Tomb Raiding: All Things Merge, Starting with 400x Strength

The earthenware pot rolled quickly on the ground, but it couldn't escape Zhang Hao's pursuit.

Zhang Hao unleashed his 500% speed and caught up in no time, stepping onto the ceramic pot.

Suddenly, a strange force came from inside the earthenware pot, almost causing it to roll away.

He pressed down harder with his feet to hold the pottery jar down.

The thing inside the jar struggled for a few moments, then, seeing it couldn't break free from Zhang Hao's control, it crawled out of the jar.

It was a rice dumpling shaped like an infant. Its body was very well preserved, and its facial expressions were lifelike. If it weren't for the layer of waxy, sticky substance covering its body, it would look no different from a living person.

That substance was adipocere, formed from the body being in a damp environment for a long time. It was because of this substance that Xiao Zongzi's body was so well preserved.

"Giggle..."

The little zongzi was muttering something and gesturing in front of him, as if he had something to say to Zhang Hao.

"Oh my, there really is a little rice dumpling!"

The fat man caught up and exclaimed in surprise when he saw the little rice dumpling.

"Uncle, what does this thing mean? I feel like it has something to say to you?"

Zhang Hao nodded: "That's right, but I don't understand his purpose. Consultant Zhang, can you understand what he's saying?"

Consultant Zhang quickly shook his head: "No, no, no, how would I know!"

Zhang Qilin clearly understands the language of corpses, but he's pretending to be one to avoid revealing his identity.

In fact, Xiao Zongzi's actions already revealed his meaning. Zhang Hao was just bluffing Zhang Qilin. Let's see how long he can keep up the act.

"So what do we do now? What should we do with this little rice dumpling?"

Zhang Hao pretended not to know what the little rice dumpling meant.

“The little zongzi doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions. He probably wants to ask for help, which is why he’s leading the way for us.”

"Consultant Zhang, didn't you say you couldn't understand what Xiao Zongzi was saying? How do you know he's asking for help?"

"Hehe, just guessing, all just guessing."

Consultant Zhang chuckled awkwardly twice before changing the subject: "Maybe he's met Uncle Wu before, and he's leading us to Uncle Wu now. Let's just let him lead the way."

"Hmm, that's one way to do it."

Yi Sa and Ding Yudie nodded, agreeing with Consultant Zhang's idea.

No one else had an opinion either.

Just then, a system notification sounded in Zhang Hao's mind.

[Ding! A key plot point has triggered a side quest: Little Zongzi's plea for help. Help Little Zongzi solve his problem and complete the quest to receive 3 fusion attempts as a reward.]

There are even side quests, and the reward is fusion attempts.

This is exactly what Zhang Hao needs right now, and the task shouldn't be too difficult. In that case, helping the little zongzi wouldn't hurt.

Zhang Hao loosened his foot, allowing the jar to roll again. He wanted to see what the little rice dumpling's purpose was in suddenly appearing in front to lead the way.

Seeing that the clay pot could roll again, the little zongzi chased after it and crawled inside. He then manipulated the pot to roll, making a clanging sound as it led the way.

"Follow!"

Once you exit the burial chamber, there is a straight tomb passage with two rows of grooves on the ground on both sides.

As soon as the pottery jar rolled into the tomb passage, two fist-sized round stones fell from the top of the ditches on the left and right sides, splashing sparks as they hit the ditches.

Then, with a loud "boom," flames burst forth in the two rows of trenches, illuminating the entire tomb passage.

"Boom!"

After Zhang Hao and his group followed the little zongzi into the tomb passage, a loud bang came from behind them. A huge rock fell down and blocked the entrance completely.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

As the boulder fell, the sound of machinery turning filled the air, followed by a hail of arrows shooting out from the cracks in the walls.

Countless arrows pierced the air, forming a giant net that enveloped everyone in the tomb passage.

There was nowhere to escape in the empty tomb passage.

"Damn it, am I going to die here?!"

Before the fat man could finish speaking, Yi Sa and Ding Yudie used the River-Turning Hand technique. Two palm-shaped phantoms appeared out of thin air and blocked the arrows that were being shot at them.

Just as one wave of arrows was blocked, another wave came flying in.

Yi Sa and Ding Yudie used the River-Turning Hand technique to block again.

The arrows shooting out of the wall seemed endless, wave after wave.

Each use of the River-Turning Hand technique consumes a great deal of physical strength.

Yi Sa and Ding Yudie's faces turned deathly pale in no time, and the power of their River-Turning Hand technique weakened, and they were about to be unable to withstand the incoming arrows.

Just then, a large black sword appeared and blocked their way.

Wu Tianzhen and the fat man were both stunned when they saw the big knife.

"Isn't this Brother's Black Gold Ancient Sword? How did it end up in your hands, Consultant Zhang?"

"Yes, what's going on with Consultant Zhang?"

Consultant Zhang ignored them, continuing to wield his black gold ancient sword to deflect the incoming arrows.

He was incredibly skilled, constantly flashing in front of the crowd and blocking every single arrow that came his way.

The rain of arrows continued for more than ten minutes before stopping, and Consultant Zhang also stopped.

He slung the black gold ancient sword over his back and started walking forward.

Wu Tianzhen stopped him abruptly: "Advisor Zhang, I feel like you look like someone, and what's with the black gold ancient sword on your back?"

Zhang Hao smiled. The reason he didn't make a move was to force Zhang Qilin to take action, to see how he could continue to pretend.

Consultant Zhang grinned, then his body began to twist and contort, the sound of bones grinding together filling the air.

In the blink of an eye, Consultant Zhang had undergone a complete transformation; apart from his physique, his entire appearance was also completely renewed.

"Brother, is that really you?!"

Wu Tianzhen exclaimed in delight.

"careful!"

Just then, the mechanism that had just stopped suddenly started again, and another volley of arrows appeared.

Zhang Hao and Zhang Qilin simultaneously intervened, blocking most of the arrows.

Because the mechanism was activated suddenly, and the two were late in acting, more than a dozen arrows still managed to penetrate the defenses and hit the group.

After Zhang Hao and Zhang Qilin assumed a defensive stance, the rain of arrows abruptly stopped.

"Ouch, that hurts so much, Fatty!"

"Is Fatty going to die?!"

As soon as the rain of arrows stopped, the fat man's wail rang in everyone's ears.

When Zhang Hao turned around, he saw that most of the arrows were stuck in the fat man's body.

"Stop yelling, you won't die. These are lotus arrows, they'll just grab people but won't kill them."

Zhang Hao pulled an arrow from the fat man's body, but it didn't even pierce his flesh; he only suffered a superficial wound.

"Hmm, that's really strange. Why go to all that trouble to design this mechanism, without even risking anyone's life? What was the purpose of the tomb's occupant?"

The fat man's question was also Zhang Hao's question.

The traps in ancient tombs are usually deadly, as vicious as they can be, and their purpose is to prevent people from entering the tomb.

But the mechanisms in the tomb passage didn't seem to want human lives.

Suddenly, he noticed a thin needle inside the arrow, which was probably made of bronze and its surface was covered with green rust.

Yi Sa's expression changed when he saw the bronze needle: "It seems I was right in the right direction. There are indeed clues to that incident from more than ten years ago in the shipwreck tomb."