Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 646 Man-Eating Vine!

When Chen Jinshui and his surviving men arrived in front of Hu Ming and his companion in a state of panic, there were hardly any people left.

Most people were completely trapped in the passageway.

Even so, Chen Jinshui and the others were not in good condition.

I felt dizzy and started experiencing mild hallucinations, as if the air was filled with poisonous gas. As time went on, the dizziness and hallucinations became more and more severe.

With a gloomy expression, Chen Jinshui bit his tongue hard, using the sharp pain to temporarily clear his head.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed true!
Hu Ming and Zhang Yueshan seemed to know something, as they had already put on gas masks!
Although he couldn't see their expressions through the gas masks, Chen Jinshui had a feeling that they were mocking him!
"Leaving aside the situation here for now, sir, Chairman Zhang, shouldn't we open the door around this time?"

“If we don’t leave here, we’re all going to die here. You know, we’re all members of the Nine Gates Association. It’s not in the Nine Gates Association’s charter to let people die.”

"You agree, right, Chairman Zhang, Second Master!"

Suppressing his anger, Chen Jinshui forced a smile. He knew that he still had to rely on these two people before he could achieve his goal.

Now is not the time to completely break ties!
"Tsk!"

Hu Ming gave Chen Jinshui a deep look and clicked his tongue in a cryptic tone.

Under these circumstances, even a fool could understand that Hu Ming and Zhang Rishan were taking advantage of the special environment here to try and harm Chen Jinshui and his group.

But at this moment, this guy is still able to endure it; that's impressive!
It should be noted that Chen Jinshui brought with him this time some of the Chen family's most experienced tomb raiders, rare mid-level key personnel!
Losing so much at once, it's only natural that someone with a little less cunning would immediately turn on them and throw a tantrum.

……

……

There is a hidden secret in the passageway in front of the bronze gate. Hidden in the soil is a deadly little insect called a soil louse. When a soil louse is stepped on, it releases a nerve gas that keeps outsiders away.

If the presence of ground beetles cannot be found, this passage is truly a death trap!
In contrast, after safely passing through here, the bronze door right in front of us was unexpectedly unremarkable!
With just a slight effort, Hu Ming easily pushed open the tightly closed bronze door.

Ahead lay a grotto filled with signs of human intervention, taller than a person and wide enough for two people. The passage was short; in just two minutes, the group had reached the end.

At the end of the passage was a huge, empty underground cavity!
At first glance, it's about the size of a football field.

At the end of the enormous underground cavity, a colossal stone Buddha, nearly thirty meters tall, stands silently, its hands forming the wisdom mudra, its eyes closed.

Between the crowd and the Buddha statue…

It wasn't the barbed wire Hu Ming remembered, but...

Dense, lush, and seemingly endless stretches of vibrant, unnamed green vines!
Upon closer inspection, the green vines covering the entire cavity were covered with thorns, and a few bright red flowers, as vibrant as blood, were scattered among the vines, which resembled ocean waves.

“A giant Buddha, unknown vines…” Even without needing to use his intuition to sound the alarm, Hu Ming knew that these vines, which had replaced the blood-sucking wires in his memory, were definitely not something to be trifled with!
Could the vines that Zhang Dafoye specially planted here to guard this place be anything simple?
"...My intuition tells me that these vines are dangerous, extremely dangerous! A hundred times more dangerous than any predator in nature!"

Zhang Rishan's intuition had already sounded the alarm, as if these wildly growing, seemingly harmless plants were some kind of prehistoric beast!
And that is indeed the case!
Having escaped the death tunnel, Chen Jinshui and the others had recovered and looked at the Buddha statue not far away with greed in their eyes.

He knew that the secret that Buddha had entrusted to Chenpi to preserve was right there on the Buddha statue!
Now, all that's blocking our way is this patch of unknown vines!
At Chen Jinshui's signal, one of his men licked his dry lips and cautiously moved closer to the vines, holding a machete.

Given the current situation, getting through here will inevitably involve dealing with these strange vines.

Even as they approached the vines, nothing unexpected happened; the vines remained motionless and showed no sign of danger.

Chen Jinshui's men grew bolder and cautiously touched the vines.

stab...

Perhaps by accident, the subordinate's finger trembled and touched a thorn on the vine. The sharp thorn instantly cut his finger, and a drop of bright red blood dripped down.

The men seemed startled and quickly retreated, staring nervously at the vines.

They only breathed a sigh of relief when they still found no abnormalities, and even when the dripping blood seeped into the black soil.

It seems...

These vines, aside from being a bit more vigorous and denser, and aside from the negligible danger posed by their thorns, seem to pose no other threat.
However.…

Chen Jinshui suddenly noticed that Hu Ming and Zhang Rishan both looked serious, and Zhang Rishan's expression was even rather unpleasant.

The two men's gazes were fixed on their subordinate who had been injured by a thorn!
A jolt went through Chen Jinshui, who instinctively sensed something was wrong. Without time to think, he quickly distanced himself from his men, who were looking on with puzzled expressions.

The next moment...

A bloodcurdling scream rang out!!!
The injured index finger of his subordinate suddenly began to bulge irregularly, as if something was wriggling under his skin.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, the area of ​​the bulge is increasing wildly!
In just a few breaths, like bulging veins or wriggling snakes, the protruding parts spread all over the men's bodies!
This process was extremely painful; in a short period of time, the person almost lost their voice from shouting.

boo~
To everyone's horror, his flesh and blood were completely devoured by the unknown entity within him, visibly transforming him into a desiccated corpse that looked as if it had been dried up for countless years!
Glug!!!
After a long while, Chen Jinshui finally calmed down, his forehead covered in sweat, still filled with fear.

This situation is too bizarre!!!
"Is this the 'man-eating vine' that was said to have spread from the Western Regions to the Central Plains in ancient times? A terrifying predatory plant that can survive even without photosynthesis."

According to ancient records, this plant had a very low survival rate due to its incompatibility with the local environment. Later, it was cultivated for use in witchcraft and sacrifices and was considered to be a spiritual object.

"There are even rumors that as long as a person and a vine become one, one can achieve spiritual sublimation. In that era, perhaps only Zhang Qishan would have been capable of cultivating such a large number of these bizarre creatures?"

Hu Ming recalled an ancient book he had once read, and the way this unfortunate man died confirmed Hu Ming's guess, revealing the true nature of this strange vine.

This is a killer plant that feeds on mammals; it's a man-eating vine!