Tomb raider: You're going to extract my alien bloodline?

Chapter 66 The Snake Mother

Chen Wenjin's ending was not too surprising. She sat beside the ruins of the meteorite jade that had buried most of her obsessions and pain, and ended her life with a dagger she always carried with her.

Wu Xie remained silent for a long time, and finally, together with Fatty, they found a relatively flat spot nearby and buried her. There was no tombstone, only a fairly regular-shaped stone standing in front of her.

After doing all this, Wu Xie seemed to have exhausted all his strength and told Qin Yuan and Zhang Qiling that he wanted to go back.

Qin Yuan nodded in understanding, but he still had things to do. "You guys go first, I'll stay and take care of some loose ends. Jiu Jiu, stay and help me out."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiling looked up and said, "I'll go with you." Qin Yuan nodded, accepting Zhang Qiling's offer.

Although Qin Yuan didn't elaborate on what they were going to do, Wu Xie and Fatty trusted them. Fatty patted Qin Yuan on the shoulder: "Alright, Xiao Heizi and Xiao Ge, Tianzhen and I will head out first. See you in Beijing later, I'll organize another gathering." He then bent down and pinched Qin Jiu's cheek, "Nephew, be smarter when you're with your dad!"

Wu Xie also looked at Qin Yuan and Zhang Qiling with a complicated expression, and finally just said, "Take care."

Qin Yuan looked at Hei Xiazi and Xie Yuchen: "Blind Man, Flower Master, please take them out. The Blind Man knows the way well."

Black Bear gave an OK sign and grinned, "Don't worry, I'll make sure our Third Master and Fatty get out of here safe and sound. Dumb, you stay here and help your brother take good care of the kids." Finally, he gave Zhang Qiling a mischievous look, then turned and left.

Zhang Qiling ignored him, but nodded to Wuxie and Fatty, indicating that they could rest assured.

Xie Yuchen nodded: "Don't worry, I'll have people set up camp in the desert to wait for you after we get out. They can then take you back."

Mop and his men were already itching to sprout wings and fly away, eager to leave this awful place as soon as possible, so naturally they had no objections.

So the group split into two. Hei Xiazi and Xie Yuchen, along with Wu Xie, Fatty, Tuoba, and the others, retreated along the route they had come from.

Watching their figures disappear around the corner, Qin Yuan withdrew his gaze.

"Let's go to the place where we encountered the most snakes before. There should be a nest there." Qin Yuan said, picking up Qin Jiu and leading the way in the direction he remembered, with Zhang Qiling following closely behind.

Soon, they arrived at the area connecting multiple waterways where they had been besieged by the snakes and pythons. A faint smell of snakes still lingered in the air, and scattered snake skins and dried bloodstains could be seen on the ground.

Qin Yuan put Qin Jiu down and took out a snake from his pocket: "Son, have your pet call people over and bring over all the snakes that are still alive in this area."

Qin Jiu blinked, took Xiao Jiu and placed it on the ground. He stretched out a finger and gently poked the bright red crest on the snake's head: "Xiao Jiu, call for help."

Xiao Jiu: "..."

Little Jiu blinked its two beady eyes blankly, but after Qin Jiu puffed out its cheeks and poked it again, it seemed to finally understand. It hesitated for a moment, then raised its head, puffed out its neck, and let out a series of rapid, clucking sounds.

Soon, responses came from all directions. At first, there were sporadic gurgling sounds, then more and more numerous and dense, surging out like a tide from various forks in the road, crevices in the rocks, and puddles.

Countless pheasant necks converged towards their location, growing larger and larger, wriggling densely.

Qin Jiu, however, seemed unafraid. He stood in the center of the snake swarm, watching the increasing number of crested snakes gather around him, his imposing aura spreading outwards.

The snakes, which had been poised to pounce, froze instantly upon contact with this aura! Then, the group of pheasants closest to Qin Jiu collapsed to the ground, their heads pressed against the earth, their bodies trembling slightly, unable to even utter a clucking sound. The rest of the snakes seemed to be infected, swarming down and lying prostrate, no longer daring to raise their heads, let alone attack.

"Make your move." Qin Yuan's words fell as he moved! His jet-black fingernails drew a deadly arc, splattering blood wherever they went.

Zhang Qiling moved almost simultaneously with him, drawing his black gold ancient sword, each strike taking the lives of several venomous snakes.

The cleanup operation lasted a full week.

During this week, they practically traversed every corner of the Queen Mother of the West's palace. With the help of Qin Jiu and Xiao Jiu, the treacherous snake spirits, wherever they went, they were ruthlessly swept away by Qin Yuan and Zhang Qiling.

They destroyed snake nest after snake, cleared out countless pheasant necks, and over a dozen giant pythons. Eventually, the movements of Qin Yuan and Zhang Qiling swinging their claws and knives became muscle memory.

As Qin Yuan later privately complained to Fatty: after killing snakes for a week in the Queen Mother of the West's palace, their hearts had become as cold as the knife in Xiao Ge's hand.

Finally, on the seventh day, when they summoned again using the old method, only a few dozen thin, dull-colored pheasant necks appeared sporadically. As soon as they got close to Qin Jiu, they collapsed to the ground, their clucking sounds weak and feeble.

"That's about it." Qin Yuan stopped what he was doing, flicking the blood off his claws. "The main nests and snake groups should be about 99% cleared out. The remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled ones, without the continuous radiation from the meteorite's energy field, probably won't be able to reproduce anymore."

Zhang Qiling also sheathed his sword, nodded, and a rare look of relaxation appeared on his face.

Qin Jiu yawned and rubbed his eyes, seemingly exhausted as well.

The three of them were preparing to find a place to sit down, rest, have something to eat, and then plan their return journey.

Qin Yuan, numb from killing snakes and having completely forgotten about the snake mother, was now wondering: 'These snakes are almost extinct, so why isn't the side quest showing as complete yet? I didn't get the reward before because of a problem with the main quest, but this shouldn't be the case.'

Just then, something unexpected happened!

Xiao Jiu, who had been obediently coiled at Qin Jiu's feet for a week, suddenly began to tremble without warning.

It suddenly sprang up from the ground and then slammed back down. This time, instead of nodding, it crouched down with its entire body, its head pressed firmly against the cold ground, even its bright red comb sticking to the ground. Its scales bristled and it trembled, just like when the pheasant neck had encountered Qin Jiu.

Qin Yuan and Zhang Qiling's expressions changed drastically at almost the same time, and they turned their heads to look in the direction that the little nine snakes were facing.

A heavy, sticky, oppressive feeling emanated from the depths of the dense forest!

The air seemed to freeze. Qin Yuan instantly pulled Qin Jiu, who was still yawning, behind him. His vertical pupils behind his sunglasses instantly appeared, his muscles tensed, and his tail and black armor extended out again.

Zhang Qiling placed his hand back on the hilt of the Black Gold Ancient Sword, his eyes sharp as knives, staring intently into the dark depths of the forest.

The slightly relaxed atmosphere that had just been brought to a close due to the completion of the cleanup task vanished instantly.

The snake mother has emerged.