King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 33

Persistence pays off, and I finally smelled the fragrance of "Thousand Flower Birds," extremely faint, wafting from the well.

"Could it be... could it be that Fujika is in this deep well?" I frowned deeply. Beside the wellhead, there was a large reel of cable, presumably the wires the workers had mentioned being used for lighting at the bottom of the well.

Oulu quieted down, his eyes darting back and forth between me and the well; then back down again. In this environment, its function could only go so far.

Gu Ye walked up, rubbing his hands together, his face glowing yellow from the gold bricks: "Mr. Feng, what are you doing? I warned you long ago, all the treasure—"

I jumped up and interrupted him without any politeness: "Who cares about your treasure? Let me tell you the truth, Miss Tengjia is at the bottom of the well. You'd better think about how to rescue her!"

Upon hearing this, everyone around fell silent instantly, including the hissing welding torches. Then, they erupted into a deafening roar of laughter, almost everyone pointing at me with a hand: "What? What? There's someone down in the mine? Hahahaha..."

After laughing enough, Tang waved his fist and said, "Hey, Chinese kid, today isn't April Fool's Day. Please move aside and stop talking nonsense and delaying our work!"

The death of Berenlong had no effect on the three experts' enthusiasm, especially Tang, who was full of energy and showed no signs of fatigue after a whole day's work. They certainly didn't believe that anyone could be hiding beneath the newly exposed wellhead. The enormous gold ingot was incredibly heavy; without lifting machinery, it would be impossible to move it and put it back in its original position without a single mishap.

I know today isn't April Fool's Day, but both Oru and I, along with our dog, are certain that Fujika is at the bottom of the well. As for how she got there, that's for another expert to explain. Our current conclusion is: "There's someone at the bottom of the well carrying the scent of 'Thousand Flower Birds.' If there are no surprises, it's none other than the mysteriously missing Miss Fujika."

Oulu lay exhausted by the well; the intense, high-frequency sniffing had left it physically and mentally drained.

Fangjing was deep, dark, and still—Tang waved his hand, overstepping his bounds and directing the soldiers to continue cutting, ignoring my new ideas.

"What might be in the well? Poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts? Prehistoric monsters? Or even a time tunnel that allows free travel through time—" My thoughts raced like a wound-up alarm clock, jumping around in a flurry of activity. However, now that I've confirmed that Fujika is down there (or has been down there before), I have to see for myself.

I have very little affection for Fujika. The reason I decided to save her was simply to uncover the true answer hidden behind a series of mysterious events.

I walked up to the pile of cables and kicked it.

Yelan, sensing the opportunity, leaned closer: "Mr. Feng, are you also interested in this deep well?"

I suddenly recalled what Long had said about "Yehlan's ambition," and couldn't help but smile sarcastically: "Yes, he's interested. What about you?" I always feel an innate disgust for greedy people. You see, Yelan's outlandish idea of excavating the Great Pyramid of Giza while on the way was simply digging his own grave.

I patted him hard on the shoulder twice: "Friend, don't be too greedy, greed can easily lead to your death!"

He was a drilling expert, an absolute novice when it came to archaeology and tomb raiding, so coveting the gold and treasure in the tomb was absolutely unwise. The end result would certainly be the loss of his own life.

My mind was perfectly clear as I carefully examined the walls surrounding the central burial chamber, hoping to find any clues about the ancient well. Following modern architectural practice, concise instructions or diagrams are usually posted next to complex architectural units. Therefore, I felt the ancient Egyptians must have been equally clever, leaving behind diagrams indicating how to descend into the well.

Think back, if Fujika really was down in the well, how did she manage to do it—cross a layer of mud and sand over a hundred meters long, pass through a six-meter-thick stone wall, move an incredibly heavy gold ingot down into the well, and then restore the ingot... Every step is inconceivable and has no answer.

"Wormholes? Space transfer? Time tunnels..." All the answers that could be considered seemed to be mixed up with these mysterious and esoteric terms.

An answer that cannot be verified is the same as having no answer at all.

Oulu whimpered wearily twice. I opened my arms and bent down, and it obediently jumped into my arms and buried its head in my chest.

On the walkie-talkie, Suren suddenly laughed: "Brother Feng, I never imagined you were such a kind and compassionate person..."

In such adversity, perhaps a hearty laugh is the only way to shake off the gloom in my mind? I laughed silently: "Sulen, I want to go down the well and take a look—"

Before Suren could answer, Yelan's mouth dropped open in astonishment: "Down the well? Mr. Feng, you're not joking, are you?"

The third part: The Bizarre Purgatory

— Chapter 15 - The Sunship —

The idea of "going down the well" came out of nowhere, surprising not only outsiders but also myself. In fact, I had never met Tengjia before, and her life or death was none of my business; there was no need for me to risk my life for her.

The ancient well was pitch black, and a chilling aura seemed to rise from the darkness. The silence below was deathly still, perhaps concealing endless killing intent. "Suren, if only we had 'ears that can hear the wind' and 'eyes that can see a thousand miles,' we could see through any ancient well," I said, trying to appear relaxed.

A long sigh came through the walkie-talkie from Suren: "Brother Feng, was this really necessary?"

Tina chimed in from the side, "Mr. Feng, I've already arranged for someone to retrieve the infrared camera from the camp. That kind of machine is enough to explore the secrets down in the well; there's absolutely no need to take the risk." Her concern was evident, and she didn't shy away from revealing her affection for me in front of her subordinates.

I crouched down, examining the patterns on the wellhead. I couldn't understand how the ancient Egyptians had managed to quarry such massive stones and then carve them with exquisite painted designs. It must have been a massive undertaking, day after day, year after year. The thought of Tenga hiding at the bottom of an unfathomable well, at least seventy meters below the surface, always made me feel that everything in front of me was unreal, just a bizarre scene from a horror movie.

The stone walls were smooth and cold. After carefully examining the colors on the ground, I was surprised to find that even under the cover of the huge gold ingot, the ground near the well opening showed no change in color from the rest of the tomb. This was indeed strange. According to common sense, all kinds of light would cause varying degrees of radiation damage to the surface of objects, leading to discoloration and deterioration. Shouldn't there be some obvious difference at the intersection of the covered and exposed areas?

There are so many strange things happening in the tomb that I'm almost numb to it all.

Oulu's spirits calmed down a bit, and he kept making low, mournful noises towards the dark well, like helpless groans.

Infrared cameras are indeed the best exploration tools in the absence of light, but there is one thing that Tina did not consider - light can be deceived. In such a mysterious environment, our own vision and hearing may be deceived, let alone a man-made tool without thought.

I'd rather believe Oru the dog than the camera.

I shook my head at Tina expressionlessly: "The camera is just an auxiliary tool. I hope you can prepare the subsidence equipment immediately and also equip me with two highly capable assault team members."

Tina felt slighted and embarrassed, but she still waved for people to prepare.

At this moment, I most hope that Oulu can speak and tell me what it has discovered.

I spoke into the walkie-talkie: "Surren, get that dog trainer down here, I need his help."

Immediately, I heard the dog trainer's loud protest, the reason, of course, being his foolish dog-training theory. I laughed, because I knew Suren would definitely "persuade" him to go down the mine, whether by coercion or bribery. From the first glance at that soldier named "Bawan," I could tell he was a petty person who could be "moved with benefits."

While waiting for Bawan to arrive, I carried Oulu along the central axis of the tomb, hoping to change its initial judgment. However, it only showed interest in the ancient well, remaining unresponsive in the other chambers. Now it's basically certain that Tengjia is in the ancient well, or rather, Tengjia "once" was in the ancient well.

Thinking of the dragon who inexplicably lost her soul, I had a premonition: "Fujika is bound somewhere, and even in the worst-case scenario, her soul has already..."

The word "binding" immediately brings to mind the photos Tanino showed the scalpel. Doesn't that person, who "might be" Brother Yang Tian, also seem to be "bound" by something? Could Fujika have fallen into the hands of that monster too?

Actually, I should have shown goodwill to Gu Ye. If I had the chance to peruse those ancient books, such as the "Biluo Huangquan Jing," with my keen intellect, I'm sure I could discover something...

The human mind is always capable of boundless and ever-changing thoughts, so in one of the tomb chambers, I paced back and forth, my mind racing with ideas—until Oulu suddenly raised its head and pricked up its ears. This time, its behavior seemed even more alarmed than when it was by the ancient well.

The long-eared dog's ears were almost thirty centimeters long, but when it stared intently ahead, those long ears stood erect like the pointed ears of a wolfhound. Ahead, only five large steps from the stone wall, lay the familiar hieroglyphs, seemingly unremarkable.

Thanks to Yeran's meticulousness, in addition to connecting lights to each tomb chamber, he also ordered each chamber to be named, using the most standard coordinate system in geography. On this wall, the symbols "0" and "9" are written in white chalk, naturally representing zero on the horizontal axis and nine on the vertical axis. That is the top chamber on the north-south axis of the tomb, which is also the northernmost position of the Turkhan Pyramid.

Imagine if an infinitely tall window were opened in this stone wall; you would be able to see the majestic Great Pyramid of Giza directly from the window.

So, what did Oro discover?

This tense state lasted for a full three minutes. Oulu groaned, shrank back, and snuggled back into my arms.

I yelled into the walkie-talkie, "***, isn't that dog trainer here yet? If he keeps whining, I'll shoot him!"

I guess the reason that guy didn't want to enter the tomb was because he was afraid of the Pharaoh's curse, not because he was afraid of affecting Orlu's judgment. Orlu was panting heavily in my arms, his tongue lolling out, looking extremely exhausted.

Its movements just now reminded me of the intense focus and vigilance of masters in the old days, who, though not attacking, had already exhausted all their inner energy. Unfortunately, I am neither Gongye Chang, a disciple of Confucius, who could understand animal language, nor a master of clairvoyance who could see through a six-meter-thick stone wall to understand the secrets on the other side.

Suddenly, a question flashed through my mind—I realized that something seemed off in the process of drilling and breaking through the stone wall. There must be a problem that had been overlooked. What was it? What was it…?

I placed my hand on one of the "Sun Boats" on the stone wall, touching the seven gems.

In Egyptian wall carvings, apart from the meticulously detailed face of the revered pharaoh, the lines used for all other figures—humans, objects, and animals—are very abstract and concise. I understand that this was to emphasize the artist's respect for the pharaoh. However, the depiction of these seven gemstones is far more exquisite than the mountains, rivers, houses, and trees in the surrounding images. The carving techniques are completely different, and from certain angles, one can even sense a three-dimensional effect.

All the gemstones are perfectly round, making their size impossible to discern. After all, the scale in ancient Egyptian paintings is notoriously inconsistent; some elements are exaggerated, while others are minimized. A rough estimate would be that the gemstones are about the size of an adult's thumb, resembling silver buttons, or more accurately—

"Huh? No, it's...it's like a button!" I was practically jumping for joy at my amazing idea.

Inlaying gemstones on the surface of a ship would only make it decorative. If we let our imaginations run wild, we could speculate that it would house seven silver buttons. Good heavens—buttons would inevitably involve a complex array of issues related to kinetic energy, electrical energy, propulsion, and so on. This isn't a "solar boat"; this is a high-tech mode of transportation, capable of being a car on land, a speedboat on water, or even an airplane, spaceship, or spacecraft in the sky…

In an instant, my mind started buzzing and all over the place, a complete mess.

Long ago, when the "Sun Boat" was first unearthed, archaeologists were puzzled by its shape, because none of the boats unearthed in the Nile River Valley before, such as dugout canoes, three-masted pirate ships, and large boats rowed by 120 people, had such a strange shape and structure.

Judging from its structure, there was no place for sailors to sit and row, and the sides of the boat were extremely flat, without even a protrusion to place the oars.

Therefore, the conclusion reached by archaeologists at the time was: "'The Sun Boat' was merely a decorative object used by the Pharaoh for his own enjoyment, and had no practical use whatsoever."

Now, I feel I can refute this argument: the "Solar Ark" doesn't need the propulsion of wooden oars at all; it already possesses an internal structure with modern or even ultramodern power. Just like the cars speeding through the streets of the 21st century, the massive ocean liners traversing the seven seas, the airplanes roaring in the blue sky, and the spacecraft orbiting the Earth in space, it is simply a product that doesn't belong to the ancient Egyptian era.

My discovery is enough to astound the elites in all the history and archaeology museums around the world.

I was so shocked by my own crazy idea that I staggered backward, almost falling over.

Countless archaeologists and aerospace researchers have linked the ancient Egyptian pyramids to extraterrestrial life, proposing tens of thousands of pieces of "possible" evidence, such as the relationship between the pyramids' dimensions and astronomical calendars, Egyptian mathematics, agricultural irrigation methods, and architectural art...

As far as I know, the core database of the most mysterious "Area 51" in the continental United States contains data on all alien landings on Earth over the past fifty years, and more than half of these "alien traces" are related to Egypt or Africa.

I took deep breaths, trying to suppress my chaotic emotions, and returned to the central burial chamber.

Once such a crazy idea takes hold, it can be traced back to infinity. No matter how clever the ancient Egyptians were, they could not have created or drawn the appearance of modern transportation on their own. Just like the Seven Wonders of the World, from any perspective, it seems impossible that ancient humans could have accomplished this on their own.

As I stumbled back, the short, narrow man from Bawan ran over to greet me, his expression a mixture of joy and worry.

Oulu groaned, jumped out of my arms, and ran back to his master's arms.

I fumbled in my pockets, because I needed a cigarette to calm myself down, but unfortunately I didn't have one.

"Do you have any cigarettes? Cigarettes, cigarettes—" I yelled at him, my voice hoarse with fervor.

The third part: The Bizarre Purgatory

— Chapter 16 - Exploring the Mystery —

There are no cigarettes in Bawan, only chewing gum, but chewing gum can also calm people's agitated emotions.

He hugged Oulu and carefully checked it over from head to toe, afraid that it might be hurt. Then, he put his ear to Oulu's mouth and let Oulu's tongue lick his ear.

"Did you just encounter the enemy?" he suddenly asked, his expression immediately becoming very tense.

In the northernmost tomb chamber, Oro was indeed on high alert, but where were the enemies? At least I didn't see any.

"No enemies! Can you understand what Oulu is saying?" I've heard the story of Gongye Chang and the eagle at least ten thousand times, and I really hope that dog trainers can also understand dog language.

He stroked the fur on Oru's neck forcefully, then slowly shook his head. "I don't understand, but I can tell from the tension in its body that it must have just faced a powerful enemy. Look, the fur on its neck is soaked with sweat. Mr. Feng, let's retreat first—"

He seemed to be a very timid person; without Suren's "coercion and enticement," he certainly wouldn't have dared to enter the tomb.

What's behind that stone wall?

Logically, this location should be buried deep beneath the desert, surrounded by endless sand. Could there be a scorpion's nest or a desert snake's lair in the sand? Without further ado, I took Bawan and Oulu back, intending to return to that tomb chamber.

The walkie-talkie crackled to life again, and Suren's voice was urgent: "Brother Feng, you absolutely disagree with going down the well. It's too dangerous, and you surely know that in ancient tombs, both Chinese and foreign, the well in the center is used to exorcise evil spirits and suppress monsters; who knows how many evil curses are hidden inside. Everyone disagrees—including me..."

I stopped and waved for Bawan to continue forward, while I remained where I was, explaining to Suren, "We've entered the pyramid, but apart from gold ingots and an ancient well, we haven't found anything else. For a great tomb raider, the most regrettable thing is to enter a treasure mountain and leave empty-handed. Suren, you don't want me to have this regret for the rest of my life, do you?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bawan carrying Oulu into the frontmost tomb chamber, standing there dumbfounded with his shoulders hunched and arms crossed.

The temporary lighting was haphazardly fixed to the wall with transparent tape, and the light was rather dim.

My original intention was that if Oulu made any discoveries in front of the rock face, I would notify Tang to bring the drilling rig over first and break through the rock face in front of us. This kind of excavation work has become chaotic; we have essentially drilled two intersecting holes at ninety degrees in the same pyramid, causing double damage to the rock face.

At that time, I was still unaware that Bawan and Oulu were in danger, because I always thought that everyone was safe, separated by a six-meter-thick stone wall.

A burst of noisy interference came through the walkie-talkie, making Suren's voice very muffled: "Brother Feng... I... I'm Japanese..."

I think the reason Suren disagreed with me going down the well was because the person I was supposed to search for was an insignificant Japanese girl. Based on the principle of like repels like, there's bound to be some kind of incompatibility between her and Fujika.

After a while, her voice became clear again: "Brother Feng, there are so many Rainbow Warriors here, as well as Gu Ye's special forces and Yelan's desert drilling workers. Why do you have to take this risk? A great reward will surely bring forth brave men. If Gu Ye really wants to find Teng Jia, he will naturally send people down. Besides, the infrared camera system will prove whether there are people down there or not. You must not just trust your sense of smell and intuition!"

She wasn't entirely convinced by Oulu's unusual behavior; she was more inclined to believe the results of the camera's investigation later.

I am not a reckless fool, and of course I know the dangers of going down the well. I will only make the next decision after the camera has finished exploring.

"What does Mr. Scalpel have to say?" I was curious about Mr. Scalpel's opinion.