I've seen plenty of people who can't die in peace. Watching him meet his end in a sea of flames, it's kind of like I gave him a 'funeral'.
Before he died, he must have wondered why the phosphorus fireflies didn't attack me. I also wanted to share the danger with him, but unfortunately, my abilities didn't allow it.
Why am I the bug in this tomb? I'm a professional 'undertaker', witnessing a hundred death ways of the Tomb Robbers, staring as a man turns into charred remain.
In just seconds, a living, breathing person becomes scraps, the power of phosphorus fireflies rivals that of a steel furnace.
This place is so dangerous, I need to hurry back and inform Qinghan and the others.
I carried back some of the 'scraps', planning to use evidence to speak for itself. Wen Jing was craning his neck at the tomb entrance waiting for me, and seeing me return safely, he cheered and quickly informed the others of my arrival.
I placed the black residue on the ground and wrote down what just happened. Qinghan listened and fell into deep thought, while the newly awakened Miss Scream had a face like Changbai Mountain, squatting in the corner drawing circles, seemingly cursing someone.
With both testimony and evidence in place, I completed my task, dug a small pit outside the tomb entrance, placed the 'scraps' inside, stacked stones to create a little mound, and found a larger stone to inscribe the deceased's name.
"The Tomb of Qin XX..." Wen Jing scratched his head and said, "This name is memorable, very unique."
He reminded me that the person wasn't really named Qin XX, and since I don't know his full name, I drew two circles next to the XX to avoid misleading future visitors.
"Oh my, being ignorant is scary. No one's named XX. Look closely, XXOO means the name is unmentionable because it's replaced by symbols." Shunfeng's reading comprehension deserves full marks—just kidding!
Miss Scream, lost in thought, suddenly came over, looked at the mound I built, and exclaimed, "What's this tomb? A rat's? Why does this rat have a family name, is it your pet?"
"Alright, enough fooling around. The entrance must be at the bottom of the lake, and we need to figure out how to get down," Qinghan was truly a breath of fresh air in this team, undoubtedly the brains of the operation.
I'm growing more curious about Boss Lu. I understand why she forces Qinghan into the tomb, but why bring Wen Jing and Shunfeng along? Are they meant to weaken Qinghan?
"Without diving equipment, how are we supposed to go down ~" Miss Scream stomped, waved her arms, and pouted, completing a trifecta of whining.
I suddenly felt sympathy for Qinghan, while categorizing Boss Lu as the malicious type. Not only did she assign teammates with a combined IQ of 500 to him, but also included an emotional burden as well.
"Little Fu, can you help us distract the phosphorus fireflies?" Qinghan ignored Miss Scream and turned to me.
He stared at the 'rat tomb' on the ground and said, "The phosphorus fireflies might be chasing living body heat. Similarly, anything hot should attract them."
He spoke so softly that Wen Jing and the others couldn't catch his words.
He took out a piece of solid alcohol and said, "This is dangerous. If you don't want to, I'll figure out something else."
I think this four-person team has slim chances of surviving in the tomb. Wen Jing and Shunfeng are clumsy, Qinghan is kind, Miss Scream is troublesome. Together they might form a suicide squad of the tomb-raiding world.
But the world is full of coincidences and ineffable wonders. Despite the team's flaws, I want to be part of it.
Now that I'm their teammate, adventure is an obligation I gladly accept!
I took the can from Qinghan, put the solid alcohol inside, and asked him to light it.
"Professor Chen, what are you doing?" Wen Jing hadn't heard Qinghan's words and, seeing us light the solid alcohol, hurriedly asked.
"Phosphorus fireflies are heat-seeking. Little Fu will draw them away with this, and we need to hurry through. The faster we reach the lakeside, the safer Little Fu will be."
"How can we let one girl when there are so many men—huh?"
Before Wen Jing finished, I sprinted off holding the can, and little did he know, a zongzi is better equipped to battle subterranean creatures than a big guy.
To prevent the can from burning my hand, Qinghan wrapped a selfie stick around it, which he secretly took from Miss Scream's backpack while she wasn't paying attention.
Drawing the phosphorus fireflies gives them a chance, and right now I'm feeling a sense of mission, channeling the spirit of Olympic athletics, turning the can and selfie stick into a torch symbolizing victory.
The attracted phosphorus fireflies were like flashing lights in the stands, swish swish swish swish...
"Go, go—"
"We're waiting for you at the finish line!"
A familiar background music chimes in, a tune I once heard on a tomb raider's phone, the theme of the 1984 Olympic Games.
I thought I was hallucinating until Qinghan sternly shouted:
"Turn off the phone!"
I heard Wen Jing mutter something under his breath, and then the music abruptly stopped.
Turns out Wen Jing is quite persistent about having background music, whether playing it on his phone or singing it himself.
Within the ample space of the cave, I guided the phosphorus fireflies to one side, clearing a path for Qinghan and the others.
The distance between them and the phosphorus fireflies was far enough that they couldn't sense their heat.
As I ran, I suddenly felt something was amiss. Qinghan mentioned the phosphorus fireflies could detect heat from living people, but they can't sense mine. Doesn't that mean I'm not alive?
Does Qinghan know I'm actually dead?!
"Oh no!" Distracted by the shock, I stumbled over a protruding rock.
The can on the selfie stick flew out, but luckily it landed upright, and the solid alcohol didn't spill.
The phosphorus fireflies swarmed towards the can while I grabbed the selfie stick and ran back.
This distance should be sufficient. If I don't seize the chance to escape, the next scrap will be me.
I arrived at the lakeside behind Qinghan and the others, and surprisingly, there were no tentacles, just the four of them—Wen Jing, Shunfeng, and Miss Scream sat panting heavily, while Qinghan remained composed.
Wen Jing claimed to be a professional bodyguard, Shunfeng said he's the successor to the Mountain Mover Taoists, and the brazen Miss Scream called herself the localized version of Angelina Jolie, with a mouth smaller than one-third of her size.
It's remarkable that these three couldn't outrun a gentle university professor!
"Little Fu lady... you're... okay, that's great." Wen Jing was breathless, making me doubt he graduated from the Sunset Red Senior Leisure Bodyguard Club.
"Miss... Miss Cheng, are you alright? Have some... water." Shunfeng struggled to speak clearly yet didn't forget to flatter Miss Scream, a prime example of a devoted admirer, truly deserving.