King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 12

As a result, the monster did not launch a further attack, but slowly retreated, turning back into the strange painting on the cave ceiling. However, a circular beam of light the size of a plate had appeared on top of the stainless steel casing, casting a warm glow onto a pile of messy brass cartridge cases at their feet.

The painting was still a painting, but now it had a hole in it. When all four of us came to our senses, Tengjia slowly walked to the pillar of light, looked up, and his expression suddenly became extremely strange.

"What's inside? What's in the cave?" Apart from the terrifying special forces soldiers, the three of us were now standing inside the pillar of light. The pillar of light was perfectly round and transparent, but as our vision gradually adjusted to the bright light, we discovered that through this round hole, we could see a large expanse of azure background and a distant golden fireball.

Gu Ye took a deep breath, licked his lips, and muttered softly, "Feng, can you tell me what we're seeing?"

After the shocking turn of events, his arrogance and indifference were completely shattered, leaving only boundless terror.

It's actually quite simple. What we see through this hole is the same as what all Earthlings can see: the blue sky and the sun, the greatest planet on which Earthlings depend for survival.

Gu Ye fumbled for a cigarette in his pocket, lit one, trembling as he pulled out a lighter, lit it, took a loud drag, and then swallowed it hard.

Suddenly, a man's low sobs echoed in the tunnel. It was the sole surviving special forces soldier, sitting on the ground, his back against the tunnel wall, head bowed, weeping like a dejected woman. Although he still had other weapons at his waist, his fighting spirit had been completely extinguished.

The tunnel was quiet, and the blood-red water sleeve that Tano called "the monster's tongue" did not reappear to bother us.

Teng Jia stomped her foot on the ground, sneering, "Very good, very exciting! Truly exciting!" Her gaze swept over the three of us men in turn, full of disdain. Sunlight cast beautiful shadows on either side of her nose, making her look charming and beautiful yet menacing.

I just saved her, but I don't expect any words of thanks. The shock of that scene was like a shot of adrenaline, making my brain work at an unprecedented speed: "What kind of force could open up a passage with a diameter of nearly half a meter in an instant, and stop the sand from collapsing without the support of a protective casing?"

There are tens of millions of recorded mysteries and strange occurrences in nature, but those are mostly found in ancient texts, hearsay, or fabricated fantasies, none of which are convincing. This one, however, if recorded on camera and published in a newspaper or on the internet, would be an absolutely sensational story, enough to drive explorers worldwide wild.

Unfortunately, we didn't have any tools at all, neither video cameras nor digital cameras.

"We...we should get out of here first?" Gu Ye's back began to hunch, his eyes filled with confusion.

I pointed at the mural and earnestly said to Tengjia, "There's definitely something strange about that mural. We need to make a copy of it and take it out for research. It's best if our operation ends here today!"

Regardless of Fujika's response, I have made my own decision and will not be swayed by the opinions of others.

Volume One: The King of Tomb Raiders

The First Egyptian Tomb

— Chapter 28 - The Tiger —

Unexpectedly, after staring into my eyes for a few seconds, Fujika silently nodded in agreement.

I took out a pencil and notebook and quickly sketched the outline of the painting on the paper. As the image of the ox and horse was scaled down proportionally and placed on the paper, it began to look familiar. As we all know, due to the inherent limitations of the human eye's structure, the image formed on the retina is completely different when looking up at the same painting and looking down at it.

I habitually bit the end of my pencil, keeping the question to myself for the time being. This place wasn't safe to linger; it was best to leave quickly.

I practically dragged that special forces soldier back; overwhelmed by terror and horror, he had lost the ability to move freely, his lower body nearly paralyzed. This shows that these war machines, invincible and ruthless on the battlefield, can collapse completely at any moment in the face of unknown, mysterious forces.

I secretly chuckled at Gu Ye in my heart: "Hiring so many special forces soldiers is just for show. When it really comes down to it, it's better to rely on yourself than anyone else." Unconsciously, I began to quote the scalpel's famous saying, which shows how profound and significant his influence was on my life.

The people around the well did not disperse. When the four of us emerged from the well as if we had escaped from another world, everyone was stunned.

No wonder they reacted this way. Just before going down the mine, everyone was full of vigor and high spirits, brimming with invincible courage. Now, they looked like defeated roosters, especially the special forces soldier who was slumped at my feet, which left everyone speechless with astonishment.

I returned to my tent, utterly exhausted, wanting nothing more than to close my eyes and rest, allowing my troubled heart to recover.

In that situation, I had almost forgotten that there was a person named Suren in the camp, so when she miraculously appeared in front of me, my mind didn't process it at all, and I just stared at her blankly.

"Brother Feng, how's the situation down in the well?" She asked with a smile, dragging a chair over and sitting down in front of the bed. Her hair was a little messy, and her face was a bit dirty, as if she had just crawled out of the desert; she didn't seem very energetic.

I blinked and thought for half a minute, then suddenly sat up, grabbed a piece of paper from the table, and quickly drew a simple landmark map. I marked the expected exit of the tunnel's cylindrical opening with an X: "Here! Suren, go check here! There's an opening about thirty centimeters in diameter that leads all the way into the underground tunnel. Go check it out, remember to take a picture, and if you find it, immediately notify everyone in the camp!"

I pressed too hard with my pen, and the last cross pierced the letter. The pencil tip hit the table and broke with a snap.

Although my words were incoherent, Suren understood them, took the letter, and walked out without stopping.

This was my oversight; I should have looked for that hole as soon as I got to the ground.

After lying back down, I recalled the terrifying events in the tunnel bit by bit, each step filled with dread. If we hadn't stopped by discovering that strange mural, we would all have been swept away by those flowing sleeves and buried forever underground.

The phone rang; it was Su Lun's phone, which she had just casually placed on the table and forgotten to take with her in her haste.

The display screen showed the number for the scalpel. I answered the call casually, introducing myself first to avoid any misunderstanding.

Scalpel laughed heartily: "Wind, Tiger said he wanted to come see you, but unfortunately, the pretty lady he brought is too delicate and afraid of the north wind. He can't bear to leave her alone. What to do? Why don't you go back to the villa?"

I gave a silent, bitter laugh: "It's so nice to be a seasoned veteran like him, a surgeon. You don't have to do anything yourself. Just give a few orders, and a whole bunch of brothers will risk their lives for you. Sigh, while we were sweating buckets in the tunnel, he was probably sitting comfortably in a sunny, luxurious living room, sipping wine and chatting..."

Actually, my life's ideal is to become a top-notch expert who surpasses the industry veterans who take the scalpel as their benchmark, and I firmly believe that I will definitely fulfill my vow—but what happens after I surpass them? Will I just retire to a luxurious house, surrounded by beautiful women and fine wine, living a life of ease and comfort?

I enjoy the luxurious life associated with scalpels, but that's not my whole life.

"Why aren't you saying anything? What happened?" The scalpel was very alert.

I paused, then asked, "Where is Elder Sahan? Why hasn't he come to the camp?"

Before he could answer, a burst of extremely hearty laughter came through the receiver, like the roar of a dragon and the howl of a tiger, making my eardrums ache deeply. That kind of laughter, emanating from the dantian, could not be produced without more than twenty years of internal energy cultivation. Moreover, even with internal energy cultivation, without the secret breathing and circulation techniques of the mysterious sects in Sichuan, one could not laugh so loudly and deeply.

So when I hear laughter, I know the tiger has arrived.

"Xiao Feng, do you need my help? According to ancient records, there are many poisonous insects and snakes at the foot of the pyramids. I've invited a master to help you, and she's incredibly intelligent and beautiful, with unparalleled poison skills, a true peerless expert. She's right here with me. Here's what we'll do: you come back first, see Xiao Xiao, and then we brothers will drink to our hearts' content for three days and three nights before we team up to deal with that damned ancient tomb..."

Tiger spoke with a mix of laughter and chatter, not giving me a chance to interrupt. For a full three minutes, his laughter and spittle-flying speech echoed through the receiver, accompanied by the whooshing sound of a powerful punch churning the air. He liked to gesture while speaking, and his external martial arts skills were exceptionally high; a casual wave of his hand would produce a whooshing sound.

Knowing all of Tiger's habits, I lay back down, ready to wait for him to talk for ten minutes before starting a normal call. Anyway, Su Lun's phone was still fully charged, so there was no need to worry about a sudden power outage delaying our business.

Tiger had only been talking for four minutes when I suddenly heard a soft sigh, clearly coming from the microphone, which made all of Tiger's movements instantly stop as if cut by a knife.

I was suddenly startled: "Who is this? Such high martial arts skills, actually suppressing all the tiger's noise with just a sigh?" I could tell it was a girl's voice, delicate and weak, with a slight sickly tone. After the sigh, no other sound came out.

After a while, they heard the tiger ask in the most abnormal tone, very softly and very slowly, "Be careful, move slowly, the ground is slippery."

After a while, Tiger spoke again: "That cloud silk stone chair is too cold, let me put a cushion down for you, just wait a moment..." There was a thud on the phone, probably the sound of the receiver being thrown onto the table, and then Tiger's voice disappeared.

The last sound coming through the microphone was the scalpel, but it was already very low: "Elder Sahan is ill, in the villa, with acute viral malaria. I've brought the best doctors in Cairo here. Please come back; we can talk about it when you get back..."

I felt incredibly frustrated because Tiger was always a chivalrous hero who spoke like thunder and drank like water. How could he suddenly become effeminate for a girl? Who exactly is this girl named "Xiaoxin" that she could so easily subdue Tiger?

Now that Elder Sahan is in trouble, perhaps we should really go back to the villa to discuss countermeasures.

When Suren appeared at the tent entrance, panting heavily, his hair disheveled, drenched in sweat, and looking utterly disheveled.

Her words plunged me into a deep silence: "There was no opening. I searched the area within a hundred meters of the location you pointed out, but I found nothing, only sand, countless grains of sand." She walked to the table, sat down dejectedly, and picked up her phone.

"Mr. Scalpel called. Elder Sahan is ill. Can we go back to the villa first?"

I blankly repeated what the scalpel had said, constantly wondering if Elder Sahan's sudden illness was related to the monster underground.

Suren poured herself a glass of water, sipped it slowly, and offered no comment.

"Go back? Or not?" I pressed.

Suren remained silent, nodded, and slammed the cup down on the table, splashing water everywhere. Unconsciously, the distance between us deepened again, but I had neither the energy nor the inclination to explain.

I briefly said goodbye to Tanino without mentioning anything, only saying that I was going back to the Scalpel's villa to look up some information. This cunning Japanese man must have even more intriguing information he's hiding from me; I really need to be two parts sincere and eight parts wary of him.

Tani had a classic sour face. When I left, I noticed that Fujika had been intently reading a thick, yellowed book behind a white curtain. Compared to me, Tani's side had long coveted the Turkic pyramids, so they must have come prepared with detailed information.

I was eager to know what was written in that book, but I had no reason to stay in the tent any longer. The Japanese are all so strange; I risked my life to save Fujika, yet she didn't utter a single word of thanks, which chilled me to the bone.

In this day and age, information is money or life. Unless something unexpected happens, these Japanese people will not share their secrets with me.

All the way, Suren floored the accelerator in the Hummer SUV, the noise giving me a splitting headache and making me feel dizzy.

Emerging from the desert and breathing in the fresh, moist air of the city, I couldn't help but want to cheer. The arid, barren environment of the desert was simply not a place for a normal person; the vibrant, green life of the city was much more to my liking.

Suren remained silent, hiding his face behind a pair of huge sunglasses, his lips tightly pursed, as if he were my sworn enemy.

An old saying goes: "A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea." I'd better keep my distance, because she's like the scalpel's sister; offending her is disrespecting the scalpel.

The jeep stopped in front of the villa's main building. The dramatic scene I had imagined—a tiger rushing out to greet me—did not occur. At the top of the steps stood only a scalpel with a faint smile. He was dressed in the same well-tailored designer casual wear, holding a glass of red wine in his hand, and wearing the same elegant smile, but I could immediately see the unease in his heart.

"Feng, you've gotten a tan in just a few days!" The scalpel patted my shoulder, and the rings on his fingers proudly reflected their jewel-like brilliance.

Suren tossed the jeep to the servants, climbed the steps, and went straight into the living room, without even acknowledging the scalpel.

The scalpel turned to me in surprise: "What? You two—had a falling out?" He swirled the ice in his glass, then suddenly let out a long, unconscious sigh. Sorrowful people often sigh unconsciously, without even realizing it. My heart sank further, because anything that could worry the scalpel so much couldn't be easier to deal with than the monster appearing in the tunnel.

Volume One: The King of Tomb Raiders

The First Egyptian Tomb

— Chapter 29 — The Tang Clan of Sichuan, the Beauty's Heart —

As I stepped through the glass-carved doors, I discovered that the original marble floor was now entirely covered with thick, colorful Persian carpets, which were incredibly soft to the touch.

"What? Is the villa going to have its decor changed?" I was a little puzzled. The original top-grade marble floor was expensive, so why add a carpet on top of it?

The scalpel gave a wry smile: "Tiger said to be careful because he's frail and afraid of the cold, so he asked me to put a carpet on his bed. I don't know what's wrong with him, keeping two weirdos around, one white and one black. If it were me, I'd be worried to death."

We walked and talked, mostly about trivial things. The important matters could only be discussed in detail after we were seated in the study.

Tiger and I have been through thick and thin together. As old friends, we should have rushed out to hug each other tightly upon meeting, right?

"They're in the master bedroom on the second floor. The girl named Tang Xin seems to be very sensitive to the cold; she's wearing two layers of fox fur coats in this weather and even has a hand warmer. Feng, you're close to Tiger, so ask him for me what he wants with these two strange black and white people?"

The scalpel finished the wine in its glass and went straight to the study.

I don't know what his relationship with Tiger is, and I don't want to ask too much. In the world of gangsters, the less you ask, the better; not everyone is willing to reveal their secrets directly.

Ascending the ancient stone staircase, the steps are covered with a fine carpet, completely obscuring the original stone base.

I couldn't help but laugh: "What's going on? This is such a big fuss!" I don't like pretentious girls, so this high-profile behavior must mean that girl is either rich or noble.

Based on my experience in the martial arts world, hearing the name "Tang Xin" should have made me instinctively think of a famous sect in martial arts legends. However, I was too tired, and all my thoughts were on the Tu Liehan Pyramid. I didn't pay any attention to this girl who was afraid of the cold.

The second-floor corridor is spacious and clean, and the stone pillars, as thick as a person can hug, are engraved with mysterious stories and totem statues from ancient Egyptian legends.

"Tiger, tiger, I'm here, come out quickly!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, still ten steps away from the walnut door of the master bedroom. The sound echoed in the corridor, startling the two brightly colored African parrots in the birdcage next to me, who fluttered and jumped around.

The tiger didn't respond, but the door opened silently. I hurried a few steps to the door and called out, "Old—" I only managed to utter one word before a gleaming soft sword came hurtling towards me, trembling as it pointed at my Adam's apple. The tip of the sword was bright and thin, carrying a hissing, chilling aura.

I was startled and quickly turned to the side, narrowly avoiding the sword strike.

The soft sword trembled lightly, transforming into four gleaming halos that descended upon my head in layers, exuding a surging killing intent and displaying exquisite transformations. The person who wielded this sword was undoubtedly a top-tier master of swordsmanship.

With nowhere to vent my frustration, I decided to take a risk. I crouched low and charged straight in, using my neck to deliver a powerful headbutt to my opponent's solar plexus. In close combat, his sword was useless. Under the force of my powerful headbutt, he flipped backward gracefully, retreating five meters to stand in the center of the master bedroom.

Only then did I realize that the person who drew his sword at me was not a broad-shouldered tiger, but an extremely thin young man dressed in tight black clothes, with a waist as thin as a little girl who was not fully developed. However, he was clearly a man with a slender and calm appearance.

"Cough cough..." A girl's cough came from beside the bed. At least two thick white down comforters were spread on the bed, covering the girl completely, up to her chest. She was sitting upright, holding a delicate blue and white porcelain hand warmer tightly in both hands.

The black-clad man's sword tip still pointed at me, trembling like a shimmering spring.

I finally saw the tiger I had been longing to see. He professionally held a three-inch knife in one hand, but in his other hand he held a huge, bright red apple. The knife was his usual weapon for killing, but now he was using it to peel an apple. The only thing that remained the same was the nimble movement of his fingers.

Every time I see that delicate little knife moving so skillfully between Tiger's thick fingers, I can't help but marvel at the wonders of creation. Tiger, a burly man with such a fierce appearance, possesses superb skills in lightness, concealed weapons, medicine, and tomb raiding. Even more remarkable is his unparalleled mastery of "bone-shrinking skills," which allows him to hide his enormous body inside an ordinary suitcase.

The legendary stories about tigers could not be fully told even if another book were written.

He was focused on peeling the apple with his head down, and all the peeled skin was connected into a narrow strip that hung down to the ground.