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

Chapter 454 All is False
However, the Zhang family did not give up and went into the snow-capped mountains to track their tracks. In the end, they only found many Germans and the corpse of "Wu Xie" floating in Lake Wenbugongga.

They thought that "Wu Xie" had perished at the bottom of the lake, but unexpectedly, he was now right in front of them.

Feng answered Zhang Wuxun's question, "Yes, when we saw that his face was the same as yours, we assumed that he was someone sent by your family."

Moreover, the Germans offered more leverage than before, and in their view, Bai Ci had no reason to refuse.

“But judging from Mr. Zhang’s expression, you seem unaware of Mr. Bai’s cooperation with us in Motuo.” Feng’s eyes darted between the two men with a probing look.

Zhang Longban did not expose the fact that Bai Ci was not a member of the Zhang family, but said, "He is on our side now, and it is impossible for him to cooperate with you again."

“We don’t need to cooperate with you,” Feng said with a sly smile. “But if we want to get to that place, we have to go together, don’t we?”

Zhang Long frowned slightly. "You've already deciphered the entire star chart?"

"Almost there." Feng raised his hand and gestured "just a tiny bit."

Seeing his confident demeanor, Zhang Longban frowned even more deeply. After pondering for a long time, he finally nodded in agreement.

"That would be wonderful." Feng said exaggeratedly, then turned to Zhang Wuxun and asked, "Mr. Bai, could you share with your temporary ally your experience in the snow mountain with Ryan and the others?"

Zhang Wuxun crossed his arms and coldly retorted, "Where's Bai Lingdang?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Feng's face, then he looked at the German beside him and said, "Bernard, tell him."

The tall, burly German man spoke slowly, “We can tell you Miss Bai’s whereabouts, but you can’t hide anything from us.”

Zhang Wuxun sneered inwardly. This guy had such a hypocritical mouth. He said, "Fine, I'll be waiting here tomorrow morning. Bring her here, and I'll consider cooperating with you after I see her."

Aning is still training under the men arranged by Zhang Haike in Kangba Luoli. He wants to see what kind of white bell these Germans can come up with for him.

Aning initially managed to escape from the Germans by taking advantage of a loophole, but was later injured during a relentless pursuit. In a critical moment, she was rescued by the Zhang family, who had been secretly observing the situation.

Because of her distinctive face, which was identical to Zhang Haixing's, the Zhang family initially suspected that she was a fake Zhang Haixing created by the Wang family, probably to impersonate a member of the Zhang family and steal something from the Germans, thereby disrupting the boundary between the Zhang family and the Germans.

However, Aning did not have the phoenix tattoo that is the Wang family’s signature, which makes her behavior during her time in Motuo quite puzzling.

Fortunately, they discovered through genetic testing that the fake Zhang Haixing was actually Aning, who was supposed to have died in the Tamutuo rainforest a long time ago.

The Zhang family didn't believe in fallacies like the dead coming back to life, so they followed this clue and dug deeper, finally finding that A-Ning had a connection with Zhang Wuxun, who was still by Wu Xie's side at the time, before she "died." Therefore, the person who helped A-Ning fake her death was very likely Zhang Wuxun.

Therefore, A-Ning was part of Zhang Wuxun's plan to advance the project. After Zhang Wuxun died after the Ancient Tower, in order to continue the plan, a new successor would inevitably come here to contact A-Ning.

Therefore, in order to thoroughly investigate Zhang Wuxun's subsequent plans, the Zhang family ostensibly hid A Ning, but in reality, they secretly placed her under house arrest.

It wasn't until three months ago, after Zhang Wuxun and Zhang Haike contacted each other for cooperation, that A Ning was released. After several deductions, A Ning was finally included in the follow-up extension of the Bronze Gate Project.

Returning to the topic, Zhang Wuxun had initially suspected that the person behind Li Ande's human skin mask was very likely a member of the Wang family. This was a good opportunity to see who that guy really was.

After the discussion, the German and Zhang Longban continued to discuss the follow-up matters for entering the mountains. Zhang Haike gave Zhang Wuxun a wink, and the two left the house.

"Come on, I'll show you something fun," Zhang Haike invited enthusiastically.

Zhang Wuxun whispered a few words to Dan, who was waiting outside the courtyard. Dan nodded and turned to leave.

"What is it?" He turned to look at Zhang Haike.

Zhang Haike raised an eyebrow, revealing a mischievous, childlike smile. "Come with me, you'll see when you get there."

Zhang Wuxun thought for a moment, and since he had nothing better to do, he might as well go and take a look.

After following Zhang Haike for a while, he realized he knew the way well. "Why are we going to my old house?"

Zhang Haike shrugged. "There's nothing I can do. There are so many empty rooms in the Lama temple, but Wu Xie chose yours. Maybe he felt safer there."

Zhang Wuxun remained silent and reached out to take a lantern from the lamp stand on the corridor pillar.

Even a fool could figure out Zhang Haike and his gang's methods: nothing more than illusions upon illusions. If they were to actually harm Wu Xie, they would be the ones crying their eyes out first.

Got to the place quickly.

The door was wide open, and Wu Xie and Fatty were lying sprawled on the floor. Zhang Haixing was sitting on a chair next to them, with her legs crossed and a stopwatch in her hand.

There was a torn, transparent silk thread at the entrance, the other end of which was attached to a half-arm-length wooden frame resembling a set of chimes. Hanging on the frame were three bronze bells the size of fists, which trembled slightly in the evening breeze.

Wu Xie's expression was contorted in pain, and he would occasionally gasp and twitch his legs. Clearly, in his illusion, he and Fatty were experiencing a life-threatening crisis.

The fat man on the other side seemed much more relaxed, with a smug smile on his face and his eyes darting around mischievously.

Zhang Wuxun went over to listen and found that the fat man was talking about his time in Banna. "Hehehe, little sister, walk slowly and be careful not to fall."

"Having a daughter, a little girl, hehe~"

Zhang Haixing curled her lips in disdain, shook the bell several times to guide the fat man's dream, and finally got the test on track.

Just then, Wu Xie on the other side suddenly waved his hands in the air a few times, as if he were about to smash someone, and muttered, "Is he dead? Is he dead?"

"Bugs! Holy crap, Fatty, close the door! There are so many bugs!"

"Damn it, we've been tricked."

"We're trapped here!"

Then he cursed a few times and started unbuttoning his clothes. After a while, he buttoned them up again, complaining that he was cold, "Why are these bug corpses like hailstones? It's freezing cold."

"It even crawled into my ear."

Wu Xie screamed and covered his ear with one hand, writhing in pain, his face pale as if he had been poisoned. Seeing this, Zhang Haixing immediately rang a small bell, about the size of a thumb, near his ear.

Wu Xie's expression quickly turned to surprise and delight. "My blood? Fatty, quick, apply more."

"My ears aren't deaf, they just hurt."

After a moment of silence, Wu Xie exclaimed, "How come your back is covered in all of this? So much!"

"It was my first time cutting, so I wasn't very skilled yet."

"Are you planning to use that fire attack again?"

"This place feels so familiar. It's like I've been here before."

"They're here again, they're here again."

"Someone's talking! Holy crap, insects can talk?"

"The statue of the young man has come to life!"

Wu Xie's nightmare continued, and the fat man on the other side no longer looked as relaxed as before. He kept muttering "clouds," "blood, it's all blood," and "which son of a bitch fired the shot," and even mentioned Zhang Wuxun in his words.

"Wooden Fish, quick, I've caught you! Come out now!"

The fat man's voice was filled with fear, and he stammered, "Hold on, don't close your eyes, I'll carry you out... Tianzhen is still waiting for us outside..."

The illusion created by the hexagonal copper bell will only lead you deeper and deeper into it. You will never be able to break through the illusion, and in the end, you will only be trapped inside and die, while your body will gradually die after a period of time.

Zhang Haixing couldn't let the fat man be too desperate in his dream, so she shook the bell to wake him up a little.

The fat man's expression relaxed a bit, and he muttered, "Damn it... it was just a dream. I knew it was all fake."

In two hours, Wu Xie and Fatty had struggled in the illusion for three or four times, and finally showed signs of escaping.

"How was it? Fun, right?" Zhang Haike raised an eyebrow at Zhang Wuxun. "Want to try it too?"

"Not very good." Zhang Wuxun leaned against the door frame, his eyelids half-closed, showing little interest.

"Don't you want to know what your deepest fear is?" Zhang Haixing asked eagerly.

Zhang Wuxun raised his eyelids and gave them a cool glance. "These bells here have no effect on me."

“Who said we only have these few bells?”

Zhang Haixing was clearly prepared. She carefully handed the small bell to Zhang Haike, walked to the box in the corner, opened it, and took out a palm-sized square box.

Zhang Wuxun looked over curiously and saw her carefully take out a very strangely shaped bronze bell from the box.

The bell has a simple and ancient-looking bird head at the end, with a long beak that bends into a semi-circular handle like a hook. The feathers extend down to the bell's waist, where there are two fan-shaped wings with delicate and intricate patterns and each feather clearly defined.

Zhang Haixing held it up flat for Zhang Wuxun to see. Zhang Wuxun discovered that the inside of the two wings was also a recessed bell shape, with the bell tongue inside firmly fixed by rosin, and the large bell in the very center was also solidified.

Zhang Wuxun had never seen such a uniquely shaped hexagonal copper bell before, so he asked her, "What is this?"

"This bell is called the Phoenix Bell. It's the most powerful bell we have so far. It's said that when it rings, it sounds like a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, with a hundred different bird calls," Zhang Haixing boasted proudly.

"It is said?" Zhang Wuxun chuckled. "You haven't heard of it, you haven't counted it, you have no evidence, how do you know there are a hundred kinds?"

“That’s what was recorded in the ancient book that came with the bell when it was dug out.” Zhang Haixing rolled her eyes. “When this bell rings, only the Zhang family’s ancestral bell can stop it. Its destructive power can be said to leave no one alive within a ten-mile radius.”

Zhang Wuxun nodded seriously and said, "It sounds pretty powerful, so you shouldn't be stupid enough to use this bell to put me into an illusion, right?"

"Pah, you're dreaming. Just the ringing of one of the secondary bells on this thing is enough to give you a hard time." Zhang Haixing urged impatiently, "Hurry up and find a place to lie down. Of course, if you want to use the ground as your bed and the roof as your blanket like these two, that's not impossible."

Zhang Wuxun smiled enigmatically, offering no further rebuttal. Before turning away, he gave Zhang Haike a meaningful look, then gracefully sat down on the futon behind the low table.

Zhang Wuxun straightened the spread-out hem of his robe and said, "Alright, that's enough. Let's begin."

Zhang Haixing first jingled a small bell near Wu Xie and the other person's ears to reduce the difficulty of the illusion they were experiencing. Otherwise, when the secondary bell of the Phoenix Bell rang, they would be dragged directly into the Mariana Trench and buried there.

The Zhang family's illusion bells come in many different types and levels. Although the three bells hanging on the shelf all function as illusion bells, one of them is a trigger bell.

The bell is first pulled by the silk thread mechanism. The sound waves that ring out trigger the other two illusion bells. Therefore, when the mechanism is triggered and the person is pulled into the illusion, what they see is not a sudden change, but rather an unconscious entry into the illusion in a familiar environment.

Because it tests a person's character, this illusion is woven by the human brain itself from the things the heart fears most. In the illusion, a person's five senses are all present, and only a person with a particularly strong mind can perceive the abnormality around them.

Seeing Wu Xie and Fatty's eyelids twitching, as if they were about to wake up, Zhang Haixing immediately waved the secondary bell with melted rosin next to Zhang Wuxun's ear.

Whether the woman did it on purpose or not, the instant he heard a cry that sounded like a fledgling falcon, Zhang Wuxun's eyelids suddenly drooped, and a violent sense of weightlessness washed over him, as if he were plummeting from a cliff, whipped by a whirlwind that made it impossible for him to open his eyes. Zhang Wuxun could not perceive what kind of space he was in.

After an unknown amount of time, the downward momentum gradually slowed down. When he opened his eyes, he found himself floating in mid-air, surrounded by an endless expanse of snow-covered plains.

Strangely enough, he felt his body was extremely light, as if he had become one with the snowflakes gently falling around him.

He subconsciously looked at his palm, only to find that the falling snowflakes were passing directly through his palm. His body was like a phantom mist; he could feel his own existence, but he no longer had the physical form of a normal human.

In short, in the illusion, he became—a "ghost"?
Zhang Wuxun was completely baffled. What kind of bizarre situation was this?
Could it be that what he fears most deep down is actually his own death?

That can't be right. For someone like him, the first thought that comes to mind every time he opens his eyes is to re-plan the steps he will take in the future. It can be said that every day he is alive, he is constantly preparing for death.

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