Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 557 Entering the First Floor of the Ancient Building

"Did Zhang Qiling knock you out, or were you unconscious for days? Are you still half asleep, or are you just messing with me?"

Wu Xie interrupted the fat man's narration without any manners, and looked at the serious-looking fat man in disbelief.

After so long, everyone has become very familiar with each other. Wu Xie tried to find a hint of playfulness or teasing in Fatty's eyes, but all he found was seriousness, earnestness, and worry.

"Although I may be a bit unreliable sometimes, I know this is not the time for jokes!"

"It sounds like a fantasy, but it's true! Before I even entered the ancient building, that bastard Zhang Qiling ambushed me!"

"I don't even know how he managed to make me sleep here for several days. During that time, I was perfectly conscious, but I couldn't control my body!"

"Speaking of which... Uncle Ming, this must have something to do with you, right?"

As he spoke, the fat man put down the food and water in his hands, frowned, rubbed his uncomfortable stomach, and looked at Hu Ming with a hint of confusion.

"There was definitely something fishy about that kick you gave me in the butt just now!"

"emmm"

Hu Ming glanced at the curious group, scratched his head, and nodded somewhat embarrassedly.

"When the guy knocked you out, he used a special technique. By cutting off the flow of blood to certain parts of your body, he put you into a special state similar to suspended animation without endangering your health."

"I'm familiar with this technique because I taught it to my brother. It's a little trick used in Bajiquan."

Hu Ming grinned, revealing a sunny smile that also resembled Wu Xie's, and readily admitted it.

"What the hell is Wu Xie's smile like..."

Wu Xie was extremely sensitive to "Wu Xie's" smile and immediately and subconsciously complained.

"You two bastards really know how to play!"

The fat man gave a forced smile, his heart filled with indescribable complex emotions.

"No, aren't you curious or annoyed that Zhang Qiling would do such a thing?"

Xiaohua looked at the fat man who suddenly seemed relieved, completely baffled by their thought processes.

Shouldn't you be angry if you're ambushed by a close friend?
That expression doesn't seem right, does it?
"What's there to be curious about? Xiaohua, you're new here, you don't know about the strong revolutionary friendship between us..."

"Mute isn't the kind of person who attacks his companions without reason. After waking up and seeing the corpses there, and the rest of you, I pretty much know exactly what's going on."

The fat man glanced at Xiao Hua with an air of utter disbelief, then said in a deep voice, "He did this because even he himself wasn't confident he could get out of the Zhang Family Ancient Building, right? But he knew he couldn't persuade me to go back the way I came, so he resorted to this tactic, didn't he?"

"The final defense system of the Zhang Family Ancient Building is said to be so strong that nothing alive can walk out upright. I suppose that before you went in, seeing the familiar scenery reminded you of some memories?"

Hu Ming smiled slightly and nodded in affirmation of the fat man's guess.

Under the relentless, all-encompassing blanket of extremely high concentrations and extremely high pH levels of highly alkaline fog, how could carbon-based life forms possibly survive?
Is that a dream?

The corpses that escaped from the Zhang Family Ancient Building are the best evidence. Once you inhale the highly alkaline mist, just wait for your body to start rotting from the inside out!
However, the most frustrating thing is that, under special circumstances, once living things appear in the Zhang Family Ancient Building, it is only a matter of time before this final defense system is activated.

Once this process begins, it is completely irreversible!
"Fatty, how's your recovery going?"

"We don't have much time left to ensure safety. We need to bring the guy back within the limited time we have, and at the same time..."

"The Zhang Family Ancient Building houses all sorts of treasures collected by the Zhang family over thousands of years. This is a rare opportunity to fleece them and take advantage of them!"

Hu Ming's ears trembled slightly as he checked the situation again and looked towards the gate of the Zhang Family Ancient Building.

"Wow? A treasure from thousands of years ago?"

"Actually, whether it's a treasure or not doesn't matter. The main thing is that I'm too worried about Zhang Qiling's safety. I'm incredibly resilient and have already recovered to my peak condition. What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Under Wu Xie and Xiao Hua's astonished gaze, the fat man suddenly stood up and checked the equipment in his backpack.

"...I swear I didn't believe your nonsense!!!"

Wu Xie and Xiao Hua's lips twitched simultaneously; why did this sound so unconvincing?
All I can say is, the fat guy is still the same fat guy, right?
The four of them stood side by side at the entrance, their expressions all somewhat serious…

They all knew that a dangerous place that even the Silent One was unsure of must be very dangerous.

The Zhang Family Ancient Building was completely dim, shimmering with an eerie, ghostly green light, resembling a ghost town built into the mountainside, presenting a strong sense of foreboding.

"Let's go, time waits for no one. If we keep dawdling and lingering, we really won't have time to come out."

"Put on your gas mask. Every inch of your skin is covered by heavy clothing," Hu Ming said softly.

The interior of Zhangjia Ancient Building is in the Qing Dynasty architectural style, which is very consistent with the era in which it was built, and has a strong royal garden style with the style of the Lei family.

It was pitch black inside, with no light source whatsoever. When the light shone in, it revealed an extremely spacious hall with only four pillars covered in intricate patterns on all four sides.

This is the first floor; clearly, the secret of the Zhang Family Ancient Building is not on this floor.

However, scattered on the floor of the hall were many pieces of luggage covered in white dust. If Hu Ming hadn't been so observant, he would have had a hard time spotting them.

"Wait! Be careful, everyone, and hold your breath as much as possible!"

Seeing that the fat man was about to rush up and examine these things, Hu Ming quickly stopped him.

The white dust on it is all strong alkali powder!
Once inhaled, well, it's definitely going to be quite a pungent experience.

Upon closer inspection, the luggage and equipment were so badly corroded that no useful clues could be found.

"The stuff is here, but where are the people?!"

Wu Xie felt uneasy. Just like the corpses outside the door, surely some remains must have been left behind?
You can't expect your whole body to melt away, can you?
"Besides the few of us, there's only one faint breath inside the entire ancient building—that must be Brother Xiao's. He's still deeper inside; it's a long way off!"

While exploring the area without stirring up a cloud of dust, Hu Ming explained in a calm tone.