Rey de los saqueadores de tumbas

Capítulo 11

Therefore, I concluded that Ruan Xiuwen must also be a member of Organization X. Judging from the attitude of the Cultural Relics Management Association this morning, it's possible that even the leader himself didn't know what the "relevant parties" actually were, only that it was very important and confidential.

In that instant, many thoughts raced through my mind. After much hesitation, I still felt I shouldn't mention Zhidanyuan to Liang Yingwu. Since Ruan Xiuwen was with the X organization, it meant the X organization was directly involved, and I wasn't sure if Liang Yingwu had been involved. Liang Yingwu was skilled in physics, but it was difficult to say what the true nature of the Zhidanyuan archaeology was. Furthermore, Liang Yingwu was a very principled person; the X organization's consistent principle was to maintain absolute secrecy, and even if he wasn't involved, he would keep it a secret from me. If they knew I was paying special attention to the Zhidanyuan matter, they might become suspicious of me for no reason, and might even try to erase my memory. Therefore, mentioning Zhidanyuan to him was definitely not my choice. I want a complete life.

Although I haven't personally visited Organization X, I have a general understanding of its operating methods from Liang Yingwu. I know it absolutely does not allow ordinary people to interfere in its affairs. This is because their mission is extremely arduous, playing a role in maintaining social security, upholding existing scientific theoretical systems, and preserving order across the entire planet, including some unknown regional groups. If any information leaks out and could cause serious consequences, it will resort to extreme measures.

"What do you need me for?" Liang Yingwu asked me with a smile.

"It's nothing much. We haven't seen each other in so long, I just wanted to have some tea and chat, is that not allowed?" I replied with a smile and poured him a cup of tea.

"Anything interesting happening lately?" I asked Liang Yingwu. Sometimes he would bring up some outdated research subjects as jokes and anecdotes to chat with me. He knew I wouldn't exaggerate, and that I, too, had experienced extraordinary adventures and shared joys and sorrows.

“Nothing,” he said. That was exactly what I expected. So I chatted with him about some interesting things I’d heard at the newspaper.

After talking for a while, I felt the time was right, so I casually asked about Ruan Xiuwen, but I didn't mention that I had interviewed him. I just asked, "Are university professors' incomes very high now?"

"How could that be?" He hadn't realized it yet. "We're very poor."

"No way, your colleague just now, who's about your age, is already driving a Honda."

"Well... that's because he's young and promising."

"Oh!" I feigned a sudden realization. "I almost forgot, he might also be your... colleague. Right? I completely forgot for a moment."

"It's alright. You guessed right."

"Really? That person is also from your organization?"

“Oh,” he said, seemingly oblivious. “More or less.”

"Hehe, I could tell at a glance, you two have a similar vibe!" This was indeed the truth. The first time I met Ruan Xiuwen, I felt a sense of kinship with him, partly because he shared a similar temperament with Liang Yingwu. However, Ruan Xiuwen's knowledge of archaeology was quite extensive, and he didn't reveal anything suspicious. I continued to probe Liang Yingwu: "But he seems much richer than you, and he has a nice car."

“Of course.” Liang Yingwu laughed. “He has quite a background; how could I compare?” “Oh?” I looked incredulous.

Do you even know your last name?

"How would I know?" I replied without batting an eye.

"His surname is Ruan. You might not know this, but the surname Ruan has a very prestigious background; it's quite extraordinary!"

"Really? I know there are three Ruan brothers in 'Water Margin,' haha." I joked, but I was secretly shocked.

"The Ruan family is one of the most mysterious families in China with a long history. As far as I know, in ancient times, the Ruan family did the same things as our X organization today, dealing with supernatural phenomena and mysterious events throughout the generations."

"So, that's a very remarkable family?"

“That’s undeniable. It’s said that the Ruan family used to deal with aliens, and their family history is the history of ancient Chinese people’s contact with supernatural events. That’s why now the Ruan family’s human rights organizations can’t even hire them, which is a testament to their family’s long history.”

"But doesn't your organization prohibit others from participating in research?" I asked.

"Well, it's got a historical context, after all. Each generation of the Ruan family sends a few people to join Organization X, representing their support. And when we encounter problems, we also need the Ruan family's help. Their resources, experience, and so on are very helpful to us. So, it's natural that people with the surname Ruan become important personnel in Organization X. They are all very capable; their family background and expertise are beyond the reach of ordinary people. You could say that Organization X can't do without the support of the Ruan family." Liang Yingwu told me all this in one breath.

On the surface, I pretended to listen and then forget about it, but in my heart, I knew that since Ruan Xiuwen was of such high caliber, his arrival further indicated that the archaeological work at Zhidan Garden was extraordinary. Now that I was already involved in this matter, I couldn't stand idly by; I had to get to the bottom of it. At the very least, I needed to understand the whole story. Although Liang Yingwu was exceptionally intelligent, he couldn't have guessed my thoughts.

After chatting with Liang Yingwu for a while, I said goodbye. As soon as I got into a taxi, I immediately dialed Ruan Xiuwen's number, feeling a little nervous.

"Hello, Mr. Ruan Xiuwen? This is Na Duo, a reporter from Morning Star News. Do you remember me?"

"Oh, I remember, I remember. What is it?"

"Any recent progress?"

"You're really working hard! Not yet."

"Well, I'd like to schedule another interview with you regarding some details. It won't take up too much of your time. Are you free today?"

"Today won't work, how about tomorrow afternoon?"

We set a time, and I felt as if the answer was right in front of me, which made me feel relieved. I didn't expect him to tell me everything; I just wanted to know the truth.

Back at Zhidan Garden, I temporarily put aside those troublesome matters and wrote in my journal for a while. To be honest, the experience with that "malicious person" was far more terrifying and surreal than what I've seen and heard in the past two days. Reflecting on that experience undoubtedly makes me more composed about the current issues. I'm confident I can get information out of Ruan Xiuwen tomorrow.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Without thinking, I opened it, and there was Su Ying, her long hair flowing. I then realized it was already past seven o'clock. Could it be…?

My opinion of Su Ying has changed several times in the past two days, so I was a little at a loss when I first saw her.

"I saw your light was on, so I knew you were back and came to chat with you again. Are you free?" Su Ying had indeed come to invite me to chat again.

Thinking about it, her persistence over the past few days had quite moved me. I felt bad refusing her again, so I agreed to go upstairs to her room.

Our conversation continued unabated, and of course, Su Ying's enthusiasm remained high, occasionally veerging towards the topic of the underwater man. Ever since the intern revealed her history of mental illness, the more she talked about the underwater man, the more uneasy I felt. It was like seeing a child whose parents had secretly slipped presents into their stocking, no longer believing in Santa Claus. While pretending to listen to her, I inwardly wondered whether she was hallucinating or if childhood trauma was causing her to treat her dreams as reality.

So I casually asked her, "You used to be on the swimming team, right?"

"Yes." She seemed surprised and glared at me somewhat unhappily. "How did you know?"

"I guessed. Your swimming skills are so good that I couldn't help but be suspicious, haha," I laughed.

Her expression immediately softened: "You're quite clever. But I didn't become such a good swimmer because I joined the swimming team. I was born this way. I can swim without anyone teaching me."

"Really?" I thought she was about to start calling herself an underwater person again, so I quickly changed the subject. "Your school's swimming pool is quite nice. I've been to several school swimming pools, but none of them are as clean as yours at Shanghai University."

"It's clean, but it's too small. Swimming in it is tiring, like being trapped in a fish tank. I used to be able to swim a hundred meters without taking a breath, and I could dive to a depth of twenty meters without equipment. And all of that is natural. Don't you find it strange?" She looked at me expectantly after saying that.

"Impossible. You must have trained to reach your current level. You're not a native of Hawaii."

"Those kinds of people? They're nothing special. They're trained for survival, and I think I have that instinct," Su Ying said somewhat unhappily.

I really didn't want her to bring up the topic of underwater people again, so I smiled and said, "By the way, you mentioned the fish tank? Speaking of which, your aquarium is very beautiful. You must have put a lot of thought into it, and the fish inside are..." I stopped mid-sentence. The huge aquarium was empty; not a single fish was left, only a clump of seaweed swaying forlornly. I remembered that a few were missing when I last visited, so I asked, "Haven't you been taking good care of the fish these past few days? It's such a pity, where did they all go?"