Densely packed snakes slithered toward Chu Qingmeng, one pressing over the other. Chu Qingmeng watched in a daze, and only when she realized the snakes were less than a meter away did she snap back to reality. She hurriedly hurled her entrenching tool toward the cave opening, but the more anxious she got, the clumsier she became. She missed twice in a row, and it wasn't until the third try that she finally threw it through the opening. Clutching the rope tightly, Chu Qingmeng scrambled up and quickly pulled the rope up after getting inside. However, the rope was already crawling with snakes. Chu Qingmeng whipped the rope back and forth violently, shaking the snakes off before pulling it all the way up. She took out a bottle of alcohol, intending to pour it and start a fire, only to find that the snakes seemed unable to climb out of that area; they merely clustered together below, crawling about in a chaotic mass, with not a single one able to scale the stone wall. Looking at the snake swarm that couldn't reach her, Chu Qingmeng let out a heavy sigh of relief, collapsed against the edge of the cave entrance, and let out a helpless, bitter laugh. It looked like this scene would haunt her as a lifelong trauma.
Catching her breath, Chu Qingmeng used a lighter to illuminate the cave before her. The cave wound around in all directions, and the cave walls weren't as smooth as the ones along the path they had just taken; it looked as though it had been hastily dug out. A flash of inspiration struck Chu Qingmeng. Right! Why hadn't she thought of it before? Didn't the legend say that ancient craftsmen would leave escape routes to avoid being silenced by the tomb owners?! This must be it! Joy spread uncontrollably across Chu Qingmeng's face, and she quickly got to her feet. But upon seeing the two branching paths—one leading left and the other right—she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Not again, not again. Why did she have to choose again?!
After struggling in agony for half an hour, Chu Qingmeng gritted her teeth and headed left. Yet the moment she saw the scene before her, she knew she had made a colossal mistake. This tunnel actually led to a small platform, which stood roughly two meters above the ground. Below the platform was a jumble of coffins scattered about in complete disorder. But that wasn't the main point—the main point was, why did she see people dressed in ancient garments?! Why weren't these people in the coffins? And why were they surrounding a young girl, as if protecting her? And what about that person over there—why did their hairstyle look so familiar? Why was that standing posture so bizarre?
Before she could process it, Chu Qingmeng saw the people in ancient attire at the front rush toward that familiar-looking figure, kicking its neck askew. When the tattoo of a star on its neck was exposed, Chu Qingmeng finally realized where she had seen it before! This—wasn't this the tomb raider who had died in that "drainage ditch"? The gun in her own hand even belonged to him!
"What the hell!" Chu Qingmeng blurted out. "Hey, buddy! Are you still alive? Are the ancient people down there zombies?"
Chu Qingmeng's Lion's Roar successfully drew the attention of Mo Chenfeng and his group. Right after she shouted, she watched as that tomb raider was kicked to the ground. Following that, Chu Qingmeng got a clear look at its face: the entire face was corroded beyond recognition, and one of its eyeballs had popped out of its socket from the previous beating, dangling by a single blood vessel. Its neck was kicked askew, one of its legs was broken, and its arm was bent backward at an unnatural angle. Yet, even now, it struggled to its feet, charging at the group of ancient people with an even more bizarre gait. Strictly speaking, it was no longer human.
Seeing its true form churned Chu Qingmeng's stomach. Feeling weak all over, she leaned against the stone wall and slowly slid down to a sitting position. After taking two deep breaths to barely suppress the nausea, she rested for a moment and prepared to get up and leave—having a group of ancient people beat up a reanimated tomb raider in an ancient tomb was a scene of indescribable bizarreness.
Just as she was about to leave, however, the young girl below cried out in alarm, "Help!"
Chu Qingmeng's pupils constricted. Without thinking, she instinctively drew her pistol and fired with a *bang*. The leg of the second reanimated tomb raider, which had been lunging at the girl, buckled instantly, sending it crashing to its knees. At the same time, the men protecting the young girl turned around and kicked the second reanimated tomb raider flat to the ground.
Chu Qingmeng frowned as she looked at the ancient people below. She understood what the young girl had just said, but why didn't she remember any novel or television drama where zombies could speak human language? Whatever, what did it have to do with her anyway? They couldn't threaten her, and getting out of here right now was the top priority.
Yet just as Chu Qingmeng turned back around to leave, a greyish-blue dead face pressed right up against hers. Truly face-to-face—she had just been spectacularly jumpscared by the third reanimated tomb raider. Panic seized Chu Qingmeng, her foot slipped, and down she fell yet again.
Fortunately, this time, crashing to the ground didn't hurt as much as she expected. Chu Qingmeng propped herself up with her hands, wanting to stand, only to find that the ground felt soft? No! Had she crashed on top of someone?! What the hell?! No way! It couldn't be! Surely she hadn't landed on one of those ancient people?!
While Chu Qingmeng was still dazed, a voice floated up from beneath her: "Miss, if you're done falling, you can get up now."