Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

People got up as soon as it was light.

After a quick bite to eat, we checked our equipment: water, food, medicine, tools, and weapons. Everyone packed their backpacks as lightly as possible, but made sure nothing was missing.

Lin Guoce stood in the center of the camp, gazing at the pyramid-shaped structure that was beginning to take shape in the morning light. It was clearer and larger than it had appeared the night before. Constructed entirely of massive black stones, its surface was severely weathered, but the overall structure remained intact. The base was about a hundred meters square, gradually narrowing upwards, its top hidden in the morning mist, its height impossible to discern.

"That's the main hall of the Jingjue Kingdom," Professor Zhou Xu'an pointed excitedly. "Judging from its structure, it was definitely used for sacrificial purposes. But why was it built in the desert? Why was it shaped like a pyramid...?"

"Professor," Jiang Shouyi reminded him, "it's time to set off."

The professor then came to his senses and quickly put on his backpack.

The team assembled. There were still twenty-five people, but the atmosphere was more somber than yesterday. Everyone knew that today they were going to enter that pyramid.

Zhang Qiling walked to the front of the group and looked at the pyramid. He closed his eyes slightly, opened them a few seconds later, and his gaze fell on the south-western side of the pyramid.

Zhang Qiling was also watching, his fingers tracing patterns in the air as if he were calculating something. After a moment, he too looked in the same direction.

The two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously took a step and walked in that direction.

The team caught up.

As you approach, the oppressive feeling of the pyramids intensifies. The stones are enormous, the smallest being at least half a person's height, and the joints are so tight that almost no gaps are visible. The surface is engraved with countless eye patterns, large and small, some open and some closed, appearing eerie in the morning light.

Zhang Qiling stopped at the south-west side. There was a huge stone wall there, smoother than the others, with a large eye pattern carved on it, the pupil slightly recessed.

"The entrance is here," Zhang Qiling said.

"How do I open it?" Lin Guoce asked.

Zhang Qiling didn't answer. He stretched out his right hand, his index and middle fingers joined together, and slowly traced a line across the stone wall. Where his fingertips touched, extremely faint, almost invisible lines appeared on the stone wall, forming a complex pattern.

It was the Zhang family's secret feng shui technique. He mentally calculated the direction, the earth's veins, and the stars, combining this with the terrain and building structure before him to find the location of the gate of life.

After a moment, his fingertip stopped at a spot—directly below the pupil of the giant eye pattern, about 1.5 meters above the ground. There was a slightly darker stone brick there, the same size as the surrounding ones, but upon closer inspection, one could see extremely fine cracks along its edges.

"Here," Zhang Qiling said.

Zhang Qiling walked over, pressed his hand on the stone brick, and nodded: "Mechanism."

"How do we open it?" the fat man asked. "Pry it open?"

Zhang Qiling shook his head. He took two steps back, observed the entire stone wall, looked up at the top of the pyramid, and then looked down at the sand beneath his feet. After a moment, he walked three steps to the left of the stone wall, swept the sand away with his foot, and revealed a stone slab that was half-buried underneath.

There is a groove on the stone slab, shaped like half an eye.

"We need a key," Zhang Qiling said.

"What key?" Wu Xie asked.

Zhang Qiling looked at "Zhang Qiling". "Zhang Qiling" took out something from his pocket - the dark jade cicada he had obtained in the Seven Star Lu Palace. He placed the jade cicada into the groove of the stone slab, and it fit perfectly.

But the stone slab did not react.

"I'm missing my other half," Zhang Qiling said.

Zhang Qiling remained silent for a moment, then took out another jade cicada from his inner pocket—the one that was a warm, emerald green. He placed the jade cicada into the other half of the groove.

Two jade cicadas, one dark and one green, form a complete eye pattern in the groove.

The moment the pattern was completed—

"Click".

A soft sound came from inside the stone wall. Then, the darker-colored stone brick caved inwards, then slowly slid to one side, revealing a dark opening behind it. The opening was small, only wide enough for one person to bend down and pass through.

A cold wind, carrying the scent of aged dust and exotic spices, wafted out of the cave.

"It's open!" the fat man exclaimed excitedly.

But no one moved. Everyone stared at the black hole, a chill running down their spines.

The levitating live-streaming sphere—an emergency backup sent from the official side—flew to the entrance of the cave. The camera peered inside, revealing only a small section of downward-sloping steps; the depths were shrouded in darkness.

The comments scrolled by:

[The Prophet: They're in! They're in!]

[A deterrent to sophistry: This hole looks eerie!]

[Brother's fan club: Honey, be careful!]

"I'll go first," Zhang Qiling said.

"Together," said Zhang Qiling.

The two bent down and crawled into the cave entrance, one after the other. Their figures were instantly swallowed by the darkness.

"Keep up!" Lin Guoce gritted his teeth and waved his hand.

Wu Xie, Fatty, Xie Yuchen, Hei Xiazi, and Huo Xiuxiu followed closely behind. Next came Professor Zhou Xu'an, Jiang Shouyi, Kun Ge, Chen Man, and Wang Yihan, with Lin Guoce and the soldiers arriving last.

Inside the cave entrance, steep stone steps descend, narrow and high, requiring one to hold onto the damp, cold stone walls for balance. The flashlight beam swirled wildly in the cramped space, illuminating the densely packed eye reliefs carved into the stone walls, each one seemingly staring right at you.

After descending about fifty steps, the space suddenly opened up.

It was a huge square stone chamber, about ten meters high and over thirty meters on each side. The walls and floor were made of black stone, polished smooth as a mirror. In the center of the chamber stood four thick stone pillars, with grotesque serpentine carvings coiled around them.

The most eerie thing was the ceiling—it was inlaid with countless glowing stones arranged in the shape of a star map, emitting a cold, eerie blue light that cast a bleak glow over the entire stone chamber.

"This is... the sacrificial hall?" Professor Zhou Xu'an's voice echoed in the empty stone chamber.

"Look at those pillars," Jiang Shouyi pointed to the stone pillars, "the snake-shaped carvings are one of the totems of the Jingjue Kingdom. Legend has it that the Jingjue people worship eyes and snakes."

Wu Xie shone his flashlight and carefully examined the stone wall. There were murals on it, though severely peeling, some content was still discernible. They depicted a crowd kneeling in worship, a ceremony being held on a high platform, and a giant eye pattern in the sky.

"What are they worshipping?" Wu Xie murmured.

"Shh—" Black Bear suddenly raised his finger.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and held their breath.

The stone chamber was very quiet, with only the sounds of people breathing and heartbeats. But if you listened carefully, you could hear a very faint rustling sound coming from all directions.

It looks like something is crawling.

"On the ground!" a soldier suddenly cried out.

The flashlight beams all shone on the ground.

From the cracks in the black stone bricks, numerous slender, black creatures emerged. They were snakes. But unlike ordinary snakes, these snakes were entirely black, except for their blood-red eyes, which gleamed eerily in the ghostly blue light. They were only as thick as chopsticks, but there were countless of them, surging out from every crack in the stone and rapidly spreading across the ground.

"The Black-Eyed Serpent!" Professor Zhou Xu'an's voice trembled. "Ancient records state that the ancient city of Jingjue is inhabited by a black-eyed serpent, highly venomous, whose bite is fatal!"

The swarm of snakes had already reached their feet. A soldier raised his foot to step on them, but Zhang Qiling stopped him: "Don't move!"

But it was too late. The soldier stomped down, killing two snakes. Several other snakes sprang up instantly, biting his calf with lightning speed.

The soldier screamed, collapsed to the ground convulsing, his face quickly turning black, and then fell still a few seconds later.

"Back up! Back to back!" Lin Guoce roared.

People hurriedly gathered, standing back to back in a circle. The swarm of snakes continued to pour in, densely packed, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

Kun was so frightened his legs went weak, and Chen Man and Wang Yihan screamed. Several soldiers raised their guns to shoot, but the snakes were too small and there were too many of them to kill them all.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" moved at the same time.

Instead of retreating, the two took a step forward.

Zhang Qiling drew his black gold ancient sword, a flash of light, and slashed at the ground. He didn't cut the snakes, but rather struck them with the blade. The blade struck the stone bricks, producing a dull thud, the shockwave spreading outwards, sending a swarm of snakes tumbling away.

He didn't stop, his wrist flicked, the blade slashing horizontally, sweeping away another swarm of snakes. The movements weren't fast, but each strike was precise, clearing a small area.

Zhang Qiling, on the other side, used a similar method. His swordsmanship was even more forceful; he plunged the blade directly into the densest part of the snake swarm, forcefully churning it, the wind from the blade tearing more than a dozen snakes into pieces. Then he raised the blade and slammed it down heavily, killing a whole group of snakes.

But there were too many snakes. Killing one only resulted in a surge of more. And these snakes were incredibly fast, capable of leaping from the ground and lunging straight at a person's face.

A snake lashed out at Wu Xie. Instinctively, Wu Xie raised his hand to block, but the snake bit his arm. A sharp pain shot through him, and Wu Xie groaned.

"Naive!" the fat man exclaimed, smashing the snake to death with an entrenching tool, but Wu Xie's arm had already turned black rapidly.

Zhang Qiling glanced back, his brow furrowing. He suddenly sheathed his sword, ran his left hand along the blade, and blood gushed out. He flicked the blood onto the ground around Wu Xie.

Blood droplets fell to the ground with a sizzling sound. The surrounding snakes, as if encountering their natural enemy, retreated frantically.

Zhang Qiling also pricked his finger, flicking out a drop of blood that formed a broken line of blood around the crowd. The snakes gathered outside the line, writhing restlessly, but dared not cross it.

"Treat the wound quickly!" Lin Guoce roared.

The army doctor rushed over, used a knife to cut open the flesh where Wu Xie had been bitten, squeezed out the black blood, and applied antidote. But Wu Xie's face was still pale, and sweat was beading on his forehead.

"Brother..." the fat man looked at Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling walked over, glanced at Wu Xie's wound, remained silent for a moment, then reached out and made another cut on his palm, pried open Wu Xie's mouth, and dripped a few drops of blood into it.

Qilin blood.

Wu Xie felt a warm current slide down his throat, quickly spreading to his limbs and bones. The numbness and pain in his arms began to lessen, and the blackness faded.

"Thank...thank you, bro," Wu Xie said weakly.

Zhang Qiling nodded and turned to look at the swarm of snakes.

The swarm of snakes grew larger and larger outside the bloodline, but dared not approach. They flicked their tongues, their blood-red eyes fixed on the crowd, hissing as they did so.

"This isn't working," Xie Yuchen said in a deep voice. "How long can the health bar last?"

"Not long," said Zhang Qiling.

"Find a way out." Zhang Qiling's gaze swept across the stone chamber. The walls were smooth, with only the entrance they had come in through. But that entrance was crawling with snakes.

"Look there," Huo Xiuxiu suddenly pointed to a corner of the stone chamber.

There was a section of stone wall that was a slightly different color from the surrounding area, a darker shade. It had an eye pattern carved on it, but the pupil was empty, with a fist-sized groove instead.

"A mechanism?" Black Bear squinted.

Zhang Qiling walked over and looked at the groove. The shape looked familiar—like a jade cicada.

He turned to look at "Zhang Qiling". The two of them simultaneously took out the jade cicada from their pockets—they had put it away after opening the door.

"Put it in?" the fat man asked.

"Give it a try." Zhang Qiling placed the jade cicada into the groove.

"Zhang Qiling" placed the dark jade cicada into the other half.

The jade cicada returned to its place, fitting perfectly.

"Click... Boom..."

The sound of mechanisms turning came from inside the stone wall. Then, the stone wall slowly opened inward, revealing a passage leading downwards. There were no snakes in the passage, only bottomless darkness.

The snakes seemed to sense something and became even more agitated, but still dared not cross the bloodline.

"Let's go!" Lin Guoce ordered.

People quickly passed through the open stone door and entered the passage. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" brought up the rear, and only after everyone had gone in did they retrieve the jade cicada and slip inside.

The stone gate slowly closed behind them, shutting out the snakes.

The passageway was pitch black, with only the flickering light of flashlights. People were panting heavily, still shaken.

"Those snakes just now..." Kun's voice trembled.

"They're guards," Professor Zhou Xu'an said. "They're there to guard the first checkpoint. There might be something even more dangerous behind it..."

Wu Xie's arm injury had mostly healed. He flexed his wrist and looked at Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" walking ahead: "Brother, thank you for earlier..."

Zhang Qiling didn't turn around, he just waved his hand.

Zhang Qiling didn't say anything either.

The path led downwards, and the slope was very steep. After walking for about twenty minutes, light appeared ahead.

It wasn't the light of a flashlight, but a cold, eerie green light emanating from the walls, like the glowing stones on the ceiling of the stone chamber earlier.

Stepping out of the passage, you enter another space.

But this time is different.

This is a huge, circular cave. In the center of the cave is a bottomless black hole, more than twenty meters in diameter. Eight stone pillars stand at the edge of the black hole, each with a rusted iron chain attached to it, the other end of which hangs into the black hole.

The cave walls were carved with numerous caves, like a honeycomb. In each cave was a coffin. The coffins were ancient in style, some of them decayed, revealing the bones inside.

The most bizarre thing was the cave ceiling—where countless enormous, cocoon-like objects hung upside down. Each one was the size of a bucket, semi-transparent, and vaguely contained human-shaped shadows.

"This...this is a burial pit?" Professor Zhou Xu'an's voice trembled.

"It doesn't look like it," Jiang Shouyi shook his head. "Looking at the arrangement of those coffins, it looks more like... a prison."

"Imprison what?" Wu Xie asked.

No one answered.

Zhang Qiling walked to the edge of the black hole and looked down. The black hole was bottomless, with only a cold wind blowing up from below, carrying a strong smell of decay.

Zhang Qiling was also watching. He suddenly squatted down and wiped the stone surface at the edge of the black hole with his finger. There were dried black stains on the stone surface, which were blood.

"Lots of blood," he said.

"Many people have died here," Zhang Qiling continued.

Just then, a cocoon hanging upside down on the top of the cave suddenly moved.

"Click."

A crack appeared in the cocoon shell.

A withered hand reached out from the crack.