Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The fog has lifted.

In the southwestern mountains, a small town called "Bamu" lies nestled in a mountain valley. The town is small, with only one main street lined with gray cement houses on both sides. At the end of the street is an abandoned timber processing plant with a large yard overgrown with weeds, which now serves as a temporary meeting point.

Several SUVs and a minibus were parked in the yard, their engines still emitting heat. There was a lot of noise.

Kun was the first to jump out of the car, rubbing his numb legs and looking around. Chen Man and Wang Yihan followed, their faces pale from the long journey. Jiang Shouyi helped Professor Zhou Xu'an, while Sun Shuanzhu carried a small suitcase and straightened his suit as soon as he got out of the car.

Lin Guoce and ten soldiers were the last to disembark. These ten soldiers were different from the previous ones; they were better equipped, their eyes were colder, and they automatically dispersed upon disembarking, standing in several corners of the courtyard, their hands on their holsters, silently scanning everyone. They were directly sent by Wang Jizong, Li Guoliang, and Zhao Yongnian, with a simple mission: to monitor the group, especially to keep an eye on Zhang Qiling who might appear, and to carry out the secret orders of those three.

"Is everyone here? Let's take attendance!" Lin Guoce took out the list.

Fifty or sixty people had gathered in the courtyard, making a ruckus. There were familiar faces like Brother Kun, eccentric characters like Zhou Gousheng, Ma Tiedan, and Guo Lengzi with shifty eyes, looking around nervously, ordinary people like Wang Lei, Liu Min, and Zhou Ting with worried expressions and clutching their luggage tightly, and ten foreign team members wearing jackets with the logo of an overseas exploration company standing silently together—the "Vulture" team, who had "sneaked out" and "returned" ahead of time, playing the role of hired security guards.

The levitating live-streaming sphere had already risen and was flying around the yard, capturing footage.

The comments section is already buzzing:

[ID arrived! Bamu Town!]

[So many IDs!]

[Look at those ten soldiers, their eyes are terrifying]

[ID Sun, the expert, is tidying up his clothes again!]

[ID Kun Ge seems to have lost weight]

[Miss Chen Man's face doesn't look good]

What do those ten foreigners with the ID do?

"Fatty Wang!"

"Here!" The fat man shouted loudly, pulling Wu Xie forward a little.

"Wu Xie!"

"Here." Wu Xie pushed up his glasses.

"Jie Yuchen".

"Yes." The young man in a light pink shirt stood a short distance away, his voice calm.

"Black Bear".

The tall man wearing sunglasses lazily raised his hand.

"Huo Xiuxiu".

"Here." The woman with the ponytail nodded.

The roll call continued. All ten foreign team members, using aliases, answered correctly.

Roll call complete. Lin Guoce put away the list, his stern gaze sweeping over the entire room: "Enough with the nonsense. Destination: the Seven Star Lu Palace deep in Old Wolf Gully. It's still twenty kilometers of mountain road from here; vehicles can't go that way. We'll set off on foot in an hour. Remember, this is not a tour! Follow orders at all times! Anyone who acts without authorization, hoards cultural relics, or causes trouble will face my wrath! Does everyone understand?"

"Understood!" The voices were inconsistent.

"Now, a final check of the equipment. Drain any water that needs draining. We'll depart on time in one hour!"

The crowd dispersed, each trying to tidy themselves up. The fat man pulled Wu Xie over to Xie Yuchen and the others.

"Hey, Flower Master, Black Master, and Xiuxiu Girl!" Fatty greeted them familiarly. "It's an honor to meet you! I'm Fatty Wang, and this is Wu Xie, the Third Master of the Wu family."

Xie Yuchen nodded slightly, his gaze lingering on Wu Xie's face for a moment longer. Huo Xiuxiu smiled politely. Hei Xiazi grinned, his eyes behind his sunglasses seemingly searching somewhere: "Yo, Wu Xie, not a bad name. Does it sound like someone special?"

Wu Xie was a little embarrassed: "Brother Hei is joking."

The fat man chuckled, "So, we're acquainted now! Let's look out for each other on this tomb raiding trip! I, Fatty, am a master tomb raider, an expert in locating tombs and deciphering mechanisms! Wu Xie is a walking encyclopedia of history and archaeology, meticulous! With us here, we're in luck!"

Xie Yuchen said calmly, "I've heard of Fatty Wang's reputation. I hope it lives up to it."

"Absolutely lives up to its name!" the fat man patted his chest, then lowered his voice, "Hey, do you guys think Little Brother will come? Zhang Qiling?"

Black Bear laughed: "You mean that 'deity among men'? I bet he's already here. Maybe he's watching us from some corner."

Xie Yuchen didn't speak, but raised his eyes and his gaze swept unintentionally over the tall cedar trees at the edge of the yard.

The tallest one is about thirty meters tall, with a dense canopy.

He glanced at it only once before looking away.

The top of a 30-meter-tall cedar tree.

Zhang Qiling sat on a thick horizontal branch, his back against the main trunk. From this vantage point, he could clearly see the entire courtyard below and hear all its sounds through the gaps in the foliage. Yet, he was completely hidden in the lush greenery, unnoticed by anyone below.

He heard the roll call, he heard those names.

Wang Pangzi. Wu Xie. Xie Yuchen. Hei Xiazi. Huo Xiuxiu.

With each name that rang out, it felt as if a tiny needle had gently pricked his heart. A vague sense of familiarity welled up inside him, but when he tried to recall the faces that corresponded to those names, all he could see in his mind was a hazy mist.

Intermediate loss of consciousness.

I remember the name, but I've forgotten the face.

He only remembered that these names were important and had some deep connection to him. But he couldn't recall the specifics.

He listened to the fat man's boisterous introduction, Wu Xie's somewhat embarrassed response, Xie Yuchen's calm tone, Hei Xiazi's cynical laugh, and Huo Xiuxiu's polite greeting.

very familiar.

Yet it felt very unfamiliar.

His gaze fell on the ten foreign team members. His eyes turned slightly cold. He had seen these ten men before at the entrance to Old Wolf Gully. They were lying in ambush, setting up an ambush. Now they'd infiltrated. Their intentions were obvious.

He then looked at the ten new soldiers. Their posture, their eyes, their equipment. They were elite. They were also a problem.

In the courtyard, the crowd chattered noisily, making final preparations for their journey into the mountains. A live-streaming sphere buzzed past, capturing a variety of expressions: excitement, fear, greed, numbness.

None of this has anything to do with him.

He came only because of the system notification, because of the possible clues.

He doesn't need to be with these people.

Once they set off, he will walk in front or follow behind. He will keep his distance.

He closed his eyes and waited quietly.

An hour later, the team assembled and, led by Lin Guoce and the ten soldiers, left the abandoned factory and headed towards the mountain road outside the town. The team was quite long, with soldiers and the "Vulture" squad leading the way, Kun Ge, Wu Xie, Fatty, and others in the middle, Zhou Gousheng and his ragtag group of ordinary people at the back, and soldiers bringing up the rear.

The floating live-streaming ball moves with the team.

Zhang Qiling and his team walked several hundred meters before gracefully leaping down from the treetop. They landed silently.

Instead of taking the mountain path, he disappeared into the forest to the side again, and under the cover of trees and rocks, he moved at an even faster speed, hanging far ahead of the group.

He was much faster than the group, quickly leaving them behind. But instead of heading straight for Old Wolf Gully, he stopped on a cliff overlooking the mountain path, concealing himself once more, watching the slowly advancing group like a black panther observing its prey.

The group had walked less than five kilometers when trouble struck.

It wasn't a mechanism in the ancient tomb, it was a person.

The mountain path narrowed at a bend, with a steep slope on one side and a deep ravine on the other. Wang Lei, the man whose daughter had leukemia, was walking in the middle of the group. He was carrying a heavy backpack when he tripped over a stone, staggered, and veered towards the ravine.

"Ah!" he cried out, waving his hands wildly.

Liu Min (whose father suffers from uremia), who was walking next to him, was terrified and stood there dumbfounded. Zhou Ting (whose younger brother is paralyzed) screamed.

The team instantly descended into chaos.

Black Bear, who was walking not far ahead, reacted extremely quickly. He turned around and reached out to grab Wang Lei's backpack strap. But Wang Lei was falling very fast, and Black Bear missed his grab. He only managed to pull off the backpack, and Wang Lei continued to fall.

The ravine wasn't deep, but it was full of rocks; falling in would result in death or serious injury.

A hair's breadth away.

A black figure shot out from the forest above and to the side, so fast that it almost left a blur.

Seeing the danger on the cliff face, Zhang Qiling didn't hesitate and leaped down. His toes touched several protrusions on the steep slope, and his body moved like lightning, arriving at Wang Lei's side just before Wang Lei was about to crash into the rocks.

He reached out with his left hand, grabbed Wang Lei's belt at the back of his waist, and pulled him upward with force. At the same time, he kicked off a large rock by the stream with his right foot, using the force to bounce upward.

Wang Lei felt a strong force coming from him, and his fall suddenly stopped. He was lifted upwards by the force of the force.

Zhang Qiling landed and released his grip. Wang Lei collapsed to the ground, pale as a ghost, panting heavily, his crotch soaked.

From the moment Wang Lei slipped to the moment he was rescued, only two or three seconds had passed.

No one reacted in time, staring blankly at the man in black who had suddenly appeared.

He was dressed in black, black trousers, black gloves, and a hood covering his head, revealing only his cold, hard jaw. A long object was wrapped in cloth on his back, but anyone could guess what it was.

The scene was deathly silent.

The live stream showed the ball being aimed at him relentlessly.

The barrage exploded:

【ID Guy!!!】

[His ID is his!]

[An ID fell from the sky!]

[Wow, that's fast!]

[That ID saved someone, so cool!]

"Mr. Zhang... Mr. Zhang!" Professor Zhou Xu'an exclaimed excitedly.

Kun Ge, Chen Man, and Wang Yihan's eyes instantly reddened. Jiang Shouyi clenched his fists. Lin Guoce and the ten soldiers tensed instantly, their hands on their holsters. The ten "Vulture" team members exchanged glances, their hands slowly moving towards their waists.

Sun Shuanzhu's face turned pale, and he shrank back.

Wu Xie and Fatty stared wide-eyed at the black figure. Xie Yuchen's gaze sharpened slightly. Hei Xiazi raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses. Huo Xiuxiu covered her mouth.

Zhang Qiling didn't look at anyone. He looked down at Wang Lei, who was slumped on the ground, then looked up and swept his gaze over the terrified faces of Liu Min and Zhou Ting. Finally, his gaze swept lightly over the ten restless "Vulture" team members.

The gaze was calm, but the "Vulture" team members' hands, reaching for their weapons, froze. A cold, tangible killing intent locked onto them. It was their battle-hardened instinct telling them: move, or die.

Zhang Qiling withdrew his gaze, turned around, and was about to leave.

"Brother!" Kun couldn't help but call out, his voice trembling.

Zhang Qiling paused, but didn't turn around or respond.

He started walking towards the dense forest ahead of the mountain path. He wasn't moving fast, but after a few steps, his figure disappeared behind the trees, as if he had never been there at all.

Only Wang Lei, slumped on the ground, and the faint, chilling aura lingering in the air, proved that what had just happened was not an illusion.

The team was still in shock.

Lin Guoce took a deep breath, suppressing his racing heart, and shouted, "What are you all standing there for! Inspectors, move forward!"

Wang Lei was helped up, still trembling. Liu Min and Zhou Ting cried as they thanked him, unsure whether they were thanking Hei Xiazi or the vanished man in black.

The group started moving again, but the atmosphere had completely changed. Whispers filled the air.

"That's Zhang Qiling..."

"So fast..."

"He was looking at those foreigners just now..."

"That's terrifying..."

Fatty nudged Wu Xie, his voice trembling with excitement: "Tianzhen! Did you see that! Little Brother! He saved someone! I knew he could save people!"

Wu Xie nodded, his heart pounding. The scene from just now was deeply imprinted in his mind. That speed, that precision, that silent power.

Xie Yuchen whispered to Hei Xiazi, "He's been in front the whole time."

Black Bear nodded: "Moreover, he knew those ten foreigners were suspicious. That look in his eyes just now... was a warning."

Huo Xiuxiu said softly, "He's walking ahead alone...is he clearing the road, or...?"

"It could be all of those." Xie Yuchen looked at the deep, dark forest ahead. "Stay close to the group and be careful. The real danger probably isn't just the ancient tomb."

The team continued their journey deeper into the mountains.

No one knew what awaited them ahead.

Zhang Qiling had once again disappeared into the depths of the mountains, walking ahead of everyone else.