Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

Chapter 18 Opening the Coffin, Green-haired Zombie

The Netherworld Palace was eerily quiet.

The black stone floor was as smooth as a mirror, and the torchlight danced on it, casting distorted shadows. Rows of stone pillars stretched into the darkness on both sides of the hall, each pillar carved with reliefs depicting scenes of battle—men killing beasts, beasts killing men, the bloody details clearly depicted.

The high platform in the center of the main hall was about thirty meters away from them. The stone coffin, entirely bluish-black, gleamed with a cold, hard luster in the torchlight, rested on the platform. The circular pattern on the coffin lid was exactly the same as the black stone disc in Xie Linyuan's hand, even down to the angle of the curves.

Xie Linyuan stood at the entrance of the main hall, not in a hurry to walk forward.

He was looking at the ground.

On the black stone slab, there were several shallow scratches that stretched from the platform down to their feet. The scratches were fresh, as if they had been made recently. There was black powder in the scratches; he rubbed some with the tip of his foot and smelled it.

Bloody smell.

It smelled of decay.

"Someone's been here," Lin Guoce said, noting, "recently."

"Not human," Xie Linyuan said.

He gripped the black gold ancient sword tightly and walked towards the high platform.

The footsteps were light, but in the deathly silent hall, each step echoed clearly. The echoes returned from all directions, overlapping each other, as if many people were following along.

The group followed behind him, walking cautiously.

Chen Man gripped Wang Yihan's hand, her nails digging into her flesh. Wang Yihan didn't cry out in pain, only staring at Xie Linyuan's back as if he were her only support. Kun Ge's legs were still trembling, and he walked with a limp—he had fallen on the bridge earlier. Jiang Shouyi held the compass, the needle completely still, pointing dead at the ground. Professor Zhou Xu'an's eyes were fixed on the stone coffin, his academic instincts overriding his fear.

The live stream chat was flooded with messages:

[ID Coffin: Finally, the coffin is about to be opened!]

[ID Nervous: I have a bad feeling]

[ID Archaeology Climax: This is the main coffin!]

[ID Count: Three have died, will more die?]

We walked down to the foot of the platform.

The platform was made of three tiers of stone steps, each half a meter high. The stone coffin was placed on top, about 2.5 meters long, 1.2 meters wide, and 1 meter high. The gap between the coffin lid and the body was sealed with black clay, which had dried and cracked but had not yet fallen off.

Xie Linyuan stepped onto the first step.

The Qilin tattoo on my shoulder blade suddenly became intensely hot.

He stopped.

He turned to the others and said, "Step back."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was very cold.

Everyone immediately retreated five meters away.

Xie Linyuan then continued walking upwards.

Walking up to the coffin, he took out a black stone disc and compared it to the groove on the coffin lid.

Perfectly fitted.

But he didn't put it in.

Instead, he put the disc back into his backpack, then reached out and pressed down on the edge of the coffin lid.

The tactile sensation from the tomb raider's finger indicated a mechanism inside the coffin lid, connected to the coffin body. Forcibly pushing it open would trigger this mechanism.

He crouched down and examined the side of the coffin.

In the lower left corner of the coffin, there is an inconspicuous protrusion.

He pressed it down.

A click came from inside the coffin lid, like a lock being opened.

He stood up, placed his hands on the coffin lid, and exerted force.

The coffin lid was very heavy, at least 500 pounds. But in his hands, it slid slowly backward.

The friction sound was particularly jarring in the silent hall.

The coffin lid slid open halfway.

It was exposed inside the coffin.

There were no bodies inside.

There was only one piece of clothing.

A black robe, neatly folded, lay at the bottom of the coffin. On top of the robe was a jade disc, engraved with cloud patterns. Beside it was a short sword, its scabbard heavily corroded.

"A cenotaph?" Professor Zhou Xu'an couldn't help but lean closer. "Isn't the actual body buried here?"

Xie Linyuan remained silent.

He looked at the black robe.

The style of the black robe was very similar to his. It was hooded, had wide sleeves, and was made of thick fabric. Only the color was even darker, so dark it seemed to absorb light.

He reached out and picked up the black robe.

The black robe was light, but it felt cold to the touch. He shook it open and found a pattern embroidered on the back.

Qilin.

The dark blue-green Qilin, with its bared fangs and claws, is incredibly lifelike.

It's exactly the same as the tattoo on his shoulder blade.

His hand remained suspended in mid-air.

Just then, a low roar came from deep within the hall.

It was not a human roar.

It is a wild animal.

A heavy, echoing roar came from the darkness behind the stone pillar.

Everyone turned to look in that direction.

Xie Linyuan put down his black robe and gripped his knife tightly.

The roar rang out again.

This time it's even closer.

Then came the sound of footsteps.

Heavy, slow footsteps.

thump.

It looked like something huge was walking this way.

The torchlight couldn't reach that far; only a blurry outline could be seen, slowly emerging from the darkness.

Very high.

At least 2.5 meters.

It's very wide.

His shoulders are twice as wide as an average person's.

It went to where the torchlight could reach.

Everyone gasped.

The creature had a human body, but it was covered in long, green hair. The hair was so long that it hung down like seaweed, swaying as it moved. Its face was mostly obscured by the green hair, and only a pair of eyes could be seen—yellow eyes without pupils.

Its mouth gaped open, revealing interlocking fangs, which were black and dripped with a viscous liquid from their tips.

Its fingers are very long, with curved nails like iron hooks, each ten centimeters long.

"Green...green-haired zombie..." Jiang Shouyi's voice trembled. "Ancient books record that a corpse grows white hair after a hundred years, black hair after five hundred years, and green hair after a thousand years. This is a thousand-year-old zombie!"

The live stream chat exploded:

[ID Zombies! There really are zombies!]

[ID: Green-haired Zombie: A Thousand-Year-Old Zombie! Explosive Combat Power!]

[ID Worldview Collapses: What About Science?]

[ID Guy, get ready for battle!]

The green-haired creature stopped twenty meters away, its yellow eyes fixed on Xie Linyuan on the high platform.

Then it moved.

It's not walking, it's jumping.

He can jump five meters in one leap and reach the bottom of the platform in just two steps.

It looked up at Xie Linyuan on the stage, opened its mouth, and spat out a breath of green corpse gas.

Xie Linyuan leaped up, avoiding the corpse energy.

The corpse's stench sprayed onto the stone coffin, and the surface of the coffin was immediately corroded into pits.

The green-furred zombie leaped onto the high platform and clawed at Xie Linyuan.

Xie Linyuan slashed horizontally with his blade.

clang!

The claws clashed with the blade, producing a metallic clanging sound.

The green-haired zombie's claws were as hard as iron; the blade only managed to cut in half an inch.

The green-haired zombie swept its other paw across.

Xie Linyuan lowered his head, his claws sweeping across the top of his head, the resulting wind causing his hair to fly up.

He seized the opportunity to slash upwards with his blade, aiming for the green-haired zombie's abdomen.

The knife tip pierced the green fur, but got stuck in the muscles inside.

The green-haired zombie roared, clasped its arms together, and tried to hug Xie Linyuan.

Xie Linyuan withdrew his sword and retreated, the blade slicing a gash in its abdomen, from which green slime gushed out.

The green-haired zombie glanced down at its wound, then went berserk.

It pounced, twice as fast.

Xie Linyuan turned to the side, his blade slashing diagonally, striking its shoulder.

The green fur swayed, the blade cut in three inches, and then stopped.

The green-haired zombie gripped the blade and twisted it forcefully.

Xie Linyuan twisted his wrist to dissipate the force, and at the same time kicked its knee.

The sound of a kneecap cracking.

The green-haired zombie knelt on one knee, but grabbed Xie Linyuan's calf with his other hand.

Xie Linyuan leaped up, stepped on its shoulder, and thrust his blade toward the back of its neck.

The green-haired man turned his head, causing the blade to veer off course and pierce his shoulder.

It grabbed Xie Linyuan's foot and flung him away.

Xie Linyuan flipped in the air, landed, slid three meters, and regained his balance.

The green-haired zombie pulled the knife from its shoulder and threw it on the ground, green slime gushing from the wound.

It pounced again.

Xie Linyuan was unarmed.

He rushed forward, and just as the claws were about to grab him, he grabbed his wrists with both hands, spun around, and executed an over-the-shoulder throw.

The green-haired zombie was thrown to the ground, and the stone slabs on the high platform shattered.

It immediately sprang up, its claws sweeping across.

Xie Linyuan leaped up and kicked it in the chest with both feet in quick succession.

The green-haired zombie took two steps back and bumped into the stone coffin.

The stone coffin swayed.

Xie Linyuan landed and picked up the black gold ancient sword.

The green-furred zombie roared, its green fur standing on end, and its size seemed to have swelled up even more. It opened its mouth and spewed out an even denser aura of corpses.

Xie Linyuan did not retreat, but instead charged forward.

The instant the corpse fumes reached him, he slashed the blade with his left hand.

Blood droplets spilled out.

Qilin blood.

When the blood droplets touched the corpse energy, they made a sizzling sound, and the corpse energy dissipated instantly.

Green Hair froze for a moment.

Xie Linyuan seized the opportunity and thrust his blade straight into its chest.

The blade penetrated half a foot into the flesh.

Green-haired stiffman lowered his head, looking at the knife in his chest, disbelief showing in his yellow eyes.

Then it reached out its hands and grabbed Xie Linyuan's shoulders.

The fingernail pierced the flesh.

Xie Linyuan grunted, then turned the blade and churned it inside its chest cavity.

The green-haired zombie let out a piercing scream, released its grip, and retreated.

The knife was pulled out, bringing with it a large clump of green slime and bits of meat.

The green-haired zombie had a large hole in its chest, through which its black internal organs could be seen.

But it's not dead yet.

It turned around, jumped off the platform, and rushed into the depths of the main hall.

It moved extremely fast, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

All that was left was a patch of green slime.

Xie Linyuan stood on the high platform, his chest heaving.

His shoulder was pierced by fingernails, leaving four bloody holes from which blood flowed. He tore off a strip of cloth and used it to bandage the wound.

Then he bent down and picked up the black robe from the ground.

On the back of the black robe, the Qilin pattern glowed faintly in the firelight.

He put away his black robe and looked inside the stone coffin.

Just now, the green-haired zombie bumped into the stone coffin, and a crack appeared at the bottom of the coffin.

He reached out and pried open the crack.

The bottom is not solid.

It's empty.

There is a passage that extends downwards.

The live stream chat was scrolling wildly:

[The battle is over: The green-haired zombie ran away!]

[ID Injury: Guy's shoulder was pierced by a claw!]

[ID Channel: There's still a way out even at the bottom of the coffin!]

[How deep is the ID: This tomb is never-ending!]

Lin Guoce ran up to the platform: "Mr. Xie, your injury..."

"It's alright," Xie Linyuan said. "Get ready to go downstairs."

"under?"

Xie Linyuan pointed to the crack at the bottom of the coffin: "The way."

Professor Zhou Xu'an also came up, looking at the crack: "This...this isn't the main coffin? It's just an entrance?"

"A cenotaph," Xie Linyuan said. "It really is down there."

He picked up the jade disc, looked at it, and tossed it to the professor.

The professor caught it, his hands trembling: "This is... a Zhou Dynasty jade disc, of the highest craftsmanship!"

Xie Linyuan ignored him and began clearing away the rubble around the crack.

The crack widened, revealing a hole about one meter in diameter. The hole was pitch black, and a cold wind blew up from below.

He took out a rope, secured it to a stone pillar on the high platform, and threw the other end down.

"I'll get off first."

After saying that, he grabbed the rope and slid into the hole.

The others waited a while, then heard his voice from below: "Come down."

One by one, they went down.

The passage was narrow, descending vertically for about ten meters before turning into a slope. The slope was very steep, requiring one to hold onto a rope for stability.

At the bottom, there is another space.

It wasn't large, about fifty square meters. The floor was earth, and the walls were natural rock. In the middle was a stone platform with a bronze lamp on it, still filled with oil.

Xie Linyuan lit the lamp wick.

The lights came on.

Light illuminates the space.

Then everyone saw that the walls were covered with murals.

This mural is neither a ritual nor a depiction of war.

It is the history of a family.

First image: A group of people kneeling in front of a bronze door, which is tightly closed.

The second picture: The door opened, and a person walked in.

The third picture: The person came out of the door, holding a box in his hands.

Fourth picture: The person opened the box, and inside was a glowing stone.

Fifth picture: The person swallowed the stone.

The sixth picture shows a person whose body undergoes a change, growing scales and turning golden eyes.

The seventh image: That person leads his people to guard the bronze gate, a tradition passed down through generations.

The eighth and final painting, only half complete. It depicts the door opening again, from which something black surges out and devours everything.

The mural ends here.

Xie Linyuan stood in front of the last painting and looked at it for a long time.

Professor Zhou Xu'an also looked on, muttering, "This...this is the origin of the Gatekeeper Clan? And that stone...what is it?"

"Immortality," Xie Linyuan said.

"Immortality?"

Xie Linyuan did not explain.

He walked to the stone platform and picked up the bronze lamp.

At the bottom of the lamp holder, a line of small characters is engraved:

"The seventh-generation gatekeeper of the Zhang family, the lamp of Zhang Qiling."

His hand remained suspended in mid-air.

Zhang Qiling.

his name.

Or rather, the character's name.

It appeared in this world, in this ancient tomb, a thousand years ago.

The system echoed in my mind:

[Touching the core fragments of this world's history]

[Performance Ratio: 17%]

[Reward: Zhangjia Ancient Building Mechanism Map (Beginner Level)]

Information flooded in, detailing the structure, principles, and methods for deciphering various ancient mechanisms. It was complex, but he understood it instantly.

He put down the lamp and looked at the other end of the space.

There is a small stone door there.

A Qilin pattern is carved on the door.

He walked over and pushed open the door.

Behind the door was a long corridor.

Countless stone tablets stand on both sides of the corridor.

Each stone tablet is engraved with a name.

"Zhang, the first gatekeeper of the Zhang family..."

"The second-generation gatekeeper of the Zhang family, Zhang..."

"The third generation of the Zhang family..."

The names are densely packed, stretching all the way into the depths of darkness.

Xie Linyuan walked in the middle, looking at the names.