qiling..."

"Prepare a separate report." Lin Guoce interrupted him. "Code name: 'Gatekeeper.' Danger level: Highest. Attitude: Hostile. Recommendation: Avoid contact unless absolutely necessary. If contact occurs, respond with the highest alert level, but the use of force to recruit them is not recommended."

"This... what the higher-ups mean is to control it as much as possible..."

"It's out of control," Lin Guoce said, his tone harsh. "If you want the casualty list to grow by dozens more names, then go find him."

The clerk fell silent.

Lin Guoce handed the tablet back to him and turned to walk to the other side.

Kun Ge, Chen Man, Wang Yihan, Jiang Shouyi, Professor Zhou Xu'an, and Sun Shuanzhu were all resting in a makeshift tent. Medical staff were examining them and treating some minor injuries.

Kun's face was still pale, he was holding a cup of hot water in his hand, and his eyes were blank.

Chen Man's eyes were swollen like peaches. She leaned on Wang Yihan's shoulder without saying a word.

Wang Yihan gently patted her back, her own eyes vacant.

Jiang Shouyi was discussing the contents of the bamboo slips with Professor Zhou Xu'an in a low voice, but the professor was clearly distracted, his eyes constantly glancing out of the tent.

Sun Shuanzhu sat in the corner, head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Lin Guoce walked in.

Everyone looked at him.

"The statistics are complete," Lin Guoce said. "Eight people died. Five were injured, all with minor injuries. You will need to undergo detailed questioning and report everything you saw in the ancient tomb, especially the parts related to Zhang Qiling and the secret of immortality."

"And then what happens after it's reported?" Kun suddenly asked. "What will the higher-ups do to Xiao Ge?"

Lin Guoce remained silent for a few seconds.

"I don't know," he said, "but my advice is that you tell the truth. His strength, his attitude, the fact that he saved you and also killed people. Make all of that clear. How the higher-ups decide is not something we can control."

"What will happen to him?" Chen Man asked softly, her voice trembling with tears.

"He will live," Lin Guoce said with certainty. "As long as he doesn't want to die, no one can kill him."

The tent fell silent again.

The live stream had already been shut down. But the final scene of Zhang Qiling leaving alone, and Kun Ge's choked-up "He's gone," had already gone viral. The entire internet was discussing "Gatekeeper Zhang Qiling," immortality, and the Bronze Gate.

But that person had already disappeared into the deep mountains.

Their whereabouts are unknown.

The mountain breeze rustled through the trees.

Zhang Qiling stopped under a tree.

It was a very tall tree, the tallest in the forest. Its trunk was straight, requiring two people to encircle it. Its canopy was dense, with sunlight filtering through the gaps and casting dappled patterns.

He looked up at the treetops.

Approximately 45 meters.

He took two steps back, pushed off the ground, and leaped into the air.

He lightly touched the tree trunk with his toes, using the momentum to rise higher. He grabbed a horizontal branch, used his arms to swing upwards, and landed on an even higher branch.

The movements were fluid and without pauses.

Like a black bird, it climbs among the shadows of the trees.

Each time my toes touched the tree trunk or branch, it was with perfect steadiness and precision. There were no unnecessary movements, no sounds. Only the soft rustling of my clothes brushing against the leaves.

Ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters.

The higher he went, the thinner the branches became. But he was light on his feet, and when he stepped on those thin branches that seemed too fragile to support him, the branches only bent slightly before bouncing back.

Forty meters.

He reached out, grabbed a thick horizontal branch at the top, and used his waist and abdomen to flip himself up.

Then, sit down.

The horizontal branch was wide enough for a person to lie down. He leaned against the main trunk, his legs bent, and his arms resting on his knees.

Hold on tight.

The view from here is expansive. You can see the distant, rolling mountains, the wisps of mist rising from the valleys, and the sun gradually setting on the horizon.

A breeze blew by, carrying the unique scent of grass and trees from the mountains and forests, and ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead.

His face was expressionless.

I just looked into the distance.

I don't know where to go.

He did the same thing last time he left the ancient tomb in the Qinling Mountains. He rescued someone, then left, venturing alone into the deep mountains. He didn't know where to go, had no goal, and no home.

It's the same this time.

Huo Yun's tomb exploration is complete. A corner of the secret of immortality has been revealed. The bamboo slips' description of "a clan that guards the gate for generations" matches the fragments in his memory.

He is Zhang Qiling.

He is the gatekeeper.

He is to guard the bronze gate.

But where is the bronze door?

Can not remember.

My memory is fragmented: a massive bronze door, boundless darkness, and a long period of guarding. But I can't recall the exact location of the door or how to get there.

Loss of consciousness.

The system notification sounded in my mind:

Current memory integrity: 12%

[Core memory anchors: Bronze Gate, Gatekeeper Mission, Zhang Qiling's Identity]

[The remaining memories are still fading.]

[Hint: Acquiring more key tokens or triggering major causal events will unlock more memories]

He closed his eyes.

Trying to recall more.

—Wu Xie.

The name popped into my head. Something inside me stirred slightly. But the face was blurry. I only remembered a silhouette, gentle, always smiling, someone who always followed behind him calling "Little Brother."

—Fatty.

His voice was loud and boisterous, but he was always reliable in crucial moments. His face was blurred.

—Black Bear.

Sunglasses, a smile, and excellent agility. I can't recall any other details.

There are still many people and many things, all shrouded in a thick fog, impossible to see clearly or grasp.

who am I?

This question no longer needs an answer.

He is Zhang Qiling.

But where did he come from? What is he going to do? Where will he go in the future?

do not know.

The tattoo on his shoulder blade, in the silence, emanated a familiar, constant warmth. It was the mark of the flowing bloodline of the Qilin, the source of his power, and the imprint of his destiny.

He opened his eyes.

His eyes remained indifferent.

Are you lonely?

Maybe.

But loneliness, after a while, becomes the norm. Like breathing, like a heartbeat, like a shadow. You don't pay special attention to it, but it's always there.

Far down the mountain, the outline of the temporary camp could be vaguely seen, like a few small building blocks. The figures were small and moving.

Those people should be reporting, taking notes, and discussing him now.

The authorities will classify him as a dangerous individual and attempt to control or eliminate him.

But he doesn't care.

Come on, come on.

He clenched his fist, feeling the power flowing through his body. 30% role-playing ability, 40% combat strength, intermediate-level Qilin blood, advanced mechanical blueprints, and various enhanced abilities.

It's enough to handle most troubles.

But trouble is not what he needs to think about right now.

What he needs to think about now is where to go next.

There is no direction.

Then wait.

Wait for the system notification, wait for your memory to return, wait for the next clue to appear.

Or, just sit here and watch the sun set, watch the stars rise, and watch time pass.

He leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.

The mountain wind continued to blow, and the leaves continued to rustle.

He sat atop a tree 45 meters high, like an isolated island suspended in a green ocean.

Remote, quiet, and isolated from the world.

Temporary camp.

The questioning lasted for three hours.

Each person was taken into a tent individually and questioned in detail about everything that happened inside the ancient tomb. From the moment they entered the tomb passage, to every mechanism, every battle, every choice, especially the part concerning Zhang Qiling.

When Kun Ge talked about Zhang Qiling disguising himself as Uncle Wu, teaching them feng shui, saving them, and finally exposing his identity, fighting the white-haired zombie, and leaving Yu Chan behind, his voice choked up again.

"He saved us all," Kun said, his eyes red. "Without him, we would have died in there long ago. It was he who saved Chen Man when that bastard Liu Changfu pushed her out. Liu Changfu brought this on himself, getting kicked into the swarm of corpse beetles—serves him right!"

The questioning officer took notes but offered no comment.

Chen Man and Wang Yihan added to each other's conversation, and when they talked about Zhang Qiling opening the stone box in Huo Yun's tomb, taking out the bamboo slips, and saying "My name is Zhang Qiling," both of them cried.

"He was so lonely," Chen Man said, crying. "Alone, guarding such a heavy secret, he lived for so long... He saved us, but no one could save him."

Wang Yihan put his arm around her and said to the interrogator, "He doesn't want to make enemies. But if you force him, he will fight. And... no one can beat him."

Professors Jiang Shouyi and Zhou Xu'an provided the most technical details: mechanisms, murals, bamboo slip texts, the secret of immortality, and the gatekeeper's records. The professors particularly emphasized that the bamboo slips clearly state that immortality is a wrong path, and that nothing inside the bronze gate should be touched.

"Zhang Qiling is a gatekeeper; his mission is to protect, not to possess," the professor said. "He has no interest in immortality. He's simply fulfilling his duty. We should respect him, not try to control him."

Sun Shuanzhu's version is different.

"He's too dangerous!" Sun Shuanzhu exclaimed excitedly. "Those abilities are not something a human should possess! And the secret of immortality, the Bronze Gate—these must be controlled by the state! He must cooperate with the investigation and hand over all the secrets! This is for national security, for all of humanity!"

The questioner recorded everyone's words.

The final summary report was placed on the command post desk.

Several uniformed men looked at the report in silence.

"Eight dead, five slightly injured. Target: Zhang Qiling, possesses extraordinary martial arts skills, a special bloodline, disguise abilities, mechanical skills, and feng shui expertise. His attitude is clear: independent, non-cooperative, and will not initiate attacks, but will resist any attempts to control him. Danger level: highest."

"Recommendation: Establish a separate file, codenamed 'Qilin'. Do not take coercive measures for now, but monitor closely. If it reappears in public or in ancient tomb areas, focus on observation and communication to avoid conflict."

"approve."

The order has been issued.

But everyone knows this isn't over.

Zhang Qiling is like a time bomb; no one knows where he will appear next or what he will do.

At that moment, the bomb was perched atop a 45-meter-tall tree deep in the mountains.

With eyes closed.

It looks like it's asleep.

It's like waiting for something.