Iron Bull taucht wieder auf

Kapitel 29

If we consider the tomb as a Go board, we are currently on the east-west axis of the "center" (天元), with nine burial chambers on each side. But what about the vertical alignment? How many layers of burial chambers lead to the top of the tower above us, and what secrets lie beneath our feet?

This spacious building, unlike a pyramid in the traditional sense, resembles a modern, pointed skyscraper. With elevators, corridors, and windows, it could easily be called a super office building buried underground.

Tina is right. We do need more than ten times the number of special forces to participate in the operation. It would be best to fill every empty tomb chamber so that the so-called cow, horse, and crocodile gods have nowhere to hide.

Deep inside the tomb, a sudden uproar erupted, with laughter, shouts, and banging blending into a strange chorus that startled the workers busy setting up power lines, causing them to look up in surprise.

Among the many voices, I heard the familiar "Cherry Blossom Song" by Tanino again. He only sings the Japanese national anthem when he is extremely excited.

Tina frowned in disgust: "What's wrong? Have they all gone mad?"

We simultaneously raised our binoculars and peered in that direction, and suddenly a huge golden platform appeared in our view. No, it must have been a single, enormous piece of gold, and everyone was jumping and shouting around it, almost frantically.

"God, God..." Tina made the sign of the cross on her chest, indicating that she had not only received a Western cultural education, but also fully embraced their religious beliefs.

We move forward quickly because extreme fervor can easily lead to "collective mania" and cause riots and disturbances.

Sure enough, just as we reached the fifth tomb chamber, the roar of submachine guns erupted ahead. Tina quickly drew her two pistols and sprinted forward, shouting as she ran, "All soldiers, listen up! Lay down your weapons and line up! Line up—"

The way she ran was like a nimble antelope, instantly leaving me behind.

The third part: The Bizarre Purgatory

— Chapter 8 - Mysterious Death —

The tomb chamber was in complete chaos. All five experts were standing on the golden platform, while the other heavily armed soldiers were stomping their feet and clapping along, loudly singing an ancient Egyptian folk song.

I know the song is called "The Song of the Golden Camel". The lyrics are about an Egyptian merchant who lost his camel and then received ten identical golden camels from the god of the desert.

Everyone was completely absorbed, shaking their heads wildly as if they had taken ecstasy. Every now and then, someone would raise their gun and fire at the ceiling, the clanging of spent cartridges hitting the ground filling the air.

Tina leaped onto the platform, fired her gun with a backhand, and with two sharp sounds, killed the two soldiers closest to the platform. The two soldiers had just raised their submachine guns high into the air when bullets pierced their foreheads, leaving thick, bloody holes, and they fell backward.

Gunfire and corpses did not quell the frenzied atmosphere. In a fit of rage, several soldiers turned their guns on Tina on the platform, and a bloodbath seemed imminent. I dared not stand idly by any longer. I grabbed a submachine gun from a soldier's chest and, almost without time to aim, fired a burst at the rebel who had first raised his weapon.

Three bullets mercilessly pierced the man's back, causing blood to splatter immediately.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Tina leaped into the air, her toes touching the shoulder of one of the rebels. She fired both guns in quick succession, accurately killing four rebels who were raising their submachine guns. Then, she clamped her feet around the neck of the soldier beneath her, spun around in mid-air, and with a snap, crushed the soldier's cervical spine.

The tomb fell silent, save for the sound of blood gushing from the wounds of the rebel soldiers.

"Anyone who dares to plot or cause trouble will be killed on sight, and their entire family will be wiped out! Everyone, put down your guns and line up!"

It's surprising that phrases like "extermination of the entire family and the execution of nine generations" also apply to the Egyptian lexicon. At this point, I could understand the necessity of Tina disarming all the special forces soldiers before going down the well. Ancient tombs and treasures can drive people mad at any moment; centralized weapon management was the right step.

The soldiers were intimidated by Tina, placed their submachine guns on the open ground in order, and then obediently retreated, moving five steps away from the platform.

On the ground, only eight huddled rebel corpses remained, the stench of blood gradually spreading.

The golden platform was four meters square and about one and a half meters high, radiating light and incredibly alluring.

The five experts had already jumped down and were touching the platform repeatedly, making clicking sounds.

James then took out his small hammer and carefully tapped around the bottom edge of the platform before concluding decisively: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to announce that this is a solid gold ingot—"

It's unbelievable that such a large gold brick is hidden at the center of the Turkic Pyramid. If its weight were calculated by multiplying its volume by its density, it would be an enormous number that would drive anyone crazy.

Tina smiled with delight, because according to Egyptian law, the huge piece of gold belonged to the state.

The gold ingot is engraved with swirling floral patterns, which seem to represent a lush vine holding the gold ingot tightly in its arms with its tendrils.

This tomb chamber was no different from the others; even the hieroglyphs on the walls and ceiling were identical. This inevitably raises the question: if the carvings in every tomb chamber were the same, were some highly precise measuring tools used during construction? Otherwise, how could they have been carved with such accuracy?

In any case, the discovery of the large gold deposit made the trip worthwhile.

Suren hesitantly told me over the walkie-talkie, "Brother Feng, why don't you try moving that piece of gold? Besides, look around, how can gold glow on its own? I think there must be another light source—"

She was right; gold isn't a luminous pearl, it doesn't inherently emit light. The reality was that the platform was constantly flashing, like a giant square light bulb, its light generously pouring into the large doorway on the west wall.

If there is another light source, the secret must be beneath the platform. However, moving such a massive gold ingot would probably require the power of a bulldozer.

Tina divided the soldiers into three teams to search the other three directions of the tomb, looking for any doors, staircases, or similar structures. Meanwhile, Tanino instructed Yelan and the workers to connect as much power as possible to illuminate each tomb chamber.

It was only then that I realized Lu Jiacan hadn't come down with Tina; he must be in charge of things at the camp. I was increasingly impressed by Tina's leadership skills. Even amidst extreme emotional fluctuations, she remained focused and composed, truly a heroine among women.

The search revealed 361 tomb chambers, but apart from the one containing the gold ingots, the rest were empty and yielded nothing.

The next task was to transport the gold ingots to the surface. This was a difficult problem because its size exceeded the dimensions of the tunnel, making it impossible to drag out. It had to be broken into pieces on-site and then carried out piece by piece.

Tina contacted the Rainbow Warriors headquarters in Cairo and arranged for a tactical engineering team to be dispatched an hour later, carrying the most advanced smelting tools.

Having done all that, she returned to my side without showing any signs of fatigue.

"Thank you, Mr. Feng. The situation just now was indeed dangerous. Fortunately, you helped me." She smiled at me, no longer as cold as ice.

There's a saying in African countries: "Serving a king is like serving a tiger, leading an army is like driving away wolves." When soldiers mutini, the officers in charge are the first to suffer. If I hadn't intervened in time and crushed the rebels' morale, the situation just now could have easily escalated into a bloody battle where both sides exchanged fire.

I smiled and shook my head: "No need."

Those who have fought side by side against an enemy always share a sense of shared hardship and danger, which deepens their relationship.

"Tell me, what reward do you want?" She drew her pistol and checked the magazine.

I scoffed at her arrogance and shook my head again: "Why should a gentleman speak of profit? I'm helping you so that the excavation work can proceed smoothly; I don't want anything from you."

Tina gently blew on the muzzle of the gun in her right hand and handed it to me: "Mr. Feng, these two guns were ordered by my father from an American arms dealer as a birthday gift for me. Throughout Egypt, seeing these guns is like seeing me in person. Giving them to you might... might be of some help to you."

I scoffed, ready to refuse, but Suren quickly reminded me in the earpiece: "Brother Feng, take it, it will definitely help our future career."

I obediently took the gun; a large "T" was engraved on the ivory-inlaid grip. Of course, the grip still held the warmth of Tina's hand. Tina's eyes lit up, her slender eyebrows curving into beautiful crescents, and she casually untied the rawhide holster from her waist and handed it to me.

I didn't see the act of giving away the gun as an ambiguous gesture like "exchanging tokens," and I didn't care what others thought.

Gu Ye kept circling the gold ingot, and several times he even lay down on the ground, using a small knife to pry open the gap where the ingot met the ground. He must have discovered something to be so focused. I walked over and stood behind him with my arms crossed.

I've started to doubt his identity because he's very different from the tomb raiding expert I imagined.

"Mr. Tanino, what have you discovered?" I interrupted his work without any politeness. It was because of his instigation that the bloodshed just now was almost caused. Therefore, he should be held responsible for half of the deaths of the eight people who died there.

"Of course there are, but... but we'll only know if the gold ingots are moved—"

Suddenly, Berenlang cried out, "Ah... help me... help me..." He clutched his throat tightly, his mouth wide open, his eyes wide with extreme terror. From my angle, it looked like he was trying to escape the wall in front of him; his feet were moving towards us, but his body remained firmly planted against the stone wall, as if someone had reached out from behind and grabbed his throat.

Behind him was just a stone wall covered with hieroglyphs, nothing out of the ordinary.

Gu Ye jumped up, his mouth agape, looking completely at a loss.

"Help me...help me..." Berenlang's tongue lolled out, and he could no longer make a sound, but he scratched his Adam's apple with both hands and stomped his feet desperately.

Several soldiers ran over and grabbed his hands and feet, one of them even running behind him. Their intention was to push him away from the wall, and they did just that, successfully lifting Berenlang to the gold ingot and laying him flat on the ground.

I turned on the oxygen tank and brought the mouthpiece close to his lips, but he was already beyond saving. White foam was coming from the corners of his mouth, and his eyes were slowly rolling back.

Berenlong breathed his last in just ten seconds.

I pulled his hands apart and placed them flat on either side of his body, and I noticed a small purple dot right in the center of his Adam's apple, as if it had been pricked by the finest needle.

Tano was breathing heavily behind me, as if he were in a state of extreme terror.

Tom, James, and Cheney gathered around, their expressions relatively calm. In truth, everyone present had witnessed countless deaths. Though the causes of death differed, the final outcome was always the same—their breath ceased, and their souls ascended to heaven.

If I had a properly equipped autopsy room, I would like to know the cause of Berrenlange's death. I am even certain that his death was caused by his over-reliance on his "isolation shield theory," resulting in the inhalation of bacteria-laden air from the grave.

Tani grabbed the gas mask a second time and put it on his face, quickly putting the oxygen mouthpiece into his mouth. His actions were so tense that everyone could hear his teeth chattering.

Tina placed her hand under Babylon's neck to confirm that he was dead before waving for two soldiers to lift him up and take him to the ground.

"Perhaps he was bitten by some insect, or perhaps it was just an accident!" Cheney concluded succinctly. Such precedents have been repeated countless times during the excavation of the pyramids. We are all highly skilled professionals who believe in science; we wouldn't simply attribute the cause of death to "the Pharaoh's curse."

The third part: The Bizarre Purgatory

— Chapter 9 — The Bird of a Thousand Flowers —

While waiting for the engineers to arrive, I huddled in a corner, gazing at the enormous gold ingot. Actually, I felt we should be more actively exploring the upward and downward passages.

When all the smoke was drawn out, only the dazzling gleam of gold remained in the tomb. I once peered through binoculars into those so-called "expansion joints," and they were so deep that even the light from a high-powered flashlight seemed to be swallowed up.

The busiest person was Yelan, who was directing the workers to install lighting equipment in every tomb chamber. Such a massive demand for equipment could not have been met overnight, demonstrating that Scalpel had done countless meticulous preparations before Tanino took over the camp.

“Brother Feng, don’t you think something’s strange? There should at least be a door or opening leading to the top of the tower? The burial chambers between all the levels couldn’t be sealed off, because that kind of construction makes no sense at all—”

I suddenly interrupted Suren on the walkie-talkie: "So tell me, what principles did the ancient Egyptians follow in order to make their architectural methods meaningful?"

The imposing presence of the pyramids clearly demonstrates that the ancient Egyptians' way of thinking was fundamentally different from that of modern people. Such cumbersome structures would seem utterly ridiculous to modern architects, like spending hundreds of thousands of people to lay the foundation only to build a chicken coop on an otherwise solid base.

So, given such a "foolish" architectural concept, what's so strange about them building countless layers of independent, enclosed tombs? Just like the murals showing them attaching crocodile heads, bull heads, horse heads, and dog heads to human bodies, what's the point?

Suren paused for a moment, then chuckled softly.

I sighed and said, "Surren, only when you face this enormous gold ingot yourself will you understand what the words 'utterly bizarre' truly mean."

Suren remained silent, just as Gu Ye and his team had felt when they first entered the tunnel for drilling. The experience of observing from the surface and working on the ground is completely different.

Tanino continued to circle around the gold ingot, seemingly unconcerned about its intrinsic value, but more interested in the secrets hidden beneath it.

"My brother will come to the camp; he has already regrouped his forces as backup. And... and do you know what? Three hours ago, the Egyptian military declared the area within a 100-kilometer radius of the Pyramid of Tsarist Khaganate a military restricted zone, and they will be carrying out radio jamming and communications satellite scanning interference..."

I chuckled dryly three times. As I expected, what was supposed to be an ordinary tomb raiding operation escalated into a joint military operation. After deploying satellite scanning interference, any satellite in orbit would likely be helpless against this "blind spot" spanning hundreds of kilometers.

So all of us are just doing the work for others, and all the discoveries will become spoils that the military can easily obtain without any effort on its part.

"We can only wait and see. My brother said that the high priest, who can represent the Egyptian president, will come immediately. The entire excavation will be jointly overseen by my brother and the high priest."

The scalpel is finally being used—big shots often emerge to clean up the battlefield when the underlings are exhausted.

Looking at those eight innocent corpses, I felt a pang of sadness, like a rabbit mourning the death of a fox.

Squatting in this magnificent, golden tomb chamber always felt strange, because its internal structure was completely different from other pyramids, including... including the smell. My nose has always been very sensitive, and even a slightly strong smell can make me feel suffocated. That's why I was so overwhelmed by the "Thousand Flowers Bird" fragrance on Miss Fujika when I first met her.

Now, with my nose only fifty centimeters from the ground, I inexplicably smell that fragrance again.

“Suren, I’ve discovered… I’ve discovered something—” My nerves tensed instantly, because according to our previous speculation, Miss Tengjia entered the pyramid through some mysterious force. Based on what Long said about the chain disappearing, it should be in a crevice below the tunnel level.

I quickly lay down on the ground, like a dutiful hunting dog, sniffing hard, hoping to piece together the faint scent and find its source.

Suren asked repeatedly, "What? What did you discover?"

I initially thought the fragrance was coming from those bottomless "expansion joints" because I had the concept of "downward" in my mind. However, when I held onto the edge of the joint and stretched my head down as far as I could, I couldn't smell the fragrance anymore.

“Suren, I smell... I think I smell Miss Tengjia’s fragrance.”

Suren let out a long sigh, her bitterness evident.

Upon hearing my words, Tani jumped up with a start: "What? What? What, Miss Fujika? Kaze, what are you talking about?"

I slowly rose, trying to control my turbulent emotions and remain calm. Miss Fujika disappeared before the tomb was breached; her scent wouldn't have appeared here for no reason. Unless… unless—

I took a big step forward, grabbed Tano's collar, and quickly started smelling him from his head and shoulders down to his feet.