Corpse Department

The deep corridor grew wider and wider, and the walls gradually lost their algae, becoming smoother and smoother.

This change filled everyone with anticipation, and they stared intently at the footage transmitted by the bespectacled man. After holding their breath for five or six minutes, Uncle Zhang reminded them, "If he doesn't reach the end, he'll have to turn back. Tell him to be careful how long he can hold his breath."

Carlos was also worried. He had only ever seen the bespectacled man hold his breath for eight minutes once, and given the current situation, he didn't know how much longer the bespectacled man could hold on.

For convenience, the man with glasses did not wear an oxygen tank. It was his first time trying it anyway, and it would be more reasonable for him to come back and put on his gear if things didn't work out.

"Are you alright? Be careful, come back when you're almost done. This is just the first attempt," Carlos reminded through the communication device.

The bespectacled man gave an "OK" sign in front of the camera and continued swimming in.

Master Li remained extremely calm. "You all underestimate him. When I say he's a good swimmer, I mean really good. Ten minutes isn't difficult for him at all."

Carlos was genuinely surprised. "He's that good? How come I've never heard you mention him before?"

"This is our family's hidden treasure." Master Li chuckled, a cigarette dangling from his lips, but he didn't light it. "What do you think? Do you think treasures are something you just let anyone know about?"

The others had mixed feelings. There were several families specializing in tomb raiding, and each family was developing its own trump card to ensure an advantage once they entered the tomb.

The Li family's trump cards today consisted of only Master Li and a bespectacled man; the others were either recuperating at home or had taken on other jobs.

"Look!" Shi Jiu interrupted their conversation, exclaiming with delight, "We're inside! It really is a tomb palace!"

The group of people turned their heads back to the screen in a flash. A light appeared in front of the bespectacled man. The shimmering light was like the only light in the entire world in the darkness, making their hearts flutter.

He swam faster and faster, and finally, his head broke the surface of the water, allowing him to breathe in plenty of oxygen.

The bespectacled man floated on the water, looked around, and then transmitted the image back.

Not far ahead was the shore, a flat, pieced-together stone platform. The light emanated from the stone wall above, where a Mingzhu the size of a woman's palm was inlaid, exceptionally beautiful.

This wasn't what made the experienced team members envious; what truly excited them was...

Behind the stone platform lies the tomb palace that everyone has been longing for!

A beautifully carved, heavy stone gate stands silently, bearing the weight of history. The bespectacled man standing in front of the gate feels a sense of suffocation, a feeling of awe.

This is the burial place of the infamous demon daoist from a thousand years ago.

The bespectacled man walked forward, and with Carlos's support, he reached out and touched the stone door.

The textured surface rubbed against his gloved fingers as he tried to feel for the mechanism.

He was overwhelmed with emotion, feeling not only nervous but also deeply moved.

After a legend perished, his body was forgotten in this deserted underground, isolated by water. And now, he is the first person in a thousand years to reach this place.

"?"

He pushed the stone door open, and it actually did.

The bespectacled man was momentarily stunned. Anyone with experience would know that this kind of door required a mechanism to open it. Why was this demon daoist tomb palace not following the usual rules?

The people outside fell silent. Through the crack in the open stone door, a broken lock could be seen.

"???"

What's going on?

Someone has been here...?!

The bespectacled man's expression changed drastically. He cautiously took a step back and then re-examined the stone platform.

The stone platform was damp, obscuring footprints, but through the crack in the opened door, faint traces of dust could be seen, indicating that the dust had been swept away.

"Why don't you step back first? Wait for us there, don't move around. We'll send them in now." Master Li took the communication device from Carlos's hand, his deep, weathered voice effectively calming the slight panic in the bespectacled man's heart.

The panic wasn't due to fear that those who went in first might have left ambushes. Everyone was after money and secrets. Although what they were doing was illegal, they wouldn't kill their rivals on sight. The circle was only so big, and they might have to cooperate in the future. Therefore, very few tomb raiders would kill people outright.

The bespectacled man panicked because, to them, the secret of resurrection in the demon daoist's tomb was far more valuable than any treasure.

If someone went in beforehand, it means the secret of resurrection within the tomb is no longer safe! Who knows how long they've been inside? Maybe it was after San left Live Tail Lake to find them, maybe it was several days ago.

"Wait, have him move closer, point the camera near the lock." Yu Xing suddenly spoke up, unusually issuing an order.

Carlos raised an eyebrow, noticing Yu Xing's calm expression, and chuckled, "See? The benefits of bringing you into the team are here!"

He patted Master Li on the shoulder. "Do as he says."

Master Li fixed his gaze on Yu Xing, pressed the communication device, and repeated Yu Xing's words. The bespectacled man immediately obeyed the instruction and squatted down in front of the door crack.

The picture was in high definition. Yu Xing squinted at it for a while, then smiled and said, "It's ready."

Master Li: "That's enough, you can step back."

Upon hearing Master Li's words, the bespectacled man silently returned to the water, found a spot with a view of the gate, and began to monitor the area while waiting for his teammates to arrive.

On the Live Tail Lake.

"What's wrong with the lock? Was it damaged by someone else and left behind?" Carlos asked expectantly.

"Yes." Yu Xing's answer clearly disappointed the team members who were also expecting a negative answer. They unpacked their equipment one by one and began to put it on, while also calling out to the others.

"Hurry, hurry, get down now!"

"We'll leave the situation up to you. Wait for our good news."

"Let's go, Master Li. Just say the word, and none of us are afraid of taking risks. We'll do it for you!"

This move was truly unexpected. Before this, everyone thought that the demon daoist's tomb was well hidden and that neither they nor other teams could find it. Upon seeing the signs of intrusion, everyone's mindset was more or less disrupted.

Yu Xing comforted him, "Don't worry, I actually saw another strong team in the mountains. They didn't arrive long ago. If we go in now, we can catch up. After all, the tomb isn't a tourist attraction where first come, first served. Its secrets must be very well hidden. Consider it a favor to those who went in before us."

"Other teams? Whose?" Master Li's eyes sharpened for a moment.

Yu Xing didn't answer directly, but turned to Shi Jiu: "You remember Alice, right?"

Shi Jiu was taken aback. "Of course, my memory isn't that bad. Isn't Alice the little Doctor in Brother Sun's team?"

"She was an undercover agent, just like you, but her team was much more secretive than Brother Sun's, so you probably didn't find them, just as they didn't find you... Or maybe they had more information than you and knew you were here," Yu Xing said. "Later, Alice left Brother Sun's team, just like me, and went ahead of me."

"Good heavens, that woman is such a good actress? Even Shi Jiu couldn't tell!" Ash exclaimed in astonishment.

Shi Jiu found it hard to accept. "Damn, when I was in the group, she looked really ordinary."

"She's not only extraordinary, but like Carlos, she likely possesses some kind of unique ability, making her an extremely difficult character to deal with," Yu Xing said. "If my investigation is correct, Alice belongs to the Oster Company."

"Oster Company..." Carlos murmured, repeating the name. Clearly, having experienced numerous simulations in this world, he was no stranger to this name.

"Damn it, why are they everywhere!" Shi Jiu cursed immediately. "When will this lousy company go bankrupt?"

"With our strength, of course we can meddle in everything." Uncle Zhang took the cigarette from Master Li, the lighter clicked crisply, and a flame ignited.

It seems everyone is very familiar with this company. Yu Xing turned around without making a sound and gave Carlos a wink.

Carlos understood and shrugged, "Yeah, what can you do? They're a renowned financial conglomerate across the entire continent. They do all sorts of lucrative jobs, and they're divided into many departments. This time, it's probably the walking department getting involved again."

The name "walking" has two meanings: walking and walking corpse. Just by hearing the name, Yu Xing can understand the nature of this department.

"As expected of Auster, his understanding of the terrain is so clear that he even found the lake bottom before us." Lin's voice was deep. He was a geography major, and surveying locations should have been his job. He had lost in this aspect.

Oster Company's financial resources are sufficient to support the world's best exploration equipment, and in this respect, he certainly cannot compare.

"It's alright, Lin. Your main role is feng shui, not on-site calculations." Uncle Zhang exhaled a smoke ring and patted Lin on the shoulder.

"How much does the Oster Company know about the tomb?" Unica squinted. "Even if they have the money and the ability, when it comes to this tomb raiding expedition, we definitely have the upper hand. The only question is... how long have they been inside?"

This is what everyone is most worried about.

Yu Xing smiled, her relaxed and calm tone indirectly influencing the team members. "I just took a closer look at the marks next to the lock."

"Because it hasn't been opened for years, the dust inside is very thick, and you can clearly see any traces of anyone having passed by. On the inside of the door, the dust is underneath, and the patterns are intact. Where the lock is, the dust patterns radiate out like a spider web, which was caused by the lock hitting the door."

"Some dust was shaken off the lock, and some was scattered around it, but that's not the point. The point is that there wasn't any dust piled up next to the lock when the door was pushed open. Just now, he— Yu Xing was referring to the man with glasses—pushed the door open only slightly, not even enough for a person to squeeze through sideways. If someone really wanted to get in, they would have pushed the door open much wider than we did."

"Do you remember what the door looked like? There was a thin layer of fresh dust under the door, which was very noticeable on the floor. But there were no other marks on the floor, and nothing on the lock either, which means that this was the second time the door had been opened, and the people before us came in in the same group."

Because everyone was in a bad mood, Yu Xing explained quickly and didn't waste any time.

Unica: "I understand. The Alice you mentioned earlier was a little ahead of you. She belongs to the Oster Company. And now that they've entered the tomb, there are no signs of a second opening, which means the team sent by the Oster Company waited for Alice to return before entering the tomb."

Calculating the time, it's just over a day.

Uncle Zhang agreed, "So, her team probably only went in a day ago."

That was exactly what Yu Xing meant. He had given a clear reminder, so he said, "Get ready to go underwater. Put the electronic devices in waterproof bags. It's only a day's difference; we have many more opportunities to obtain the secret of resurrection."

That's what they said, but when the six people who needed to go into the water dived to the bottom of the lake and started swimming, Yu Xing could feel that, except for himself, they were all moving very fast.

I was wearing a tight-fitting waterproof suit, and the bag on my back and the painting tube and Tang sword hanging from my waist were also covered with waterproof covers. Once I got ashore, I could throw away the covers and the items would still be dry.

Yu Xing reached the last spot, watching the figures entering the corridor one after another, and pondered the situation after entering the tomb palace.

There are several of his capable teammates in the tomb, and Alice is with the Oster Company. Given that this is a simulation, Alice should also have a few other simulation participants around her.

Things become much more complicated when the diviners encounter each other. Their abilities are unpredictable, and their clashes could be the biggest variable in the tomb.

Brother Sun's team can be ignored. The investigation studio only sent him alone. Therefore, the only forces that can compete for the secrets of the tomb are Oster Company and Carlos's team.

Once inside the tomb, the team faces four threats: the Oster Company, the tomb's traps, monsters like zombies, forbidden women, and fish monsters, and time itself.

The overlapping or merging of time within the tomb palace must be a top priority for defense. The flashlight beam in Yu Xing's hand swayed and finally followed him through the corridor.

It wasn't noticeable from the outside, but once inside the corridor, Yu Xing felt a suffocating sense of oppression pressing down from all directions. The dark surroundings gave him the illusion that some kind of monster might be lurking nearby.

He swam for a while, constantly counting the number of flashlight beams ahead to make sure no one got lost along the way.

He wasn't wearing a camera on his head. The number of devices was limited, and out of seven people who went down, only the man with glasses, Ash, and Master Li wore cameras. Each of them had a communication device. The people outside looked at the little red dots belonging to their companions on the radar, feeling both excited and apprehensive.

As they neared the end, the man with glasses came to meet them from the front, his flashlight flashing to point in a direction for his companions who were coming later.

Such a long distance is too strenuous for an average swimmer, but carrying oxygen is unnecessary. The bottles are heavy, and if they were brought up, they would only be left on the stone platform. If anyone from Auster saw them, it would be like giving them free equipment.

So they all swam across while holding on to their last breath.

Yu Xing surfaced, his hair matted together by the water, water droplets sliding down his fair face. Amidst the others' uncontrollable heavy breathing, he appeared extremely relaxed.