Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

At the cave entrance, figures moved about.

The official team members entered one after another, their flashlights sweeping aimlessly. Wen Jingshan, supported by two men, was pale-faced but could still walk. Lin Guoce ordered the soldiers to spread out and establish a perimeter. Jiang Xungu walked in front, and upon seeing the scene inside the cave, he paused in surprise. Kun Ge, Chen Man, and Wang Yihan followed behind, all three looking exhausted and terrified. Professor Zhou Xu'an and Jiang Shouyi entered last. The professor was immediately captivated by the "starry sky" on the cave ceiling, looking up and muttering, "A miracle... a miracle..."

Their gazes quickly fell on the central stone platform—the jade cocoon had cracked open, its skeleton scattered, and Zhang Qiling was holding a jade eye in his hand.

"You..." Wen Jingshan's voice was hoarse, "You got it?"

Zhang Qiling didn't answer, and put the jade eyes into his bosom.

"Has the curse been lifted?" Lin Guoce asked.

"I don't know," Wu Xie said.

"Let me see your jade eyes." Professor Zhou Xu'an walked forward excitedly.

Just then, a "crunching" sound came from deep within the cave, like countless feet crawling on the stone slabs. The sound was very dense and came from all directions.

"What's that sound?" Wang Yihan grabbed Chen Man's arm.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound. From beside the glowing stones on the cave walls, numerous black shadows crawled out. They were centipedes, but ridiculously large, each as long as an arm, entirely black with glossy carapaces. They surged out from the cracks in the rocks, their numbers multiplying until they covered half the wall in the blink of an eye.

"Black Iron Wire Centipede!" Jiang Shouyi's expression changed. "Retreat quickly!"

But it was too late. At the top of the cave, a huge boulder loosened, fell, and crashed to the ground, sending debris flying. Behind the boulder, something even bigger crawled out.

It was a centipede, but it had six pairs of wings. The wings were transparent with metallic edges, and emitted a high-frequency buzzing sound when vibrating. Its body was over five meters long, composed of dozens of glossy black exoskeletons, each segment with sharp hooked legs on both sides. Its head was flat, and its two enormous mandibles opened and closed, dripping green venom. Its eyes were compound eyes, densely packed, gleaming with an eerie green light.

"The Six-Winged Centipede!" Jiang Shouyi's voice trembled. "Wasn't that creature... extinct?"

The six-winged centipede flapped its wings and took flight, circling in the air. It moved with incredible speed, creating a foul stench. Suddenly, it swooped down, pouncing towards the crowd.

"Scatter!" Lin Guoce roared.

The crowd scattered in panic. The six-winged centipede's first target was Professor Zhou Xu'an—the professor was still looking up at the cave ceiling, not yet reacting. The centipede swept past, its jaws snapping open, and it bit the professor's upper body before flying upwards.

"Professor!" Jiang Shouyi shouted.

The professor only had time to utter a short cry of alarm before he was lifted off the ground. The centipede swung its head in mid-air, tearing the professor's body in two, blood raining down. One half of the corpse fell to the ground, while the other half was swallowed by the centipede.

The whole process took less than three seconds.

"Ah—!" Chen Man screamed, turning to run, but tripped over a stone. The six-winged centipede swallowed the professor and swooped down again, this time targeting Chen Man. It flicked its tail, the venomous hook at the end sweeping towards Chen Man's back.

Chen Man was struck by the poisoned hook, sent flying, crashing into a stone wall before sliding to the ground, where she lay motionless. Her clothes were torn on her back, revealing three deep wounds where the flesh had rolled back and quickly turned black.

"Chen Man!" Kun Ge and Wang Yihan wanted to rush over, but Jiang Xun Gu held them back.

"Don't go over there!"

The six-winged centipede hovered in the air, its compound eyes scanning the area below, searching for its next target. The soldiers raised their guns and fired; the bullets struck its carapace, sparks flying, but they couldn't penetrate. Enraged, the centipede swooped down on the group of soldiers, its tail sweeping across, sending three soldiers flying as they crashed into the wall, the sound of their bones shattering clearly audible.

Zhang Qiling came to life.

He rushed to Chen Man's side, knelt down, and checked her pulse. She was still alive, but very weak. He quickly pressed several acupoints around the wound on Chen Man's back, his fingers precisely targeting a few points. The flow of black blood slowed down. He then took out a small bottle from his pocket, poured out some white powder, and sprinkled it on the wound. The powder hissed and emitted white smoke upon contact with the wound.

"Press here," Zhang Qiling said to Kun Ge, who had run over, pointing to a spot he had just pointed to.

Kun Ge frantically held it down. Zhang Qiling stood up and looked at the six-winged centipede hovering in the air.

"Zhang Qiling" had already moved. He took a few steps, leaped up, his feet touching the stone wall, his body rising high as he lunged at the centipede. The centipede noticed him, turned, and snapped at him with its jaws. "Zhang Qiling," still in mid-air, twisted his body, passing between the centipede's jaws, grabbed a segment of its carapace with his left hand, and used the momentum to flip onto the centipede's back.

The centipede thrashed wildly, trying to shake him off. Zhang Qiling clamped his legs together, cupped his right hand, and slammed it down on the centipede's head and thorax. The carapace caved in, producing a dull thud. The centipede hissed, its wings vibrating more intensely, and charged towards the cave ceiling, trying to knock him off.

Zhang Qiling, seizing the opportunity below, leaped into the air. He jumped extremely high, almost level with the centipede, and drew his black-gold ancient sword from its sheath in his right hand. With a flash of light, the sword struck the centipede's left wing root.

"laugh!"

A section of its translucent wing was severed. The centipede lost its balance and tumbled downwards. "Zhang Qiling" released its grip the moment it fell, landing gracefully on its own. Zhang Qiling also used a protruding rock below for leverage, landing steadily.

The centipede fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and then got up again. It was missing a wing, making its flight unsteady, but it was even more ferocious. It no longer flew, but crawled with dozens of pairs of hooked legs, still moving at an extremely fast speed, heading straight for the densely populated area.

The soldiers retreated while firing, but it was no use. Jiang Xun Gu drew his short sword, held it in front of him, and slashed at the centipede's head, sparks flying, leaving only a white mark. The centipede swung its head, knocking him aside.

Zhang Qiling charged in from the side, kicking the centipede in the side. The centipede shifted its body, knocking down two stone pillars. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Qiling stepped forward, aiming his knife at the centipede's compound eyes and stabbing.

The centipede tilted its head, and the knife pierced its carapace before sliding away. Its venomous tail lashed out, and Zhang Qiling leaned back, the sting grazing his chest and tearing his clothes. He instinctively fell to the ground, rolling away to avoid the next bite.

Zhang Qiling leaped onto the centipede's back, grabbed the edge of a section of its carapace with both hands, and with a forceful pull, ripped it open. The carapace loosened, revealing the soft tissue beneath. He inserted his hook-like fingers, gripped it, and tore it apart.

The centipede writhed in agony, throwing Zhang Qiling off. Zhang Qiling landed, clutching a large chunk of its carapace covered in blood and flesh. Green slime spurted from the centipede's wound, corroding the ground and sending up white smoke.

Zhang Qiling stepped forward again, this time circling around to the side of the centipede. He slashed upwards with his knife, cutting into the wound and pushing it deeper. When the blade was more than halfway in, he twisted his wrist and made a horizontal cut.

The centipede's body was nearly ripped open, its internal organs spilling out. It hissed and tried to struggle, but its movements were already slow. "Zhang Qiling" rushed forward, grabbed its head with both hands, and twisted it with force.

"Click."

The head separated from the body. The centipede's body twitched a few times and then stopped moving. The head was still in Zhang Qiling's hand; its jaws opened and closed a few times and then stopped.

The battle ended in less than four minutes, from start to finish.

The cave was a scene of utter chaos. Centipede carcasses lay strewn about, their green slime seeping across the ground and corroding into numerous pits. The soldiers, still in shock, began to vomit. Professor Zhou Xu'an's mutilated remains lay scattered, a gruesome sight. Chen Man still lay on the ground, Kun Ge pressing on her wounds, his hands trembling.

A levitating live-streaming sphere hovered in the air, capturing the entire process. Comments scrolled across the screen:

Prophet: The professor is dead...

This is a killer for experts: This centipede is terrifying!

The male fan club: Our husbands are so handsome saving people!

Zhang Qiling walked to Chen Man's side and examined the wound again. The medicine powder had taken effect; the wound had stopped turning black, but she was still unconscious and had lost too much blood.

"Can it be saved?" Kun's voice trembled.

"Yes," Zhang Qiling said.

Zhang Qiling walked over, took a small cloth bag from his backpack containing silver needles. He squatted down and inserted needles into several acupoints on Chen Man, his movements quick and precise. After the needles were inserted, Chen Man's breathing became more stable.

"Stay calm for now," he said.

"Thank you... thank you..." Kun stammered incoherently.

Wang Yihan also ran over, crying as she said thank you.

Lin Guoce walked over, his face grave: "Professor Zhou, he..."

"Please accept my condolences," Xie Yuchen said.

Wen Jingshan was carried over. He looked at Zhou Xu'an's mutilated body, then at Zhang Qiling. His lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

"Jade Eyes," Jiang Xun Gu walked over, "may I take a look?"

Zhang Qiling took out the Jade Eye. The Jade Eye was dull in luster, like ordinary jade.

"The curse hasn't been lifted?" Wu Xie touched his neck; the red spots were still there.

"Perhaps the method is wrong," Xie Yuchen said.

"The bamboo slips say it should be placed on the chest of the King Xian's body," Huo Xiuxiu said. "We did, but..."

"Perhaps, it's not this real body," Ah Ning suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" Fatty Wang asked.

Aning walked to the skeleton of the King of Xian, squatted down, and examined it closely. She reached out, parted the scattered joints, and felt around in the chest cavity. After a moment, her fingers touched something, which she pried out.

It was a small jade piece, about the size of a fingernail, shaped like a miniature jade eye, but instead of a vortex, it had a very simple symbol engraved on it—an eye without a pupil.

"This is..." Xie Yuchen took the jade piece and looked at it.

"Maybe this is the key," Aning said.

"And what about the jade eyes?"

"It's an energy source," Zhang Qiling said.

"Use them together," Zhang Qiling concluded.

The meaning is clear: the jade eye provides energy, and the small jade piece is the key. Only by combining the two can the real "door" be opened and the Muchen Pearl be found.

"Where's the door?" Wu Xie asked.

Zhang Qiling looked into the depths of the cave. There was a wall there, carved with a huge swirling eye pattern, very similar to the one he had seen before, but simpler. In the center of the pattern was a groove, the shape of which matched the small jade piece.

"There," he said.

Zhang Qiling nodded.

The group walked towards the wall. The official team members looked at each other and followed, but kept their distance.

On the wall, the swirling eye pattern looked particularly eerie under the ghostly blue light. Zhang Qiling placed the small jade piece into the central groove. It fit perfectly.

Then, he placed the jade eye on a spot above the pattern—there was a shallow circular mark there, the same size as the jade eye.

The jade eye is applied, and the jade piece is embedded.

The wall moved.