Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 412 Ancient Village at the Bottom of the Lake

Hu Ming's marksmanship had long since transcended the constraints of aiming with the naked eye, even though it was dark and Jiang Nan hadn't opened his eyes at all.

However, this shot still accurately hit an unknown humanoid creature hundreds of meters away.

"Roar~~~"

A brief but shrill roar was heard, followed by violent commotion in the lake ahead.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of water being splashed could be heard.

"Are they trying to run away?"

Hearing the noise around him, Hu Ming was taken aback.

At this moment, Wu Xie had returned to the camp and retrieved a professional searchlight, which he then focused and shone on.

The three dark figures that had been in their original positions had vanished, leaving only ripples spreading across the water's surface.

Upon closer inspection, dark green bloodstains remained on the lake surface.

"This is the first time I've ever seen such a cowardly monster..."

The fat man put down his paratrooper knife and stared blankly at the lake.

To be honest, which of the monsters they encountered in the past wasn't their mortal enemy?
Who would run away in disgrace after being shot just once?
"Those things are intelligent; it's a smart choice to retreat immediately when the situation turns unfavorable!"

However, Hu Ming was full of admiration for the actions of the three monsters.

It's not how exaggerated a monster's physique is that's scary; what's scary is a being that possesses superhuman physical abilities while also having considerable intelligence.

These are the monsters that are the most troublesome.

The group carefully made their way to the lakeside.

At this moment, like the tide, the lake water surged and crashed against the rocks on the shore.

Compared to daytime levels, the water level along the shore has dropped by at least a meter in a short period of time!
Looking at the round moon on the horizon, which resembled a jade plate, and then looking down at the wet lines on the lake shore, Wu Xie understood.

"Indeed, Uncle, this lake is a siphon lake, just as you said."

"No wonder we couldn't find a trace of a body."

“This lake experiences siphon tides every night, so the bodies from back then might have been sucked to the center of the lake by those tides.”

Standing up, Wu Xie wiped the mud and sand from his hands, looked at the lake, and felt a surge of hope.

"It's like a flush toilet!" The fat man clenched his right fist and lightly tapped his left palm. He understood now that it was explained that way!
"...It's a bit crude, but that's the principle. There should still be some debris or something similar at the very center of the lake bottom."

"Alright, it's getting late, everyone should get some rest. We have to get up early to work tomorrow!"

"Return the shotgun to A-Gui," Hu Ming decided.

"it is good!"

Nothing more was said that night. The people left on night watch went into their sleeping bags.

Around ten o'clock the next day, under the increasingly scorching sun, Hu Ming and the others finally woke up, rubbing their sleepy eyes.

After a quick breakfast, Wu Xie and the others stared blankly as Hu Ming pulled out a rubber dinghy from his "magical" hiking backpack once again!
Then, without changing his expression, Hu Ming pulled out a complete set of air pump equipment.

Alright, another amazing magic trick?
Ignoring the three men's blank stares, Hu Ming leisurely inflated the rubber boat and pushed it into the lake.

"What are you standing there for? Go find some bigger rocks and carry them up!"

Seeing that the three of them were still staring blankly at his actions, Hu Ming couldn't help but urge them on.

Soon after preparations were complete, the four boarded the rubber boat and rowed towards the center of the lake.

It was already noon, the sun was blazing, but the lake water was still icy cold. "Two chicks? Are you serious?"

"Why don't you just wear elephant trunk pants?!"

While changing diving equipment on the rubber boat, Hu Ming and Wu Xie stared blankly at the fat man's childlike shorts.
Two little chicks!!!
"Pah, you people are so boring. Don't you know that no matter how old a man is, there's always a child inside him?"

The fat man blushed and quickly put on his diving suit to cover his embarrassment.

Thankfully, Agui and Yun Cai didn't come along, otherwise Fatty would have really wanted to drown himself in the lake by now.

The four of them quickly changed into their diving gear and checked the time.

"Half an hour! Our oxygen tanks don't have a large capacity, so for safety reasons, we have to float up every half hour."

"Moreover, you saw those three humanoid creatures last night, and nobody knows if there are any other creatures in this lake."

"Be careful once you're down there. If you spot any danger, signal immediately and surface."

Sitting down next to the rubber boat, Hu Ming whispered his instructions.

As soon as he finished speaking, Hu Ming put on his diving goggles, grabbed a large rock, and flipped himself into the water.

The stones were used to increase their weight and help them sink to the bottom of the water quickly.

The temperature difference between the water and the outside world is extreme. The moment you enter the water, the icy cold lake water dispels the heat brought by the sunlight.

Under the influence of the rocks, Hu Ming continued to fall.

Immediately afterwards, Wu Xie, Fatty, and Xiao Ge also went into the water and landed behind Hu Ming.

Soon, as they went deeper, the lake water turned dark, and the sunlight could no longer reach their current depth.

Before long, Hu Ming landed safely on the ground.

The pressure of the deep water pressed against his chest, causing a slight discomfort. After taking a few deep breaths, Hu Ming adjusted and looked around at his surroundings.

The landing point was a slope on the bottom of the lake, which was clearly not the deepest part of the lake.

The lakebed was filled with pebbles covered with a layer of water vapor, but otherwise it was exceptionally clean, with no aquatic plants or anything like that to be found.

When you shine the diving light over it, you can't even see any fish.

It seems that there is nothing in this lake except water; it is a dead lake.

Thirty-three meters deep

Hu Ming glanced at the diving watch on his wrist.

At this moment, Wu Xie and the other two had also slowly landed. They threw away the stones they were carrying and communicated with each other using hand gestures.

After a short while, the communication was completed, and the group dispersed, each heading down the slope in different directions.

Hu Ming's body was parallel to the lake bottom as he clung to the constantly sloping downwards.

Even with diving goggles, underwater visibility is still very blurry, and you can only see a rough outline of what's in front of you.

After advancing about several hundred meters, Hu Ming's field of vision suddenly opened up.

A huge, blurry shadow appeared in the deep, bluish-gray water ahead.

From a distance, the shadow looks remarkably like a crocodile's head.

Hu Ming raised an eyebrow, unfazed, and shone his diving light, illuminating the lake ahead.

That shadow
It turned out to be an ancient Yao village sleeping at the bottom of the lake!
(End of this chapter)