NABC 22. Strike when the iron is hot.
22. Strike when the iron is hot.
Qin Mian was surprised that Andreev and the others were all safe and sound. In addition, the ninjutsu he had witnessed with his own eyes last night confirmed to Qin Mian that each of these people possessed unique skills. Furthermore, with the inheritance of the Eight Great Sects, they were not so easy to kill.
He gained a deeper understanding of these people and dared not underestimate them anymore.
Andreev and the others were also very happy to see Qin Mian and his group.
Alice smiled with genuine joy: "Thank God you're all safe and sound. This is the best news after the storm."
"Alice, I'm so happy to see you again!" Scarlett excitedly ran over and grabbed Alice's hand. The two were like best friends. "By the way, how did you two manage to escape that sandstorm?"
Speaking of this, Alice patted her chest with lingering fear and pointed to the taciturn AkuKu beside her: "Thanks to AkuKu. At the last moment when the sand wall was about to collapse, he discovered an unnatural collapse in the sand, which turned out to be the entrance to a buried ancient tomb. We didn't have time to think and all jumped down after him, which is how we narrowly escaped being swallowed by the core wind pillar."
"An ancient tomb? You found an ancient tomb?" Scarlett was surprised.
Alice said, "It's just an ordinary commoner's grave."
Scarlett looked at Akuko in amazement. "Akuko, you're amazing! In that visibility, the sand dunes all looked exactly the same, and you still managed to find the hidden tomb! It's a miracle!"
Ah Kuku said nonchalantly, "It was just luck; I just happened to fall down."
He succinctly attributed everything to chance.
Qin Mian listened to their conversation and glanced at A-Ku-Ku. He didn't think it was a coincidence.
In such a vast and boundless desert, the probability of you accidentally falling into an ancient tomb is probably not much higher than winning the lottery.
Locating the dragon vein and pinpointing the acupoint is a skill that tomb raiders are adept at.
Ah Ku Ku was able to find underground tombs, could it be that this guy is a tomb raider?
Looking at Ah Ku Ku's almost primitive attire, it's really hard to associate him with the tomb raiders.
"Haha, Brother Qin Mian, how did you find this place?" Andreev stepped forward and patted Qin Mian's shoulder warmly, his pat firm and displaying a typical Russian hearty manner. "Tell me, how did you find this ruin? It must have been quite an adventure!"
He appeared to be concerned, but in reality, he was also testing Qin Mian, trying to glean clues about his hidden abilities or identity from his experiences.
Qin Mian chuckled sheepishly. "Hey, we were just lucky. The sandstorm was so fierce that we couldn't see the road at all. Then we saw a white wild camel running ahead, and without thinking, we followed it. We ended up here without even realizing it, and we stumbled upon these ruins. We quickly took shelter here."
"Heh, you guys are pretty lucky!" Park Guk-chang said sarcastically. "Where's Yamamoto? Have you seen that guy?"
Qin Mian ignored him when he heard his sarcastic remarks.
Scarlett said, "We didn't see Yamamoto."
Qin Mian glanced at Scarlett, who winked at him, seemingly telling him not to say anything either.
Qin Mian didn't say much.
The others didn't think much of it either.
Upon hearing this, Andreev snorted through his nose, his disgust undisguised: "Hmph! Those little devils, they've probably been blown by the wind to some remote corner to feed on the sand! Good riddance, it'll be peaceful! They're the kind of people I hate the most!"
As he spoke, he threw the wild goat he had just caught on the ground. "Haha, I was lucky just now and caught a goat. Brother, help me find some firewood so we can have some meat. Perfect, it'll save us some food."
Andreev was quite generous and had no intention of keeping the wild goat for himself.
Food, especially fresh meat, is an immense temptation in the desert. A light shone in everyone's eyes, and even their fatigue seemed to lessen.
But Qin Mian hurriedly said, "Brother, I think we should leave here as soon as possible."
"Oh? Why?" Andreev asked suspiciously.
Alice looked over too.
After what had happened before, she had a vague feeling that Qin Mian was not simple.
Firstly, Qin Mian helped them find the secret hidden in the map; secondly, Qin Mian also gave an early warning of the sandstorm. These were definitely not coincidences.
Alice quickly asked, "Qin, have you discovered something?"
Qin Mian stopped hiding his abilities, because the dungeon rewards were just too tempting.
He's currently focused on quickly breaking through the 60% personal progress barrier and then drawing rewards, so he's making sure to perform well when the opportunity arises.
"We found a skeleton in the room where we were hiding, and I don't think that's a good omen," Qin Mian said.
Upon hearing this, Kia scoffed, brushed the sand off his tattered sari, and said in a condescending tone, "Great Xia man, you are far too cowardly. What's so strange about a skeleton in this ancient desert city? We even saw traces of wolves near where we found this sheep. That man was most likely eaten by wild animals as well."
Ah Ku Ku licked his chapped lips, staring at the goat on the ground, and added, "A night of running around has taken a toll on our strength. There's ready-made shelter here, which can protect us from the wind. Moreover, ruins of this size are likely to have traces of ancient wells or water cellars underground, which is worth spending time searching for. Replenishing water and energy is very important."
Qin Mian said with a solemn expression, "I don't think it's that simple. To be honest, I'm a veteran escape room player. If you look at this instance from the perspective of an escape room player, then any abnormal details should be taken seriously. Moreover, I have carefully examined that skeleton. If it was eaten by wolves or other animals, there will definitely be bite marks on the bones."
"However, the bones were very smooth, and there wasn't a single piece of flesh in the gaps between them, which was very unusual. I think these unusual things might be a hint that something that could devour human flesh and blood might exist here."
Everyone frowned upon hearing Qin Mian's words.
"Brother, isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?" Andreev was clearly a little suspicious.
"Heh, devouring flesh and blood? Are you saying there's a monster here?" Park Guk-chang sneered.
Qin Mian shrugged. "Are you sure there are no monsters in this dungeon? Besides, what I'm saying is that something that can devour flesh and blood isn't necessarily a monster. Many things can do that. For example, in the desert, there's a type of desert army ant. When these desert army ants swarm in large numbers, no animal can escape their attack. In the end, they'll be eaten down to their bones."
After listening to Qin Mian's eloquent speech, everyone felt that there was some truth to it, and for a moment they were all undecided.
……