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墨書 Inktalez
My Tenant is a Female Ghost
The camp was deserted, not even a single corpse in sight. Everyone looked puzzled after their fruitless search. "Boss, there's blood here!" Black Tiger shouted.
Cai Wenwu raised his flashlight and indeed found a pool of blood on the ground. He wiped it with his finger. "It's not dried, so they can't have gone far. The way back is the same; we haven't crossed paths. Let's look for another passage!"
This palace was even larger than the previous one, at least the size of two football fields. Many walls and wooden pillars were already decayed, but it was not hard to see how luxurious it once was.
Sure enough, following the blood trail, they found a cave in a corner.
Bai Zhuo approached the cave, and a gust of cool wind blew from within. Curious, he wondered where this wind came from deep underground; it truly was a case of "where there’s a hole, there’s wind."
At that moment, Wang Tao felt something fall onto the back of his hand. He raised his hand to touch it and found some powder. His face changed dramatically as he suddenly pulled Bai Zhuo back several steps, shouting, "Oh no! It's Mercury Vapor! We need to retreat!"
Those who had studied chemistry knew that Mercury Vapor was highly toxic; inhaling too much could lead to poisoning and death. Bai Zhuo quickly covered his nose and stepped back several more paces, his heart racing.
The group retreated several steps as Wang Tao lamented, "Mercury Vapor is colorless and odorless, and extremely poisonous. Who could be the owner of this ancient tomb?" Cai Wenwu replied, "There should still be gas masks at the camp; let's go find them."
Indeed, they rummaged through the camp and found six gas masks. "There are only six masks..." Cai Wenwu turned to pat Bai Zhuo on the shoulder. "Brother Bai, you should head back. We haven't explored below yet; it's too dangerous. If anything goes wrong, it won't be good for either of us."
Bai Zhuo had been frightened by the Mercury Vapor earlier and nodded. "Alright, then I'll just..." But before he could finish his sentence, voices echoed from deep within the cave. The vastness of the cave amplified the sounds into echoes; it was hard to tell who was calling out, but Bai Zhuo recognized that voice all too well.
"It’s actually Kagura Keiha!" Bai Zhuo exclaimed as he looked towards the cave. "He’s still alive?"
“Kagura Keiha?” Cai Wenwu asked, “Is he the Japanese guy who helped us during the Nanyang Voodoo Incident?”
Bai Zhuo nodded, pondering. Although he found Kagura Keiha annoying and had even wanted him dead before, he was undeniably a valuable asset in battle. Moreover, he had promised Kagura Aoi, his sister, that he would help find him, and he couldn't go back on his word now. He took a mask from Cai Wenwu: “Take me with you.”
Cai Wenwu glanced at Black Tiger, who gave a slight nod of approval. “Alright, Brother Bai, let’s proceed carefully inside; your safety is our priority.” Bai Zhuo felt a bit flattered and replied, “Wu, you all need to stay safe too.”
Equipped with their gear and donning gas masks, Cai Wenwu, Black Tiger, and Bai Zhuo, along with Wang Tao, made a total of six people entering the cave, leaving the other warriors behind at the camp.
The visibility through the gas masks was poor, and Bai Zhuo could clearly hear his own breathing within the mask. The cave was dimly lit, and the six of them moved forward slowly, each placing a hand on the shoulder of the person in front. Cai Wenwu and the Tomb Raider Old Liu led the way, followed closely by Wang Tao and another Tomb Raider. Bringing up the rear were Bai Zhuo and Black Tiger. As they entered the cave, the air changed; mercury vapor mixed with the atmosphere like a thick haze, further obscuring their already limited vision. The oil lamp in Wang Tao's hand flickered erratically, red powder continuously falling from the flame, indicating that mercury vapor was everywhere.
“The concentration of mercury vapor here is so high; there must be a place where it evaporates at high temperatures,” said Wang Tao in a muffled voice through his mask. “The masks can last about three hours. If we haven’t found anyone after two hours, we’ll turn back,” added Cai Wenwu.
After walking for about four or five minutes, they finally encountered a fork in the path. Kagura Keiha shouted something but then fell silent; it was unclear from which direction his voice had come.
There were nine paths converging at the end of this cave.
“Commander, what should we do?” asked Old Liu, who was following closely behind Cai Wenwu.
Unable to hold back any longer, Black Tiger stepped forward and scolded Old Liu: “Damn it! We brought you here to handle situations like this. If you can’t manage something like this, how do you expect to fulfill our deal?”
The three Tomb Raiders fell silent. Suddenly, Bai Zhuo spoke up: “Let’s split into three groups; at least we’ll have a one-third chance.”
Cai Wenwu was the first to oppose: “No way, that’s too dangerous.” But Bai Zhuo shook his head: “Wu, remember that winged creature from the Nanyang Sorcery? It was so perilous. We’ve faced great storms to get here; are we afraid of this ancient tomb? Trust me this time, Wu.”
Cai Wenwu was not one to be overly sentimental. Since Bai Zhuo was unafraid, he nodded and said, "I'll team up with Old Liu. Black Tiger, you take Bai Zhuo..."
"No, I want to team up with him," Bai Zhuo pointed at Wang Tao.
Cai Wenwu was concerned for Bai Zhuo's safety, but this was not the time for hesitation. He compromised again, "Alright, Black Tiger, you and Old Wu will team up." He raised his hand to check his watch. "Remember, if we don't see anyone in two hours, run back to the camp. And above all, stay safe. Make sure you all come back alive!"
Cai Wenwu chose a relatively spacious cave entrance and led Old Liu inside. Black Tiger also dragged along the one called Old Wu, a Tomb Raider, and picked an entrance to go in. Bai Zhuo looked up at the strange drawings on the cave's ceiling for a long time. "Hey, hurry up! The gas masks have a limited time," Wang Tao said as he adjusted his gear and was about to enter the cave when Bai Zhuo suddenly grabbed his arm. "What do you think that is?"
Wang Tao followed Bai Zhuo's finger and saw a piece of white fabric; upon closer inspection, it looked like a corner of clothing. An excited expression spread across Wang Tao's face. "This looks like one of those researchers' lab coats! Someone must have been here; let’s go!"
Bai Zhuo agreed wholeheartedly, and the two of them entered the cave one after the other, completely unaware of a grayish-white shadow that flashed past behind them.
The cave sloped gently downward, seemingly bottomless. After walking for over ten minutes without seeing an end, Wang Tao suddenly raised his hand to stop. Bai Zhuo nervously asked, "What’s wrong?"
Wang Tao didn’t answer; instead, he pulled a heavy lead ball from his backpack. He weighed it in his hand before bending down and throwing it with all his might. A series of clattering sounds echoed beneath their feet as hundreds of arrows shot out from the walls beside them, striking the walls with a ringing sound and occasionally sparking! (To be continued.)
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