Tomb Raiding: My Family's Last Clan Chief is Little Brother

Chapter 223 Sleepless Night
Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.

Just to be on the safe side, before it got completely dark, Zhang Wuxun and Xiao Ge carried buckets to a mud pit near the campsite and scooped up some wet mud to stick to the tent.

After finishing all that, Zhang Wuxun pulled out the roasted sweet potatoes that were already cooked from the fire, brushed off the ash, and handed them to the young man.

"After you finish eating, go and sleep in the empty tent for a while. I'll let you know if anything happens."

The young man looked at the dark and eerie jungle around him in the night, thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "Together."

He meant that it wasn't safe at night, and it would be safer for two people to keep watch over each other.

“Okay.” Zhang Wuxun nodded, grabbed his backpack, and took out two enhanced gas masks produced by the system, placing them beside him.

In the original storyline, the pheasant neck attacked the camp at night when poisonous fog rose in the forest. It was better to prepare in advance so as not to be caught off guard in case of an emergency.

Zhang Wuxun then took the bandaged black gold ancient sword out of the tent and placed it in front of Xiao Ge, saying, "Here, your sword is returned to its rightful owner."

The young man's usually calm eyes held a hint of surprise. "Thank you."

Zhang Wuxun smiled and waved his hand, "You're too kind."

The two chatted casually, and Zhang Wuxun did not hide the fact that the Wang family members had "phoenix" tattoos on their backs from Xiao Ge.

Xiao Ge and Wu Sansheng had frequent private contact, so he must have been very familiar with the existence of the Wang family. Zhang Wuxun's actions were twofold: firstly, to remind them, and secondly, to use Xiao Ge and Chen Wenjin to curry favor with Wu Sansheng and his group.

He later figured it out: the reason why the master Zhuoma didn't hide it from him when she sent the message was because of Zhang's family background. Since the young man had personally confirmed his identity, there was no doubt about it.

Secondly, it was through Wu Sansheng's attitude that Wu Sansheng, who had been monitoring and observing him both openly and secretly, analyzed his behavior and purpose, determined that Zhang Wuxun also had some understanding of the deeply hidden tenth family and harbored an inexplicable hostility towards them, making him a powerful collaborator.

The Tibetan question Zhang Wuxun uttered inside the tent further convinced Chen Wenjin that he knew far more secrets than anyone else.

Actually, Chen Wenjin didn't trust Zhang Wuxun himself, but rather the judgment of Wu Sansheng and Xiao Ge regarding Zhang Wuxun, which is why he took the risk back then.

Although Zhang Wuxun was still unclear about how Chen Wenjin distinguished between the Wang family members and ordinary people, he must have sensed the presence of the Wang family members who were secretly monitoring him that night by the swamp. That's why he suddenly ran away when Xiao Ge approached, with the aim of luring Xiao Ge away and temporarily escaping the Wang family's surveillance.

However, she probably didn't expect that Zhang Wuxun would so decisively kill the Wang family member, temporarily eliminating the potential threat.

There must be more than one member of the Wang family hiding in this rainforest, so Zhang Wuxun's actions will definitely be reported to higher levels of the family, or even the core. The core computing department's attention, which was focused on Wu Xiaoxie, will inevitably shift to Zhang Wuxun, and then Zhang Wuxun's goal will be achieved.

Zhang Wuxun counted on his fingers the timeline in the original story and felt that if the Wang family wanted to test him, the Zhang Family Ancient Building was the best choice.

Even if he doesn't go, the Wang family will definitely create some unexpected situation to force him to go.

"Zhang Family Ancient Building..." he murmured softly to himself. In his previous life, his destination was Zhang Family Ancient Building. This time, with ample preparation, it was still uncertain who would emerge victorious.

As I pondered, a thick, viscous mist began to gather around me.

Zhang Wuxun's heart skipped a beat. He quickly handed the gas mask to the young man, then quietly slipped into the tent with his backpack and put it on Wu Xiaoxie and Fatty as well. Just as he got close to Panzi, before he could make a move, his outstretched hand was grabbed by Panzi, who suddenly opened his eyes.

Zhang Wuxun skillfully broke free and immediately said, "It's me." Hearing the familiar voice, Pan Zi sprang up from the cot, his tense body relaxing slightly as he turned on the small lamp beside his pillow.

Looking at Zhang Wuxun, and then at Wu Xiaoxie, who was sleeping like a log with a gas mask on his face, he asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"

Zhang Wuxun handed him the last gas mask in his hand. Seeing that he was no longer sleepy, he beckoned him to come out of the tent to talk.

Although Pan Zi was puzzled, he still obeyed, put on a gas mask, turned off the lights, and walked out of the tent.

When I lifted the curtain, it felt quite heavy. Upon closer inspection, I discovered it was covered in sticky mud.

Zhang Wuxun told him to lower the curtain and weigh it down with a stone, then led him to the fire.

There was a dark figure sitting by the fire. Panzi only saw it when he got closer and was immediately startled. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the figure looked a lot like the elusive Zhang Qiling.

"When did you get back, young man?" Pan Zi asked in surprise.

He had previously thought that Xiao Ge had followed Chen Wenjin to meet up with Third Master ahead of time. Now that Xiao Ge was still here, and Third Master only had that unreliable Hei Xiazi by his side, no wonder there was trouble at the camp.

Thinking of this, Pan Zi began to worry again.

"I found my way here when it was getting dark," Zhang Wuxun explained for the young man, and then shared his own guess.

Pan Zi slapped his thigh and cursed under his breath, "What Mu Yu said makes a lot of sense. Third Master and his men are strong and well-equipped. Ordinary emergencies can't threaten them at all. It's very likely that those strange snakes attacked the camp. Third Master and his men were caught off guard and fell into the trap."

Zhang Wuxun nodded. "I think those snakes will use the same trick to attack us tonight, and I estimate there will be more of them than we encountered in the rainforest."

“We don’t have many bullets left, and a direct confrontation is unrealistic, so the only option now is to hide.” Zhang Wuxun dug out the roasted sweet potatoes buried in the ashes, and while they were still hot, wrapped them in a towel and placed them in the other tents nearby as substitutes. He then used the remaining mud in the bucket to press down the fire.

"When the fog starts to change color, we'll take shelter in the tent," Zhang Wuxun said gravely.

“Snakes are cold-blooded animals that rely on heat sensing to search for prey. Wet mud covers our body temperature and helps us hide. Even if the snakes break through the first line of defense, they will become blind because they cannot sense our body temperature, and will head for the tent where the temperature is higher.”

Through the transparent cover over the eyes of his mask, Zhang Wuxun watched as the grayish-white mist outside was gradually eroded by the black miasma from beneath the jungle.

His voice was calm and steady. "There are still seven hours until dawn. As long as we can get through tonight, the snakes will retreat when the sun rises."

Panzi nodded, made a few hand gestures, and asked if they could all gather in one tent.

Zhang Wu thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I'll go keep an eye on Tianzhen and the others. You and Xiao Ge are in another tent. Staying together will increase the risk of exposure."

The black miasma spread rapidly, enveloping the entire camp in the blink of an eye.

The three men quickly grabbed their weapons, each carrying a bucket of mud back to their tent. They carefully pressed the edges of the tent down with wet mud, then turned off the lights and waited quietly for the uninvited guests to arrive.

(End of this chapter)