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

Chapter 360 Natural Tomb
Zhang Wuxun continued, "The mountains surrounding the Zhang Family Ancient Building are all volcanic rocks that can prevent the Miluotuo from melting due to its secretions, so they can't get in here. However, the heat emanating from our bodies can still be sensed by them, and thus slowly gather here."

"The entire ancient building is designed as a large-scale mechanism. The most crucial part is designed with a structure similar to an air pump. Through pipes inserted in the building, the alkaline gas can be pushed back into all the spaces."

"When Miluotu converges, the air pressure in the outer rock cavity will change, creating a pressure difference between the inside and outside. The alkaline gas from the outside will be squeezed in, and the mechanical pipes only serve to transmit the gas."

The alkaline gas serves as both a means of expelling Miluotu and a means of killing all creatures within the ancient building. Only the Zhang family members who come to mourn can find a hidden temporary refuge to survive.

Huo Chushi raised a question at the right moment, "So, does that mean this mechanism that releases alkaline gas is an indiscriminate attack? Does that mean you guys won't be able to get out either, Mr. Yu?"

“Yes,” Zhang Wuxun said casually, “Zhang Family Building is the final resting place for all members of the Zhang family, a natural tomb. There’s nothing wrong with dying here.”

Huo Chu Shi was speechless, still somewhat incredulous, but judging from the calm expressions on Zhang Wu Xun and Xiao Ge's faces, it seemed that they truly believed it.

Anxiety began to rise again in everyone's hearts. "Is there really no other way for us to survive?"

"Hmm." Zhang Wuxun took out a candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and said slowly, "Didn't the great prophet Huo Xiaoyao, whom you killed, say before that we all had to die here?"

"Then what's the point of us staying here?" the Huo family member cried out in despair. "We're all going to die sooner or later anyway."

“Extend the shelf life,” Zhang Wuxun pointed to the black window paper on the wall. “At least you can enjoy the process of dying, and it also gives you time to write your last words.”

"You..." The Huo family members were so angry with him that they stopped paying attention to him and curled up in a corner, trying to slow their breathing.

Zhang Wuxun glanced at the time on his wristwatch and decided to take a nap first.

When I wake up from a good night's sleep, perhaps it will all come to an end.

Zhang Wuxun thought he would sleep for a long time, but when he opened his eyes again, he found that only four hours had passed.

The Huo family members remained quietly in the corner. When they saw Zhang Wuxun stand up, their faces showed no emotion. Their initial anxiety had passed, and they had clearly accepted the fact that they were going to die.

Huo Chushi even divided the food into two portions, moving the largest portion to Zhang Wuxun and saying in a low voice, "Although you don't say it, I know you have a way to survive. This food might help you hold on a little longer."

Zhang Wuxun looked at him quietly without saying a word.

Huo Chu Shi smiled, a look of detachment from life and death on his face. "We are not actually members of the Huo family by blood. If it weren't for the family head, the nine of us would have died more than twenty years ago. Living these extra years is a bonus."

“Our lives are sold to the head of the family. If the head of the family can’t get out, it’s meaningless for us to get out. If possible, please collect her remains and take them out of here to give to Miss Xiuxiu.”

The remaining members of the Huo family tacitly accepted his words. They didn't actually care about death, but they were somewhat regretful that their deaths were so meaningless. If a bullet were to suddenly appear out of nowhere, they would definitely shield Huo Xiangu from the bullet without hesitation.

Zhang Wuxun remained silent, saying nothing, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Receiving no response, a hint of disappointment flashed across Huo Chushi's eyes. He sighed regretfully, placed the last bag of compressed biscuits he had on top of the food pile, and turned to stay by Old Madam Huo's side.

"Hey buddy, why don't you take a break too?" Zhang Wuxun said to the young man who had been sitting quietly to the side, staring up at the ceiling.

The young man nodded, hugged the knife, leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and breathed long and slow.

Zhang Wuxun listened to the recurring ticking sound of the second hand on his watch, silently calculating where the plot had progressed.

Wu Xiaoxie should have realized the password was faulty by now. He has already put on his third uncle's mask and is heading towards the mountains of Banna with Xie Yuchen and Pan Zi. Considering the time needed to gather people and travel, it will take at least three or four days to get here.

Jude Kao's advance team may have already entered, otherwise the Miluotuo people wouldn't be so frantic.

With the map he drew in advance, the fat man should be able to get out much faster than in the original story, and he won't get stuck in the wall crack and starve until his waist gets thin.

The release of alkaline gas will last for a long time, covering the entire Zhangjia Ancient Building area within 24 hours, and it is unknown how long the release will continue.

In the following days, after hearing that Xiao Ge had an accident inside, Jude Kao would send people in again to look for what he wanted. Huo Youxue and the others guarding outside were no pushovers either. Only by confirming that Old Madam Huo was completely dead here and taking the evidence out could their power struggle be legitimate and not be criticized by the other nine members.

At that time, the ancient building will become a man-eating demon building. The more people come in, the more Miluotuo will gather, and the more alkaline gas there will be. It's a vicious cycle.

Even if Xie Yuchen and Pan Zi had brought the map and entered first, they would still encounter danger due to the interference of various forces. Miluotuo is as uncontrollable as a heartbeat. If it were just an ordinary Miluotuo, it would be fine, but Zhang Wuxun's biggest fear is that too many people would attract the Miluotuo ancestors under the ancient building. That nightmare kept him on edge.

We need to find a way to lure all the Miluotuo to a corner of the ancient building, so that they won't encounter high-level Miluotuo when they come in, and at the same time, they won't trigger the deadly alkaline traps.

And there's something strange about that too. The person hiding in the group has never been found. He knows too many secrets about the Zhang Family Ancient Building. We absolutely cannot let him leave alive. We have to take advantage of this time of hiding to find him and get rid of him.

Zhang Wuxun's gaze swept over the remaining members of the Huo family, but he still couldn't find any flaws. He frowned, checked the time, and found that another two hours had passed.

Either that guy is incredibly patient, or that person is definitely not among the remaining people.

He suddenly thought of the two people who hadn't kept up with the group when they encountered strong alkali: Huo Xiaoli and Huo Chuqi.

Could it be that guy is a jinx and has already kicked the bucket outside?
Reason told him that even a fly would be melted into a dried corpse under that intensity of alkaline gas, but for some reason, he felt uneasy. This situation, which was beyond his control, made him feel somewhat lost. In the quiet space, with the sound of his heartbeat, that unease was slowly eroding his rationality.

He attributed this unease to his long-standing fear of the Wang family behind him. After much thought, he decided to go out and check. He had to make sure that the two men were dead, otherwise he would never be at ease. He couldn't allow any mistakes to occur in the plans he had already made.

He glanced at the guy who had fallen into a deep sleep and told himself to wait a little longer. Once the guy woke up, he could also take the opportunity to observe the rest of the people.

He refused to believe that the person would remain indifferent to his predicament and take action if he didn't get what he wanted.

Time is the fastest and slowest, the longest and shortest, the easiest to overlook and the most regrettable thing in the world.

Like water vapor rising in temperature, the heat lasts only a moment and then disappears in an instant.

Six more hours passed, and the aftereffects of inhaling the alkaline gas continued. The Huo family members' coughs became more and more severe, and Huo Xiuxiu was showing signs of fainting. Huo Chushi had to take care of both Old Madam Huo and Huo Xiuxiu, and he was overwhelmed and exhausted himself. In addition, he had given his protective suit to Old Madam Huo outside the water pool cave, so in fact, his internal injuries were the most serious. Seeing this, Zhang Wuxun got up and took Old Madam Huo to help him take care of her.

Huo Chu Shi thought he had agreed to what he had done before, and her eyes lit up for a moment. She said softly, "Thank you."

Zhang Wuxun waved his hand casually. Taking a corpse out was no problem for him. Taking it out would also be a way to give the real Huo Xiuxiu an explanation.

For some reason, the young man slept exceptionally soundly this time.

Zhang Wuxun thought there was something wrong with his health, but after checking, he found that he was just sleeping, so he didn't disturb him.

The young man didn't wake up until the evening of the second day he was trapped there.

The moment he opened his eyes after waking up, Zhang Wuxun realized something was wrong.

There was something unfathomable in the young man's indifferent eyes, as if it were a kind of timeless emptiness and remoteness. When he lowered his eyelids, he instantly returned from the snow-capped mountain peak to the mortal world below.

Zhang Wuxun understood the reason for his change, but said nothing and simply handed him the food he had prepared.

Huo Xiangu still showed no signs of waking up, which was actually for the best. Zhang Wuxun was quite afraid that the old lady would suddenly have a moment of lucidity before her death, grab his hand and tell him some last words, which would really tie him to the rotten fruit tree of the Huo family.

Turning around, Zhang Wuxun saw that the young man had almost finished eating, so he avoided the Huo family and mouthed that he had to go out for a while.

The young man was taken aback at first, then frowned and firmly objected, "No, I'll die if I go out."

"You won't die, don't worry." Zhang Wuxun smiled, and then saw the young man put down the lunchbox and make a move to get up, his muscles tensing up.

This was a prelude to him adjusting his internal energy and mobilizing his muscles before taking action.

Zhang Wuxun was both amused and exasperated. Was the young man about to knock him unconscious because he couldn't persuade him and was being disobedient?

He didn't dare to move now. If the young man misunderstood and attacked him, he would be in big trouble. If he obediently took a hit, he would definitely be unconscious until Wu Xiaoxie and the others came in before he would have a chance to wake up. If he resisted, the noise of their fight would tear this small secret room, which was only the size of a tortoise shell, apart.

"Brother, brother, please don't do anything! Listen to me!" Zhang Wuxun hurriedly explained, "I have to get out of here. That person hasn't been found yet. I won't feel at ease until I'm sure he's dead. I have to go and confirm."

The young man still had his eyebrows furrowed, his deep, ancient eyes fixed on him without moving. This was the most pronounced expression Zhang Wuxun had seen on his face besides a slight smile.

Zhang Wuxun immediately sensed something was wrong, and his muscles involuntarily tensed up.

The young man seemed to have discerned something from his reaction and said expressionlessly, "You're not telling the truth."

Even though he didn't know the reason, the young man's first reaction was to stop him, nipping the danger in the bud.

Zhang Wuxun's mind went blank with alarm bells. He lowered his shoulders and slipped out sideways, skimming the ground.

Because he had anticipated this, the deliveryman missed his target and immediately gave chase without hesitation.

Zhang Wuxun retreated hastily, merely dodging the young man's attacks without retaliating at all; retaliating would have changed the nature of the situation.

Huo Chushi lay listlessly and drowsily, his consciousness just beginning to awaken, when he suddenly saw the two men talking about something and then starting to fight. He was immediately jolted awake.

He struggled to get up and try to persuade Zhang Wuxun, but unexpectedly, his foot stretched out and blocked Zhang Wuxun's retreat.

"You son of a bitch!"

In this cramped space, he had nowhere to hide. He stepped on Huo Chushi's outstretched leg, tripping and stumbling. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the young man stepped forward and slashed at Huo Chushi's neck to knock him unconscious.

Although he managed to dodge at the last moment, the blow still made half of his left shoulder go numb.

"Ow—"

Huo Chu Shi shouted so loudly that the people who were asleep were all awakened by his yell. They lay weakly on the ground and asked in hoarse voices.

"W-cough cough...what's going on?"

"What's wrong? Has Miluotuo... invaded?"

Huo Chushi instinctively pulled back the leg that had been stepped on. Zhang Wuxun had already taken a hit and hadn't had time to adjust his posture. In addition, he had to dodge the next move from Xiao Ge, so he simply took advantage of his unsteady stance and fell down, rolling off Huo Chushi's body two steps away, landing on the ground and getting up. He then immediately made a stop gesture to Xiao Ge.

The young man then stopped and stood still, staring at him.

Zhang Wuxun grimaced and rubbed his shoulder in pain, "Ouch...you silent rascal, you're ruthless."

If it were an ordinary person, this blow would have caused a bone fracture.

The unlucky Huo Chushi clutched his leg, his face contorted in pain, but he still managed to say something to them, "Talk it out. You're family, after all. Even if you break bones, the tendons are still connected."

"Go take a break, we've just been cooped up for too long and are just stretching our muscles." Zhang Wuxun rolled his eyes in annoyance, squatted down to check his leg, "It's not broken, it's just swollen."

Huo Chu Shi grinned and tried to comfort him intermittently, "It's okay, cough cough... Anyway, my lungs are... cough cough, they're already rotten, so it doesn't matter if I cough or not."

The secret room here is also made of wood. Although the wood has been specially treated to temporarily hide the alkaline gas, it will eventually seep in.

Thank you so much to the generous donors [年少时最是天真], [不念], and [霖萌]! Sending you a huge heart!
(End of this chapter)