Chapter 279: A Near-Death Trap
Taotie remained silent, staring intently at the stone brick under Tom’s feet for a while. Then, he examined the surrounding stone bricks, his eyebrows furrowing into a deep frown.
He looked up, scanning the ceiling, the walls on both sides, and the tomb passage ahead. His brows were almost twisted into a knot.
“Princess, the situation is not optimistic,” Taotie said to Fang Xiaocao, turning his head.
“What’s wrong? Explain in detail,” Fang Xiaocao asked anxiously, her voice heavy.
Fang Xiaocao was on the verge of panic.
She hadn’t dared to interrupt Taotie before, afraid of affecting his judgment. But now that Taotie had spoken, Fang Xiaocao was eager to understand everything.
“I just followed the old tomb raider’s instructions and examined this trap carefully. It’s neither a hidden arrow nor a rolling stone, which are common anti-theft traps. From my observation, the stone bricks around Tom’s feet seem to be movable. I suspect this is a pit trap,” Taotie said seriously, his voice extremely low.
“What’s a pit trap?” Fang Xiaocao asked, not understanding.
“A pit trap, as the name suggests, is a large pit beneath the mechanism. Once triggered, it causes a large area of the tomb passage floor to collapse, causing the person who triggered it to fall into the pit.”
“And there are different types of pit traps. Some are designed to trap people, and some are designed to kill.”
“Traps designed to trap people are several meters deep. People who fall into them are unlikely to be seriously injured, and even if they are, it’s not fatal. If teammates haven’t fallen, or if two or three people are skilled enough, they can climb out.”
“These traps mainly serve as a warning, indicating that if I can trap you, I can also kill you. The next trap won’t be so simple; it will be deadly. This aligns with the ancient Chinese principle of ‘courtesy before force,’ deterring tomb raiders.”
At this point, Taotie paused.
He glanced at Fang Xiaocao and continued, “The second type of trap, designed to kill, aims to take lives directly. Once someone falls in, their chances of survival are slim to none. It’s designed to be as ruthless as possible.”
“Killing traps can be tens of meters deep. Falling into them unprepared will result in injuries or fractures, making escape impossible and leading to death. Most of these pits are also equipped with various killing devices, such as spikes, spears, inverted swords, poisonous snakes, or underground rivers.”
“Basically, the idea is that once you fall in, you won’t survive.”
Taotie’s description sent chills down the spines of Fang Xiaocao and the others.
The ancestors were truly ruthless!
However, putting themselves in their shoes, they could understand.
After all…
If you’re digging up my grave, disturbing my peace after death, can’t I kill you?
Fang Xiaocao and the others fell silent.
They didn’t know how much of the tomb passage floor would collapse.
They also didn’t know if there were other traps ahead. How should they save Tom?
After a moment of silence, Fang Xiaocao asked, “Taotie, based on your experience with the old tomb raider, what type of pit is Tom standing on?”
“Is it a trapping pit or a killing pit?”
Fang Xiaocao asked a very practical question.
This was also the question Tom, the person involved, cared about the most.
It was a matter of life and death.
If it were a trapping pit, Tom could climb out without any injuries. But if it was a killing pit…
If it were just deep, he could still survive.
As long as Taotie was there, he wouldn’t have to worry.
Taotie could carry him out on his back.
But if it was a pit filled with spikes and spears…
Even a god couldn’t save him.
Hearing Fang Xiaocao’s question, Taotie fell silent.
“Alas…”
After a long while, Taotie sighed.
“Princess, I can’t tell.”
“Not even the old tomb raider could tell if he were alive.”
“I can only speculate based on the traps we’ve encountered since entering the tomb,” Taotie said helplessly.
Hearing Taotie’s words, Fang Xiaocao’s heart sank.
Tom and Hummingbird’s expressions also turned grim.
Because they had all made their own judgments.
Without Taotie saying it explicitly, Fang Xiaocao and the others knew that the situation was not optimistic.
They were at least eighty percent sure that the trap Tom was standing on was a killing pit.
The tomb owner had already set up a quicksand pit that was deadly for most tomb raiders. There was no reason for them to be merciful here.
This pit must be a killing pit.
“Is there any way to disarm it?” Fang Xiaocao asked, looking at Taotie hopefully.
Now, Fang Xiaocao could only pin her hopes of saving Tom on Taotie.
After all, Taotie was the only one among them who understood ancient tomb traps. He had even found a way to bypass the quicksand pit, allowing them to cross safely.
Perhaps the old tomb raider had also taught Taotie how to disarm this kind of deadly trap?
Hearing Fang Xiaocao’s words, Taotie fell silent.
His brows furrowed even more tightly.
Seeing Taotie’s constipated expression, Fang Xiaocao was anxious, her nose sweating. But she didn’t dare to urge Taotie, so she could only pace anxiously.
Fang Xiaocao was almost frantic.
After a long period of contemplation, Taotie came up with a desperate measure.
“Princess, I have a desperate measure. Whether it works or not depends entirely on luck. If we’re lucky, we might save Tom’s life. If we’re unlucky, then…”
Although Taotie didn’t finish his sentence, Fang Xiaocao and the others understood what he meant.
If they were unlucky, Tom would die!
Understanding the implication of Taotie’s words, Fang Xiaocao panicked, tears welling up in her eyes.
Although Tom wasn’t the first subordinate Fang Xiaocao had subdued with hypnosis, he had been with her the longest and saved her the most times.
The first subordinate Fang Xiaocao had subdued was Aquarius from the Blacklist, but Aquarius had been sniped by Capricorn in the mountains of a neighboring city.
After Aquarius, Tom was the next.
Tom was originally a hitman hired to kill her, but due to carelessness, he was tricked by her and became Fang Xiaocao’s subordinate under the influence of her strange hypnosis.
And it was Tom’s presence that led to Taotie and Wan Xiaozhou joining her.
It was also because of Tom and Taotie, these two capable generals, that Fang Xiaocao had ambitions.
Now that Tom was in danger of dying at any moment, how could Fang Xiaocao not be upset?
Fang Xiaocao was an orphan who had no family since childhood, and Zhi Qi was her only friend.
This was why Fang Xiaocao became friends with Han Xue and close friends with Su Wanjing and the other three troublemakers.
