Tomb raider: You're going to extract my alien bloodline?

Chapter 35 Underground River

Qin Yuan slipped into the hidden door like a ghost. Behind the door was a narrow, downward-sloping mine tunnel. The air was humid and stuffy, carrying a strange smell of sulfur and rock.

He concealed his presence, using the shadows and the curves of the mine tunnel to move forward stealthily, while the alien squad was ordered to disperse further into the darkness as a backup.

The mine tunnel descended, stretching for an unknown distance, eventually leading to a vast underground space. The sound of rushing water filled the air; below lay a wide, deep underground river, its waters flowing swiftly in the darkness, their force evident even from the sound alone. Using his night vision, Qin Yuan concealed himself behind a massive stalactite and made out the scene on the riverbank below.

Wu Xie and Lao Yang were surrounded by five or six people. The group was clearly not to be trifled with. The leader was an old man in an old-fashioned Zhongshan suit with a sinister look in his eyes. Next to him was a tall, thin man wearing glasses who looked like a clerk. The others were burly men with fierce faces, holding homemade weapons.

Wu Xie and Lao Yang, their hands tied behind their backs, were being pushed and shoved by the group of people, their faces showing anger and helplessness. It seemed they were being forced to explore some dangerous area ahead.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for!" A man with a scar on his face shoved Wu Xie hard.

"G-Gentlemen, the road ahead is really dangerous!" Lao Yang stammered as he tried to explain, his voice filled with fear.

"Enough with the nonsense! If you keep babbling, I'll bleed you dry!" the clerk-like man threatened menacingly.

Qin Yuan's eyes turned slightly cold, but he didn't act immediately. He didn't know if any members of the Wang family had infiltrated these tomb-raiding gangs. Wu Xie wasn't in immediate danger, so if they could complete the mission quietly and leave without being exposed, they would try their best.

Just then, Qin Yuan keenly sensed that the surrounding temperature was beginning to rise significantly, changing from a muggy heat to a scorching one, and the smell of sulfur in the air became even stronger. Below, the underground river, which had previously only been rushing, began to emit a low, rumbling sound, like muffled thunder, as if some enormous creature was churning at the bottom of the river.

"Watch out!" Uncle Tai's expression changed, and he shouted sharply, while signaling his men to quickly retreat to a slightly higher shallow beach with Wu Xie and Lao Yang.

Just as they stepped back—

"boom!!!"

A pure white column of water, as thick as a water vat and entirely composed of boiling water, shot up from the dark underground river below like a sleeping white dragon! With immense force and a deafening roar, the water column soared to the cave ceiling, which was more than ten meters high, and then spread out as a cloud of scalding steam!

"ah--!!!"

A piercing scream, so shrill it was almost inhuman, suddenly rang out!

It was that scarred man who had shoved Wuxie earlier! He was incredibly unlucky, being right in the center of the white water jet eruption and having no time to dodge.

Qin Yuan saw it clearly from the shadows. The moment the man was lifted up by the boiling water, his exposed skin, including his cheeks, neck, and arms, turned bright red and blistered at a speed visible to the naked eye. Then, his skin turned white as if it had been cooked.

His clothes, soaked through, clung to his skin, emitting wisps of white smoke. He flailed his arms frantically, letting out desperate screams, but only for a few seconds before collapsing to the ground as if his bones had been removed. His body continued to convulse unconsciously, and his exposed skin had turned a horribly pale, half-cooked pinkish-white, emitting a strange smell of burning protein. It was clear he was not going to survive.

This sudden, hellish scene terrified everyone! The remaining tomb raiders, including Wu Xie and Lao Yang, turned deathly pale and scrambled back. Qin Yuan was also chilled to the bone, his stomach churning.

The white column of water lasted for about ten seconds before slowly receding, and the underground river resumed its flow. However, the water vapor in the air was even hotter and carried a strong sulfurous smell.

"Damn it... what... what the hell is this..." a tomb raider said, his teeth chattering.

The old man leading the group tried to remain calm, adjusted his glasses, and shouted at Wuxie, "Boy! Go check it out! See what's going on up ahead!"

Wu Xie's face was grim, but under the pressure of the opponent's weapons, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and approach the direction from which the water column had just erupted, wanting to see what was happening on the riverbank.

However, as soon as he reached the riverbank, he slipped on the wet stones and twisted his ankle! He cried out "Ouch!" and lost his balance, falling directly into the rushing underground river!

"Old Wu!" Old Yang exclaimed in surprise.

The river water, which was originally warm, became scalding hot after being mixed with boiling water, but it was still within a tolerable range. The hot water instantly engulfed Wu Xie, and the swift current carried him downstream rapidly, leaving him no time to even cry for help!

"Damn! Someone fell down!" one of the tomb raiders shouted.

Uncle Tai's face was ashen. He stared at the still turbulent underground river, then at the gruesome corpse on the ground, and gritted his teeth: "We can't stay here! Follow the river! Quickly!"

The remaining people dared not linger and jumped into the river, being swept downstream by the current. Lao Yang was also forced to jump in after them.

When everyone had been swept away by the river, leaving only the sound of water and the smell of a corpse that was beginning to emit a mixture of cooked and burnt meat in the mine tunnel, Qin Yuan finally emerged from his hiding place.

He walked to the riverbank, glanced at the corpse, his face expressionless; the manner of death was indeed gruesome. He crouched down and carefully felt the temperature of the river water.

"Intermittent high-temperature geysers?" Qin Yuan speculated in his mind. "It seems that this underground river is connected to an area with intense geothermal activity. I wonder if this thermal energy is related to the energy core."

Without hesitation, he leaped into the river. The water was indeed only lukewarm, but the current was extremely rapid. He controlled his body and swam downstream. He hadn't gone far when a deafening roar came from ahead—it was a huge underground waterfall.

Below the waterfall, mist hangs thick and the bottom is nowhere in sight. At the edge of the waterfall, near the rock face, several huge, rusty iron chains, as thick as a child's arm, hang down from above, extending into the pool below the waterfall, their destination unknown.

Qin Yuan reacted swiftly, grabbing a cold iron chain just before his body was swept off the waterfall! The powerful force of the water made his arm sink, but his amazing strength held his body firmly in place.

He climbed down the iron chain, his gaze sweeping over the misty waterfall pool below and the surrounding rock walls. He could sense Wu Xie and the others below; they were not in immediate danger, but they had clearly suffered serious injuries and were struggling.

Qin Yuan made up his mind to lie in wait in the shadows of the chains and rock walls, secretly following them. His main objective was to ensure Wu Xie's safety; if Wu Xie encountered any mortal danger, he would come to his rescue. As for the group of tomb raiders and the strange-behaving Lao Yang, their fate was up to their own destiny.

In this bizarre and unpredictable underground world, he's no saint. Even when he initially saved the main characters, it was only because of their identities—they could help him complete his mission and gain benefits. Feelings develop through interaction; there's no such thing as unconditional favoritism in this world.