King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 283

Suren ran over and stood next to me.

"Feng, if we remove those three gears as well, will we see the same result?" Her voice trembled the whole time.

Without hesitation, I removed the other four stopped gears, and sure enough, another one was embedded in each of the metal rods. "Suren, could this metal rod lead to the inside of the machine? Is it its stoppage that caused the outermost gear to stop moving? Then, how many gears are there? How long is this metal rod?" I sensitively thought of these questions.

The mechanical body should be composed of three parts: a core, a support frame, and external gears. I even had a wilder idea: "If I climbed in along the direction the metal rod extends, could I flip the gears and reach the core of the mechanical body?"

“Feng, we shouldn’t do anything and wait for our master to arrive. Now, put the gear back on, and under no circumstances should you do anything to damage the ‘Asian Gear’.” Before I could even move, Suren had already picked up the gear from the ground and put it back into the metal rod.

As she did these things in silence, I sensed the immense pressure she was under.

We retreated to the metal wall and sat down wearily.

"Should you speak first, or should I?" Suren smiled slightly, leaning against the metal wall and slowly drawing her legs together in a "yoga cross-legged" posture. "Feng, even when exchanging information, you must ensure that you can circulate your internal energy and blood to minimize the body's energy consumption in order to cope with more complex changes in the future."

I gradually got used to her way of addressing me, and she called me "Feng" like everyone else, which seemed to help us communicate more smoothly.

"Change? What do you foresee?" I adopted the Taoist posture of "sitting in meditation," with my legs crossed, my left elbow resting on my left knee, and my hand supporting my chin. This way of meditating can relax the body, restore energy, and also allow me to leap up at any time to meet the enemy, giving them no chance to launch a sneak attack.

"Change is absolute, and immutability is relative, isn't it?" she cleverly answered me using a vague physical concept.

“Surren, stop beating around the bush, who is your anticipated enemy?” I asked directly.

In Alpha's world, after he and Tang Xin were severely injured and retreated, the great god Tu Liehan and his men died, Tang Qing died, and the tiger fell into the abyss of fire, there were no longer any obvious threats. The only thing to worry about was the illusion demon behind the sealed gate, but if it broke free and appeared, it would definitely make a deafening noise, which would be obvious without even listening for it.

As for Gu Qingcheng, she remains on the cliff and will not be able to enter Alpha's world for the time being.

I'm worried that Suren must have sensed some danger.

“Yes, I’m worried about Pompeii,” she replied simply, taking the pistol from her pocket, releasing the safety, and placing it on the ground to her right.

"The group that was hunting Reese?" I realized.

“Yes, the Pentagon’s spy network can spread very widely around the world, so they equip this network with a very effective oversight department, or rather, a secret organization with the power to ‘act first and report later,’ directly responsible to the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States. The code name of this department is—” She habitually tossed her hair and smiled sheepishly, “Oops, you already know all this information, so there’s no need to go into details, is there?”

I nodded: "Yes."

The department's codename was "Fire of Somalia," and it had twenty-six members named using the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. The principle for assigning tasks was that members had to handle events matching their codenames; that is, if the first letter of an event's name matched a member's letter, the task was automatically assigned to that member. "Resika said that 'Pompeii's' current task is 'Pandora's Box,' while also pursuing her; it could appear at any moment." Suren sighed, glancing warily left and right, then closed her eyes and slowly began practicing breathing exercises.

Since she had joined the spy network, she must have been prepared to serve the organization for life. I was a little surprised that a female spy as famous as Resica would suddenly want to leave the organization. There are many cases of super spies "defecting" in history. Most of the defectors were driven by "love". And the reason for the defection of female spies was 100% "love", without exception.

I tried to analyze it further: "Resica has fallen in love with another man and wants to clear her name—or perhaps she wants to use the information she has to blackmail the Pentagon, thereby obtaining a large sum of money and then fleeing?"

This is common sense, and the psychology experts at the Pentagon would probably do the same.

Suren shook his head: "No, no."

A silent, faint smile appeared on her lips; she had already seen through all my thoughts.

"You must have asked her that, right? We all analyze things logically, so could she be a special case?" The reason I kept pressing her with these questions was because I was concerned about how she escaped from the glass box. Escaping from the deep sea was one thing, but how did she manage to travel from Japan to the southwestern border of China, evading layers of spy networks?

The efficiency of the US spy network is astonishing. Its internal standards exceed the limits of all military operations worldwide. Therefore, as long as a fugitive exists on Earth, it will be difficult for them to escape completely, and they will eventually fall into their hands.

Suren sighed deeply: "She didn't say those things, but she told a more thrilling story. Do you want to hear it? At that time, you and Miss Guan were trapped at the same time. I was on my way from Xianyang to Hokkaido, while she mysteriously entered the underwater tomb."

When "Guan Baoling" was mentioned, a shadow crossed her face, but it vanished in an instant.

I looked up to the sky and sighed, "So that's how it is, so that's how it is—"

“Actually, you and Miss Guan are also in a dangerous situation. If you enter the underwater tomb like Reese, you will be trapped here forever, unable to escape. It seems that heaven is still unwilling to protect you and unwilling to keep the world-famous beauty by your side—” Su Lunhui smiled mischievously, two delicate dimples appearing on her cheeks.

In my eyes, she is gradually revealing her true self, and is able to return to the image of a girl who is affectionate and tender towards me, instead of being as stiff as before.

This sudden reunion didn't even see her rush into my arms for a trembling, soul-stirring embrace. Every night before entering the Epang Palace, I dreamt of that reunion, of her passionately throwing herself into my arms, crying, laughing, and pouring out her heart without restraint.

Suddenly, an awkward silence fell between us, and we both forgot the topic we wanted to discuss.

After a long while, her tightly closed eyes trembled, and two large, bright tears slid out, trembling and hanging on her eyelashes. In that instant, a string in my heart was plucked with sorrow, a sharp pain surged up, and I immediately felt a heart-wrenching pain.

"Suren, from this moment on, we will never be apart again." I wanted to say more, but all the words were stuck in my throat. "Never being apart again" is not only my ideal, but also a solemn promise I made to Suren.

"What?" After a few more minutes of silence, Suren suddenly opened her eyes, turned her head away nonchalantly, wiped away her tears with her sleeve, smiled faintly, and asked two words in a low voice.

I knew she heard everything and understood everything, so I simply stopped explaining and just smiled as I watched the blush quickly rise on her face.

"My teacher repeatedly taught us that we must always act before we speak; do more and talk less; be quick in action and slow in speech, so that we may not be tormented by guilt. Although he is Japanese, he has a deep understanding of Chinese philosophy and admires the wisdom of the ancient Chinese immensely. Feng, I believe that if he met you, he would greatly appreciate you—"

This passage is ostensibly an introduction to Guan Nan Wulang, but it contains many hidden meanings that can only be understood intuitively and cannot be explained in words.

I nodded vigorously: "I understand."

Even after the scalpel died, Su Lun and I were always able to communicate, only the intervention of Guan Baoling created a rift between us. Now, all worldly entanglements are gone, and we understand each other's hearts through our eye contact.

Suren laughed, her eyebrows arching, overjoyed.

Next, I briefly recounted what happened after her disappearance, omitting much of what occurred outside the tunnel, focusing on the five-pointed star array, the Heavenly Ladder Stone House, the Epang Palace array, the Sealed Gate, and several life-or-death battles. This experience may seem chaotic, but a central theme runs throughout: everyone's shared hatred for the Illusion Demon.

When she heard about the fates of Youlian, Sahan, and Sen, a look of sorrow appeared on her face: "Sen was the talent that my elder brother valued most, which is why he invested heavily in his research. But no one expected that he would turn out to be a henchman of the great god Tu Liehan. In this light, aren't the most intelligent people in the world all dissatisfied with their status as Earthlings and yearning to fly into the universe and become its masters?"

Sen is indeed a rare talent in the computer industry, and in some ways, he and Xiaoyan have a lot in common.

This topic also reminds me of the last phone call Xiaoyan made to me. She said a lot of domineering and crazy things, which seemed a bit like she had "gone mad".

“Brother Feng, please close your eyes and rest. I’ll tell you about my experiences.” Su Lun finally addressed me as “Brother Feng” again. A warm feeling washed over me, as if I were a wanderer who had been away from home for thousands of miles back to my warm nest. All the hardships I had experienced before seemed like a passing cloud.

"Okay." I obediently closed my eyes, gathered my breath, and returned it to my dantian. My limbs and body were completely relaxed, leaving only my keen hearing.

"Brother Feng, I can sense that my master is nearby. This white belt is the latest product of the English intelligence department, possessing powerful anti-magnetic properties. The wearer, even in the eye of an electromagnetic storm, will remain unharmed, their brainwaves undamaged. Furthermore, it contains two super-powered sensors that can receive location detection signals from my master and senior brother. Before we met, the signals indicated that they had already entered a radius of 100 kilometers around me. Brother Feng, remember you read my master's work on the 'Asian Gear'? You must have noticed that he repeatedly mentioned in 'The Chapter of Exploration' that a massive, chaotic magnetic field exists near the 'Asian Gear,' exceeding the limits of human brainwave tolerance by tens of thousands of times. Therefore, explorers attempting to approach the 'Asian Gear' usually suffer severe brain damage, becoming a vegetable—"

I nodded. Schiller's experience explained everything. When a strong magnetic field acts on the human brain, it causes irreparable damage. It's a pity that such a promising young man was destined to be trapped in an endless, pale world.

“Brother Feng, don’t think about anything, and don’t interrupt me. Just listen quietly. Because there are many points in this experience that I can’t understand myself, so I can only give a general account, ignoring the logic for now—” Su Lun cleared his throat, as if to expel all the frustration in his chest, and took several deep breaths. “Alright, Brother Feng, listen…”

When they entered the mountains, Suren knew that Flying Eagle's men were nearby, so she confidently led Schiller forward. In her view, the road ahead was still long and there was no immediate danger. However, just ten minutes after passing that strange stone wall, she sensed someone spying on her in the shadows.

Her anticipated enemies were the Southwest Caravan and the Longge Witches, both of whom were not to be trifled with. So she changed her course and turned onto a side road to the right.

Beside a ravine, a strange thing happened: the stream surged back, forming a powerful tornado-like column of water that swept her in. She didn't know what had happened outside the white column of water, but when she landed again, she was in a desolate valley, all alone; her belongings and livestock were gone.

She continued along the valley and soon came to the legendary "Second Epang Palace." At that time, she had called me briefly, but then we lost contact again. Deep inside the Epang Palace, there was a metal door embedded in the wall. Resica walked out of this door, and the two girls, trapped in this strange world, actually got along very well.

Given Reese's experience, she naturally knew everything about Suren and me, which is why she told her about what was inside the glass box.

In my opinion, Reese's account of this experience is not entirely credible.

She removed the "Poseidon's Nameplate," but immediately a powerful turbulent current sucked her into a dark tunnel. In a panic, she dropped the nameplate, curled up, and desperately protected her head and heart. She felt herself plummeting rapidly, like an innocent person falling from a tall building.

She landed in a vast, empty hall, bathed in red light. Not far in front of her, in a deep hole, a ruby shone intensely. Humans are greedy, and Reese was no exception. She stepped forward, bending down to retrieve the gem. The hole was no more than thirty centimeters in diameter, yet its depth exceeded the length of her arm.

Resica, who had practiced yoga and contortion, was driven by greed. She quickly bent down and reached for the gem with her fingertips. After a flash of even more dazzling red light, she arrived at this place.

Unable to ascertain the truth of Resica's words, Suren entered the world of the "Asian Gear" through the passageway behind the metal door. In the days that followed, the two of them could freely traverse the passageways and stroll freely between the Epang Palace and the "Asian Gear."

Sun Gui appeared as if descending from the sky, like a stuntman in slow motion, slowly falling to the ground, then coming back to life. From him, Su Lun learned that I had entered the tunnel, and her emotions immediately surged until she saw me behind the crystal wall.

She spoke ramblingly for about an hour, her expression stern, her brows constantly furrowed, clearly indicating that she hadn't come up with answers to many of the questions.

“Brother Feng, when I saw you behind the crystal wall, I was a little confused about which world you were in. Could there be other secrets behind all those caves and passageways? Also, I haven’t seen any of the people you mentioned. In the Epang Palace, there were only Reese and Sun Gui—”

I listened quietly, and when she finished her narration, I slowly replied: "Suren, draw me a sketch of the Epang Palace. Now, I suspect that the two of us experienced the same ancient palace."

This is a bold hypothesis. Archaeologists have been saying that there is a "second Epang Palace" on Earth, and now suddenly a "third Epang Palace" has emerged. If this is leaked to the media, it will definitely cause a huge uproar.

Suren reached into her pocket, carefully took out a tube of lipstick, gently untied the cap, and smiled apologetically: "I don't have a pen, so I'll use this instead."

It was a Chanel lipstick called "Spring Melancholy." If I remember correctly, I bought it for her myself at a duty-free shop in Cairo. It's really kind of her to carry it with her all the time.

“Chanel’s ‘Spring Melancholy’—winter is over, spring is next, what is there to be sad about?” She shook her head and sighed. Girls are always sentimental and sensitive; they will inadvertently reveal who they care about.

I took the lid, looked at the shiny Chanel logo on it, and smiled casually: "Actually, Chanel's main market is Hong Kong Island. After this is over, we won't rush back to Cairo. Let's go to Hong Kong Island first and go with you to buy the latest 2008 varieties."

Hong Kong Island is a shopping paradise for girls, and I'm sure Su Lun will be incredibly happy there.

"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond." She smiled as she gazed at the lipstick in her hand. "I know that some things don't need to be held onto, but I still often feel reluctant to part with them, such as this, and the deep affection left behind in the world."

Hundreds of passionate, sweet words surged within me, but I replaced them all with a smile. My feelings for Su Lun were distinctly different from those for Guan Baoling. We knew each other well, respected each other, supported each other, and maintained just the right amount of reserve, never crossing the line.

She quickly sketched a rough map on the ground, roughly similar in appearance to what I saw looking down from the cave. It was clearly a standard Qin and Han dynasty palace, magnificent and imposing, with no trace of clutter or disarray. In contrast, what Alpha showed me was merely a Qimen Dunjia formation, completely unrelated to the "Epang Palace."

I couldn't help but rub my hands together and exclaim, "So there's a 'third Epang Palace' inside this mountain! Suren, what else did you find? Is that metal door just an ordinary passageway? Are there any traps or ambushes, or maybe a six-armed monster?" Unfortunately, although we arrived inside the mountain one after the other, we were in completely different worlds.

Suren shook her head: "No, but I have a very strange feeling. The person who stood in front of the crystal wall and lip-read me last time wasn't you, but someone else—"

She raised her left hand and gently stroked my face, her fingertips slowly gliding over my nose, cheekbones, and lips. Then she lifted the hair on my forehead and gazed at me intently, maintaining this gesture for more than five minutes before finally lowering her hand in bewilderment.

“Brother Feng, my intuition tells me that it’s not you, but someone who looks extremely similar to you. To outsiders, he might look like you, but feelings don’t lie. Right now, you are the Brother Feng I know, and that person is a stranger who just walked past the window. No matter what his name is or what he looks like, he can’t possibly be Yang Feng!”

She nodded emphatically, reaffirming her judgment.

I didn't understand what he meant, but I didn't press him for details. I just thought that perhaps a girl's thoughts would fluctuate greatly after experiencing a series of strange changes, which would make her think about things inexplicably.

I looked at her through the crystal wall, I wrote with my own blood, and called her name until my voice was hoarse—all of this really happened, how could it be someone else?

“Suren, let’s go to the mirror. If that’s the only viable passage here, I hope to get you out of here first.”

We stared at the enormous mechanical object, and Suren murmured as if in a dream, "Brother Feng, if I told you there are two 'Asian Gears' in the world, would you believe me?"

She staggered as she stood up, as if she were someone recovering from a serious illness and could no longer withstand any strenuous exercise.

I reached out to support her, our feet wobbling, and with all four of our arms pulling together, we clung tightly. She seemed to stumble forward, almost unintentionally, and fell right into my arms. Instinctively, I tightened my arms and pulled her close.

In just a few seconds, she straightened her arm and used the rebound to step back, her face flushed.

"Are you alright?" Her sudden tenderness stirred my heart. She was an extremely self-respecting girl, and such a gesture was rarely seen from her.

"I'm just... a little dizzy, but it's okay, let's go." She held her forehead, bent down to pick up the pistol, and walked slowly towards the hole with the mirror, keeping close to the metal wall.

A silent sigh welled up inside me: "In the dazzling world of 2007, girls as pure and innocent as Su Lun were almost extinct, especially such a beautiful girl with dozens or even hundreds of suitors. Thinking back to what happened in Hokkaido, I really hurt her terribly. From now on—"

As for Kwan Po-ling, I think I will gradually forget her in the future, just like old photos in a drawer, letting them slowly turn yellow and become a permanent thing of the past.

When they reached the bottom of the cave, Su Lun suddenly stopped and looked down at his belt.

“Brother Feng, my master and senior brother are right outside, about a hundred meters away!” She looked up towards the cave entrance, then looked down again at the two gold buttons on her belt.

Backup arrived quickly, and a genuine smile immediately spread across her face. She reached out and tapped one of the gold buttons four times rapidly, producing a soft "tap-tap-tap" sound. That must have been a unique communication code, signaling her location to those outside.

Master Guan Nan Goro is hailed as "the most intelligent Japanese man in the last fifty years," which is no exaggeration. His martial arts, physiognomy, military command, and international negotiation skills are all exceptional. In the last ten years, he joined the European Academy of Sciences to specialize in studying strange phenomena on Earth related to extraterrestrials, and in a very short time, he became an authority in this field.

It is said that his brain structure is different from that of ordinary people, with a brain volume about twice that of ordinary people, which is why he has achieved such outstanding results. His personal arrival is the best news for us.

Standing in front of the mirror again, Suren and I were both beaming with the joy of being about to escape our predicament.

"Brother Feng, if you see Reese, please try to get her to talk and find out the specific details of how she suddenly arrived here from Hokkaido. I think those documents might be able to reasonably explain the disappearance of Hero Yang Tian. Since she could travel through long distances using the beam of light from the ruby, how can we be sure that Hero Yang Tian couldn't do the same?"

She had been silent for a moment, but her thoughts had already wandered far away.

I let out a long sigh: "Unfortunately, we're dealing with an American spy. If she's determined to keep it a secret, it seems unlikely we'll get her to talk anymore. If you can't do it, I'm not so sure either—"