King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 4

I trust the surgeon's judgment, but although I am the only bystander at this moment, I feel completely lost and can't make heads or tails of it.

Tani coughed softly, covering his mouth, snapped his fingers with the scalpel, and Lanon pushed in an exquisitely crafted stainless steel trolley. On the trolley sat a huge ice bucket, containing three bottles of liquor: two fine Scotch whiskies and the most prized Japanese Imperial Sake.

"Let's have a drink together and then talk slowly, shall we?" Suren tried to smooth things over, her brows slightly furrowed, her head tilted to the side, letting her long hair cascade onto the sofa.

The wine swirls in the glass, and here, the scalpel holds the finest wines of all Egypt, often eclipsing even the most distinguished visiting Egyptian officials.

A famous diplomat once said: "Alcohol is a catalyst for emotions." Often, a heated argument can be extinguished with a few drinks.

After setting down his glass, Scalpel suddenly said something that almost made me drop it: "Five conditions, all agreed to." Just now, while drinking, he and Suren had been holding hands and exchanging glances, presumably exchanging countless views and opinions.

Tani and Bancha were overjoyed and clinked their glasses together. Because they did so with too much force, the wine in their glasses spilled out and landed on each other.

"However, there's one more condition. The Turkham pyramid is fine with you, but my people must be present throughout the entire excavation process. That person is—" The scalpel, holding a wine glass, pointed at me. All eyes turned to me, making me feel like the worst actor under a spotlight, my face instantly turning bright red.

"It's him." The scalpel winked at me, its meaning profound.

Compared to this group of tomb raiding masters, I was just a novice, how could I possibly shoulder such a heavy responsibility? However, I clearly saw that Su Lun was also winking at me, so I had no choice but to straighten my chest and accept the task: "No problem, thank you for your trust, Mr. Scalpel, I will do everything well."

Gu Ye and Bancha's gazes were like four sharp swords, sweeping over my entire body as if they wanted to dissect my internal organs and understand them thoroughly. The allure of the Turkic pyramids was too great for them, so they finally readily agreed to the scalpel's terms.

"Cheers—" The five people clinked their glasses together, and the chandelier, as if to join in the fun, suddenly turned on the light, illuminating every corner of the study.

For the next twenty-four hours, Gu Ye and his companion remained at the Scalpel Villa, drafting and signing cooperation documents and completing handover procedures. Regarding the photos, Gu Ye only gave a vague description—

"We have access to nearly twenty communication satellites in orbit. Since last spring, we've been experimenting with a combination of methods, including infrared guidance, X-ray penetration, and ultrasonic probing, to scan for potential ancient tomb sites around the world. This technology can penetrate to depths of about 300 meters below the ground. Quite by chance, we captured these photos. Initially, our technicians thought they were just ordinary mummified bodies of sacrificial victims in Egyptian tombs and didn't pay much attention. However, with further tracking and filming, we finally obtained definitive images..."

(Please note: In his extreme excitement, Tani unintentionally mentioned the words "Egyptian tomb" here, almost revealing that the source of the photos was under the pyramids, and the three of us didn't even notice—what a failure!)

These words are nothing short of a fantasy. If Tanino's satellite tomb-penetration technology could clearly obtain images 300 meters below the ground, the Americans would have already purchased this technology to eliminate terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Japanese are known worldwide for their cunning, unpredictability, and dishonesty; therefore, we don't take his words very seriously.

"Tomorrow, I will have my assistant put all the photos on a disk and send it over. I believe you will be able to get more information about the people in the pictures from the photos. The only thing I'm sorry to say is that we must be cautious and thorough in excavating the Tariq Pyramid before we can tell you the specific Earth coordinates of the photos."

Gu Ye is not only an academic expert, but also a shrewd businessman who knows exactly when to raise the stakes and when to bargain.

Volume One: The King of Tomb Raiders

The First Egyptian Tomb

— Chapter 8 - Marching into the Desert —

The scalpel had anticipated the stringent conditions imposed on Tani.

During our private conversation, Suren offered her opinion: "Don't jump to conclusions about who the people in the picture are. I will submit the photo and the previous portrait of Mr. Yang Tian to the Forensic Science Laboratory at the University of London as soon as possible. The human eye or the lens of a camera, due to the inherent limitations of its physical structure, is easily misled by external illusions."

The scalpel remained noncommittal, but it was clear that he valued Suren's opinion highly; otherwise, he wouldn't have changed his mind at the last minute and reached this deal.

"Feng, I'm sorry for putting all this on you without consulting you beforehand. However, I will send capable assistants to help you during the excavation at Tu Liehan and keep in constant contact with you. Be careful, always ask yourself questions, and don't let others easily sway you..."

The surgeon was still a little wary of me, after all, I had just graduated from university, and although I had a lot of theoretical knowledge, I had almost no practical experience.

"Just like that, we give up the Earth-Cracked Khan and the Eye of the Moon?" I was unwilling. A stack of photos could easily be exchanged for a priceless ancient tomb? The Japanese made a killing on this deal.

After that night of negotiations, Suren became preoccupied and enigmatic. Considering her academic background, I suddenly felt that the scalpel siblings must be hiding a huge secret.

Three days later, at dusk, both sides had completed all the handover procedures. The scalpel agreed to provide all necessary assistance to Gu Ye and Bancha in excavating the Tu Liehan Pyramid, free of charge. All he received in return was Gu Ye's empty promises.

Two Mitsubishi SUVs slowly drove out of Cairo's south gate and roared into the vast desert. I sat in the passenger seat of the first car, propping my chin up with my hand, and turned my head to look at the setting sun, which was already halfway down in the western sky.

The setting sun was like blood, the yellow sand stretched for miles, and the road ahead was full of unknown variables and dangers.

"Feng, what's wrong? Don't you trust us?" Bancha was driving. As soon as they entered the edge of the desert, he floored the accelerator and sped along the highway at over 300 kilometers per hour.

This was an extremely neurotic person, evident from the alternating coldness and madness on his face. His mentor once said that, like Hitler's famous quote, "Only the paranoid succeed," tomb raiders also needed this particular trait of "paranoia." A good tomb raider must possess one-third of the characteristic of madness in their blood.

I smiled silently and zipped up my leather jacket. The temperature difference between day and night in the desert exceeds fifty degrees Celsius; at night, it can freeze a person to death. After advancing for twenty minutes, the sun completely set, and twilight enveloped us. I glanced in the rearview mirror and realized that there wasn't just one vehicle following us; five tall, imposing gray vans had appeared. Although I couldn't hear the roar of the trailer engines, I could tell from the billowing dust that they were carrying extremely heavy equipment.

I got anxious and stood up, pointing at the rearview mirror: "Gentlemen, these tow trucks are not within the scope of our agreement!"

The agreement between the two parties stipulated that all equipment, tomb raiding methods, and personnel would be entirely the responsibility of Scalpel, meaning that Tani's excavation was conducted under Scalpel's monitoring. The sudden appearance of five large trucks suggests that Tani was prepared for this.

"Feng, calm down. Those are just our daily necessities, including the ten incredibly beautiful Japanese women on that last RV..."

Gu Ye, sitting in the back seat, gently patted my shoulder; his hand was as hard as a heavy lead plate.

On the surface, the last vehicle was indeed a genuine RV, the kind of large vehicle that is equipped with a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and toilet and is called a "mobile hotel".

I opened my mouth, but then stopped insisting on my opinion. Anyway, the excavation work would take almost a week to prepare, and within the area around Cairo, the scalpel could definitely control everything.

Gu Ye grinned, clapping his hands to the beat, and began humming the melody of a Japanese song. Then he burst into laughter: "Japanese beauties will eventually conquer the world, making all the men on Earth vigorously ejaculate under the attraction of their beautiful bodies..." His voice began to become lewd and vulgar.

It is widely acknowledged in the global business community that the Japanese are courteous gentlemen in the marketplace, but absolutely beasts when it comes to sex. This is the biggest driving force behind the rapid global popularity of Japanese erotic comics and AV actresses within a decade, because data collected from various sources shows that Japanese men are absolutely "unprecedented, unparalleled, and utterly ruthless" in their methods of tormenting, ravaging, and abusing women.

I snorted, venting my anti-Japanese sentiment. I have Chinese blood flowing in my veins, and no matter where I am in the world, my innate hatred for the Japanese is impossible to suppress.

Through the windshield of the SUV, the magnificent silhouette of the Great Pyramid of Giza gradually came into view. It was an iconic structure in the Egyptian desert, much like the Statue of Liberty in the United States.

The car veered southeast from the main road, proceeding along a slightly narrower side road, maintaining its speed without slowing down, constantly being jolted by the potholes and bumps on the highway. Looking out the window, both sides of the road were covered with low desert shrubs, mostly covered by yellow sand, making it almost impossible to see the original green of the leaves.

As twilight descends, the Great Pyramid of Giza stands proudly and solitarily, exuding an aura of majesty and mystery. Its yellowish form gradually blends into the equally yellowish night. Due to the reflection of the sand, the desert night doesn't become completely dark, creating a feeling akin to a hazy, pale yellow dream.

Bancha put his little finger in his mouth and whistled triumphantly, the sound sharp and long, startling me from my reverie.

"The wind, one day, we will dig it up too, turning the religious roots of the Egyptians into a Japanese colony—" Tanino made no attempt to hide his naked greed, pointing to the towering Great Pyramid of Giza. Perhaps at night, the bestiality within them would take over, and they would have become half-human, half-beast monsters.

I tugged at my collar in disgust, shrinking into my large, heavy leather jacket, squinting and feigning exhaustion. Actually, I was keeping a close eye on the five cars following behind. They had no license plates or any markings indicating their nationality, and their roofs were fitted with massive, state-of-the-art searchlights, looming awkwardly like cannons ready to fire at any moment.

Concealed in the lining of my collar is a state-of-the-art walkie-talkie, powered by a nickel-silver battery hidden in the same location. The signal first travels to a private communications satellite over Cairo, then reflects back to Earth, its effective range covering the entire Egyptian desert. Believe me, my conversation with Gu Ye will reach Scalpel's ears without a single word being missed.

Every minute of my meetings and conversations with Gu Ye and Ban Cha made me increasingly aware of how terrifying these two were. They possessed extraordinary martial arts skills, superhuman intelligence, and an unparalleled ruthlessness—they would never give up until they achieved their goal. Dealing with such people truly lived up to the Chinese idiom "to seek help from a tiger," which is perhaps the most terrifying thing in the world.

"Wind, our paradise is almost here..." Bancha shouted excitedly, stomping his feet and the off-road vehicle's engine let out a low roar. The tachometer instantly jumped from the red danger zone to the top, and the speedometer also soared to the very top without any pause.

Volume One: The King of Tomb Raiders

The First Egyptian Tomb

— Chapter 9 — The Pyramid of Turkham —

Suddenly, a large camp appeared in sight, hundreds of tents surrounding a huge camp, inside which were oil well drilling equipment of varying heights.

About 500 meters to the west of the camp was a small, yellowish-brown pyramid, no more than 15 meters high. Compared to the magnificent Great Pyramid of Giza to the north, this small building looked incredibly shabby, like a ridiculous dwarf standing at the feet of a giant.

"Yoshi yoshi—" Tanino couldn't help but exclaim loudly in Japanese, opening the car window and greedily gazing at the small pyramid.

That, of course, is the target of this plan: the Pyramid of Turkham.

The Cairo city government once had a special guard to protect it. However, for over twenty years, no one could break into the pyramid, which became a death trap for tomb raiders. Gradually, no one dared to covet the treasures within. Therefore, the city government was happy to save on the cost of the guard and dismissed all personnel.

As the vehicle pulled into the camp, a dark-skinned local greeted them, speaking fluent English: "Welcome to Global Drilling Company Camp 95! I am Yelan, the head of the drilling team. Mr. Scalpel has already called. I, along with nineteen drilling engineers and one hundred and fifty workers, are at Mr. Tanino's command at any time."

Yeran was probably around forty years old, stocky and muscular, with prominent veins on his arms, exuding strength. He had a pair of dark eyes typical of Egyptians, which darted around with remarkable intelligence.

I could feel his gaze on me, whether intentionally or unintentionally, but I didn't seem to care.

Five trucks roared in, and from them jumped forty fully armed special forces soldiers. Except for the lack of unit numbers, all their weapons and uniforms were identical to those of the U.S. military's most elite task force. As soon as the special forces landed, they quickly dispersed into key areas of the camp and took control of the entire drilling site within seconds.

I was getting a little exasperated, but Gu Ye smiled and explained, "Young man, the excavation of the Turkic pyramids is of great importance. I don't want to have my eyes pecked out by those eagles that are eyeing me like hawks."

Despite the seemingly peaceful cooperation, both sides were actually wary of each other. This point had been discussed more than once in our three-person meetings with Scalpel and Suren. A strategy had already been devised, so I suppressed my anger and followed Yelan into my tent.

“Mr. Feng, the drilling work is nearing completion. The detailed plan for this operation is on the table.” Yelan winked at me meaningfully, then lifted the tent flap and went out.

The tent was very simple, with a bed, a table, and the edge of the bed serving as a chair.

A thin layer of dust settled on the dirty table. The project proposal, about a hundred pages long, was A3 size and filled with English. On the cover was a simple hand-drawn sketch of the Turkic pyramids.

I blew a big breath onto the table, and dust immediately flew up.

There was still plenty of time to review the project plan, and besides, I had already seen more detailed computer data about Tu Liehan back at the Scalpel Villa. Strolling out of the tent, I saw everyone gathered around the tallest drill pipe in the center of the camp. The workers, dressed in dirty work clothes, looked at the valley with eager eyes.

Gu Ye stood on a platform more than two meters above the ground, waving a large wad of US dollar bills in his hand, talking excitedly.

"What's going on?" I walked over there, and his voice drifted over on the wind: "Everyone, work harder! For every two hours of overtime, I'll pay everyone an extra hundred dollars on top of their regular wages." He held up the bill high, which immediately drew cheers and applause from the workers.

Gu Ye handed the money to Yelan and told him to distribute it to the workers. Then he jumped off the platform and walked toward me.

Everyone knows that money makes the world go round, and Gu Ye's move immediately boosted the morale of the exhausted workers.

The moon is rising, shining on the spire of Tu Liehan, casting a silvery-white halo nearly a meter wide.

"Feng, did you see that halo? Common sense tells us that the pyramids are made of yellowish-brown sandstone, and under any light, they could not possibly emit a silvery light. The only explanation is that some unknown metallic substance is mixed into the materials that make up the pyramids, which is what makes them different."

Over the past decade, research into the unique features of the Tulikhan pyramids has resulted in more than a dozen thick books and monographs, all of which I have already read. As for Tanino's words, I simply shrugged silently. It's safe to say that in terms of known knowledge about the Tulikhan pyramids, I am no less knowledgeable than Tanino.

We slowly climbed the lookout ladder on the side of the camp and looked westward side by side.

Under the guise of oil drilling, the drilling team actually excavated a vertical shaft five meters in diameter and two hundred meters deep. Then, they dug a three-meter square tunnel horizontally to the west and vertically towards the Pyramid of Tulku Khan. According to the markings on the diagram, this tunnel maintained a 30-degree angle longitudinally and extended all the way to the base of the pyramid.

According to data possessed by Scalpel, the underground portion of the pyramid is nearly twenty times deeper than the surface portion, reaching a depth of 300 meters. Since the Egyptian government does not allow outside forces to excavate this mysterious pyramid, Scalpel must have a way to circumvent certain restrictions and implement this "indirect" plan.

Money is a good thing. In Egypt, with money, you can do anything.

The desert was silent. The golden sand waves, under the hazy moonlight, resembled the belly of some mysterious animal, rising and falling, yet naturally presenting a captivating and mysterious curve.

Deserts and pyramids are wonders of human history, inspiring awe and fear in anyone who experiences them. This sense of awe is especially strong on moonlit nights.

The wind had become sharp and biting, carrying a chilling cold that cut to the bone.

Gu Ye stood tall and straight, facing the wind without flinching. He wore only a thin shirt, collar open, yet showed no fear of the cold. In this respect, I felt somewhat inferior.

"Wind, you should go down! The wind in the desert is an invisible killing knife. I don't want my partner to wake up tomorrow morning with a headache and fever, unable to hold on."

I don't want to be a braggart. Frankly, in terms of physical constitution and stamina, the average Chinese person is slightly weaker than a Japanese person. This is because the Japanese have a habit of eating raw food from a young age, which allows them to absorb the maximum amount of nutrients from food, using the essence of nature for their own benefit. Over time, their bodies reach a state of "unity with nature." I know that at any time, being a braggart or trying to be a hero will only harm yourself.

"Okay, good night." I climbed down the lookout ladder and went back to my tent.

Volume One: The King of Tomb Raiders

The First Egyptian Tomb

— Chapter 10 — The Drumbeats at Midnight —

The nights in the desert are exceptionally cold.

I huddled in my thick down sleeping bag, curling myself up into a ball, and drifted off to sleep. Two years ago, I spent four months in a field training camp with the Italian special forces. The wilderness survival course there included a special section on conserving energy in the extreme cold of polar regions. That brutal training, combined with the Chinese martial arts I had practiced since childhood, made resisting the cold a piece of cake.

Suddenly, I woke up, and in my dazed state, every hair on my body stood on end.

I sensed a sudden danger, as if someone was watching me from inches away from the head of my bed, like a beast silently pouncing. I slowly opened my eyes, continuing to breathe steadily and calmly through my nose. The tent was empty; there seemed to be no intruder.

However, the tent flap was half-open, and the corner of the flap moved with the wind.

I took a silent breath: "Yes, someone definitely came in!" Before going to sleep, I had pulled the curtains all the way up. Only a fool would sleep with the curtains open on such a cold desert night.

I lay motionless on the bed, scanning the tent from all angles with my eyes. Once I was sure there was nothing amiss, I slowly reached out and turned on the fluorescent light.

This highly advanced integrated tent has a ground made of three layers of nylon carpet, so that not only humans or large wild animals, but even the most common desert scorpions and golden-backed beetles cannot get in.