King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 42

When discussing this with Suren, she mentioned the idea of "feeling sound." Normally, we perceive sound through "hearing," but the development of lip-reading technology has given us the ability to "see" sound. Extending this further, since we can "touch" sound, we can naturally also "feel" sound.

Therefore, Suren's conclusion is as follows: "The person who makes the sound does not actually produce a real audio signal, but uses a technique similar to 'sound transmission' to transmit their thoughts into your mind separately. You think the other person has 'said', but this 'speaking' action has not occurred; it is accomplished through 'mind transmission'."

This theory is easy to understand, but what puzzles me is: "Who exactly would pay special attention to me and summon me repeatedly?"

If the other party is the legendary god Turks Khan hidden in the pyramids, then it would truly be a globally shocking joke, because I don't think I have anything in common with that mysterious god in the hearts of the Egyptians.

Before going to sleep, I carefully wrapped the golden sword in four or five layers of clothing and placed it under my pillow. No matter where it came from or what it was made of—it would be my first trophy upon entering the pyramids.

I spent the entire night in a state of semi-consciousness, fearing that something strange might happen before I went down the well. Fortunately, nothing happened that night. Around 4:30 a.m., as the sky outside gradually brightened, I heard Su Lun's phone vibrating on silent.

She answered the phone, recited a long string of Arabic numerals, and then said four words that shocked me: "The Three Heroes of Flying Flowers".

Then, she listened quietly, as if the other person on the other end of the call were reading a lengthy document. The process took two minutes to complete, and Suren lowered her voice considerably: "Send the document to Cairo... I'll go back and review it as soon as possible. Also, prepare to activate Plan Zero; the situation is a bit dire."

I pretended to be fast asleep, but my mind was actually racing: "What is the relationship between Su Lun and the Three Heroes of Flying Flowers? What is this so-called Zero Degree Plan?"

The history of the Flying Flower Three Heroes can be traced back to the legend of the three super martial arts masters known as the "Eastern Three Heroes" who dominated the Asian continent ten years ago. Many people in the martial arts world also refer to this trio of masters as the "New Eastern Three Heroes," as each of them is an exceptional figure.

The story of the Three Heroes of the East had long been a popular topic of conversation in the martial arts world.

It is said that during Operation Desert Storm, the first US invasion of Iraq, the US military, through official Pentagon channels, contacted the Hong Kong police, then under British control, and offered them a large sum of money to send three skilled officers deep into Iraq to search for Saddam Hussein. The hope was that this "surgical vertical strike" would end the war cleanly and decisively.

That was the last appearance of the Three Musketeers of the East. They dealt a heavy and devastating blow to Saddam Hussein's personal presidential guard, captured two of Saddam's intelligence officers alive, and completely destroyed the Iraqi resistance's ground communication system...

That time, the Three Heroes of the East were accompanied by three girls under the age of ten, three young masters whom the Iraqi military would never forget.

I once saw the blurry figures of those three children in a victory celebration photo after the US military entered Baghdad. When they grew up, they became the "Three Flying Flowers Heroes," a legendary figure in the martial arts world who were rarely seen.

Legend has it that the Three Heroes of Flying Flowers appear from time to time, and each time they do something earth-shattering—that's a story for another time.

"Brother Feng, Brother Feng..." Suren crawled out of her sleeping bag and called me softly.

I pretended to be fast asleep, when Suren suddenly let out a long, sorrowful sigh, walked to my bedside, took my hand that was exposed outside my sleeping bag, and pressed it against her cheek. She was crying, and I could feel the cold tears wetting the back of my hand.

"Brother Feng, my guess has become a reality. What should I do? What should I do? If your mind has really been invaded by some external force, what will happen... what will happen... tell me, what should I do?"

I opened my eyes, utterly shocked by her words. Why did she say "the scalpel's brain has been invaded by an external force"? Did she have solid evidence to...?

There was only a dim desk lamp on in the tent, and when our eyes met, Suren was already in tears.

"Suren, tell me everything!"

Suren smiled bitterly, tears welling in her eyes: "My friend obtained some top-secret information from the Pentagon's database, all from Level A reports of 'Area 51.' It concerns strange events surrounding the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Pyramid of Tsarist Khagan over the past five years. There are too many cases; I'll only select those with detailed illustrations and a credibility of over 90%—"

The Pentagon's computer data defense system is extremely secure and cannot be easily breached by ordinary experts. In particular, data involving "Area 51" is of paramount importance and is protected by more than twenty layers of security. Often, access requires a key personally authorized by the president.

"Su Lun's friend might be one of the 'Three Heroes of Flying Flowers,' so what about Su Lun? Could he also be one of the 'Three Heroes of Flying Flowers'?" I believe that with the power of the "Three Heroes of Flying Flowers," there are no more than five areas on Earth that can withstand their invasion.

The following is a brief account by Su Lun. Those who closely follow major events in the international military field will surely be able to identify with each point—

"A newly developed spacecraft developed by the military of a certain European superpower exploded five hours after liftoff. The truth behind this accident was that a mysterious radio wave from the Great Pyramid of Giza suddenly intruded into the spacecraft's computer system. For five hours, ground-based video surveillance continuously recorded the astronauts frantically scribbling strange hieroglyphs on the cabin walls. After the disaster, Egyptian hieroglyph experts deciphered the recorded footage, revealing that the astronauts were writing words such as 'Sun Boat,' 'Death,' 'Destruction,' and 'Crystal Coffin.'"

"On the very night that a certain military superpower in the Arab world signed a ceasefire agreement with its neighbor, it suddenly issued a secret presidential decree ordering the dropping of at least one hundred heavy depth charges on the other country within fifty minutes, reducing it to ruins. Records show that before signing the order, he wrote ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs such as 'death,' 'crystal coffin,' and 'king of terror' on the original ceasefire agreement in thick black ink..."

"besides……"

There are at least fifteen examples that demonstrate that the mysterious power of the ancient Egyptian pyramids influenced the way of thinking of those involved, leading to irreparable tragedies.

The conclusion of Area 51 is that the pyramids on the African continent were not simply built to bury some ancient Egyptian pharaoh. It is highly likely that with the complete excavation of the Great Pyramid of Giza, a huge and mysterious world will be discovered buried beneath the pyramids, a world from a highly advanced prehistoric civilization or even an extraterrestrial world.

Suren's tears had dried, but she still didn't explain how she had come to doubt the scalpel.

When I brought up the issue again, her face suddenly turned red: "Brother Feng, I've collected some evidence, and I might only hand over all the information to you when I'm 100% certain about this. Is the reason I'm leaking this information beforehand so you can be alert and take precautions, lest you be harmed by others—and forced to go down the well?"

It seems she doesn't approve of my plan to go down the well. Going further, she seems to suspect there might be some kind of budding romance or ambiguity between me and Fujika.

I understand that going down the well was to resolve the doubts in my heart. To become the next "King of Tomb Raiders" after my elder brother Yang Tian, I must overcome my fears countless times and do things that others cannot, in order to explore the exciting stories within the limits of life. I am a man, and I need to have the grand ideal of breaking through the ice of reality and creating a wonderful world—all of this is something that girls like Su Lun cannot understand.

"Surlen, I will come back safely, don't worry." He couldn't say more, nor could he show Surlen how important it was to him to uncover the secrets of the Turkic Khan Pyramid.

Furthermore, if the "Great Seven" prophecy in Nostradamus is true, the Earth will fall into an ice age in 2007 that is tantamount to another great destruction. Which is more important, living one more exciting day or living one more inexplicable year?

There are a thousand reasons not to go down the well, but I would rather choose the right path and stick to it, walk my own path and do my own thing.

Part 4: The Battle Between Heaven and Man

— Chapter 8 - Formal Operation —

Before sunrise, Tina ordered the well cover, which had been sealed for twenty-four hours, to be opened, and the silent camp immediately took on a heavy, tense atmosphere. This was evident on the faces of every Rainbow Warrior and Yelan's workers. In contrast, I was the only one who seemed relaxed.

Natura and scalpels greeted me beside the derrick, as if I were a warrior about to embark on a campaign.

The rising sun, radiating its brilliant light, swept away all the gloom in my heart brought on by the strange events. No matter how significant the secret, someone must personally unveil its mysteries, and I hope that person will be me.

"Wind, I wish you success! The High Priest and I will be here waiting for your good news!" The scalpel appeared calm, but a flicker of anxiety and trepidation danced deep in his eyes.

If I hadn't stepped forward to take on the task of going down the well, I doubt anyone would have dared to grit their teeth and go. After all, behind the alluring gold in the tomb lay unfathomable, deadly dangers. The soldiers and workers were silent, their expressions a mixture of respect and pity, as if this farewell would be my last.

I smiled calmly and gripped the scalpel. His hand remained strong and powerful, showing no difference from the scalpel he used before. I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at Suren's overthinking.

“Feng, I’ve already telegraphed the president to apply for the Golden Medal of the Desert Warrior for you—however, the president has high hopes for you and promised that if you discover more gold treasures, he will allocate one-third of the reward to you. Haha, little brother, good luck!” Natura’s words were more blatant, as if in his eyes, how many people died was unimportant, and only gold and treasure mattered.

I smiled faintly: "Thank you for your kindness, President, but a third of the reward is too much for me. I'm afraid I'm not worthy of it."

A promise is just empty words, it has no practical meaning. Let's wait until I'm alive and rescue Fujika before we talk about it.

Gu Ye's behavior had become abnormal. He stood expressionless about ten steps away behind the scalpel, as if my rescue of people from the well had nothing to do with him.

In a sense, my rescue was actually helping Tanino. If Fujika really was a princess of the Imperial Family, and something happened within Tanino's jurisdiction—Tanino would definitely be in trouble if the Emperor blamed her.

The derrick, the wellhead, the makeshift elevator... everything was normal. A team of sixty Rainbow Warriors, fully armed, went down into the well first to be responsible for advance reconnaissance. Another team, a mix of ten engineers and ten workers, was responsible for camera surveillance, setting up the winch around the well, and other collaborative tasks.

Tina was still leading the team, but the only difference was that this time Suren also accompanied me into the tomb, instead of just staying in the cemetery to coordinate and provide support.

Now, Suren is standing right next to me, pressed against my left arm as the makeshift elevator slowly descends.

On my other side was Tina, arms crossed, lost in thought. There were only the three of us in the elevator, and the atmosphere was slightly awkward, so quiet you could almost hear the creaking of the steel cables rubbing against each other.

“Mr. Feng, I’ve always felt that you’re hiding something! Including the tiger’s death, the whereabouts of that scripture, and even your relationship with Miss Tang… Why can’t we talk about it openly? There’s a proverb in the desert that we Egyptians have passed down through generations, and I’m sure you’ve heard it—'A single grain of sand can only be blown away by the wind, but ten thousand grains of sand can control the direction of the wind.' If you could cooperate a little, things might develop more smoothly and safely, wouldn’t they?”

As Tina spoke, she frequently looked up at the increasingly smaller light from the wellhead above her, her expression slightly anxious, completely different from her usual calm and composed demeanor.

I gave a cold laugh: "I have nothing more to say. You and Gu Ye have complete and detailed information, yet you haven't leaked a single word. Instead, you're blaming me for keeping things secret? What kind of 'thief crying 'stop thief' logic is this?"

The *Biluo Huangquan Jing* (Scripture of the Yellow Springs) played a crucial role in the development of the Tulihan Pyramid, because Tengjia's mysterious disappearance occurred after she had perused the ancient well and made some discoveries. It is Tanino, not me, who has nothing to offer, who truly needs to be open and honest.

Tina pointed downwards: "Books are dead, but people are alive. I'm sure you'd agree that 'living people are more important than dead books,' right?"

In such a private setting, one can certainly express one's views freely, but Suren promptly stopped me from continuing the discussion with a look in her eyes.

In my analysis, the key to true unity lies in Tanino's willingness to openly share all the secrets he knows, allowing everyone working in the tomb to be aware of potential dangers. If he lacks even this basic sincerity, then he deserves to gain nothing from the tomb raiding operation.

No one mentions the photos that Tanino showed when they first arrived at the Scalpel Villa anymore.

I closed my eyes, tried my best to relax my body and adjust my mindset to achieve a state of perfect tranquility.

After the elevator reached the bottom, Tina led the way into the tunnel. She was so strong-willed, especially in front of Suren, that she became even more arrogant and haughty.

Girls' temperaments are unpredictable, sometimes as gentle as a spring breeze, sometimes as torrential as a downpour. For example, after our first visit to the cemetery, Tina gave me her most beloved pistol as a token of gratitude for my help. In that situation, we could have easily become close friends who would stand by each other. Now, however, she maintains an aloof and unapproachable attitude, which both annoys and amuses me.

The tunnel was filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant. In addition to disinfectant, the soldiers responsible for sterilization used at least ten kinds of powders and aerosols, and increased the dosage to the limit in order to completely kill any prehistoric bacteria that might exist in the ancient tomb.

Although it was Suren's first time entering the tomb, he remained calm and quietly observed his surroundings, carefully recording every detail.

When she reached the first expansion joint between the two rooms, she suddenly stopped and asked with great hesitation, "Brother Feng, with your knowledge and common sense, is it necessary for the expansion joints in concrete buildings to be so wide?"

Clearly, she was skeptical of Cheney's theoretical explanation at the time.

Those crevices were pitch black and deathly silent, their destinations unknown. Those who had fallen there were likely forever buried in the unknown underground.

"General Tina, could you have the workers in the camp continue setting up lighting lines to illuminate all the expansion joints? Since nothing has been found in the walls and ceiling of the tomb, the search must turn to the underground."

Suren offered his opinion without hesitation: "I had the same idea before, but that was before we discovered the underground well. Besides, the strange changes in the tomb kept happening one after another; we hadn't had time to consider exploring the expansion joints."

At that moment, Tina was already standing on the other side of the gap, and the three of us peered down into the depths of the ground. For a fleeting instant, I chuckled to myself, thinking, "If every expansion joint is 180 meters deep, this kind of project will keep Yelan incredibly busy. I'm afraid that after finishing this, they won't find anything, and all their time will have been wasted..."

I've always felt that the most crucial part of the layout of the nineteen interconnected tomb chambers lies in the central chamber. As the saying goes, "A family with a thousand members is only managed by one person." The designers of the tombs couldn't possibly have every chamber contained secrets; from any perspective, the "Celestial Center" position was always the first choice for burying secrets.

Without realizing it, I also began to try to explain the tomb structure using the theory of the "Go board".

“Okay, I’ll inform the camp right away—” Tina agreed.

"Two beautiful ladies, are you doubting my judgment? Haha... You should know that no one on Earth knows more about the structure of the ancient Egyptian pyramids than I do. I am the authority on this subject. I have explored the pyramids more times than you two have shopped in fashion stores. Doubt me? Ridiculous! Utterly absurd!"

That was Cheney's voice. He and James were following behind us, belonging to the fourth group to enter the tomb.

Cheney strode across the expansion joint, then turned arrogantly to face Suren: "Miss Suren, as far as I know, your teacher, Mr. Guan Nanwulang, knows absolutely nothing about the construction of the pyramids! What? Where did you find another master who even has expertise in this area?"

It would be harder than the sun rising in the west if someone didn't fly into a rage when their authority was questioned.

Suren sneered, crossing her arms just like Tina: "Dr. Cheney, your knowledge is unparalleled globally; no one doubts that. However, that's only on Earth, limited to Earthlings' limited exploration of the pyramids. Now, let me ask you, what if someone deduced that the pyramids weren't even built by Earthlings, but were the work of extraterrestrials—what would you say then? You wouldn't claim your knowledge encompasses the Milky Way or even the entire universe, would you?"

Arguments such as "the pyramids are alien landing sites" have always shrouded the pyramids in a mysterious and enigmatic aura.

Cheney laughed loudly: "What a joke, what a joke, what a joke! The masterpiece of aliens, Miss Suren, is more like aliens creating the universe and the earth, and we are just puppets molded by aliens. I know that in ancient Chinese legends, there is a woman named 'Nuwa' who can create humans from clay—but Miss Suren, we are scientifically exploring tombs under the guidance of 21st-century high-tech methods, not a tutor telling stories to children under ten!"

After delivering these words in an impassioned tone, Cheney turned and strode towards the central burial chamber.

“Brother Feng, if these gaps were truly intended as expansion joints in the concrete structure, there would be no need for them to be this wide. A maximum width of forty centimeters would be sufficient, or even a negligible twenty centimeters would suffice to meet the temperature variations on Earth. My guess is that the gaps are used to move the megaliths that make up the tomb chamber, thereby creating another passageway—”

Suren ignored Cheney's furious rudeness and focused all her attention on the dark crevices.

Looking ahead, the lights in the central burial chamber are at least three times brighter than those here. Cheney is loudly directing the workers to build a tripod to lower the infrared camera used for detection back into the well.

I couldn't help but sigh, "I just hope the person at the bottom of the well is still alive—"

Tina flicked a curled strand of hair behind her ear, a hint of resentment in her voice: "Really? You seem quite fond of Miss Tengjia..."

Suren laughed heartily: "General Tina, as a high-ranking officer in the Egyptian army, aren't you meddling in far too much? And I can tell you, the reason Brother Feng wanted to rescue Miss Tengjia was simply to find out how she mysteriously entered the pyramids, not for the ambiguous reasons you're imagining! Hahahaha..."

Laughter dispelled the awkwardness, and Tina made a face sheepishly before turning to chase after Cheney.

I suddenly realized that Suren, Tina, and I are all energetic young people in our early twenties. We must have a lot in common, but our different identities and perspectives have created a distance between us. What a wonderful thing it would be if one day, after overcoming all hardships, we could forget all our grudges with laughter!

Especially Tina, who always wrapped herself in "military uniform and privilege" to cover up her inner fear, sorrow and resentment. Thinking about it carefully, such a distorted life must have a bleak future.

Upon reaching the central burial chamber, Yelan had completed his preparations. In addition to the cameras already placed on the four walls of the iron box, he had added another camera at the bottom of the box, with its lens pointing vertically downwards.

"Mr. Feng, the preparations are complete. Shall we begin?" He was already sitting behind the monitor, asking me humbly and cautiously.

I nodded, and immediately, the button controlling the steel cable winch was pressed, and the iron box slowly fell to the bottom of the well.

How did the vine-like creature in the jade coffin at the bottom of the well obtain oxygen?

"Where is the mechanism for the jade coffin? Surely I don't have to use a hammer and chisel to break the coffin lid piece by piece?"

"Is Tengjia still alive? She hasn't eaten or drunk anything during this time, so hasn't she already entered a vegetative state?"