Tomb Raider: What the hell is this strange commission?

Chi Yu walked a few steps forward, approaching the spring. He used his trekking pole to poke a few times at the gravel pile on the shore, looked for a while, and suddenly plunged the entire pole into it.

A cloud of smoke, like that produced when a raging fire is suddenly extinguished by cold water, accompanied by a strange sound that Xie Yuchen could not understand, emerged from the cave deep in the ground where Chi Yu was.

So Xie Yuchen reached for the weapon he was carrying, approached Chi Yu cautiously, and asked softly from behind him, "What's that noise?"

Chi Yu pulled out his cane and made way for Xie Yuchen to see the situation clearly.

He swung the staff, turned it around, and tapped it on the ground, saying to Xie Yuchen, "Someone has set up a small Qi gathering formation here."

Xie Yuchen raised his eyebrows: "Qi Gathering Formation?"

"Well, it's something similar to Feng Shui. This formation will lock all the absorbed energy essence in the center of the formation, and will not feed it back to the surrounding area. Over time, it will destroy the surrounding environment. It's not a good thing."

I heard that the environmental conditions in Lop Nur have been deteriorating over the years. Maybe the situation here will become even worse, and this formation may have some credit for it.

However, this was not the main point he wanted to tell Xie Yuchen, so there was no need to say those speculations.

Chi Yu turned his eyes away from the map details and explained, "This formation affects the magnetic field of the survey point, which is why the snakes here have not completely entered hibernation. The slightest movement will cause them to attack."

Xie Yuchen walked forward and looked down at the cave that Chi Yu had opened.

A piece of amber the size of a man's arms was buried there, containing a lizard that looked like it had not yet completely lost its life.

There was an obvious hole in the amber, causing many white cracks to appear on the originally crystal clear material, destroying its beauty.

Among these tiny white marks, the trickling bright red is also something that cannot be ignored.

"This lizard...was it alive before?" Xie Yuchen asked.

"The sound you just heard was its cry," Chi Yu said. "It is a sacrifice sealed in the center of the Altar of Earth. Originally, it and this piece of amber should not have been this big, but as time went by, it has been receiving offerings for so long that it is about to grow horns."

"Long horns..." Xie Yuchen looked carefully at the creature sealed in amber.

It does look different from ordinary lizards, with obvious scales covering its body. Especially the skin on its head, which has two bulges that cannot be ignored, as if something is about to come out.

Xie Yuchen suddenly smiled and asked Chi Yu, "It's almost growing horns, so it can be considered a rare animal. Isn't it a pity to kill it like this?"

That was of course because there was only a conspicuous little red dot flashing on his map at the time - as long as the enemy attack mark on the map had not disappeared, the battle would not be considered to have ended perfectly.

Before leaving this area, he must clear the map, Chi Yu thought coldly.

But as long as Chi Yu wanted, he could always find reasons to explain these behaviors——

"If I don't kill it, even if it grows horns, it won't be able to break through the seal of the Earth Altar. When the time comes, the person who originally set up this formation will naturally dig it out and end its long life."

Chi Yu said expressionlessly, "It's going to die anyway, so I don't mind being a good person and sending it to death early."

Xie Yuchen nodded thoughtfully: "So the Feng Shui pattern here has been changed artificially."

He said, and then looked at Chi Yu: "I don't think you are someone who would meddle in other people's business. You choose to destroy this formation now. Do you see any problems?"

It was said that it was for battle settlement, so how could he know what the person who set up this formation was thinking at the time?

…Forget it, he just said there’s a wall between players and NPCs.

Chi Yu shook his head and sighed in his heart.

But considering that this person is Xie Yuchen, Chi Yu is still willing to use some nonsense literature to perfunctorily deal with it.

"It's just a special case and there's no problem with it. I do these things just as I please. It doesn't have any special meaning as you think." Chi Yu said.

"But if we see something similar again, it means someone wants to do something big in Lop Nur - and judging by the timeline, it's likely to happen in the near future."

Xie Yuchen exhaled a breath of hot air and watched the white mist quickly disappear with the cold wind.

His tone of conclusion was also somewhat chilly in winter: "There are too many mysteries in Lop Nur. That person may not necessarily agree with our goals. Before that, we should not cause any more trouble."

"But what if they are consistent?" Chi Yu asked lightly.

"Then get rid of them all." Xie Yuchen said, "There can only be one winner in this operation."

So Chi Yu showed an expression that was neither a smile nor a smile, which looked like the prelude of a large predator preparing to hunt.

He did not make any promises to Xie Yuchen, but Xie Yuchen knew very well that if they really encountered such a situation, their enemies would only have one ending to choose from.

When the conversation between the two came to an end, the sound of rubble rolling was heard not far away.

They looked up and saw the two surveyors holding their field bags, looking a little frightened.

The emotions of the few guys who were responsible for protecting their safety seemed much more stable.

Chi Yu noticed that the copy that the surveyor should have completed sampling had disappeared during the previous intense movement.

Now that they saw Xie Yuchen, their subconscious choice was to move towards the direction where the young Xie was.

This won't do, their mission hasn't been completed yet. If I come over and waste their time, then they won't be able to complete the mission.

Thinking of this, Chi Yu turned on the intercom: "Field team, continue sampling. We are already a quarter of an hour behind the expected departure time. Please complete your task as soon as possible."

Then he watched with satisfaction as those people quickly returned to work.

"You really don't want to waste any time."

Xie Yuchen looked at the busy scene over there and sighed a little, but turned back to the way he came without any nostalgia, "Judging from your reaction, there shouldn't be any other problems here? Then let's go back first, it's quite cold after staying outside for a long time."

Chi Yu turned his head and looked at Li Yuchen with his eyes slightly lowered. The boy's ears had been frozen red in this short period of time, and he looked very pitiful.

He is so afraid of the cold that he doesn’t even bother to put on a hat when he goes out.

He smiled softly and said meaningfully, "I remember I should have reminded you before I came here that the temperature here is more than a woolen coat can handle."

"But when some people say this, they should also consider what they are wearing now." Xie Yuchen continued without hesitation.

Chi Yu shook his head and said nothing more.

After all, there is really no need to get into another argument with a sharp-tongued child over a trivial matter such as "what kind of clothes should I wear when going out".

Anyway, he has a special physique and is not afraid of heat or cold. But people who are stubborn will always realize the consequences of their wrong choices in an environment that they cannot bear.

For example, right now—"A-choo!"

Xie Yuchen covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief and sneezed lightly beside him.

Chi Yu sighed with great purpose.

Xie Yuchen chose to remain silent.

As they were walking back to the stop, Xie Yuchen sneezed quietly for the second time.

"Even if you are as smart as Mr. Jie, there will be a day when you make a mistake in judgment, right?" Chi Yu asked quietly from the side.

"Then someone as clever as Military Advisor Chi will surely be able to think of a solution, right?" Xie Yuchen asked back.

The answer to Xie Yuchen was a black coat draped over him.

Chi Yu has a slim and slender figure and doesn't look very strong. Coupled with his slightly youthful face, people always overlook the fact that he is actually very tall.

But when his coat was on Li Yuchen, in addition to the faint chill that had always surrounded Chi Yu, Li Yuchen also realized that this coat was too loose for him.

——This fact made the young boss Xie’s already not-so-good mood even worse.

But Chi Yu didn't care about it.

He even had time to lift up his coat and hat for Jie Yuchen to wear, and then sighed in his heart that this man was really small compared to him.

"My solution is to just wear one more layer."

Chi Yu smiled and asked Xie Yuchen, "So are you feeling warmer now, Mr. Xie?"