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

Chapter 7 Concentrated Sulfuric Acid and Pesticides

Qin Yuan and Zhang Qiling jumped down from the tunnel entrance one after the other, their bodies falling about two or three meters in the darkness before landing on the ground. Using their headlamps and the flickering firelight below, they quickly made out their surroundings.

This was an even wider underground space than the tomb passage above, resembling an abandoned riverbed or a huge fissure. The sides were uneven rock walls, and the ground was rugged, scattered with boulders and skeletons. Not far ahead of them, Fatty and Wuxie stood back to back, each holding a makeshift torch. In the torchlight, their faces looked extremely pale, their foreheads covered in cold sweat.

Surrounding them was a dark, surging mass of corpse beetles! These fist-sized insects, with their shiny black shells and menacing mouthparts, were layered upon each other, making a chilling rustling sound as they tightened their encirclement.

The torch flames seemed to have a deterrent effect on them, keeping them from getting too close, but the swarm was simply too numerous, advancing wave after wave, the flames flickering, and it looked like they were about to collapse.

"Little Blackie! Brother! You've finally arrived! Quickly think of a way! I'm about to become these bugs' snack!" Fatty saw the two jump down and was overjoyed, his voice trembling with tears.

Wu Xie was both surprised and delighted, but mostly fearful, and his hand holding the torch was trembling slightly.

Just then, the swarm of insects seemed to become even more restless due to the addition of new prey. Several exceptionally large corpse beetles suddenly broke through the intimidation of the firelight, flapped their wings and took flight, rushing straight at Qin Yuan and Zhang Qiling who were standing at the front!

Zhang Qiling's eyes turned cold. Without even drawing his sword, he simply flicked his fingers like lightning, leaving only a blur in his wake, and accurately deflected two corpse beetles that flew towards him. Their shells shattered, and juices gushed out.

Almost at the same time, another corpse beetle pounced on Qin Yuan's arm, its ferocious mouthparts biting down on his flesh!

"Watch out!" Wu Xie exclaimed.

Qin Yuan remained calm and unhurried; he didn't even try to swat it away. Just as the corpse beetle was about to bite, he subtly controlled the flow of blood from beneath the skin about to be bitten—this was an ability he gained after gaining initial control over his bloodline, allowing him to control a small amount of blood to seep from his skin.

"laugh--!"

A soft sound, like a red-hot iron being plunged into cold water, rang out. The moment the ferocious corpse beetle came into contact with his blood, before it could even scream, its entire body began to smoke at a visible speed, rapidly dissolving and carbonizing, eventually turning into a small clump of black ash that fell softly from Qin Yuan's arm.

The remaining blood dripped through the black ash onto the ground, corroding a small pit before being completely consumed.

This scene left the fat man, who was about to step forward to help, speechless, and made the nervous Wu Xie stare wide-eyed. Even Zhang Qiling, who had been expressionless, once again turned his gaze to Qin Yuan, a faint ripple passing through the depths of his indifferent eyes.

Qin Yuan's blood has such terrifying corrosive properties?!

However, the crisis was not over, and more carrion beetles were still swarming in.

Without further hesitation, Zhang Qiling extended his right index finger and, with an extremely slight stroke of the tip of his black gold ancient sword, a drop of bright red blood oozed out. The blood seemed to be more vibrant in color than that of ordinary blood, and under the firelight, it faintly shimmered with an imperceptible pale golden halo.

He flicked the drop of blood with his finger, and the blood bead drew an arc in the air before landing in the densest part of the corpse beetle swarm.

The next moment, something strange happened.

Centered on the spot where the drop of blood fell, an invisible yet immense pressure suddenly spread out! The previously restless and ferocious corpse beetles, as if encountering their natural enemy, let out terrified and shrill screechs, retreating like a tide, crushing and trampling each other in chaos, as if a single moment's hesitation would mean annihilation. In just a few breaths, the dark swarm of insects had completely receded, leaving only a mess on the ground and the lingering, strange fragrance of Zhang Qiling's blood.

"Holy crap..." The fat man stared at this miraculous scene for a long time before he could close his mouth. He looked at Zhang Qiling, then at Qin Yuan, his eyes filled with the same disbelief he felt for two monsters. "You...you two...what are you all about? One's blood is like sulfuric acid, and the other's blood is like insecticide turned into magic..."

Wu Xie was also still shaken. Looking at Zhang Qiling and Qin Yuan, his eyes were filled with complex emotions, including gratitude, as well as undisguised shock and curiosity.

"Stop talking nonsense, let's go!" Qin Yuan interrupted the fat man's exclamation. He heard the faint roar of the blood corpse coming from the flip-up panel above and knew that this place was not safe to stay.

"Right, right, right! Let's go!" The fat man realized what was happening and quickly pointed to an inconspicuous cave entrance on the rock wall to the side, which required climbing to reach, and shouted, "Panzi is up there to meet us! There's a rope!"

The group quickly ran to the foot of the rock wall and, sure enough, saw a rope hanging down from the dark hole above.

"Panzi! Pull us up!" the fat man shouted toward the cave entrance.

Pan Zi peeked out from the cave entrance, his face slightly pale. Seeing that the four people below were unharmed, and especially relieved to see Zhang Qiling and Qin Yuan there as well, he visibly relaxed. "Quick! One by one!"

The fat man grabbed the rope first and climbed up using both hands and feet. Next was Wu Xie, who, although somewhat exhausted, also struggled to climb up driven by his survival instinct.

When it was Qin Yuan's turn, he grabbed the rope, easily used the leverage, and with a few leaps, he reached the cave entrance. Zhang Qiling, on the other hand, followed closely behind silently, as if weightless.

The entrance led to a narrow tomb passage, which was drier than the space below. Pan Zi was leaning against the tomb passage wall, panting heavily, his face pale, one hand pressed tightly against his abdomen, and his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"Panzi, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Wuxie immediately noticed Panzi's unusual condition and asked with concern.

Pan Zi gritted his teeth, shook his head, and tried to say something, but suddenly coughed, his face turning even more pale.

Zhang Qiling walked up to Pan Zi, squatted down, and swept his cold eyes over his abdomen. Without saying a word, he pulled Pan Zi's hand away from his stomach and lifted his clothes.

On the left side of Pan Zi's abdomen, there was a wound that had stopped bleeding but was slightly swollen and had blackened edges, looking like it had been cut by something sharp. But more importantly, it seemed that something could be seen inside the skin!

"This...this is..." Wu Xie was so frightened that he took a half step back.

"It's a corpse beetle." Zhang Qiling's voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty. "It was inside before, and it's already dead." He had previously smelled a very faint, peculiar odor from the rotting internal organs of a corpse beetle on Pan Zi.

"What?!" Fatty and Wuxie were both stunned.

Pan Zi nodded weakly and said with difficulty, "When I was dodging the bugs earlier, I was accidentally scratched, but I didn't pay attention... I just felt... something moving in my stomach..."

Zhang Qiling said no more. He extended his two incredibly long and steady fingers and gently pressed them near the wound on Pan Zi's abdomen, feeling the location of the dead beetle.

A moment later, his eyes narrowed, and he suddenly exerted force with two fingers, probing into the wound with lightning speed!

Pan Zi grunted, veins bulging on his forehead, and he clenched his teeth tightly, not uttering a sound.

The next second, Zhang Qiling's fingers retracted, his fingertips holding a black corpse beetle that was already stiff, stained with blood and some abdominal tissue! He threw the corpse beetle on the ground; the insect was motionless, clearly already dead.

Despite his discomfort, Wu Xie quickly took out his first-aid kit and went to clean Pan Zi's wounds, apply medicine, and bandage them.

The hidden danger in Pan Zi's abdomen was removed. Although the wound was still painful, his complexion had improved slightly. However, the blood loss and the previous fright had left him very weak, making it difficult for him to even stand up.

"This won't work, Panzi can't walk." The fat man frowned.

Qin Yuan looked at the weak Pan Zi, then at the unknown tomb passage ahead, took a deep breath, and stepped forward, squatting down in front of Pan Zi: "I'll carry him on my back."

Everyone was stunned. Pan Zi struggled to refuse, "No...no need, Brother Qin, I...I can manage..."

"Don't push yourself." Qin Yuan's tone left no room for argument. "We don't know what's ahead. We need to get out of here as soon as possible and rejoin Third Master. In your current state, going alone will only slow everyone down."

The fat man patted Qin Yuan on the shoulder without saying anything, and Wu Xie looked at Qin Yuan gratefully.

Zhang Qiling merely glanced at Qin Yuan, which could be considered tacit approval.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Pan Zi didn't insist any further and said in a low voice, "...Thanks, Brother Qin."

Qin Yuan carried Pan Zi steadily on his back. Although Pan Zi wasn't fat, he wasn't light, but for Qin Yuan, whose body had been enhanced, it wasn't too much of a burden.

"Let's go." Zhang Qiling said succinctly, and took the lead into the depths of the tomb passage.