Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

Before dawn, the cave was still dimly lit by a faint green light.

Zhang Qiling opened his eyes. He had been sitting cross-legged all night, his back ramrod straight. The "Zhang Qiling" beside him also opened his eyes at the same time. The two looked at each other, said nothing, and got up.

The campsite was still quiet. Only a few embers remained of the campfire. Wu Xie and Fatty huddled together, Fatty snoring. Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu sat back-to-back, eyes closed, resting. Kun Ge and the others were curled up in a ball, wrapped tightly in blankets. Professor Zhou Xu'an and Jiang Shouyi dozed off by the campfire. Lin Guoce and the soldiers took turns resting, while the soldiers on night watch patrolled the edge of the camp.

Zhang Qiling walked to the edge of the black hole and looked down. It was bottomless, with only a chilling wind rising upwards. He glanced back at "Zhang Qiling," and "Zhang Qiling" nodded.

Without telling anyone, the two walked straight to an iron chain. The chain was as thick as a forearm, rusted, and hung into the darkness.

Zhang Qiling grabbed the iron chain, tested its strength, and then leaped down. He didn't climb; he jumped directly down, using his hands to brace against the chain every few meters to slow his descent. His movements were clean and swift, and his figure quickly disappeared into the darkness.

"Zhang Qiling" followed closely behind, proceeding in the same manner.

As soon as they went down, the bear opened his eyes. He walked to the edge of the dark hole, peeked out, and grinned: "Well, the mute Zhangs have cleared the way."

Wu Xie woke up too, rubbing his eyes as he came over: "Little Brother went downstairs?"

"Okay," said Black Bear, "get ready, let's go down too."

The camp quickly sprang into action. People packed up their equipment and checked the ropes. Lin Guoce directed the soldiers to secure the chains and install pulleys and safety buckles.

"Have Mr. Zhang and the others already gone down?" Professor Zhou Xu'an asked.

"Okay," Wu Xie said, "Let's hurry up and catch up."

Kun's face turned pale: "Really...really going down? What about down there..."

"If you're scared, don't go down," the fat man patted him on the shoulder, "I'll wait here."

Kun looked at the black hole, then at his surroundings, and gritted his teeth: "Go! I'm not a coward!"

Chen Man and Wang Yihan exchanged glances and nodded.

With everything prepared, people began to descend into the cave one by one. First, the equipment was lowered down using pulleys, and then the people went down one by one. Wu Xie, Fatty, Xie Yuchen, Hei Xiazi, and Huo Xiuxiu went down first. Next came Kun Ge and his group, Professor Zhou Xu'an, Jiang Shouyi, and finally Lin Guoce and the soldiers.

It's very deep down there.

It took Zhang Qiling and Zhang Qiling almost a minute to reach the bottom. Below was a large platform paved with black stone. The edge of the platform was a bottomless abyss; looking down, it was still pitch black. In the center of the platform stood several stone pillars, each carved with eye patterns.

After landing, the two immediately surveyed their surroundings. Their night vision allowed them to make out the general shape in the darkness. The platform was empty, with nothing but stone pillars. However, there was a faint, fishy smell in the air.

People came down one after another. Flashlight beams swirled, illuminating the platform.

"Is this... the bottom of the Ghost Cave?" Professor Zhou Xu'an shone his flashlight around.

"It's not the bottom," Jiang Shouyi pointed to the abyss at the edge of the platform, "Look, you can go further down. This might be the middle level."

Wu Xie walked up to Zhang Qiling: "Brother, did you find anything?"

Zhang Qiling shook his head, his gaze shifting to one side of the platform. There, a narrow passage led into the depths of darkness.

"Go that way," he said.

"Zhang Qiling" has already headed that way.

The group followed. The passage was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. The stone walls were damp and covered with slippery moss. After walking about a hundred meters, light appeared ahead.

It wasn't the light of a flashlight, but a pale, stark white light that shone through from the end of the passage.

Stepping out of the passage, you enter another vast space.

This is a converted natural cave, smaller than the one above, but even more eerie. The cave walls are embedded with glowing stones, casting a ghastly white light. The ground is uneven, with puddles everywhere; the water is black, bubbling, and emits a pungent odor.

What's most chilling is the cave ceiling—hanging upside down countless long, black, slender shapes. They're densely packed, like a forest.

"What is that?" Kun's voice trembled.

The flashlight beam shone upwards. The black things stirred, revealing their true forms—snakes. Completely black except for their blood-red eyes, they hung upside down from the cave ceiling, staring motionless at the people below. Their numbers… countless, at least a hundred.

"Pheasant neck," Zhang Qiling suddenly said.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear in the quiet cave.

"What neck?" the fat man asked.

"Snake." Zhang Qiling added a word.

Looking at the snakes, Wu Xie suddenly remembered his grandfather's notes mentioning "black-eyed monster snakes, highly venomous, gregarious, and frantic when exposed to blood." He lowered his voice, "Brother, these snakes..."

"It's very poisonous," Zhang Qiling said.

"Don't make a sound," Lin Guoce gestured to everyone to stay still.

But it was too late. A soldier slipped and stepped into a puddle with a splash.

At the top of the cave, the snakes all moved at once.

They loosened their grip on the stalagmites and fell one by one, like black rain. Once on the ground, they swam rapidly, surging towards the crowd. They moved incredibly fast, reaching us in the blink of an eye.

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

People hurriedly gathered around. The swarm of snakes had surrounded them, the closest being less than three meters away. They raised their heads, their blood-red eyes staring at the people, their tongues hissing.

A snake sprang up and lunged at a soldier. The soldier swung his rifle butt and knocked it away, but more snakes pounced.

Gunshots rang out, bullets striking the snakes and splattering blood. But there were too many snakes; for every few killed, dozens more would immediately take their place. Moreover, these snakes were agile, able to dodge bullets and leap, specializing in attacking the lower body of people.

A soldier was bitten on the calf, screamed in pain, and fell to the ground, his face quickly turning black. Nearby soldiers tried to help, but were then entangled by several snakes.

The scene was chaotic.

Zhang Qiling and Zhang Qiling stood at the front of the crowd. Neither of them moved, watching the swarm of snakes approach.

The snakes stopped abruptly about two meters from them, writhing restlessly, too afraid to go any further. They seemed to sense something; their blood-red eyes fixed on the two, their hissing growing more urgent.

Zhang Qiling raised his hand, and the Black Gold Ancient Blade slashed across his left palm. Blood gushed out, bright red, strikingly bright in the pale light.

He splattered the blood onto the ground in front of him.

Blood droplets landed in front of the snakes, making a soft sizzling sound. Within a three-meter radius of the blood droplet, the snakes retreated frantically, trampling each other, as if scalded. Snakes behind them crashed into them, causing a brief period of chaos.

Zhang Qiling also pricked his finger, flicking out a bead of blood. The swarm of snakes on his side also retreated in disarray.

The two men flicked out beads of blood, creating a discontinuous line of blood around the crowd. The snakes gathered outside the line, slithering restlessly and hissing shrilly, but dared not cross it.

The pressure decreased sharply.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Guoce directed the wounded to treat their injuries and reorganize the team.

A levitating live-streaming sphere descended from above, filming the scene. The camera panned across the ground littered with snake carcasses and the restless swarm of snakes outside the live stream.

The comments scrolled by:

[The Prophet: Here we go again!]

[A Cure for Dissenting Experts: What's the Real Story Behind This Blood?]

[Brother's fan club: Is my husband alright?]

Wu Xie and the others watched without much surprise. They had seen him several times at the Seven Star Lu Palace and knew that Xiao Ge's blood was special. Fatty even muttered, "Well, more bloodletting."

Kun Ge, Chen Man, and Wang Yihan were meeting for the first time, and their eyes widened in surprise, but they didn't dare to ask any questions.

The snakes lingered outside the bloodline for a while, seemingly realizing they wouldn't gain any advantage, and then slowly retreated, swimming back to the cave ceiling to hang up again. The cave returned to silence, leaving only the scattered snake carcasses and the stench of blood.

People breathed a sigh of relief.

"Keep going," Zhang Qiling said, the bleeding from his hand wound had stopped.

Zhang Qiling also wiped his hands.

The group regrouped and continued forward. They bypassed puddles and passed through a cave. At the other end of the cave, another passage stretched diagonally downwards.

Before leaving, Professor Zhou Xu'an picked up a dead snake and carefully put it into a specimen bag: "Take it back for research; the venom of this snake may be quite unique."

The passage was long and led downwards. After walking for about half an hour, a stone gate appeared ahead.

The stone door was heavy, made of stone, and its surface was carved with eye patterns. The door was closed, without a handle or keyhole.

Zhang Qiling walked to the door and reached out to touch the surface of the stone door. The stone was cold, and the carvings were deep. He pressed his finger on several eye patterns, then stopped on a pattern with a slight indentation at the pupil position.

"Here," he said.

Zhang Qiling also came over to take a look and nodded.

Zhang Qiling pressed down hard on the indentation with his finger.

"Click".

The sound of a mechanism came from inside the stone door. Then, the stone door slowly opened inward, making a heavy scraping sound.

Behind the door was a huge hall.

The flashlight beam shone inside, revealing towering stone pillars, exquisite bas-reliefs, and... right in the center, a tall stone platform. On the platform lay a coffin.

The coffin was made of stone, very large, and its surface was covered with intricate patterns. The lid was not fully closed, leaving a crack.

The walls of the hall were lined with many statues. They were human-shaped, but very abstract, with only one huge eye on each face.

"This is... the main burial chamber?" Professor Zhou Xu'an asked excitedly.

"It doesn't seem like it," Jiang Shouyi said. "Judging from the layout, it's more like a sacrificial hall. The person lying in that coffin might not be a king, but... a sacrificial offering? Or a priest?"

People entered the hall. The hall was vast, and their footsteps echoed in the empty space.

Zhang Qiling and Zhang Qiling walked at the front, heading straight for the stone coffin. When they reached about three meters in front of the coffin, they both stopped at the same time.

"There's something there," Zhang Qiling said.

"It's moving," said Zhang Qiling.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the stone coffin lid was suddenly pushed open from the inside, crashing to the ground with a deafening roar.

Inside the coffin, a "person" sat up.