King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 110

With a click, the gun hidden in his dummy's hand was already chambered. His attempt to blindly fire and kill without knowing friend or foe infuriated me even more. I shoved him, forcing his left hand towards his own chest. If the bullet went off accidentally, it would only kill him.

At the same time, my right foot was already raised, ready to break his knee and force him to kneel before me. He likes to show off in front of women and his men, so I'll let him perform to his heart's content, so he won't always give me the cold shoulder. My fundamental principle in the martial world is: I won't offend others unless they offend me. Wang Jiangnan has been pressing me relentlessly, so I have no choice but to retaliate. With his martial arts skills and intelligence, staying with the Divine Gun Society will only cause his brothers to die needlessly.

“Mr. Feng, no—no…” Xiao Keleng jumped over and winked at me. She wanted to save Wang Jiangnan’s face and didn’t want him to lose face in front of everyone.

I hesitated for a moment, and Wang Jiangnan struggled to break free from my grasp.

"I'm not a spy, Mr. Wang. You'd better investigate thoroughly before drawing any conclusions." I strode out the door, and the crowd of onlookers automatically parted to make way for me, exchanging bewildered glances as they watched me leave.

Part 4: Reincarnation and Resurrection

— Chapter 6 — Is the Great God Tu Liehan preparing to evacuate? —

"Anzi is dead too? She's not the Fang Demon, nor is she the murderer? Then who could it be—killing two people in one night and leaving behind the Fang Demon's wound mark?" My mind was full of questions with no answers. Suddenly, I thought of the Sniper Society's surveillance system. If all those cameras were working properly, wouldn't they be able to capture Yelan's every move in the room?

The wind picked up again in the yard, and the fallen leaves all over the ground danced in the wind, drifting aimlessly.

I don't know how long my cooperation with the Divine Gun Society can last. It probably depends on my tolerance for Wang Jiangnan. If I can visit Fengge Temple again, even without Yelan's help, I'm willing to try to awaken Tengjia with a spell. What was going smoothly was turned upside down and made a complete mess by the sudden appearance of the Fang Demon... My gaze went over the rooftops, looking towards the milky-white Tower of the Dead in the distance, and I felt that the hope of awakening Tengjia was becoming increasingly slim.

The courtyard reeked of blood. Led by Xiao Lai, a group of young men had already put Yelan's body into a body bag, preparing to send it out for burial.

I stopped beneath a half-withered cherry blossom tree, taking a dozen deep breaths to calm my turbulent mind as much as possible: "The person who peeled Yelan's skin must have overheard our conversation about the 'Sea of Gold.' Next, the murderer will definitely venture deep into Egypt, to Cairo, to retrieve the treasure map from Yelan's girlfriend—"

Regardless of who the murderer is, the act of skinning Yelam reveals him to be an extremely greedy person. In other words, given even the slightest opportunity, he would have gone to Egypt to search for the vast amount of gold that everyone coveted.

My steps halted before Yelan's door. All the blood-stained furniture and bedding had been moved out and scattered haphazardly on the lawn. In the thousands of ancient castles of Europe, secret passages are an indispensable architectural element, so I suspected that Xunfuyuan Villa also had a secret passage, through which the murderer had escaped.

The floor of the house was paved with gray stone slabs, each sixty centimeters square. When I stepped on them, each slab was stable and solid, without any signs of loosening.

“There’s no secret passage. Since the scalpel has searched so thoroughly, there’s no way we could have missed anything… So, could it be a ninja’s Five Elements Escape Technique?” At this moment, I was standing under a water feature chandelier, exactly the same as the one in the main building’s living room. I vaguely remembered that the Anko sisters’ room also had a chandelier like this.

I looked up for a long time, hoping that a miniature camera had been installed on the chandelier to faithfully record the cause of Yelan's death.

I spent nearly an hour in Yelan's room, searching almost every corner, but found absolutely no clues left by the killer. The information from the Sharpshooter's Guild was even more disheartening: the surveillance system was only installed in the main building and on the walls, with no special coverage for the rooms on the left and right wings.

At this point, the frustration in my chest was beyond measure, and I began to have even greater doubts about Wang Jiangnan's ability to handle affairs.

I took out my phone, ready to call Tina, who was far away in Egypt. Since the excavation of the pyramids in the Egyptian desert came to an end, I had obtained one of her dedicated phone numbers, which was probably the most generous gift the beautiful General Tina had given me. However, this was the first time I had used it, and not for personal matters—"Mr. Feng... Mr. Feng..." Xiao Lai called out to me peeking out from the corner, a timid, ingratiating smile on his young face.

I have a good impression of him; he seems to be the kind of young man who is particularly clever and skilled.

When I got to his side, and there was no one around, he chuckled softly, "Mr. Feng, I have a little bit of information about that person... Yelan's death, which might be useful to you." His face was very pale, and his eyebrows and eyes were very handsome, but a deep scar below the left corner of his mouth ruined his originally beautiful face, making him look out of place.

I took out my wallet, and his laughter became even more submissive.

"Xiao Lai, how much is your information worth?" After repeatedly searching the room Yelan had stayed in, I was certain I couldn't find any flaws, so I couldn't be sure if Xiao Lai was genuinely delivering the information or deliberately trying to scam me. The world is a treacherous place, and I didn't want to be a sucker who throws money at everyone he meets.

Xiao Lai smiled with narrowed eyes: "One cent, if it's useless to you. However, you're the first person to hear this information, so I think it might be worth a hundred dollars. Of course, if you think it's worthless after hearing it, you don't have to pay, and I won't complain."

I looked at him, and he looked back at me defiantly, his gaze carrying a challenge. It is said that those who can serve as team leaders or minor bosses in the Sharpshooter Society are all people who have fought their way up in the underworld and are about to rise to the top. It was clear that the scars on Xiao Lai's face and the back of his hands were not from a kitchen knife, and his eyes were unusually sharp, as if he could see through people's thoughts.

I knew that Xiao Lai had been watching me for a long time as I moved in and out of this house like a hunting dog.

"Here, take this. In this world, integrity comes first!" I handed him a hundred-dollar bill.

“Thank you, Mr. Feng. I know you’re a straightforward person.” He quickly folded the banknotes, stuffed them into his shirt pocket, and then pointed to the roof. I looked up following his finger; it was empty, with only a clear winter sky visible.

"What?" I asked, slightly puzzled. The Divine Gun Society members who had been crowding around Anzi's door were slowly dispersing. Wang Jiangnan jumped out, huffing and puffing like a wounded beast. I couldn't be bothered with him. If he tried to fight back, I wouldn't give him any face anymore.

“Mr. Feng, yesterday at 6:30 in the evening, the brothers were taking turns eating, and I was on duty by myself, sitting on the westernmost roof. Just as it was getting dark, I suddenly heard a ‘glug, glug’ sound of bubbles…” He pursed his lips and vividly imitated the sound of bubbles.

My breath caught in my throat: "What? The sound of bubbles again? The sound of bubbles is back—"

He smoothed his hair, muttering to himself in confusion, "I'm puzzled because—you know, there are many volcanic geysers in Hokkaido, and geysers that died before each earthquake often come back to life. I was afraid something bad was going to happen, so I listened carefully. The sound of the bubbles got louder and more frequent, as if a huge spring had suddenly appeared next to me, with bubbles constantly bubbling up..."

I listened intently, and as he spoke and gestured, I could understand the strange feeling a normal person would have when hearing the sound of bubbles, because I had heard that sound several times myself.

"The bubbling sound lasted for about five minutes, until the brother who had finished eating came to relieve us, and then the sound stopped. I thought it was my imagination, because I had been taking small amounts of drugs for the past few days and was worried about my nerves and hearing, so I hadn't reported it to Mr. Wang. Now that Yelan is dead, I suspect it's related to that bubbling sound... I swear, I heard it very clearly, the bubbling sound came from inside the house—"

I believe his assurance, and I am even more convinced that even if we searched three feet into the ground, we would not be able to find where the sound of bubbles came from.

Xiao Lai kept scratching his head, unable to imagine that the sound of bubbles had always been there, and that Guan Baoling had mysteriously disappeared because of it.

I gave him another hundred yuan as "hush money".

Xiao Lai was quick-witted. He smiled gratefully and immediately joined the team cleaning up the scene.

As I walked up to the second floor, I kept thinking, "How is the sound of bubbles made? Does every time I hear a strange sound of bubbles, something unexpected will happen?" Actually, I really wanted to enter the hallucination world that Guan Baoling had described and see what I could discover with my own wisdom.

The living room was empty, everyone's attention was focused on Yelan and Anzi's deaths—it suddenly occurred to me: "How is Nobuko? She was in the same room, could she have also fallen victim to the Fang Demon?" Ever since I became suspicious of Anzi, I seem to have ignored Nobuko's existence, treating this docile little girl as if she were invisible, hoping that nothing bad would happen to her.

I was going to go back upstairs to take a nap. Since Yeran was already dead, it didn't matter whether I went to the Monastery a few minutes earlier or later. But before falling asleep, I first called Tina, who was in Egypt, enjoying herself immensely.

Tina's call connected instantly, and her hearty laughter rang out: "Feng, you haven't called in so long, I thought you'd lost your number! Tell me, what can I do to help? I'll do anything for you!"

A wave of emotion washed over me. It's always good to have someone who cares and supports you; it's certainly better than being misunderstood, suspected, and mocked by Suren. If I wanted, I would have had a great chance to become the son-in-law of the Egyptian president, enjoying wealth and luxury with Tina. But I've already refused; a good horse doesn't turn back… "Hey, General Tina, I do need your help, but I also have some good news to share with you—about…about the 'Sea of Gold' beneath the Great Pyramid of Giza—"

Tina immediately became interested and pressed on, "What? About the 'Sea of Gold'? Tell me! Tell me!"

For a moment, I suddenly hesitated: "Was it the right thing to tell Tina this secret?"

The Egyptians' ambition to dominate Africa is an open secret. If the secret Yelan mentioned is true and the Egyptians obtain this massive amount of gold, they might even buy a giant American aircraft carrier and anchor it in the Red Sea.

"Why are you being so hesitant, Feng? It's alright if it's inconvenient; as long as you still consider me a friend and call to check on me, I'm content. I have good news for you: the Turkham Pyramid has been developed into an underground tourist palace, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony is in four hours. It's a pity you won't be able to see it—the completion of this project is all thanks to your several life-risking moments..."

I was speechless with astonishment. I sincerely admired the Egyptians’ imagination. They had actually transformed that heavily guarded snake nest into a tourist attraction.

"Feng, the gem you gave me... recently an Indian businessman offered sixty million US dollars to buy it. I'm considering it. What do you think, should I sell it or not?" Tina's voice carried a clear hint of provocation. Giving her the "Eye of the Moon" wasn't my original intention, but that gem, having lost its power, was just an ordinary, unremarkable rock. If it could really be exchanged for sixty million US dollars, it would be a win-win deal.

I gave a wry smile: "It's your own thing, of course you should make your own decisions. How can I overstep my bounds?"

The stairs creaked, and Xiao Keleng quietly walked up and stopped at the entrance on the second floor.

Tina burst into a silvery laugh: "Feng, of course I wouldn't sell it. This is the only gift the man I love most gave me. Even if you offered me treasures as plentiful as the Nile, I would never give it up. You Chinese like to talk about 'a broken mirror being mended,' so when can we meet again with the help of this gem's mysterious power?"

Her words were so frank and blunt that I secretly felt a little guilty and blushed. I sighed and had no answer.

According to the plan Tina arranged for me, we could get engaged first, and then, with the president's help, directly enter the Ministry of National Defense. Six months later, I would be promoted to the Special Military Observation Department of the Ministry of National Defense, and concurrently serve as the president's personal military analyst. After that, I would hold the nominal title of Deputy Minister of National Defense, and within three years, I would officially take over the Ministry of National Defense and wield absolute power... She had expressed her affection for me more than once, and it was a completely genuine expression of her feelings.

"Feng, what are you thinking about? Is it inconvenient for you to talk?" Tina noticed my distraction.

Since Xiao Ke didn't leave, I couldn't discuss it in detail. I could only say hastily, "I don't have all the information on hand. I'll call you back within 24 hours."

Tina reluctantly hung up the phone. Luckily, she was preoccupied with the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a tourism project; otherwise, the call would definitely have lasted more than an hour.

As I stared at the "Call Ended" message on the phone's LCD screen, I couldn't help but wonder, "What qualities do I possess that make Tina so determined to offer herself to me?" After all, she was the president's daughter, a high-ranking official in the Egyptian military, and exceptionally beautiful. Wouldn't everyone flock to her if she just showed interest in any man?

“Mr. Feng, the matter of the Fang Demon is temporarily settled. Xinzi is fine, but she said she was in a semi-comatose state the whole time and had no idea what had happened. When she saw Anzi’s body, she was terrified.” Xiao Keleng walked to the sofa, holding a snow-white envelope in his hand, and gently put it down.

"What's that?" I asked casually, looking at the two cranes with their heads and necks touching in the lower left corner of the envelope, and the words "To Mr. Feng" written in five elegant and beautiful small characters.

"It's not your resignation letter, is it?" I joked. If Xiao Keleng dared to resign, Xunfuyuan would be half paralyzed.

"No, it's because Miss Guan is leaving and didn't want to disturb your rest, so she wrote this letter and asked me to deliver it. She'll be going to Fengge Temple one more time, then returning to Hong Kong. She's lost interest in continuing filming the movie that wasn't finished..."

I felt a great sense of disappointment. Whether I read the letter or not made no difference. Once Guan Baoling left, my days in Hokkaido would probably immediately become dull and boring.

Xiao Keleng suddenly sighed, stood up, and looked out the window at the highway stretching straight into the distance. She said, word by word, "Sister Su Lun was right. Your life has been filled with endless emotional entanglements. Whoever fell in love with you, or whom you fell in love with, was unfortunate for them. Now, I finally believe it..."

I dared not admit that I had fallen in love with Guan Baoling, and I denied it countless times, both verbally and in my heart. Upon hearing Xiao Keleng's words, I immediately stood up and said, "Xiao, you're wrong. I came to Hokkaido to track down someone, and it has nothing to do with romance."

I must deny other people's perceptions of me and fundamentally sever my relationship with Guan Baoling.

“Mr. Feng, you are not even as good as Brother Thirteen. At least he is honest and direct enough. He can immediately express his feelings to the person he likes. Even if he is wrong, even if some people say he is overestimating himself, at least he did it and will have no regrets in the future.”

Xiao Keleng refused to continue, turned around agitatedly and went downstairs, which made me feel very agitated.

Outside the building, Wang Jiangnan's loud voice rang out again. This time, he was going to drive Guan Baoling there himself.

Through the window, I saw that he had changed into a brand-new white suit and white leather shoes, with a bright red Goldlion tie on his chest and a huge, gleaming gold brooch on his left lapel. He looked a bit like a groom walking out of a church ceremony, full of vigor and magnanimity.

I retreated in frustration, strolled from the living room to the study, and then from the study into the bedroom. I collapsed onto the bed, casually shoved the phone under my pillow, and all I could see was Guan Baoling's image.

"I don't like her! I can't like her! She's a tycoon's woman. Fighting a tycoon for his woman is a battle you can never win. Don't be silly. Calm down and carefully search for clues about my brother's whereabouts... I'll never achieve anything like the tycoon in this lifetime..."

He said he didn't want to, but Guan Baoling's image was always on his mind, whether he was awake or not, and he drifted off to sleep.

I slept soundly without any dreams, but was suddenly awakened by a phone call. The screen did not display the caller ID, and the phone rang loudly and repeatedly.

The sun was setting in the west, and it was clearly already afternoon.

This was the first time I'd received such a strange call—I pressed the answer button, and immediately, an incredibly pleasant female voice rang out: "Mr. Feng, how are you?"

I rubbed my sleepy eyes, unable to recognize who it was, and could only mumble a reply, casually asking, "Who is it?"

"I am Youlian, your old friend from Egypt. I am currently preparing to leave Earth and wanted to say goodbye to you."

I yelled "Ah!" and jumped out of bed, jolted awake, all sleepiness gone.

"Youlian? You...you..." For a moment, I didn't know what to say into the phone. It really was Youlian on the other end. Although I hadn't spoken to her much before, the unique husky quality in her voice was completely different from what I expected.

"Yes, it's me, a 'person' who once had dealings with Mr. Feng—" She couldn't say that she was a completely physical Earthling, but she wasn't a 100% Saturnian either; she truly lived in the awkward gap between being half-human and half-ghost.

Within seconds, my mind was completely clear, and I seized on her previous topic: "Leave Earth? All of you together, including the Great God Tu Liehan?"

This would be huge newspaper headlines: communicating with aliens and even fighting alongside them. However, leaking such information to paparazzi, who then embellish and sensationalize it, will only increase the panic among the innocent public.

Recalling the battle against the Illusion Demon's shadow in the secret chamber of the Great God Tu Liehan, a sudden sense of fear arose towards the vast universe. Earth, and Earthlings, are so insignificant in the embrace of the universe, so insignificant that they cannot resist any attack from outer space, even if it is just a meteorite that has strayed into Earth's orbit—"Of course, we are together, along with this enormous spacecraft." Youlian's words carried a hint of regret, which I could perhaps interpret as her leaving her birthplace and inevitably feeling a sense of being far from home.

That flying object likely refers to the strange Pyramid of Tulku itself; to this day, I still don't know how big that structure is.

“If the ‘Big Seven 2007’ is unavoidable, Earth will be plunged into a vast, desolate wasteland after a horrific explosion. There will be no water, no food, and everywhere will be volcanic ash, lava, and germs… We will have no choice but to leave, and perhaps we can only return after the explosion is over… Goodbye, my dear friend. I hope you will soon discover your wisdom and, like millions of other Earthlings, realize the benefits of becoming Saturnians…” Youlian’s narration grew increasingly cold and desolate, as if those events had already become a predetermined reality.

In another year, the Earth's calendar will turn to 2007, and I dare not think about it—"A year, 365 days? Is Earth's civilization about to be completely wiped out?"

Although the sun still shone brightly outside the window, my heart had sunk into an abyss of sorrow. Moreover, such a prophecy not only appeared in "The Centuries," but was also confirmed by aliens themselves.

I have no interest in becoming a Saturnian; after all, among known aliens, their abilities seem inferior to those of the trapped Illusionists. Even if I escape the "Great Seven" catastrophe, what's the point of losing Earth and becoming a homeless wanderer on a foreign planet?

I gripped the phone tightly and asked loudly, "Youlian, may I ask the great god Tu Liehan a few more questions? Since the Saturnians' technology is a million years ahead of Earth's, is it possible that they don't have a way to solve the 'Great Seven' problem in their scientific research?"

Youlian paused, then suddenly countered, "The destruction of planets is an immutable law of the universe, and the sole driving force behind the universe's aggregation, fission, rebirth, and resurrection. According to the discovered law of conservation of energy, without the force of destruction, how could a nascent star successfully transfer energy to itself and grow—?"

I knew her answer was absurd, so I immediately interrupted her loudly: "I want to talk to the Saturnians! I want to talk to them!"

Explaining the laws governing the universe according to Earthling theories is like the "hardness and whiteness theory" of the Hundred Schools of Thought era—it's just nitpicking and doesn't help solve the problem at all. What I really want to know is to clarify the origin of the "Great Seven Numbers" and then try to resolve or avoid it as much as possible.

Youlian definitely can't help me with this; I can only pin my hopes on that Saturnian whose energy is almost gone.

Youlian sighed, and the phone call abruptly ended.

I stared at the LCD screen, yelling "Ahhh!" in frustration, unsure where to vent my anger. In my current state, only the Saturnians could offer me any useful help. Relying on the oblivious Earthlings would only lead to meddy-foolish existence until destruction came.

With a "snap," a blurry figure appeared at the bedroom door, as if someone had turned on a slide projector. The figure slowly became clearer, revealing a sitting girl, slender, dressed in a gray bodysuit from head to toe, with only a pair of round, silver goggles covering her eyes.

She waved to me, and at the same time, Youlian's voice rang out in the bedroom: "Mr. Feng, can you see me?"

This must be some kind of advanced light and shadow transmission method, similar to the "videophone" that has just been put into use on Earth, but the stereoscopic image method is far superior to the transmission of flat pictures.