Li Ying woke up. Zheng Rong rubbed his temples. “Now...” Xiang Yu said in a serious voice, “Are you Li Ying?”
Li Ying raised his eyebrows and murmured, “A withered, dead, and hollow shell, in my desolate chest...” He formed his hands into a fist and pressed it to his left chest. “With its cold and silent repose, it mocks my still-burning heart.”
The assassin stared intently at Zheng Rong, a sweet smile playing on his lips.
Zheng Rong was completely speechless. Xiang Yu studied Li Ying, his head full of question marks. “You can cry, but tears won’t bring you back to life... He’s always like this, neurotic,” Zheng Rong said. “Don’t touch him, Lance!” Lance clenched his fists, trembling as if trying hard to restrain himself from punching Li Ying in the face. Xiang Yu asked, “What does that mean?”
Zheng Rong said coldly, “Put your fists away, Lance. Right now, I’m the captain.” “You must tie him up,” Lance said sternly. “He’s dangerous.” Zheng Rong replied indifferently, “Later, but not now. Brother, take him up. Let’s finish this investigation first.”
Li Ying got up on his own, his gaze never leaving Zheng Rong. Zheng Rong reached out and tugged on the rope. “Ugos! How’s everything up there?!” Joseph called back, “Everything’s fine! How are you?!” “I’m about to introduce you to a new friend,” Zheng Rong said.
Zheng Rong climbed out of the hidden passage first. Lainey opened her medical kit, but Zheng Rong pushed her hand away, expressionless.
“While you still have time, block your ears.” Ugos and Joseph looked puzzled, just as Lance emerged from the hidden passage, followed by a blood-soaked man. Lainey screamed at the top of her lungs, her shriek echoing through the circular hall, causing Ugos to nearly foam at the mouth. She lunged toward Li Ying, but Li Ying stepped aside without a trace. “Long time no see, Lainey.” Lainey fell to the ground, wailing.
What a mess... Zheng Rong thought tiredly. He took some bandages from the medical kit and casually tossed them to Li Ying. The group fell silent except for Lainey’s jarring cries.
Those who knew the situation, Joseph and Lance, remained silent. The atmosphere grew awkward as Ugos asked, bewildered, “Who is...” “Please call him Mr. L,” Zheng Rong said. Ugos was even more confused, pushing up his glasses. Zheng Rong continued, “Did you find anything?”
“Yes, Zheng Rong, I have to tell you,” Joseph said, scratching his nose as he motioned for Zheng Rong to come closer. He wrapped an arm around Zheng Rong’s shoulder, but Li Ying suddenly shouted, “Hey! Blondie! Get your claws off his shoulder!”
Joseph jumped in fright, letting go as if electrocuted, and whispered, “How is he here?” Zheng Rong said, “Oh, he’s being controlled by aliens to kill us. Do you believe that?” Joseph wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced back at Li Ying, who sat in the corner, expressionless, staring at Zheng Rong.
“On the altar...” Joseph said uneasily. “Pretend he’s not there. Mr. Yu guarantees he can subdue him,” Zheng Rong said, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. “What’s on the altar?” Joseph replied, “Possibly a relic of Moses. There’s a small problem though. We can’t reach it.”
At the center of the hall was a vast body of water, as wide as a lake, spanning nearly a hectare. At the center of the water was a stone altar, standing silently. Zheng Rong took Joseph’s binoculars and looked out to the center of the lake.
“No boat?” Joseph shrugged. Zheng Rong peered down at the water. “Not corrosive.” Ugos interjected, “Yes, but we can't get into the water.”
“Why? Are there monsters in it?” Zheng Rong asked, knowing that wasn’t possible. He removed his coat and swayed it over the water’s surface, which remained mirror-smooth, without a ripple. “It’s a special liquid, unlike any known element sample,” Ugos said.
Ugos pulled out a piece of paper, let go, and the paper floated gently toward the water’s surface. The moment it touched, it seemed to pass through the entire lake, sinking silently.
Zheng Rong was speechless. “No buoyancy at all,” Ugos explained. “I’ve taken a sample to analyze later. Once a person enters the water, they’ll sink straight to the bottom.” “Mr. L,” Zheng Rong called, “do you know what this is?” Li Ying was about to get up, but Lance said, “Stay squatting, with your hands behind your head.”
Li Ying had no choice but to hold his head and squat down again, looking up at Zheng Rong with a pitiful expression. “I can’t see.”
Zheng Rong, visibly irritated, raised the binoculars again, looking toward the altar. “What’s on the altar?” Joseph said, “A piece of paper held down by a stalactite.” Zheng Rong's heart stirred. “Lance, bring the rope. I need a favor.” Lance was silent for a moment before handing the gun to Xiang Yu.
“If he moves, shoot. I’ll take full responsibility.” “Can we not do this?” Zheng Rong said, looking earnestly at Lance. Lance’s eyes were filled with pity and restraint as he gazed at Zheng Rong. Seeing that he couldn’t convince Lance, Zheng Rong said, “Use the grappling gun to retrieve the stalactite from the altar.”
Lance didn’t respond, staring blankly at the water. Zheng Rong took Joseph’s grappling gun and shoved it into Lance’s hands. Lance’s emotions were unstable. He raised the gun, then lowered it, then raised it again. Finally, squinting his eyes, he turned his head, and at that moment, Zheng Rong saw a tear glisten down his cheek.
Lance’s Adam’s apple bobbed. After a moment, he said, “I’m sorry, Zheng Rong. My comrades... too many of my brothers died by his hands... I can’t forgive him.” His voice trembled as he stopped, and the grappling gun let out a low thud. The white line flew out, landing in the center of the altar. Lance stood still, then handed the gun to Zheng Rong. Zheng Rong pressed his lips together and retrieved the thin line.
With a swish, it hooked onto the stone rod, and with a pulling force, it arced through the air. Joseph caught it in his hand. “What’s it made of?” Joseph and Ugos passed it around to examine. “Is this what you Chinese call a ‘jade ornament’?” Joseph chuckled with amusement. “Ha ha ha!” Zheng Rong coldly looked at Joseph. Embarrassed, Joseph chuckled, and Zheng Rong took the short stone rod. “What do we do next?” Ugos asked in confusion.
“Retrieve the piece of paper too?” “No.” Zheng Rong examined the stone rod carefully. “It’s 110 centimeters long and 7 centimeters thick. Solid. What does this remind you of?” “Doesn't seem like a stalactite in texture, but the shape... seems naturally formed,” Ugos said.
“Watch closely.” Zheng Rong tossed his coat aside and closed his eyes, thinking quietly. After three seconds, he raised his hand and unbuttoned his white shirt, revealing his collarbone. “Are you going to swim across?” Lance asked. “It’s just hot. I’m not undressing for you to watch!” Zheng Rong replied. He took a deep breath, pressed his hands down before him, and held the stone rod steady on the shore.
In that instant, everyone’s expressions were indescribably stunned.
The dark lake water around the altar formed a giant whirlpool, and the once-quiet hall filled with the sound of rushing water.
Zheng Rong opened his eyes and said, “I understand.” As he spoke, the vast lake surface split with a roar, as if cleaved in two by a god’s blade. The water receded to either side, revealing a corridor of water. Pillars of stone rose from the ground in succession, forming stepping-stones to the circular platform.
The final platform connected to the altar's pathway. After a loud thud, everything returned to silence. Zheng Rong’s eyes shone with a joy that only comes from uncovering ancient secrets. He said slowly: “The parting of the Red Sea.” “How did you do that?!” Ugos asked in disbelief. “The rod is seamless, with no protrusions or switches!”
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“Thought,” Zheng Rong tossed the rod to Joseph, leapt onto the circular platform, and walked toward the altar. “Only thought and faith can activate it. Try focusing your willpower on imagining what the staff was used for.” “Don’t always act first,” Lance said as he jumped onto the platform to catch up to Zheng Rong.
Lance leapt onto the first step as Zheng Rong hopped to the second, moving quickly from one platform to the next. Joseph said, “This is really amazing... How did you know it was Moses?” “I guessed. Now it's confirmed... Joseph, come over,” Zheng Rong replied.
At the final tier of the platform sat an old man. Water flowed from his body like living oil, sliding off without leaving any wet marks. He wore a white Arab headscarf, his eyes tightly closed. His skin was cracked like dried bark, and he sat cross-legged at the center of the platform, resembling a guardian.
Everyone held their breath. “Don’t go over there,” Lance said gravely. “He’s dead,” Zheng Rong replied briefly. “Just a mummy.”
Zheng Rong pulled a coin from his pocket, flicked it between his fingers, and sent it flying. It hit the old man squarely on the forehead and embedded itself deeply. A chilling sight—the old man’s body began to rot visibly, as if corroded by a strong acid. His muscles peeled away, and his blood vessels dissolved into a dark, black liquid.
The bleached bones of his forehead still bore Zheng Rong’s coin. Three seconds later, the bones crumbled into powder, which drifted away in stillness. The coin flashed as it fell, clinking on the platform before rolling into the water.
“Moses, farewell,” Zheng Rong said, seemingly marking the end of a mythic era. Hands in his pockets, he walked toward the altar at the center of the lake. Joseph stepped forward, carefully scraping off a piece of Moses' flesh with a knife and collecting it in a vial. “Hope your guess was right,” Joseph said with concentration. “Hard to believe that was Moses. Just for a moment, I thought he was still alive.”
“The records say he disappeared after leading the Israelites to Egypt,” Zheng Rong’s footsteps echoed as he spoke. “We can imagine that, following divine guidance, he brought the staff back here, sat quietly in this space, and waited for death, taking the secret with him into the darkness... Everyone, come here.”
Zheng Rong ascended the altar, looking at the two items on it, as the rest of the expedition team gathered one by one onto the platform. Zheng Rong seemed to notice something—two lights flashed at the bottom of the lake. He pressed his hand against the altar, peering into the darkness of the water.
“Don’t come over!” Lance called out nervously. “Zheng Rong asked me to come. Zheng Rong?” Xiang Yu replied. Everyone turned to Xiang Yu, who had climbed up onto the platform. “Where’s Li Ying?” Lance asked. Li Ying was still crouching with his head down in the corner of the hall.
Then he looked up, smiling wickedly. “Should I come too?” Distracted, Zheng Rong glanced at Li Ying. “He won’t run. Xiang Yu can catch him anytime.” Xiang Yu nodded in agreement, saying nothing.
“What material is this?” Zheng Rong asked. “Unidentifiable, primarily calcium carbonate...?” Ugos replied.
The altar resembled a small pyramid, its sharp tip protruding from the water. The pyramid split at the top, revealing a stone tablet and a piece of parchment. “Give me the camera,” Zheng Rong said.
Joseph fiddled with the camera, taking physical photos. “Hebrew. It should be something Moses left behind. I can translate it when we return to base...” Lance turned his head and noticed the strange lights underwater.
“Do you think that’s a light?” Lance asked. Xiang Yu frowned, following Lance’s magnetic cannon’s aim. A flash from the camera’s shutter. The ground trembled slightly. Joseph, Ugos, Lance, and Xiang Yu all stopped and looked up as dust fell from the hall’s dome. Painted at the top was a griffin with outspread wings.
“Danger,” Lance assessed. “Retreat immediately.” “Let me take one more...” Joseph began. Another tremor shook the hall violently, and Lance shouted, “Everyone, back to the entrance—!” Without another word, Zheng Rong grabbed the camera, firing off several shots.
Xiang Yu reached out to grab Zheng Rong’s arm. “Take the tablet! There's another item!” Zheng Rong shouted. Xiang Yu pushed Zheng Rong back, grabbed the stone tablet, and wrenched it from the pyramid-like altar’s crack. In an instant, the parchment crumbled, drifting down to the water as the water wall collapsed with a roar.
Lainey screamed loudly. Xiang Yu held the tablet in one hand, his other powerful arm wrapping around Zheng Rong’s waist, throwing him over his shoulder and rushing toward the main entrance. Zheng Rong showed no fear. The camera in his hand flashed continuously.
“Li Ying! Let’s go!” he shouted. Li Ying lowered his hands, slowly stood, and looked up at the griffin painting on the dome. Zheng Rong felt a jolt in his heart. He raised his camera, aiming at the dome’s mural. “It’s moving...” Zheng Rong muttered. The giant griffin in the mural opened its eyes. Its eagle eyes shone as its wings fluttered slightly. Zheng Rong stared at the lake in disbelief.
“There’s something under the water!” Joseph cried. “Run!” Zheng Rong finally understood. The image on the ceiling was a projection of the beast beneath the water! The pyramid altar slowly rose. Everyone froze at the entrance. The stone tablet and parchment had actually been embedded in a beak, and with a sharp screech, Zheng Rong felt as if an ultrasonic wave pierced his eardrums. The griffin surged from the water, lunging at the entrance! “Run!” Lance roared, hoisting the magnetic cannon, firing with a blast that sent the griffin tumbling back into the lake. A female voice announced, “Countdown to charge: fifty-nine seconds...” Lance drew his gun from behind, loading it skillfully, and a round of bullets was fired. The silence of the doorway erupted with bangs. The griffin lunged again, getting stuck at the entrance! “My god!” Joseph said in shock, “Such a big creature...” “Xiang Yu, take them away!” Lance ordered. Zheng Rong flashed the camera again, the flash infuriating the griffin. It screeched, the sound waves reverberating through the corridor. Zheng Rong’s head buzzed, nearly making him faint. Xiang Yu handed the stone tablet to Zheng Rong. “You all go first!” he said. “Li Ying!” Zheng Rong, leaning against the corridor wall, struggling to breathe, called out. Joseph and Ugos hurried to support Zheng Rong’s arm, guiding him into the passage. Three seconds later, Lance and Xiang Yu shot into the corridor like bullets, crashing to the ground. The entrance was completely destroyed. The griffin’s head crashed into the corridor, its eagle eyes nearly a meter wide, glowing as its beak opened, emitting a piercing sound wave.
The griffin’s eagle head was wedged in the corridor entrance. Its sharp claws clawed at the ground, each swipe tearing up the stone floor. Zheng Rong fell to the ground, panting heavily. His legs flailed as he struggled to stand. Lance and Xiang Yu, injured and in pain, barely managed to get to their feet. “Where is Li Ying—!” Before the words finished, a red hand appeared on the griffin’s forehead, two fingers extending toward its left eye, plunging deep into it. The next second, a sound wave nearly knocked everyone down. A deafening crash came from the stone chamber outside the passage. Feathers flew, and the griffin lifted its head, causing the entire wall to collapse. Seizing the moment of the collapse, Li Ying darted into the corridor.
Zheng Rong let out a sigh of relief, but the silence lasted only a few seconds before the griffin shrieked again, smashing half of the corridor wall as it pushed its head inside. Its remaining eye locked onto Zheng Rong. “It wants this... It's guarding the tablet?” Zheng Rong said, waving the tablet at the griffin. “Stop looking! Run!” Lance urged.
With a roar, Xiang Yu rushed forward, grabbing the giant beak. His left arm clenched the hooked upper beak, while his right hand gripped the lower jaw, his body trembling with effort. “Argh—ah!” Xiang Yu let out a battle cry, forcefully twisting the massive beak 180 degrees, then wrenching his arms apart, ripping the hooked beak in half. Boiling blood splattered on everyone. “Blow this place up! Don’t let that thing get out!” Zheng Rong shouted. “Get out first!” Lance ordered.
In an instant, everyone ran for their lives down the corridor. Zheng Rong sprinted as fast as he could until his body felt light, being scooped up into Li Ying’s arms. He didn’t struggle, just took out his walkie-talkie.
“Pickle Girl! Answer me! Report our location! Get the pilot ready for takeoff...” Jin Puae’s voice trembled anxiously. “What are you doing?! The sand around you is collapsing!” Dust fell all around the corridor. “Converge on me!” Zheng Rong ordered.
Xiang Yu sprinted forward to catch up with the group. “Where’s Lance?! We’ll wait here! Lainey, come back! You’re running in the wrong direction!” Zheng Rong called. Ugos dashed to the intersection, grabbing the screaming Lainey and dragging her back.
“Your position is...” Jin Puae’s voice came through. “We’re going to use a bomb to blow up the underground structure. Have the helicopter ready at the blast site. If anything comes out of the ground, focus all firepower on it!” Zheng Rong instructed. “Li Ying, put me down.
Can we blow this place up?” Zheng Rong asked, taking a deep breath. “Will it bury us alive?” Leaning against the wall and panting heavily, Ugos said intermittently, “No... the rocky terrain... could cause a collapse... We need to keep running.” A distant boom sounded. Zheng Rong’s legs felt weak, and Xiang Yu shook out a coat, draping it.
A loud explosion sounded in the distance, and Zheng Rong’s legs went weak. Xiang Yu shook out a coat, draping it over Zheng Rong's shoulders. “Go on ahead,” Xiang Yu urged. Zheng Rong bent over, gasping for breath, and shook his finger. “Wait for Lance...”
The magnetic cannon exploded, and Lance was thrown back into the corridor by the recoil. He flipped over and charged toward them. “The timer on the bomb has one minute left!” Lance shouted. Xiang Yu took the magnetic cannon, and everyone began to sprint for their lives.
A minute later, loud booms echoed from the far end of the corridor, growing closer. “Where did you place the timer bomb?” Zheng Rong asked. Lance, confused, said, “Why hasn’t it detonated? I threw the bomb into its mouth...” Zheng Rong said, “Don’t tell me... you used Li Ying’s last bomb.” “It’s all I had... The remaining detonators would’ve taken too long to set up...” Lance replied. “Great, let me give you some good news,” Zheng Rong said. “That bomb... isn’t filled with nitroglycerin.” “...” “It’s filled with Li Ying’s urine! Stop resting! Get up! RUN!”