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

Chapter 548 Like a Snake, But Not a Snake
"Roger that!"

The fat man roared and, carrying Wu Xie on his back, hopped and leaped to avoid the large and small stones falling from the sky. He didn't care about any traps or mechanisms on the road; he just kept running wildly with his head down.

The series of explosions made the entire space seem as if it were being twisted together by an invisible hand, and all the air within it emitted distorted and cracking sounds.

In just a short while, most of the huge stone slab on the cave ceiling where the Nine-Headed Hydra Cypress was located collapsed, and the stone door they had passed through when they came in was completely buried under the collapsed rocks, with no trace of its existence remaining.

The fat man ran for his life, and just as the stone tower was in front of him, a vine that had been blown off suddenly shot out from the side, crashing heavily onto the crack in the ground in front of him like a heavy sledgehammer.

Seeing that he couldn't stop in time, the fat man immediately used all his strength to leap in a split like a deer leaping over a chasm, "Eee-hoo!"

However, Fatty overestimated his jumping ability and underestimated his own weight and the weight of Wu Xie on his back. The thick vines combined with the nearly one-meter-wide crack made the task as difficult as wildebeest migrating across the Nile River, which is full of predators.

Sure enough, just as Fatty was about to retract his hind leg after his front leg had leaped into the air, his ankle was hooked by a vine that was not yet completely dead. He lost his balance and fell headlong into the dark crevice, dragging Wu Xie on his back with him.

"Fatty!" Zhang Wuxun watched in the distance as Fatty and Wu Xie on his back disappeared into the darkness. He became extremely anxious and immediately decided to retreat to the underground to meet up with Zhang Haike and the others.

Zhang Haike's whistle hadn't sounded for a while, probably because he had heard the commotion above and knew they could handle it, so he stopped trying to distract the Hydra Cypress.

The situation below ground is still unknown, and judging from the current circumstances, Zhang Haike himself is probably not having an easy time either.

The Hydra Cypress was already somewhat weakened by the repeated explosions; its vines drooped listlessly, and even the force with which it swayed in response to the sounds had diminished considerably.

Zhang Wu found an opening, stepped onto a rock and leaped high into the air. Then, he kicked off a vine that was slowly moving in mid-air. Before the vine could react, he jumped again and landed on the thickest vine at a higher point. He then ran forward quickly along its hard trunk like walking a tightrope.

The vine was suddenly pressed down by a force, and it immediately began to tremble reflexively. The slightly thinner vines around it were startled by the commotion and slithered over like large snakes, whipping wildly and fiercely at Zhang Wuxun who was running.

Zhang Wuxun quickly crouched down to dodge the two intersecting vine whips, hooked his knees around the trunk of the vine beneath his feet, and swung gently. Just as the vine was about to smash to the ground, he released his grip, sprang up, and grabbed another vine that was swinging in mid-air. As the vine swung, it carried Zhang Wuxun away from his original spot, and the vine that followed missed its target again.

The attacking vines came in an endless stream. Zhang Wuxun weaved through them, using the same method, and with the force generated by the swinging vines, he quickly reached the edge of the area where the nine-headed cypress was spreading.

Using the force of the vines, Zhang Wuxun flew sideways, rolled in mid-air to dissipate the force, and then landed steadily, completely escaping the encirclement of the Nine-Headed Cypress.

Without any further hesitation, Zhang Wuxun took out a slender single-soldier magazine from his spatial storage, turned around, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

A dazzling golden meteor streaked away on the wind, leaving a long trail of white-gray smoke, before plunging headfirst into the massive body of the Hydra Cypress.

As if the rising sun pierced through the darkness and illuminated the sky, the Hydra Cypress transformed into a colossal, awakened, fiery silver tree.

In an instant, all the vines were burning, thick smoke billowed, and countless writhing python shadows seemed to appear in the fire. The swirling flames soared into the sky, and in the vast expanse of starlight, it was as if an ancient behemoth, burning and bathing in fire, had risen up.

Unable to bear the pungent garlic smell of the white phosphorus bomb, Zhang Wuxun covered his mouth and nose, turned around and ran towards the crack where Wu Xie and the others had last stayed.

﹉﹉﹉

When the fat man jumped into the air, he felt that things were probably going to go wrong, as his body was already sinking under the influence of gravity.

But once he had gone out there, there was no going back. He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and tried to stretch his legs forward, attempting to make the split even bigger.

Just as his front foot was about to reach the edge of the crack, his ankle suddenly tightened, as if something had bound him. The fat man cursed inwardly, "Oh no!" A feeling of weightlessness suddenly overwhelmed him.

As the fat man screamed and plummeted downwards, he didn't forget to hold onto Wu Xie tightly with one hand, while his other hand thrashed about trying to grab the stone wall beside him.

However, the protruding stones on the rock face are very brittle and soft, like wood that has been rotten and softened by insects.

The fat man bumped into the stone wall, waving his arms and grabbing at it several times. Before he could even put in much effort, the protruding stone was broken off. He was so angry that he cursed under his breath.

It was pitch black below the crack, and nothing could be seen, but it was clear that the crack was narrower than expected.

The two stumbled and fell a short distance, but once they realized what was happening, they immediately twisted their bodies sideways and braced themselves against the rock wall like a tortoise lying on its back, wedging themselves into the crevice.

Fatty shoved Wu Xie towards him, then, catching his breath, said, "Tianzhen, quickly check if there are any vines or anything to grab onto on the stone wall. It's pitch black down there, and I can't see the bottom. But as soon as I took a breath, I smelled a stench of corpses, so it's definitely not a good place. Let's climb up and meet up with Muyu first." "Okay, I'll see," Wu Xie replied, leaning against Fatty's broad back, one hand on Fatty's shoulder, slightly raising his upper body, and reaching towards the nearby stone wall.

Their flashlights had been lost long ago, and their backpacks had been flung off to Java during their escape. Now, the two of them were truly blind.

It's so dark here, who knows what I might find if I just reach out my hand?

Wu Xie thought it was a bit unreliable, so he asked Fatty, "Do you have a lighter, or even a tinderbox?"

The fat man shrugged his left shoulder very slightly. "I have half a box of matches in my pocket. Use them sparingly."

Wu Xie reached into the left breast pocket of Fatty's down jacket and pulled out an oil paper packet containing half a cigarette. He then stuffed it back into Fatty's pocket.

His leg was in so much pain that he couldn't use it, so he could only use his good leg to support the fat man. "Hold on, I'll try to light a fire."

As he spoke, he took a match from the small cardboard box, rubbed the stick against the red phosphorus on the side, and with a whoosh, a cluster of sparks ignited. He quickly brought the rolled-up oil paper forward to light it, making a small torch.

The oil paper burned in seconds, so Wu Xie quickly moved the small torch closer to the stone wall.

Under the dim, warm yellow light, the stone wall looked pitted and uneven, truly resembling a nest that had been built there.

The stone wall was grayish with a frosted texture, and it sparkled when the firelight flickered, as if it were embedded with shards of shattered glass.

Wu Xie focused his mind, held his breath, and continued to shine the light to the side.

Not far ahead, there was a rather deep pit. Wu Xie saw an orange-red climbing rope-like thing on the top of the pit. He thought to himself that it must have been left by Zhang Haike. That guy might have been pulled into the crack by the Hydra Cypress and then climbed down the rope.

He raised his arm high, trying to see if the rope above was hanging down from the crack.

By this time, the flame of the small torch was very weak, and the fingernails of the two fingers holding the oil paper roll could feel a slight burning sensation.

With a whoosh, the flames were completely extinguished, and Wu Xie could see clearly that the rope had been hanging down from above, with a considerable section still hanging from the stone wall above, standing out conspicuously against the bare gray stone wall.

Wu Xie guessed that Zhang Haike climbed down either to avoid the Nine-Headed Hydra Cypress or because he had discovered something. Based on Wu Xie's understanding of that guy, the second possibility was more likely.

Wu Xie told Fatty what he had discovered. Fatty listened, then used his arms and legs to crawl forward a couple of steps. "Can I get up now?" he asked.

“Okay.” Wu Xie remembered that location; Hei Xiazi had also specifically trained him in his sense of direction in the dark.

Wu Xie silently estimated the distance in his mind and slowly reached out his hand, but unexpectedly, he touched nothing.

Huh? That's strange, it's clearly within arm's reach.

Wu Xie leaned closer and reached out to touch it again. This time he didn't have time, but he grabbed something hard, as thick as a rolling pin, icy cold, and covered with fine scales, feeling like a snake's tail.

A snake? His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately tried to pull his hand back.

But it was too late. Due to his awkward posture, his movement to retract his hand was far slower than the speed at which the "snake's" head caught up.

He felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand, followed by a cool, tingling sensation that spread across his hand, as if countless ants were crawling on it.

Wu Xie only managed to whisper "Fatty" before losing consciousness the next second.

"Innocent?"

The fat man felt a weight on his back, and one of his arms drooped limply to his ear.

good night