The group huddled together, poring over the diary.
Even the onlookers circled overhead, relaying the diary's contents to the livestreamed audience.
"The 26th, clear.
"Our Mojin Xiaowei team is finally complete.
"There are fifteen professionals, from all over the country.
"Among them are masters who have plundered countless ancient tombs, known as the 'Asian Flying Eagles.' Seeing him, I was incredibly excited.
"We entered through a passage in the First Emperor's Mausoleum, found the moat, and then activated a mechanism underwater.
"After pulling the switch, a massive whirlpool formed, and we were all swept away!
"When we woke up, we found ourselves in a strange forest. Above us was not the sky, but the ocean.
Jiang Fan and Yao exchanged glances. It turned out this group wasn't an adventuring streamer team, but a professional group of tomb robbers.
However, their tomb-robbing skills surpassed those of professional exploration teams.
After all, this was how they made their living.
Curiously, they had entered from the location of the First Emperor's Mausoleum. Why had they also ended up here, just like the adventuring streamers?
Could it be that there was more than one entrance to this secret realm?
"The 29th, overcast.
"We've been in this forest for three days.
"The forest is home to all sorts of strange animals and fruits. We replenished our supplies there and then began to search for a way home.
"It was then that we discovered a panda that could understand human speech. It was waving the banner of the ancient god of war, Chiyou.
"Could there be a tomb of Chiyou? Our hearts were filled with excitement.
"Thinking back now, it was truly a fatal mistake. We should have stayed put in the forest and not searched for any tomb of Chiyou.
Upon reading this, Jiang Fan and the others were stunned, all staring at the panda.
The panda was equally bewildered, completely clueless as to what was happening.
"So, Gungun, you're actually a tout, deliberately luring people to their deaths!"
"We treated you like a brother, and you've treated us like sheep to be fleeced."
Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei stood up, hands on their hips, fiercely questioning the panda.
The panda looked utterly confused, wondering what on earth was going on.
Jiang Fan chuckled, thinking how he always wanted to fleece the panda, but now he was being fleeced by the panda.
The audience in the livestream chat was also shocked.
"So Gungun is the tout for this secret realm."
"Looking so cute and cuddly, its heart is actually so wicked."
"I know! It must be Chiyou's soul not dissipating, wanting more people to accompany him in death, so he sent the panda to lure people in."
"This panda is a professional human trafficker!"
"This plot, how did it suddenly turn from an adventure into a supernatural, ethical horror film?"
The panda finally reacted, pounding its chest and then crying out "ao wu ao wu" at Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei, shaking its head like a rattle drum.
"Gungun says, by all that is sacred, that panda wasn't it, and it has nothing to do with it."
Jiang Fan translated for the panda. The panda looked at Jiang Fan gratefully.
"I don't believe it! Does Chiyou have many panda mounts?"
Dai Xiaomei eyed the panda with suspicion.
The panda grew angry and took out the tattered banner from its body, waving it with "ao wu ao wu" sounds.
"It says, the God of War's panda is unique, there are no others!"
"I guess, could it be a clone? Clones might believe they are the original, it's normal."
Zhou Niannian offered her theory.
Jiang Fan was about to say how could there be cloning technology in ancient times, but he stopped himself.
This place had space portals and even reverse d-ii-sa-t-io-n technology that could turn two-dimensional planes into three-dimensional ones, far more advanced than cloning.
Cloning animals had already been achieved by scientists through certain means. The famous cloned sheep Dolly lived for a long time.
But in reality, he hadn't heard of any scientist who could create portals or reverse d-ii-sa-t-io-n devices.
If the technology here could clone a thousand pandas, Jiang Fan wouldn't be surprised.
Chiyou wanted strong individuals to explore his secrets. Cloning a thousand panda envoys to seek out strong people everywhere was a perfectly reasonable plot.
The panda scratched its head, seemingly unable to refute it.
However, it still proudly patted its chest, stating that even if there were cloned pandas, it was the original.
Jiang Fan and the others continued to study the explorer's diary.
"The 5th, clear.
"We thought we were the most professional exploration team in the world, able to easily overcome any tomb mechanisms, even those in the Mummy movies.
"But we never expected this secret realm to be so terrifying, and like a series of nested dolls, one after another.
"We entered the tomb of Chiyou, but there were countless mechanisms in the cave.
"Some companions triggered traps and died. We were teleported by a portal to a volcanic hell.
"There were strange volcanoes all around, and giants made of lava. We were forced to flee into a dormant volcano.
Jiang Fan's palms began to sweat as he read.
The fate of this team was very similar to his own team's.
However, the things they encountered were even more fantastical than what they had faced, with the presence of lava giants being truly magical.
If he had encountered lava giants, could he have survived?
Jiang Fan imagined the scene at the time and felt a chill down his spine.
"The 7th, clear.
"We luckily found a passage beneath the dormant volcano. We thought it was an escape route, but it turned out to be the path to hell.
"Some companions inhaled a mysterious golden gas and fell into eternal slumber.
"Some companions were bitten by strange black mosquitoes, their flesh absorbed, and they turned into skeletons.
"Even extinct dinosaurs were chasing us, and pandas became meals for the dinosaurs.
"Finally, to escape the terrifying black mosquitoes, we used explosives to blow up the cave.
Only then did Jiang Fan understand why, when he and Yao went scouting, they had seen a collapsed passage.
It turned out that the path had originally been open, but it was blown up by this group of tomb robbers!
Fortunately, he had found another way, otherwise, they would have been trapped and died in the cave.
But it seemed no matter which path they took, they would eventually reach this snow mountain.
Dai Xiaomei looked at the panda.
"Your companions were eaten by dinosaurs!"
The panda was disdainful, striking a martial arts pose, implying that only inferior, fake cloned pandas would be eaten.
As the noble original, it was naturally different. See how it defeated the dinosaurs.
Jiang Fan continued to read the diary. The following entries were written in red ink.
"The 9th, clear!
"We reached the remote snow mountain and decided to cross it to find a way out.
"Out of the team of fifteen, only eight remained. More than half had perished."