Iron Bull taucht wieder auf

Kapitel 59

Gu Ye's skills were better than I had imagined, and in an instant, my doubts about his identity began to waver.

The steel cable swept over the snakes, and Gu Ye, like a nimble monkey, curled up and hung upside down on the cable. With a swing, he straightened his arm, ready to grab the gem, with all his weight concentrated on his left hand gripping the cable.

Having learned from the soldier's experience of using a knife to pry the gemstone out last time, we all understand that the gemstone is firmly embedded in the stone wall, and it will take a lot of effort to remove it.

In the process of prying open the gemstone, Tano's body must remain still as he probes into the snakes—a sensation that only the best snake charmers in India have ever experienced, and which ordinary people would never dare to attempt.

Our protective suits have sophisticated intercom equipment, and I could hear Gu Ye regulating his breathing. His initially rapid breathing gradually subsided, turning into deep, long, and controlled breathing.

"Is it ready?" I asked, my palms already sweating.

Gu Ye slowly replied, "That's fine, but I'd also like to ask you to check the properties of these snakes. I need to obtain their venom characteristics." He was very cautious, which seemed somewhat in line with the image of Gu Ye, the internationally renowned tomb raiding master. Even with the protection of a radiation suit, there was no guarantee of complete safety.

I lowered another steel cable down from the edge of the pool, with one end extending into the snakes.

"What are you doubting?" As soon as the steel cable entered the snake swarm, more than a dozen venomous snakes opened their mouths and lunged at it. One of the snakes coiled up and circled the steel cable several times. For a moment, I thought I saw a thin, shimmering golden line on the snake's belly.

“I suspect they are not a variant of the Egyptian cobra at all, but rather…”

I continued, "Doesn't it resemble the golden-lined viper, which is native to Bangladesh?"

Gu Ye paused, then muttered to himself, "Not bad, it does look somewhat like it! There's a shimmering golden line running from the middle of its lower jaw all the way to its tail... But the golden-lined viper is enormous, with even the smallest adult snake being over two meters long... and it's impossible for snake populations from Bangladesh to migrate here..."

His voice grew increasingly confused.

I flicked my wrist, and the steel cable snapped back, bringing the snake wrapped around it to the ground by the pool.

The snake was about 60 centimeters long. As soon as it landed, it immediately spun around a few times, coiled into a ball, and raised its head, fiercely flicking its tongue.

From this angle, the golden line on its belly is clearly visible, resembling a string of ellipses from Chinese punctuation. What appears to be a golden line is actually composed of countless golden "dots," which is the most distinctive feature of the golden-lined viper.

Bangladesh is just a tiny dot on the map of the earth, but it is precisely because of the rare golden-line viper that most foreigners remember the name of this country.

"I am more than 80 percent certain that these are golden-thread vipers."

Gu Ye's breathing quickened, and he seemed somewhat agitated: "Feng, can you double-check? I can't imagine that an animal originally found only in Bangladesh would appear in a different variant form under the pyramids? How is that possible? We all know that snakes are widely distributed and numerous in phyla on Earth, but each branch has distinct characteristics and would never be confused—the golden-line viper has never been found anywhere else except in Bangladesh, yet here, tens of thousands of them have appeared..."

He rolled over on the rope, gripped the steel cable with his knees, rested for a moment, and sighed, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it even if you killed me."

His gaze was fixed on the snake by the pond, and he said urgently, "Check the gold lines on its belly. If it is indeed 24K pure gold, then we can only believe this result!"

The most distinctive feature of the golden-lined viper is the golden speckle on its abdomen, each speckle being pure gold of standard purity, without any impurities. Many snake catchers in Bangladesh have profited handsomely from these strange snakes, precisely because of their "golden speckles," making them a coveted target for humans.

I slowly approached the snake, a six-centimeter-long tactical knife already extended from my hand. At the same time, I thought to myself, "Tens of thousands of snakes—just scraping off the golden spots from their bellies would be an enormous fortune—if the media were to rush in and report on this spectacle, it would definitely be a global sensation, a story that would rewrite history..."

The venomous snake suddenly leaped up, making a "whoosh" sound as it cut through the air. Before I could react, it had already opened its mouth and bit my left wrist, right where the protective glove and the cuff of the protective suit were connected.

Gu Ye exclaimed in surprise, "Look, these snakes have thoughts; they can find gaps in human defenses, right?"

I'd rather this were just a coincidence, that the snake had simply bitten my wrist by chance, rather than, as Tanino had said, attacking selectively. The bite was severe; the fangs were deeply embedded in my clothing, and the snake had no way to escape.

I stretched out my right hand, and with a flash, the knife pierced the "seven inches" behind the snake's head.

For any snake on Earth, this spot is 100% its most fatal weakness; once hit, it immediately loses its ability to fight back.

The knife only penetrated two centimeters, enough to weaken its fighting ability, but not enough to kill the snake immediately.

I crouched down, turned the snake over, scraped the gold thread twice with a knife, and held it up to my eyes to open it.

"Isn't that right? Our judgment was correct?" Gu Ye tried his best to control his astonishment.

The knife was stained with a layer of snake blood, and a dozen tiny specks of gold, the size of millet grains, had appeared on the shocking snake blood. These were standard gold of extremely high purity, without any impurities or additives.

I smiled wryly: "Not bad, not bad, we're going to make a fortune."

This is the second time signs of gold have appeared inside the pyramids. First, there were those enormous gold ingots, and then thousands of venomous snakes with "golden spots" on their bodies.

With its triangular head, green pupils, golden eyeshadow at the corners of its eyes, deep black body, short, thick, and rounded tail tip, golden lines on its abdomen, two venomous fangs, wide palate, and deep throat, all these features perfectly match the description of the golden-lined viper in zoology textbooks. Apart from its size and location, we two experienced tomb raiders were certain of its identity.

The golden-line viper is not among the world's top ten most venomous snakes, but if bitten by it, even a strong, burly man would not survive more than half an hour without proper first aid.

"Feng, have you ever been to Snake Island in the East Sea?" Gu Ye began to clasp his hands together, twisting his wrists, making "crack, crack" sounds, as if warming up before the operation.

"I've been there," I answered haltingly.

"So, have you ever been attacked simultaneously by wire snakes, earthworms, turbulent five-ring snakes, and suicide snakes?"

The names of the four snakes he mentioned were already listed in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" by Li Shizhen, a legendary figure in China, hundreds of years ago. They are extremely venomous, but at the same time, they have very high medicinal value and are considered rare and precious among snakes.

"No."

The wire snake has a body as tough as steel wire; the earthworm snake likes to ambush from damp, dark plant roots; the turbulent five-ring snake lives year-round in the torrents of waterfalls; and the last one, the "suicide snake" with a body as thin as a shoelace, is extremely aggressive. When it attacks its target, it doesn't care about its own life or death. The final result of each attack is always "either you die or I die".

Snake farmers risked entering Snake Island to catch snakes for money, and countless people died from the venomous fangs of the four types of snakes mentioned above, their bones piling up like mountains.

“I once…” Gu Ye’s body was hanging upside down, and he slid into the snake swarm.

"I've been attacked by all four of these animals simultaneously, and more than once, but to this day, I'm still alive and well. The vitality and fighting spirit of the Yamato people..."

I snorted loudly, expressing my extreme dislike for his topic. If it weren't for the fact that he was in such a dangerous situation, I would have already spoken up in rebuttal. His right arm was the first to enter the swarm of snakes, and in his palm he held a tool that resembled an "artificial arm," with five fingers-like joints and flexible claws that could flick, grip, and pluck with agility and ease.

In the world of tomb raiding, this tool is called the "ever-changing Ruyi Hook," and it is an indispensable tool for a skilled tomb raider.

With the help of the Ruyi Hook, the grasping function of the arm can be extended to the maximum extent.

"Feng, actually, the Yamato people are not fundamentally different from the 'Han people' that you Chinese like to boast about. They are just people from different countries who have a sense of pride and superiority over their own race..."

The Ruyi Hook swept past the gemstone twenty centimeters above it, missing the gemstone but hooking four venomous snakes instead. At the same time, at least twenty more venomous snakes slithered over, coiling around Gu Ye's right arm, their heads spiraling upwards to attack his helmet.

This bizarre situation is impossible to describe in words. In just two seconds, Gu Ye's body slumped down and then flipped back up, completely surrounded by venomous snakes. Of course, beneath his feet, even more snakes formed a dark, menacing array, ready to meet his second attack at any moment.

"Patriotism is not a crime, do you agree with this statement?"

With a snap, the Ruyi Hook pulled in and out, severing four venomous snakes in half at the waist by five sharp claws. Their corpses fell into the snake formation and were instantly torn apart and devoured by their companions.

"I agree." Sweat was already beading on my forehead beneath my helmet as I tossed the still-wriggling, half-dead snake into the pool.

Japanese people love Japan, Chinese people love China, Americans love America... Their starting points are completely the same, and everyone would agree on that.

“My father was a military doctor during World War II and even went to Nanjing, China…” He still held the steel cable between his legs, with the Ruyi hook in his left hand, and with a series of snips, he cut the venomous snakes wrapped around his right arm without any panic.

My blood felt like it was rushing to my head, and my body trembled and shook from the sudden surge of excitement. "Japan and Nanjing" were two words that could not be easily linked together, like fire and explosives; once touched, they would cause terrible consequences.

A venomous snake nimbly climbed to the junction of Gu Ye's collar and helmet, its body wrapping around his neck, too fast for the Ruyi Hook whip to reach.

"Entered Nanjing?" My voice seemed to be forced out from between my teeth. In the minds of the Chinese, any Japanese who had entered Nanjing was burdened with an unforgivable blood debt. I even hoped that this snake would bite Tani's neck hard, causing him to perish along with the crimes of the Japanese. But unfortunately, Tani bent his left elbow, and with a flash of his Ruyi Hook, he caught the last snake, lifting it into the air, watching it struggle and hiss in the grasp of the Ruyi Hook, baring its teeth.

“Feng, you misunderstand. My father was a highly skilled military doctor, a doctor who simply saved lives. On the operating table, he not only treated Japanese but also many Chinese. In his eyes, there were only people in the universal sense, without distinction of internationality, social status, or region. If you have the chance to look up the biography of General Zhang Xueliang compiled by Americans, you will find my father's name. He performed surgery on high-ranking generals of the Northeast Army of China seven times…”

With a snap, the venomous snake was also decapitated.

In the empty tomb chamber, amidst the hissing of the snakes, these two tomb raiding experts found themselves talking about a tragic period in the nation's history that had nothing to do with tomb raiding or treasure hunting—truly the strangest topic ever.

“My father died on the very night he entered the city with the army. He was killed by a stray bullet at Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing—a bullet from your Chinese garrison.” He stared at the snake blood dripping from the ruyi hook, his voice heavy and somber.

The invaders were shot dead by the defenders, which was a great relief. I don't think Tanino's father deserves any sympathy.

"My eldest brother has kept the bullet embedded in my father's skull, and it's hidden deep in a secret cave in the Hokkaido glacier..." His narration had become inexplicable; he wasn't talking to me at all, but rather, like a poet writing a poem or a painter painting a picture, he had fallen into his own state of madness and frenzy, a state of fantasy that was even more immersive than talking to himself.

"Gathering all seven gems is enough to turn the world upside down, so the 'Eye of the Moon' must be mine, it must be mine..."

His body slid down a second time, quickly slipping off the steel cable, his shoulder almost touching the mouths of the hundreds of snakes at the very top of the snake formation.

With a crisp snap, the sound of the Ruyi hook striking the hard stone platform rang out. Gu Ye grunted, swung his arm, and dragged the hook horizontally, hooking it onto the gemstone. The five fingers on the Ruyi hook snapped shut, seizing the gemstone.

The white light in the tomb chamber suddenly dimmed, as if a bright light bulb had been blocked.

“It’s mine…you’re mine…it’s mine…” Gu Ye howled, or rather, groaned in extreme pain. He was like a strange, enormous moth perched on a lampshade, as if trying to shake the light source that illuminates the world with his tiny self.

I don't know if the result of Gu Ye getting so close to the "Eye of the Moon" will be the same as the previous soldiers? Will he be pierced by the light and turned into a honeycomb-like cicada shell? However, the reaction speed of the snake swarm is definitely superior to that of a martial arts master. In just a flash, Gu Ye's body was already covered by a dense swarm of venomous snakes, with only his calves below the knees and his boots exposed.

Huge beads of sweat rolled down my forehead, my underwear was soaked through three or four times, my fists were clenched to the limit, and my limbs were numb and devoid of any feeling...

I recall a remarkable record in the Guinness World Records about a New Zealand beekeeping expert who achieved the feat of being completely enveloped by 25 kilograms of bees for three hours. Footage from the time showed the expert's entire body, except for his feet, covered in bees, forcing him to breathe only through an oxygen tube inserted into his nostrils—he resembled a giant, upright beehive…

At this moment, the situation in the valley resembled an upside-down "snake's nest".

“Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Zai, Qian… Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Zai, Qian… Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Zai, Qian…” His voice was so deep that it seemed to come from hell, across an incomparably vast distance of life and death.

The threat of venomous snakes is less significant compared to the mysterious lethality of the "Eye of the Moon." To date, we still haven't been able to determine exactly how the gem's penetrating power occurs.

The Nine-Syllable Mantra of Esoteric Buddhism, "Lin Bing Dou Zhe Jie Zhen Lie Zai Qian," requires the hands to form mudras to exert its magical effect of warding off evil. I am not sure whether the protective mantra recited by Tano in this state can actually work.

Three sharp "clicks" echoed as the Ruyi Hook tightened. The control mechanism for the opening and closing of the hook was located in the handle held in his palm. It seemed the gemstone was set very tightly and could not be pried off in a short time.

“Single Cobalt Seal, Great Vajra Wheel Seal, Outer Lion Seal, Inner Lion Seal, Outer Binding Seal, Inner Binding Seal…” He murmured the names of the hand seals, and persisted for a full minute and a half in the midst of the snakes before releasing his fingers from the Ruyi Hook and flipping upside down with a whoosh.

Even more terrifying strange things happened—

All the venomous snakes that clung to him hissed desperately with their mouths agape before falling to the ground, turning into interlocking white bones.

"Wisdom Seal, Sun Wheel Seal, Vase Seal..." He continued to chant slowly, but what killed the venomous snake was not the power of the Dharma Protector Mantra, but the white light from the "Eye of the Moon Goddess".

"Are you... alright?" My voice trembled.

Gu Ye waved his arm, shaking off the last venomous snake that had crawled under his armpit, and replied with a mixture of joy and sorrow, "I'm fine, but unfortunately the gem is set too tightly, I can't get it. Help me think of a way..."

If it weren't for the snakes, one could descend onto the large stone platform and slowly use a hammer and chisel to remove the gem. Now, that's definitely not an option, because no one can calmly venture into the snake horde to work. The thought of these slimy monsters slithering over my body makes my stomach churn.

"How about sulfuric acid... or aqua regia?" This was the idea that came to me in a moment of inspiration. Since fire was out of the question, highly corrosive chemicals would be more effective.

"Hmm, not bad, I want to try again... Strange, the radiation energy of the light seems to adhere to the outer wall of the protective suit and have an effect. Look, those snakes that were wrapped around me have all been cleared away by the white light..."

Gu Ye's voice and body were fine, thank goodness, the anti-radiation suit was indeed safe and effective.

"Wind, can you imagine why gemstones glow?" He lowered his head, looking at the constant white light at his feet.

I couldn't reach a conclusion even with all my imagination, so I could only try to explain it using Sulen's "light bulb" theory.

"Why does the sun shine?" He adjusted his breathing, preparing for his third sprint, and surprisingly had the leisure to discuss such a question.

"The sun is a huge, burning fireball, so of course it can shine, just like how magma from the earth's core, after erupting from a volcano, naturally emits a red light that illuminates the sky."

"Then what about the stars? The stars in the night sky also twinkle, why?"

"According to scientists, stars and the moon reflect light from the sun. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"That's just the most basic and stupid explanation from scientists. You know, how many stars shine in the vast universe? A large portion of them are thousands of times brighter than the sun. Are they also reflecting the sun's light? Feng, what I really want to ask is, could this 'Eye of the Moon' be a condensed form of some kind of star or meteorite, essentially equivalent to a sun that emits its own light?"

I laughed because this seemingly pointless question was difficult to answer, and theoretically, it was impossible to compare such a small gem to the enormous sun in the sky.

"Mr. Tanino, don't you think the topic we're discussing right now is rather boring?"

He laughed from inside his helmet and gave me a thumbs-up from a distance.

"The last time?" I asked, and then loaded the nail gun a second time, fastened the steel cable, fired a shot into the ground, and secured the steel cable firmly to the ground. When Gu Ye needed to return in a while, he would use the tension of this steel cable to complete the journey.

In fact, modern climbing tools are readily available, and we could easily and effortlessly complete the current suspension and climbing work. However, working through the night, this is all that Natura can provide.