Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

It was seven o'clock in the morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Wu Xie was woken up by a message notification on his phone. He reached for it and saw a voice message from Fatty. He opened it, and Fatty's boisterous voice burst out: "Tianzhen! Quick, look at the news! The official recruitment has closed, and the number of applicants has broken records!"

Wu Xie rubbed his eyes and sat up, opening the news app. The homepage featured a headline: "Fifth Archaeological Recruitment Ends, Over a Thousand Applicants, Only Six Selected."

He clicked to read it. The article said that the recruitment had received an unprecedented response, with applicants coming from all walks of life, including veterans, folk artisans, adventure enthusiasts, and even those claiming to have "ancestral feng shui skills." After initial screening, only six people were selected to proceed to the next round of on-site testing. The list was not released; it was only stated that the test would take place at a training base in the suburbs, in a completely closed environment, and the results would be announced three days later.

The comment section exploded. Some complained that the selection process was too strict, some speculated about the backgrounds of the six people, and others posted their application materials and expressed their dissatisfaction at not being selected.

Wu Xie scrolled through his phone for a while, then put it down and got up to wash. When he came out of the room, Fatty was already sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, engrossed in his phone.

"See that?" The fat man turned the screen around. "A thousand people signed up, and only six will be selected. This is harder than getting the top score in the imperial examination."

"Choose quality over quantity." Wu Xie sat down next to him. "The previous casualties were too high, and the authorities are scared now."

"That's true," the fat man nodded. "But tell me, what kind of people would be chosen?"

"You have to have some real skills," Wu Xie said. "Otherwise, going in would just be suicide."

Just then, the courtyard gate opened. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" walked in, carrying breakfast bags. They were still dressed in black, clean and neat.

"Good morning, bro," Wu Xie greeted him.

Zhang Qiling nodded and placed the bag on the table. Inside were soy milk and fried dough sticks, still steaming hot.

Zhang Qiling also put down the bag, which contained several boxes of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).

"Hey, did you have a better meal today?" the fat man said cheerfully as he came over.

"We ran into each other," Zhang Qiling said, uttering three words.

"What did you run into?" Wu Xie asked.

"A breakfast stall," Zhang Qiling explained.

The meaning is clear: I saw it while passing by and bought it.

The four sat down to eat breakfast. The fat guy, while munching on a fried dough stick and scrolling through his phone, suddenly burst out laughing: "Hey, Brother Kun's livestreaming!"

Wu Xie also picked up his phone to look. Kun Ge's livestream was titled: "Rehabilitation Training, Iron Mountain Lean Never Falls!"

Clicking through, the screen shows a gym, with Kun Ge in workout clothes waving at the camera: "Good morning, everyone! I'm back to life!"

The comments section was flooded with messages.

"Kun-ge is awesome!"

"I thought you'd given up!"

"Will you go down into a tomb again next time?"

While warming up, Kun said, "Whether we go into the tomb or not is another matter, but we need to get our bodies in shape. Come on, guys, let's go!"

The music started, the same familiar song. Kun twisted his hips, turned, faked a dribble, and then delivered his signature Iron Mountain Lean. The movements were much more agile than in the desert, but that captivating energy was still there.

The number of viewers in the live stream skyrocketed, and gifts flooded the screen.

The fat man chuckled, "This guy's got a really big heart."

Wu Xie laughed, "It's not easy to adjust so quickly."

Zhang Qiling quietly drank his soy milk, occasionally glancing at his phone screen before lowering his eyes again, his expression blank. But the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, as if... he was speechless.

Zhang Qiling was also watching, but after a while, he silently looked away and continued eating his steamed bun. His expression clearly said: What's so interesting about this?

"Hey bro, what do you think of Kun's dance?" the fat guy asked deliberately.

Zhang Qiling looked up at him, his gaze calm, but the fat man felt he had asked a very stupid question. "Zhang Qiling" beside him also looked over, his brow furrowing slightly.

Neither of them spoke, but the meaning was clear: they were bored.

"Fine, I won't ask anymore," the fat man chuckled.

After breakfast, Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" didn't leave but sat down at the stone table in the courtyard. Zhang Qiling took out the leather map from his pocket and unfolded it. "Zhang Qiling" moved closer, and the two looked at it together.

Wu Xie and Fatty also joined in.

On the map, the location of Snake Coil Mountain is circled in red. The mountain's shape is indeed winding, resembling a coiled snake. Several possible routes into the mountain are marked around it, but they are all blurry.

"Where do we enter from?" Wu Xie asked.

"To the west," Zhang Qiling pointed to a line, "there are villages there, where we can resupply."

"But we have to take a long detour," said Zhang Qiling.

"It's safer to take a longer route," Zhang Qiling said.

Zhang Qiling nodded.

The two exchanged very few words, but conveyed a wealth of information. One said, "The east is closer but dangerous," while the other said, "There's a river to the south that we can travel by water." In the end, they reached a consensus: going west was the safest option.

Wu Xie listened with admiration. These two communicated so efficiently; they could decide on a route with just a few words.

"So when do we set off?" the fat man asked.

"Five days later," Zhang Qiling said.

"So fast?" Wu Xie was taken aback.

"The curse waits for no one," said Zhang Qiling.

"Yes, we need to hurry." The fat man made the decision. "Then I'll go book the tickets and prepare the supplies today."

"Jie Yuchen and the others will arrive this afternoon," Zhang Qiling said.

"Yes, they said they'd be delivering the equipment today," Wu Xie remembered.

As they were talking, there were car horns blaring and a commotion of people on the street outside. The noise was quite loud; it could be heard even inside the courtyard.

"What's wrong?" Wu Xie got up and walked to the courtyard gate to look outside.

Across the street, several black SUVs were parked, their doors bearing the emblem of the Special Affairs Office. Several uniformed men stood beside the vehicles, maintaining order. A crowd of onlookers had gathered, taking photos with their phones.

"Someone from the government?" the fat man asked, joining in.

"It seems so." Wu Xie squinted at him. "What are you doing?"

Just then, a familiar figure stepped out of the car. It was Chen Jianguo, still wearing the same suit, his hair neatly combed. After getting out of the car, he said a few words to the crowd, then turned and walked into the small hotel across the street.

"Holy crap," the fat man exclaimed, his eyes wide, "He's not going to find Little Brother, is he?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Jianguo walked out of the hotel with two attendants, his expression somewhat helpless. They stood at the door for a few seconds, said a few words, then turned and got into the car. The car started and drove away.

"Didn't see him?" Wu Xie asked.

"They must have been turned away," the fat man laughed. "If the young man and his group don't want to see them, no one can find them."

The two returned to the courtyard and told each other what had happened outside. Zhang Qiling listened but didn't react much, continuing to look at the map. "Zhang Qiling" only raised his eyelids slightly before lowering his head again.

It seems like this has nothing to do with them.

"The authorities are quite persistent," Wu Xie said.

"They want to ease tensions, that's what they're doing." The fat man sat back down on the stone bench. "Wang Jizong is dead, so they need to find a way to appease the two young men. After all, if they really push them too far, who knows what might happen?"

"But the guys aren't buying it," Wu Xie said.

"Yeah, I won't fall for that." The fat man chuckled.

In the afternoon, Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu arrived. They drove an SUV, the trunk of which was packed full. Hei Xiazi also came and helped carry the things.

The items were moved into the yard and piled up on the ground. There were waterproof backpacks, high-top rain boots, insect repellent, compressed dry rations, water purification tablets, and several machetes and entrenching tools. The most conspicuous items were several long boxes, which, when opened, contained crossbows.

"This is..." Wu Xie picked up a handful; it was heavy.

"A composite crossbow," Xie Yuchen said. "Shooting guns in the rainforest is too noisy, this is quiet. I've specially treated the arrowheads, soaking them in medicine, which is effective against large animals."

"Good stuff." The fat man's eyes lit up.

"The medicine is here." Huo Xiuxiu opened another box, which contained various bottles and jars with handwritten labels: "For miasma prevention, detoxification, hemostasis, and spray to repel snakes and insects."

Zhang Qiling walked over, picked up a bottle of snake repellent spray, smelled it, and nodded. "Zhang Qiling" also picked up a bottle and nodded in the same way.

"It works," Zhang Qiling said.

"Thanks," Zhang Qiling said to Xie Yuchen.

"You're welcome," Xie Yuchen said with a smile.

The group began distributing the equipment. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" each took a set and inspected it very carefully. They checked everything, from the backpack straps and the stitching of the boots to the buckles on the scabbard.

"Professional." Black Bear leaned against the door frame, his eyes behind his sunglasses smiling.

After distributing the equipment, the group sat in the courtyard drinking tea. Xie Yuchen brought up the official recruitment: "I inquired about it, and those six selected are no ordinary people. Two are retired special forces soldiers, one is a geologist, and the other... supposedly knows some divination techniques."

"Qimen Dunjia?" Wu Xie asked curiously.

"Yes, it's a family tradition," Xie Yuchen said. "The other two identities are even more mysterious; there's absolutely no information about them."

"The authorities have really gone all out," the fat man said.

"After all, it involves a curse," Huo Xiuxiu said softly. "They're more anxious than we are."

"Let them rush," Black Bear said. "We'll do it at our own pace."

As evening approached, Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu left. Hei Xiazi stayed, saying he'd stay for dinner. Fatty went to the kitchen to work, with Wu Xie helping. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" were in the courtyard, one polishing a crossbow, the other sharpening a knife.

As the sun sets, the courtyard is bathed in a warm yellow glow.

During dinner, the evening news was on TV. It mentioned recruitment again, saying that six selected candidates had arrived at the training base and begun acclimatization training. The scene flashed by briefly; it showed the base gate with cars coming and going, but the faces of the people were blurred.

"So mysterious." The fat man took a bite of rice.

"That's normal," Hei Xiazi said. "We definitely need to keep it a secret before we officially set off."

After finishing their meal, they cleaned up. Black Bear also left. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" walked to the courtyard gate and stopped.

"Tomorrow," Zhang Qiling said.

"Hmm?" Zhang Qiling looked at him.

"Buy some rope and pitons."

For rock climbing.

"right."

"I'll go buy it," said Zhang Qiling.

"Together," Zhang Qiling said.

After they finished speaking, they went out and returned to their hotel.

Wu Xie stood at the door, watching their backs, and said to Fatty, "Little Brother and the others seem to be getting more and more in sync."

"Nonsense," the fat man said, "You two are cut from the same cloth, how could you not be in sync?"

Wu Xie smiled and closed the door.

Night fell, and the city gradually quieted down. Online discussions about recruitment continued, and clips of Kun Ge's live stream went viral, with the caption: "After surviving the ordeal, Tie Shan Kao is still as dashing as ever."

The prophet posted a new thread analyzing the geographical environment and potential dangers of Snake Coil Mountain, reminding "civilian teams" to be prepared.

The male lead's fan club started a trending topic: "Looking forward to the next adventure, wishing all the husbands a safe journey!"

Everything continues.

But some people are already ready.