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

Chapter 336 Protection Mechanism
This sudden turn of events left Zhang Wuxun completely stunned. The corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up, and when he realized that he seemed to be smiling a bit stupidly, he immediately coughed and touched his nose to cover it up.

With a glance up, I saw Huo Xiangu sitting in a bamboo sedan chair, leading the Huo family of over fifty people, coming over in a grand procession like a storyteller.

Those who knew were there to search for the tomb, while those who didn't might have thought this was a spectacle of people coming to be buried alive with her. But in a way, that's not entirely wrong, since none of these people ever made it out of Zhang Family Ancient Building.

Zhang Wuxun glanced around and noticed that people he had paid special attention to before, such as Huo Jinqiu, were in the group. Huo Xiaoli was with Huo Xiuxiu and Huo Zhizhi, while Huo Xiaojiu and Huo Zhixing were not present, presumably staying behind at the camp.

However, he remained cautious and carefully observed Huo Zhizhi for a while before looking away after confirming that there was nothing wrong with him.

With a wave of her hand, Huo Xiangu brought the group to a neat stop on the flat ground outside the cave entrance.

The first team to enter was led by Huo Zhizhi, who carried equipment for clearing the way and protection. The second team was led by Huo Xiaoli and carried supplies. The third team guarded Huo Xiangu from the front and back.

This group consisted of only eight people, but they all wore fake faces that were not their own. Furthermore, Huo Xiangu equipped them with very sophisticated weapons, all of which were brand new HK-MP5K-PDWs.

This is an ultra-short MP5 submachine gun, which is essentially a combination of a submachine gun and a compact assault rifle. This gun has an extremely high rate of fire, up to 900 rounds per minute, and extremely high accuracy. It has four firing modes: single shot, fully automatic, two-round burst, and three-round burst, and can be operated with just one hand.

Furthermore, these MP5s are equipped with dual drum magazines, allowing for a hundred rounds of ammunition with a simple flick of the wrist. With all eight guns firing at once, not only could Miluotuo be riddled with bullets, but even Miluotuo's ancestors could be instantly turned into sieves.

The fat man was so envious that his mouth was practically watering. "No way, I have to get a couple of these big treasures for the three of us too."

As if she had heard what the fat man was thinking, Huo Xiangu turned her head and glanced in this direction, then leaned down and whispered a few words to Huo Xiuxiu, who was standing next to the sedan chair.

Huo Xiuxiu nodded, ordered her men to open a few of the weapon chests, and then said to Zhang Wuxun and the other two, "My grandmother said you can choose any weapons you like."

The young man glanced down, unmoved.

The fat man's backpack was mostly filled with detonators. Seeing so many weapons gleaming coldly, he was a little tempted. He glanced at Zhang Wuxun and gestured towards the boxes.

Zhang Wuxun nodded. He knew that the greatest danger inside was actually the alkaline gas. No matter how good the weapons were, they wouldn't be of much use except for killing traitors quickly and efficiently.

He casually picked out three Beretta M92Fs and several full magazines, tucked one into his belt, and handed the other two to the young man and the fat man.

Fatty was actually a little envious of the MP5, but he knew that Zhang Wuxun must have made a reason for his choice. However, it would be foolish not to take advantage of a good deal, so he took out a bunch of V40 miniature grenades from the box and stuffed them into Zhang Wuxun's pockets.

Don't be fooled by the fact that this grenade is only the size of a ping-pong ball and is almost too cute to be true; it is actually quite lethal. Once detonated, everything within five meters will be gone.

Seeing the fat man's shameless behavior, Huo Xiuxiu's lips twitched. She secretly glanced at Huo Xiangu, and seeing that she didn't react, she pretended not to notice.

With everything ready, the group entered the cave in an orderly fashion.

After passing through the first barrier smoothly and walking more than a hundred meters further in, Huo Xiangu finally got off the sedan chair when she reached the crevice.

Although Huo Jinqiu and his team had repaired the passageway so that people could pass upright, a sedan chair still couldn't squeeze through no matter what, unless Huo Xiangu wanted to be hit on the forehead.

The outermost group of people had already been eliminated by Huo Xiangu's swift and decisive methods. Regardless of their true intentions, the remaining people were outwardly obedient and followed orders.

They quickly entered the passage and arrived at the second opened sealing stone.

More than one person discovered the fire-patterned engravings in the corner of the cave wall. The expressions of these people were different, and a few of them exchanged glances. Then, when no one was paying attention, someone secretly took a picture of the pattern with a camera.

The fat man kept his eyes on that side, and when he saw this, he nudged Zhang Wuxun and whispered, "Those rats don't seem to be a group."

Zhang Wuxun nodded slightly. It wasn't just those people who had infiltrated the Huo family. The Huo family's scale this time was too large, which inevitably attracted some evil spirits.

These impatient fellows are just small fry, at most serving as messengers or troublemakers. Truly clever people won't reveal their true colors until the very last moment, or they might even turn around and expose other traitors. By doing so, they gain the trust of their companions while using others to do their dirty work, thus hiding themselves even deeper. It is often these people who have the last laugh.

But is that really the case? Zhang Wuxun believes that's not entirely true. Since Huo Xiangu decided to bring these people in, she had no intention of letting them leave again.

Because she knew very well that, not to mention the many dangers inside the ancient building, even Zhang Wuxun and Xiao Ge would not allow anyone who knew the secret of the Zhang family's ancient building to leave alive.

Anyone who is not of our race and enters shall die.

Hell is full of ghosts who deliberately seek their own death.

Upon reaching the third sealing stone, everyone stopped in their tracks and turned to look back the way they had come.

With Huo Xiuxiu's help, Huo Xiangu slowly walked down from the cave entrance.

The edge of the stone slab that could trigger the lamp figurine mechanism was marked with lime powder. Huo Zhizhi raised his hand and waved, and someone stepped out of the line and stepped into the circle.

The lamp figurine turned around, and flames suddenly ignited.

Huo Xiangu stared at the two lines of words on the ground, remaining silent for a long time. Under the interplay of the cold white miner's lamp and the bright yellow candlelight, her pale face inexplicably gained a strange look.

Everyone was waiting for Huo Xiangu's move, because she had the key to unlocking the third sealing stone, and even Zhang Wuxun and the other two had never seen it.

They've taken enough precautions; no wonder those petty thugs don't dare to act recklessly.

The door was right in front of her, but Huo Xiangu was not in a hurry. She leisurely sat on the folding stool that Huo Xiuxiu had taken out and slowly drank the herbal tea that had been brewed in the thermos. After a while, her expression softened.

The fat man muttered under his breath, "This old woman really knows how to enjoy life. This is the first time I've ever seen a fat man drinking tea in a tomb."

The fat man didn't try to hide his complaints, and Huo Xiangu naturally heard what he said, but she didn't care. Huo Xiuxiu stood behind her and gently massaged her shoulders.

After a long while, Huo Xiangu finally moved. She placed her hand on her body very slowly. No one could see how she moved. When she turned her hand over, a photograph appeared in her palm.

The fat man widened his eyes, silently exclaimed "Holy crap!", then wiggled his way closer to Zhang Wuxun's ear and whispered, "This old woman actually has some skills, she's got a bit of a swagger. Muyu, do you and Xiao Ge know this trick?"

Zhang Wuxun shook his head, "No, the Huo family's unique skills are not something anyone can learn." Hearing this, Huo Xiangu raised her eyes to look at Zhang Wuxun, and as she stretched out the hand holding the photo, a faint smile appeared on her lips, "If you want to learn, I can also have Xiuxiu teach you."

The photo was handed to her with the front facing down in her hand, causing a slight commotion in the crowd, and several unfriendly glances were cast at Zhang Wuxun.

Zhang Wuxun took the photo exactly as it was, and chuckled, "You can't accept something for nothing, so there's no need for you to put on this act."

Yes, Huo Xiangu was still not giving up and was using this to test Zhang Wuxun. The Huo family's unique skill could only be practiced by those who became core members of the Huo family.

Huo Xiangu sighed and said nothing more.

Zhang Wuxun glanced at the photo, his fingertips curling slightly. Then, avoiding the Huo family's gaze, he handed the photo to the deliveryman.

The anger on the faces of some members of the Huo family was almost palpable. They probably couldn't understand why Old Madam Huo would rather trust these three outsiders than share anything with them.

The young man stood in front of the sealing stone and once again gouged out the Qilin's eyeballs, revealing the relief carving behind it.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats, watching his every move intently.

The young man put away the photos and pressed down on the squares on the relief according to the pattern.

With a crisp click, the machine started up instantly, and everyone retreated in unison, assuming a defensive stance. The eight guardians beside Huo Xiangu stepped forward to form a human wall in front of her and Huo Xiuxiu.

After all, who knows if something deadly might suddenly eject from inside?

However, it was clear that they had worried too much. After the door was moved to both sides, a flat stone floor was revealed.

The Huo family members all showed an eager expression on their faces, as if they couldn't wait to go inside. Huo Xiangu also visibly breathed a sigh of relief and was helped up by Huo Xiuxiu.

The young man turned around, nodded slightly to Zhang Wuxun, and then looked at the fat man.

The fat man was confused and was about to step forward when Zhang Wuxun gave him a wink and glanced at Huo Xiangu.

The fat man paused for a moment, then understood what he meant. He simply said, "You two be careful up ahead," then wiggled his hips, squeezed past a guard, stood in front of Huo Xiangu, and grinned insincerely, "Come on, old lady, let's go together."

Huo Xiangu rolled her eyes in annoyance, but didn't say anything.

Zhang Wuxun's original intention was to have Fatty stay with Old Madam Huo. Before they actually entered the ancient building, those people wouldn't be able to cause any trouble for Old Madam Huo, since the guns in those eight people's hands were not to be underestimated.

Everyone standing here knew perfectly well that Huo Xiangu had simply equipped only her close confidants with firearms, while others only had short-range firearms at most. Of course, this was only what was on the surface; only they themselves knew whether they were secretly hiding guns.

Xiao Ge and Zhang Wuxun were the first to step inside, followed closely by Huo Xiangu and the others.

The stone-paved road lasted for less than a hundred meters before turning into a smooth, straight tunnel-like passage without a single bend or turn, and without any uphill or downhill sections.

The young man frowned slightly after walking less than a hundred meters, occasionally touching the rock wall with his fingers to sense it, but he did not stop walking, because he could not sense any trace of mechanisms here, so it was obviously just an ordinary passage.

At first, no one noticed anything amiss, until they had walked two kilometers and found that there was no tomb entrance, not even a trace of an ancient tomb.

Some people finally couldn't contain themselves and began to whisper about what was going on, wondering if the tomb entrance was actually hidden in the mountain wall, but they had just missed it by accident.

The fat man also sensed something was wrong. He quickly walked up to Zhang Wuxun and the other man and lowered his voice, "Fatty, why do I feel like we're walking straight out of a train tunnel? Do you two feel like something's wrong?"

Zhang Wuxun hummed in agreement, only telling him that the place was safe for the time being.

Looking at the seemingly endless dark passage ahead, the reason why even the young man couldn't sense the existence of the mechanism was because the entire mountain, and even the surrounding area for several kilometers, was part of this enormous mechanism.

They had entered the wrong password, so the mechanism was activated, and the first security passage was opened. This was a flawed protection mechanism set up by the Zhang family for their own descendants.

When the Zhang family set up this facility, they had already considered the possibility that information might be missing when their descendants passed on messages, so they set up a protective passage for this situation.

From the initial obstructive mechanisms sealing the stone, to the warnings at the entrance, and now to the safe passage, all of these are harmless setups. The ancestors of the Zhang family have truly gone to great lengths for their descendants.

Huo Xiangu's body could not withstand such a long trek, so she raised her hand to stop the group and rest for a while. Huo Xiuxiu and Huo Zhizhi served her respectfully from the side.

The others, however, did not have the same patience. At first, they were somewhat restrained, only talking in hushed tones. Later, someone suddenly got carried away and raised their voice, seemingly speaking directly to Zhang Wuxun and the other two.

"Aside from opening a stone door at the beginning, those three didn't show any special skills, did they? What are you afraid of!"

The rustling voices stopped abruptly, and all eyes turned to Zhang Wuxun and his two companions. Seeing that they didn't react, the sound of various voices rang out in the passageway, like boiling water exploding.

The space here wasn't very big to begin with, and all the sounds were concentrated in one place, unable to escape. It was like a swarm of bees buzzing incessantly in your ear, making you feel irritable and restless.

And from their words, one can occasionally glean the names of Zhang Wuxun and the other two.

The young man could ignore the malicious stares directed at him, but Zhang Wuxun couldn't.

When one of them jokingly uttered the words "Mute Zhang," Zhang Wuxun suddenly stood up, drew the skull knife from his back, and slashed it against the mountain wall. Sparks flew everywhere, making his expression appear even more fierce.

"Try saying another word!"

After saying this, Zhang Wuxun coldly scanned the Huo family members before sheathing his sword and sitting down leisurely.

The passageway fell into complete silence; you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the more than one-foot-long gash that Zhang Wuxun had just slashed into the stone wall, too terrified to even breathe.

Thank you to the generous donors: [Young and Innocent], [Please Complete Profile], [Dali Chen], [Little Brother's Leg Accessory], and others! Sending love...*
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(End of this chapter)