<h4>Chapter 1342: Chapter 1650: Ancient Tomb Rescue (3)</h4>


    Entering the tomb passage, Ling Chen and Tang Yuan held shlights, illuminating the floor as they walked forward slowly. The floor was made of square stone bs pieced together, covered in dust.


    Not far along, they reached a fork in the road, staring at the two dark paths. Tang Yuan pointed to the right path, "Why don’t we go this way? The scouting vehicle already went the other way, I think there’s no need for us to go there."


    "I think it doesn’t matter which way we go," Ling Chen said. "Since this ancient tomb is a huge mechanism, the chamber is surely hidden within it. No matter which road we choose, we’ll get lost inside the tomb."


    "Then what do we do?"


    "If you ask me, we’d better figure out the trigger conditions and patterns of the mechanism. Once we understand that, this tomb won’t be a problem." As he spoke, Ling Chen pulled out a fist-sized iron ball from his backpack and rolled it along the floor of the right path.


    Under the shlight beam, the iron ball rolled farther and farther until it reached the end of the passage.


    "Tang Yuan, aren’t we going over?"


    Ling Chen shook his head and said, "Let’s wait and see." After about a minute, they suddenly felt a slight vibration from the ground. At the same time, faint sounds of friction came from up ahead.


    "Let’s go and take a look." With those words, Ling Chen quickly sped up and went forward.


    At the corner, they saw that the path had detached from the main structure and was slowly moving. Not long after, another path hidden below slowly rose and connected to the main passage.


    Seeing this, Tang Yuan widened his eyes, utterly amazed by what he was seeing.


    "Wow... Damn it! Tang Yuan, did you see that? Such technology existed in ancient times? Did wee to the wrong ce? This isn’t an ancient tomb; it’s a modern one."


    "Don’t get too excited." Ling Chen inspected their surroundings and said, "This tomb was definitely built by ancient people, at least a few hundred years old. But you’re right, having mechanical techniques of this level is unprecedented."


    After pausing, Ling Chen pointed to the passage ahead and said, "This path has turned from the original passage into another one; perhaps it’s the true path to the ancient tomb."


    "How did you do that?" Tang Yuan asked curiously.


    "It’s simple. Since this tomb is a gigantic mechanism, there must be something triggering the mechanism in the passage. Ancient people didn’t have infrared detectors, so they mostmonly used the floor to activate mechanisms. If the floor senses pressure, it triggers this path’s mechanism. Alright! Let’s go; we don’t have time to waste now."


    As they crossed the passage, a me suddenly burst from both sides. Upon closer look, the sconces along the walls were all lit, creating an eerie vibe.


    Ling Chen switched off his shlight and, with the candlelight, looked ahead. The passage stretched dozens of meters, cold and clear, with asional gusts of chilling wind blowing through.


    "There’s wind inside; seems like there’s a vent ahead," Tang Yuan said.


    "Be cautious; in such a long passage, there might still be mechanisms." Ling Chen rolled the iron ball along the floor of the passage.


    A minute went by without any issue. Seeing this, Ling Chen nodded and said, "Seems safe now."


    They walked along the passage to its end and both Ling Chen and Tang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, luck was on their side with no dangers appearing. At the end was a tomb door, which they passed through, entering a huge chamber.


    In the center of the chamber was a two-meter long, one-meter wide stone coffin. It appeared ordinary, with candlemps hanging from each of the four corners. Ling Chen nced around and saw piles of items in the corners, mostly porcin.


    "Tang Yuan." At this point, Tang Yuan tugged Ling Chen’s arm and pointed to the southeast corner, "Look there."


    Ling Chen turned his head and saw severalrge boxes filled with gold, silver, and jewels. To Ling Chen, such wealth was unsurprising. Whoever built this tomb surely wasn’tcking in money.


    A chilling wind blew past, and Ling Chen looked up to see the ceiling of the chamber, where there were seven or eight holes, each the size of a fist, likely the vents for the chamber.


    Ling Chen couldn’t help but find it strange. Regardless of who the tomb owner was, they exerted such effort to build a mechanism-based tomb, and yet, their main chamber seemed excessively simple.


    As he pondered, Tang Yuan had already walked over to the stone coffin.


    "Tang Yuan, who do you think lies here?"


    "I’m no seer, how would I know?" Ling Chen said as he looked around, puzzled, "Usually, tombs have items symbolizing the person’s status, yet this main chambercks any record. Isn’t it odd, Old Tang?"


    "You previously said, given the tomb’s feng shui and scale, a royal should be buried here. But I’ve seen on TV that royal tombs have burial apaniments: ceramics, jade, gold, silver, livestock, and sacrificial humans. Besides porcin and jewels, there’s nothing else here."


    "You’re right, indeed, it seems unlike a royal burial." Ling Chen turned his gaze to the stone coffin.


    "Old Tang, why don’t we... open up this stone coffin for a look?"


    "I would like to, but we’re amateurs. What if we identally damage the remains inside? I’ve heard archaeology is meticulous; we shouldn’t ruin their work."


    Ling Chen found the logic sound.


    "Alright then, let’s find the others first."


    "Tang Yuan!" Suddenly, Tang Yuan seemed to spot something, pointing to a corner of the chamber, "Look at that."


    Ling Chen turned his head and scrutinized the area, sighting a lever in the corner. Because its color matched the wall, they hadn’t noticed it when entering.


    "Do you think... this lever controls the entire tomb’s mechanism?" Tang Yuan asked.


    "Possible. But it’s just our guess; who knows what might happen."


    "What’s there to fear; it’s just a tomb. With our skills, even if danger arises, we can escape."


    Ling Chen cast an annoyed nce at Tang Yuan, "We may, but others can’t. Don’t forget, we’re not the only ones in this tomb."


    Right as he finished speaking, they heard a faintly trembling voice from Hao Dongnan on the walkie-talkie, "Chief Tang, are you there?"