21: The Secret of the Golden Mural

Deathly silence.

In the treasury, even the air seemed to be frozen into blocks of ice.

The golden light remained brilliant, but it could no longer warm Wang Dalong's heart, which had plunged into an icy abyss. His blood, which had been boiling with ecstasy just a moment ago, was now as cold as ice shards, piercing from the top of his head down to his heels.

"You... you guys..."

Wang Dalong spoke tremulously, instinctively hiding his livestreaming equipment behind his back, his movements as clumsy as a startled bear. His other hand was inching little by little toward his pants pocket, where his phone was; he wanted to press that red emergency button.

*Swish!*

Several emotionless gazes instantly pinned him in place.

A Mercenary standing next to Captain Jack, built like a wall, expressionlessly raised the assault rifle in his hands. The pitch-black muzzle accurately locked onto the center of Wang Dalong's forehead.

"I advise you not to move." The smile on Captain Jack's face widened, though his laughter sounded hair-raising. "Mr. Wang, we're in a hurry. And I can tell you quite responsibly that the signal here... tsk tsk, is very poor."

Wang Dalong's hand, reaching for his pocket, instantly froze, not daring to move an inch.

Cold sweat instantly poured down his fat cheeks. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at his phone; the full signal bars at the top of the screen had turned into a glaring gray at some point.

It was over.

The livestream feed hadn't cut out.

Thanks to the dual support of Starlink and Skynet, the signal continued to transmit tenaciously.

But the audio had been cut off.

The audience could only see the tense scene, unable to hear any dialogue. The bullet chat, which had been celebrating just a second ago, suddenly changed its tone!

The delayed bullet chat erupted like a flash flood, its content switching instantly from ecstasy to horror and an overwhelming wave of question marks.

[Holy crap! What's going on?! Who are these people behind Brother Feng?!]

[Damn! They have guns! Is this staged or real?! Prop guns wouldn't look this authentic!]

[Dammit, it's a double-cross! Did a novel plot just come to life? Run, Brother Feng!]

[Where's the sound? Why is there no sound?! Shit! It's signal blocking! They brought a signal jammer!]

[Call the police! Call the damn police! The location is Snake Bone Island in the Caribbean Sea! @PeacefulBlueStar @FBI @Interpol! Someone come and save them!]

Lin Feng's body was tensed to the limit, every muscle entering a combat-ready state. But he didn't panic; the more critical the situation, the more terrifyingly calm his mind became.

His gaze went straight past the armed Mercenaries and landed on Captain Jack, who was leading the applause.

The moment this group appeared, all the clues instantly connected in his mind.

The eerie compass in the Boston antique shop... the seemingly coincidental encounter on the "sea serpent"... the drone's continuous "surveillance" over the island... It turned out there were no coincidences at all.

It was a trap designed from start to finish! And he, after exhausting his efforts to solve a three-hundred-year-old mystery, turned out to be nothing more than a key in their hands!

A tool used to pick a lock!

"Your target was this from the very beginning?"

Lin Feng spoke, his voice unusually calm. He tilted his chin slightly, pointing toward the Golden Mural standing alone on a stone platform in the center of the treasury.

Captain Jack snapped his fingers appreciatively with a crisp "snap."

"Hahaha! Mr. Lin, this is exactly what I like about you—smart enough to save us the trouble!" The smile on his face grew more arrogant. "Exactly! This gold and silver are nothing more than smoke screens released by that old fox William Kidd to deceive commoners like you. Only this," he pointed his finger at the mural, "is the ultimate secret that the legendary Pirate King spent his entire life pursuing!"

He had just finished speaking when the Mercenaries behind him immediately sprang into action.

They didn't even spare a glance at the mountains of gold and silver jewelry, as if the wealth that the world considered priceless was nothing more than bothersome stones to them.

Moving in pairs, they headed straight for the Golden Mural. Their steps were steady, and their movements were full of professionalism, clearly the work of well-trained elites. One of them pulled out a specialized cushioned wrap and securing device from a tactical backpack, obviously well-prepared.

"What exactly is that thing?" Lin Feng pressed again.

He had to stall for time!

His brain was working at a speed beyond its limits, frantically analyzing the situation before him, searching for any possible way to break the deadlock.

The System Panel was dead silent.

This meant that, in the system's judgment, the current situation was an absolute dead end!

A dead end that he simply couldn't overcome with his current abilities!

"You don't need to know." Captain Jack tilted his chin arrogantly, signaling his men to hurry up. "You only need to know that you've done well, Mr. Lin, saving us a great deal of effort. So, as a reward..."

With a tone of near-charity, he glanced contemptuously at the gold scattered across the floor.

"...Your life is spared. As for this trash, consider it a generous reward from me personally."

These words were filled with blatant humiliation!

Wang Dalong's face turned the color of pig liver from anger, his fat shaking all over. "You... you're robbing us! Robbing us in broad daylight!"

Captain Jack was amused by him, laughing so hard he doubled over.

"Robbery? No, no, no!" He wagged his finger, correcting him. "Mr. Wang, in the world of civilized people, this isn't called robbery; it's called 'resource exchange.' We take the 'research materials' we need, and you get enough money to last the rest of your lives. See, what a fair trade this is! You should be thanking me, shouldn't you?"

"I'll thank your ancestors for eighteen generations!" Wang Dalong cursed inwardly, but he didn't dare say it aloud.

That cold muzzle made him even breathe with extreme caution.

By now, two Mercenaries had reached the Golden Mural.

Putting on specialized white gloves, they moved carefully, one on each side, slowly reaching out to steady the massive Golden Mural.

The very moment their rough fingertips touched the cold surface of the mural!

Lin Feng's pupils suddenly constricted to the size of pinheads!

*Boom!*

A terrifying suction, utterly indescribable in words, emanated from the mural!

It wasn't a physical pull, but a mental one! A spiritual one!

Lin Feng felt as if his brain was being gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, which was trying to violently tear his consciousness and his soul right out of his body!

The entire world before his eyes began to spin!

The dazzling golden light in the treasury, Captain Jack's mocking face, Wang Dalong's distorted expression of terror, the cold muzzles of the Mercenaries' guns... everything instantly turned into frantically swirling blocks of color! Like an oil painting poured into a blender, all the colors blurred together!

In his ears, he heard Wang Dalong's heart-wrenching scream, but the sound felt so distant and distorted, as if separated by a thick layer of water.

"Brother Feng! Brother Feng, what's wrong with you?! Don't scare me! Brother Feng!"

Lin Feng opened his mouth, but no sound came from his throat.

He felt himself falling.

Falling endlessly!

Plunging into a bottomless abyss composed of countless lights, shadows, and fragmented memories!

In the final second before his consciousness completely dissipated.

He saw it.

On that Golden Mural, the eerie patterns and lines that were originally lifeless suddenly all "came alive"! They wriggled and converged frantically, eventually forming a massive eye filled with indifference and deathly silence!

That eye quietly stared at him through distorted time and space.

The next second.

Boundless darkness swallowed everything.

Lin Feng lost consciousness.