Chapter 74: To Do Or Not To To Do It’s A Question
Lin Yan glanced at that big pile of scales, then at his own bag and Wu Xie’s bag.
Two seconds later, he rummaged through his bag and pulled out several waterproof bags. He first separated half of the scales, then divided the rest into three portions: “A total of four portions. Zhang Xiaoge takes the largest share, and we each get one of the remaining portions. Any objections?”
Fatty nodded: “Of course no objections! Zhang Xiaoge took it down, the sea monkeys were chasing you guys, I at most suggested some waste exploitation idea, I’ve already profited!”
Seeing Fatty had no objections, Lin Yan first put the scales into waterproof bags separately and sealed them, then took out seven or eight cans from his bag, making space to stuff the scales inside. Fatty watched from the side, his eyes glazing over.
“Young comrade, are you here to tomb raid or have a picnic? How do you have so much food? Let me see… vegetable and fruit cans are one thing, but there’s even meat ones?” Lin Yan saw Fatty’s eyes glued to the cans like they wouldn’t come off, doing a tactical lean back: “Of course! I specially traded with the crew before coming down. Impressive foresight, right?”
“Yes yes yes!” Fatty nodded like a chick pecking rice; no need to look to know he was not just hungry but craving. Lin Yan directly handed some to him in his arms: “Let’s go, eat while chasing. Later when we catch up, give them some too. Doesn’t that free up this place?”
Fatty nodded, already opening a can to eat; he was too busy to even reply for the moment.
Lin Yan followed suit, opening one to hold in his hand, the other arm hugging several other cans, still holding a flashlight to light the way. Luckily the cave wasn’t too big, and one flashlight’s light was barely enough. Who knew how far Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling had gone; now even their backs were out of sight.
Entering the cave, Lin Yan felt it was extremely quiet inside, only his and Fatty’s footsteps echoing, and he couldn’t help feeling a bit scared. He tentatively called out: “Wu Xie, Zhang Qiling, are you in there? Reply if you hear!”
Not two seconds later, Wu Xie’s response came with the echo to his ears: “Come quickly, we haven’t gone far.”
The voice sounded very close; was there really only this much distance inside? Lin Yan frowned and quickened his pace a few steps. Sure enough, not even a minute later he saw Wu Xie and the others.
He looked around the cave that hadn’t reached its end yet, asking Wu Xie: “Why didn’t you keep going? Waiting for us?”
Wu Xie shook his head: “No, I’m just a bit worried… He lost his memory when he went in twenty years ago. What if he loses it again this time? What if we go in and lose ours too? Right now in this tomb it’s just us and A Ning. If A Ning finds us, she might not take us out like that person did twenty years ago.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the cans in Lin Yan’s arms and unceremoniously reached for one: “You brought these out? Perfect, I’m a bit hungry.”
Just as he opened the can, Wu Xie paused, looked at Fatty wolfing it down, at Lin Yan eating with oil all over his mouth, then at the can in his own hand, and looked up at the only one with empty hands, Zhang Qiling… Recalling that threatening feeling of being stared at while eating, he cautiously asked: “Do you want some too?”
Lin Yan looked at Zhang Qiling’s face; he still had that indifferent expression, but his quietly moving Adam’s apple and slightly widened eyes revealed his answer.
That look was filled with one big word: “Want!”
Already planning to give him a share, Lin Yan readily handed him a meat can and a vegetable can. Now everyone had a can. Whatever happens, better discuss after eating. After so many shocks, just now running and suppressing the Forbidden Woman while expending so much energy, honestly, not being hungry would be superhuman!
Good grief, was this already a routine tea party?
After finishing the food and burying the cans on the spot, Lin Yan let out a satisfied burp: “So, what’s the situation now? Why not hurry to get out?”
Wu Xie checked his watch: “It’s nearly five hours until the tide recedes. Waiting for low tide to dig through the top is the fastest way out. Of course, if oxygen runs low before that, we’ll have to leave early.”
“Dig through? Make a tomb-robbing hole at the top?” Fatty thought of the treasure ceiling inlaid with luminous pearls, reluctant, looking pained: “When digging, can we take down a few luminous pearls to bring out?”
Wu Xie smiled and shook his head: “Others might not know, but we do. These luminous pearls were just treasures in ancient times; they’re actually stones with radiation. No one would want them if you bring them back, unless you say where you got them from…”
Fatty fell silent, smacked his lips, and sighed regretfully. Looked like he gave up.
Lin Yan looked at the deep corridor stretching out of sight, asking Wu Xie: “Since there’s still time, should we go in and take a look?” He glanced at Zhang Qiling and saw his attention fixed deep in the corridor; clearly couldn’t stop him. But whether he goes alone or everyone goes, that was still up for discussion.
Zhang Qiling glanced at them: “I want to go in again. What happened twenty years ago is a huge knot in my heart. If I don’t go in again, I’ll never get over it in this lifetime. You don’t need to accompany me.”
Wu Xie was a bit worried: “Still that problem, what if you lose your memory again?”
Zhang Qiling didn’t budge, glanced at him without answering; clearly dead set on going in.
Fatty suddenly remembered something: “What if you go in and can’t come out within six hours? Won’t you suffocate here? If we don’t go with you, we won’t know what happens to you, and can’t save you even if we want to.”
Zhang Qiling hesitated a bit, clearly thinking of that point too. Fatty saw hope in persuading him and pressed on: “Besides, it doesn’t have to be now. We can go out first, come back with equipment later; it’s the same. This tomb won’t run away!”
Hearing Fatty say that, Lin Yan nodded too: “Fatty makes sense. How about you don’t go in yet? Right, you said earlier you smelled a strange fragrance before passing out. We’ve been in here so long, but haven’t smelled any strange fragrance.”
Zhang Qiling’s body stiffened slightly, and he said to them: “That fragrance should be the Forbidden Woman’s scent!”
Mentioning the Forbidden Woman, all three had fear and disdain in their eyes.
“The Forbidden Woman we just forced back?”
Lin Yan rubbed his chin thoughtfully: “If the Forbidden Woman can get in here, there must be a passage from here to outside! Do you remember where we came in from?”
Everyone recalled the stone slab pushed up by the Forbidden Woman underwater when they entered, and nodded.
Fatty scratched his head: “After all this talk, do we really have to go in and check? Or play it safe and exit from the top?”
More paths meant more choices; everyone hesitated a bit. The benefits of exiting through the passage were obvious: this tomb would be maximally preserved for future visits. But still, what if they ended up like Zhang Qiling twenty years ago, passing out and amnesiac?
Time was running out. Subtracting time reserved for making a tomb-robbing hole or traversing the corridor, they had to decide within the next hour at latest.
