King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 53

I tossed my laptop aside, curled up, regulated my breathing, and slowly drifted into a half-asleep, half-awake state. After such a dramatic change, I needed a good rest to allow my overworked brain cells to regain their powerful thinking ability.

Suddenly, I heard a strange hissing sound, like the rising tide. It was very faint and distant at first, but within seconds, the sound grew into a deafening scream, as if, as if—"A snake! It's the sound of a snake flicking its tongue!" I tried to jump up in horror, but suddenly found that my waist, ribs, and legs were all numb and I couldn't exert any strength at all.

The hissing sound was indeed from the snake flicking its tongue, and judging from the sheer volume of the noise, there were at least several hundred, or even several thousand, snakes.

"Heavens! Where did all these snakes come from in the camp? Besides, the arid desert is the domain of scorpions. It's impossible for hundreds of snakes to appear at the same time, let alone more than a thousand." My eyelids felt like they weighed thousands of pounds, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open them.

Suddenly, I felt something on my ankle, as if a thin, cold ribbon was sliding over me. It paused briefly on my ankle, then meandered upwards, crawling over my calf, knee, and thigh, and finally reaching my chest.

"Tang Xin? Could it be that Tang Xin has returned with a vengeance?" Most of the experts in the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan region possess the ability to control snakes and beasts. The people of the Tang Clan in Sichuan are especially skilled in this art. Could it be that he has returned with poisonous snakes to avenge the tiger? The thought that the tiger might be seriously injured and die suddenly filled me with a sense of despair and sadness.

There were more and more snakes. I could feel that the ground nearby was covered with countless soft, slippery snakes, and the snake swarm was rising in layers. It seemed that in a limited space, large numbers of snakes were constantly pouring in from some entrance, so that the new snakes pressed down on the old ones, and the newest snakes formed a new layer on the top.

In this situation, my body was trapped under the swarm of snakes, and I was in constant contact with these disgusting creatures from all sides, making me feel like I was living a life worse than death.

I couldn't speak or call for help. Although I knew there was a bright white light not far ahead, I couldn't lift my eyelids to look at it.

"The snakes attacked the camp. This outcome is worse than being militarily controlled by Tina and eventually falling to the muzzle of a gun."

During my university years, I watched many documentaries about tomb raiders. In many of these documentaries, there were grotesque groups of snakes, mostly coiled inside the coffins of the dead. Even without any food or water, these creatures could survive for decades or even centuries by gnawing on the bones of the dead and successfully reproduce, happily using the coffins as their nests.

"What about the others? Will they, like me, be surrounded and buried by layers of snakes? And Suren—"

The thought of Suren suddenly made me feel a surge of intense internal energy about to burst forth from my dantian. With a loud shout, I broke through the encirclement of the strange snakes and leaped up, landing in the center of the tent. Without stopping, I vigorously pounded myself against the ground.

"Brother Feng, Brother Feng, what's wrong? What's wrong with you?" It was Tina's voice.

When I came to, there were no snakes; it was just an extremely bizarre nightmare.

Tina, holding the dragon's notebook, sat on her bed, startled by my strange behavior, her pale face filled with confusion.

“Snakes, I dreamt of… a swarm of snakes…” I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and heard the roar of car engines outside the tent.

Suren patted the notebook: "Is it influenced by these simple drawings?" The page she turned to was the one with "earth" and "snake".

I smiled sheepishly, stepped out of the tent, and stretched vigorously.

Thanks to the joint efforts of soldiers and workers, the camp was restored to its original state in the shortest possible time, and the area around the well has been placed under tight security.

Tina was on the watchtower, peering westward through binoculars, her other hand gripping a large military walkie-talkie, shouting incessantly, "Find them! Find them! Dig three feet into the ground, find them!"

"The greater the power, the more worries one has, and the less happy one will inevitably become"—Tina's words and actions are a true reflection of this truth.

Upon seeing me, she handed her binoculars and walkie-talkie to the military officer beside her, then quickly took the elevator down to the ground and ran towards me. She had three bandages on her forehead, bloodstains on her left cheek, and bloodshot eyes, making her look quite disheveled.

“Mr. Feng, tell me, what happened down in the well?” She stood in front of me, panting, her left hand on the hilt of her gun.

"Ask me? Why not just send someone down to check and find out?" The camp has been back in order for so long, and I've always wondered why she didn't go down the well herself to search and investigate, but instead rushed over to ask me for information.

Tina stamped her foot awkwardly, "Hey! Sahan and his disciples have escaped. I think... they might have gone down into the well, or perhaps, as you said, they went directly into the pyramid through a secret passage. You know, Youlian's martial arts and Sahan's magic are both incredibly powerful... so... to protect the soldiers' safety, I have no choice but to hold back for now..."

The camp was in complete chaos. Of course, Sahan and Youlian would run away. If they had stayed obediently in their shackles, they would have been the real fools! These words were enough to prove that Tina and the others were still very wary of Sahan and his disciples and dared not pursue the fleeing enemy relentlessly.

“General Tina, I admire your deep care for your soldiers, but if we delay any longer, even the ‘Eye of the Moon’ will be taken away. Wouldn’t all our previous efforts have been in vain?”

I deliberately spoke of the "Eye of the Moon" with utmost clarity and emphasis, making myself appear heartbroken.

"Who? Who will take the gem? Where is the gem?" Tina's reaction was stronger than I expected.

"Tani, and Dr. James, are in the tunnel right below us." I pointed to the derrick with a serious expression.

Whoever obtains the "Eye of the Moon" is none of my business. Caught between the military, the valley, and the scalpel, I have no power to contend with them. It would be better to lay low and seek only to protect myself.

Tina burst out in anger: "Those are national treasures belonging to the Egyptian government, how can they be allowed to..." She stopped mid-sentence, no longer paying attention to me, and ran straight to the large tent in the valley, probably to ask the high priest for instructions so that immediate action could be taken.

The military's power is sufficient to control the entire desert, and I don't believe that the forces of Gu Ye and Scalpel have any leverage to negotiate with them. However, the whereabouts of Sahan and Youlian are now a crucial question. If they are truly followers of the great god Tu Liehan, they will certainly step in to protect the "Eye of the Moon God."

I retreated back into the tent, still feeling lingering fear at the thought of my nightmares about snakes.

Suren had already flipped through the dragon's notebook and was now looking up with her eyes closed in deep thought.

“Brother Feng, we need to talk to Yelan. These dragon paintings are very strange. If we can understand the circumstances under which he painted these odd things, it might give us great insight. What do you think?”

Then, she placed her right hand on one of the pages and muttered to herself with concern, "I suspect that some of the things mentioned in these paintings will come true in the pyramids, like this one..."

She held up her notebook to me. The image showed a field of tangled, chaotic grass, some long, some short, covered in thousands upon thousands of tiny, densely packed strokes. Next to it was a note that read, "The Den of Ten Thousand Snakes."

Sahan also mentioned the name "the cave of ten thousand snakes," which, literally, refers to a deep pit filled with venomous snakes.

I shrugged and smiled at Suren: "A deep pit, there's one right here in the tomb."

That enormous pool—wouldn't it just be a deep, square pit? If someone were to deliberately put tens of thousands of venomous snakes into it, it would quickly become a veritable "cave of ten thousand snakes." And just like that, anyone who tries to steal the "Eye of the Moon" would become a criminal attempting to offend the great god Tu Liehan and the Pharaoh, directly facing the selection of the legendary "God of Punishment."

Suren shuddered: "Brother Feng, don't joke around..."

She hadn't experienced it firsthand, but from my vivid description, she already knew the shape and appearance of the pool. Such a large space, once filled with a massive, dark swarm of snakes, must have been a truly awe-inspiring and unparalleled sight.

Girls are naturally afraid of snakes and insects, perhaps only an oddball like Tang Xin is an exception.

"Suren, don't worry, there won't be any poisonous snakes. Besides, I'll always be by your side to protect you, don't be afraid..."

Suddenly, I felt a wave of discomfort in my stomach, a burp came up, and my mouth was filled with the strange taste of the snake medicine James had given me.

Suren was startled again: "Snake medicine? Brother Feng, you've ingested snake medicine?"

My description focused entirely on the dramatic changes in the tomb's structure, neglecting the part about asking James for the medicine. Suddenly, a strange and unsettling feeling welled up inside me: "Snake medicine? Yes, James was prepared, anticipating that venomous snakes would appear somewhere in the tomb—"

Suren suddenly stood up, covering his face with his hands in alarm: "There are definitely snakes in the tomb, and not just ten or eight, otherwise James wouldn't have prepared this kind of elixir so early. You know, these drugs cost more than four times the price of the same volume of heroin. If I'm not mistaken, it's the 'cave of ten thousand snakes' of the Pharaoh in ancient Egyptian legend..."

Part 5: The Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes

— Chapter 5-Snake Array—

Suren's reasoning makes a lot of sense. If the "Eye of the Moon" is the most valuable treasure in the tomb, then the builders have reason to place it in the most dangerous situation in order to ensure its safety to the greatest extent.

“I need to speak with Yelan! Suren, if it’s convenient, please have that hacker friend come over immediately. I suspect there’s a secret passage behind that murderous stone wall—or it might even be the hiding place of the legendary ‘superweapon’…”

Faced with this immense crisis, I don't want to passively retreat and avoid it. I always hope to use this opportunity to hone myself and forge ahead against the tide. All the inspirational biographies of famous people I've read before vividly illustrate Mencius's view that "Heaven will entrust great responsibilities to those who are capable," and that without experiencing wind and rain, there is no rainbow. I am Yang Tian's younger brother, and I absolutely cannot allow him to tarnish his reputation as the "King of Tomb Raiders."

Suren couldn't help but hesitate. Given the current situation, if he didn't have enough strength to contend with the military, he would inevitably be drawn into this vortex of power struggle and suffer annihilation.

"Brother Feng, should we reconsider? How about we let the military cause chaos in the snake pit first, and then we'll find an opportunity to strike?" The phone was already in Su Lun's hand, but she was reluctant to make the call immediately.

I know that the "Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes" is incredibly terrifying, like the surging, eerie swarm of snakes I just experienced in my nightmare—enough to terrify anyone. Suren's hesitation is simply a matter of adhering to the life motto, "A wise man does not stand under a dangerous eave," which is not unreasonable.

“Suren, there are many dangerous things in the world, and someone always has to do them. I hope I can be the key figure in saving the situation. I am the younger brother of the ‘King of Tomb Raiders.’ My elder brother is gone, and I want to become the second ‘King of Tomb Raiders’ in the world—”

Suren interrupted me abruptly: "Gone? Brother Feng, there's no conclusive evidence that 'King of Tomb Raiders' Yang Tian is dead! According to all the rumors circulating in the martial arts world, he's simply disappeared. You should know that a legendary figure like him, who has experienced countless battles, wouldn't die so easily. Even if he's facing certain death, he can still create miracles, right?"

The legendary story of the "King of Tomb Raiders" has been passed down as a myth in the martial arts world. Since it is a myth, there are bound to be many absurd and untrue aspects to it.

I patted Suren on the shoulder with a smile: "Don't get excited! I was just saying it casually."

Su Lun continued anxiously, rattling off a long list: "Brother Feng, after the photos Gu Ye submitted were sent to the research lab, and after being magnified 30,000 times and undergoing pixel interpolation calculations, we're now 10% certain that the person in the pictures is indeed the great hero Yang Tian. The research is ongoing, and the lab is using a supercomputer to simulate a space that's 99% similar to the environment in which the photos were taken, in preparation for further confirmation. Perhaps we should conserve our strength and wait until all the forces are locked in a life-or-death struggle before making our move. Consider my suggestion; you'll agree—"

A sharp alarm suddenly blared from the watchtower, followed by a strange, wailing sound that instantly made my eardrums ache.

"Urgent alert! The military is about to take action—"

Before Suren could finish speaking, the camp was already buzzing with the sounds of hundreds of soldiers running, forming ranks, and organizing their weapons. After last night's earthquake, a third of the soldiers had been lost, and the remaining men were almost all wounded, without exception. This was likely the largest loss the Rainbow Warriors had ever suffered since its inception.

"Listen up, everyone in the camp! On behalf of the President of Egypt, I hereby declare an immediate state of high alert. Those on the perimeter, seal off all access routes to and from the camp; those on lookout duty, closely monitor any suspicious persons within a one-kilometer radius; those working in the mines, obey all orders and be ready to charge into battle at any moment..."

Tina's voice lingered and echoed over the camp for a long time, extremely powerful and resonant.

I peeked at her through the crack in the door. The watchtower was so tall, and behind her was the vast, high sky of the desert. In this moment, she truly resembled a great general commanding thousands of troops.

Beside Tina stood a thin, cold-eyed officer with a submachine gun slung over his left shoulder and his hands resting on an extremely wide leather belt around his waist. I remembered his name; it should be Robert, and his position was an instructor in the Rainbow Warriors Commando.

"Next, the team going down the well will be led by Instructor Robert. Let's get started!"

Tina waved, and Robert saluted her solemnly. He took the elevator down from the watchtower and led a squad of soldiers toward the wellhead. At the wellhead, Yelan's men were already fully prepared, but everyone's expression was somber. Last night, during the chaos, the sniper's unhesitating shooting of the workers trying to escape had cast a heavy shadow over the relationship between the two sides.

As usual, Yelan stood at the front of the workers' team. Behind him, in addition to the usual ropes and digging tools, were people carrying cameras, tripods, walkie-talkies, monitors, and so on—a complete set of equipment for a live television broadcast.

Soon, both groups of people disappeared below the water level at the wellhead, and the camp fell silent, but the suffocating tension only grew stronger.

In this situation, two people who should have been there long ago were hiding in the valley's tent: Scalpel and High Priest Natura. With the camp engulfed in turmoil, and Tina handling everything, why hadn't those two shown their faces?

Before this, I was constantly worried about internal strife within the military, and whether a tragedy like the one between Natura and Tina would occur. If Natura didn't show up, it naturally meant that an agreement had been reached with Tina, and everyone was on the same side. So, where was the scalpel? Why didn't it show up either? They'd been holed up in their tents for days; even if they had a thousand issues to discuss, shouldn't they have dealt with them by now?

Tina came down from the watchtower and walked towards me, looking quite uneasy.

Suren quietly slipped away again, crawling out through a hidden hole behind the bed without disturbing a speck of dust. She had an excellent sense of situational awareness and knew exactly when to be aggressive and when to back down.

“Mr. Feng, I would like to invite you to come and watch the live television broadcast from the tomb together. What do you say? Are you interested?” Tina seemed preoccupied, and the aggressive look in her eyes was gone.

"What? You're afraid to lead the team down the well yourself this time? Are you afraid of poisonous snakes too?" I wasn't buying her kindness. There's always an ulterior motive behind a gift; only heaven knows what she's really thinking.

Tina sighed resentfully, "Mr. Feng, why ask a question you already know the answer to? Leading by example is, to some extent, synonymous with 'reckless and impulsive.' The country spent nearly ten million US dollars to train me into a great general who can command thousands of troops, not to have me die for trivial matters."

I'm not one to kick someone when they're down, and not wanting to make things difficult for her any further, I nodded and followed her into the temporary tent next to the well.

After leaving my tent, she raised an eyebrow curiously: "What? Where's Miss Suren? Wasn't she with you?"

A girl's jealousy is always inexplicable and untimely, leaving me both amused and exasperated. My relationship with Su Lun was just beginning, not yet at the level Tina imagined.

The tent contained a desk and five monitors, but all the equipment was sprayed with the ancient shield insignia of the Desert Legion, and the people sitting in front of the monitors were fully armed soldiers, not workers under Yelan.

The surveillance footage showed the group marching rapidly through the tunnel, soon to reach the pyramid entrance.

I secretly observed Tina's expression. When the pyramid entrance appeared on screen, followed by the changed state of the burial chamber, Tina clicked her tongue twice in admiration, but not with exclamations like "Wow!" or "Oh dear!" It was as if she had expected it and was completely unfazed. This further confirmed my suspicions; she must have foreseen the possible changes inside the pyramid to remain so calm.

Tanino and James were still standing by the pool, but they were quickly pushed aside by the soldiers.

Yelan directed the workers to set up a camera at each of the four sides of the pool, with the lens covering every corner of the pool. Another camera had a wide-angle lens covering the entire scene. Clearly, Yelan's preparations were very thorough.

The so-called "Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes" was very quiet, with nothing unusual except for the strange and peculiar talismans.

In my opinion, talismans are only used to scare away intruders. For example, when I went into the ancient well to rescue Tengjia, I was not harmed by any talisman at all.

The soldiers hammered expansion bolts into the poolside, attached the rappelling cables, and were ready to go. If nothing unexpected happened, the "Eye of the Moon" would belong to Tina within minutes.

"General, may we begin?" The scene shifted, revealing Robert's gloomy face. He had a strangely shaped hooked nose and slightly drooping eyes, which were actually standard triangular snake eyes.

"Let's begin!" Tina whispered the order.

There were a total of five steel cables hanging down to the bottom of the pool, so the first batch of soldiers to descend consisted of five.

High-altitude rappelling is their specialty, so they can do it with ease. The soldier who descended the fastest landed in just three seconds, quickly unfastened the stainless steel connecting buckle on his waist, and ran towards the stone platform in the center of the pool.

Everyone desires a chance to stand out, especially when faced with the immense honor of serving their country. Therefore, the soldier's feelings are understandable; however, he forgot that this was at the eerie base of the pyramids, where anything could happen.

When he was five steps away from the stone platform, the man suddenly leaped up, stretched out his arms in mid-air, and pressed down on the side of the stone platform. Judging from his appearance, it seemed that he wanted to use the force of this press to flip over in mid-air and leap onto the stone platform.

The three stone platforms are stacked on top of each other, with a total height of about six meters.

His agility was indeed remarkable; the key to this mid-air somersault lay entirely in the powerful push of his arms. Tina smiled slightly and whispered, "Good! Good skills!"