The jungle clearing was quiet.
Too quiet.
Mark stood near the edge of the ancient stone structure, scanning the thick forest around them. The vines hanging from the trees moved slightly in the humid wind.
Beside him, Mateo leaned casually against a tree, cleaning the dirt from his machete.
Mark glanced at him.
"So Mateo," Mark said, "you've lived here long?"
Mateo nodded slowly.
"Toda mi vida."
(All my life.)
Mark looked around at the endless jungle.
"Why stay in a place like this?"
Mateo shrugged.
"La selva es peligrosa… pero también es hogar."
(The jungle is dangerous… but it is also home.)
Mark nodded thoughtfully.
But something suddenly felt wrong.
His eyes narrowed.
The jungle around them had changed.
The birds had stopped.
The insects had gone quiet.
Mark's instincts screamed.
He stepped closer to Albert and spoke quietly.
"Boss."
Albert turned.
"What is it?"
Mark's eyes scanned the trees.
"We're being watched."
Mateo looked up immediately.
"¿Qué?"
Mark pointed toward the forest.
"Someone out there."
Mateo straightened and suddenly shouted into the jungle in Spanish.
"¡Oigan! ¡¿Quién está ahí?!"
(Hey! Who's there?!)
For a moment—
nothing happened.
Then the jungle exploded with movement.
Dozens of armed men stepped out from the trees.
AK-47 rifles.
Dirty camouflage.
Faces hardened by years in the jungle.
They surrounded the clearing within seconds.
"¡Abajo! ¡Todos al suelo!"
(Down! Everyone on the ground!)
Mark reacted instantly.
"Down!" he shouted.
The team dropped low as the narcos closed in.
Within seconds—
there were more than a hundred of them.
Completely surrounding Albert's expedition team.
Mateo raised both hands slowly.
"Tranquilos… somos arqueólogos."
(Relax… we are archaeologists.)
Albert stepped forward calmly.
"I'm just an archaeologist," he said in Spanish.
"Nada más."
The narcos didn't lower their weapons.
Instead—
the sound of an engine echoed through the jungle.
A black vehicle pushed through the trees and stopped in the clearing.
The men immediately stepped aside.
The door opened.
A man stepped out slowly.
Confident.
Dangerous.
His eyes scanned the group carefully.
Mateo whispered under his breath.
"Madre de Dios…"
Albert recognized the name immediately.
Pablo Escobar.
The narco leader walked forward slowly.
He spoke calmly in Spanish.
"¿Qué están haciendo en mi territorio?"
(What are you doing in my territory?)
Albert remained calm.
"Just research."
"Arqueología."
Escobar smiled slightly.
"I don't like strangers digging around my jungle."
Mark noticed one of the narcos moving closer behind Albert.
Too close.
Mark's instincts triggered instantly.
The narco raised his weapon.
Mark reacted faster.
One shot.
Bang.
The narco collapsed instantly.
The jungle froze.
Escobar's smile disappeared.
Mark lowered his weapon slightly.
His voice was calm but deadly.
"Back away."
"Now."
The clearing fell silent.
Then Escobar spoke again slowly.
"Interesting."
He looked at Albert.
"You bring soldiers into my land."
Albert sighed quietly.
"I was hoping we could talk."
Escobar laughed softly.
"You will talk."
Then he pointed toward the jungle behind them.
"Or you will die here."
But at that exact moment—
deep beneath the jungle ruins—
Li Wen had just activated something ancient.
Something that made the ground beneath everyone's feet begin to tremble.