Love Apartment: Tomb Raiding System

Chapter 28: Trapped

Walls lined with iron spears closed in from both sides, multiplying rapidly. The four of them scrambled backward, but halfway through their retreat, Old Hu suddenly felt the ground give way beneath him. The floor collapsed, and before he could react, he was plummeting downward, his hands desperately clawing at the edges of the crumbling floor.

“Old Hu—!” Chen Yuze spotted him just in time and lunged forward, grabbing his arm. Chen Yuze slammed hard onto the ground, but he was far lighter than Old Hu. With gravity pulling Old Hu down, Chen Yuze was dragged toward the pit, his body sliding across the floor.

“Brother Chen, let go! Otherwise, we’ll both die!” Old Hu shouted, seeing Chen Yuze’s upper body already dangling over the edge. The walls were closing in, and if Chen Yuze didn’t release him, he’d either be pulled down or skewered by the spears. Either way, neither would survive.

“Rumble…”

The walls inched closer. From his position, Old Hu could see the iron spears mere inches from Chen Yuze’s back. If this continued, he’d have to watch Chen Yuze die right in front of him.

Old Hu looked up at Chen Yuze and smiled grimly. “Brother Chen… thanks. Meeting you in this life was worth it. If there’s a next life, I’ll make sure we’re brothers.”

Gritting his teeth, Old Hu tried to pry Chen Yuze’s fingers open. He couldn’t drag them all down with him. If he let go, maybe the others could still make it out alive. He wanted to live—but not at the cost of his friends’ lives. He wouldn’t let them die for him.

“Old Hu, don’t be stupid! Yifei! Fatty!” Chen Yuze tightened his grip on Old Hu’s wrist and shouted behind him.

“Coming!” Hu Yifei’s voice rang out as two ropes flew toward them. Old Hu’s eyes lit up, and he grabbed them instantly.

The moment Old Hu secured his hold, Fatty and Hu Yifei yanked with all their strength. Finally freeing his hands, Chen Yuze drew the sword from his back and slashed at the approaching spears, cutting them down to create a small safe space. But the walls kept closing in relentlessly, showing no signs of stopping.

Old Hu was almost up, but the narrowing gap made escape impossible. Hu Yifei and Fatty had retreated to the tunnel entrance, pulling the rope from there. However, the cramped space limited their leverage, leaving them struggling to exert enough force.

“Fatty, hold tight!” Hu Yifei made a split-second decision. Once she was sure Fatty had a firm grip, she leapt down from the tunnel, sword in hand, and charged toward Chen Yuze and Old Hu. True to her fierce reputation, she cut down every spear in her path, leaving a trail of shattered iron behind her.

“Yifei, be careful! Get back here!” Fatty yelled, torn between holding the rope and rushing to help.

Chen Yuze heard the shout and turned. “Yifei, go back!”

“Bullshit!” Hu Yifei reached them in two strides. “We came here together. If I leave you behind, how the hell am I supposed to face everyone back at the apartment? That bastard Zeng Xiaoxian would laugh at me forever!”

Back-to-back, they fought off the endless barrage of spears. Though they managed to clear a small area, the walls were now dangerously close. Chen Yuze scanned their surroundings frantically. Old Hu was halfway up, but unless they escaped soon, all three would die.

Then Chen Yuze spotted it—a large door at the end of the corridor, carved with strange arm patterns. What made them odd was that while the arms themselves were normal, each hand held a strange disc-like object with an eye-shaped design at the center.

“Old Hu, cover Yifei!” Chen Yuze shouted before darting forward. This was their only chance. He sprinted toward the discs, sword flashing as he cut down spears blocking his path, his agile movements keeping him just ahead of the closing walls.

“Brother Chen, watch out!” Old Hu, now fully back on solid ground, yanked a spear from the wall and wedged it horizontally between the two advancing walls. The mechanism groaned, the walls slowing slightly. Seeing this, Hu Yifei followed suit, reinforcing the barricade with another spear.

Chen Yuze reached the discs. They weren’t carvings—they were actual stone dials, like compasses, but the eye at the center and the numbers encircling them made no sense. It wasn’t a traditional Bagua compass. There were no counting beads—just rows of digits, like some kind of combination lock. And with no clues around, how were they supposed to guess the code?

“What the hell are you waiting for? Just do something! It can’t get any worse than this!” Hu Yifei yelled. The spears holding the walls apart were already creaking under the pressure. If they snapped, they’d all be human kebabs—ready for roasting.

Chen Yuze glanced back at them. She was right. The situation couldn’t get worse. Soon, the spears would break, and that would be the end.

“Wait… the spears… that’s it!” Chen Yuze’s eyes widened as realization struck. He was onto something.

“What about the damn spears? We can see them just fine! Hurry up, or I swear I’ll kill you myself!” Hu Yifei snapped.

“Old Hu—look at the holes in the floor! Quick!” Chen Yuze had found the key.

Old Hu glanced down—and then he saw it.

The solution had been right in front of them all along.