The blonde man leaned over, frowned at the bluish-gray mound of earth, and urged in awkward Chinese, "Then hurry up and open it! Use the machine directly!" He didn't care for any sophisticated methods, just eager to get into the tomb.

The goateed man cursed under his breath but kept a smile on his face, explaining, "Boss, this rammed earth is very hard. Using a machine could collapse the tomb chamber; we need to slowly find the cracks..."

The blonde man stood up impatiently after hearing this, "You have one day. I need to be inside the tomb tomorrow." With that, he walked toward the temporary tent nearby.

The goateed man watched the blonde man's back as he entered the tent, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.

Another tomb raider nearby asked, "Uncle, should we use the machines?"

"Use my ass!" the goateed man muttered under his breath, frowning, "The rammed earth under here is different from the previous tombs. It's clearly set up with anti-theft measures. If we drill hard as he said, we might all end up buried here!"

A kilometer away, Duan Pingyu lay on the grass, holding a phone in one hand and binoculars in the other, keeping constant watch on the situation here.

"Boss, they've moved to a new location, currently fifty kilometers east of Hucha. It still looks like they're searching for a grave."

"Send me the exact coordinates. For now, just keep a close watch on them and try not to get exposed," Qi Yun instructed over the phone.

"Understood," Duan Pingyu replied and hung up the phone.

At a freeway service area, Qi Yun smoked by a trash bin. Upon receiving the coordinates from Duan Pingyu on his phone, his brows furrowed into a knot.

"Damn it, what a coincidence!"

The location sent by Duan Pingyu was almost identical to the coordinates in the intel information.

Before setting off, Qi Yun had thought of first looking for clues himself, and by the time he had the items, Chen Wei and the others should have returned, ready to deal with this group together.

But now, it seemed that plan wouldn't work.

If this group found key clues ahead of them and informed De Gaulle, it would have been a wasted trip for him.

More importantly, he would lose leverage in future collaborations.

Qi Yun rubbed his chin, his mind racing. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something and hurriedly dialed Duan Pingyu again.

"Hello, Boss."

"The plan has changed. If this group shows any intent to withdraw, you need to contact me immediately and keep an eye if they find a mirror," Qi Yun quickly instructed.

He just remembered that Ignacio had mentioned to him that, according to historical records, the Duke Tieren had once traveled to the Northern Mongolia Grassland, reportedly to look for a mirror, but never found it.

Then he went to Africa and brought back a blue stone from Mount Kilimanjaro, for which Louis II richly rewarded him.

Qi Yun speculated that the clue in Northern Mongolia likely involved that mirror.

Duan Pingyu hesitated for a moment, suspicious, "A mirror? What kind of mirror?"

Qi Yun sighed helplessly, "I don't know for now, but it's definitely a mirror. If you get a chance, try to snatch it!"

"But prioritize your safety. I can arrive by tomorrow morning."

"Alright, I understand," Duan Pingyu nodded in response.

"Okay, that's it for now."

After they ended the call, Qi Yun shouted to the man named Old Hei beside him, "Inform everyone to hurry up. We need to reach the destination quickly."

"Yes, Boss." Old Hei responded swiftly, then turned to inform the archaeology team members in the rest area.

Qi Yun took a couple more puffs of his cigarette, then picked up his phone and dialed Ge Dabao's number.

The two talked in detail on the phone for more than ten minutes.

...

The next day, at eight in the morning.

On the Hucha Grassland, the blonde man stepped out of the tent, walked straight to the tomb raiders' dig site, and impatiently asked, "Why isn't it open yet?"

He kicked aside the grass to reveal a pit just over two meters deep, and there was still the bluish-gray rammed earth. His face instantly turned dark.

The goateed man squatted nearby, wiping his sweat, smiling, "Boss, don't rush. This rammed earth is mixed with sticky rice paste; it's sturdier than stone. Forcing it won't work."

He pointed to a small crack at the bottom of the pit and continued, "See, we found a seam in the layers. We're using the Earth-Splitter to pry it open bit by bit to avoid collapse."

The blonde man looked in the direction the goateed man pointed and indeed saw several thin steel rods inserted at the bottom of the pit, with fresh dirt clinging to the ends.

"I don't care how you do it; I need to see the entrance by noon!" the blonde man said coldly before taking his phone and walking off to the side.

The young man next to him spat hard, cursing under his breath, "Damn it, pushing us like it's a life or death situation; they'll end up buried underneath one day."

The goateed man glared at him and ordered, "Push harder, insert the Earth-Splitter another two inches in, and pry along that seam, but don't use brute force."

The young man quickly squatted down, holding the thin steel rod and pushing it into the crack. With a creaking sound, it sank in half an inch, bringing out some bluish-gray soil mixed with dark red powder.

"Uncle, there's cinnabar in this soil!" the young man said, picking up some of the powder which stained his skin dark red. "This tomb owner must be of extraordinary nobility to even mix cinnabar into the rammed earth as pest prevention."

The goateed man leaned in for a closer look, frowning, "It's a meticulous master; this tomb is higher in rank than we thought."

Saying that, he took a small brass hammer out of his canvas bag and gently tapped the end of the Earth-Splitter. The hammer made a dull "dong dong" sound as it hit the steel rod, reverberating below, as if hitting hollow wood.

"It's almost there! Keep going!"

Over an hour passed, and with a "boom!" sound, a side of the pit bottom completely collapsed, revealing a man-high opening.

The goateed man waved his hand to disperse the dust, cursing, "Damn it, it collapsed neatly enough."

Covering his mouth and nose, he approached the opening, where a mix of decayed wood, dust, and a faint musty smell hit him straight in the face, making him frown, "Don't move yet. Let the air clear out; there might be toxic gases."

The young man next to him took out a flashlight from his bag and after inspecting it, shone it inside. The beam of light filtered through the dust, illuminating the scene below the entrance.

Beside the collapsed rammed earth pile stood a deep black wooden board, the edges had decayed to black, with a few remnants of red paint hanging on it. Vaguely visible were copper rings embedded into the board, now corroded to a greenish-blue color.

But from the scene, it was clear this tomb was very old indeed.

"Uncle! There are metal artifacts, and they're gilded!" another tomb raider suddenly pointed behind the wooden board, shouting excitedly.

The blonde man, drawn by the commotion, squeezed past the goateed man to peer into the opening. Seeing the tomb chamber open, he immediately turned to his subordinates and instructed, "Get the equipment, we're going in right now!"

Upon hearing the order, the subordinates quickly turned to prepare.

The goateed man spoke up then, "This old tomb has been sealed for at least six or seven hundred years; it's best to let the air circulate before going in."

It wasn't due to any good intentions that he said this, just that he hadn't received the remaining half of his payment.

In case this group rushed in hastily and some of them ended up lying flat, they might take it out on them, making it hard to get their money later.

The blonde man impatiently waved his hand, almost spitting in the goateed man's face.

"Cut the crap! I didn't hire you to tell me how to do things!"

But though he talked tough, he still sent a subordinate to fetch some oxygen masks, given it concerned his own life.

Before long, the three subordinates returned, each holding a piece of equipment to the entrance. Once they all had their oxygen masks on, the blonde man pointed inside and told the goateed man, "You go first!"

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