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

Zhang Wuxun's outstretched hand froze, and his expression turned strange. "You mean...they have claws?"

Zhang Haike revealed a wise smile and said, "The murals on the way to the Snake Temple gave us the answer from the very beginning."

"Then why didn't mine change?" Zhang Wuxun looked at his hands over and over, puzzled.

This shift in species orientation made him slightly uneasy, and he also felt some anxiety about facing the unknown.

He didn't transform even after soaking in the egg for so long, except that his sense of smell became extremely sensitive, which made it easier for him to receive information transmitted by pheromones.

As things stand, this change does not appear to have a negative impact on the established plans; in short, it has no downsides.

Could it be that this change is based on the selection of evolutionary parts according to current needs?
"Perhaps you're not used to it yet?" Zhang Haike pondered.

Zhang Haike only had a vague understanding of this. The person he had met was a failed second incubator. She had already undergone an incomplete evolution, the most obvious change being her eyes.

Regardless of their age, those selected are called juveniles before hatching.

But Zhang Haike was an outsider after all, and the contact was brief, so he couldn't understand her more deeply, because the exposure of secrets is often accompanied by disaster.

Even the most powerful clans will eventually decline, whether due to natural disasters or man-made calamities, just like the once-powerful Zhang family.

Moreover, that person only mentioned that such changes vary from person to person. The rule that their race follows is "survival of the evolved." Only snake species that have successfully hatched for the first time will receive resources and strive to gain the recognition of the ancestral tree.

However, this rule no longer applies. After a rebellion five hundred years ago, the number of young species that survived and were able to be activated smoothly is extremely small, practically one in ten thousand. If even one is found, they treat it with the utmost care, like a precious ancestral snake bone.

Although it ultimately proved useless, otherwise such an exclusive family wouldn't have fallen to the point where it couldn't even protect its own ancestral tree and had to rely on the strength of outsiders to barely maintain its slow decline. In the end, it was just a desperate attempt to repair a broken bowstring.

Thinking of this, Zhang Haike couldn't help but feel a little sad, but he quickly composed himself.

Although it was only for a brief moment, Zhang Wuxun still keenly noticed that something was off about the emotions he was expressing. "What's wrong?"

Zhang Haike shook his head. "It's not the right time yet. Telling you now would only cause you more trouble."

However, he gave Zhang Wuxun a more reliable answer to the previous question: "Perhaps the change is gradual and influenced by external factors. This change is still ongoing and may last for a long time until you encounter the next opportunity for evolution."

Zhang Wuxun stared at him for a while, then suddenly asked, "What is the surname of the old friend you mentioned who was connected to snakes?"

Zhang Haike tilted his head slightly to look at him. Warm red light shone through the cave entrance behind him, illuminating the right half of Zhang Wuxun's face clearly.

"Her surname is She."

"What's your name?" Zhang Wuxun pressed.

"You'll find out later."

Zhang Haike chuckled as if sighing, "You've forgotten too many things."

Zhang Wuxun was somewhat speechless. He was also aware that his early memories were incomplete, and even somewhat confused.

At that moment, he sensed a complex emotion in Zhang Haike, as if he had a premonition, "Don't you find it strange that I look like this?"

“You were meant to look like this.” Zhang Haike said with certainty, as if he had already confirmed something. Hearing this, Zhang Wuxun raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that? Is it because of Zhang Haisi, or because of that old friend surnamed She?”

Zhang Haike hissed and looked at him with a headache, "Sometimes smart kids are more endearing when they pretend to be a little stupid."

Zhang Wuxun rolled his eyes. "A lovable old man shouldn't be so secretive when he speaks."

After saying that, he leaned straight in and crawled into the dark cave ahead.

"Old man? You mean me?"

Zhang Haike opened his mouth, pointed at himself in disbelief, and his calm expression instantly cracked. "I'm an old man?!"

"Hurry up and catch up, I can smell Wu Xie and the others." Zhang Wuxun's voice drifted over.

"Hey!" Zhang Haike chased after him a few steps, bending down to avoid the blunted stone edges on top, muttering, "Let me tell you, some old sayings that have survived to this day still have some truth to them, like the saying, 'If you don't listen to your elders, you'll miss out on half a year of happiness.'"

"There's some truth to that. When I'm old, I'll spout nonsense too." Zhang Wuxun chuckled, turned the corner, and suddenly four or five branching tunnels appeared ahead.

Zhang Haike crouched down and moved a few steps, then straightened up slightly and peeked out from his shoulder. He immediately exclaimed, "Going in is easy, but getting out is hard. Which way should we go?"

Zhang Wuxun closed his eyes. "...Wait a moment, let me feel it."

In most of the cave entrances ahead, there were familiar scent molecules, but they were very rare, stayed for a very short time, and came from a relatively far place through air currents.

These tunnels appear to lead to the same place eventually. Wu Xie and Fatty passed through there, and it didn't take long.

The two were both quite emotional at the time, which left behind a faint but strongly directional scent clump that drifted here, forming several blurry dotted arrows. Zhang Wuxun needs to find the clearest one among them.

“Go left…” Zhang Wuxun opened his eyes, and as soon as he spoke, the air behind him rippled rapidly.

Without turning his head, Zhang Wuxun reached out with lightning speed and caught the cold glint with his fingertips. In an instant, a thin film of fine scales appeared on the skin from the back of his hand to his forearm.

In the pitch-black cave, the scales shimmered with a faint silver hue, reflecting a gentle, watery light.

Zhang Wuxun didn't realize it at first, then turned around and asked Zhang Haike unhappily, "What are you doing?"

Zhang Haike did not answer, his eyes were fixed on his hand, and he exuded an emotion of shock that could not be detected by the naked eye.

"..." Zhang Wuxun belatedly lowered his head, his fingers gripping the blade unconsciously tightening, the front of the scales between his fingers bulging slightly, squeezing the blade, and with a crisp "biu" sound, the dagger blade broke in two.

"Damn!" Zhang Wuxun was startled and quickly withdrew his hand, touching his fingertips. The skin was still the same soft, calloused skin. "It's gone."

He was absolutely certain that he had not misread the image or was seeing things.

If his night vision and perception are correct, then the problem lies with him.

Zhang Haike let out a long breath, brandishing the broken half of the dagger. "It seems your evolution this time, besides information perception, is also related to your body's surface defense." (End of Chapter)