Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 558, Second Level

"A single breath? What about Grandma Huo? Did she already escape?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaohua's expression changed, and she asked with a hopeful expectation, clinging to the possibility that there might be a chance.

"Accept reality, Comrade Xiaohua! If that old woman really has already left, will you still have this expression?"

"Besides, even if we take a step back and say that I'm not bragging, even the young man can't escape right now, so what chance does a mere old woman like Huo have?"

The fat man patted Xiaohua on the shoulder and bluntly shattered Xiaohua's illusions.

"...So what exactly is Grandma Huo thinking, risking her life at her advanced age to come to this hellish place where there is no chance of survival?"

Xiao Hua smiled bitterly. This was the worst possible outcome, one he had anticipated, but even so, it was still hard to believe when the facts were laid bare before him.

"why?"

"What else could an elderly person, on the verge of death, possibly want to come here at any cost?"

"He just made the same mistake that all those who indulge in wealth, power, and luxury make: he didn't want to die!"

Hu Ming looked around and said in an indifferent tone.

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore, let's get down to business!"

“Uncle Ming, I think we’re in trouble! The style here is very much in the style of the late Qing Dynasty’s Lei family.”

"According to feng shui theory and the consistent design habits of the Lei family, the best location for the staircase in the ancient building should be on the edge of the building, usually on the east side."

"But.."

Wu Xie couldn't bear to see his childhood sweetheart troubled, so he shook his head and changed the subject.

Wu Xie studied architecture in college, and due to his profession, he has a deep understanding of ancient classical architecture.

However, after searching the lobby several times, they still couldn't find the stairs leading up.

Even though they could clearly see the ceiling of the next floor through the large hole corroded in the ceiling, they still couldn't find the way to the second floor!
"Perhaps everyone in the Zhang family is as capable as Xiao Ge. They don't need stairs at all for this height of a few meters."

"Just like in martial arts novels, you can soar into the air with a whoosh?"

The fat man raised an eyebrow, his mind racing with ideas.

"No, not everyone in the Zhang family has reached the level of skill that is within human capabilities, like Brother Zhang. In this base camp, there are plenty of support staff who don't know martial arts."

"Besides, Huo Xiangu and the others came with Brother Xiao. Surely those people can't compare to Brother Xiao, right?" Hu Ming shook his head and denied it.

Do you really think just any Tom, Dick, or Harry could be as skilled as this guy?
"Then, how did they get up there?" Xiaohua asked, regaining her senses.

"The feng shui here is special. The Zhang Family Ancient Building is located in a special position on the entire dragon vein, where the marrow is extracted from the bones."

"The so-called Dragon Tower and Palace are all built with the aim of long-term peace and security, but the construction of the Zhang Family Ancient Tower goes against this principle. It devours the dragon vein's energy and destroys its power."

"In order to ensure that something nurtured deep within the ancient building can successfully absorb the dragon vein's energy, the staircases in some places have to be abandoned in this design."

Hu Ming did not answer Xiao Hua's question directly. Instead, he went to a pillar around the hall, held his breath, and, wearing gloves, swept away the white dust that had accumulated on it.

"I understand! It's not that there are no stairs here, but rather that the visible stairs have been transformed into a hidden staircase!"

Looking at the reliefs revealed on the pillar, Wu Xie suddenly realized!
The reliefs on these pillars depict a peculiar creature with the head of a Qilin (a mythical Chinese creature), but an unusually long body, much like a dragon.

This strange creature hovered on the pillar, protruding excessively in many places, clearly forming an invisible staircase!
Seeing the thick layer of dust covering the pillar, the fat man gestured for the others to step back, took a water bottle out of his bag, weighed it in his hand, and then threw it at the pillar.

Once the dust had settled, the group began climbing up the pillar.

Hu Ming led the way, followed closely by Fatty, with Wu Xie in the middle and Xiao Hua bringing up the rear.

Stepping on the body of the Qilin dragon, Hu Ming quickly climbed to the top of the pillar. With a little effort, he found that the floor above did not budge.

After casually stroking the area for a moment, Hu Ming understood and then gently stomped on a scale on the tail of the Qilin Dragon.

Click~~~
The entire scale sank in, and then the floor above contracted, revealing a spiral ladder emerging from the gap.

In the field of machinery expansion, Hu Ming truly had never been convinced by anyone!
The group climbed up one after another and arrived at the second floor without any incident.

When the light shone on them, apart from Hu Ming, who had expected it, the other three people who were seeing the scene for the first time all trembled slightly.

On the second floor of the ancient building, the vast space was filled with shelves made of special materials, numbering in the hundreds at a glance, all neatly stacked with iron terracotta warriors!
Those who already knew what was inside felt an indescribable unease watching this scene.

What is this? A large morgue used in ancient times to store the corpses of supernatural beings?
This thing is more terrifying than a mass grave at night!
Upon closer inspection, Hu Ming noticed that all the shelves holding the iron figurines were arranged radially from this point, forming a complete set of the sixty-four hexagrams of Fuxi.

This hexagram is very peculiar!
"Go to hell! What kind of weird fetishes does the Zhang family have? Why do they like to collect these weird things? What's so special about collecting monster corpses?"

While Wu Xie was explaining the origins of these strange things to Xiao Hua, Fatty muttered something under his breath.

What decent person would build an extra floor in their own home?
Don't you feel uneasy sleeping on a pile of corpses at night?
Hu Ming smiled but remained silent.

Isn't Mitralaga's role in the Zhang family just like that of an experimental subject to a mad scientist?
How could any scientist in this world possibly be terrified of their own test subjects?