Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 885 Bump

He looked up at the closed door. The complex patterns flickered in the night, like countless half-open eyes. "These symbols are moving." Ava suddenly grabbed his wrist, her voice trembling uncontrollably. Jack looked closely, and indeed, the originally static patterns were slowly moving at a speed that was almost imperceptible to the naked eye, like luminous creatures swimming in the deep sea. Carlos held the machete vigilantly, and the blade reflected the ever-changing light and shadow on the surface of the building. He whispered: "Be careful, the stones here seem to be... alive." Ava spread the parchment on the wall and compared it carefully with the strong light of the tactical flashlight. Her forehead was almost touching the mysterious symbols, and her hair fell down, like black vines in the interweaving of light and shadow. "Look, the star signs on the map match the arrangement of these patterns perfectly." Her fingertips traced a symbol that looked like an eye, "But there's a key element missing here - time." Jack frowned, and suddenly remembered the ancient legend mentioned in his grandfather's exploration notes: "Some lost civilizations use astronomical phenomena as codes, such as the phases of the moon, the trajectory of stars..." He looked up at the night sky, but found that the treetops above his head were like a huge dome, blocking all the starlight. Carlos suddenly squatted down, scraped off some wall dust with the blade of a knife, and sniffed it at the tip of his nose: "There is a smell of sulfur, and... the smell of blood." At this moment, Ava suddenly exclaimed. Her flashlight beam was fixed on the lower right corner of the door, where there was a tiny depression, the shape of which was exactly the same as a recurring symbol on the parchment. "I understand!" She turned around excitedly, with a fanatical light flashing in her eyes, "These patterns need to be activated at a specific time and order, just like..." Her voice stopped abruptly, and her expression suddenly became solemn, "Like summoning something." Jack and Carlos looked at each other and saw the same fear in each other's eyes. But the desire for adventure eventually overcame the anxiety, and they began to rotate the raised patterns according to Ava's instructions. Every time they rotated one, they could hear the sound of the internal gears turning, as if a giant beast that had been sleeping for thousands of years was waking up. When the last pattern returned to its position, the whole building suddenly roared, the ground shook violently, and the door slowly rose. The dust was filled with a smell of decay, as if a tomb that had been sealed for thousands of years was opened. The dazzling light poured out from the crack of the door. Jack raised his arm to block it. When his vision recovered, the scene in front of him made him hold his breath. In the circular hall, the glowing gems inlaid on the walls were as bright as the starry sky, reflecting the entire space like a dream. But the most eye-catching thing was the huge stone platform in the center of the hall, on which was placed a box with a golden luster. The lid of the box was engraved with the same symbol as the door, and the edge was inlaid with a circle of eye-like decorations, as if watching every intruder. "Be careful." Carlos' voice came from behind, with a noticeable tremor, "I feel something is watching us." Jack slowly pulled out his gun, and the cold touch of the metal made him calm down a little. Just as they carefully approached the stone platform, there was a low vibration from the ground, like the footsteps of some giant beast. Carlos' face turned pale in an instant: "This sound... is the same as the heartbeat we heard by the river." Before he finished speaking, the four corners of the hall suddenly lit up with a faint green light, and countless mechanical puppets slowly rose from the secret door on the ground. These puppets were three meters tall, with complex patterns on the metal shell, red light flashing in the empty eye sockets, and the spears and shields in their hands glowed with cold light. Jack pulled the trigger without hesitation, and the bullet hit the puppet and splashed sparks, but only left a shallow dent on the metal surface. "Their joints!" Ava shouted loudly, and at the same time raised her pistol and shot one of the puppets at the knee. However, the puppets were much more agile than they thought, and they easily dodged the attack and swung their spears back. Carlos was quick to block the attack with his machete, but the huge impact made his palm numb and he almost couldn't hold the weapon. The battle became more and more intense, and the puppets formed a tight formation, gradually forcing the three people to the corner. Jack's arm was scratched by the spear, and blood soaked his sleeves, but he ignored the pain and continued to shoot. Ava calmly observed in the hail of bullets, and suddenly, she found that the shape of the grooves on the wall perfectly matched some parts of the puppets. "Lead them to the wall!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, "Use these grooves!" The three began to cooperate tacitly, Jack and Carlos were responsible for attracting the attention of the puppets, and Ava looked for the right time. When a puppet approached the wall, she aimed at the raised part of its shoulder and shot. The puppet lost its balance and hit the wall heavily, just embedded in the groove. With a sharp metal friction sound, sparks burst out from the joints of the puppets, and they could not move. But more puppets came up and attacked more frantically. Jack had very few bullets left, so he put away his gun, drew his dagger, and fought side by side with Carlos. Every block made his arm numb, and every counterattack was dangerous. Ava looked for opportunities in the chaos, and her pistol accurately shot at the puppets' weaknesses to buy time for her companions. After an unknown amount of time, the last puppet fell to the ground. The three of them collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, their bodies covered with wounds, and blood and sweat mixed together, soaking their clothes. Jack struggled to stand up and walked towards the stone platform. His steps were weak, but with firm determination. The moment he opened the golden box, a soft light lit up, and inside lay a piece of crystal emitting a faint light. The patterns on the surface of the crystal were like flowing galaxies, forming a perfect echo with the maps in their hands and the symbols on the building. "This is the key." Ava's voice was full of awe. She carefully picked up the crystal, tears flashing in her eyes. "Grandfather's lifelong pursuit finally has the answer." However, before they had time to celebrate, there was a sudden noisy sound outside, accompanied by sharp horns and footsteps. Carlos's face changed drastically: "It's the natives, their war horns!" The three of them quickly put away the crystal, picked up their weapons, and prepared to face new challenges. Through the crack in the door, they saw countless torches swaying in the night, like a red river, rushing towards this mysterious building. In the light of the fire, the natives had ferocious totems painted on their faces, and the weapons in their hands flashed cold light. A life-and-death battle was about to begin.