Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

It was six o'clock in the morning, just as dawn was breaking.

The camp reeked of blood and the acrid smell of burning firewood. The five mandrill carcasses were dragged to the edge of the platform and covered with a tarpaulin. Lin Guoce said they would deal with them when the base support team arrived.

Nobody had an appetite for breakfast.

Chen Man's eyes were swollen like peaches, and her hands trembled as she held the hot water. Wang Yihan silently handed her some compressed biscuits. Kun Ge sat on a rock, lost in thought, his phone lying to the side, not broadcasting. Liu Desheng repeatedly checked the zipper of his backpack, as if a monster might crawl out of it. Zhou Hao's face was pale, his eyes glazed over. Xu Jiashu clutched his book, muttering to himself, as if trying to bolster his courage.

Jiang Shouyi was tidying up the compass; his hands were shaking so badly he almost dropped the needle.

Professor Zhou Xu'an wiped his glasses with a wet wipe, wiping them again and again.

Lin Guoce, with a new bandage wrapped around his forehead, was inspecting the equipment. He ejected and reinserted the magazine three times.

Xie Linyuan sat in his usual spot.

He had dried his hands, and the cuts on his knuckles had scabbed over. He slung the black gold sword back over his shoulder, zipped his coat all the way up, and pulled the hood over most of his face. He closed his eyes, as if resting, but everyone knew he was awake.

Ten live-streaming spheres hovered overhead, their indicator lights glowing green.

Overnight, the number of viewers in the ten live streaming rooms skyrocketed.

The barrage of comments hasn't stopped since midnight:

[ID All-Night Party: I didn't sleep all night! I watched the screen recording over and over again!]

[ID Martial Arts Association: The black-clad guy's moves—punches, elbows, knees, throws—were all deadly.]

[ID Biology student: Screenshot of the mandrill carcass has been taken and is currently comparing it with the database]

[ID Scared Baby: Is this an archaeological site? This looks like a monster invasion!]

[ID Calm Analysis: Team Leader Lin's forehead injury was quite serious, and the guy in black also had a cut on his hand, but overall he dominated the game.]

[ID: I'm such a fangirl: Even the way this guy wiped the blood was so cool... Am I hopeless?]

[ID Prophet: I have a feeling something bad is going to happen today]

Lin Guoce glanced at the time and stood up.

"Pack your things, we'll leave in half an hour."

His voice was hoarseer than usual.

No one objected. Staying here is even more terrifying.

---

At 7:00 AM sharp, the team set off again.

This time the atmosphere was completely different. Everyone was on edge, their eyes darting around, clutching self-defense tools—military knives, hiking poles, and Xu Jiashu even pulled out a peach wood sword.

Lin Guoce still led the way, but his steps were more cautious.

Xie Linyuan walked two steps behind him. This time, he didn't just follow; he would occasionally raise his hand to indicate the direction. Lin Guoce would then adjust his route accordingly.

The mountain road became increasingly rugged.

They left the platform and headed northwest. They passed through a dense pine forest, the layer of fallen leaves so thick it reached their ankles. The air was damp and chilly, and sunlight struggled to penetrate the tree canopy.

After walking for two hours, a relatively open valley appeared ahead.

The valley floor was overgrown with waist-high weeds, with a dry riverbed running through the middle. On the opposite bank, the mountain walls were steep and the rock strata were exposed.

"It's this area," Professor Zhou Xu'an said, looking at the satellite image on the tablet. "The edge of the temperature difference anomaly zone."

Xu Jiashu suddenly perked up.

He strode to the front of the line, took out a compass from his bag (the one that fell into the water last night had been lost, this was a spare), and then took out the book "Essentials of Feng Shui Secrets" and flipped through the pages rapidly.

"Gentlemen! Look at this terrain!"

He stood at the edge of the valley, pointing to the mountain wall on the opposite bank.

"The mountains resemble a coiled dragon, and the water flows like a jade belt—although the river has dried up, the riverbed remains! This is called 'Dragon Coiling Around Water,' a top-tier feng shui treasure!"

He turned to a page in the book and read aloud: "Where the dragon vein ends, there must be a vital energy point. This energy point gathers wind and water, suitable for burying kings and nobles!"

Lin Guoce frowned: "Mr. Xu, we are conducting scientific exploration..."

"Science and feng shui are not contradictory!" Xu Jiashu puffed out his chest. "This valley has mountains on the east side resembling a green dragon raising its head, mountains on the west side resembling a white tiger lying down, a vermilion bird opening its mouth on the south side, and a black tortoise bowing its head on the north side—all four symbols are present! The entrance to the ancient tomb must be here!"

He carried a compass and paced back and forth along the edge of the valley, muttering to himself.

"The Qian position belongs to metal, the Kan position belongs to water... Hmm... The riverbed corresponds to the Kan position, but the water has dried up, so we need to use the Dui position to replenish it... The Zhen position has inauspicious energy, so we need to avoid it..."

The more he calculated, the more complicated it became, his fingers tracing patterns in the air.

The live stream chat is scrolling:

[ID Feng Shui enthusiast: Master Xu has finally shown his skills!]

[ID Anti-Fake Office: They're pretending again]

[ID Passerby A: Although I don't understand it, it sounds amazing]

[ID Geology Student: This valley was formed by ancient riverbed erosion; what does it have to do with feng shui?]

Xu Jiashu calculated for a quarter of an hour before finally stopping next to a large rock on the east side of the riverbed.

"This is it!" He pointed to the area beneath the stone. "The entrance to the ancient tomb must be three zhang (approximately 10 meters) below this stone! Dig it open and you'll find it!"

Lin Guoce looked at Zhou Xu'an.

The professor shook his head: "According to geological scans, the area is composed of dense rock layers three to five meters underground, making it impossible for there to be an entrance to a tomb passage."

Xu Jiashu became anxious: "That's because the machine is inaccurate! The art of Feng Shui has been passed down for thousands of years; how can a machine compare?"

He turned to Xie Linyuan and asked, "Mr. Xie, don't you think so?"

Xie Linyuan ignored him.

He walked to the center of the valley, squatted down, and grabbed a handful of soil. He rubbed the soil between his fingers; it was reddish-brown, mixed with tiny black particles.

He looked up at the mountain wall on the opposite bank.

My gaze lingered on a crevice in the middle of the mountain wall.

Xu Jiashu was still shouting, "Captain Lin, trust me this once! Dig right here! I swear on my honor!"

Xie Linyuan stood up and picked up a small pebble from beside his feet.

Pinch the pebble between your thumb and forefinger and flick your wrist.

Pebbles flew out.

Snapped.

Right in the middle of Xu Jiashu's back neck.

"Ouch!" Xu Jiashu cried out in pain, clutching his neck. "Who? Who hit me?"

He turned to look. Everyone was busy with their own things—Lin Guoce was looking at a map, Zhou Xu'an was taking notes, and the others were either sitting or standing; no one approached him.

"What the hell..." Xu Jiashu muttered, rubbing his neck.

Xie Linyuan had already walked towards the opposite mountain wall.

He walked slowly but steadily. Reaching the foot of the cliff, he looked up. The cliff was about thirty meters high, with a horizontal crack in the middle, less than half a meter wide, hidden by vines.

Lin Guoce followed: "Here?"

Xie Linyuan nodded.

How can you be so sure?

Xie Linyuan didn't speak. He raised his right hand and quickly tapped his thumb across the knuckles of his index, middle, and ring fingers.

He silently recited the Zhang family's feng shui formula in his mind:

"The mountain's shape resembles a reclining dragon, where the dragon's head is raised and the wind blows. The wind enters from the southeast (巽) position, and the energy gathers and hides in the northwest (坎) position. Although the water veins have dried up, the earth's energy has not been exhausted. The rocks are bluish in color, and there are cavities beneath them. The vines hang down but are not disorderly, showing signs of human intervention."

These are the most basic methods of locating tombs from Zhang Qiling's fragmented memories.

But he didn't say it.

Lin Guoce looked at the crevice and said, "It's too high; we need climbing equipment."

Xie Linyuan shook his head.

He took ten steps back, estimating the distance with his eyes. Then he took a running start.

Push off with your left foot, lunging forward. After five steps, leap into the air, tapping your right foot on a protruding rock face, and your body rises higher. Grab a hanging vine with your left hand, using it for leverage to swing, your body flipping in the air, and then push off the wall again with your left foot.

With three attempts to gain leverage, his body reached the height of the rock crevice.

He grabbed the edge of the crevice with his right hand, dug his fingers into the crack, used his arm strength to lift his body, and squeezed into the crevice.

The whole process was smooth and quick, taking less than ten seconds.

Everyone below looked up, mouths agape.

Live stream chat:

[ID audience: It flew away again!!]

[ID Climber: This core strength...this explosive power...this is unbelievable!]

[ID Physics Teacher: I've given up thinking]

[ID: Screaming Chicken: Ahhh, bro!]

Xie Linyuan steadied himself in the crevice. The crevice was very narrow, allowing him to move only sideways. He turned on his flashlight, the light shining deep into the crevice.

The crevice extends inward for about five meters before being blocked by boulders. But the arrangement of the boulders... is too orderly.

He reached out and placed his hand on a lighter-colored stone in the pile of rocks.

Push hard.

The stone sank inward.

The sound of mechanisms turning came from deep within.

Rumbling--

The pile of rubble parted to the sides, revealing a dark hole.

A cold wind rushed out of the cave, carrying the smell of earth and rusted metal.

Xie Linyuan gestured downwards.

Lin Guoce immediately organized the operation: "Lower the ropes! Get ready to go down!"

---

Half an hour later, everyone climbed up the crevice using ropes and stood in front of the cave entrance.

The cave entrance is an irregular circle, about 1.2 meters in diameter, with chisel marks on the edges. Looking inside, there are downward stone steps leading into the darkness.

The flashlight beam shines in, but doesn't reach the bottom.

"They were carved by hand," Professor Zhou Xu'an said excitedly. "The craftsmanship of these stone steps... dates back to at least the Zhou Dynasty!"

Xu Jiashu's face flushed red and then paled—he had calculated the location wrong; the real entrance was here. But he stubbornly insisted, "This...this is on the same meridian as the location I calculated! The feng shui is connected!"

No one cares about him.

Lin Guoce arranged the order: "I'll go first, Mr. Xie second, Professor third, and the rest of you follow. Keep your distance and watch your step."

He first crawled into the cave entrance and then stepped down the stone steps.

Xie Linyuan followed.

The stone steps were steep, almost vertical, and only wide enough for one person to pass at a time. The walls were damp and covered in moss. The air smelled musty and… a faint, sweet, fishy odor.

After walking down about twenty meters, the space suddenly opened up.

A stone chamber, about thirty square meters in size, was converted from a natural cave. The floor was flat, and a stone pillar stood in the center, covered with blurred patterns. In each of the four corners of the chamber was a bronze lamp, the oil long since dried up.

At the other end of the stone chamber, there is another passage leading downwards.

"This stone pillar..." Professor Zhou Xu'an rushed to the pillar and shone his flashlight on it. "The pattern... is a sacrificial scene! Human sacrifice! And... some kind of long, thin creature..."

Xie Linyuan's gaze fell on the base of the stone pillar.

There was a line of small characters engraved there.

Ancient seal script.

He recognized him: "Unauthorized entry, death."

Just then, a commotion came from the back of the group.

Zhou Hao's voice was filled with excitement: "Look! There are murals on this wall!"

He had somehow broken away from the group and ran to the side wall of the stone chamber, shining his flashlight on a patch of mottled rock.

The mural depicts mountains, with a palace-like building nestled among them. Countless tiny figures kneel before the building's entrance.

"This painting is well preserved..." Zhou Hao reached out to touch it.

"Don't touch it!" Xie Linyuan shouted.

The sound echoed in the stone chamber.

Zhou Hao's hand stopped in mid-air.

But he was too close to the mural. His breath was already touching the surface of the rock face.

Stone dust fell softly from around the mural.

Below the mural, a stone slab suddenly caved inward.

Click.

The sound of a mechanism snapping open.

A crack appeared in the ground beneath Zhou Hao's feet.

He looked down, and before he could react, he fell down.

"ah--!"

The screams came from below, lasted for two seconds, and then stopped abruptly.

thump.

The dull thud of a heavy object hitting the ground.

The stone chamber was deathly silent.

Everyone froze in place.

Liu Desheng was the first to rush to the edge of the crack and shine his flashlight down.

The beam of light shone down to a depth of about ten meters, where sharp stalagmites formed the base. Zhou Hao's body was impaled on one of the stalagmites, his chest pierced through, and blood flowed down the stalagmite.

The flashlight slipped from his hand, rolled to the side, and the beam of light flickered.

"Haozi... Haozi!" Liu Desheng's voice trembled.

No one responded.

Only the sound of blood dripping, tap, tap, tap.

Chen Man covered her mouth, tears welling up. Wang Yihan hugged her. Kun Ge's face was deathly pale, and his phone fell to the ground. Xu Jiashu slumped to the ground. Jiang Shouyi's lips trembled.

Professor Zhou Xu'an slumped against a stone pillar, his glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose.

Lin Guoce clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white.

Xie Linyuan stood still, without moving.

He saw the moment the mechanism activated, and he also saw Zhou Hao fall the entire time. At a distance of fifteen meters, with his speed, if he sprinted at full speed, he might have been able to grab Zhou Hao before he completely fell.

But he didn't move.

Zhang Qiling wouldn't save someone like that.

Driven by curiosity, ignoring warnings, and acting on his own, he triggered a deadly trap—in Zhang Qiling's world, such a person deserves to die.

He is not a saint. He saves only those who want to live and who are worthy of being saved.

Zhou Hao is not worth it.

The live stream chat exploded:

[All viewers of ID: Someone's dead!!!]

[ID Live Online: Zhou Hao is dead! Really dead!]

[ID Quick Screen Recording: I Recorded the Moment the Mechanism Was Triggered!]

[ID Legal Consulting: Live-streaming a death... Can this program still be broadcast?]

[ID has a mental breakdown: I can't bear to watch anymore...]

[An ID feud begins: Why didn't the guy in black help?! He could have!]

[ID Rebuttal Party: Save him my ass! Zhou Hao brought this on himself!]

[ID Calm Party: This guy is human, not a god. Fifteen meters away, he couldn't have made it in time.]

Lin Guoce took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He walked to the edge of the crack, looked down, and then turned away.

"Zhou Hao... confirmed dead." The voice was hoarse. "Now, everyone listen up—no one is allowed to leave the group, and no one is allowed to touch anything. This is not a game; people will die."

Liu Desheng, his eyes red, cried out, "Captain Lin! Haozi, he..."

"He's dead," Lin Guoce interrupted. "What we need to do now is get out of here alive, or complete the mission. Let's save the grief for later."

He looked at Xie Linyuan: "Mr. Xie, are there any more traps ahead?"

Xie Linyuan nodded.

"Is it a lot?"

"a lot of."

"Can you take us there?"

Xie Linyuan remained silent for a few seconds.

"Follow me. Don't make a single mistake."

He turned and walked toward the passage at the other end of the stone chamber.

Their steps didn't stop.

He didn't even glance at Zhou Hao's corpse again.

Their indifference is chilling.

But at this moment, this indifference has become the only hope.

The group regrouped and followed Xie Linyuan into the passage.

Behind them, the stench of blood gradually filled the stone chamber.

The first person to die has appeared.

This won't be the last one.