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墨書 Inktalez
At night, a cool breeze gently swept through the valleys formed by the towering mountains, bringing with it a chill.
The hazy moonlight cast a slanted glow over the land, projecting the silhouettes of the tall, slender stone pillars of Shangu onto the ground, creating patches of darkness.
Occasionally, creatures darted through the beams of moonlight that fell between the stone pillars, vanishing into the shadows on the other side.
Among them, several figures moved as swiftly as fox spirits, striving to conceal themselves behind the stone columns.
Beyond this cluster of stone pillars, faint voices could be heard from time to time, but they were not loud; one would hardly notice them without careful listening.
Lu Fei Fan and Jia Jia lay half-reclined, crouched behind one of the stone pillars. The horse team was also leaning against a column, hiding in the darkness alongside Fu Qinqin. The four exchanged glances with each other.
The horse team signaled to Lu Fei Fan with a gesture to observe cautiously, indicating that he should not act recklessly. Then, they slowly crawled out, quietly revealing a corner and taking out binoculars to scan the distance.
A few meters away, Lu Fei Fan was unaware of what the horse team had spotted.
He only noticed their serious expressions but could not discern what they had found. Finally, the horse team waved for Lu Fei Fan to come over.
Lu Fei Fan glanced in their direction and quickly crawled over to join them.
The horse team had nothing to say; they simply handed Lu Fei Fan the Night Vision Telescope.
Lu Fei Fan set aside his Azure Serpent Energy Sniper Rifle and during this time, Jia Jia also crawled over from that side. Fu Qinqin nervously glanced around, seemingly not noticing any hidden sentries.
Lu Fei Fan took the Night Vision Telescope and looked into the distance. Through its lens, he saw a ghostly green vision that was remarkably clear. In an open area several dozen meters away, there was a hillside that appeared disturbed. Rather than being a hillside, it resembled a dry riverbed flanked by cliffs. Lu Fei Fan found himself in the center of this dry riverbed.
Beyond this cluster of stone pillars in the valley lay the cliffs, where several cave entrances could be seen. The largest cave flickered with light, and sounds emanated from within.
"Let's move in closer and take a look," the leader of the horsemen whispered to the others, then quietly led the way out. They navigated swiftly between the shadows and the moonlight, hiding behind dark stone pillars as they steadily approached the cave at the cliff's edge.
Lu Fei Fan, Fu Qinqin, and Jia Jia followed suit, stealthily alternating their movements in the darkness.
At that moment, four figures suddenly emerged from the cave—warriors dressed in native attire. They wore nothing but short trousers and simple beast skins, carrying Zhan Dao and hot weapons. Their expressions were hurried as they rushed out, descending the slope of the cliff. At a concealed corner, they lifted a camouflage tarpaulin to reveal four modified off-road vehicles adorned with animal teeth and intricate totem designs, clearly their own.
The indigenous warriors unloaded a rectangular box from one of the vehicles, then quickly covered it back with the camouflage tarpaulin. Two by two, they carried a long wooden box back into the cave.
The horsemen exchanged glances with Lu Fei Fan, who then looked at Fu Qinqin and Jia Jia.
"Jia Jia, Qin Qin, you stay here and prepare to seize two vehicles. I'll go in with Fei Fan to check things out. If anything seems off, we'll retreat immediately!" the leader instructed.
Jia Jia was the first to sneak toward where the natives had parked their vehicles. Fu Qinqin hesitated for a moment; she glanced at Lu Fei Fan, who waved her off. She felt a surge of frustration but fell silent when Lu Fei Fan handed her You She with a playful grin. She understood his intention: she was to provide cover. If they encountered trouble upon exiting the cave, she could use her sniper rifle to fend off any enemies!
Reluctantly, Qin Qin complied, casting a resentful glance at Lu Fei Fan before turning to stealthily follow Jia Jia to a spot near where the vehicles were parked, finding cover behind some hills.
Lu Fei Fan and the leader scanned their surroundings before crouching low and making their way toward the cave entrance with their guns drawn.
As they approached, they could clearly hear the indigenous people conversing inside. Although they had lowered their voices intentionally, snippets of conversation still reached them. Unfortunately, Lu Fei Fan couldn't understand their strange dialect; he could only see shadows moving about in the light filtering from within.
The two crept along the wall into the cave. It appeared spacious—several thousand square feet wide—and interconnected in various directions. If not for the indigenous people using mobile energy devices that illuminated much of the cave with their light sources, it would have been easy to get lost in its steep and winding passages.
The cave seemed to have been shaped by rushing water; slender stone pillars were scattered throughout its upper and lower sections, while more web-like tunnels extended into unknown depths.
In the central left part of the cave, those natives were busy with something when suddenly one of them shouted, followed by a loud bang!
A loud bang echoed through the cave, shaking the entire structure. Sharp stone pillars that hung from the ceiling came crashing down, and as they ran for safety, two natives who couldn't dodge in time screamed as they were impaled.
Once the chaos subsided, Crazy Horse shouted for his subordinates to rescue the two men. However, one of them had already been killed by four or five stone pillars, while the other was left with his limbs shattered, only able to be carried to the side for the Shaman to tend to him.
As the dust settled in the blasted cave, a group of about a dozen natives gathered around Crazy Horse. Among them was an elderly man adorned with intricate tribal tattoos and dressed in traditional ceremonial attire, who seemed highly respected. Crazy Horse and the others treated him with great reverence.
The Old Priest performed a bizarre and elaborate dance at the entrance, chanting incantations for quite some time. He alternated between looking up and bowing down until he finally permitted Crazy Horse to lead his people inside.
The tribesmen cheered and rushed in eagerly. Before long, they began to emerge carrying various items. One native pulled back a tarp, revealing a dazzling treasure that illuminated the entire cave!
Lu Fei Fan and the horsemen gasped in astonishment—was this a treasure?
Were they robbing a tomb?
Crazy Horse shouted for them to go back in and bring out more. The tribesmen continued to haul out several boxes, stacking them at the entrance. But just then, something even more unexpected occurred.
On either side of the cave entrance, camouflaged tents that blended into the rocky walls were unveiled. Suddenly—
A group of five or six fierce mercenaries clad in black emerged, brandishing standard-issue submachine guns. They opened fire in a sweeping motion, hitting several natives who were still reveling in their excitement outside the cave. Two others who had just brought out another box of jewels were turned into riddled corpses.
Then, they began tossing Energy Grenades into the cave!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hand Grenades exploded within the cavern, each blast sending clouds of dust swirling and causing sharp stone pillars to fall from above.
The individuals who had successfully retrieved the wooden crates carried by the natives began to withdraw, while two others continued to toss buckets of debris into the cave. The air inside was thick with smoke, obscuring the view of whether the natives had been completely eliminated.
Lu Fei Fan intended to act but was stopped by the cavalry.
Sure enough, moments later, six or seven natives burst out of the smoke-filled cave. Among them, two or three bore injuries, but they were not severe; all were armed with standard rifles and retaliated.
The two groups exchanged gunfire within the cave, bullets flying like rain in a horizontal downpour. Lu Fei Fan and the cavalry took cover.
Before long, they managed to break through to the outside.
Concerned about Qin Qin and Jia Jia, the cavalry leader patted Lu Fei Fan and went ahead.
Understanding that his captain wanted him to assess the situation, Lu Fei Fan decided to charge into the cave for a closer look; perhaps there would be something to gain.
Taking advantage of the chaos outside where both sides were engaged in a furious exchange of gunfire, he thought it best to play the role of a hidden predator. Crouching low and gripping his large-caliber revolver, Lie Hound, he stealthily made his way into the cave.
Inside, the air was thick with gunpowder; the strong smell of explosives mingled with blood and smoke. Several corpses lay at the entrance. Pressing against the wall, Lu Fei Fan doubted that any natives would remain behind to guard this place.
As expected, halfway through his exploration, he heard faint sounds from within. Peeking inside, he saw Old Priest half-kneeling on the ground while a Shaman tended to two injured Young Indigenous individuals.
Lu Fei Fan approached quietly and knocked out both Old Priest and Shaman with swift blows from his revolver's butt. The two young men groaned in pain as they glared at Lu Fei Fan with resentment. Even though he had deliberately covered his face with cloth, their fearless eyes still regarded him as one of their attackers.
Lu Fei Fan paid them no mind; he knocked them out as well and confiscated their weapons, tossing them into another pit.
Venturing deeper into the cave, he realized that this space was an artificially carved square chamber. The entrance was severely damaged, indicating that these natives had used explosives to break in; otherwise, such a thick stone door would have been impossible to open without some mechanism. However, Lu Fei Fan had little interest in investigating further at that moment.
He looked around the square room, which had been mostly cleared out, leaving only a few pots and jars that were covered in dust. On the walls, there were murals that seemed to depict scenes from an ancient dynasty—ministers bowing before the Monarch, consorts dancing in front of the Monarch, and murals of the Monarch leading troops into battle, among others.
Lu Fei Fan suddenly had a conjecture: could this square room be an ancient tomb? Judging by the wealth of the burial goods carried out by the natives, it was clear that the Tomb Owner held a status of either great wealth or nobility. He wondered how this world still had ancient tombs filled with treasures; it seemed that every world was the same. He couldn't help but wonder how those natives had discovered this tomb.
As Lu Fei Fan scanned the burial chamber, he speculated that if this room was where the burial goods were stored, then the owner's coffin must be nearby. Given the Tomb Owner's esteemed status, there was likely to be even more valuable items than those in this burial goods room!
Thus, Lu Fei Fan began to search the vicinity. Following the wall for any gaps required meticulous attention. He nearly circled the entire chamber before finally spotting a narrow crack that was nearly invisible to the naked eye in one corner. The presence of this crack suggested there might be a hidden door, although it was sealed. He wondered if there was a switch inside this burial goods room to open it.
Lu Fei Fan tried to find a switch, starting with the pots and jars that had not been taken away—clearly, none of them were it.
Just as Lu Fei Fan was feeling frustrated, he inadvertently caught sight of a peculiar mural on the wall that drew his attention. The mural depicted not figures but rather an intricate and mysterious pattern resembling flowers, exuding a sense of beauty.
Could this mural be significant? He recalled that in ancient times, to prevent tomb robbers, traps might have been designed within tomb chambers. If what he pressed wasn't a hidden door switch but rather a trap mechanism, he could be in for quite an adventure!
Sometimes one must take a gamble. Lu Fei Fan decided to take his chance; feeling somewhat nervous, he cautiously reached out to press on the patterned mural. Taking a deep breath, he pressed firmly inward!
Bang!
A crisp sound echoed through the burial chamber as stone mechanisms clashed!
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