King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 261

In my line of sight, the center of the metal door suddenly bulged, like a large, fat man who had just finished a meal. I only had time to move my hand half an inch before the force surged towards me, and with two cracking sounds, both of my wrists dislocated simultaneously. Fortunately, I reacted quickly, somersaulting twice in mid-air to completely dissipate the force that was coming at me.

This was the first time I had suffered such a great loss since I started my adventures. After staggering and landing, I twisted my waist and swung my arm to reset my wrist. In the darkness, my face must have been bright red, since Tang Xin was watching right next to me.

"Mr. Feng, are you alright?" Tang Xin asked with concern, supporting my right elbow.

"Bang, bang, buzz--" The metal door rang again, the echoes coming from inside and out, wave after wave.

"Has the monster awakened? Let's retreat first and figure out what to do when we see Alpha." Tang Xin and I don't have telepathy, so she naturally doesn't know what I'm thinking. If Suren were here, she would have already warned us or drawn her gun.

I didn't know how to explain it to her. Simply bringing up the "illusion demon" to explain the problem would never convince anyone.

"Miss Tang, is the path to 'Asian Gear' behind that door? Is there also a Dragon-Slaying Stone separating the other end of the passage? Is he imprisoned between the two doors?" My real concern was for Su Lun. Her martial arts skills were no match for the monster, and if they were to meet in a narrow encounter, I feared she would be in grave danger.

Tang Xin temporarily shook off her melancholy and smiled mischievously, "Of course, as long as Miss Suren is indeed near the Asian Gear, she won't be bothered by the monsters. There's definitely a fifteen-meter-thick metal barrier between them. So, Mr. Feng, you really don't need to worry. But I think if Miss Suren knew your thoughts, she would be extremely grateful."

News reports around the world constantly feature stories of babies born with memories of past lives, but nearly 90% of these are sensationalist stunts simply to boost newspaper and magazine sales. However, leading biologists agree that the term "past life memory" fully confirms the existence of this phenomenon.

What were Tang Xin's past life memories like? I hope her audience can be a devoted tiger instead of me, because my heart has already flown to the other side of the sealed gate.

"Mr. Feng, have you ever considered how Miss Suren got there since the sealed gate cannot be opened? Was it time travel or a wormhole anomaly? Why not rethink the process of her disappearance and find a more plausible explanation?"

Tang Xin's words make a lot of sense, but Alpha said that Su Lun is right next to the "Asian Gear," so it shouldn't be a lie.

"Shall we... go back? Death comes so quickly, I'm afraid I won't have a chance to finish saying what's on my mind." Her brows drooped again, and she sank back into melancholy.

I twisted my fingers, my wrists aching slightly, and I feared they wouldn't recover for several days. The monster's counterattack was beyond imagination, a thousand times stronger than the legendary martial arts masters' techniques of "hitting a cow across a mountain, or a mountain across a cow."

My elder brother had been to this door and carved words with his Vajra Finger to leave a mark. Ever since I discovered the words, I've been thinking in reverse: "Under what circumstances would he leave these words? Are they meant to warn future generations? Where did he go after leaving them?" Actually, I have a very strange idea: that my elder brother has broken through the seal of the door and entered it.

Suddenly, the metal door in front lit up with a dark red light, like a blazing campfire. Within seconds, the red light turned into flames, displaying a bizarre scene of tongues of fire leaping into the air on the door.

"What is that?" Tang Xin gasped, raised the crystal, and subconsciously took several steps back.

It was a vibrant scene; the metal door transformed into a crystal-clear display screen. After the fiery serpent danced wildly to its climax, the red light abruptly vanished, leaving only an overwhelming expanse of sandy yellow.

"Desert? Mr. Wind, I've seen such a sight before, but only in my past life memories!" She leaned closer, her shoulders hunched, as if she were about to collapse from exhaustion.

I raised my hand and naturally put my arm around her shoulder, hoping that my body heat could help calm her down.

"Miss Tang, it's just a strange painting—" I tried to comfort her.

"No, no, we will see Shui Lan—that girl named Shui Lan. She doesn't belong to the desert, nor to Alpha's world. She is a completely human being from Earth... Mr. Feng, my mind is in turmoil, really in turmoil..." Her eyes suddenly filled with tears, brimming with moisture.

I really wanted to hear about her dream because she mentioned "Shui Lan," a woman closely related to my older brother.

Amidst the vast expanse of yellow sand, a figure slowly emerged, her clothes fluttering and her long hair flowing. Behind her, a staircase leaned diagonally, leading to a tall, ostentatious silver metal building.

Tang Xin groaned, "Oh... that's Shui Lan, a... an Earth girl of unknown origin. I guess she's a traveler who travels through time and space in reverse, able to appear and disappear from anywhere. Mr. Feng, please remember what I said, she's the key figure in preventing Earth's destruction; only she holds the secret of the 'Great Seven'..."

Her words became increasingly incoherent, first mentioning Shui Lan, then "Big Seven," what other surprising things will she say next?

"Where is the aquamarine?" I asked, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

"Anywhere in my memory, except here. I keep wondering if she was just a figure who lived in my memory, but never actually existed in the world?" Her body grew weaker and weaker, and several times she almost slipped out of my arms.

In the far distance of the scene, a huge fireball hangs motionless above the horizon. There is no sky or clouds in sight; where there should be blue sky and white clouds, there is only an endless black curtain hanging over it.

If that really is aquamarine, would my older brother be there too? My thoughts seem to have fallen into a state of confusion.

The girl always faced us with her profile, as if lost in thought, gazing at the fireball. Suddenly, a fierce wind swept across the desert, and judging from her wildly flying hair, the wind was incredibly strong, forcing her to turn and retreat into the building.

I saw that she had thick, long eyelashes and a straight, delicate nose. If I turned another ten or so degrees, I could probably see her full appearance. "Mr. Feng, at this moment... at this moment, the monster appeared..." Tang Xin murmured to herself, leaning weakly against my chest.

The crystal was still glowing, but it was insignificant compared to the fireball and the giant covered in red that suddenly appeared in the sandstorm.

The giant was about twice the height of the girl, wearing fiery red armor, his body seemingly emitting scorching white smoke, and he pounced with incredible ferocity. He was human-shaped, but a "human" with six arms.

The images were incredibly powerful, especially the scene of the giant lunging forward, which created an unparalleled sense of terrifying oppression, making it even more spectacular than watching the most realistic 3D movie.

"She can't escape it. The end of the nightmare is actually the beginning of something even more terrifying... Even if she escapes this cycle, the next crisis will be even more terrifying..." Tang Xin kept talking to herself, her voice like that of a sleepwalker.

Part Two: Asian Gears, Chapter Two: Tang Xin, Born with Memories of Her Past Life

I shook my head, signaling Tang Xin to be quiet, because my fingers touched some uneven lines on the hard metal door.

This time, it wasn't the elder brother's handwriting, but a full-body portrait of a girl. The person who painted on the door used a marvelous technique of light reflection; the secret couldn't be discovered with the naked eye. Unfortunately, I don't possess Guan Baoling's superb painting skills, otherwise I could have easily copied it on the spot.

Tang Xin held up the crystal bottle, looking at me with a puzzled expression: "Mr. Feng, what have you discovered?"

I had no time to answer. After a moment's thought, I cut the back of my hand and smeared the blood on the lines, and the painting hidden in the shadows immediately came to light.

Tang Xin gasped and covered her mouth: "Shui Lan? She's Shui Lan—"

The person in this painting is the same girl in the video we just saw, and the style of her clothing and her initial standing posture are exactly the same. To put it another way, what we are seeing now is the first still frame in that moving image.

"Miss Tang, haven't you seen this painting before?" I wiped the blood from my hands, stared at the girl in the painting, and tried to memorize her appearance. He Jishang had said that Shui Lan was my elder brother Yang Tian's true love, and I wanted to remember her so that I could recognize her at a glance among the thousands of faces on Earth in the future.

Tang Xin shook her head: "No, Alpha has never mentioned it either, but she appears repeatedly in my past life memories, and I always understand that the nightmare ends here, and my life ends there."

People who can soberly discuss their impending death are people with extremely strong willpower. If a person is not even afraid of death, what else could scare them? From this point of view, Tang Xin is definitely not an ordinary person.

"Do you see that door over there? Is that really Asia Gear behind that door?" I pointed forward.

Tang Xin frowned. "What? I can't see anything. This door is blocking everything." She stared at me in confusion, then turned to look at the door in front of her, reaching out and groping around. Finally, she shook her head helplessly. "Mr. Feng, I really can't see anything. I'm sorry."

I silently shook my head, took out the "Blade of Exceeding Distance," and stared at the cold light dancing on its blade. There are countless precious swords in the world that are said to be able to "cut iron like mud," but I could not find a single sword that could cleave open this door and let me see the world inside.

"Although I can't see it, I know what's behind the door. In my past life memories, I've been here more than once. Mr. Feng, that gear's structure is enormous, composed of 650 million independently operating parts. It's not driven by any type of power known to Earthlings, nor does it have any visible lubrication, yet it has been running for 700 billion years. All the information is written in my memory, not relayed by anyone—"

I wanted to interrupt her because there was a glaring and significant fallacy in her statement, but before I could speak, she raised her hand to stop me: "Don't interrupt me, Mr. Feng. You should know that it's absurd and ridiculous to ask Earth's scientists to explore the question of 'how many years Earth has existed,' just as we can't cross a river by holding onto our own hair, or try to reduce our weight by grabbing our own feet. Earthlings' understanding of Earth is like the ancient Chinese idiom 'blind men and an elephant.' The information I have in my memory is vastly different from the education I received growing up; they're incomparable."

"So, can the 'Asian Gear' be seen as a perpetual motion machine?" I only asked this one question, at least I didn't lose my ability to think amidst her chaotic description.

She paused, then shook her head again: "The definition of a perpetual motion machine is 'a man-made machine that operates without power,' but the 'Asian Gear' is not. Its existence was not created by humans. On the contrary, it is because of its existence that the Earth came into being, creating the opportunity for the reproduction of all things on Earth and the development of civilization."

"Is all of this from your past life memories? Then tell me, who were you in the world of your past life memories?" This is a crucial question, and I hope she will reveal her full identity, whether in the past or present.

"This is... a very complicated topic, one that can't be explained in a few hours. If Mr. Feng is interested, we can go outside and talk about it slowly. I know a nearby triangular building with a fireplace, good wine, and two comfortable deck chairs. Perhaps we should go there and calm down before discussing this further."

Tang Xin smiled faintly and extended her hand in invitation.

Regarding the proposition of the "Asian Gear," the only globally recognized academic authority is Su Lun's mentor, the Japanese scholar, Goro Kanan. His research report describes a scenario that differs somewhat from Tang Xin's account, but it mentions a point that greatly encourages the war-torn Asians: adjusting the deviation of that giant gear will effectively correct the feng shui, air currents, mountains, human nature, and the way of heaven on the Asian continent, allowing all things to return to their original growth trajectory, conforming to the laws of natural selection, and eliminating war and hegemony.

Goro Kanan's theory was called a "utopian swan song" by Americans and was scorned, but in the eyes of peace advocates, it was nothing less than a savior who was called upon in a time of crisis. At least seven rulers of small Middle Eastern countries have donated a huge sum of money to establish a fund project called "Lebensborn" with the sole goal of finding the "Asian Gear".

"I'd like to hear Miss Tang's opinion." I slowly turned around, preparing to give up gazing into that empty world. The transparent metal door was becoming blurry, no longer as clear as crystal, but at that moment, a person suddenly appeared at the opening behind the metal door opposite.

I froze for a moment, then rushed to the door and pressed my face tightly against it.

"A person? A girl slowly walking this way? Who could she be? Suren—could it be Suren?" My mind went blank for a moment, and the words "Su-Lun" almost burst out. Fortunately, the cold metal door had a good calming effect, forcing me to control my boiling emotions.

The transparency of the metal door continued to decrease, and the girl's walking posture was rapidly distorted, like a bizarre image presented through a convex lens, making it impossible to discern her identity.

"Mr. Feng, what are you looking at?"

Tang Xin followed my example and pressed herself against the right side of the metal door, but I knew she couldn't see anything.

"I think I saw Suren, but she was extremely blurry..." My voice trembled.

The girl stopped. I guessed she was blocked by the metal door on the other side and couldn't go any further, just like Tang Xin and I were blocked by a door.

"Really? But... how could a person's vision penetrate a metal door?" Tang Xin was skeptical.

I could only tell that it was a girl, but I couldn't confirm if it was Su Lun. A few minutes later, the metal door returned to its original state, and I could see nothing at all.

"Is that Su Lun? Or someone else? Like the light blue figure carved on this door?" I sighed dejectedly, took a big step back, and stared at the light blue portrait. The portrait was slowly fading away, like the condensation on a car window in winter; once the sun came out, the condensation disappeared without a trace.

"Mr. Feng, I think you must be hallucinating. If there were another way to enter the energy core of the 'Asian Gear,' Alpha would have already tried to find it, instead of being stuck here." Tang Xin was skeptical of what I said, and was only responding politely.

I tried my best to control my excitement. What good would it do to have a hysterical outburst, shouting and yelling at this point?

"Miss Tang, let's go back out." A calm smile returned to my face as I led the way out of the cave.

If I had American-made demolition equipment right now, I would not hesitate to blast through the mountain and do my utmost. Gu Qingcheng's name resurfaced in my mind. If she were here, she would surely be able to offer me advice and carry out the plan methodically, instead of being like Tang Xin, dreaming in her own world.

"Suren, I will come back and won't let you stay trapped for long." This is my promise, and I have been telling myself this every day since I received the news of her disappearance.

A wind picked up outside the cave, bringing a chill. My underwear, soaked with cold sweat, felt like a hard, icy armor clinging to my body, making me feel quite uncomfortable.

We didn't stop at the cave entrance, but kept walking back until we reached a sheltered spot about 500 meters away from the cave.

"Mr. Feng, it's right there. We can warm ourselves by the fire, have some drinks, and rest for a while," Tang Xin said, pointing to a triangular building on the right. It had cold, austere gray wooden doors and windows, with white paper pasted on the carved window frames. Like the other buildings, its gray roof was covered with a thick layer of snow.

The alley in front of the triangular building intersects the main road we walked on at an acute angle, which is a mysterious change in the "fierce tiger descending the mountain to fight".

"Alpha specifically chose this location to guard the sealed gate," Tang Xin explained with a slight smile.

Very few experts in the martial arts world are unfamiliar with Qimen Dunjia, and she is also one of the best among the younger generation of the Tang Clan, so her knowledge is naturally very broad.

"Very good. Alpha's formation technique is extremely skillful, even comparable to Master Zheya of Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi." This is my highest praise for him, because Master Zheya is over 120 years old. He has been studying Taoism on Longhu Mountain since he was three years old, and has devoted his life to Qimen Dunjia and Five Elements Formations. He is recognized as the number one expert in the industry.

Tang Xin led the way up the bluestone steps. Because the small building was at the forefront of the delicate layout, it was the most dangerous of all, a place of extreme danger, a place of extreme peril, a place of extreme danger, a place of extreme danger, a place of extreme danger, the snow and ice on the stone steps had long been melted by the murderous aura from the east and the gentle winds from the west and north, leaving no trace of water.

The existence of the small building is like a guillotine hanging over the heads of those sealed inside the cave, ready to be detonated at any moment; its profound meaning is truly admirable.

"Mr. Feng, please." Tang Xin reached out and pushed open the door. A faint scent of sandalwood wafted out, only to be instantly dispersed by the wind.

The stone steps numbered about thirty. As soon as I stepped onto them, I discovered that behind each bluestone slab lay a complex network of mechanisms. Just as I had suspected, Alpha had armed the small building into a fortress capable of sniping at any moment. Looking at the arrangement of the buildings near the cave entrance, there were only triangular and pentagonal structures. They seemed chaotic, but the placement of each building was actually carefully considered.

The open road at the cave entrance leads directly to the entrance of the Epang Palace, which is the only way for the sealed ones to break through the final confinement. However, this seemingly flat and unremarkable straight road has long been riddled with traps designed to ambush those who are about to be killed.

"Alpha's cunning is indeed unfathomable. Behind all the visible mechanisms, are there unseen ones? Between the sealed beings and Alpha, whose wisdom is superior?"

I couldn't help but sigh at this unimaginable battle in the future. After all, the power of the seal will weaken over time, and with the ebb and flow, the crisis facing Alpha is unimaginable.

Looking west from here, the slope climbs higher and higher, making it impossible to see the gate of the Epang Palace or the cave entrance in the rock wall. Looking back, the cliff face is thousands of feet high, leaving only that narrow, square passage, which looks extremely strange.

The sandalwood incense grew stronger, and as I stepped over the high threshold, it suddenly dawned on me: "Almost all the entrances to the Egyptian pyramids are very narrow, yet the main structures are enormous. Isn't this disproportionate ancient architecture similar to the stone wall before me?"

After World War II, archaeologists discovered a mysterious "pyramid energy" inside the pyramids and wrote books discussing the existence of this energy, strongly demanding the overturning of the scientific theory that "energy is eternal and unchanging." In their works, pyramid energy is not an energy source on Earth, but rather energy that the pyramids receive from outer space through their unique conical structure, unlike any other kinetic energy existing on Earth.

As is well known, scientists who deny the existence of "pyramid energy" cannot explain the strange phenomena inside the pyramids, such as "corpses not decomposing, clocks stopping, diamonds turning into dust, and gold and silver ornaments spontaneously burning," because each of these examples is an absolute fact, and countless professionals with notary qualifications can vouch for and testify to it.

"Could it be that Alpha used non-earthly materials to construct these strangely shaped buildings?" My doubts grew stronger, and when I walked to the fireplace, I still hung my head, deep in thought.

"Mr. Feng, please have a seat," Alpha said. "The recliner on the right was once occupied by a great hero. Though he is gone, his chivalrous spirit lives on forever."

Tang Xin knelt in front of the fireplace, struck a match with a "hiss" and threw it into the fireplace. The firewood immediately caught fire, and the firelight slanted across her face, gilding her hair with a golden hue.

The two pine reclining chairs in front of me have a simple and antique style, with intricate carvings of clouds, dragons, phoenixes, and pixiu on the armrests. They are definitely not products of the modern era. On the side of the right reclining chair is a small triangular stool with a small brown-covered notebook on it and a worn-out pencil with peeling paint tucked between it.

"A great person? Who is it?" I walked over, but instead of reaching for the notebook, I squatted down and stared at it intently.

"A great figure who even Alpha admired greatly, but since that senior has passed away, there's no need to mention his name again, lest we be disrespectful to the deceased and disturb his spirit." Tang Xin reached out to warm her hands by the fire, her mood already relaxed.

The notebook's cover was made of tanned bearskin, and the sturdy leather was already worn and frayed, indicating that it had been read countless times by its owner every day. As for the pencil, it would be more likely to be found in a geologist's baggage; it was short and dirty, with chew marks on the end, suggesting that the user had a habit of chewing on a pencil while thinking.

"Let me guess, is that big shot Yang Tian, the 'King of Tomb Raiders' who suddenly disappeared from the martial arts world?"