Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 84 Formation
Professor Chen said firmly, "We've come this far by the skin of our teeth, how could we possibly go back? Comrade Hu Ming, don't worry, we're all adults, we'll take responsibility for ourselves."

Yang Xueli frowned slightly. Hu Ming had been causing trouble all along the way, and she kept calling her back.

She said with some displeasure, "Now that you're all here, whoever wants to go back should hurry up, there's still time." After saying that, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and she noticed that the stone pier was actually a little higher? Could it be that she was seeing things?

Rubbing her beautiful eyes, Yang Xueli looked again and was certain that the stone pier had indeed risen slightly.

"Do you see that? The stone pier is higher than before; it must be a mechanism."

She glanced around at everyone and said confidently.

That's really high!
Everyone looked over and was surprised. It was indeed higher than before, but was the strange snake really gone? They weren't sure.

Ding Deng Deng.

Yang Xueli stepped onto the platform, her flashlight shining on the ground. She saw a few strange snake corpses wriggling gently on the ground, but they seemed to have lost their power. Nevertheless, she still carefully walked around them.

"Shirley, come back." Hu Bayi frowned, thinking that Shirley Yang was incredibly bold.

"Old Hu, don't be nervous. The strange snake has run away, so there's no danger. But why didn't she say she had a flashbang earlier? Oh well, since we all want to keep exploring, let's keep exploring! Anyway, in the end..." Hu Ming said helplessly.

……

"Be extremely careful, don't let any snakes escape," Hu Bayi said, looking at the ground where a few snake carcasses, hit by bullets, were still moving. His heart was in his throat. If they were bitten, they would be dead for sure.

Seeing that Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang were already standing by the stone pier, he had no choice but to follow them.

Yang Xueli raised her flashlight and shone it on the ceiling. The strange snake was no longer in that big, odd eye. A look of relief appeared on her pretty face. It was good that it was gone.

Looking at the stone pier, she glanced at Hu Bayi beside her and said, "Look, it's a bit taller than before, and the base is round."

"Um"

Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang exchanged a glance and nodded slightly, saying, "Since the stone platform is separated, it should be able to rotate."

Shirley Yang was delighted and quickly said, "Then let's go together."
"Don't move anything yet," Hu Ming interrupted Shirley Yang as he walked over, carefully shining a flashlight on the stone block. "If you turn this mechanism in the wrong direction, you'll discover a terrifying side, and we might end up burying this place."

So scary?
Yang Xueli was somewhat unsure of what to do, her brows furrowed tightly.

She didn't understand mechanisms and could only rely on Hu Ming and Hu Bayi, so she looked at the two of them and said, "I believe you two will definitely have a way, right!"
Hu Bayi and Hu Ming exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. Of course, there was a solution.

“There’s a mechanism here leading to the underground river and the tomb. We have to open it, otherwise…” Hu Ming glanced at Professor Chen and the others below, then turned to Hu Bayi and Yang Xueli, “Everyone will die of thirst.” “Okay.” Hu Bayi nodded, taking out his flashlight and looking around to examine the surroundings before figuring out what kind of mechanism it was.
"Old Hu, what are you doing?" The fat man below was getting anxious. He shone his flashlight on Hu Bayi and the other two on the platform and shouted, even taking steps to climb up.

"Fatty, don't come any closer," Hu Bayi stopped Fatty, then frowned and looked at the sixteen pillars over and over again. These pillars were all stone blocks, with long-eyed human figures carved on them.

This is like...

He was somewhat uncertain, so he looked at Hu Ming and said, "Mingzi, I think the arrangement of the sixteen stone pillars in this temple is the same as the arrangement of the sixteen dragons at the bottom, which is actually in line with the number of the Giant Gate."

"What do you think?" After stating his deduction, Huba looked at Hu Ming.

“Old Hu, you’re right, this is the Sixteen Dragons Formation,” Hu Ming said confidently.

When Yang Xueli saw that the two of them had seen through the formation so easily, her beautiful eyes lit up. "You two are really experts. You two should hurry up and find the underground river to quench our thirst. That's the most important thing."

“Clockwise and counterclockwise…” Hu Ming said.

Hu Bayi interjected, "Not too much, not too little."

The two exchanged a smile, one saying the first half and the other the second half.

Then they squatted down, Hu Ming squatting behind the stone block and Hu Bayi squatting in front, both of them holding the stone block with both hands, ready to turn around. Yang Xueli became nervous beside them, seemingly a little worried.

“Old Hu, follow the Yang five steps and Yin one of them,” Hu Ming shouted.

"Okay," Hu Bayi nodded. Then, the two of them twisted the stone block at the same time, and it turned five times to the right with a series of cracking sounds. Yang Xueli was tense the whole time, shining a flashlight on the two of them.

Seeing the stone block turn five times to the right, she thought to herself, "So, the Five Steps of Following the Yang means turning five times to the right, and the One Step of Following the Yin means turning it in reverse?" She was really quite clever.

Hu Ming and Hu Bayi turned the stone block over, stood up, and still didn't make a sound.

Hu Bayi looked around, but there was no reaction. Had he made a mistake?
He looked at Hu Ming with a puzzled expression, only to see Hu Ming calmly raise his hand and point to the center of the temple. The place remained unchanged, but soon, a rumbling sound rang out, and a three-meter-sized stone slab slowly descended.

The group cautiously approached and saw stone steps leading down to an entrance.

Everyone immediately burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)