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

Chapter 45 respectively

Qin Yuan's words, "Farewell," ignited the entire scene.

The fat man was the first to jump up: "What are you saying, you little black guy! It's just squeezing into a crack in the rocks, right? I'll risk my life to keep you company!" He was being boastful, but his eyes were shining with seriousness.

Wu Xie grew anxious: "Qin Yuan, don't be impulsive! This crevice is too unpredictable. It's better for us to stay together and look out for each other!"

Qin Yuan held Qin Jiu, standing calmly at the edge of the steaming hot spring. Only he knew that the tattoo on his chest was gradually becoming hotter and more visible with the heat and the energy fluctuations from the bronze door behind the rock crevice.

His words were intentional. His mission was to shut down the "ultimate" system hidden behind the bronze door. He needed the freedom to move around, to activate system tasks, and to use those abilities that were not convenient to fully reveal to outsiders.

Wu Xie has his own mission; his third uncle is probably still waiting for him in that carefully laid trap. At least for now, before resolving the ultimate issue, he cannot disrupt the Nine Gates' arrangements. Separating is a better choice for him and for them.

But seeing Wu Xie and Fatty's anxious faces, and Pan Zi's worried eyes, Qin Yuan's resolve wavered for a moment. In the end, he still considered them friends, not just characters from the book he had initially approached for the sake of the mission.

He glanced at Qin Jiu, who was looking up at him from his arms, and the experience of the underwater tomb flashed through his mind. Ever since Qin Jiu consumed the Prayer Pearl, he seemed to have a natural deterrent effect on low-level evil spirits; perhaps he could become an extra talisman for Wu Xie and his group.

Qin Yuan raised his eyes, looked at Wu Xie and Fatty, and softened his tone: "I'm not acting impulsively, Wu Xie, Fatty, listen to me. Fourth Master is experienced. Although the route he chose is roundabout, it's safe and he's confident in it. If we follow him, we're more likely to arrive at the Heavenly Palace safely."

He paused, then continued, "I chose this path because there are some things I need to confirm on my own."

"But..." Wu Xie wanted to argue.

"Wu Xie!" Qin Yuan interrupted him, "We've split into two groups, both heading towards the Heavenly Palace. We'll eventually meet up inside." He looked at Chen Pi Asi, "Fourth Master, please take good care of Wu Xie and the others."

Chen Pi Asi snorted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but the scrutinizing look in his eyes faded somewhat, which could be considered an acceptance of the arrangement.

Qin Yuan then lowered his head, looked at Qin Jiu, gently placed him on the warm sand, and squatted down to look him in the eye.

"Ajiu," Qin Yuan's voice was low, only the two of them could hear, "Dad has to do something he has to do, and I can't take you with me. You'll have to go with your Uncle Xiemen and Uncle Pang, okay?"

Qin Jiu's small mouth immediately pursed, and her eyes reddened at a visible speed. She held onto Qin Yuan but did not say a word.

"Listen to me." Qin Yuan gently wiped the corner of his eye with his fingertip. "Your father is entrusting you with a very important task."

Qin Jiu sniffed: "A mission?"

"Mm." Qin Yuan nodded, leaned close to his ear, and said in a very soft voice, "Protect your Uncle Fatty and Uncle Evil, just like last time at the bottom of the Xisha Islands, understand?"

Qin Jiu glanced at the fat boy and Wu Xie watching them worriedly from a distance, then at Qin Yuan's solemn gaze, and nodded vigorously, his childish voice unusually earnest: "Understood! Protect Uncle Fatty and Uncle Evil!"

"Good boy." Qin Yuan ruffled his soft, silvery-white hair and gently pushed Qin Jiu toward Wu Xie.

Wu Xie instinctively caught the little guy who lunged at him, "Qin Yuan..."

"Take good care of him for me." Qin Yuan stood up, his tone returning to its usual calm. "Take care of yourselves too. See you in the Heavenly Palace."

Pan Zi patted Qin Yuan on the shoulder, and the fat man walked over, gave him a tight hug, and muttered, "You brat, don't be a daredevil! Come back alive for a drink, my nephew is waiting for you!"

Qin Yuan smirked, "Don't worry, you won't die." Then, remembering something, he secretly took out several cans of insecticide and a rhinoceros horn from his spatial storage and handed them to the fat man under the cover of his backpack. "Keep these safe, don't ask questions, you'll need them later."

After watching the fat man nod and put his things away, Qin Yuan nodded and patted him on the shoulder as a farewell.

Chen Pi Asi had already begun the final inventory and was preparing to depart. Shunzi wrapped his winter coat tighter around himself and led the way toward the crevice at the cave entrance.

Wu Xie carried Qin Jiu, turning back every few steps, but was eventually pulled along by Pan Zi and Fatty, catching up with Chen Pi's group. Qin Jiu lay on Wu Xie's shoulder, watching Qin Yuan until his figure was blocked by the bend in the cave.

Zhang Qiling was last.

He didn't immediately catch up with the group, but stood still, his cold gaze falling on Qin Yuan, then slowly moving to the deep crevice in the rock, and finally settling back on Qin Yuan's face.

The noisy footsteps and whispers of the others gradually faded away, leaving only the gurgling water and the two of them in the hot spring cave.

"What are you planning to do?" Zhang Qiling asked.

Qin Yuan met his gaze. There was no point in hiding or giving evasive answers to Zhang Qiling. He thought for a moment and said, "Go and deal with some things that shouldn't exist in the first place."

Zhang Qiling's eyes flickered: "Our mission?"

Qin Yuan shook his head. "No, it's my mission. I'm not a member of the Zhang family. Of course, if things go smoothly, the Zhang family's thousand-year-old mission will also come to an end."

Zhang Qiling remained silent, neither refuting nor questioning, but his gaze fell on Qin Yuan's collar, which was slightly open due to the damp heat inside the cave.

On the skin near the collarbone, a corner of an intricate tattoo with an ancient feel is faintly emerging.

The style of the pattern is different from the righteousness of the Qilin tattoo, carrying an inhuman coldness, but in some characteristics, the two are surprisingly similar.

Zhang Qiling's gaze swept over the tattoo, then he looked back at Qin Yuan, nodded, and said in an emotionless tone, "Okay."

But Qin Yuan still caught the disbelief in his eyes.

Qin Yuan felt a sense of helplessness. This misunderstanding was huge, but he couldn't explain it at the moment. Even if he did, judging from the look in front of him, he probably wouldn't believe him even if he didn't refute it verbally.

Tsk! Old men are so stubborn!

"Be careful," Zhang Qiling advised finally, his gaze sweeping over the crevice in the rock. "I'll get there as soon as possible."

"You too." Qin Yuan nodded.

From the direction of the cave entrance came Wu Xie's faint call: "Brother! Hurry up and follow!"

Zhang Qiling didn't linger. He turned around, and his black figure nimbly slipped through the gap in the cave entrance, disappearing into the wind and snow outside in the blink of an eye.

The hot spring cave became completely quiet.

Qin Yuan let out a soft breath, checked his equipment one last time, turned around and stepped into the darkness that seemed to devour all light.

Without hesitation, without looking back.

The crevice was narrow and slippery, winding downwards. The warmth and light of the hot spring cave behind me quickly receded, replaced by the coldness of the rocks and the increasingly clear resonance of energy.