Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

Everything seemed normal inside the tomb. Archaeologists were moving in and out of the tomb passage, and the lights coming in illuminated the tomb clearly.

But Hei Xiazi had been to too many tombs, and his extensive experience made him realize something was wrong even when he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

Wu Wei nodded slightly.

The abnormal energy compass above his head was still firmly pointing at the stone wall, the arrow unmoving.

He lowered his voice and replied, "I think I know what this is."

Immediately, he mentally activated his cheat code: "What's going on with this tomb?"

999's voice quickly responded: "Scan complete. There is a patch of variegated spores behind the stone wall."

"What is it?" Wu Wei had never heard of this name before.

"A supernatural microbial community formed over a long period of time by the yin energy of the ancient tomb. It has no offensive capabilities, but it is poisonous," 999 explained.

The toxins enter the body through the respiratory tract, initially causing flu-like symptoms such as coughing, fatigue, and low-grade fever. With prolonged exposure, the toxins accumulate in the body, and severe cases can lead to respiratory failure.

Wu Wei's expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously held his breath.

Li Jingming's words on the way, "Many people in the team have colds and coughs," exploded in my ears.

That's not a cold, it's poisoning.

"Why are you holding your breath?" 999's tone carried a hint of exasperation. "You have Qilin blood; you're immune."

Wu Wei breathed a sigh of relief and resumed normal breathing.

But then he frowned, thinking again: "Is there an antidote? What about the archaeological team?"

There is no antidote. Mild symptoms will heal on their own over time; there is no need for a specific detoxification.

999 paused, then said, "But there's no cure for severe cases."

Wu Wei had a plan in mind.

He looked up at the stone wall in front of him, which was covered with densely packed texts, each stroke a precious archaeological record.

To collect the variegated spores behind the stone wall, the only way is to start with this stone wall.

But this is a national archaeological site. If he dares to openly damage cultural relics, he could get a silver bracelet tomorrow.

How long would it take to collect data remotely?

999 calculated for two seconds: "The distribution area of ​​*Flococcus pyrenoidosa* is relatively large. At the rate of collection using remote collection, it will take approximately two days to collect it completely."

Two days. Wu Wei mentally calculated the time.

The archaeological team has been stationed here for about a week, and judging from Li Jingming's symptoms, the poisoning is not yet severe.

Two days should be enough time to rescue these people.

Wu Wei has seen blood since he came into this world, and he would certainly choose himself over others without hesitation.

However, Wu Wei couldn't hesitate about something that wouldn't have a big impact on himself but could save a group of people.

He turned and glanced at Black Bear.

Black Bear was staring at him, his gaze behind his sunglasses revealing no emotion, his jawline taut.

He was waiting for Wu Wei's explanation.

Wu Wei pulled Hei Xiazi back two steps into the corner, making sure no one could hear their conversation, before lowering his voice to say:

"There's a poisonous creature in this tomb called *Hypericum globosum*. The people in the team aren't coughing because of a cold; they're poisoned."

Black Bear's body tensed up almost imperceptibly for a moment.

He reached out and grabbed Wu Wei's wrist, his voice low: "Get out."

"I'm not leaving." Wu Wei pressed down on Hei Xiazi's hand.

"Listen to me, you know my blood, I'm immune."

Black Bear didn't loosen his grip; instead, his fingers tightened even more.

"Immunity won't work either. Putting yourself in a dangerous environment is a major taboo; it's the most basic rule for tomb raiding."

"The toxicity isn't strong, and I know how to counteract it, it just takes time."

Wu Wei looked at Hei Xiazi's tightly pursed lips and softened his tone.

"Two days, at most two days, and I can clean this place up completely."

"If left untreated, the symptoms of the archaeological team members will worsen. Right now, the most severely affected are probably just coughing, but if this continues, things could get much worse."

Hei Xiazi remained silent for a few seconds, his unseen gaze behind his sunglasses fixed on Wu Wei's face.

A moment later, he released his grip on Wu Wei's wrist, his voice sounding a little muffled: "Then I'll stay with you."

Wu Wei sighed: "You'll be poisoned. Here's what we'll do: wait for me in the courtyard, for two days at most..."

"Then let's go for it together." Black Bear crossed his arms and leaned against the stone wall.

His chin was slightly raised, his posture carrying an unreasonable stubbornness. "You'll treat the poison, I'll hand you the tools. What, can't an assistant stay by the boss's side?"

Seeing his stubbornness, Wu Wei remained silent for a moment before finally giving in.

The archaeological team stayed here for about a week, and their symptoms were still at the cough stage, so the rate of toxicity accumulation should not be too fast.

She sighed and said in a low voice, "Tell me immediately if you feel unwell."

Black Bear smiled and waved his hand, "I know, stop nagging."

Wu Wei returned to the stone wall, picked up his notebook, and began to translate the text on the stone wall line by line.

Wu Wei was going to stay here for two days and wasn't in a rush, so he didn't want 999 to help with the translation.

His knowledge of classical Chinese, honed over the years through countless days and nights, is absolutely solid.

The inscriptions on the stone wall are older than those on the previous stone slab. Some symbols have weathered their edges, and you have to get close to make out the original strokes.

Wu Wei traced the characters in the air with his fingertips, muttering several key grammatical structures under his breath. He would occasionally jot down a translation in his notebook, cross it out, and rewrite it.

Hei Xiazi stood beside him, truly assuming the posture of a professional assistant.

When Wu Wei needed a magnifying glass, it was already handed to him.

Just as his notebook was almost full, a new one was opened and placed in front of him.

At lunchtime, Hei Xiazi brought his boxed lunch to Wu Wei's side. While eating, Wu Wei frowned as he stared at a symbol on the stone wall.

Hei Xiazi didn't urge him, but moved a small stool and sat down next to him, only taking away the lunchbox after he put down his chopsticks.

Yin Fengjue occasionally looked up in this direction, her eyes filled with undisguised envy.

Although my senior's assistant wore sunglasses and seemed a bit unapproachable.

But he's very efficient and cooperative, much better than him squatting here alone looking up information in a dictionary.

He silently thought to himself that he would bring an assistant with him next time he went out on a field mission.

Around 3 p.m., Wu Wei was carefully examining a blurry engraving.

The sound of 999 suddenly rang in my mind.

"Host, Jude Kao is dead."

Wu Wei paused for a moment, and the notebook slipped from his lap and hit the ground with a thud.

I bent down to pick up the notebook, took two deep breaths, put the pen inside the notebook, and closed it.

I stood up and walked to the small table that had been set up nearby to pour myself a glass of water.

He took a few sips from his cup, then pulled out his phone and scrolled through it, swiping his thumb across the screen a few times.

I replied to a few non-urgent messages before putting my phone back in my pocket.

Black Bear had already followed and sat down beside him.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Wu Wei looked up and glanced around.

Yin Fengjue was engrossed in recording on the other side of the stone wall, while the archaeological team members were busy in their respective parts of the tomb passage, and no one noticed their corner.

He held his cup and whispered, "Jude Kao is dead."

Black Bear's brow furrowed sharply: "How did you know?"

Wu Wei held up his phone and waved it, uttering four words without changing his expression: "Secret intelligence."

"Yes, I am that secret." 999 silently raised her hand.

Don't interrupt.

Hei Xiazi glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions.

Everyone has secrets they don't want others to know.

He lowered his voice and asked again, "How did you die?"

Wu Wei took a sip of water from his cup.

Of course he knew how Jude Kao died.

That piece of Qilin Blood, infused with abnormal energy, had a weak medicinal effect but was genuine.

Jude Kao probably had someone test him, but the abnormal energy of 999 couldn't be detected.

An old man like him, who is old enough to want to live forever, would never let go of any chance of survival once he is certain that the Qilin Blood is real.

Although he knew all this in his heart, Wu Wei did not say it aloud.

He simply shook his head: "I only know he died, but I don't know how he died."

Black Bear let out a low, sarcastic laugh:

"That old bastard tried to ambush us last time, but he died a few days later—it's truly gratifying."