Tomb Raiding: My Family's Last Clan Chief is Little Brother

Chapter 288 Siphon Effect
Suddenly, Yun Cai stopped moving. Caught off guard, the fat man twisted his hips as he backed up, causing Yun Cai to stumble.

Yun Cai fell to the ground, recovering from her shock, and quickly covered her ankle, crying out "Ouch!"

Upon seeing this, the fat man realized the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly asked with concern, "Little Cloud, where are you hurt? Let your fat brother take a look."

Yun Cai frowned and shook her head. "It's nothing, I just twisted my ankle by accident."

"This sprain could be serious or minor, sweetie, let Fatty take a look and see how serious it is," Fatty said anxiously.

Yun Cai couldn't refuse, so she had to move her hand away. She had been caught off guard and pushed over, and her ankle did twist slightly, becoming a little red and swollen.

The fat man hurriedly grabbed a towel and ran to the lakeside, soaked it, and then ran back to fold it and apply it to Yun Cai's injured ankle. He comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, Yun Cai. Just apply an ice towel, then put on some medicine, and get some rest. It won't affect your walking tomorrow."

After saying that, he raised his voice and asked Zhang Wuxun, who was standing by the lake, "Muyu, did you bring any medicine to reduce swelling and relieve pain?"

Zhang Wuxun hadn't expected that a mere warning look would frighten the young girl so much. He couldn't help but wonder if he had gone a little too far. When the fat man asked, he pointed to the backpack where the first-aid kit was.

The young man, always quick to sense things, glanced at Zhang Wuxun indifferently and said, "No need."

Zhang Wuxun shrugged helplessly, "It's all because Fatty is too infatuated with that girl. I just hope the outcome won't be too bad."

The young man meant that he knew Yun Cai was suspicious and had deliberately approached him. Since the person behind Yun Cai was targeting him, he might as well use this opportunity to lure the person out and see what the guy behind the scenes was up to.

But Zhang Wuxun still wanted to give Yun Cai a chance for the sake of Fatty, and it all depended on whether her kindness matched Fatty's sacrifices.

Upon hearing this, the young man paused for two seconds, then asked, "Who do you think it could be?"

Without thinking, Zhang Wushen replied, "Slouching shoulders."

The young man raised his eyelids, looked at him, and asked in his eyes.

Zhang Wuxun said, "That guy's target is definitely you, and there's a higher chance that Yun Cai is working for him. Otherwise, A Gui wouldn't be so blatant in covering for him. As for the reason, I speculate that it's related to A Gui's son, whose identity is shrouded in mystery."

“I also inquired with the neighbors and found out that A-Gui’s family does have a son. Judging from the timeline, he is about eighteen or nineteen years old this year. But the neighbors only saw him when he was a child. After he grew up, they heard that he was in poor health and never showed up again.”

“If the slumped shoulders are a way of using A-Gui’s son as leverage, then it’s more likely that A-Gui’s family will serve them,” Zhang Wuxun said.

As soon as the young man frowned, Zhang Wuxun knew what he meant and said, "Don't worry, if they realize what's happening and cut their losses in time, things won't get too bad."

"However, we still need to stay alert. The goal of slumped shoulders has not yet been achieved, and it will definitely reappear." A cold glint flashed across Zhang Wuxun's face. He was just waiting to see when Yun Cai would get the news to him.

The young man nodded, gazing at the dark lake surface under the moonlight, and said nothing more.

On the other side, the fat man looked at Yun Cai's red eyes and felt extremely sorry for her. He racked his brains to come up with all sorts of jokes to cheer her up.

"Little Cloud Sister, do you know what kind of battle it is where you kill one enemy but lose three thousand of your own?"

Wu Xiaoxie was afraid that the fat man would tell the little girl dirty jokes. The little girl hadn't seen much of the outside world and her mind was still very simple. The fat man's brain was full of nonsense, and the words he said felt like pollution. He quickly gave him a reprimanding look.

The fat man waved his hand, "Don't worry, it's a serious question, Sister Yun Cai, you guess."

Yun Cai thought for a moment, "Let's raid the ant nest."

The fat man shook his head and said, "No, no, let's guess again. Tianzhen, you guess too."

Wu Xiaoxie was too lazy to think, so he just guessed, "A battle between pistols and machine guns."

"No, no," the fat man said smugly. "Guess again, but this time the answer has to be relevant to your daily life."

Wu Xiaoxie kicked him in annoyance, urging him to hurry up and reveal the answer, and not keep people in suspense.

The fat man snorted, with an expression that said, "Fine, for the sake of Sister Yun Cai, I'll reluctantly tell you mortals. Listen up: a battle where you lose three thousand of your own for every one you kill is like an elephant fighting a banana."

Wu Xiaoxie was stunned at first, then flew into a rage, "What kind of answer is this? Explain yourself, how can three thousand bananas beat an elephant?"

The fat man gave him a disdainful look, saying, "You don't believe me when I say you're stupid. Only someone as gifted as me could have figured out the intricacies of this problem."

Wu Xiaoxie glared at him, "Stop talking nonsense. If you don't give me a straight answer today, I'll have Muyu beat you up."

Yun Cai also said in a coquettish tone, "Fatty brother, hurry up and tell me, you're making me anxious."

After keeping everyone in suspense for a while, the fat man finally said, "Actually, the answer is very simple: the elephant died from being stuffed with three thousand bananas."

The group burst into laughter, and Yun Cai even forgot about her foot injury, laughing so hard she could hardly breathe.

The fat man chuckled and said, "Happy now? I have lots of brain teasers too, like..."

Yun Cai stared blankly at the fat man, who was making exaggerated and funny gestures. She knew that the fat man was just trying to make her happy and distract her.

Actually, she didn't like this shameless guy who came up to her claiming to be her fat brother at first. Although she hadn't seen anything particularly new or interesting, she wasn't really stupid. She knew exactly what the fat guy was thinking about her. She just found it amusing to see him running around for her.

Her main purpose was to stand next to the fat man so she could observe the cold-blooded guy up close. She didn't know why that terrifying person wanted her to keep an eye on the young man; she simply followed his orders and reported everything in detail. In reality, she didn't even know what the man's face looked like.

It was obvious that her concealment skills were inadequate; the handsome young man had already warned her that her actions had been exposed. She thought she should carefully consider what to do next to protect herself and her family. She knew very well that seeking help from a tiger was not a long-term solution.

Perhaps, Yun Cai glanced at the fat man without making a sound, perhaps she could use the fat man and his friends to get rid of that person.

It's not that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Fatty and his friends are enemies of that person, and she saw what happened outside the stilt house that day. That weirdo was no match for Cold-Faced Brother and Pretty Brother.

Perhaps by cooperating with them, her family could finally break free from their control. Moreover, she could tell that the handsome older brother who frightened her a little cared a lot about the other three. The four of them had a good relationship, so with the chubby older brother protecting her, she believed that the others wouldn't do anything to her.

After careful consideration, Yun Cai had made up her mind and was just waiting to discuss it with her father later.

"Clouds?" The fat man waved his hand in front of her eyes. "What are you thinking about so intently? Are you captivated by my handsome appearance?"

Yun Cai chuckled, this time genuinely happy. "Fatty, you're so narcissistic." She thought, Fatty is really good to her, if only...

Wu Xiaoxie drank a lot of rice wine, lay on his back on the lake beach, half-closing his eyes. In just a short while, he was already drifting off to sleep. He didn't even know when Zhang Wuxun and the other person had returned. Meanwhile, Agui next to him had already collapsed on the ground and started snoring.

Zhang Wuxun took a thin blanket out of the tent and covered Wu Xiaoxie with it to prevent him from catching a cold after sweating from the effects of the alcohol and being exposed to a cool breeze.

Fatty and Yun Cai were whispering to each other, but Zhang Wuxun noticed that Yun Cai glanced at him cautiously several times, her expression hesitant, as if she had something to say.

Zhang Wuxun quickly realized that Yun Cai had probably figured out the pros and cons and was planning to abandon the darkness and embrace the light. This was a good sign, and Fatty's efforts had not been in vain.

The young man continued to look up at the few scattered stars in the night sky. The rounder and brighter the moon, the fewer stars could be seen at night.

The air fell silent for a moment, with only the occasional call of an unidentified animal coming from the woods not far behind them.

Zhang Wuxun sat by the fire, his chin resting on one hand, his eyes vacant and his eyelids drooping. At first glance, one might think he was asleep, but in reality, he was simply lost in thought.

After some time, the dog tied to the tent suddenly let out a short bark.

Zhang Wuxun immediately snapped out of his daze and looked behind him, only to find that the dogs had all stood up, straightened their bodies, and were all looking in the same direction.

The young man next to him also noticed something, stood up, and looked towards the lake with a serious expression.

The fat man also sensed something was wrong and told Yun Cai to quickly wake up A Gui. He then quickly woke up Wu Xiaoxie, made a shushing gesture, and signaled everyone to be quiet and listen carefully.

A gust of wind brought a "pattering" sound from the direction of the lake, as if someone's feet were slapping the water's surface, wading from the lake towards the shallows.

In the pitch black, the sound was truly eerie.

The fat man gestured to the others, took out a flashlight, and pretended to go and see what was going on.

Ah Gui had taken a nap, and Mi Cheng's eyes were now clear. Seeing this, he quickly waved his hand to signal them to calm down and sit down, saying, "It's alright. The sound sounds like a wild animal licking water."

"What kind of wild beast is it? Judging from the noise, it seems to be quite big," the fat man asked softly.

Ah Gui shook his head, indicating that he couldn't tell either. After thinking for a moment, he took out a hunting rifle from the tent, told Fatty and the others to stay put, and crept towards the lake. Yun Cai followed behind, holding a short hunting rifle in one hand and a flashlight in the other.

The fat man saw this and realized it wouldn't do, so he quickly said he wanted to go and see for himself.

Seeing this, the remaining few people also picked up their knives and quietly followed.

Approaching the lake, I shone my light and searched for traces of wild animals, only to discover that the "licking" sound was coming from all directions.

“It’s the sound of the tide,” the young man said calmly.

The group looked at each other in bewilderment. How could such a small lake experience both high and low tides?
I looked up at the moon, and the once semicircular jade disc was mostly obscured by clouds that seemed to have drifted in from nowhere, making it hazy and indistinct, as if shrouded in mist.

The group continued walking towards the waterline and, sure enough, saw the lake water rippling rhythmically, like small waves lapping against a beach. The sounds of animals licking the water were from the waves hitting the rocks on the shore.

Looking down at their feet, they realized that the water level had dropped significantly, and the rocky beach was wet. Zhang Wuxun and Xiao Ge hadn't noticed anything unusual when they were by the lake, meaning that the lake level had dropped so drastically in the short time they had taken a nap.

The fat man cupped his hands in an arch shape, rested them on his forehead, and looked into the distance, asking in confusion, "What's going on? Has the lake bottom leaked?"

After a moment's thought, Wu Xiaoxie understood what was going on and explained, "This should be a geographical phenomenon called the siphon effect."

The fat man still didn't understand, "Siphon what? Siphon Erguotou?"

"This lake does seem to be connected to an underground river, and there may be an even larger lake nearby that is connected to it. Affected by tides or air pressure, this lake is also affected," Wu Xiaoxie explained in detail.

"For example, both the small lake and the large lake are magnets. If we assume that the siphon effect is caused by the moon's gravity, then the moon is also a large magnet. The large lake will definitely experience a greater attraction, so a pressure difference is created between the small and large lakes. Water in the small lake will be drawn into the large lake, which is why the water level of the small lake in front of us has dropped."

As Wu Xiaoxie spoke, he looked up at the sky and suddenly realized something. "I understand!"

The fat man had just explained the siphon effect and the moon's magnetism when he said, "Oh, it's just like a flush toilet. So there must be an opening at the bottom of the lake that's drawing the water away. By the way, what do you understand now?"

Zhang Wuxun spoke softly, “No wonder we can’t find anything. Look at the water level, it’s dropped by more than ten meters. If there’s a siphon tide here every night, those things from back then would probably have been sucked to the center of the lake long ago. Searching on the shallows by the shore is just a waste of our energy.”

Wu Xiaoxie nodded, confirming his statement, "No wonder the area near the shallows is so barren, with nothing but rocks; it turns out they've all been sucked away."

Yun Cai listened quietly from the side, then couldn't help but ask, "What are you gentlemen looking for?"

The fat man gave a mysterious "shh," saying, "Little girl, don't ask questions, or you'll have nightmares."

Yun Cai was still somewhat unwilling to give up. She wanted to increase the leverage for cooperating with these people. "Is what you're looking for at the bottom of the lake? This lake is very deep. Even the best swimmers can't dive to the bottom. Besides, it's very dangerous underwater. You should find some professional salvage personnel. They have professional equipment."

The fat man smiled and raised an eyebrow. "This little girl knows quite a lot."

Yun Cai smiled and said, "A few years ago, some people came here to salvage things. I saw the clothes they wore, which were as smooth as fish skin, and they were carrying steel cylinders on their backs."

This was something that Yun Cai revealed, something that Zhang Wuxun and the others had not anticipated.

She then gave the fat man a wink, and he understood immediately. He moved closer to Yun Cai, said a few kind words, and then asked, "Yun Cai, did you see clearly what they were catching?"

Yun Cai shook her head. "There were people guarding the area. I only caught a glimpse from afar, but some of those people looked a little different from us."

The fat man pressed on, "How is it different?"

"Most of those people had very white skin. Oh, no, there were a few who were as black as coal. They set up a lot of tents by the lake, and the people guarding the area were all carrying guns. It looked a bit scary," Yun Cai recalled.

Wu Xiaoxie frowned slightly. This description sounded a bit like that of a foreigner.

I added two hundred words, haha ​​(ω)
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(End of this chapter)