He suddenly remembered that when he got engaged to his fiancée, he hadn't worn the ring.
"Don't look at me. What do I, an old bachelor, need this for? What professor deals in gold? Engaging in corruption?"
The metaphysics professor, noticing Zhou Lin staring at him, quickly spoke up.
In the end, Zhou Lin didn't place his hopes on Guo Liang. Judging by his appearance, he didn't seem like someone who was getting married, so Zhou Lin didn't even ask.
In the livestream.
"What does the big shot need this for? What's the connection between gold and saving people?"
"That's a profound question. I don't know either. You should ask the big shot."
"Haha, I thought the same. The big shot has always been very cautious. I just feel relieved that these children are all safe now."
"Indeed, I've also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they are safe, that's all that matters."
"I'm even more curious about what we'll encounter next. I'm starting to look forward to it."
...
Inside the tomb.
Zhou Lin couldn't help but worry. If there was no gold, wouldn't those students be unable to return?
"This... would a ring work?"
Guo Liang took out a gold ring from his clothes. It was a pair.
"Yes, just a little bit is enough."
Zhou Lin hadn't expected him to have a matching pair of rings. That was great.
"Can I have it back after you're done? My wife gave it to me before she passed away, and I want to keep it as a memento."
Guo Liang was reluctant, but nothing was more precious than the lives of these children.
"Don't worry, I'll return it to you intact."
Zhou Lin took one of the rings and threw it on the ground. The ring sank into the soil.
Zhou Lin picked up the equipment from the ground and put it on his hand. The surroundings had changed.
From the dark passage before, they now found themselves in a golden space, and they were all stunned.
"Is this the legendary Golden House? How can there be so much gold as tall as a person?"
The metaphysics professor was surprised to find such a thing inside and was taken aback.
Captain Bai and Guo Liang were also greatly surprised. They had never seen such a large amount of gold before.
"This isn't gold, it's people."
Zhou Lin first scanned the positions of these golden figures. The entire ground was covered in gold, like a golden beach slowly writhing towards them.
"What people?"
The metaphysics professor was confused. Were these people?
Zhou Lin nodded slightly and took out a whip from his body. With a gentle flick, the gold foil on these golden figures disappeared.
Finally, there were the mercenaries and the students.
"Ah? Is that one of ours?"
Captain Bai was about to walk over when Zhou Lin stopped him.
"Don't go near."
Zhou Lin suddenly reprimanded, startling Captain Bai.
He looked at Zhou Lin suspiciously, puzzled, but his actions were very cooperative.
"Why is that?"
As Captain Bai was about to speak, he saw Zhou Lin's sharp gaze fixed on the mercenaries and students inside.
The students and the mercenaries nearby had vacant eyes and stood still, as if lost in thought.
"It's because this golden liquid will assimilate you. Look at them."
Zhou Lin quickly said.
The three of them saw that their bodies had some injuries, and their faces and noses were bruised, indicating that they had hit themselves hard when they were lying on the ground earlier.
Now, traces of gold were reappearing at their feet, slowly spreading towards their bodies.
In the livestream.
"Holy crap, what is this? What kind of malevolent energy is this? It's so powerful! Golden malevolent energy?"
"They can't get close, and they can't move. What can be done? Should they be pulled over with a whip?"
"If that worked, why didn't you see the big shot take action earlier? No need to ask, it's definitely not possible, otherwise the big shot would have acted already."
"That's true, but what should we do now?"
"Let's just see what the big shot does. This is beyond our scope."
...
Zhou Lin watched as these people were once again enveloped by gold.
He then chuckled.
Did they think this would solve the problem?
"What's going on? Why is this happening?"
Guo Liang didn't understand the principle behind it.
"They've been struck by malevolent energy, which has sealed their consciousness. When the thickness of this gold reaches a certain point, they will be suffocated to death here."
"Now, this golden liquid needs to be dealt with. We'll address the malevolent energy later."
Zhou Lin then began to chant.
"Sea of Fire Funeral."
After Zhou Lin spoke, he felt an invisible pressure and high temperatures.
The gold was slowly being melted by the heat.
"Professor Zhou Lin, how can this work? Wouldn't that..."
Guo Liang was worried that the high temperature would scald the skin of these people.
"It won't."
Zhou Lin was prepared. He was controlling the flames above, but as the flames approached the mercenaries, the temperature seemed to decrease slightly.
The golden liquid on the ground was bubbling, indicating the intensity of the heat.
As the liquid began to bubble, the amount of gold started to decrease.
It was previously less than a few meters away from Zhou Lin, but now it was more than ten meters away.
"Hmm? It's less? Did you burn it dry?"
The metaphysics professor looked at Zhou Lin and was surprised.
"This is indeed gold, but under extremely high temperatures, it will become dry. This is based on the principles of the five elements' mutual generation and restraint. And there's another very important point."
"They were smart enough to use our people as leverage, but unfortunately, they encountered me."
Zhou Lin crossed his arms and watched the flames refine the gold.
The mercenaries and students in the middle stood there blankly, completely unaffected by Zhou Lin's flames.
This surprised Captain Bai and the metaphysics professor.
As soon as the gold had completely dried up, Zhou Lin rushed forward and poured water from his bottle onto it without hesitation.
White smoke instantly billowed out, accompanied by sizzling sounds.
"Cough, cough, my body feels so hot."
Guo Liang was choked by a puff of white smoke and coughed lightly. He then reached out and touched the mercenaries' faces. Their bodies were very hot.
"This is already good. At least they're alive. High temperatures aren't scary; it will get better soon."
Zhou Lin said, pouring the water from the bottle onto them.