Tomb Raider Forbidden Area 51 District 0002 Ghost Market

  So I ended up with a group of bandits, no, to be exact, a group of grave robbers. I didn't think it was good, but I also didn't think there was anything wrong with it, so I stayed. Besides, running away would have been pointless anyway.

  In the past, when I was bored during holidays, I would go to internet cafes and browse Tieba, reading posts and whatnot. I knew that grave robbing is also called "inverting the pot" or "going down to earth". Grave robbing can be divided into four schools: Fa Qiu, Mo Jin, Ban Shan, and Xie Ling, each with its own characteristics. The posts on Tieba were written by others, so after reading them, I didn't take it seriously. Who would have thought that today, I would actually meet someone who works in the grave robbing industry?

  I spent the whole night with those people, and I basically understood some things. Some of them couldn't make a good living in the city and didn't want to do anything like robbery, so they all entered an antique shop called Dian Dang Xuan, harboring sinister intentions. Zhou Baihe is the heir of the Zhou family and also the boss of Dian Dang Xuan. It's said that sixty years ago, the entire Zhou family moved to Changsha to escape being hunted down by their peers.

  That inter-clan massacre cost the Zhou family a number of lives. Later, when the dust settled, the Zhou family also decided to develop in Changsha. With the Zhou family's strength, it would have been easy to rise to prominence, but for decades, they kept a low profile.

  These were all said by that middle-aged man who just carried me, his name is Gao Dali, he is as strong as his name suggests, tall and big, a Hercules, an Northeasterner, it's said that when Zhou Baihe found him on the street, he was already half dead, after Zhou Baihe brought him back to the Zhou family, he has been working for the Zhou family.

  I wanted to repay the kindness of those who saved my life, and besides, this job could support myself, so I stayed.

  The night wind, with a chill in the air, I wrapped myself in thick blankets and lay on my bed, guessing that tonight's events were too much for my brain to handle, and soon fell asleep.

  I don't know how long I slept, but in a daze, I heard footsteps. Next thing I knew, someone pulled me up and a voice whispered in my ear, "Hurry up, the market is closing soon."

  I rubbed my aching eyes, and through the cold moonlight, I took a glance, got startled, and whispered: "It's so late, the supermarket is already closed."

  "Stop dawdling, or you'll be in for it. Get up quickly." Gaodali glared at me with a fierce gaze and yanked the quilt open.

  The warm air around me turned into a cold wind as the quilt was lifted, clinging to my skin and making me shiver. Then, with a loud noise, he threw a big coat over me and said with a look of impatience: "Put your clothes on."

  I hastily put on that big coat, wore shoes, and followed Gao Dali out of the door.

  Outside, a white car stopped there, and with great force, it pushed me hard, directly stuffing me into the car.

  As I got into the car, I found that there was an old man in his sixties sitting in the co-pilot seat besides the driver. Zhou Baihe sat beside me with no expression on his face.

  "Where is this?" I asked Zhou Baihe boldly.

  What's the point of staying up all night? Are you going to dig a grave at midnight or something?

  "Ghost Market." Zhou Baihe glanced at me and spat out two words.

  Ghost Market?

  I was shocked, my body trembling visibly, and Zhou Baihe stared at me with a expressionless face, his eyes gleaming with an eerie light, and finally, the corners of his mouth curled up into a cold smile.

  He must be secretly laughing at me for being so timid.

  "Qiu Bo, have the Zhang family received the news?" Zhou Baihe turned his head and looked towards the front passenger seat.

  "Hmm." The person called Skinny Old Man didn't turn around, only faintly responded with a sentence, his voice somewhat aged.

  "I hope it's still in time." Zhou Baihe sighed, seemingly with some emotions.

  "This kid, is he really the grandson of Mò Jīn Sān Chéng?" A surprised voice from Qiú Bó drifted over, and my entire nervous system suddenly tensed up, all the way to my throat.

  Because they mentioned San Cheng, which is my grandfather's name.

  My grandfather's name is Zhang San Cheng, this name was told by my grandfather, but he never allowed me to follow his surname. I once asked him why, every time I asked my grandfather this question, he would turn black in the face and not say a word, after that, I didn't dare ask again.

  Isn't this group of people acquainted with Grandpa, but Grandpa said he had no relatives, only me as his grandson? Also, why didn't they say Zhang San Cheng, why did they say Mo Jin San Cheng?

  Is it saying that Grandpa has a relationship with Mokgol?

  The idea in my mind scared me, Grandpa couldn't possibly have a relationship with the tomb raiders, it's been over a decade, I've never seen Grandpa having any relatives or friends, our family is very poor, if Grandpa was a tomb raider, taking one or two artifacts would be enough to support several years of living, no need for this hard work of farming.

  I opened my mouth, unsure if it was due to the cold or fear of hearing something from them that would overturn my grandfather's image, and trembled as I asked: "Do you know my grandfather?"

  My grandfather, in my impression, is a kind-hearted person who often cares about me and treats me like his own grandson. When I heard that Grandpa had passed away, I couldn't accept it at all. He was the only relative I had left, and he was gone, even his body could not be found.

  Zhou Baihe narrowed his eyes, a hint of respect in his gaze. After a long while, he said firmly, "Your grandfather is not dead."

  "Then where is my grandfather?" I exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Zhou Baihe's collar.

  I didn't even get to see Grandpa one last time, he can't die that easily. I remember the last time, Grandpa fell off a cliff and nothing happened.

  Grandpa is a good swimmer, what can one Yangtze River do to him?

  So Grandpa isn't dead, then why doesn't he come home? It would be better for me to feel at ease.

  Zhou Baihe's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he spat out a sentence: "Take your paws off."

  I suddenly thought of the scene where Zhou Baihe inserted the knife into the corner of the table with a whoosh, and I thought to myself that this elegant and refined person was actually quite intimidating. My whole body trembled as I quickly let go of Zhou Baihe's collar and asked in a low voice, "You must know where my grandfather is?"

  "Third Master has gone missing." The dry voice of Shou Bo came from the front, and I, sitting in the back of the car, only saw his back, with a head full of silver hair, and even his face was only visible from one side, making it impossible to see his features clearly.

  Zhou Baihe heard this and his face turned somewhat heavy, deeply pondering for a moment before speaking: "Third Master has always been lucky, what bitter suffering hasn't he experienced, nothing will happen to him."

  Listening to Zhou Baihe's words, I felt that they had great respect for my grandfather and seemed to not want anything to happen to him.

  Grandpa didn't offend anyone, how could he go missing? The only reason for his disappearance is Alzheimer's disease, but Grandpa has a good memory and isn't old enough for that yet. This can't be right, could it be premature Alzheimer's?

  "In those days, San Ye came out of the Three Star Blood Ghost Tomb alone. This time's news may not be true, I think, only by finding San Ye will we know." said Shou Bo.

  Zhou Baihe's expression changed, he thought for a moment before nodding his head. Listening to Shou Bo speak, I always felt like he was going to run out of breath at any moment, which made people feel very anxious and irritated. But seeing Zhou Baihe show such respect towards him, I naturally didn't dare say anything about it. As soon as I thought of Zhou Baihe's flying dagger, I suppressed all my thoughts and didn't even dare fart.

  Just as I was about to turn away, Qiu Bo suddenly turned his head and looked at me. Under the clear moonlight, I saw his face clearly and was startled. This wasn't a person, but rather an undead creature from a movie.

  Apart from his almost withered skin, what's even more terrifying is his eyes. His eyes don't have pupils, they're all white, looking extremely frightening. And he's staring at me tightly with those eyes, I'm sweating cold sweat on my back, lowering my head, not daring to look at him. Afraid that if he gets angry, he'll really turn into a zombie and bite me.

  Then Shou Bo turned his head back and his voice came again: "Xiao Jiu, do you want to find your grandfather?"

  I nodded and replied with great certainty: "Yes."

  I'm just a grandson who loves his grandfather so much that if anything happens to him, I will feel guilty for the rest of my life.

  Qiu Bo sank into thought for a moment, as if recalling something, before speaking: "Your grandfather instructed me not to let you get involved in this sort of thing. Now, all I need to do is say the word and I'll send you back."

  If something happens to Grandpa because of this, just thinking about it makes me nod and say: "Find my grandpa first."

  Before we knew it, the car had already arrived at a street in Changsha. We all got out of the car, and Zhou Baihe helped Qiubo down from the car. I was stunned and didn't know how to react.

  Gui Shi is the largest antique trading venue in Changsha, of course, there are many novices inside, mixed with true and false, but most of the time it's full of fakes, good stuff can also be found, so Gui Shi is also known as Changsha's first large black market.

  Unlike ordinary antique markets, it starts at midnight and closes when the rooster crows for the first time. Each vendor lights a candle in front of them, and the goods are placed inside their clothes. Buyers look at the goods and then blow out the candle, after which the seller takes out the goods to show the buyer. It's said that they're looking, but actually, it's impossible to see clearly in the dark. Even if you have excellent eyesight, it's useless. At this time, the only thing to rely on is your intuition about antiques.

  Generally, novice buyers dare not come to the ghost market to buy goods, because the ghost market is mixed with fish and dragons, and if they are not careful, they will buy fake goods. Originally, this place has more counterfeit goods than real goods. Only those who are truly experienced will come here to dig for goods, saying that they are digging for goods, because sometimes there are very rare things, some local tyrants are eager to sell, and they will come to the ghost market.

  When we arrived at the Ghost Market, it was still before midnight, so there were only a few people in the market, similar to us, who had arrived early.

  We stood at the street corner, Zhou Baihe took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and lit one up.

  People with money are just different, smoking Zhonghua and living a good life, unlike me, always smoking six yuan a pack of Baisha.

  The winter wind is cold and biting, it cuts into people's skin, making it ache.

  We just stood there, watching a few people walking back and forth in the ghost market.

  At midnight, the people in Ghost Market came one after another, but the whole street was extremely quiet. Everyone didn't say a word, even those who were shopping mostly used hints and body language.

  "Look, they've finally arrived." Zhou Baihe extinguished his cigarette butt and a hint of sinister intent flashed in his eyes.