King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 297

I placed one hand across the door frame, adopting a "keeping people at arm's length" posture: "I am the wind, please speak."

His lips twitched stiffly: "Shall we talk in the room?"

I was about to refuse him when a girl in a gray trench coat, also wearing sunglasses, strode out from around the corner of the corridor. Her movements were swift and unpredictable; it was clear she was a skilled martial artist. When she was still a dozen steps away, she waved to me: "Mr. Feng, it's me."

Although she deliberately lowered her voice, I immediately recognized it as Tang Xin's voice. I was taken aback, then stared at the man's face again and realized that the person standing in front of me was Alpha in disguise.

“Mr. Feng, we have something to discuss with you about everything concerning the Epang Palace. We hope you can make things convenient for us.” Tang Xin did not remove her sunglasses. Her face was covered with thick makeup, completely concealing her original delicate beauty. Her hair was styled into an exaggerated, frizzy mess, making her no different from the young girls in society who flaunt their beauty and chase after fashion all day long.

I was still hesitating when Alpha shoved my hand away forcefully and walked straight in: "What I'm about to say concerns the great hero Yang Tian. Are you going to listen or not?"

Now that things have come to this, all I can do is invite Tang Xin in with me, and then close the door behind me.

Alpha strode to the window, waved to close the curtains, and then turned back to Tang Xin considerately: "Why don't you sit by the fireplace? It's warmer there."

I couldn't see his eyes, but I was most familiar with that gentle tone of voice; Tiger had also carefully protected Tang Xin in the same way.

I am the host, but at this moment I am a little at a loss because of the arrival of these two people. I watched as they sat on the sofa and took the places of me and Suren.

Tang Xin turned her face, took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of clear and innocent eyes: "Mr. Feng, I apologize for my intrusion. Please forgive me and Miss Su Lun. If it's convenient, would you please ask her to come out and meet us?"

Before I could reply, Suren had already opened the door with a confident air, smiling as she took Tang Xin's hand: "Miss Tang, I've often thought of you since we parted in the desert. How have you been?" Those long-buried memories didn't need to be recounted; she glossed over them all with just one sentence. A perceptive expert like Suren knew exactly how to handle the flow of conversation; only by continuously building rapport could she quickly get to the heart of the matter.

I dragged over the two swivel chairs in front of the desk and sat down with Suren, facing these two uninvited guests.

"Are you Yang Tian's younger brother?" Alpha pulled a folded piece of white paper from his pocket and unfolded it for me. "Then, what does this sentence mean? Please explain it to me. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time because of it."

The paper had the words "You have mistakenly entered the world of the mirror" written on it. The handwriting was thin and delicate, and it was definitely written by a girl.

Part 5: The Source of Energy

— Chapter 10 — You've Been Stumbled into the Mirror World —

The literal meaning is quite easy to understand; it says "someone mistakenly enters the world inside the mirror." But it depends on who "you" refers to. Before this, Situ Qiushi, Lei Aobai, Qiu Ranke, including myself and Su Lun, had all entered the world inside the mirror. So what does "mistakenly entering" mean?

"These words were written for me by the great hero Yang Tian, drawn on the stone wall with his 'Vajra Finger' technique. For a hero as extraordinary as him, every word must have a profound meaning. Yang Feng, tell me, what do these words mean?"

After Alpha finished speaking, Tang Xin hurriedly added, "Please don't misunderstand, these words are copied from the stone wall by me. They are not well written and I'm afraid they would tarnish the great words of the great hero Yang Tian."

The handwriting reflects the person; these delicate characters best embody Chu Tangxin's unique character.

Suren immediately explained: "Mr. Alpha, what Yang Tian meant was that you once mistakenly entered a mirror. Perhaps it means that when you were standing in front of the mirror unintentionally, some special event happened that caused you to become one with the world in the mirror."

Her explanation was clear enough; if I were to put it in my own words, it would be much the same.

Alpha and Tang Xin exchanged a glance, and a wry smile appeared on their faces at the same time.

Suren paused for a moment: "You two, just say what you want to say directly, don't beat around the bush. As long as we can explain it, we will tell you everything we know without reservation." In some ways, she is more insightful, more far-sighted, and more prescient than I am, and of course, more patient as well.

Alpha reached into his robes again and took out a golden bottle: "The night is long, and it's fine if there's no song, but how can there be no wine?" It was a wine bottle made entirely of gold, with the two ancient seal characters "Lishan" engraved on the front.

"This is ancient wine from the Qin Dynasty. Do you dare to drink it?" Although his voice was stiff, I was sure he meant no harm; it was just his nature.

“Of course,” I replied in the same cold voice.

Suren brought out four wine glasses, uncorked the gold corks from the bottles, and filled the four glasses with wine. A sweet aroma, like that of an autumn spring, immediately filled the entire room. It was indeed a fine wine with an excellent taste.

"This wine has undergone ninety-nine dripping and distillation processes, and it was specially supplied to the emperor. Anyone who dared to covet it would have their eyes gouged out if they even glanced at it, and their tongue would be pulled out if they tasted a drop. But that was a long time ago. Now, it is only offered to my friends. Before you, there was the great hero Yang Tian; before him, there was no one before him—Feng, I toast you." He personally poured me the wine, and then the two wine glasses clinked together with a "clink".

As soon as I swallowed the wine, I felt a wonderful aroma wafting from my insides, and I couldn't help but exclaim, "What a fine wine!"

The wine is fine, and the story of Alpha is a perfect accompaniment to the wine, even overshadowing the brilliance of the ancient wine.

"I come from Earth, that's an absolute fact, and I'm one of the best astronauts in Earth's space system, mainly responsible for Earth's space defense. The last time I left Earth was in 2007, the year of my last mission, which was to destroy a certain asteroid to prevent it from exploding at some point in the future. An excessive meteorite flow would pose an incalculable threat to Earth. Destroying asteroids, supermassive meteorites, or even some substantial black holes that could endanger Earth is the simplest of the missions I've ever carried out."

"Please forgive me for some lies I've told at times. Here's what happened: when the spacecraft left Earth, I didn't enter hibernation as per procedure. Instead, I remained awake until the spacecraft reached the 'Grand Cross' in space, at which point I changed my course. The original route was to bypass the cross and fly towards the center of the line connecting Pluto and Neptune, all the way to the edge of the Milky Way. Now, I'm going to Shui Lan's hometown. She once told me the cosmic coordinates of her spacecraft's departure point, so I've come to find her. Of course, Shui Lan has said many strange things, like 'she's also from Earth.'"

"I have arrived, and indeed I have reached the 'Earth' that Shui Lan spoke of. In fact, the final coordinates of my spacecraft did indeed point to the place Shui Lan mentioned, but the spaceship crashed due to some kind of power failure. You two, I cannot believe that I have entered 'Earth,' just as Shui Lan cannot believe that the planet I live on is also called 'Earth.' On these two planets with different cosmic coordinates, all the landscapes, landforms, and people's words and actions are exactly the same, with only one difference: my eyes are square, while the eyes of all of you Earthlings are round."

"I couldn't find Aquamarine. Perhaps after I helped her leave our planet, she never returned and continued to wander lost in space. I really want to repair the spaceship, return to space, and treat everything that happened here as just a fun game. So, I started searching the Earth's surface for materials that might be used to build spacecraft. As a result, I discovered the Martian spaceship, which, with some modifications, would be the ideal spacecraft."

"Actually, when I first trapped the Martian, I was fully capable of destroying him, but I was selfish and always wanted to get more energy from him. Until I was horrified to discover that while I was absorbing his energy, my mind was also being assimilated by him, and I gradually confused my sense of right and wrong, and began to become violent and manic, killing innocent people indiscriminately. So, I stopped exchanging energy with him. Only then did I realize that my own energy had degenerated to only 10%, and I could neither destroy him nor control the spaceship he possessed."

"When Hero Yang Tian appeared, I was planning to extract energy from the crystal pit. My exploration revealed a strange radiation rod hidden deep beneath the pit, which was the main reason for the abundance of crystals in the area. We spent some time together and he even saved a remarkably intelligent Earthling, whom Hero Yang Tian called 'King Guiluo.' I could find a lot of freely absorbable energy in him, and I couldn't miss such a golden opportunity. But Hero Yang Tian stopped me. Through this incident, I finally understood that he was, after all, one of the Earthlings, and his heart would always lean towards Earthlings. He would never sacrifice them for my benefit."

"After this unpleasant incident, he chose to leave, giving me these words before he went. I've pondered them for a long time, but I still can't understand their meaning. Now, the Illusion Demon is dead, and all the poisonous insects controlled by his mind and scattered within the pentagram array have fallen into the abyss and committed suicide. Of course, Tang Qing, who was first controlled by him and became a tool for us to fight each other, is also dead. In the days to come, I will focus on absorbing the energy from the radiation rod until I regain my power—"

It was an extremely long story, and even though Alpha only gave a brief, fragmented account, it still took nearly two hours to tell.

"A truly wonderful story, cheers to the story!" I raised my glass.

The other two female audience members maintained smiles throughout, while Tang Xin's gaze remained fixed on Alpha, filled with an irrepressible sweetness.

“This isn’t a story, it’s the truth.” Alpha sighed sadly, raising his glass to me. “I’m a rootless person, and I’ll never find a home on this so-called ‘Earth’.”

It was already four o'clock in the morning, right in the darkest hour before dawn.

Suddenly, slanting raindrops began to fall onto the floor-to-ceiling windows. This was the first spring rain of 2007, carrying a tremendous force that jolted people awake. Suren walked to the window, and with a "whoosh," she pulled it open, letting the raindrops fly straight in through the screen.

“Spring has come, the spring of 2007!” she exclaimed joyfully.

Spring always brings an invigorating and inspiring energy, igniting the gloom in the room.

"Where there's a crystal, there's always hope, isn't there? Let's not worry about the meaning of that sentence for now; at least you have someone else by your side now." Every time I see Tang Xin, the image of "Tiger," the man who was once deeply in love with her, always comes to mind. Love transcends time and space; as long as there's a fleeting spark between souls, it will surely ignite quickly.

“Mr. Feng, I have a little something to add about my past.” Tang Xin raised her hand and smiled gently at me. Her cold arrogance had vanished without a trace, and coupled with her unassuming clothes, she had truly transformed into an ordinary girl next door in this vast world.

"Please speak." If her memory hadn't faded so quickly, I would have loved to hear about Aquamarine and the Arctic Iceberg Monster.

Suren stood by the window, holding a wine glass, bathed in the slanting rain and wind. She didn't return to the fireplace, her back to us. The early spring wind still carried a biting chill, and fearing she would catch a cold, I took a coat and draped it over her shoulders.

She turned around and smiled, saying, "Thank you."

A fleeting moment of tenderness appeared in her eyes and on her face, making her even more captivating than Guan Baoling.

I sighed inwardly, "You are the only person I need to support and cherish in this life. How can I let you get hurt again?" But those were just silent thoughts. I patted her shoulder and then returned to the fireplace.

"My past begins with that fierce sword strike during the Chu-Han Contention. I died under the Overlord's sword, but I fell in Alpha's arms because he was the first to find me amidst the thousands of troops, and then took me back to the underground Epang Palace. At that time, he guarded the crystal pit day and night, only occasionally going outside the 'Sealed Gate' to absorb the energy of the illusion demons. Then one day, I left that golden egg. I didn't know where to go, because the world outside the mountains had completely changed; the people, the sounds, the landscape, the buildings were all different from before. In a daze, I walked southeast, always feeling that that was where I should go—"

"Later, I collapsed in a desolate mountain wilderness and was rescued by Tang Junshi. At that time, I lost my memory. It wasn't until I awoke from my second life that I suddenly remembered that brilliant sword light and my own death. In the past, Yu Ji died so that Yu Baifan could be reborn; in the present, Yu Baifan died so that Tang Xin could be reborn. But no matter how many times I am reborn, the memory in my brain is always the same. When the meteorite struck the back mountain of the Tang Clan in Shu, new things were added to my memory, including the appearance of Shui Lan, Alpha, the Iceberg Monster, and so on. These were not things I personally experienced, but rather things that the meteorite collected from the brainwaves of certain people and then interfered with my brainwaves."

“Now, I no longer care who I am. The most important thing is that I am back, back to the present of the Epang Palace. That is the most important thing.”

It's clear that it will take Tang Xin a long time to sort out these fragmented pieces of time. Right now, she can only describe them, without knowing what these fleeting glimpses actually mean.

"So, have you two ever thought about this question: where did the great hero Yang Tian go?" Su Lun turned around, leaned against the glass window, and asked casually.

Although she remained silent, she kept a tight grip on the core of the matter: the ultimate goal behind our relentless search was to find our eldest brother. Since Alpha and Tang Xin had both seen him, they should be able to draw some conclusion.

Unexpectedly, Alpha retorted loudly, "Yes, I've thought about that, but that's precisely the question I'm asking you. One is Yang Tian's younger brother, and the other is his friend's younger sister. You should know best where he went, shouldn't you?"

He seemed somewhat agitated, raising his hand and nearly taking off his sunglasses.

“You were the last one to see him—” I calmly reminded him, pressing down on his shoulder to prevent him from raising his voice and causing unnecessary trouble.

Alpha sighed dejectedly, "Yes, it was me. But he entered the 'Sealed Gate' that I painstakingly set up, and then disappeared without a trace. Now, all the secrets of the Epang Palace have been revealed, but there is no clue about him. Could it be that he used the power of the 'Asian Gear' and suddenly vanished into the universe?"

Actually, there's a question that should have been asked him long ago: "What happened to the 'Asian Gear' after the big bang?"

For eight days, Suren and I kept a close eye on various newspapers and television news. Apart from the increasing frequency of plane crashes worldwide, nothing particularly alarming seemed to be happening. As Goro Kanan had said, the "gears of Asia" stopping would directly lead to a global power shortage, pushing the world to the brink of destruction. Today, it seems that this has not come true.

Alpha barely managed to pull himself together: "Fortunately, the sudden freezing phenomenon offset the destructive power of the 'weapon of mass destruction' and shattered the ice that had formed on the 'Asian Gear,' allowing the stopped parts to start functioning again. If only the 'strongest sound in the universe' can restore it to normal, then without a doubt, the explosion of the 'weapon of mass destruction' will be the strongest sound ever heard on Earth."

Suren and I stared at each other in astonishment, never expecting that in the end, Goro Kanan's suicidal act of detonating the "weapon of mass destruction" would become the best way to save the earth.

Alpha couldn't find the answer here, and stood up and left in disappointment.

Even after he removed his golden armor and donned human clothing, he still carried that domineering leader's aura. However, this world no longer needed a tyrant who could unify the world, nor did it need the Great Wall or the Eastern Tour of Mount Tai.

"Wind, the last thing I want to tell you here is to warn you that the 'Great Seven' calamity of 2007 is about to occur. The King of Terror who descended from the sky is imprisoned, but it has not been completely destroyed. Next, it will use new power to cleave the earth, fly back into the sky, and bring its kind to Earth. This time, I was able to save you from the explosion of the 'Great Weapon of Destruction,' but only then will the true 'King of Terror' descend upon Earth, and no one can guarantee their absolute safety. If necessary, the gates of the Epang Palace will always be open to you. Remember, if you ever find the great hero Yang Tian in the future, please ask him for me, what exactly is 'entering the world in the mirror'?"

Tang Xin opened the door, and they quickly disappeared side by side down the corridor without even saying goodbye.

From then on, these two people might remain forever deep in the mountains, becoming reclusive hermits. So, has Tang Xin finally broken free from fate? Not to die for Alpha, but to live well for him, to live each day more happily.

Suren picked up the golden wine bottle the two had left behind and tried to crack a joke: "Brother Feng, such a fine antique wine bottle, if you took it to an auction, it would fetch at least—"

Suddenly, we were jolted back to reality from the story of Alpha and Tang Xin. Even if we knew that our eldest brother Yang Tian was buried deep under the vast desert sands, what could we do? After all, we are not Pangu, the creator of the world, who could tear the desert apart in an instant and rescue him.

“If there are no shortcuts, we’ll have to proceed step by step, first raising the initial funds and getting the project started. Brother Feng, I just estimated a rough figure in my mind; the first phase of investment will only require twenty million US dollars, but it will have to be in cash. Tomorrow morning, I’ll inform the Egyptian side to begin preparations. At the same time, I’ll have Xiao transfer some of the money she has in her Swiss bank account to General Tina. Now, I’d like to call the hotel front desk and book a direct flight to Cairo within 24 hours—is that alright?”

She made such meticulous arrangements, and even after everything was in place, she still humbly sought my opinion. Compared to her previous almost autocratic and capable demeanor, she had changed considerably.

I nodded, and she immediately picked up the phone and dialed the front desk's internal number. However, before she could even state her needs, a sweet, clear voice came through the receiver: "Are you Ms. Suren and Mr. Feng from room 2208? Your friend left ten boxes of gifts here and wants us to deliver them to your room first thing tomorrow morning. Could you tell us what time would be convenient for you to deliver them?"

The sound from the receiver was very clear, and I suddenly paused, startled: "A gift?"

Suren reacted quickly, immediately asking a series of questions: "What gift? What kind of box? How much does the box weigh?"

Judging from her level of tension, the Middle East mail bombing incidents have left a deep mark on her, and she immediately becomes extremely wary at the mere mention of gifts of unknown origin.

"They are ten ordinary old-fashioned rattan trunks, each weighing about twenty kilograms. Your two friends said they had just come from your room and wanted to give you a little surprise. Also, they left their names, one is Mr. A and the other is Miss Xin—" The waiter's answer was concise and clear.

Suren and I exchanged a glance. It must have been something left behind by Alpha and Tang Xin, but why were they making such a fuss?

I nodded decisively, and Suren immediately changed the subject, saying, "Please bring the items up."

Those were ten antique-style boxes with mother-of-pearl inlaid on the four corners. They were usually only seen in the storerooms of wealthy families in the past. They were about half a meter long, forty centimeters wide, and thirty centimeters high, and each one was very heavy.

After paying the tip, Suren dismissed all the waiters and then carefully closed and locked the door.

All the chests were placed side by side in front of the fireplace, gleaming with the unique, dark sheen of ancient vines.

"Brother Feng, what will Alpha give us? Could it be—" Suren frowned, racking his brains but still unable to guess what was in the box.

The second Epang Palace was filled with all sorts of poisonous insects, which must have been what Sulun was worried about. But after weighing the chest twice, I was certain that it didn't contain any living creatures; I couldn't be wrong about that. So, I confidently lifted the brass clasp on the chest and slowly opened the lid of the first rattan chest.

A beam of multicolored light swept in, shining directly onto the crystal chandelier in the center of the ceiling, then reflecting even more dazzling light. In an instant, the entire room was suddenly illuminated, even the firelight in the fireplace lost its warm hue.

The box was filled with crystals of all colors, the most dazzling being pink, the noblest being black, the brightest being yellow, and the most enigmatic being purple… Suren held his breath, knelt down beside the box, grabbed a handful of crystals, and scattered them from mid-air, listening to them clatter and pop against each other.

“Brother Feng, are they crystals? I’ve never seen so many perfect crystals before—” Her eyes reflected a rainbow of crystals.

I opened all the boxes, and without exception, they were all full of crystals. The total value of the ten boxes was incalculable; they could probably buy one or even several countries.

Crystals have always been a darling of the jewelry industry, especially sought after in Europe. The proceeds from their auctions would be enough to rebuild ten Great Pyramids of Giza in the mysteries of Egypt. This time, without any investment from anyone, we can easily complete our excavation plan.

Actually, neither Suren nor I are greedy people when it comes to money, but getting these things when we desperately needed a large sum of money was like a windfall, and we were overjoyed and couldn't contain our gratitude. We felt an indescribable sense of gratitude towards Alpha and Tang Xin.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go back to Cairo, Brother Feng. We’ll find Hero Yang Tian soon and bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.” Suren picked up the phone again and booked a flight to Cairo for tomorrow morning. As for the transportation of the crystals, she would naturally ask someone to pull strings; I didn’t need to worry about that again.

I filled the fireplace with firewood and watched the flames dance happily, and suddenly I realized how arduous the journey from Hokkaido had been.

"If everything is for finding my elder brother, if everything is for honing myself and reaping the greatest reward—then I am willing to endure anything. Elder brother, please wait patiently a little longer, I will come back to save you soon. We brothers will meet again soon, and then we will venture into the world together."

I swore to the colorful crystals, but Suren was already fast asleep on the sofa.

(Part 5 is complete. Please see Part 6, "Invincible Under Heaven")