walkie talkie

In an instant, the tomb chamber plunged into darkness. Those who had just been engaged in hushed conversations fell silent simultaneously, holding their breath, "watching" the side chamber's entrance in the darkness. After a tense minute or two, rhythmic green lights flickered in the darkness over there, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They then rekindled the lamps on the ground. Evidently, they had encountered something terrifying before, causing these tough men to be so nervous.

At this moment, a bald man carrying a lamp walked over, smiling, "Well, what's going on? Let me see who has angered Second Master so much."

Without lifting his head, Second Master replied, "An unreliable lad. What, coming to laugh at me?"

I discreetly assessed this guy, the bald man from the North that Old He mentioned. Old He had warned me to pay attention to him. He was reputed to be ruthless and infamous for carrying out deadly deeds. The bald man chuckled, "Second Master, what are you saying? I'm just afraid of troubling you. You've been studying this diagram for quite some time. Let me see if there's any progress. Our brothers' future relies on you."

Second Master threw down his pen, looked up at the tomb roof, as if peering through the layers of stone at the entire burial chamber. After a while, he shook his head, "This is not an ordinary 'Morning Immortal Tomb.' This underground palace has three layers, built in different eras. The thing you're looking for is right beneath our feet."

The bald man was very excited, patting his shiny head, "What are we waiting for, Second Master? Please lead the way, let's go down."

"Impossible."

Second Master glanced at him indifferently, took out a cigarette, "It's already a stroke of luck that we made it this far. If we talk about treasures, I can ensure you safely take away what's on the upper layer. I can lead you out of this layer as well. However, the next layer, certain death. The things inside can no longer be revealed."

Hearing this, the bald man's expression changed. He wasn't as respectful as before, "I said, Second Master, we agreed before coming that we're going for what's below. My brothers can't die in vain."

Now I understood Old He's words. This expedition was perilous. Not only did we have to deal with the mystery of the tomb, but even the ones initiating it were not to be trifled with.

I knew Second Master and his men had long considered retiring. Some of his subordinates had set up their own gangs, some had quit the underworld business altogether. The survival of the business was largely due to Old He's loyal associates. In this era, money was power, and whether you were a "Second Master" or not, depended on your wealth. According to Old He, Second Master had been in a hurry this time, suddenly bringing people over after several years. I knew things had reached a critical point. Otherwise, Second Master wouldn't have sought temporary allies from the outside to initiate this expedition. I could imagine that Second Master's influence had diminished significantly, and the territory had contracted, thanks to Old He's few loyal associates holding it together.

Having figured out this layer, I looked at the people around me. They were not as amiable as Second Master's subordinates in the shop.

Second Master took a puff of smoke, paying little attention to the bald man's unfriendly tone, "Mile, don't play dumb with me. Does your master not know what's underneath this 'Morning Immortal Tomb'? Let me tell you the truth. Except for that person, I'm afraid only I can go down. If you want to know what that person took from below, go down and see for yourself. But I bet Cao Frenzy has already told you about the dangers down there, or else he wouldn't be a coward, hesitating to come in."

I was surprised to hear about "Cao Frenzy." I seemed to have heard this name somewhere. Judging by the situation, this group had coveted this tomb for a long time, but lacked Second Master's ability to descend. At the same time, I was puzzled. Why did Second Master suddenly agree to go down again, and who was "that person"?

The bald man's face changed, different from Second Master's calmness. I now had sweat in my palms. The guys next to me, who had been casually chatting, now held their weapons. If things went south, Second Master and Xiao He might be fine, but for a rookie like me, it was likely impossible to get out.

The bald man hesitated for a moment, and at that moment, his gloomy expression didn't escape my eyes. My heart skipped a beat as he said, "Second Master, we agreed before we came. We're going for what's below. My brothers can't die in vain."

It was only now that I understood Old He's words. This expedition was dangerous. Not only did we have to face a formidable tomb, but even the ones initiating it were not easy to deal with.

Actually, I knew Second Master and his men had already considered a retreat. Some of his subordinates had set up their own gangs, some had retired from the underworld business altogether. The survival of the business largely depended on Old He's loyal associates. In this era, money spoke, and whether you were a "Second Master" or not depended on your wealth. According to Old He, Second Master had been in a hurry this time, suddenly bringing people over after several years. I knew things had reached a very serious point. Otherwise, Second Master wouldn't have temporarily sought outsiders to join this expedition. I could imagine that Second Master's power had already declined significantly, and the territory had shrunk. Thanks to Old He's few loyal associates, the business was still standing. In this era, those who had money were the masters, regardless of their rank.

Having understood this layer, I looked at the people around me. They didn't seem as friendly as Second Master's subordinates in the shop.

Second Master took a drag of his cigarette, showing no concern for the bald man's somewhat hostile tone, "Mile, don't pretend to be confused with me. Doesn't your master know what's underneath this 'Morning Immortal Tomb'? Let me tell you the truth. Except for that person, I'm afraid only I can go down. If you want to know what that person took from below, go down and see for yourself. But I bet Cao Frenzy has already told you about the dangers down there, or else he wouldn't be a coward, hesitating to come in."

I was startled by this mention of "Cao Frenzy." I felt like I had heard this name somewhere. From the looks of it, this group had coveted this tomb for a long time, but lacked Second Master's ability to go down. Meanwhile, I was puzzled. Why did Second Master suddenly agree to go down again, and who was "that person"?

The bald man's expression fluctuated, unlike Second Master's calmness. Only now did I see that Old He was lying beside Zhao Gu, pale-faced and already in a state of unconsciousness.

Seeing the bald man leave, Xiao He approached and whispered, "Second Master, are we really not going down?"

Second Master

 glanced at me, extinguished his cigarette butt, "It's you guys not going down. This tomb is too mysterious. I don't have absolute certainty to bring you all down and safely return. Besides..." he looked towards Zhao Gu's side, "Besides, your father can't withstand the turmoil. Later, I'll guide you, you take them out first. Remember to be careful of Mile. That person is extremely cunning."

He said this, and I noticed that Old He was lying next to Zhao Gu, pale-faced and already unconscious.

Xiao He was shocked, and hastily asked, "Second Master, are you going down alone?"

Second Master nodded, and replied with a somewhat serious tone, "I must go down. Perhaps, this is the only opportunity to uncover the truth."

Without waiting for Xiao He to say anything more, Second Master waved his hand, somewhat nostalgically, "This is my destiny."

Suddenly, there was a muffled sound from the tomb door, not very loud, but at this kind of moment, everyone's nerves were tense. Almost simultaneously, the lights on this side went out, and in an instant, the tomb chamber fell into darkness again. I subconsciously turned my head, but couldn't see anything at the dark entrance. Just then, the entrance suddenly lit up with a rhythmic blue light, flashing a few times. Everyone relaxed only then. I suspiciously stared at the light for a few moments. Why did this blue light seem so familiar? My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly called out in a low voice, "Don't move."

I took out the military walkie-talkie I had found from my backpack, turned the volume down to the lowest, and then gently turned on the switch. Suddenly, there was a piercing signal from the entrance, like a woman's lament, making people shiver involuntarily.

Damn it, I guessed right. That blue light wasn't a signal lamp for their sentinels; it was emitted from the screen of the walkie-talkie.

Something was definitely wrong. Just now, I noticed that among the people under the bald man's command, a few were tampering with walkie-talkies. However, the model was completely different from the one I had in my hand. Walkie-talkies rely on frequencies for communication, and for a collective expedition like theirs, they would undoubtedly be equipped with the same model. It was impossible to have two different models. So, I boldly made a guess just now. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be true. Someone at the entrance was holding this military walkie-talkie and might have been following me all the way here.

Second Master looked at me for a moment, lowered his voice towards the bald man, "Light the lamps."

Everyone simultaneously turned on their lamps. I quickly looked over, but found that the area was empty. Not only did I not see anyone holding a walkie-talkie, even the sentinels had disappeared.

I briefly recounted the process of finding the walkie-talkie, but noticed that the expressions of the few people became grim. Second Master took the walkie-talkie and examined it under the light. Suddenly, his expression changed to one of astonishment. Xiao He, curious, took it from him and discovered a line of small characters beneath the walkie-talkie, "l."

I also approached, "What is this?"

Xiao He furrowed his brow and said, "l is the factory code, and the production year follows the serial number."

"This production year is quite early, over twenty years."

I noticed that when I mentioned "over twenty years," Second Master's expression visibly changed. I felt that he must know something, and combined with his profound knowledge of this tomb, I thought, could it be that he came here over twenty years ago?

I cautiously asked, "Could there be other... living beings underground besides us?"

"Impossible," Second Master shook his head, "It's impossible for someone to live down there for so long, unless..."

Liang Zi, standing nearby, cautiously continued, "Unless they are not human?"

At this moment, the bald man, who had finished checking, walked over with a troubled expression, "Second Master, the person is gone, and there are no traces left."

Second Master put away the map on the stone pedestal, his complexion changing, "Quick, let's go."

Second Master and the bald men led the way, with Xiao He carrying the unconscious Old He, along with Liang Zi and Zhao Gu in the middle. I and the bald man, along with a few other men, ran at the rear. Almost simultaneously, we started running in the tomb passage.

I glanced in the opposite direction, ran a few steps to catch up with Xiao He, and curiously asked him, "Why don't we go back to that place? Can't we climb up there?"

Xiao He smiled bitterly, "With that thing there, how can we get out?"

I gave him a look, "Then why did you guys open the secret passage in there?"

Xiao He shook his head, "We didn't make that hole. Someone had already visited this place before us. Moreover, judging from the brickwork, the technique was quite professional. We just don't know how they guarded the burial chamber through that thing."

I was surprised, "You mean someone came here long ago? Is the walkie-talkie also left by those people?"

"Yeah," Xiao He nodded, "Those people came, and they even went down to the bottom. The reason we could get here is that Second Master discovered the marks they left along the way."

"That doesn't make sense. Since they drilled the secret passage up from the second floor, it proves that they came up from below. In other words, if we follow their marks down, it shouldn't be dangerous. Even if there is a risk, our equipment now is much better than twenty years ago. If they could make it, we should have no problems."

Liang Zi interjected, "That's what we thought at first, but at the last mark, right in the stone chamber just now, Second Master found something special. Next to the mark, someone left a sentence, 'Stop, great danger.'"

Hearing this, my understanding of the whole event gradually became clearer. Indeed, someone had come here before, and it seemed that there might be a second team behind this group. That's why they left marks all the way, and Second Master and his men followed these marks down.

Thinking about this, I suddenly remembered the conversation between Second Master and the bald man. They always mentioned 'that person.' According to Second Master, besides him, only 'that person' could go down. Could it be that 'that person' led the team to the tomb over twenty years ago? But now, with the warning discovered, it indicated real danger ahead, causing even someone like 'that person' to be cautious.

Looking at Second Master leading the way, and recalling Old He's mention of this sudden expedition, I speculated that Second Master and the person who went down the tomb years ago must have some connection.