Iron Bull taucht wieder auf

Kapitel 69

Suren remained silent throughout. After quickly flipping through the pictures, she slowly walked to her bedside, sat down, took out her phone, and dialed a number slowly and deliberately, seemingly in a very heavy mood.

“495559…” she began to speak into the microphone in a low voice.

Xiao Yan started whistling excitedly, tossing the bottle aside. His twelve fingers flew across the touchscreen, as if he were lost in a state of extreme excitement. He kept whistling the familiar American tune, "Indian Children," always playing the same melody: "One, two, three Indians, four, five, six Indians..."

At this moment, I felt like crying but couldn't, because I never imagined that my older brother's disappearance would be related to aliens. Gu Ye once said he was still alive, Su Lun said the same thing, and now the photos Xiao Yan brought showed the same information. I wanted to help him, but I didn't know where to begin, I was completely helpless.

Part Six: The Divine Appearance Revealed

— Chapter 9 — The Reappearance of the Ghostly Lotus —

When Suren ended the call, my teeth were still chattering like a terminally ill typhoid patient: "Who... were you talking to... who..."

I need more data from various sources to prove the accuracy of these images. Xiao Yan was brought by Su Lun, so these mysterious images are naturally related to Su Lun as well.

Suren let out a long sigh, and before she could answer, Xiao Yan, with her back to me, casually remarked, "Hehe, that's just Miss Yan Xun, the most beautiful, richest, most popular, and most successful in her career at the Pentagon. Don't you know that?"

Before I knew it, my hand was on Xiao Yan's shoulder, and I said in a deep voice, "Young man, I need you to explain these photos further. Can you help me out?"

Xiao Yan let out a strange cry, his shoulder jerked, and he broke free from my grip. Almost in a split second, a tremendous elastic force arose from his shoulder, causing my hand to be thrown back as if electrocuted. He was still facing away from me, and with a swift movement of his left foot, his toe was already inexplicably pressed against my throat.

The strange thing about this move is that his body was facing away from me, so how could his left leg possibly rotate and kick at any angle? This kind of attack method is clearly the most advanced technique in yoga martial arts—Xiao Yan is just a young man under eighteen years old. Even if he started practicing yoga from birth, it would be impossible for him to master it in just over ten years...

"Don't force me, my sister won't let me fight—whoosh, ***twelfth floor finished, there are still twelve floors left, what are those American devils up to? It's just a broken drill, why are they making such a fuss?"

Xiao Yan withdrew her foot, her hands suddenly stopping their movement. Like a thoughtful child, she reached up to pull at her messy hair, muttering to herself, "What's going on? What's going on? What's going on..."

In the first exchange, he not only used the most exquisite "Eighteen Falls with Clothes on Clothes" technique from Chinese martial arts, but also revealed a superb leg skill. I suddenly felt that this unremarkable ugly boy in front of me was definitely a legendary martial arts master who "remains silent until he makes a name for himself."

I sincerely said, "I'm sorry." I was too emotional just now; I really shouldn't have done that.

Xiao Yan didn't hear me at all. She looked dejected one moment and her eyes lit up the next. Suddenly, she shouted, "Sister Su Lun, Sister Su Lun... I understand! This code program is basically NASA's 'nuclear insurance' program. No matter what, a civilian drilling rig would never use such a program, unless... unless... I can't understand it... I really can't understand it..."

He then used both hands to tightly hug his head, shaking it back and forth like a rattle drum, making the two black amber earrings on his ears seem about to fly off.

At that moment, all three of us were in a state of confusion. Suren gestured for me to walk out of the tent. We had to talk about the photos away from Xiaoyan, otherwise our work tonight would not be able to proceed.

The sun had passed its zenith, and a lazy silence hung over the camp. After Natura's death, the large tent was used exclusively by Scalpel, who also took over all of Tano's data. At this moment, curtains were drawn at the entrances of all the tents, and no sound could be heard.

"Those pictures are absolutely real. The most recent one is from May 1st. Brother Feng, all the pictures were taken by NASA's 'Feixing-9' and 'Feixing-25' satellites deployed over the equator. After being sent to Area 51, they were presented as top-secret fighters to Pentagon Commander Rumsfeld for review, and then forwarded to the President of the United States."

Before I could ask any questions, Suren recited the latest intelligence she had just received in detail. Her expression was very serious, indicating that she also found this intelligence complex and difficult to understand.

The wind swirled her long, black hair and caressed her slender waist, making her look incredibly beautiful. But my mind was completely focused on the pictures, my eyes were sore and swollen, and I had no heart to appreciate her graceful figure.

“That’s… Yang Tian? Yang Tian, the ‘King of Tomb Raiders’?” I asked with difficulty.

"Yes, at least all the American records indicate this, and along with these records, the president was presented with a 600biographical sketch of Yang Tian. Therefore, we should be 100% certain that the great hero Yang Tian is still alive, and within the area covered by the two satellites—"

I interrupted her: "Sulun, why beat around the bush? Satellite photos have accurate latitude and longitude coordinates. As long as we get these two values, we can clearly know where my brother is."

Anyone who can read a globe understands the concept of "geographic coordinates." The Americans' "precise coordinate technology" has further subdivided the 360 degrees of latitude and longitude into tenths of a degree, dividing the globe into smaller regions with 3,600 intersecting lines. This has provided a revolutionary breakthrough for the precision guidance systems of the US military's long-range missiles, cruise missiles, and infrared-guided missiles. It was precisely because of this that the US military was able to maintain firm control of the war in the Kosovo War against Yugoslavia, striking precisely where it was directed, leaving Yugoslav hostile forces with nowhere to hide.

The two US military monitoring satellites mentioned above are targeting several of the fastest-growing military powers in Africa, including Egypt and South Africa, two long-time rivals.

“Yes, Brother Feng, you’re absolutely right, but—we didn’t get any coordinate information from these photos.”

I cried out, "Impossible! Impossible!" Good heavens, the inadequacy of human language meant that no matter how many times I reminded myself not to say those three words, I couldn't help but say them again and again.

"It is indeed quite unbelievable. Even the top executive at the Pentagon, upon hearing this, immediately exclaimed 'Impossible!' If the monitoring satellites cannot obtain accurate latitude and longitude coordinates, even if they take millions of pictures per second, it is completely useless. But—it's true. After more than a hundred reviews by Area 51 and the Department of Defense, everything was fine. The only problem was that the engineers couldn't obtain the geographical coordinates of the photos. Apart from the general date, they couldn't even get the exact time the photos were taken..."

Such an outcome is almost impossible.

All computer devices operate with two distinct time recording units—an external calibration time and a machine core clock. As the most advanced monitoring equipment in the United States, satellite imaging even uses a unified recording method similar to "four-dimensional space"—combining "three-dimensional geographic coordinates with a time extension line." This means their technology can record the trajectory of any object in visible space at any given time. However, Area 51 and the Pentagon are currently helpless against this set of photos.

"I can only say that Hero Yang Tian is alive, but we can't pinpoint his exact location in Africa. Our only hope remains with the follow-up images from American spy satellites. Brother Feng, I believe we can find him and unravel these unseen mysteries one by one..."

Suren regained her composure and straightened her back.

From the east, Tina strode out of her tent and headed toward James's tent to the left. When she saw me and Suren standing together, she paused for a moment, then waved as a greeting.

She was still dressed in her impeccably tailored military uniform, her gait a perfect example of Egyptian military bearing. However, in her haste, she hadn't put on her cap, leaving her long, naturally golden curls cascading over her shoulders, shimmering in the sunlight. In the monotonous environment of endless yellow sand and the cold, imposing presence of firearms, the beautiful and poised Tina was undoubtedly the most striking sight.

Compared to Su Lun, Tina appears more experienced, worldly, and shrewd, but both of them are equally elegant and graceful, and are top-notch experts among girls venturing into the world.

“Brother Feng, I’m always worried about James. You know, the United States has never stopped coveting Africa. If it weren’t for the opposition party in the Senate’s strong opposition to interfering in African affairs, the Marine Corps’ vanguard would have already set foot on this land. Under such circumstances, James, who works for both the United States and India, may be shouldering several tasks at the same time…”

The most important question is, since there is only one "Eye of the Moon," who will it ultimately end up with?

In great power rivalry, there is never any room for humility or courtesy, especially among Americans. In international disputes, they have always adhered to the "Cao Cao principle" of "I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me." Whatever they set their sights on, they will get it, whether through diplomacy or force.

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was dusk.

Xiao Yan was busy working through her teeth, constantly muttering curses at the drill's designer for coming up with such a complicated password protection program.

"Twenty-four layers of passwords in total, my God! The person who designed the drilling rig must be a computer idiot. This kind of programming is even more bizarre than the Pentagon's database program lock... Another layer has been solved... I'll have to work until at least midnight tonight..." He kept drinking heavily, his face turning from red to waxy yellow, then back to bright red, but his eyes were getting brighter and brighter, like two diamonds being constantly cut and polished, with each additional facet increasing the brightness.

Tina is still inside James's tent, and who knows how many mysterious things are going on between them.

I noticed that Suren's brows were furrowing more and more tightly, and her suspicion of James deepened with Tina's sudden intervention. I stepped out of the tent, my ears filled with Xiao Yan's incessant stream of profanities, and I could no longer bear it.

The bright moon hung in the southeastern sky, its clear light shining on the utterly silent desert, magically turning all the yellow sand into a pure, moon-white hue.

With the searchlight beams no longer in use, the brightest light in the camp came from James's tent, where a few guards carrying submachine guns were listlessly conducting their routine patrol.

The area around the military vehicles outside the camp was deserted, and all the soldiers stayed obediently in their tents. Everyone cherished the rare opportunity to get a good night's sleep.

I stretched my arms, exhaled a long breath, and felt a surge of excitement at the thought of tomorrow's grand expedition to the Pyramid of Tulku, exploring it layer by layer, uncovering all its mysterious secrets. In Egypt's "one-man rule" presidential system, the greatest advantage is that anything approved by the president is immediately circumvented nationwide. This is far more advanced than the American system, where everything requires deliberation by both houses of Congress.

The sense of crisis came suddenly. Right on top of the tent, as I spun around quickly to look at the tent to the north, I suddenly saw a figure in a gray robe leaping with incredible agility. In a few leaps, the figure approached my tent and Suren's tent, as fast as a wisp of gray smoke.

"It's—Youlian?" That was my first reaction. I didn't need to look at the night walker's face (of course, I couldn't see it clearly anyway, as her face was always hidden under her huge hood). From her leaping movements, I had already made a very certain judgment.

The sentries patrolling the camp were all dozing off and had no idea of the sudden intruder.

I dared not linger for a moment, and immediately sprinted into the tent, tearing the curtain open with a ripping sound as I rushed in. But I was still half a step too slow. The curved blade that Youlian had flicked from her wrist was already at Xiaoyan's neck, and she was crouching on top of the drilling rig, her long robe trailing on the ground, like a strange bat that had suddenly appeared.

Since Sahan and Youlian disappeared, a series of strange things have happened in the camp, so much so that Suren and I had long forgotten about the master and apprentice.

Even with the scimitar holding her hostage, Xiao Yan's fingers continued to tap incessantly on the touchscreen, muttering to herself, "Why are there four firewalls between the twentieth and twenty-first secret floors? Is it to create a matrix arrangement to make room for space? Genius, genius... Too bad you've met me..." She was completely oblivious to the scimitar's sharp edge.

Youlian's facial features were completely hidden in the shadow of her hat brim, so her expression was completely obscured at this moment.

Su Lun's gun was already pointed at You Lian's forehead. The distance between them was about four meters, but her movement to draw the gun was obviously slower than You Lian's curved sword. That's why she hesitated to pull the trigger, lest she lose Xiao Yan's innocent life.

I raised my hands, smiled amicably, and gestured to Youlian in sign language: "We are friends, we are all friends, shall we talk?"

With Sahan absent, communicating with this deaf and mute girl must be quite troublesome. She went straight to my tent as soon as she appeared; her target was definitely related to this drilling rig—recalling Sahan's mysterious sacrificial rituals, I couldn't help but mutter to myself, "Could it be that the great god Tu Liehan sent Youlian again?"

Killing Xiao Yan would render most of the previous decoding work futile.

"Where is your master? Let's talk. This is my friend, please put the knife away..." It took me a lot of effort to make my words clear, and cold sweat was already breaking out on my face.

I don't particularly like Xiao Yan, but since he was invited by Su Lun, I naturally have an obligation to protect his safety.

Suren sighed softly, "Brother Feng, can she understand it?"

I wasn't sure either, so I could only grit my teeth and continue gesturing: "Knife, take it away, okay? Don't hurt him."

Youlian squatted motionless, holding Xiaoyan's curved blade very steadily, completely unmoved by the movements I made.

The atmosphere inside the tent gradually became heavy. Fortunately, Xiao Yan was brave enough to remain calm under the blade, her eyes fixed on the touchscreen.

Su Lun's hand gripping the gun began to tremble, and the muzzle dropped, pointing at You Lian's wrist. That sharp curved blade, with just a light slash, would likely kill Xiao Yan instantly. If he could break You Lian's wrist with a single shot, perhaps he could gain the upper hand and save Xiao Yan.

"Where is your...master?" I continued gesturing, beads of sweat slowly rolling down my forehead. We were so close to cracking the drilling rig's code; I couldn't afford to fail now.

After Sahan and Youlian mysteriously disappeared, where have they been hiding all these days? You know, in the vast desert, without enough water and food, no one can survive for more than seven days.

Outside the tent, a series of hurried footsteps sounded, and then all four corners of the tent were lifted by soldiers, revealing more than thirty dark gun barrels pointed at Youlian from all sides.

Tina and James walked in side by side, pointing at Youlian and sneering, "Where is your master? The High Priest is dead, and the President wants him to come back to be the High Priest and lead all the believers of God in the country..." Her curls bounced on her shoulders with her laughter, exuding an indescribable charm, which made James keep glancing at her face.

Judging from their intimate expressions, they seemed to have been chatting happily for the entire afternoon. For no reason, a pang of jealousy swept over me, as if the spot where James was standing right now should belong to me.

Youlian slowly placed her left hand on the LCD screen, blocking Xiaoyan's view. However, as the horn on the drilling rig beeped four times in a row, Xiaoyan excitedly let out a sharp whistle: "All done!" Immediately, the roar of the drilling rig filled the entire tent, and he excitedly rubbed his hands together, starting to mutter curses again.

From the start of decoding to completion, it took a full eight hours, far exceeding Xiaoyan's time budget.

He reached out and pushed away Youlian's curved sword, stood up and stretched, then patted Youlian's shoulder: "Hey, friend, your vampire bat look is pretty good! But using a sword in this day and age is a bit too outdated, isn't it? The era of hand-to-hand combat with cold weapons is long gone. You should use this—"

Xiao Yan suddenly spun around, his clothes tearing open at his elbows with a ripping sound, and two short-barreled shotguns flew out, aimed straight at You Lian's chest. His clothes were so tight and short; I hadn't expected him to be able to hide guns in his sleeves.

"Spare her life, Xiao Yan—" I shouted. Suddenly, a flash of cold light appeared in mid-air, followed by four sharp clangs. Xiao Yan screamed and retreated, raising her hands. Only two 20-centimeter-long sections of the shotgun handle remained; the rest had been sliced into four pieces by the curved blade that You Lian flicked out from her left hand.

Such a rapid and extraordinary exchange of blows defies description; all the actions were completed in the blink of an eye.

Immediately, all the soldiers' submachine guns roared, bullets raining down on Youlian, who was leaping in mid-air. As Youlian leaped, she stretched her arms forward with all her might, making a graceful "crane soaring into the sky" motion, tearing through the arched roof of the tent with a hiss. With a flick of her gray robe, she swept away nearly four hundred bullets, which clattered and clanged against the drilling rig.

Xiao Yan dropped the gun handle in shock and touched her forehead.

Suren didn't have time to chase after them, and rushed to ask, "Are you hurt? Are you hurt?" Her concern for Xiaoyan was clearly heartfelt and sincere.

A sudden wave of emotion washed over me: "Suren doesn't only have me in her heart. Even if the scalpel dies, she still has good friends, and her good friend's brother..."

Suddenly, a strand of hair fell from Xiao Yan's forehead, a very neat lock, probably caused by You Lian's blade.

Suren breathed a sigh of relief, and his heart was at ease.

I stepped silently out of the tent. Soldiers were frantically starting up their vehicles, preparing to pursue Youlian, who had already drifted westward. The roar of engines, the sound of magazines being changed, and tense shouts filled the air. Under the moonlight, against the backdrop of the distant blue sky and the pyramids of Turkmenistan, Youlian flew through the air, her gray robe billowing in the north wind, making her look like a giant, mutated bat.

In that instant, I remembered the mysterious amnesia I had suffered that night while following Youlian, and how I had witnessed her flying towards the pyramids. This scene was simply a replay of what had happened that night.

I turned and yelled into the tent, "Sulun, I'm going to chase after Youlian, don't wander off—"

Before I could finish my sentence, the already rumbling drilling rig suddenly started belching smoke, first from the LCD screen, then spreading to the entire rig, filling it with acrid green smoke. I froze for half a second, then jumped into the nearest jeep that had just started, shoved the driver out, slammed on the gas, and sped off with a whoosh.

Judging from the situation, the drilling rig seems to have been tampered with by Youlian; it's clearly burned out and unusable. I must catch up with her—

The Rainbow Warriors' vehicles are all top-notch, and with me flooring the accelerator, they roared out of the camp first. I can now confirm that the direction Youlian flew towards was the spire of the Tu Liehan Pyramid.

Fifty meters behind me, the soldiers' military vehicles followed, their searchlights emitting intense white beams that cleaved through the darkness.

A military pistol was tucked diagonally into the holster next to the driver's seat. I gritted my teeth and floored the accelerator, gripping the steering wheel with one hand and the pistol with the other. I couldn't care less about anything else; at this moment, if I had the chance to fire, I had to strike first. Youlian's martial arts skills were unbelievably high. With Xiaoyan's superb skills, she had her hair cut off in a single move, and that might have just been a warning. If she wanted to take Xiaoyan's life then, it would have been as easy as turning her hand.

Part Six: The Divine Appearance Revealed

— Chapter 10 - The Mutation of the Moon Goddess's Eye —

Seven minutes later, Youlian's body suddenly plummeted, landing lightly in the middle of the makeshift road.

I had no intention of slowing down or braking; I floored the gas pedal and rammed into her recklessly. Whatever she was up to, I'd better strike first to avoid being harmed.

Suddenly, a dozen or so violent explosions rang out behind me, the flames illuminating half the sky. The four military vehicles following closely behind were all destroyed, blasted into the air, their bodies torn apart, and fragments flying in all directions. The explosions jolted me awake; before I could react, the car had already struck Youlian, traveled another dozen meters, and come to a screeching halt.

I didn't kill Youlian. When I slammed on the brakes and looked back, she stood alone in the middle of the road, still facing me, against the backdrop of the towering flames and thick smoke. The collision hadn't harmed her in the slightest; it was as if I'd hit an invisible person.

In a narrow encounter, the brave prevail. I had no other choice but to kick open the car door, grip the gun with both hands, and repeatedly pull the trigger, firing as I went, until all the bullets in the chamber were gone.