King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 55

Suddenly, a desperate cry rang out from among the workers, who dropped their tools and ran frantically toward the exit.

Robert reacted the fastest, roaring furiously, "Stop! Stop! I'm going to shoot, stop—" As he shouted, he quickly raised his gun, ready to fire. However, the soldiers did not obey and raised their guns as well; instead, they followed the workers, fleeing in a daze.

When Bawan and others were "weathered" earlier, everyone was already in a state of panic. Now, seeing their teammates killed by the ray, how could they not be terrified?

"Robert, forget it, let's retreat!" Tina shouted helplessly into the walkie-talkie.

Robert was human too, and upon hearing the order to "retreat," he immediately followed the crowd to escape.

The scene went silent. The soldier's dagger fell to the ground, sparking a burst of brilliant sparks on the stone platform. Then it somersaulted and landed in the snake formation, immediately causing another commotion among the snakes.

The cameras were all left in the tomb, so even after everyone evacuated, the footage continued to be transmitted smoothly until the cameras ran out of power.

This was a complete failure. The gem appeared, within reach, attracting everyone's covetousness, yet they returned empty-handed.

I stepped out of the tent and watched from afar as the disheveled and chaotic group of people climbed up the well, each with a bewildered smile of lingering fear on their face. Especially the usually calm and serious Rainbow Warriors, now disheveled and mingling with the workers, their submachine guns slung askew on their shoulders, completely lacking even the most basic soldier's etiquette.

Faced with sudden and dramatic changes, no one can remain unmoved, neither internally nor externally.

Therefore, one cannot help but admire the ancient Japanese ninjas. In an extremely harsh training environment, they cultivated famous ninjas who went down in history, with a ratio of one in a thousand. Their legendary deeds not only spread throughout the Japanese archipelago, but also became objects of respect for martial arts masters around the world.

Those who are somewhat familiar with Japanese history should be able to name the famous "Ten Great Ninjas" and "Ten Great Ancient Swords" of the Edo period. Those who are a little more knowledgeable will know the names of those immortal figures like the back of their hand.

Suren stood at the entrance of my tent, her hands hanging down as she secretly gestured to me.

Just as I was about to walk towards her, the last elevator in the well came up, and inside stood Tanino and James.

James remained relaxed and carefree. As soon as he landed, he raised his hand to gently tidy his slightly messy hair, then straightened his suit, frowned at his leather shoes, and strode towards Gu Ye's tent.

Gu Ye stood there stunned for a few minutes, then turned his gaze to me, gave an awkward smile, and chased after James's retreating figure.

Both of them coveted the "Eye of Luna," especially James, whose expertise became increasingly prominent after the deaths of Berenlong and Tom, and with the disappearance of Cheney.

As a double agent for both the US and India, what role will he play in this major treasure-hunting operation? There's only one "Eye of the Moon," and with several families vying for it, surely they won't fight to the death?

Tina came out of the tent dejectedly, walked past me, and also headed towards Gu Ye's tent.

I suspect there's some kind of shady deal going on among these people, just keeping it from me and Suren.

I returned to the tent, where Suren looked very uncomfortable. He took out a tiny recorder, about the size of a matchbox, and silently pressed play.

"What is it?" I asked anxiously.

The pyramids have become a snake pit. If another accident occurs and the snakes overflow into the tunnels, shafts, and camps, everyone will be doomed.

"It's... a secret conversation, Brother Feng. Don't be impatient. This recording is more important than anything like 'The Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes' or 'The Eye of the Moon Goddess.' Sit down and listen carefully..."

Suren had already made the coffee and handed it to me.

The first voice to ring out was the tentative one, like a scalpel: "High Priest, what are the President's opinions on Lu Jiacan's matter?"

Natura replied dejectedly, “The President is furious. You see, those MiG-21 fighter jets are the most effective safety net for his ambition to dominate Africa. With Lu Jiacan dead, the purchase price will increase by at least forty percent, and the Pentagon will use various excuses to delay the transaction. In the worst-case scenario, the money from Egypt might reach the other side's account, but we won't even receive a single aircraft…”

"Haha, it can't be that bad, can it? The Pentagon's reputation is that bad? As far as I know, every year arms dealers from various countries can get weapons at half price or even lower through the Pentagon's dark channels. Even without Lu Jiacan, would the Pentagon really be willing to let this batch of fighter jets rot in its hands?"

The scalpel is right. Of the tens of billions of dollars worth of weaponry consumed globally each year, more than half circulates through the dark channels of the U.S. Quartermaster Corps with the tacit approval of the Pentagon. Even the submachine guns and rockets used by Iraqi militias and Afghan insurgents to resist the U.S. Marines are mostly marked "Made."

in

The eye-catching logo of "USA"

Without large-scale war preparations, it would not be an easy task for any country to swallow such a large number of fighter jets.

Natura gave a cold snort: "Mr. Scalpel, it seems your information network is still not up to par?"

The scalpel let out an "ah," as if it were holding a cup and drinking water.

Natura continued, "Let me tell you, South Africa has already placed the same order with the Pentagon's arms dealers, targeting the same batch of fighter jets. In other words, without Lu Jiachan's mediation, we wouldn't have been able to achieve our low discount, and since we couldn't raise that much money quickly enough, the South Africans would have bought the entire batch of fighter jets. As for the price, they've already accepted the full price initially proposed by the Americans..."

I wasn't particularly interested in these arms deals, but then Scalpel asked an unusually sharp question: "High Priest, will the President hold you accountable? After all, he was the one who initially arranged for us to work together on the excavation of the Turkic Khan Pyramid. Mr. Lu Jiacan, as your plenipotentiary representative, is now missing. You can't escape the blame for this negligence, can you?"

This struck a nerve with Natura, who fell silent with a cold laugh.

From the derrick, several more exclamations suddenly rang out. Someone was urgently shouting, "Quick! Quickly inject the antidote... It's probably the snake's venom spreading into the air, hurry..."

Immediately, a chorus of groans and moans filled the air. Tina should have realized this was the problem. After being in a room with so many venomous snakes, everyone was likely affected by the poisonous air to varying degrees, and emergency treatment should have been initiated as soon as they reached the surface. However, she was in a hurry to get to the large tent and had no time to consider the soldiers' lives.

Suren didn't see the strange snake formation that appeared in the well; he just frowned and gestured for me to listen carefully to the tape.

“Yes, I failed in my supervisory duties, but if you want me to take the blame, then I will—” He cursed and spat.

"What if the president orders General Tina to escort you to prison and court-martial? Then all sorts of blame will be pinned on you, whether you like it or not, you'll have to bear it, right?" The scalpel's voice coaxed gently.

"What do you mean? Did the president send you here as a lobbyist?" Natura asked, somewhat annoyed.

The scalpel quickly returned to its place: "No, none of this concerns me. I'm a businesswoman; as long as I can make money, who's president or who dominates the Egyptian government is none of my business. I just feel that with General Tina's decisive and iron-fisted methods, she might suddenly strike, leaving you no chance to retaliate. We've worked together, and I admire the High Priest's straightforward nature the most. I sincerely hope we can cooperate again in the future..."

Suren picked up a pen and wrote the words "conspiracy? mutiny?" in his notebook, marked them with heavy question marks, and pushed it to me to see.

Natura is a close confidant of the president, and theoretically, he does not have close ties with the military.

Tina is the direct leader of the Rainbow Warriors, and from any perspective, the High Priest has no ability to launch a coup. After all, with this small camp surrounded by hundreds of special forces soldiers, there's no way anyone could find an opportunity to overthrow Tina.

Natura pondered, "You mean, to make a decisive decision?"

The scalpel chuckled: "The most important thing for a real man is to act decisively. If you get caught up in endless wrangling and procrastination, you'll only end up hurting yourself."

Natura still hesitated: "But the Rainbow Warriors belong to Tina's trusted forces, and I don't think I can persuade these battle-hardened experts to surrender on my own..."

The scalpel laughed again, bluntly pointing out the truth: "High Priest, the elite troops of the Desert Legion have already formed an impenetrable encirclement around the camp, five kilometers away. What is their purpose? Isn't it to devour the Rainbow Warriors in one fell swoop, capture Tina alive, and force the president to abdicate?"

Suren gave a wry smile, and I sincerely gave her a thumbs up: "This information we overheard is invaluable—"

Suren shook his head: "Precious? What's the use of precious? We're caught in this vortex, helpless, and unable to escape smoothly. What will the final outcome be?"

Mutinies are often accompanied by a massive, bloody massacre, as evidenced by tens of thousands of historical examples. Even the most unparalleled master in the desert cannot single-handedly fight against tens of thousands of heavily armed soldiers.

What role did the scalpel play in this discussion of feigned indifference?

What benefit would it bring him if the Egyptian army mutinied?

As he said, he was a businessman and had no interest in politics or military affairs, but if war broke out in Egypt, his own property would inevitably suffer huge losses. He claimed to be a businessman, so he would only do things that would bring him profit.

Anyway, I can't figure out what his intentions are. Suren's tightly furrowed brows also show that she can't make sense of the complicated changes in this matter.

After listening to the tape, which was mostly scalpel-like persuasion and mediation, Natula's anger flared up, and his determination to launch a coup was already set in motion.

“In that case, Tina is in danger,” Suren concluded, pouring out the cold coffee from her cup, her face full of confusion.

I briefly described the eerie changes in the tomb to her, and she was so horrified she almost dropped her paper cup: "Is it really the 'Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes'? My God, so many poisonous snakes, they were all hiding in the pyramid before—"

When our large group swaggered into the tomb, all we saw were the tempting, enormous gold ingots. We were completely unaware of the dangers hidden deep underground, and just thinking about it makes me tremble with fear.

“Now, the pyramid is empty? Nobody’s here? What will Tina do next?” She stared at the empty derrick, her brows furrowing even more.

“Next step—” I gave a wry smile. Suren and I had somehow become complete outsiders, receiving no information or support, and excluded from core meetings.

Suren picked up the notebook left by the dragon and asked thoughtfully, "Brother Feng, have you noticed that the appearance of the snake formation is somewhat similar to his drawing?"

She turned to the page in her notebook with the words "Earth, Snakes," pointed to the tangled weeds, and said with absolute certainty, "These all represent snakes, not weeds. And the human figure in the box represents the suddenly appearing mummy—"

This explanation seemed plausible at first glance, but upon closer inspection, I immediately raised a counter-argument: "How could a dragon foresee what would happen after the tomb's structure changed? If someone hadn't triggered the mechanism, turning the chessboard-like tomb into its current state, where would the stone platform, the mummy, and the snake formation be?"

Before breaking through the outer wall of the pyramid, the dragon was already in a vegetative state. Furthermore, he painted these pictures months or even years in advance, making me highly doubtful that he possessed such a precognitive ability. Based on this, I feel that Suren's explanation is somewhat far-fetched.

Suren didn't rush to explain. She turned to another page and pointed to the picture of "Heaven and Serpent": "Brother Wind, look here. I've been thinking, does it mean 'a serpent descending from the sky'? If the large square represents the roof of a certain space, here I imagine it as the roof of the tomb you visited—"

Before she could finish speaking, I could already guess: "So, what about the small squares? Do they represent a hole in the roof from which countless venomous snakes poured out? Right?"

After thinking it over for a few minutes, Suren nodded firmly.

I wanted to refute her, since I had entered the pyramids many times more often than she had, and I would have a direct understanding of the environment, unlike her theoretical and unrealistic ideas.

Suddenly, I began to doubt my own beliefs—"If a chessboard-like tomb can turn into a plaza, a jade coffin in an ancient well can rise to become a stone platform for a mummy, and a flat pool bottom can sink into a terrifying snake maze… then what can't happen? Let alone something as trivial as a venomous snake falling through a hole in the roof, it's not impossible for a mummy, a crocodile god, or even a three-headed, six-armed alien to fall in…"

I recall a European philosopher saying more than once: "Imagination is the driving force of social development. If you can think of it, you can do it. There is nothing you can't do if you can't think of it."

I can borrow his words and extend them infinitely: "The Earth is but a grain of sand in the Ganges of the universe, and the knowledge of Earthlings is but a drop of water in the insignificant ocean of knowledge. So never use extreme words like 'impossible,' 'absurd,' or 'absurd.' Whatever exists is reasonable. Even if a theory is refuted to nothing by so-called 'scientists,' it has a 99% chance of becoming a reality as long as it appears in someone's mind."

If the dragon painting has some connection, whether necessary or accidental, to the snake formation in the tomb, then Suren's bold deduction is highly credible.

Part 5: The Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes

— Chapter 7 — Gems That Captivate the Heart —

“Suren, I think we could talk to Mr. Scalpel? At least… he’ll know what’s going to happen next…”

I have always been puzzled by the scalpel's ambiguous attitude. During my first meeting with Tano and Bancha, he unexpectedly entrusted me with the cooperative excavation of the Turkhan Pyramid. To this day, the excavation work has not made much progress and has instead suffered repeated losses. He seems to be avoiding me all along.

“It’s no use, Brother Feng. I’ve said it many times before, he’s changed—believe it or not, he’s changed, that’s an indisputable fact!” Suren paced anxiously in the middle of the tent, but never revealed the reason why he had come to this conclusion.

"Then, may I go and talk to him?"

Suren sighed, "Brother Feng, you're too stubborn! I'm Scalpel's sister, and I know him better than anyone else. He is now... I have enough evidence to show you, but not now!"

I gave a wry smile, picked up Long's notebook, and flipped through it casually, letting the strange and bizarre line drawings flash by in front of my eyes.

The gemstone is something we absolutely must obtain; Tano, James, and Tina are all eyeing it covetously, determined to get it.

This snake formation is likely a natural barrier protecting the "Eye of the Moon Goddess." The simplest way to break through their encirclement is by fire. Almost everyone can think of that.

In the history of World War II, there were instances where ambushers were surrounded by venomous snakes on a deserted island during battles, resulting in the near annihilation of their entire force. In the end, the surviving soldiers set fire to all the bushes on the island, then removed the spent cartridges and used gunpowder and sulfur to repel the snakes' attack.

This event has become a unique case in the history of World War II and will be forever recorded in history.

If enough gasoline were poured into the pool and a match struck, all the snakes could be burned. This is the most time-saving and labor-saving method, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, Tina will likely adopt this simple and easy method next.

Suren's eyebrows twitched, as if she had guessed what I was thinking: "Brother Feng, do you remember what the tiger relayed about Tang Xin?"

I was taken aback. Indeed, I hadn't taken Tiger's seemingly random remark about "not using open flames" to heart. Using gasoline to attack would, of course, be a huge "open flame."

"You believe those lies?" I felt a little guilty.

Suren hummed in agreement, seemingly lost in thought: "Tang Xin has no reason to scare us. Her purpose in entering the Egyptian desert is simply to obtain the *Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs Scripture*—her stance is different from all the factions in the camp. And… Brother Feng, have you noticed how Miss Tang treats you…"

I smiled sullenly. Suren started her inexplicable jealousy again.

From any perspective, Tang Xin could never be interested in me. And even if a girl as toxic as her were offered to me for free, I would still have to push her away with trepidation.

“What I mean is that Tang Xin’s words are worth considering, so using fire is the worst possible strategy.” Every word Su Lun spoke was carefully chosen, and his expression was very serious.

"The worst option, but also the simplest method, isn't it?" Seeing how much Gu Ye coveted the "Eye of the Moon," I believe he will definitely take the simplest approach to seize the gem in the shortest amount of time.

"The worst, simplest, and most dangerous approach—reckless action will only make things worse..." Suren insisted on his point of view.

This matter is not up to us to decide. The three forces mentioned above are already entangled in a complicated situation. It would be better for Suren and me to stay out of this mess.

The day passed quickly, and the people inside the large tent continued their meeting without anyone showing their faces.