The Informal Tomb Raiding Diary: She is the occupant of the tomb!-Chapter 245 - 246: Scaring People

I was born in the era of the Tower Clan’s downfall, so in my memory, our clan had no ties with them, only knowing some stories about them.

The story of the Rock Miners is one of them. If not for encountering them here and hearing what they said, I might not have remembered it at all.

The ancestors of the Tower Clan were not born underground; they were a group that moved from the surface to underground, whereas the Rock Miners were native Underground People.

The Tower Clan captured them, making them mine and build cities for them. It’s said they have an average lifespan of a thousand years, eat rocks, possess great strength, but are not good at fighting. To put it bluntly, they’re gentle and easy to bully. As for their final destination, no one knows.

Now, the mining chief seeks my help, saying they’ve been controlled by another extremely evil creature, forcing them to go out and capture humans.

It was only a few days since they last captured someone. If they kept doing this so frequently, the locals would have noticed. So I asked the mining chief when they started capturing people.

It said it started a few days ago because someone awakened that evil creature.

I chatted with it for a while, asking what the thing that ages people quickly was. It showed me a small crystal tower, saying it was given by the evil creature. If they encountered difficult-to-capture people, they would pull off the tower’s spire, and the tower would absorb that person’s energy. Those whose energy was drained didn’t need to be taken back.

The mining chief respectfully presented the small tower, holding it out to me. I didn’t stand on ceremony, taking the tower and slipping it into my pocket.

Such a harmful evil object must not continue to spread outside; I must uphold justice!

"Lead the way in a moment, wait here first." I instructed before turning to find Qinghan and the others. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The man hiding in the bushes was grabbed by Xiao Changfeng, hands tied behind his back. After days of hunger, having just eaten a meal, he had no strength to struggle, hanging his head in resignation.

"Speak up, what are you guys doing in the mountains? Don’t say hunting, I have a witness." I winked at Qinghan, walked to the bound man, and sternly questioned him.

The evil creature woke a few days ago, and these poachers came into the mountains a few days ago. I don’t believe there’s no connection between the two.

Moreover, the police said they searched this forest thoroughly and found no hunting rifles or traps. They thought these people had hidden them, but now it seems they might not have come to poach, so naturally, they didn’t bring tools.

Saying they were poachers is because the police checked their hotel records and surveillance. Among these twelve people, eight had criminal records, all for poaching.

So even though their identities were of poachers, this trip into the mountain wasn’t necessarily for hunting.

Of course, this is just my speculation. The truth must be told by the surviving person himself.

"A witness? What witness? Impossible... impossible..." The man shook his head violently, muttering.

"Oh, well, they’re not humans, but they can testify." I suddenly smiled.

My smile startled the man so much that he shivered. Now, under the sparse moonlight, the crisscrossing shadows in the forest made everyone’s face look eerie. Smiling at this time might have no beauty, only making one feel strange.

"No, no, don’t come for me, it’s not my business!" The man, as if stimulated, dodged left and right, as if avoiding some entanglement.

"How could it not be your business? You’re the only one who escaped. Did you harm them?" I asked with a cold smile.

Gan Lu and Xiao Changfeng exchanged a look, gazing at Qinghan simultaneously.

Qinghan made a downward hand gesture, signaling them to stay calm and just watch me perform.

"I didn’t, it wasn’t me—" The man suddenly shouted, jumping in place. Xiao Changfeng nearly let him break free from control.

"Speak, tell us everything you know. No matter who comes for you, we can keep you alive." I took out the crystal tower from my pocket, shaking it in front of his eyes.

"No, no, how do you have this? Who are you?" The man dodged more fiercely, but Xiao Changfeng didn’t let him move. The man’s figure was thin, having starved for days, like a fragile little chicken under the tall Xiao Changfeng’s grip, held tightly.

"You know its power, yet won’t speak the truth?" I mimicked Qinghan’s smile, trying to make it as kind as possible.

"I’ll tell! Just don’t open it." The man’s eyes stared fearfully at the crystal tower, as if it were a man-eating beast.

From his reaction, he must have seen with his own eyes how the crystal tower drained his companion’s energy.

"Alright, go ahead." I put away the crystal tower, slipping it back into my pocket.

"We... we were paid by someone to do a job for her." The man’s mind was certainly in chaos, speaking haltingly, but as he continued, he became more fluent.

He said his name was Li Chengming, one of the few in their group without a criminal record, as he originally wasn’t a poacher, just a thief skilled at home invasion.

Half a month ago, a fellow found him, saying there was a job needing his help.

Hearing about the money he could earn, he agreed without much questioning. Upon arriving in this forest area, he felt something was off. What in the deep mountains and forests would need his skills?

But since he was already here, he couldn’t back down even if he felt uneasy. Moreover, the group leader was always mysterious; he didn’t dare ask much because he could tell they had blood on their hands. Killing someone in the deep forest would be just like playing.

Later, they found a place along the river. It seemed like a normal hillside, so steep that no one ever approached it.

The leader climbed up, touched the surface, quietly recited a formula, and touched some spot, revealing a door on the hillside.

Or rather, it was an entrance, more than five meters wide and tall, with clean edges, not looking naturally formed.

The leader told them to wait outside, went in alone, and after about half an hour, came out with a box.

The box had a lock, and it wasn’t an ordinary one, which was why Li Chengming was brought into the forest.

His profession was a thief, but his mentor was quite skilled. He said his master was a lock master, with seven generations of ancestors being locksmiths.

Locksmith was what his master modestly called himself. His master had a nickname, "Lock Sorrow."

People said there wasn’t a lock in the world his master couldn’t open. But alas, renowned people attract trouble like fattened pigs attract butchers. Seven years ago, his master was invited to open a long-lost ancient lock, and he never returned, probably silenced.

Seeing the leader come out hugging a box, he had a premonition he might follow his master’s path, silenced on the spot.