Tomb raider: You're going to extract my alien bloodline?

Chapter 54 Heading to the Sanatorium

Two vans kicked up a trail of yellow dust on the dilapidated road before finally stopping in front of a building whose original color had been eroded by time.

Golmud Sanatorium.

This place stands alone on a desolate piece of land, far from any village or shop, like a festering sore forgotten by time. Half of the wall has collapsed, and it is surrounded by weeds. The main building is in the old-fashioned style of the Republic of China era.

Few windows were intact; they were dark, gaping holes like skull eye sockets. The wind howled in through the broken doors and windows, swirling up sand and scraps of paper. The air was thick with dust, mold, and an indescribable, musty smell.

"Wow, this place is so nice, you wouldn't even need an extra set to film a horror movie." Black Bear jumped out of the car, adjusted his sunglasses, and his tone was neither disgusted nor excited.

Zhang Qiling also got out of the car, looked up at the building, his face expressionless, but his eyes were more somber than usual.

Qin Yuan was the last to come down. He was also wearing sunglasses and gloves, and he took a deep breath. There was not only the smell of dust, but also a faint lingering smell of disinfectant mixed with some kind of decay.

Aning and her people acted quickly, clearing away debris at the entrance and placing simple lighting equipment in several key locations.

"Gentlemen," Ah Ning walked over, holding a yellowed architectural floor plan. "This is the most detailed drawing we could find. The target is in the basement, specifically next to an abandoned boiler room, which may have been used as a temporary morgue. Intelligence indicates there's an old-fashioned coffin there, and the contents are hidden in a secret chamber beneath it." She circled a corner of the drawing with her pen.

"A plate hidden under a coffin? What kind of taste is that?" Black Bear clicked his tongue.

"Once we get the stuff, we'll leave immediately." Ah Ning ignored his complaints and glanced at Qin Yuan and the other two. "The structure inside is complex and has been abandoned for many years. We can't rule out the possibility of partial collapses or other living creatures. Please be careful."

The plan is simple and straightforward: go straight in, find the basement, grab the stuff, and leave.

The group, armed with flashlights, kicked open the half-collapsed iron gate and entered the lobby on the first floor of the sanatorium.

The inside was even more dilapidated than the outside, with large patches of plaster peeling off the walls, revealing the bricks and mold underneath. Abandoned hospital bed frames, rusted wheelchairs, broken glass bottles, and thick layers of dust were scattered on the floor. A flashlight beam swept across the walls, revealing faded remnants of slogans, and the air was thick with a suffocating, musty smell.

As Qin Yuan walked, he surveyed his surroundings. Apart from the rustling of rats and some insects, he did not find any major threats for the time being.

Just as they were crossing the hall, preparing to find the stairs leading to the basement, Qin Yuan paused, his brows furrowing slightly behind his sunglasses.

He smelled a familiar scent coming from somewhere upstairs.

He knew that aura all too well; he could feel that innocent charm even over the phone over the past few months.

"What's wrong, little brother? Did you find something precious?" Black Bear was walking next to Qin Yuan and immediately noticed his slight pause.

Qin Yuan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned his head slightly and glanced towards the stairs, a somewhat helpless yet amused smile curving his lips.

"It's nothing," he said in a low voice, with a hint of teasing, "it just seems... to smell a familiar, eerie odor."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiling stopped and looked up at the dark staircase.

Black Bear's interest was piqued. His gaze, hidden behind his sunglasses, shifted between Qin Yuan and Zhang Qiling: "Oh? An acquaintance? You can run into an acquaintance in this godforsaken place? Dumb, do you know him?"

Zhang Qiling remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Qin Yuan nodded, his tone certain: "If I'm not mistaken, the person upstairs is probably our little naive one who's come to us again. Quite bold, coming to a place like this all by herself."

"Little Naïve?" Black Bear paused for a moment, then seemed to remember something and exclaimed "Oh~" with a drawn-out tone, a playful smile on his face.

He nudged Zhang Qiling beside him with his elbow, deliberately lowering his voice but still speaking in a volume all three could hear: "Dumb guy, upstairs wouldn't happen to be... that child bride you've been thinking about all the time, would it?"

Zhang Qiling: "..."

Qin Yuan suppressed a laugh and answered for the young man: "Most likely, in this world, the only person who can combine curiosity and bad luck so perfectly, and appear in this place at this time, is Wu Xie. I can't think of anyone else."

Black Bear chuckled, rubbing his hands together eagerly: "Interesting! I've heard so much about this guy, the kind of person who can make even a mute lose their temper. Come on, let's go up and say hello first, before the kid gets into trouble up there."

Hearing their conversation, Ah Ning walked over, her brows furrowing slightly: "Wu Xie? What's he doing here?" She knew the relationship between Wu Xie and Wu Sansheng, so his presence here at this moment was no coincidence.

"He might be following clues from his third uncle, or he might have found something out on his own," Qin Yuan analyzed. "In any case, we can't let him wander around up there alone; this place is eerie."

After a moment's thought, Ah Ning made a decision: "We'll split up. Mr. Zhang and Blackie will continue to retrieve the items from the basement as planned. Mr. Qin, you're most familiar with the Third Master Wujia, so take him out and make sure he's safe. I'll go back and have someone send a car to wait for you at the entrance. Leave as soon as you get the items."

This arrangement was reasonable, and Qin Yuan and the other two had no objections.

"Be careful," Ah Ning said as a final word before turning and walking towards the gate.

Just as Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi were about to make their move, Qin Yuan suddenly called out to them, "Alright, don't go off in different directions. Young Master is going down to the basement. Let's go together." With that, he turned around and stepped onto the dilapidated staircase leading to the basement.

The stairs creaked and groaned, as if they might collapse at any moment. The deeper you went, the faint, musty smell seemed to fade, but another, almost imperceptible fragrance became more pronounced.

Qin Yuan walked at the front. The basement was even darker, and most of the doors to the surrounding rooms were crooked or wide open, and the rooms were pitch black inside, like mouths waiting to devour something.

At the end of the staircase lay a spacious hall, where the strange fragrance in the air grew stronger, a cloying sweetness tinged with decay that sent chills down one's spine. A flashlight beam shone through, revealing a dark, old-fashioned coffin prominently displayed in the center.

The coffin lid was covered with a thick layer of dust, which gleamed eerily in the dim light.

"Hmph, they really are waiting here." Black Bear whistled, took a few steps forward, and tapped the coffin lid with his flashlight, producing a dull thud. "Mute, want to lend a hand?"

Zhang Qiling stepped forward, and the two of them, one on each side, inserted their fingers into the gaps in the coffin lid. Without them even trying, the seemingly heavy coffin lid creaked open, creating an opening large enough for one person to pass through.

Black Bear peeked inside and chuckled, "Hey, it's empty! There's a ladder underneath." He moved swiftly, put the flashlight in his mouth, braced himself against the edge of the coffin, and jumped straight in.

"Wait here, I'm going downstairs to clean up the plates!"

The sound of him landing and groping could be heard from below, mixed with a few mumbled muttered words: "This smell... is strong enough..."

Qin Yuan and Zhang Qiling stood beside the coffin, one adjusting his sunglasses, the other gazing silently into the darkness within, waiting.