Occasionally, among the people who go tomb raiding, there are female members, and it turns out that whether they're female Tomb Robbers or female zongzi, they all have a love for beauty.
If I'm lucky, I'll find delicate makeup bags in their backpacks, filled with my favorite concealer foundation and lipstick.
In today's popular terms, I'm a refined zongzi.
Life in the tomb is comfortable, but I still want to leave. I've lived in this ancient tomb long enough.
I use the numbering system of the tomb raiders and label each batch of Tomb Robbers, so I don't mix them up.
The tomb was originally barren, but ever since they appeared, the items in the side chamber have been accumulating, and it's practically full.
Few can reach the main tomb chamber, and if they can't make it to the main tomb chamber, which is my bedroom,
I likely won't get the items they've brought down because they'll die in places I can't reach.
My body is already as agile as a normal person's, so this time, I've decided to take the initiative and retrieve their backpacks while they're still alive.
Despair spreads easily, and after countless years, I also feel like I can't get out, so I can only try to gather items for entertainment and amusement.
To be blunt, I've fallen in love with rummaging through bags, like a little girl eagerly unwrapping all the presents, even those I don't have yet.
The Tomb Raiders have their own skills for locating the dragon veins, and they often find the position of the main tomb chamber while still on the surface and then directly dig a tomb hole down. Some attempt to find the location of the tomb passage first. However, when they encounter this tomb, calculations on the surface are nothing but futile.
They think the main tomb chamber and the tomb passage are connected like a shovel, but that's not the case. To my knowledge, no tomb passage leads directly to my bedroom, which is the main tomb chamber of this tomb.
I know of a hidden route that leads to the uppermost tomb passage. It's a shortcut, but that's it—merely a direct path within an enclosed space that bypasses all the traps in the various areas. But ultimately, we're still trapped, and they will die here.
I crawl into the cavity within the wall, inching upward. The interior stone wall is rough, and the space is very narrow, so there's no worry about falling.
I mimic the way a spider crawls, passing through the wall's hidden paths as dense as spider webs, reaching the tomb's uppermost level.
This hidden path was first discovered by a small Tomb Robber. All his companions had died, and he accidentally found the concealed path within the wall, allowing him to survive by sheer luck.
From the place where he discovered the secret path to my bedroom, it took him a long time. When he finally emerged from the wall, he scared me out of my coffin.
Of course, in the end, he was the one who died from fright. I should explain: I didn't do it on purpose, but his mental state at the time was already very poor, and I truly regret his death.
After his death, I inherited this hidden path, went to the top level tomb passage to see, and discovered all the tomb holes would disappear, as if they never existed.
Someone tried to dig another tomb hole in the same spot, only to find the excavated soil would automatically refill, no matter the tools used.
This is a living tomb that automatically corrects itself—a tomb that devours people. When they realize this, it marks the beginning of their despair.
So I must enjoy the time with companions while they're still alive, and I'm glad to make new friends.
317—this is the number I've given my new friend. They have quite a few people, so I climbed to the upper layer of the tomb passage and hid within the wall to listen to the commotion outside. They were arguing over the disappearance of the tomb passage.
Someone suggested finding the tomb door and using explosives to blow it open. I've heard this suggestion no less than ten times, and it's never succeeded once.
Someone else suggested venturing deeper into the tomb; maybe they'll discover another exit, which is the mainstream opinion. Unfortunately, this method only results in more tragic deaths.
Another suggestion was to have the main force stay behind and send a few people ahead to scout the path—this was indeed a good idea, so the 317 team unanimously agreed to send someone ahead.
They sent four people out. Interestingly, once the four left, the main team also left.
Evidently, the main team ditched the four individuals, and I discovered someone in the main group knew the layout below.
The top layer tomb passage looks like a straightforward route, but in reality, there are several very concealed hidden doors that flip over to reveal another world.
I learned from hearing other Tomb Robbers' post-analysis that the tomb's routes are intricate, with countless traps and mechanisms.
But they all died inside; not a single one escaped successfully. How could someone in the 317 team know the tomb's layout?
Unless they knew the origin of this tomb, or knew who built it, and who it buries!
The more I think about it, the more excited I become. Even the return of those four individuals doesn't catch my attention as I happily hammer on the stone slab in front of me.
Crack—
The stone slab flipped, and I was unprepared, getting flung out by the slab. I hurriedly grabbed the person in front of me, trying to stabilize myself.
"Ah—ah—ah—" The ear-piercing screams made my head spin, and perhaps even my semi-dried brain was developing cracks.
I covered my ears and let go of the woman in front of me; her voice was so powerful she could definitely become a master performer in opera, if not for being delayed by tomb raiding.
This kind of sonic attack with remarkable penetration made me reluctant to frighten her. I lay on the stone slab, wanting to flip back to hide, but for some reason, the slab wouldn't move.
I tried three times without success. I must look incredibly foolish, and I noticed one of the four people revealed a Black Donkey Hoof, and another unlocked the safety on their submachine gun.
No choice, I had to run into the tomb passage. The Black Donkey Hoof is to me what dark shadow cooking is.
And bullets likewise can't kill me. I just dislike the sensation of being hit by them; how can I describe it? It's like someone using fingers to keep poking you—it's so irritating it makes you want to hit them.
"Go, follow it!" One of the four, a tall young man, said. He was very different from the Tomb Robbers I'd seen—simply put, with more righteousness and less wickedness.
"Qinghan, it's already run off. Shouldn't we stop chasing?" The woman skilled in sonic attacks asked while pursuing.
"Oh!" A young boy among the four let out a low exclamation. He had stepped on a trap.
Fortunately, he stepped on it in time, and the tall young man was about to catch up with me, but abandoned the chase for his companion's safety.
I felt all the blood in my body wanting to rush to my face. Although I didn't succeed, at least there's a sign of it. If it were usual, I'd be overjoyed because it indicates I'm making progress on the road to 'revival.'
But at this moment, I'm not happy at all. I've become the first zongzi ever chased by Tomb Raiders—don't I care about my dignity?
What's even more pathetic is that I'm lost in the ancient tomb where I've lived for thousands of years. Me… Ha, I'm lost…