Chapter Thirty-Four: The Genetic Lock (Part One)

When Fang He was engulfed by the colossal hand of the heavens, fate had it that he tumbled into the deep pit beneath his feet. The pit was hidden and hard to spot, just large enough for a person to slip through. Though covered by rubble and weeds, it was all too easy to step on it and fall in.

One might say Fang He’s luck was astonishingly good—he had stepped right onto the pit, and before he could scream as the giant hand was about to crush him, he had already slid into the depths below.

The darkness underground was somber and cold. An inexplicable chill swept from above, sliding down his throat and raising goosebumps across his skin.

Panting heavily, Fang He was still reeling from the shock, and the bundle of gold he had been clutching had already dropped to the ground. Calming his wildly beating heart, he quickly gathered the scattered gold pieces, stuffing them back into his pack one by one. His shifty eyes darted around, surveying the pit.

In the gloom, it seemed as though several passages beckoned his gaze. The dim light made him adjust his thick-rimmed glasses, his furtive eyes peering repeatedly through the lenses.

“There seem to be three entrance tunnels,” Fang He muttered under his breath, his pores tingling.

Cold gusts flowed from the passages, brushing against his body and making him shiver. The pit was silent except for the whistling wind, cut off from the world, as if deathly still.

After some hesitation and making sure he hadn’t missed a single piece of gold in his pack, Fang He cautiously chose the tunnel furthest to the right and began to move inside.

Darkness crept in like ink, the passage growing ever darker, the strange chill slowing his steps.

‘Thud—thud—thud—’

Listening to his own footsteps, Fang He hesitated. This pitch-black corridor, leading to he knew not where, made him uneasy. The darkness intensified his fear and anxiety.

“Phew—”

The cold wind continued, brushing Fang He’s stiffened face, making him squint. In this darkness where he couldn’t see his own hand, his nearsightedness was no match for the encroaching gloom. Like a blind man, Fang He felt his way along the icy, uneven walls, moving forward.

He had lost count of how many times he’d dropped the gold from his pack, startling himself and then sheepishly picking it up and stuffing it back. The eerie wind behind him spooked him into stumbling forward, terrified some ghostly thing was watching him.

Thus, he stumbled deeper, touching cold skulls and kicking hard objects that injured his foot.

The silence ahead grew colder. Fang He tightened his thin clothes, limping along the freezing wall. The toe wrapped in cloth was painfully swollen, making him vow to buy more shoes once he was rich, so he could treat his poor feet with dignity.

“Hmm, the path ends here—there are two passageways on either side,” Fang He’s nose brushed the icy wall ahead, making him stop. His shifty eyes flickered in the darkness.

Cold wind rushed into his ears from left and right, whipping past his body. Shivering, Fang He looked back at the corridor he had traversed, then at the two bottomless new tunnels before him, feeling utterly dispirited.

Caught between retreat and advance, with nowhere to go, he was at a loss. Rather than charge ahead recklessly, perhaps he should stay put and wait for a miracle. And now, with an injured leg, he hadn’t found a single clue and was trapped. Fang He almost wished he could bash his head and end it all, but at least he’d die with a pack full of gold—he’d be a wealthy ghost in the underworld.

“Oh God, please, don’t hold my faults against me, show me a way out. If I can leave this cursed place, I’ll worship you at home every day. To show my sincerity, this gold nugget is my down payment—when I get out, I’ll give you another as a reward!” Fang He said, pulling out the smallest gold piece from his pack, his eyes gleaming as he scanned the darkness, his sneaky expression unmistakable.

“Uh, God, let’s make a deal—I’ll keep this deposit for you, and when I get out, I’ll give you both nuggets together. Please bless me so I can walk out safely!” Fang He rolled his eyes, rubbing his hands and whispering.

“If you’ve no objections, I’ll take that as agreement! Heh.” He hunched his left arm and put the gold back in the pack, his nimble movements making one wonder why he hadn’t made a living in some shady trade.

In the darkness, Fang He’s eyes lingered between the two tunnels, his face indecisive. He then pulled a coin from his pocket, ready to let chance decide his next step.

“Heads, I go left; tails, I go right!” Fang He declared. This was his usual method—whenever facing a tough choice, he let the coin decide.

‘Seven parts fate, three parts man’—let the choice fall to God. Praying, Fang He crouched, stood the coin on the cold ground, and spun it.

The pitch-black tunnel was impenetrable, the small coin spinning rapidly, its crisp sound ringing out. The clear metallic friction with the floor made Fang He’s heart beat faster.

“Clink—clink—clink—”

As the coin fell and lay flat, Fang He quickly reached out and felt for it, soon finding it.

Tracing the engraved pattern, he saw it was tails!

“Tails, I go right!” Fang He blurted, hunching over and grabbing his pack of gold, preparing to head down the right tunnel. But his footing slipped and he nearly fell backward. Luckily, he was quick, grabbing the wall with one hand and the pack with the other, steadying himself.

Otherwise, with his injured leg, he’d have been sent sprawling, bleeding and battered.

“Rumble—rumble—”

The whole tunnel shook violently. Crumbling dust and stones slid down from the high ceiling, trailing along the rock walls, and the icy wall before him began to tremble. The rapid shaking made Fang He snatch back his hand from the wall in a flash.

One must say Fang He’s luck was either extraordinary or abysmal. When he steadied himself and touched the wall, he happened to press the secret switch to the Mayan chamber.

The hidden mechanism was perfectly fused with the wall—had Fang He not stumbled blindly, he’d never have found it so easily.

When the chamber was built, the Mayans left only an external switch, never having time to install an internal one before being destroyed by the ‘Demon.’

The last two Mayans were forced to flee into the chamber, but were trapped inside, dying without ever receiving the blessing of their faith god.

And this chamber was precisely the one where Guan Qian and his companions were trapped!