The Informal Tomb Raiding Diary: She is the occupant of the tomb!-Chapter 217 - 218: Earthquake

I think it’s highly unlikely that the owner of the gold coffin fabricated fake images to deceive me. She didn’t know I knew Chen Xiaonuan; she merely recorded what happened inside the ’grave’ after her death.

Camera—this is one of her abilities.

If I’m not good at comforting people, then I should support Qinghan through my actions; what I have to investigate can be postponed.

"First, I’ll help you find her. That’s something I promised you long ago."

Helping Qinghan find his sister was something we agreed upon early on. He has already fulfilled his promise by giving me a legal identity and arranging a job. Now it’s my turn to fulfill my vow.

In a way, we stumbled across Chen Xiaonuan’s whereabouts by chance, saving us the trouble of renting a boat and setting out to sea ourselves, which is quite fortunate.

Qinghan has probably been restless these past few days, his heart rising and falling, with hope extinguished and reignited, leading to all kinds of speculation.

But I can’t understand why he suddenly left a will; it felt very out of place because he doesn’t seem like someone who would give up easily, whether regarding life’s goals or his own life.

"If this island is going to be destroyed soon, are your things not urgent?"

"Destroyed? That would be good. I’m more worried if it’s not destroyed—that would be troublesome."

"You always leave me speechless."

"Doesn’t your conscience hurt? You never lack words when talking about me."

"I heard them mention the underground, about the secret chamber in the White Jade City palace; there should be more underground buildings on the island. In Xiaonuan’s video background, there are walls and relief sculptures." Qinghan’s abrupt transition felt like he was racing against time.

"Why doesn’t she come up? Does the welder know her?" In my anxiety, I blurted out the nickname I gave to the Shield’s little brother.

"She seems to be restoring something. Those people called her Ao something Na. That’s not her English name; it could be an alias."

"What? Doesn’t Mary Su have a stronghold on the island? Maybe Xiaonuan is working for her, you know...like a miner." When he mentioned Ao something Na, my heart tightened, and I quickly searched for a topic to change the subject.

I have a guess, but it still needs verification. Saying it now would only make Qinghan uncomfortable prematurely.

It seems that although our reasons for remaining here are different, our objectives are the same.

"Should we go after Old Bi now? We should still have time."

"I think we can wait for her to come out on her own." Qinghan’s face changed fast enough—from looking like he was ready to bid farewell to the world, to suddenly becoming a calm and composed little adventurer.

Living people are not just changeable; they are particularly complex. Sometimes, their emotions change as quickly as switching TV channels with a remote control.

I don’t have the talent to fathom every inner activity of a living person. As long as Qinghan isn’t suicidal, that’s enough for me.

The crazy animals didn’t return to White Jade City to attack us. When we walked out of the palace, the streets were filled with blood and shreds of flesh.

The welder dragged many with him before he died. The white streets seemed like a canvas, painted with one bloody landscape after another—expressive if you want expression, abstract if you want abstraction.

"Little Fu, who told you that Xiaonuan was dead? I’m curious; there was no one else down there at the time." Qinghan asked suddenly, but his curiosity was understandable.

At the time, it was just me and the Silver Horned King in the mine, and no other living creature. Qinghan believed me after just a word, which already showed great trust in me.

But thinking back, it’s normal for him to have doubts. The horn on the Silver Horned King’s head had been dug out by the workers only a couple of days before; if I said it was it who told me, it wouldn’t be very credible.

"An... old acquaintance, of the same kind." I left out the person’s name: "Even after her death, a part of her brain still functioned, recording events inside the mountain. I saw her post-mortem memory video. After Xiaonuan and her teammate separated, she walked alone into a branch passageway and found the underground hole where the gold coffin was located. Originally, there were some surface buildings constructed above the hive; those buildings had become scorpion nests. She disturbed the scorpion swarm; even though she ran quickly, she was stung a dozen times. Eventually, she fled to the edge of a pond and fell in... never to emerge again."

I recounted the scene I ’saw’ in its entirety, without any concealment.

So when Qinghan said that Chen Xiaonuan was still alive, I was truly surprised.

The appearance of this ’unexpected’ development forced me to reevaluate my previous assumptions.

"Is the person in the gold coffin one of your kind?"

"Yes, it’s quite complicated to explain, but she has this ability, similar to a camera. As long as her body is intact after death, she can keep recording."

Encountering the graves of my kind everywhere is beyond my control, especially since I couldn’t even touch the edge of the gold coffin. I couldn’t pry away any gemstones from it—watching without selling is infuriating!

"Why did you say the island would soon be destroyed?" Though things are chaotic on the island today, I can’t see any signs of imminent destruction.

"Some people have very simple ways of handling problems." Qinghan gave me a look, suggesting I figure it out on my own.

"Are you saying a submarine from the Shield’s side, if they think the situation on the island is out of control, would use..." I gestured by spreading my hand, mimicking an ’explosion’ action.

"Yes."

"Oh! You’re worried you won’t have time to leave and might get bombed by them? I thought you were going to hang yourself because you couldn’t find Xiaonuan."

"If it’s possible, I’ll try to stay alive." Qinghan looked at me with ’deep affection,’ "I dug you out. If one day you cause chaos on earth, it’s my responsibility to bury you back."

"Heh heh? You wish! Do you think you’ll live longer than me? After a century, when you’re gone, I’ll reappear as the Great King to cause havoc."

"Oh... right." Qinghan nodded, suddenly enlightened.

From his expression, I sensed a hint of danger. What did he mean by this? Does he plan to take me with him when he dies?

But I can’t die. Being buried with him would make me a sacrificial burial object, wouldn’t it?

I was about to say that human sacrifices are not allowed anymore, advising him not to break the law when suddenly, the ground beneath my feet started trembling. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Qinghan’s complexion changed dramatically, and he quickly grabbed my hand, dashing towards the city outskirts.

The tremors intensified, causing some buildings within White Jade City to collapse; the city, having stood for thousands of years, withstood wind and rain, but not the earthquake.

Qinghan was leading me out of the city, likely to avoid getting crushed by falling stones.

This tremor seemed to come from the island itself, not due to an outside explosion.

We ran along the corridor outside the city. Suddenly, Qinghan stopped, looked upwards.

Above the island appeared many golden threads, weaving a net. They emitted a faint golden glow, not harsh to the eyes.

"Oh dear... oh dear... what is this?" I stared at the golden threads in mid-air as they interconnected, forming a giant net, covering the island’s sky.