Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

It's 11 p.m.

The camp fell completely silent.

The wind howled through the gaps in the valley. Beyond the beams of the solar-powered camping lights, the darkness was thick and indistinct, like ink that couldn't be dissolved. Inside the five tents, most people were asleep.

Lin Guoce was on the first night shift.

He sat on a folding stool under the canopy, a military dagger across his knees. Every thirty seconds, his eyes scanned the perimeter of the camp. His ears caught every sound in the darkness: the chirping of insects, the rustling of leaves, the murmur of a distant stream.

This was his habit. In the special forces, the night watch could determine the life or death of the entire team.

The live streaming device above his head was in low-power mode, its indicator light dimly lit, and the nighttime video was transmitted via infrared. The number of viewers in his personal live stream had dropped to 50,000, and the chat was sparse.

[ID Military Fan: Captain Lin's vigilance is professional]

[ID: Night Owl: So boring, fast forward to tomorrow's mountain trip]

[ID: TimidMeow: This deep mountain forest is a bit scary]

Lin Guoce's gaze fell on the rocky slope to the west.

Under the moonlight, the jagged stones cast menacing shadows. The copper coins of Xu Jiashu's "Seven Star Suppressing Evil Array" reflected a faint light in the grass.

everything is normal.

He glanced at his watch: 11:07.

Inside tent number five, Xie Linyuan opened his eyes.

He didn't move, still lying on the cot, his hands folded over his abdomen. His breathing was even, but his body was in a special state of relaxation—his muscles weren't completely relaxed, and his joints were at angles that could generate instantaneous force.

In the next bed, Liu Desheng was snoring.

Xie Linyuan heard other sounds.

A friction sound.

It was very light, coming from the west side of the camp. Like leather rubbing against rocks, or thick hair sweeping across the ground. The sound was spaced out and moved slowly.

Lin Guoce also heard it.

He gripped his short blade, stood up, and stared intently at the direction of the rocky slope.

In the infrared live stream, viewers saw Lin Guoce suddenly stand up.

The barrage of comments is scrolling:

[ID Military Fan: Something's up?]

[ID Night Owl: Oh my god, don't scare me!]

[Netizen ID: Is it a wild animal?]

The friction sound stopped.

Lin Guoce waited for ten seconds. There was no sound. He slowly walked to the edge of the camp, took out a flashlight from his waist with his left hand, and held a blade in his right.

The beam of the flashlight cut through the darkness, sweeping across the rocky slope.

Stones, bushes, shadows.

There was nothing there.

Lin Guoce frowned. He was confident in his hearing. There had definitely been something just now.

He turned off the flashlight, letting his eyes readjust to the darkness. His ears perked up.

The wind is still blowing.

Inside the tent, Xie Linyuan's finger twitched.

He heard breathing.

Heavy, hot breathing. It came from the direction of the cliff to the east of the camp. The sound bypassed the front and approached from the side.

Lin Guoce was still looking to the west.

The sound of breathing is approaching.

Twenty meters. Fifteen meters. Ten meters.

Xie Linyuan sat up from his cot quietly, without making a sound. He put on his Doc Martens, tightened the laces, then stood up and walked towards the tent flap.

five meters.

Lin Guoce suddenly turned his head to look to the east.

In the darkness, a shadow leaped out from the bushes below the cliff.

high speed.

The shadow appeared in the moonlight—the thing was about 1.7 meters tall when it stood up, its body covered in thick black fur, its limbs were thick, its hands and feet were large, and its fingertips had curved black nails. Its face was like an ape, but its eye sockets were deep-set, and its mouth protruded forward, revealing interlocking yellow fangs.

The eyes are dark red.

"Be on guard!" Lin Guoce roared.

He charged toward the shadowy figure, thrusting his short blade straight at it.

The dark figure shifted to the side, its claws striking Lin Guoce's wrist. The movement was swift, accompanied by the sound of wind cutting through the air.

Lin Guoce withdrew his hand, then slashed upwards with the blade, aiming for the shadowy figure's chest.

The shadowy figure didn't flinch, taking the knife head-on into its chest.

The blade sliced ​​through the black fur, producing a metallic sound as it rubbed against leather. It only cut through the surface layer of fur, not going deeper.

Lin Guoce's pupils contracted. The stiffness of that fur—

The shadowy figure's claws were already reaching for his face.

Lin Guoce leaned back, his claws grazing his forehead, leaving three bloody marks. He then rolled to the ground, creating distance between them.

The people inside the tent were awakened.

Liu Desheng sat up groggily: "What's all the noise about..."

He saw the tent flap be lifted and Xie Linyuan walk out.

"Hey! Outside—"

Xie Linyuan was already standing in the open space of the camp.

Lin Guoce got up, blood streaming from his forehead. He stared at the dark figure, adopting a fighting stance: "This thing... its skin is too thick."

The shadowy figure growled, its dark red eyes scanning the camp. It spotted Xie Linyuan, paused for a moment, then pounced on all fours and charged at him.

The speed of the charge was even faster than before.

Xie Linyuan did not retreat.

He stepped back half a step with his right foot, lowered his center of gravity, clenched his right fist and brought it to his waist, while his left hand moved forward with his palm open.

The dark figure rushed to within three meters, leaped up, raised its claws high, and lunged downwards.

Xie Linyuan pushed off the ground with his left foot, lunged forward, and punched upward from his waist with his right fist.

Fists and claws collided in mid-air.

boom!

A muffled thud. The shockwave swept away the surrounding dust.

The ground beneath Xie Linyuan's feet caved in half an inch. The dark figure was knocked backward by the punch, falling back to the ground and sliding two steps backward.

It flicked its paws, its dark red eyes fixed on Xie Linyuan, baring its fangs.

Lin Guoce wanted to step forward and help.

Xie Linyuan raised his hand, making a gesture to stop him.

The shadowy figure pounced again. This time it crouched low and lunged, its claws sweeping towards Xie Linyuan's calf.

Xie Linyuan raised his leg, his knee pressing against the shadowy figure's wrist, and with his left hand, he chopped at the shadowy figure's neck.

The shadowy figure ducked down, slapped the ground with its palm, used the momentum to spin, and kicked off Xie Linyuan's abdomen with its hind leg.

Xie Linyuan pulled in his stomach, grabbed the ankle that was kicking at him with his right hand, and swung it to the left.

The dark figure was thrown out and crashed into the folding table next to it.

The table shattered. The dark figure flipped to its feet, letting out an angry roar.

The red light in its eyes intensified.

Round three.

The shadowy figure did not attack immediately. It circled, its heavy footsteps shaking the ground. It was observing.

Xie Linyuan stood still, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, his eyes calm.

The shadowy figure suddenly accelerated, but instead of charging in a straight line, it circled around to Xie Linyuan's right side and swung its claws diagonally.

Xie Linyuan turned to the right and blocked with his right arm.

The claw struck the arm, the muscles beneath the black fur as hard as iron. Xie Linyuan clenched his left fist and struck the shadowy figure's ribs.

The shadowy figure used its other claw to block.

Fists and claws collided.

The shadowy figure took a step back. Xie Linyuan followed up, sweeping his right leg high towards the figure's head.

The dark figure raised his arm to block.

The leg kicked the arm. The shadowy figure retreated, and the ground beneath its feet cracked.

Round four.

The dark figure opened its mouth and let out a piercing shriek. The sound shook the camp lights.

Its black fur stood on end, making it appear to have swelled up. The claws on its paws lengthened and gleamed with a metallic sheen.

It charged at Xie Linyuan, this time wielding both claws simultaneously, attacking from both sides.

Xie Linyuan crossed his arms to block.

The claws struck down. The force was twice as great as before. The ground beneath Xie Linyuan's feet shattered completely, and his heels sank into the mud.

He exerted force with both arms, shaking off the claws, and his right fist struck straight at the shadowy figure's chest.

The shadowy figure didn't dodge, but took the punch head-on.

A fist struck Xie Linyuan's chest. The dark figure trembled, but did not retreat. It slammed its claws together, aiming for Xie Linyuan's head.

Xie Linyuan raised his hands to block the downward-slamming claws.

The two were locked in a struggle.

Saliva dripped from the shadowy figure's fangs, its dark red eyes fixed on Xie Linyuan. Xie Linyuan's expression remained unchanged, his arm muscles tensed, and veins bulged.

The soil beneath our feet continued to sink.

Round 5.

Xie Linyuan suddenly raised his right leg, his knee striking the dark figure's abdomen.

The shadowy figure contracted its abdomen, dissipating some of the force, but its body still swayed slightly. The balance of the struggle was broken.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xie Linyuan withdrew his right hand, closed his five fingers together, and struck the shadowy figure's chin with the heel of his palm.

The dark figure looked up, and his palm strike missed.

Xie Linyuan grabbed the shadowy figure's right arm with his left hand, spun around, and assumed the stance for an over-the-shoulder throw.

The shadowy figure was extremely heavy, but Xie Linyuan used his waist and abdomen to lift it up and slam it to the ground.

boom!

The shadowy figure slammed its back to the ground, sending dust flying.

It let out a painful roar and tried to get up.

Xie Linyuan had already caught up, stepping on the shadowy figure's chest with his right foot, pressing down on its forehead with his left hand, and raising his right fist above his head.

The fist hovered.

No one was left behind.

The shadowy figure struggled, its claws reaching for Xie Linyuan's calf.

Xie Linyuan exerted force with his right foot, and a cracking sound came from the chest of the dark figure as if its bones were being compressed. The claws stopped in mid-air.

The fierce glint in his dark red eyes gradually faded, replaced by fear.

The camp was deathly silent.

Everyone came out. Chen Man hid behind Wang Yihan, Kun Ge held up his phone (forgot he was live-streaming), Zhou Hao's mouth was wide open, Xu Jiashu's face was pale, and Jiang Shouyi gripped the compass tightly.

Lin Guoce's forehead was still bleeding, but he didn't bother to wipe it away, his eyes fixed on Xie Linyuan and the dark figure on the ground.

The infrared image from the live broadcast ball was transmitted back to ten live broadcast rooms.

The barrage of comments exploded:

[All ID viewers: !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! ! ...

[ID Martial Arts Enthusiast: Is this even human?!]

[ID Biology Apprentice: What kind of creature is that? There's no record of it!]

[ID's Calm Analysis: Five rounds, all head-on confrontation, not a single dodge]

[ID: Screaming Chicken: Black-clad guy, ahhhhh!]

Xie Linyuan looked down at the dark figure.

The shadowy figure let out a whimper and stopped struggling.

Xie Linyuan loosened his grip and took two steps back.

The dark figure slowly got up, glanced at Xie Linyuan, then got on all fours, turned and rushed into the darkness, disappearing in the direction of the cliff.

Only the sounds of panting and the wind remained in the camp.

Lin Guoce was the first to speak: "That thing... do you recognize it?"

Xie Linyuan shook his head.

Why did it attack us?

"Territory," Xie Linyuan said. "We've entered its territory."

His voice was calm, as if he had just done something trivial.

He turned and walked back to tent number five.

As he passed by Xu Jiashu, Xu Jiashu's lips trembled: "My... my Demon-Suppressing Array..."

Xie Linyuan didn't stop walking and went into the tent.

Liu Desheng stood at the tent entrance and watched Xie Linyuan enter, then subconsciously made way for him.

Xie Linyuan sat back on the cot, took off his shoes, and lay down.

Outside, Lin Guoce began giving orders: "Everyone check the injuries! Professor Zhou, contact base and report the situation! Mr. Jiang, do you know what that is?"

Jiang Shouyi's voice was dry: "It's like...like the 'mountain demon' described in ancient books, but it's larger, with pure black fur and red eyes...that's the 'black-haired mountain demon,' a ferocious beast that guards tombs in legends..."

"Guarding the tomb?" Zhou Xu'an grasped the key word.

"It's just a legend," Jiang Shouyi quickly added. "It might... it might just be a mutated large ape."

But nobody believed it anymore.

Inside the tent, Xie Linyuan closed his eyes.

A system notification appeared in his mind:

[Combat behavior fits the character 'Zhang Qiling']

[Current role-playing level: 7%]

[Rewards: Zhang Qiling 15% increased attack power, night vision ability (basic)]

Power surged into his body once more. This time, he felt his fists were harder and his bones were more resilient.

The temperature of the Qilin tattoo on my shoulder blade rose a little more.

Outside the tent, people were still discussing the battle that had just taken place.

Xie Linyuan heard Lin Guoce say, "We're going into the mountains tomorrow. Everyone be on high alert. This place... something's not right."

He rolled over, facing the tent wall.

His eyes were glowing in the darkness.

That's night vision working.

He could see every fiber of the tent canvas, the blurry outlines of people walking outside, and the silhouette of the distant mountain ridge.

There are even more distant valleys to the northwest.

Something there is calling to him.

Or rather, it's a call to the role he plays.

Xie Linyuan closed his eyes and forced himself to fall asleep.

Tomorrow is just the beginning.