King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 36

The third part: The Bizarre Purgatory

— Chapter 20 - Defeat —

My hands, cracked and chapped by the dry desert winds, veins bulging, knuckles protruding, and a two-centimeter-long scar between my ring and little fingers clearly visible. On my wrist is a Japanese Double Lion gold watch, the second hand ticking swiftly, its dial adorned with twenty-four tiny diamonds and crystals that gleam coldly.

The watch was a birthday gift from a Japanese girl when I was in college. If I remember correctly, her hometown is Hakone, Japan, a place famous for cherry blossoms.

Perhaps in a few seconds, my hand, along with this watch, will be weathered away by some strange force, won't it? I stared intently at my hand, completely focused on sensing the changes that were about to occur.

"When it's weathered, does it feel pain? Or, instead of being affected by radiation, is it affected by some kind of bacteria with high-speed erosion capabilities—"

“Brother Feng, I know something must have happened in the tomb… Let’s get out first. The military is mobilizing their most advanced chemical disinfection unit, which will arrive at the camp in half an hour. Natura has already ordered additional manpower to be sent to move the gold bricks, and as soon as the gold bricks are moved, the tomb will be completely sealed off and disinfected…”

This doesn't seem like good news to me, because Fujika is still at the bottom of the well, his fate unknown.

“Brother Feng, what are you doing? I’m so worried about you—” Suren’s voice choked with emotion.

The current situation cannot be explained in just a few words. I withdrew my hand; it seems that the mysterious force had no intention of harming me.

Facing the bewildered glances of my assistants, I dragged my heavy steps back to the central burial chamber and had a brief consultation with Tina and Yelan. Thorough disinfection was the most feasible solution at the moment, but whether there were deadly prehistoric bacteria in the tomb, we should prepare for the worst. Since Tengjia had already been in the well for so long, let her stay there until we devised a foolproof plan to rescue her.

During the public briefing on the scalpel and Natura, I kept hearing Natura's astonished cries. Although he sat in the position of high priest, he was, after all, just an ordinary earthling granted certain privileges by the Egyptian president, and naturally, he would react with astonishment like any earthling upon hearing these unbelievable descriptions.

During the presentation, I didn't hear the sound of a scalpel at all, and I could only sigh, "A true master is indeed extraordinary!"

“Mr. Feng, in your opinion, is it possible to transport Dr. Tang’s remains to the camp intact? If this can be done, our Cairo Museum will…” Natura, as expected of the Egyptian president’s right-hand man in ruling the country, was still considering national interests even in such a treacherous environment.

I smiled wearily at Tina, took the walkie-talkie off my shoulder, and handed it to her, letting her explain this complicated issue.

At one o'clock in the morning, I finally rose back to the surface. I had walked through the more than three hundred identical burial chambers in the tomb four times, without finding anything. If I had to give a reasonable explanation for Dr. Tang's experience, I could only say that the mysterious force only "weathers" when it encounters humans who can be manipulated.

Suren has suggested that a cow or a horse could be transported into that peculiar tomb to see if they would be weathered away.

This is an interesting hypothesis, but it will have to wait until the tomb is fully disinfected before it can be implemented.

The location where Suren was met was on the watchtower in the center of the camp. On the tripod in front of her was a large-aperture military telescope with a magnification of 200x, the lens pointed directly at the top of the Turkic Khan Pyramid to the west.

“They are still there.” Suren got straight to the point, omitting all the sentimental formalities.

I glanced at the camera lens a few times, and indeed, just as she had described, Elder Sahan sat cross-legged, head held high, gazing at the Great Pyramid of Giza to the north. Youlian, on the other hand, stood hunched over, hands hanging at her sides, behind Sahan. I could only see their profiles, as if viewing a flat, static painting.

Their sitting in silence proves nothing at all. Assuming that the mysterious "weathering" force comes from them—I suddenly laughed, because too many assumptions only interfere with one's thinking and consume a lot of brain cells, which is completely useless.

I muttered to myself, "Forget it, I won't think about it or ask any more questions. Let them be."

Next to the telescope was a black canvas folding chair. I stepped over and sat down, feeling completely weak and languid. Waves of extreme fatigue washed over me, and my eyelids began to droop. The globulin that Tina injected me with must have contained some kind of powerful sedative and hypnotic ingredient. Luckily, I have an excellent constitution and was able to hold on until one bizarre event after another ended.

"Brother Feng, let me help you down to rest?" Su Lun took my arm and we took the makeshift elevator down to the ground.

When the bright beam of the searchlight swept across Tang Xin's tent, I suddenly realized that Tang Xin and the other two were not asleep at all, but standing straight at the tent entrance.

I struggled to push Su Lun away, and pulled myself together: "Su Lun, I need to talk to Tang Xin, right now!"

Since Tang Xin is convinced that the Tuli Khan Pyramid contains "millennial corpse worms," where did she get this information from? At the very least, she should know the location and method for obtaining the "millennial corpse worms." Even the slightest bit of useful information from outside sources would help unravel these complex and confusing mysteries.

"You've come—" Tang Xin smiled, revealing her teeth, when I was still ten steps away from the three of them. The searchlight beam swept past, and in the darkness, her white teeth shone brightly, making my heart flutter.

“I know you have many questions for me, but you should understand that not every question in the world has an answer, right? That’s why humans imagine heaven, immortals, gods, ghosts, monsters, and even the existence of aliens… Mr. Feng, I really want to help you resolve your confusion, but unfortunately I don’t have that ability.” Before I could ask any questions, Tang Xin had already sealed her mouth.

The night wind was cold. I remembered that I had once suffered from acute malaria, and suddenly said, "I know your secret, Miss Tang—" At the same time, my gaze fell on her left sleeve, where the silver snake Xiaobai was hidden.

"Oh? A secret?" She remained unmoved. Tiger and Song Jiu stood motionless like clay statues in a temple, their eyes fixed straight ahead, completely ignoring my presence.

"What did you put in my body? Poisonous insects or demonic curses?" I was just bluffing her. When she was healing me, she forbade Suren from installing any recording devices. I felt that she must be secretly doing something.

"Hahahaha..." She laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.

On a desert night, the starry sky was clear and vast, and I followed her movements and looked up at the sky.

Unexpectedly, I remembered seeing in the underground research institute of the Scalpel Villa that the ceiling of the stone chamber where Elder Sahan lived was inlaid with stars arranged according to the celestial sphere—"Were those things there before Elder Sahan moved in, or were they added after he moved in at his instruction?"

This is a very simple question; anyone who asks the scalpel will know the answer.

“Nothing at all!” Tang Xin answered simply and firmly, raising her right hand and waving it in front of my face, adding dismissively, “If I wanted to do something, I could do it now, and no one could stop me. Why would I need to secretly use a curse? Mr. Feng, if we’re talking about secrets, I’d be very interested in discussing your background with you…”

Faced with her, I had no offensive weapons to rely on, and could only retreat to advance: "Miss Tang, I cultivate the internal energy of the Northern School of Taoism. I know everything you've done. Now, we can talk about the 'Millennial Corpse Worm,' because I have already—"

I deliberately stopped at a crucial moment, observing her reaction discreetly. Unexpectedly, her smile became even brighter: "Mr. Feng, I find you to be getting more and more humorous! The 'Millennial Corpse Worm' won't appear until the sky shakes, the earth trembles, and the well dries up. Since we're not on the same page, let's talk another day. However, if you need my help, feel free to come find me anytime."

She smiled and turned to go back into the tent, but then suddenly turned back and smiled again: "Thank you for listening to me and not using any open flames in the tomb."

Indeed, there was once a chance I might have used a match or a lighter when I asked Bawan for a cigarette, but luckily he doesn't smoke at all.

"What if I use an open flame?" I pressed.

Tang Xin stopped in her tracks, raised her hand to gently touch her temple, and uttered four words: "Total destruction."

"What do you know, Tang—" Before I could call out again, she had already lifted the curtain and entered the tent.

"To perish together with jade and stone?" This most common Chinese idiom now seems to carry a mysterious warning. Because at the bottom of the well, 180 meters below, Teng Jia was placed in a jade coffin. Could "to perish together with jade and stone" refer to this jade coffin?

What exactly does Tang Xin know? Through the curtain, I felt a surge of impulse to chase after her and find out. However, Tiger and Song Jiu stood side-by-side in front of the tent; if I forced my way in, it would surely lead to a fight. Compared to Song Jiu's soft sword, Tiger's former signature moves, "Mighty Monument-Splitting Hand" and "Heavenly Jade Belt," were far more daunting. When we fought side-by-side, he was my most reliable shield; now, as enemies, he was my greatest concern.

Exhausted, I didn't think I could get past the two of them working together.

I called out into the tent, "Miss Tang, what do you know about the Turkic pyramids? Tell me, and we might become allies!" I dared not say I wanted to be "friends" with her. Who would want to be friends with a girl who was covered in poison, venom, insects, and snakes? Let's just be strategic allies. When the cooperation ends, we'll go our separate ways, and it would be best if we never saw each other again.

The lights in the tent suddenly went out, a clear signal to leave, but Tang Xin's voice floated out again: "If you want to know the secrets of the tower, why don't you go and read the 'Blue Heaven and Yellow Springs Scripture'? Many of the rumors and misinformation are quite different from the truth and should not be believed."

After those words, the tent fell silent, and not a sound came out again.

The third part: The Bizarre Purgatory

— Chapter 21 - The Scripture of the Azure Heaven and the Yellow Springs —

The scriptures would indeed be helpful to me, but the thought of Tanino's arrogant face made me feel nauseous.

Since he treasures this set of scriptures, he certainly wouldn't lend it to others casually. If I were to ask him for it, I might lose face without getting the scriptures. It's better to give up for now.

I slept so hard last night, the image of the jade coffin beneath the ancient well kept flashing before my eyes. Several times I dreamt that Tengjia suddenly sat up from the jade coffin, transforming into a ferocious black mummy, lunging at my shoulder and biting down hard on my carotid artery—

I woke up with a start; outside the tent, the sun was shining brightly, another beautiful sunny day.

As usual, Su Lun or Tina were responsible for reporting on the situation; I was no longer used to sitting upright and giving work reports in front of certain people.

On the bedside table, Su Lun left me a note: "Brother Feng, there will be a top-secret meeting at the camp at 2 PM." The handwriting was elegant and fluent, showing Su Lun's excellent Chinese writing skills.

I leaned against the headboard, clutching my laptop, aimlessly flipping through the global tomb raiding anecdotes I'd collected over the past few years. From the very first day I swore to become the "King of Tomb Raiders," I'd begun collecting this kind of information with a specific purpose. The contents of this laptop were only the public information exposed to the masses; as for the top-secret figures and events, they were all copied into my brain, and no one could take them away.

So far, aside from the gold and the ancient well, we've barely touched the core of the pyramid, let alone found the sarcophagi and mummies found in other pyramids. As the traditional "tomb of the pharaohs," we should at least have found traces of mummies. Strangely, after searching over three hundred chambers, they were all empty, without finding even a trace of ancient Egyptian artifacts.

With no way to ascend to heaven and no way to descend to earth, the only option is that ancient well whose bottom has already been explored. If no further discoveries are found, the only option left is to carefully explore those dark expansion joints, but with so many joints, exploring them all would be extremely time-consuming and laborious.

The camp is unusually quiet now, which makes me feel a little uneasy. I have a feeling that something big is about to happen, like the unusual calm before a major battle.

I pushed aside my sleeping bag and stepped out of the tent.

The sky was a deep blue, without a single cloud. A cool breeze blew from the northwest, which was just right to cool my mind and allow me to think clearly.

Just then, Youlian, trailing a long gray robe, slowly passed in front of me, holding the black ceramic bowl in both hands, stopping at chest level, and walking westward with a blank expression.

“I know a lot of things are related to you! I know you have secrets—whatever you’re up to, I’ll expose you…” I yelled at her mischievously, since she was deaf and mute and couldn’t hear me anyway.

In the distance, the tiger emerged from the tent, frowning as it strode toward me.

Youlian stopped, turned around to face me in a daze, and the sunlight cast deep shadows on her numb face. This was the first time I had looked into her eyes so closely, and I suddenly discovered that deep in her eyes, two bright green flames were dancing, like two pieces of extremely green silk swaying at a high frequency.

I was taken aback: "Green? Is it naturally green or is it formed by reflections from external light?"

The green light flashed for a very short time; I was only stunned for half a second before it disappeared.

Youlian slowly looked up at the blue sky, revealing the skin below her neck, which made me chuckle. That skin was incredibly fair and delicate; it shouldn't belong on someone like her.

Judging from Youlian's facial features, she is a typical Egyptian native. Logically speaking, her entire body, from head to toe, except for her white teeth, should be black or brown, just like her dark complexion.

I couldn't suppress the smirk in my heart, and it was written all over my face.

Youlian picked up a small handful of sand from the earthenware bowl, held it to forehead height, and slowly released it, letting the sand grains fall with the wind. I can guarantee it was the most ordinary sand, the most common type found in the desert in both color and grain size.

I stretched out my hands, making a "Shall we talk?" gesture. Several years ago, in a social welfare institution in Italy, I studied sign language for six months and could fluently perform more than twenty simple "sign phrases".

Youlian stared at me silently, her facial expression so blank that it was impossible to tell if she was still breathing unless you looked closely.

“Shall we talk? I can help you with your treatment… hearing aid…” I gestured quickly, hoping to move her. But she only paused for half a minute like a statue, then took heavy, slow steps, dragging her long robe as she walked westward.

Frustrated, I kicked the ground hard, sending sand flying.

The tiger had already walked over, a bright, sunny smile on its face, as if it had regained its former glory.

I suddenly felt hopeful, because the camp needed a master like him. As long as he could break free from Tang Xin's strange control, he would definitely become a powerful ally for me.

"Wind, cheer up! Don't embarrass the Chinese people—" This is Tiger's classic opening line. Like me, he has always been proud to be Chinese.

I'm pretty sure he's recovered, because his slightly dark, square face is full of a warm smile, and his eyes are bright and sparkling. When he smiles, he reveals two rows of healthy, clean teeth—this is the real Tiger, the top hero who roams north of the Yangtze River in mainland China.

I reached out and shook his hand, feeling the calluses on his rough palm, and suddenly felt a surge of emotion that brought tears to my eyes.

“You…finally…woke up…” All the previous resentment and complaints about him were swept away, replaced by the unforgettable experience of how we went from meeting to becoming close friends.

"Sober? I've never been lost, have I?" Tiger laughed, raising his hand to touch his high, straight nose, and then twitching his handsome, dark eyebrows that had once captivated countless young women.

I tilted my head and stared at his face, seriously doubting that the disgusting, subservient way I had seen him in front of Tang Xin was just a nightmare.

"Feng, I know you have many questions in your heart, such as about Xiaoxin, and why I'm following behind others like a watchdog—"

Haha, his metaphor of a "watchdog" is really apt.

Just as we were about to continue our conversation, Tina and a squad of fully armed soldiers jumped off the military vehicle and quickly surrounded the wellhead in a fan shape. The soldiers were all wearing glaring silver protective suits, with pig-snout-like gas masks over their mouths, and each carried a huge square sprayer on their back.

"Hahahaha... Ridiculous... Absolutely ridiculous..." The tiger laughed, touching its nose.

This is definitely Natura's "chemical disinfection force," but I don't see anything funny about it. Since bacteria exist on Earth, there must be "sterilization" operations, and the emergence of this kind of force precisely reflects humanity's ability to contend with nature.

"Ridiculous? How can it be ridiculous? Of course you know that Berenlang is dead, killed by—"

Tiger interrupted me, his face full of disdain for the Rainbow Warriors: "What did Berenlang die from? A deadly infection or acute emphysema? Wind, think about it. Which of the current conventional disinfectants is specifically targeted at the virus inside the ancient tomb? Anyone with a brain understands the principle of 'treating the symptoms.' We don't even know what kind of deadly force is inside the tomb, so blindly spraying disinfectant will only backfire and won't provide any safety. Understand?"

I shrugged helplessly. Everyone understands this principle, but in this situation, who has a more feasible method than chemical disinfection? It's easy to say, but hard to do; this is an irrefutable truth.

Ideally, the first step would be to collect pristine air from the ancient tomb and send it to the London Medical Research Institute as quickly as possible for comprehensive sample analysis to obtain the original molecular structure of the bacteria. Then, global bacteriological experts would convene for consultation and discussion to develop a targeted sterilization agent.

I understand these procedures, but unfortunately I don't have time to do them right now.

The workers had already set up a red warning line within a 30-meter radius around the wellhead. The soldiers crossed the line and, with practiced discipline, lined up around the wellhead, awaiting orders. The bright sunlight shone on their protective suits, reflecting light as if they were highly reflective mirrors.

The tiger responded with a cold laugh: "It's just a waste of time and a lot of useless work."

At this moment, one has to admire Tina's courage. She had no protective gear whatsoever and was the first to lead the team down the mine. Mixed in with a group of soldiers in silver-white uniforms, her camouflage uniform stood out.