Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

At the end of the rocky beach is a precipice, its walls covered with crisscrossing cracks and protruding rock edges.

A dark red liquid seeped from the cracks, condensing into dark streaks on the rock surface.

The ground beneath was piled high with rubble and dead leaves, emitting a damp, rotten smell.

At the bottom of the cliff, there is a huge cave.

The cave entrance is at least ten meters high, with irregular edges, as if some external force had forcibly torn a hole from inside the mountain.

A thin layer of mist hung over the cave entrance. The mist was a very pale bluish-gray color, and it swirled slowly in the air, lingering for a long time.

"This is it," Lao Yang said.

As Wu Wei stood in front of the cave, the voice of 999 rang in his mind with unprecedented excitement.

"Wu Wei, I need the energy inside. The energy inside can help me level up."

"Is this different from the energy we collected before?"

999's voice was very excited.

"It's different. For example, the energy we usually collect is iron ore, which needs to be extracted to become iron, and then manufactured into parts for our system to use."

"But this time, the energy comes from the successfully manufactured parts, which I can use directly."

Okay, I'll collect them for you.

"You go first," Wu Wei said to Lao Yang after ending his conversation with 999.

Lao Yang didn't hesitate and stepped inside, as if he couldn't wait to get there.

The temperature inside the cave was several degrees lower than outside, and the air was damp and stuffy. Each step was accompanied by the faint sound of the soles of shoes stepping on some soft material.

Wu Wei shone his flashlight on the ground and found that there was a thick layer of grayish-white powder under his feet, which looked like the debris left after some kind of rock was crushed.

There are carvings on the cave walls.

Wu Wei shone his flashlight on the stone wall and saw densely packed symbols and patterns.

The strokes are rough and distorted; over time, the stone wall has weathered, and the content has become fragmented.

But after piecing it together, some details become discernible: human figures kneeling before something, their hands raised high, as if offering a sacrifice.

Wu Wei's heart beat a little faster.

He didn't stop to take a closer look, and pulled Wu Xie along to continue following Lao Yang.

The deeper you go into the cave, the wider it becomes, and it soon expands into a huge underground space.

Wu Wei held up his flashlight and shone it upwards. The beam of light pierced through layers of mist and illuminated the high-hanging stone wall above.

Countless thick roots hang down from the stone wall, densely covering the entire top.

It looked like the roots of some kind of plant had penetrated the rocks from the soil at the top of the mountain and directly entered this underground space.

Lao Yang led them forward, and Wu Wei felt as if they were constantly going uphill.

The road was extremely dark, and I relied on my flashlight to move forward, with light only coming through the bend ahead.

After rounding this bend, a ray of sunlight shines down from the crack in the sky, creating the Tyndall effect.

A huge tree stands in the middle of the valley.

The trunk is so thick that it takes seven or eight people to encircle it, and its surface is covered with dense bronze patterns.

At first glance, it looks like some kind of ancient script, but upon closer inspection, it resembles countless intertwined human figures, twisting and struggling, forever frozen in this cold metal.

The branches extend outward from the trunk, spreading out in layers, each branch cast in bronze.

The branches were bare of leaves, but instead hung sparsely with the small stones that Wu Wei had snatched from Lao Yang, like the fruit of the tree.

However, the stones here have not been cut open, and their surfaces are black and rough.

The stone slabs underfoot also became smooth.

No longer natural gravel, but man-made steps, extending downwards one by one.

Lao Yang had already stepped over the steps and run to the bronze tree.

He knelt on the ground, frantically digging at the rubble and dirt with both hands, where there was a human-shaped protrusion underneath.

He muttered to himself, "I'm coming to save you...it'll be over soon..."

Wu Wei told Wu Xie to stop on the steps and walked alone towards the bronze tree.

I touched the bronze tree; it was cold, hard, and had a completely metallic feel.

There were some weathered bones under the tree, I don't know what kind of creature they were from.

A voice from 999 announced, "Absorption has begun."

Wu Wei asked himself, "How long will it take?"

999 calculated: "Based on the size of the energy body, it will take at least one hour."

"Do I need to keep touching you?"

"No need. This energy is different. You only need to touch me to mark it, and the system has the authority to absorb it automatically."

Wu Wei asked suspiciously, "99, you're not giving me special treatment at work, are you?"

999 immediately reacted, "What are you talking about? This is called a work benefit!"

Wu Wei understood and turned to look at Lao Yang.

Watching him frantically dig through the rubble and mud.

"Not performing anymore?"

Lao Yang paused for a moment, looked up at Wu Wei, and asked blankly, "What are you talking about?"

Wu Wei took out his phone from his pocket, opened the file on Jie Ziyang, and turned the screen toward Lao Yang.

Although there was no signal inside the cave, the file had been downloaded to my local machine and could be viewed.

The faint light from the phone screen shone on Lao Yang's face, making his blood-stained face appear somewhat distorted.

"Jie Ziyang, your mother came to Shaanxi with you three years ago, and she has been missing ever since. You returned to Hangzhou alone."

"She's dead, isn't she?"

Lao Yang froze completely.

He stared at the document on his phone screen, tears still streaming down his face, his expression turning into a kind of panic, as if he had been exposed and had nowhere to hide.

"You know better than I do who that person down there is," Wu Wei's voice echoed in the empty underground space.

"You fabricated a story of coercion, luring Wu Xie all the way here. What was your purpose?"

Lao Yang put down the stone he was using to dig in the dirt and slowly stood up.

The previous fear and appeasement vanished, replaced by a stubborn determination.

"Who else could it be?" he murmured, his voice very soft, as if talking to himself. "It's Wu Xie buried down there."

Wu Wei's pupils suddenly contracted.

Everything connects together: Lao Yang tricked Wu Xie into coming here so that he could sacrifice him to the Bronze Tree and resurrect his mother.

Lao Yang suddenly spoke up, "Wu Xie, come here."

Wu Wei instantly looked at Lao Yang warily, "What do you want to do?"

Old Yang gave a forced smile, "Didn't you already know?"

Wu Xie had already obediently come over. Lao Yang pointed to a place where many white bones were piled up and said to Wu Xie.

"Wu Xie, lie there and don't move..."

"You dare!"

Wu Wei took a few steps forward, turned to the side, and delivered a flying kick.

Lao Yang was kicked several meters away and fell against the mountain wall, coughing violently.

Wu Xie walked towards the spot Lao Yang pointed to and made a gesture as if he wanted to lie down.

Wu Wei quickly grabbed him, "Xiao Xie, you can't go."

However, Wu Wei pulled Wu Xie up, and Wu Xie did not resist. He simply lay down again after getting up.

Lao Yang burst into hearty laughter beside him, "Haha, cough, hahaha, you can't stop him, cough cough, he'll only listen to me."

Wu Wei shouted at Lao Yang, "There's no such thing as resurrection in this world! Even if she wakes up, she won't be your mother anymore; she's not even human anymore!"

Lao Yang wouldn't listen; he just laughed heartily, "My mom's coming back soon..."

After several attempts to stop him, Wu Wei pulled Wu Xie onto the steps and ran to the bronze tree himself.

Feeling its hard texture, I took the mirror-like meteorite out of my pocket.

Strike it hard.

"Hahahaha, it's useless, cough, it won't break." Lao Yang thought it would be like Wu Wei smashing a meteorite with a rock last time.

Unexpectedly, a slight 'click' sound came from Wu Wei's hand.

The meteorite, which seemed indestructible from the outside, cracked the moment it touched the surface of the bronze tree.

"Brother?" Wu Xie called out clearly from behind.

"Xiao Xie!" Wu Wei threw down the broken stone and ran towards Wu Xie.

Wu Xie was rubbing his head, trying to process the sudden clarity of mind.

When Lao Yang controlled him, he had memories, but his consciousness seemed to be trapped. He could see what he was doing, but he couldn't stop it.

"Impossible, how could a stone break? Impossible!" Lao Yang refused to believe it, shaking his head as he spoke.

Wu Wei squatted down and looked at Wu Xie, who was clutching his head, with concern. "What's wrong, Xiao Xie? Does your head hurt?"

Wu Xie released his hand from his head and hugged Wu Wei tightly.

"Brother." His voice was both dependent and aggrieved.

"I shouldn't have gone out with him. You're right, I should use my brain."

Wu Wei was thrown backwards by the tackle, caught Wu Xie's body, and patted him on the back.

"Go back and practice more. Now, let's figure out how to get back."

Old Yang was still in disbelief, "How could it break? It was so close, so very close..."

His body began to slowly petrify, starting from his feet and gradually moving upwards.