The Informal Tomb Raiding Diary: She is the occupant of the tomb!-Chapter 33: Schemes and Counter-Schemes

Boss Lu nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. I wanted to retort, as such an incredible story would only be believed by children, but then I thought, isn’t everything incredible?

I, this ancient zongzi, had come out; the existence of an entrance to a Different Space wasn’t impossible either.

Scientists have always wanted to open such a ’door’ to explore the secrets of other dimensions or spaces, but these ’doors’ can also open naturally.

When they appear, they may not be discovered by humans, and even if discovered, the shock would far outweigh any thrill.

The mine owner here was so shocked that he turned into a murderer; those innocent miners were mere sacrifices to his fear.

"Professor Chen went alone, who knows what he might encounter."

"Why didn’t you say anything earlier?" Wen Jing’s face changed upon hearing Boss Lu’s words.

"I just remembered, didn’t get the chance to say it. Even if we call him back now, he wouldn’t hear us."

Wen Jing has a straightforward personality, with no hidden motives, Shunfeng is just a youngster, they might not realize what Boss Lu is up to.

"Professor Chen will be okay, if he isn’t, we won’t be able to escape either; those miners are examples, let’s just wait here." I saw Wen Jing wanting to head towards the door, quickly spoke in a steady voice.

"Yes, those miners tried to escape to the upper mine path but couldn’t escape death. If Professor Chen is in danger, we can’t escape either, going in won’t help him." Shunfeng scratched his head and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Boss Lu’s eyes flashed with a hint of reluctance, but it was fleeting; if I hadn’t been keeping her in my peripheral view, I wouldn’t have noticed.

She wanted all of us to go in; by that time Wen Jing and Shunfeng would push Miss Scream, I would lead the way, making it easy for her to break free and escape.

However, it seems acting alone is far more dangerous than sticking together; considering her personal safety, Boss Lu shouldn’t ditch us.

Unless... she knows the correct route and is confident she can make it out on her own.

Boss Lu’s understanding of this mine might be deeper than she’s let on.

"I trust Professor Chen; besides, we need to stick together now, and act as one." My words reached Wen Jing and Shunfeng, and both nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Boss Lu had nothing more to say, and after a whole hour, Chen Qinghan finally returned.

He said the mine path leads to the neighboring snow mountain, and there’s a stone door at the end.

The stone door’s construction predates the mine path, and the door has a lock, a modern-like combination lock; this seems like a dead end for us since we don’t know how to unlock it.

With the path blocked, Chen Qinghan arranged for everyone to rest in place; Wen Jing and Shunfeng each found a cart to lie in.

"Can we dig our way out?" I rekindled some fire, found a few broken iron boxes as chairs, and sat with Chen Qinghan by the fire.

"The top of the mine path is all rock, digging our way out would take too long. I’ll try to decipher the code on the stone door later."

I wanted to tell him that Boss Lu might know a shortcut or method to get out, but never found the chance with her sitting right across from us.

"Excuse me, I need to use the toilet, you guys chat." Boss Lu rose to leave for the bathroom.

As she headed back the way we came down the mine path, I hurriedly whispered to Chen Qinghan: "She might know the way out, I’ll follow her."

Afraid Boss Lu might hear, I whispered this close to Chen Qinghan’s ear, and just then Miss Scream woke up, opened her eyes to see this scene, and fiercely questioned: "What are you doing?"

Sometimes I think Miss Scream is the most miserable in the team; she just woke up and would soon be knocked out again because we need her to be quiet.

Chen Qinghan, deftly and swiftly, knocked her unconscious, and I quickly went to track Boss Lu.

Perhaps when we’re out, Miss Scream could’ve been hit into a stupor, but at least her life would be preserved.

I followed Boss Lu silently, unlike those hopping zombies, I could completely hide the sound of my footsteps.

And I know I can breathe, but my way of breathing is somewhat different from living people—my chest doesn’t rise, and my breathing is silent.

That’s why Boss Lu didn’t realize there was a ’zongzi’ behind her; she stopped at a corner, took a communication device from her inner pocket.

At this distance, Chen Qinghan and the others wouldn’t hear from here; I crouched in the dark corner spying on Boss Lu, often doing this when tomb robbers came into the tomb.

"Hey, Old Li? I’m fine... yeah, it’s just me now... I’m with Professor Chen and the others, locate my coordinates quickly, and have Leopard find the nearest exit from the surface, open a path for me; I’ll find a way to ditch them. Just a bunch of fools trying to enter the Gate of Death. Yes, hurry up!"

Boss Lu hung up, then fiercely kicked the wall with her foot, yelped in pain, and held her foot for a while before standing up, leaning against the wall.

She spoke softly so Chen Qinghan and the others couldn’t hear, but her shout was surely audible from the other side.

I returned to the resting area before her; Miss Scream was still unconscious. Wen Jing and Shunfeng stared at me, clearly waiting for me to convey the latest news.

Chen Qinghan must’ve passed on the whispered words to them; I gestured towards the direction Boss Lu went, then quickly sat back beside Chen Qinghan, pretending I never left.

Boss Lu hopped back with one leg, not much slower than me; Wen Jing and Shunfeng lay back in their carts pretending to sleep, everything was as it was before Boss Lu left.

"How did you get hurt?" Chen Qinghan asked.

"Oh, it’s too dark over there, accidentally kicked the wall, feels like my toe’s about to break." Boss Lu set her heel down slowly, moving to sit next to us.

"Later, you ladies stay here. We’ll move ahead to figure out how to open the door." Chen Qinghan said very ’understandingly’.

"Professor Chen’s magnanimity makes me ashamed and moved. Rest assured, I won’t cause trouble for you again."

I secretly rolled my eyes; she won’t trouble us because she’s eager to ditch us.

She injured her foot because she didn’t want to head towards the Gate of Death, it doesn’t sound like a good place; I need to find a way to inform Chen Qinghan, so they won’t head there either.

Just as I was about to call Chen Qinghan to the mine path for a private chat, Miss Scream suddenly sat upright, shouting: "It’s here, it’s here!" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Her eyes were still closed, but her finger pointed towards the mine path we came from, startling us. Wen Jing and Shunfeng jumped straight out of their carts.

"Who? Who’s here?" Wen Jing urgently asked.

"Listen... the singing... so beautiful." Miss Scream lowered her voice, sounding mystical.