Chapter 35 - The Unsettling Tomb

Chapter 35: The Unsettling Tomb

Gulp…

Gulp…

The sound of Old Hu and the chubby guy swallowing nervously echoed in the sudden silence.

All around them, the rats had gone deathly quiet.

Everyone stared at the corpse of the giant rat—after such a fierce battle, Hu Yifei had just slapped it to death with a single palm strike.

The rat hadn’t stood a chance.

Old Hu and the chubby guy shivered. This woman… was terrifying.

The rat’s body had already caved in—meaning Yifei’s strike had shattered its bones. Just how much force was behind that slap? The two men exchanged glances and silently vowed:

Never, ever piss off Hu Yifei.

Otherwise, they’d end up like that rat—flattened in one hit.

“Hmph. I must be getting rusty—haven’t practiced in a while.” Yifei dusted off her hands, glanced at the rat’s corpse, then picked up her sword again.

When she turned to face the remaining rats, the entire swarm scrambled backward in terror.

Not a single one dared to meet her gaze.

This woman was a demon.

Better not mess with her.

Seizing the opportunity, Chen Yuze quickly extinguished the remaining palace lanterns, replacing their eerie glow with glow sticks. The rats, now reminded of the tomb’s original horrors—plus the living nightmare that was Hu Yifei—fled in panic, desperate to escape before she turned her attention to them.

“Yifei, you’ve done it again.” Chen Yuze grinned. That had been way too close.

Old Hu and the chubby guy rushed over, checking on her.

“Yifei, are you hurt?”

“Hurt? Pfft.” Yifei scoffed, resting her sword on her shoulder. “You three grown men were scared of a few rats? Pathetic.”

The three men hung their heads in shame.

“W-we’re sorry…”

Being protected by Yifei was downright embarrassing. Why did they even feel a little… flustered?

“Whatever. Now that that’s settled—are we going in or what?” Yifei rolled her eyes at the three “useless men” before turning her attention to the grand hall before them.

They stood right at its entrance.

And Yifei was itching to charge inside.

The three men exchanged glances and nodded.

Who were they to argue with their de facto leader?

Besides, they’d come this far—no way they were backing out now.

“Alright, gear up. We’ve cleared three obstacles, but who knows what’s inside? Stay sharp. Let’s move!” Chen Yuze eyed the massive doors in front of them.

He wasn’t about to quit now.

Though he couldn’t be sure if there were more traps, he doubted the danger would escalate much further.

After all, this was just a beginner-level tomb from the system.

The reward? A measly 100-200 points.

If even this was too hard, then higher-level tombs would be outright suicide.

To reassure himself, Chen Yuze checked the mission details again:

[Yuan Dynasty General’s Tomb]

Danger Level: Low (10% chance of encountering a “zombie”)

Loot Quality:

Common: 50%

Uncommon: 30%

Rare: 15%

Legendary: 5%

Completion Reward: 100-200 points

Shouldn’t be too bad.

With that in mind, Chen Yuze relaxed slightly.

The four of them approached the towering doors of the grand hall.

Compared to the earlier stone gate, this one was monstrous—easily dwarfing them in size.

Intricate carvings adorned its surface, some even coated in what looked like gold leaf.

“Damn, this guy was loaded! Is this all real gold?” The chubby guy reached out, fingers brushing the gleaming engravings. “Kid, take a look—this has to be worth a fortune, right?”

“Relax, it’s not gold. Just gilded bronze at best.” Old Hu cut in before Chen Yuze could respond. “You really think they’d make an entire door out of gold?”

Chen Yuze, however, noticed something else.

On either side of the door, two eagle statues stood guard—each with wings spread majestically.

But something was off.

The eagles had no eyes.

Instead, hollow indentations sat where their eyes should be—each about the size of a palm.

Chen Yuze’s eyes lit up.

Digging into his pack, he pulled out the compass-like discs they’d retrieved from the earlier stone gate.

“Good thing I grabbed these. Old Hu, help me out.”

Tossing one disc to Old Hu, Chen Yuzer approached the left eagle.

Old Hu mirrored him on the right.

“Yifei, Chubby—step back.”

Yifei shot them an impatient look.

“Less talking, more opening.”

Sighing, Chen Yuze and Old Hu inserted the discs into the eagles’ eye sockets.

With a click, the discs locked into place.

Gears groaned as mechanisms within the door awakened.

The discs spun, their centers extending needle-like pointers—perfectly fitting the empty sockets.

Chen Yuze and Old Hu backed away, rejoining Yifei and the chubby guy.

All four watched as the massive doors slowly creaked open.

A sliver of darkness yawned beyond.

Chen Yuze frowned.

“Something feels… off.”

Yifei scoffed. “What’s ‘off’? It’s just a door opening.”

“Since when do tombs open their doors on their own like some museum exhibit?” Chen Yuze shot back.

Yifei shrugged. “It’s just like in the movies. Art imitates life, right?”

“…That’s fiction, not reality.”

Chen Yuze gave her the driest look imaginable.