Chapter 86: Please, Just Shut Up!
Just then, a harsh, prolonged sound came from above their heads, accompanied by the eerie creaking of iron bars. The group knew this was the sound of the waterproof layer above the treasure ceiling completely exploding and about to collapse. It wouldn’t be long before seawater would pour in madly from above, turning the entire tomb chamber into a watery country.
Fatty looked up at that hole with some worry: “Although I haven’t experienced this kind of thing much, when the seawater rushes down, won’t it form a vortex here? Then we wouldn’t have to take another spin in the washing machine? If we can’t get out of that hole, won’t we really drown here?”
Wu Xie reassured him: “Don’t worry, did you feel that surge from under our feet just now? In a bit, the seawater should also rush out from underground, so it won’t form a vortex. But the seawater will rise very quickly then, we need to be prepared, watch for the right moment to get out of the hole, wait, haven’t we forgotten something?”
“Huh? Forgotten what? We’ve got the equipment, the wounds are treated, oh right!” Fatty smacked his palm: “Oxygen tank! Did you guys find those two oxygen tanks from before?”
Zhang Qiling pointed to where the stone disk had been: “There’s one there, but it was destroyed by the explosion. The other one, I don’t know.”
Wu Xie quietly raised his hand: “That one… there’s another one that seems to be in the ruins beside me… but it’s all crushed flat, can it still be used?”
Who the hell knows if a crushed oxygen tank can still be used?!
The four looked at each other, and finally decided to abandon the oxygen tanks, challenge their breath-holding limits, and see if they could make it up. Logically, there was still half an hour from sea level to the lowest point, even if the sea level was high, it couldn’t be more than a few meters higher. If they tried hard, maybe they could all get out alive.
But, hadn’t they forgotten something else? Wu Xie always felt like there was some important thing forgotten, but he just couldn’t remember.
“Lin Yan, do you still remember if there’s anything else we need to bring?” Wu Xie quietly pulled Lin Yan over and asked him in a low voice. For some reason, he always felt that Fatty and Zhang Qiling had remembered something but just didn’t tell him. That oxygen tank excuse was too far-fetched, not like something Fatty would say.
Lin Yan thought for a moment: “Equipment’s packed, oxygen tanks ditched, everyone’s here, everyone’s here? Holy shit, I remember! We forgot the boat ticket! Where did that woman go?”
Wu Xie then remembered there was also A Ning, who had been scared silly and tied up like a zombie by them! “Where’s A Ning? Did any of you see her? She didn’t die, did she?”
Zhang Qiling and Fatty both shook their heads, but Lin Yan saw Zhang Qiling’s gaze flicker slightly to the side… damn, what does that classic detective trick say? The suspect subconsciously looks where the evidence is? Translated, does that mean Zhang Qiling the Mute Bottle saw A Ning but doesn’t want to tell them? And Fatty too? When did they reach an agreement? He wants A Ning to get out alive that badly?
No, isn’t he the ironclad Wu Xie faction? He can still keep this woman? Or… does it have to do with some scheme between A Ning and him later? Like, using the company behind A Ning needs her to make connections? Then how did he convince Fatty? Fatty’s vindictive personality doesn’t seem like he’d let this woman go either.
It had to be said, Lin Yan had actually guessed right! But what he didn’t expect was that Zhang Qiling’s reason for convincing Fatty was very simple: anyway, she’s already gone silly and won’t run, it’s normal for her to die here when the tomb collapses, even if they go up, A Ning’s company won’t trouble them. So Fatty very readily let A Ning go to her death—never expecting that Zhang Qiling’s words were meant to let A Ning live!
Lin Yan walked to the spot Zhang Qiling had glanced at, and sure enough, he found several broken sections of rope on the ground and a few bloodstains. As for A Ning, there wasn’t even half a shadow of her… she really ran away!
Lin Yan walked back with a stinky face. Seeing his bad expression, Wu Xie hurriedly asked him: “You suddenly ran over there, did you discover something?” Lin Yan glanced at Zhang Qiling, seeing his face completely unmoved, and cursed inwardly that he was a real scheming old fox, not even blinking when lying. Reluctantly, he told Wu Xie: “She ran away! I just found the rope we used to tie her over there. The explosion must have cut the rope with something, and this woman broke free and ran!”
Wu Xie was dumbfounded: “So, she was faking it?” Fatty also looked at Zhang Qiling in surprise, only to get a puzzled shake of the head from Zhang Qiling. Lin Yan watched this scene and cursed inwardly: Keep pretending! Keep pretending! If I could beat you right now…
Suddenly, for some reason, the ground under their feet shook violently. The injured Wu Xie and Fatty almost couldn’t stand steady and nearly sat down hard on the ground, barely held up by Zhang Qiling and Lin Yan.
“What’s going on?” Although Wu Xie had said seawater would rush up from underground, Fatty still panicked at this point. Wu Xie endured the dull pain in his ribs and reassured him: “It’s fine, didn’t I just say… holy shit!” Before he finished speaking, a surge of water rushed the stone slab blocking the tomb-robbing hole up seven or eight meters high, landing right on that golden silk nanmu pillar!
The crack on the pillar grew larger, the trickle of seawater from above completely stopped, but everyone knew this was the prelude to a storm, that beam above was about to break completely!
Seawater erupted from underground, quickly pooling a layer. The water level kept rising. Wu Xie had good eyesight and saw something black seeming to be swept up with the water flow, then quickly submerged again. He thought for a moment—that tomb-robbing hole had nothing else in it besides the Forbidden Woman!
He felt terrible all over and hurriedly tried to pinpoint the Forbidden Woman’s position so everyone could avoid her. But according to Murphy’s Law, the more you don’t want something to happen, the more likely it is. In the blink of an eye, the water flow had submerged the Forbidden Woman, and he couldn’t see her position at all!
“We’re done for, the Forbidden Woman!” Lin Yan looked at the anxious Wu Xie, not reacting for a moment, but when he saw the tomb-robbing hole turned into a water column, he also felt terrible: “I say Wu Xie, this Forbidden Woman isn’t heading for you again, is she?”
Wu Xie only felt extreme inner irritation, scratched his head and gave him a sideways glare: “Just shut up. Every time something happens, if you say it, it’s bound to happen. I don’t want to really get entangled by the Forbidden Woman!”
No sooner had he spoken than he felt his ankle being entangled again.
He stiffened his face and looked at Lin Yan resentfully: “Please don’t speak next time, okay?”
“Huh?” Lin Yan hadn’t reacted yet when Wu Xie lightning-fast drew his dagger and put it in his hand: “You said it, the Forbidden Woman has entangled my ankle. Looking at me like this, do I seem like I can bend down?!”
“Holy shit, it’s really down there?” Lin Yan panicked too—he didn’t want Wu Xie to accompany the Forbidden Woman in death! So he hurriedly took the dagger and started cutting at the Forbidden Woman’s hair downward. Fatty sighed: “Sigh, day after day, no peace.” Saying that, he also quickly picked up a dagger and joined the hair-cutting effort—no choice, he was beside Wu Xie, and the Forbidden Woman had entangled him too.
(Fatty: Calamity from the blue.jpg)
