King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 221

The fourth person reported last, because he was already confused by his companion's voice: "What? My sights only show the other side at 200 meters, a woman in a black robe... She was wearing a golden mask and dodged to the side... But I can't be sure..."

In my field of vision, there was nothing but the dark stone wall, tinged with a pale blue-green, beneath the snow-white beam of light.

"Don't shoot, everyone! The other person... might not be the enemy!" I paused midway through my sentence. That woman knew everything; we absolutely couldn't shoot her. Of course, on second thought, with her unparalleled and unpredictable movements, the chance of a single sniper bullet hitting her was probably less than one in ten thousand.

Before Gu Qingcheng and Uncle Wei could react, another strange thing happened.

After the teammate who gave me the backpack stepped back ten paces, he stood there blankly, not moving an inch, oblivious to the sound of bullets whistling through the air, just staring at the ground with his head down.

"Sun Gui, what are you doing?" Uncle Wei shouted.

Gu Qingcheng whispered, "Uncle Wei, something's not right—"

The young man named "Sun Gui" had his hands on the submachine gun in front of his chest, as if he had been frozen in place, and remained motionless.

From my vantage point, I could clearly see the thick, bulging veins on his neck, like the "breathing" motion of a weightlifter during a clean and jerk.

I waved to stop Uncle Wei from shouting: "Calm down, I'll handle this. Don't fire indiscriminately."

Perhaps those snipers didn't consider one crucial point: if the cave contained excessive amounts of marsh gas or other flammable gases, a single spark could cause a massive explosion, instantly killing everyone inside. Furthermore, given the historical reality of gunpowder's widespread use in warfare during the late Qing Dynasty, the southwest region has always been an ideal location for guerrilla warfare. Certain hidden caves inevitably harbored stockpiles of weaponry by armed groups. Given a reasonably suitable storage environment, firearms, detonators, explosives, and grenades stored for over sixty years could still be highly effective.

I was about eight meters away from Sun Gui, and with a sliding step, I jumped to his side.

"Help...help...help..." His eyes could still move slowly, like someone who was extremely tired trying to stay awake. The word "help" came from deep in his throat, and I could only barely make out the shape of his mouth.

Suddenly, all around fell silent. The person standing at the cave entrance even felt the north wind blocked out, and all eyes were fixed on me. The situation was somewhat like a bomb disposal unit on a mission, where everything hung in the balance, and success or failure was entirely in my hands.

Sun Gui was very young, with a few pimples on his chin that hadn't yet healed, and a thin, soft beard. He was around twenty years old, similar in age to Xiao Lai. When his eyes strained to look at me, he resembled a drowning person, about to face certain death.

"Don't panic, I'll save you." I tried to keep smiling, and with a flick of my left hand, I used the backpack strap to loop around the submachine gun on his chest and pulled gently.

He looked somewhat like someone who had been electrocuted, and I used the most appropriate method to help him, but his body didn't budge. As I slowly pulled, it felt like the backpack strap was holding a huge object, weighing thousands of pounds, which I couldn't budge at all.

"Mr. Feng, how is he? Is he dead?" Uncle Wei couldn't contain himself any longer.

To test whether a person has enough composure, one must observe their performance in unexpected events. However, this quality of "remaining calm even when Mount Tai collapses before you" is something that everyone is born with, and cannot be acquired through learning or worldly experience.

His composure is not as strong as Gu Qingcheng's.

"He seems to be stuck to something." I wasn't sure, so I turned on my flashlight and shone it at Sun Gui's feet.

The ground was just ordinary bluestone, dry and stable, without any liquid stains.

"Sun Gui, how are you feeling? Can you move your little finger?" I knew I had to stay calm, otherwise the large group of people standing outside would have a mental breakdown and abandon their companions to scatter and run away.

In the silence, the unusual sound of several people's teeth clicking together added to the eerie atmosphere.

Gu Qingcheng suddenly smiled gently: "Mr. Feng is right. If Sun Gui can't even move his little finger, he's practically a vegetable. No matter what method we use to move him, it's not too much. Uncle Wei, have the driver turn on the winch. If that doesn't work, pull him out with a steel cable."

Her laughter undoubtedly helped to ease the tense atmosphere.

The Witch Longge has already killed two people in an instant; if another one dies, it will be added to her list of crimes.

Every American Jeep chassis is equipped with an engine-driven, automatically tightening precision winch with a steel cable exceeding fifty meters in length. This device can be used for mechanical towing and rescue, and also for self-rescue by using a fixed object at a distance when the vehicle is stuck in mud or swamps.

This method is good, but it can only be used if it is certain that Sun Gui is dead. Otherwise, this living young man will be torn apart like a body being pulled apart by five horses, which is more cruel than the tortures inflicted on criminals in ancient times.

As the most distal skeletal bone in the human body, the little finger can be bent with extremely slight control. Even a person in a vegetative state who is completely unconscious can often make their little finger move under external stimulation.

Sun Gui heard what I said, but his eyes still moved slowly, his tiny fingers remaining motionless, like a lifelike sculpture. I felt as if he were stuck to something invisible, his body encased in an unseen, transparent shell, which was why he couldn't move.

I reached into my backpack, through two layers of military canvas, and grabbed his left arm. I gave it a tentative push, and just as I expected, the feeling in my palm was like holding a cold, hard piece of iron, which was firmly cast into a stone.

Using a winch to pull is not the most appropriate method. In my opinion, it would be more reasonable to break open the ground beneath his feet and move him away as a whole.

I instinctively crouched down and observed the spot where Sun Gui was standing again.

He wore black leather combat boots, his knees slightly bent, firmly planted on the ground, indicating that he had a certain foundation in martial arts.

My finger reached towards the ground near his shoe, intending to explore what was happening there. The instant my fingertip touched the bluestone, I suddenly sensed danger approaching. I quickly withdrew my hand and took two steps back. Before I could straighten up, the ground beneath Sun Gui's feet suddenly moved.

In my haste, I could only use the phrase "ripples on water" to describe the change, as if the half-meter square of bluestone ground had suddenly turned into a pool of blue water, and his black combat boots were sinking little by little.

"What's wrong?" Gu Qingcheng, Uncle Wei, and Feiyue's voices rang out at the same time. I think my expression must have changed drastically, and my anxious actions just now had made them very nervous.

I took a deep breath and roared at ten times the volume: "Steel cable! Give me the steel cable!"

This bizarre phenomenon is something no one could have imagined. Perhaps it would be easier to understand if we changed the color of the liquefied bluestone—that is, "red lava." Only during a spectacular volcanic eruption can one see rocks easily melted, becoming lava flowing rampantly across the land.

Within three seconds, the two-centimeter-thick soles of the boots were completely soaked. Only I, standing right next to them, could observe this bizarre and extraordinary sight.

I looked at Sun Gui's face again; his grayish-white eyes, like those of a dying fish, stared at me with despair.

Humans die in all sorts of ways, but this method of dying by falling into blue lava has never been recorded in historical records.

I took another deep breath, dropped my backpack, and prepared to charge at Sun Gui at any moment, at least to make one last desperate attempt. Although we were complete strangers, and he might have come here only for the high reward promised by Uncle Wei, as long as he was human, he was one of my kind. Life has no distinction of value, and all lives deserve my utmost effort to save.

"Then—" Under the beam of light, Uncle Wei threw with all his might. The steel cable, which was two centimeters in diameter, was propelled by his internal force and became a straight steel bar, which shot towards my hand with a whoosh.

All movements became orderly mechanical motions. I caught the steel cable, looped it under Sun Gui's armpit, wrapped it around his waist twice, and then slipped it under his crotch again.

At that moment, I hesitated for the first time: if those liquids were the culprits that stuck Sun Gui, wouldn't the suction force and the winch's traction force tear him in two?

In the ancient legal text *Records of Wrongful Convictions*, I have seen countless accounts of the horrific scene of criminals being torn apart by five horses—a truly appalling sight. If this cruel punishment were inflicted on a heinous criminal, the ancients would surely have applauded it. But Sun Gui, before me, was simply an innocent commoner…

"Feng, calm down, make a decision!" Gu Qingcheng's voice was mixed with the buzzing sound of the steel cable shaking.

Hesitation will only lead to future troubles, but the decision I'm about to make will determine the life or death of a young man. I looked up; Gu Qingcheng's face was backlit by the beam of light, only her long, flowing hair fluttered like a veil in the wind.

Part Four: The Star Array, Chapter Three: The Alien World

"What would Suren tell me if it were her?" In the most critical moment, Suren's image popped into her mind.

"Huh? He's sinking..." Fei Yue exclaimed, grabbing the scope from the sniper rifle beside her and bringing it close to her eyes.

Sun Gui had already sunk to his ankles, the blue lava rippling and slowly swallowing his two black combat boots. The scene before him was like an inescapable nightmare.

Everyone realized the situation, and one after another, exclamations of surprise rang out in different accents.

Everyone fears death, but compared to this slow-motion, monstrous death, a bullet to the head or a slit in the throat would be cleaner, quicker, and less agonizing. No one rushed in to rescue their companion; instead, most quietly retreated.

I slowly pulled open the buckle at the end of the steel cable, sighed softly, and resolutely fastened it to the steel cable that was slowly tightening, completing the binding action before the rescue.

"Mr. Feng, come back quickly, it's dangerous inside..." Feiyue cried out. Through the sights, she should have been able to easily see what was happening at Sun Gui's feet. I had always regarded her as a proud little girl, but from this heartfelt call, I sensed a tenderness unique to men and women.

I know it's dangerous here, but I don't want to give up my last hope of saving Sun Gui.

Time became extremely tedious and unbearable. The steel cable was stretched taut, like a taut string on a piano, but it could not stop Sun Gui from sinking. He had gradually sunk to his knees.

The sound of the Jeep's engine gradually became louder, indicating that the winch was already working very hard.

A voice, trembling with sobs, rang out: "Uncle Wei, Uncle Wei, the steel cable is spinning backwards, we...we can't hold him back..."

The taut steel cable trembled slightly, emitting a buzzing sound as it cut through the air. Careful assessment of the cable's buckle relative to the ground confirmed that it was indeed being pulled by Sun Gui, moving towards the deep pool.

Sun Gui's body acted as the medium between the suction and traction forces, becoming incredibly hard, like cast iron. Furthermore, throughout the descent, his body maintained a straight-up-down posture and did not tilt despite the pull of the steel cable.

What are those things that look like liquid but don't have the softness of liquid? Where do they come from?

With the ghostly, teleporting witch of Longer ahead of me, I can remain calm no matter what strange things happen in this cave, including this strange pool.

When Sun Gui was submerged up to his waist, Uncle Wei smiled bitterly at me and said, "Mr. Feng, let's retreat first. Continuing like this is pointless; we'll just watch Sun Gui drown. This cave is full of strange things. How about we make plans after dawn?"

The engines of the other vehicles roared to life; all the mercenaries were probably waiting for Uncle Wei's order to retreat. These men were there for the money, and in a critical moment, everyone would prioritize survival, since no amount of money could buy a life.

I dared not risk approaching Sun Gui, but I keenly sensed that a pair of cold eyes were watching me from the depths of the tunnel, watching us uninvited guests.

Could it be the Longewitch? Is she guarding this place just to prevent outsiders from passing through the tunnel? Did she trigger the switch and hide all the stone pillars...? My mind is filled with questions. If only I could stop her face to face and ask her all the questions.

Another exclamation rang out: "Uncle Wei, the car is moving! The car is moving!"

It is conceivable that as Sun Gui's body continued to sink, it would inevitably pull the winch at the other end of the steel cable, causing the jeep to be dragged forward.

Within seconds, the beam of the searchlight began to flicker rapidly.

"Put it in reverse and back up," someone in the distance reminded the driver, but this way of thinking was clearly illogical. The Jeep didn't have enough weight; forcing it into reverse would only result in futile tire friction and was absolutely impossible to achieve.

The buzzing sound from the steel cable grew louder and louder. Uncle Wei called out anxiously, "Mr. Feng, should we cut the steel cable to prevent... to prevent any further accidents?"

A jeep's toolbox is always equipped with powerful wire cutters, precisely so that in case of difficulties during a rescue, the steel cables can be cut decisively to avoid entanglement.

Sun Gui had sunk up to his chest, and the submachine gun followed him into the bluish-gray lava. Throughout the entire ordeal, he was unable to utter a single cry for help; now even his pleading eyes were gone. He would soon be completely submerged, becoming the most bizarre death of the expedition.

I was caught in a dilemma. Cutting the steel cable at this moment would be tantamount to completely abandoning the rescue of Sun Gui, which would be an extremely inhumane act. I fear that every time I think about it in the future, I will feel guilty.

The jeep was dragged into the hole, and all four wheels were locked by the brakes, leaving it motionless.

The driver had already jumped out of the car and fled, and I saw Gu Qingcheng's anxious eyes once again.

If it were Suren, would she rush in to face the danger with me and uncover the truth behind the bizarre events? I couldn't help but think of Suren again. In the Egyptian desert, when faced with the sudden mutiny of the army, she was always by my side, using two pistols to fight her way through for me, completely disregarding her own life.

Perhaps it was at that moment that our hearts were linked together, never to be separated again.

The screeching sound of rubber tires rubbing against the rocks was chilling. The wire cutters were already in Uncle Wei's hand. At the same time, three other vehicles drove closer to the cave entrance, and twelve searchlights were turned on simultaneously, casting brighter beams of light in my direction.

All I have to do is nod, and Uncle Wei will cut the steel cable without hesitation, saving the jeep while completely abandoning Sun Gui.

How much is the life of someone like him worth? Ten thousand US dollars or fifteen thousand US dollars—"Feng, make the decision! We're just waiting for your signal..." Gu Qingcheng said sadly.

The gesture of raising and lowering the arm is easy to do, taking only half a second, but it may bring a lifetime of guilt that is hard to redeem.

The lava reached Sun Gui's chin. If it sank another two centimeters, his mouth and nose would be sealed, and he would be unable to breathe.

"Give up on him, it's useless." Uncle Wei raised the black pliers in his hand, making two "click, click" sounds. The blades gleamed with a dark, cold light and were extremely sharp.

These men were using standard American weapons, but they forgot one of the most famous slogans in the U.S. Marine Corps: "Never abandon your fellow countrymen."

The Marine Corps' exceptional cohesion and fierce, decisive combat capabilities are fundamentally based on this pledge: Trusting one's comrades, treating them as brothers, sharing life and death, advancing and retreating together—only then can one be invincible. The reason why countries around the world regard the Marine Corps as the elite of their armed forces and a model for other militaries is absolutely inseparable from this solemn oath.

Without this statement, everyone would only learn the superficial aspects of American culture, without truly grasping its fundamental essence.

"Never abandon your brother until the very last moment when all else fails." Scalpel once told me this, and the American oath is similar in meaning but different in wording.

Before my very eyes, Sun Gui finally sank to the ground. The bluish liquid didn't even lift his hair. "Mr. Feng, what do we do? We can't just sacrifice one person and this car for nothing, can we?" Uncle Wei smiled bitterly, but he was helpless and dared not step into the cave. Fear was like a deadly plague; once it spread, no one could escape it, and this oppressive atmosphere would quickly escalate.

Uncle Wei was the leader of this group. He began to retreat, and his men retreated even faster. Only he, Gu Qingcheng, and Feiyue remained at the cave entrance.

“Uncle Wei, I want to find out the truth about this strange pool so that the other brothers won’t get hurt again.” I shifted my feet and looked at the pulsating lava waves from another angle. After swallowing a living young man, the waves were gradually calming down.

I took a step forward, raised my flashlight, and shone it down into the lava.

The lava was transparent. Through a hazy blue liquid, I could see Sun Gui still falling, slowly descending vertically. Beneath his body, I could vaguely make out countless rows of houses and palaces, and I was standing at a very high place, looking down at that world.

"Wind, what's inside?" The only one who remained calm was Gu Qingcheng, whose expression was composed. From beginning to end, she showed no fear, as if everything was within her expectations, performing even better than an old hand like Uncle Wei.

I took a deep breath and focused my inner energy again to see more clearly. In my field of vision, countless ancient rooftops appeared, like a magnificent ink painting, all covered with a light blue layer.

"Below is a real yet strange world. I see rooftops and the street layout from above, an ancient city..." I described while trying to think, because everything in front of me was too illusory, like a three-dimensional painting that suddenly appeared.