Chapter 5: The Tomb Gate Mechanism, A Narrow Escape from Death!

The tall, thin man nodded and said, "Yes, that is..."

Before he could finish, Zhang Xuan’s voice rang out again: "Those are Bone-Eating Ant eggs!"

All four men looked astonished.

Zhou Cheng turned to Zhou Zeyi. "Third Uncle, what are Bone-Eating Ants?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Zhou Zeyi’s eyes. "Some kind of ant, I suppose. I've never seen them before."

Zhou Cheng: "..."

"Brother Xuan, what are those?"

Zhang Xuan replied, "They are ants with habits similar to corpse beetles. They often appear near ancient tombs and love to feed on rotting flesh. If you were to run into a swarm, you four would be nothing but bones in half an hour."

The four men’s expressions changed drastically, and they couldn't help but look around them.

Seeing this, Zhang Xuan said, "Stop looking. Bone-Eating Ants have extremely strong predatory instincts; if they were nearby, they would have come out already."

Hearing this, the four breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Xuan continued, "Their eggs have a special structure resembling the faceted cut of a diamond. They can reflect light from any angle, which is why you can't see what's inside the eggs—you only see grains that look like ice crystals."

The four were shocked once again.

Zhou Zeyi looked up at the giant human face. "What strange insects. However, I still don't understand. Why would these eggs form the shape of a human face? Could this have something to do with the mechanism that opens the tomb gate?"

Teli’s eyes suddenly lit up. "This tomb gate is ridiculously large, and it’s situated right between the Warring States tomb and the Zhou Dynasty Emperor's tomb! This gate was clearly designed with great care. Using a human face as a mechanism—that is genuinely possible!"

The tall, thin man added, "I think so too."

Zhou Zeyi took a deep breath, feeling somewhat encouraged. He crossed his arms and rubbed his chin. "But where lies the secret of this mechanism?"

A brief silence followed.

Then, Zhang Xuan’s laughter rang out.

Zhou Zeyi snapped out of his thoughts, startled.

"Unbridled imagination must be based on sound logic," Zhang Xuan chuckled.

Zhou Zeyi frowned as Zhang Xuan continued, "Regarding the possibility of the eggs being a mechanism—have you never considered that it doesn't make much sense for eggs to be laid on smooth stone? Insects don't eat stone; what nutrients would the eggs rely on for development?"

Zhou Zeyi was surprised. "I hadn't thought of that."

Zhang Xuan laughed. "So, stop with the wild theories. Go, get closer, let me take a better look."

Zhou Cheng held his phone toward the stone gate, the camera moving slowly across the surface. Before long, Zhang Xuan’s voice came through the phone: "Do you have a knife?"

Zhou Cheng was stunned. "A knife?"

Teli, standing to the side, pulled a dagger from his waist and handed it to Zhou Cheng.

"Yes!" Zhou Cheng said hurriedly.

"Good," Zhang Xuan replied. "Scrape the tomb gate with the blade!"

Although confused, Zhou Cheng followed Zhang Xuan’s instructions and scraped the surface. The gate didn't seem as sturdy as he had imagined; with very little effort, a layer of powder came off.

"Taste it," Zhang Xuan’s voice sounded again.

"What?" Zhou Cheng asked.

"I said, taste what you scraped off."

Zhou Cheng’s eyes widened. "Won't it be poisonous?"

Zhang Xuan’s tone sounded somewhat exasperated. "If it were poisonous, the eggs would have been killed by the toxins long ago. If you’re afraid, let the guy next to you try. He looks like a tough one."

Teli: "..."

"I appreciate that," Teli muttered. He dipped his index finger into the powder and licked it off the tip of his tongue.

The others were all nervous. After all, this was an ancient underground tomb, and traps could be everywhere. Who could guarantee with a hundred percent certainty that it wasn't poisonous?

Teli smacked his lips, his furrowed brow relaxing as he revealed a look of surprise. "Huh, it’s actually quite sweet!"

The other three looked at him in shock.

"Sweet?"

Teli nodded. "Third Master, if you don't believe me, try it yourself."

Zhou Zeyi turned his head away, but then Zhang Xuan’s voice cut in again.

"Alright, I know what it is. The real tomb gate is underneath. The surface is coated with a thick mixture of sugar, charcoal, and white phosphorus! The sugar serves as nutrients for the eggs to grow."

The group was even more shocked to hear this.

After a long while, Zhou Zeyi still looked puzzled. "Why would they go through the trouble of doing this?"

"To prevent grave robbing," Zhang Xuan replied.

"Grave robbing?"

Zhou Cheng seemed to realize something, exclaiming, "I get it! This mixture is an explosive! If we had detonated the blasting cap earlier, this entire stone gate would have turned into a giant bomb."

The color drained from their faces, especially the tall, thin man, who broke out in a cold sweat. "Damn it, what a sinister trick! We almost ended our lives here!"

Zhou Zeyi was equally shocked. "I've learned something new today. If not for Brother Zhang’s warning, we really would have died here."

Zhang Xuan nodded and explained in a leisurely tone, "Although you have more experience than your nephew, your cultural knowledge is still lacking. That’s why your level of expertise is what it is. Since we’re on the subject, let me explain the true purpose of this white phosphorus, wood ash, and sugar coating."

As soon as he said this, not only the three men, but the over one hundred thousand viewers in the livestream also pricked up their ears.

"The streamer is awesome, he’s got the grave robbers completely stumped. By the way, does this count as protecting national treasures?"

"The streamer is a hero. If not for him, the grave robbers would have leveled the ancient tomb!"

"Is what Brother Xuan says true? Were the ancient mechanisms really that advanced?"

"Is this the earliest form of explosive? Does this mean the discovery of gunpowder needs to be pushed back even further?"

...

In the duty room, Lin Yue was astonished. "He knows mechanisms, he knows history, and he even builds models of ancient tomb structures. How does this guy know more than the archaeology experts?"

Fang Youcai smiled. "What did you expect? Young people are just too impulsive. Isn't that right, Director Chen?"

"Ahem!" Director Chen cleared his throat. "It seems we shouldn't act too hastily. We will stick to Captain Fang’s plan. Once the livestream is over, we will seek an opportunity to make contact."

"Yes, Director Chen!" Fang Youcai replied. He checked the time and grinned. "Oh, it’s already half-past twelve. Director Chen, you should go back and rest. Don't stay up with us young people. Your health is important! The bureau still counts on you to lead the way."

Xiao Lu hurriedly stood up to escort the director, clearly having wanted the leader to leave for a while.

Lin Yue puffed at her bangs and muttered, "Sycophant."

But Director Chen waved his hand. "Since I’m already here, there’s no rush." He pulled up a chair, sat back down, and crossed his arms, staring at the screen. "This young man is full of surprises. I want to see what he’s really thinking..."

The others turned their gaze back to the screen as well.

Inside the tomb, the three seasoned grave robbers and the one novice were listening intently to Zhang Xuan’s explanation.

Zhou Zeyi came to his senses and asked in shock, "So, even without explosives, simply hitting it with tools would have caused the tomb gate to combust violently? I’ve never seen a defensive measure that results in mutual destruction like this before!"

Zhang Xuan sounded surprised. "Never seen it? Does that mean you’ve never raided a tomb from the Jin or Song Dynasties?"

Seeing all three men staring at him, Zhou Zeyi became a bit uncomfortable.

"Ahem, I... I’ve never had the chance."

Zhang Xuan let out an "oh." "No wonder you’d say something so ignorant. The 'Heavenly Fire Glazed Roof' of the Jin and Song Dynasties—that is what you would call truly insane."

Zhou Zeyi took a deep breath. "Heavenly Fire Glazed Roof... what is that?"