Histoires de fantômes

Chapitre 10

The dragon stopped talking, then stretched out its hand, grinning slyly.

I took another banknote and placed it in his hand before he continued, “Suddenly, the hole shook, the red carpet on the ground rolled up, and the workers disappeared. You know what? That was the monster's mouth. After eating forty-one workers, it moved a stone tablet and blocked the entrance. You see, the treasures of the Egyptian kings are guarded by divine beasts. If the treasure hunters awaken the beasts, they will surely die. So, Yelan has decided to withdraw from this operation. Alas, no amount of money is as important as life!”

Long mumbled on and on, putting the money into his pocket. His English had a strange local accent, sounding awkward, and his eyes kept darting around, as if he was hiding something.

Is there anything else?

"That's all. But perhaps you'd be interested in hearing the legend of the Egyptian king's treasure. I'll give you half price, how about that?" The dragon's eyes secretly scanned my pockets.

I can recite those legends by heart, so I'm too lazy to listen to his nonsense.

As I stood up, my face was turned west, directly towards the pyramid of Turksham. In that instant, it suddenly occurred to me: "Could it be that all these years, no one has been able to open the pyramid because it's guarded by a monster?"

This is of course a ridiculous and laughable nonsense. The so-called divine beasts, ancient spells, curses, and poisons are all strange tricks that the pharaoh came up with to rule the slaves. As a materialist, I would scoff at this.

"Dragon, where are you from?" I asked before leaving, because I sensed that this person was not simple.

He smiled and shook his head: "Everyone who wanders the world has their own secrets." It was clear that he was a seasoned veteran who had traveled all over the country; every word he uttered was tactful, and he did not easily reveal any flaws.

I glanced at him sideways, my face darkening. "Long, this is Mr. Scalpel's territory. Anyone who wants to cause trouble here should think twice, you know that?" Before he could answer, I had already started walking back through the gaps in the tent.

The excavation of the Turkic Pyramid is a major undertaking. If it were to be exposed, countless mysterious gangs in the martial arts world would be watching closely. Therefore, everyone who enters the camp could be a martial arts master with extraordinary skills, and no one should underestimate them.

About forty paces from where the dragon was crouching, and seeing that no one was around, I quickly took a miniature earpiece from my pocket and put it in my left ear. Just now, when Yelan left, I had tampered with his shoes, attaching a listening device to the upper.

“No, no, no, that’s the guardian spirit of the ancient tomb, we can’t do that—” It was Yelan’s voice, clearly coming from the earpiece. Then, someone uttered a long string of Japanese, laughing arrogantly as they spoke.

My Japanese isn't very good, but I could understand the gist of what the person was saying: "The money of our Great Japanese Empire can buy all of Egypt, all of Africa. Whatever guardian deity it may be, we'll just take it all down with armor-piercing shells." Such words made me want to chuckle. Using armor-piercing shells underground in this desert terrain—how foolish! Even the slightest explosion could cause the complete collapse of all the tunnels.

Tanino remained calm, repeatedly saying, "Mr. Yelan, don't get agitated, don't get agitated. Whatever it is, we have to deal with it. Trust us, trust the strength of the Japanese military, we can definitely..."

I was startled. This was within Egyptian territory. Would the Japanese dare to send troops here? Besides, Egypt's military strength is second to none among African countries. If war breaks out openly, the people and cultural relics in the desert will likely suffer.

Yelan was stomping his feet frantically, and I could feel the voice in my earpiece rising and falling: "No! No! The desert god won't allow it, the desert god will punish you, don't—"

Tanino switched to Japanese with the fat Japanese man, speaking in a low and fast voice. I could only make out a few words like "explosion," "arrow," and "shooting," but I couldn't understand anything else.

If the stele in the cave was placed by a monster, then force is the only option, and this is an inevitable and crucial matter. My concern is that the excavation of the Turkic pyramids has only just begun, and we're already resorting to force—when will this ever end?

For the rest of the conversation, it was just the two Japanese people talking; everyone else was completely silent. Strangely, I didn't hear Bancha or the Japanese girl at all; it seemed that only Tanino, the fat Japanese man, and Yelan were present.

I put away my headphones and quickly returned to my tent. Besides reporting to the scalpel, I needed an assistant in this complicated situation.

Suren was still dozing off when she heard me come in. She sat up groggily and asked, "Brother Feng, where did you go?"

I chuckled, quickly turned on my computer, and accessed a text file with a quadruple password. The file contained nineteen lines of Arabic numerals, each line exceeding thirty characters. Using some strange combination of codes, I quickly found the one I needed and entered it into my phone.

Suren rolled out of bed, smiling somewhat embarrassedly, "Brother Feng, he just called and said that one of your friends is eager to see you and is waiting at the villa." Her hair was very messy, and her eyes were still sleepy, making her all the more intriguing.

I avoided her meaningful gaze and pretended to be nonchalant: "Friend? Who?"

She only said two words: "Old Tiger".

Volume One: The King of Tomb Raiders

The First Egyptian Tomb

— Chapter 24 — Second Descent into the Mine —

I silently raised my phone, feigning utter surprise. The number I had just found was Tiger's secret phone number; including myself, no more than ten people on Earth knew it.

I couldn't tell if the tiger had just happened to come to Cairo, or if the scalpel had intentionally sought this person out to help me—I smiled guiltily: "Great, he's my friend, and a master tomb raider. Maybe he'll be of help to us this time!"

Tiger's experiences are very complex and cannot be explained in a few words, but he is very famous in the underworld. It seems that once he uses the name "Tiger," no one else, no matter how much they claim to be themselves, can be more qualified to use the name "Tiger" than him.

Suren had taken off her headphones; I'm sure she heard everything Tanino said. I need those conversation transcripts too, because I don't know how Tanino plans to handle the situation in the tunnel, if that monster really exists.

Dawn had already quietly descended upon the tent entrance. Despite not having slept all night, Suren still looked energetic, which was admirable.

Outside, the helicopter's rotors were whirring away. Even without leaving the camp, we could tell that the helicopter had left the camp and was flying eastward towards Cairo.

The camp gradually became noisy, a new day had begun, and with so many people gathered here, every extra day would mean a huge additional expense.

I'm not worried about the money. For either Gu Ye or the scalpel, paying such a small sum is a drop in the ocean. What I'm really worried about is that if the news leaks out, all the top tomb raiders in the world will flock to it like ants smelling honey. At that point, even if the entire pyramid of Tu Liehan were made of gold, it wouldn't be enough for everyone to share.

Suren sat on the edge of the bed with her knees bent, eyes closed and head bowed, using a technique similar to Indian yoga to calm her mind and rest.

There seems to be a barrier between us now, a lack of deep trust between us. Otherwise, exchanging information would have given us more confidence in the progress of things. I believe that Suren has far more information than I do so far, and since she doesn't speak first, I can only wait passively.

After breakfast, as the sun slowly rose and time ticked by, beads of sweat began to appear on my forehead. I blindly turned on my computer and started browsing old materials about Tu Liehan. When Gu Ye lifted the curtain and walked in, my clothes were soaked with sweat and stuck to my body, making me feel disheveled and very uncomfortable.

“Feng—” Gu Ye glanced at Su Lun mysteriously, rubbed his hands together, and said in a pretentious manner, “Mr. Feng, are there some things we can talk about privately?”

Suren jumped off the bed and smiled sweetly, "It's stuffy in the room, I'm going out for a walk." With the bug in there, she was happy to sneak out and eavesdrop.

After sitting down, Gu Ye calmly took out a cigarette and a lighter, placed them on the table, pondered for a few minutes, and slowly said, "Mr. Feng, I would like to invite you to go down the well a second time. Do you have the courage?"

The wind whipped the curtains, bringing in the constant sounds of vehicles moving and chains dragging outside, as if some extremely heavy machinery was at work. My mind raced, trying to decipher the true meaning behind his words.

"Mr. Feng, you may have seen my guest from afar last night. To be honest, that was our country's Chief of National Security, Toshio Watanabe—"

I couldn't help but let out a soft "Ah." The position of Japan's Chief of National Security is extremely prestigious, almost on par with the Prime Minister. And Toshio Watanabe is a world-renowned military genius who served as the Chief of Staff of the Pentagon and was highly favored by the last three US presidents.

Last night, the lighting wasn't very good, so I didn't immediately think of him and couldn't make the connection. However, tomb raiding is far removed from the jurisdiction of the National Security Commissioner. What would he be doing here?

Tanino was quite pleased with his opening remarks and continued smoothly: "Mr. Feng, no matter what's in the tunnel or what's happened, we must go down and resolve this matter. Modern military power is so strong; a mere wild beast is nothing to us. Therefore, I've taken the liberty of inviting you here so that you can witness the advanced weaponry of my great Japan..."

Tanino's arrogance enraged me; perhaps he was deliberately showing off his military might in front of me, a "Chinese." Fifty years ago, this tiny island nation in the East China Sea suffered a bitter defeat. I had long heard of the extreme discrimination against mainland Chinese students in Japan, and Tanino's attitude towards me clearly demonstrated this.

I chuckled coldly: "Hmph, monsters? After reading so many military research reports from various countries, I've never heard of the Japanese having any magic weapon to subdue monsters. Mr. Tanino, you haven't been watching too much 'Ultraman' cartoon soap opera, have you?"

In the Japanese-produced "Ultraman" series, monsters are everywhere—all idiotic monsters created by Japanese writers, who are then killed by the equally idiotic Ultraman. Watching too much of this trashy television will definitely make you paranoid and think that super monsters live all over the earth.

Tanino snapped his lighter shut, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said arrogantly, "Feng, just tell me if you dare to come down the well with me? Don't worry, the elite of my great Japanese army will protect you well..."

I felt all the blood rushing to my head, and I almost wanted to just walk away, or even punch him hard in that arrogant face and make him swoon.

Gu Ye stood up, tossing the lighter and cigarette pack around in his hands, muttering dismissively, "I knew it, Chinese people are..."

I pointed to the door: "Mr. Tanino, I'm always ready to go down the well. But be careful, or your country will suffer the greatest loss if you get bitten to death by the monster." I swear this is the first and last time I'll cooperate with the Japanese.

Suren didn't come back. I used the water in the basin to wipe my face, letting my boiling blood cool down slowly. Then I hurriedly left a message for Suren on the table: "I'm going down the well. If there's a problem at the camp, evacuate immediately and go back to tell Scalpel."

Even now, I still think that the rumors about monsters are nothing but self-deceiving illusions and fabrications.

The makeshift elevator at the wellhead was ready. I noticed that the elevator's railings had been re-welded with five-millimeter-thick galvanized steel plates, transforming it into a square iron box with its walls completely encased. Many holes were left in the box; if I'm not mistaken, those were firing ports reserved for special forces soldiers.

In the elevator, four heavily armed men surrounded a miniature steel cannon. I wasn't mistaken; it was indeed a meticulously modified cannon, its barrel painted with a yellow-green camouflage pattern. Next to it was an open wooden crate filled with gray shells as thick and long as an adult's calf.

I was getting annoyed: "How can you use such a deadly weapon, with its equally devastating destructive power and shockwaves, in a desert tunnel? Isn't that just courting death?"

The people in the camp, including the workers and the remaining special forces soldiers, silently gathered towards the wellhead, their expressions serious.

Volume One: The King of Tomb Raiders

The First Egyptian Tomb

— Chapter 25 — Miss Fujika —

Seeing this, Gu Ye's face turned ashen without me even realizing it, and I secretly found it amusing. Any master tomb raider must be someone with extremely strong psychological self-defense capabilities, but now he was completely flustered and dragging me down the well. It was less of a show of force and more of a ploy to find accomplices.

As I stepped into the elevator, two burly special forces soldiers immediately stepped onto the elevator beside me. Their weapons had been changed to light machine guns, which were only used in positional warfare, and they looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

"Can we go now?" I called out to Tanino, who was still rubbing his hands and stamping his feet outside the elevator.

Suddenly, Bancha interrupted hastily, "Should we... wait and see Elder Sahan..."

This reminded me that this place is only an hour and a half drive from Cairo, so why hasn't Elder Sahan arrived yet? Could it be that Scalpel has kept that old man here because there's some secret he wants to explore? Before this, I had a deep respect for Scalpel because of his illustrious reputation in the tomb raiding world, and also because he was the guardian that my elder brother trusted, which meant that to me, he was like a father to me.

However, as the events surrounding the Turkic pyramids unfolded, I gradually became suspicious of the Scalpel siblings, as if they were hiding many secrets from me.

I scanned the crowd again, but there was still no sign of Suren. I wondered what she had gone off to.

Gu Ye chuckled dryly, "No need to wait. We can handle these small things, we definitely can—"

He glanced again toward his tent, where the lively, long-haired girl from the previous night was striding out. She had changed into special forces camouflage, with a holster on each side of her belt, revealing the silver grips of two Desert Eagle rifles. She stood tall and proud.

Tani's smile widened even more as he raised his arm: "Miss Fujika, Miss Fujika, we're ready!"

Miss Fujika held her head even higher, and under the watchful eyes of all the workers and special forces, strode to the elevator, jumped up, and stood beside me. Instantly, a strong aroma of incense filled my nostrils, almost making me hold my breath. The fragrance was from a unique Japanese incense called "Chika no Tori," which is said to be made by blending the essence of over a hundred kinds of flowers with high-precision olive oil, making it extremely expensive.

I took a step back, putting some distance between myself and her.

My mind was completely focused on the monster at the bottom of the well; I had absolutely no interest in her.

Gu Ye jumped onto the elevator and made a hand gesture. Bancha pressed the button, and the elevator slowly descended.

The lights on the well wall were still on, making the stainless steel casings gleam. I didn't have any weapons, and no one noticed this or issued me any. Perhaps they thought I was just a visitor and didn't need any weapons.

The twisting steel cable emitted a slight hissing sound, involuntarily reminding me of the snorting of a highly aggressive desert rattlesnake. I habitually looked up, and the sky peeking through the circular opening grew smaller and smaller.

Fujika spoke quickly and softly in Japanese, clearly trying to avoid my notice. Annoyed, I turned my back to the well wall to avoid suspicion, but my ears recorded every word, and I tentatively tried to translate it—

"His Majesty the Emperor is very interested in the pyramids; it concerns the very survival of our island nation. Several of our nation's top physics geniuses, after careful consideration, have concluded that our Japanese mainland is highly likely to sink into the sea, just like Atlantis..."

I gritted my teeth and suppressed a laugh. So the Japanese are really that afraid of their homeland sinking? And these narcissists actually compared Japan to the legendary Atlantis, which is utterly ridiculous.

Gu Ye replied, "Only when we have all seven gems can we generate the power to reverse the universe. Let's talk about it after we get the first one!" He was very serious and respectful in front of Fujika.

I suspect Fujika might be Watanabe Toshio's daughter? Mistress? She's definitely here to monitor Tanino's actions. Judging from her appearance, she's undoubtedly skilled in martial arts, and an absolute elite expert at that. So, is the Japanese coveting the "Eye of the Moon" merely a desire for a small part of the entire world, the entire universe? Is there a much larger, more greedy plan behind it all?

I feel like I'm caught in a vortex of contradictions, being manipulated and exploited by various forces, unable to act on my own. This is a feeling no one wants to experience.

The shaft was eerily quiet, a quiet that was almost unsettling. Monsters in movies always roar, and according to the directors' imaginations, I should be able to hear monster roars here. Then I remembered the drumbeats and summoning sounds that only I could hear—could they be related to the monsters too?

Just then, the elevator shook and shuddered; it had reached the bottom.

Fujika said, "The Emperor has given the order that victory is certain. Otherwise, Tanino-kun, you'll be committing seppuku to atone for your sins!" Her expression grew increasingly serious, her face darkening. Her hand rested on the hilt of her gun, looking dashing, but in this underground tunnel, putting on a show was useless; this wasn't a runway at a Paris fashion show.

Gu Ye bowed and replied, "Yes, yes! I will definitely complete the mission."

After getting off the elevator, I carefully surveyed my surroundings. Thanks to the professional excavators and machinery, the ground was level, and the casing was securely fastened. Last time I sneaked in, I was in a rush and didn't have time to pay attention to the details; now I couldn't help but admire Yelan and the workers' professionalism.

Teng Jia entered the tunnel first, like a proud and spirited female warrior, and I gradually developed a strange feeling towards her. In the martial arts world, the most admirable people are those with extraordinary courage and martial arts skills. I could sense her extraordinary nature, and on both shoulders of her camouflage uniform, there were high bulges, like fully inflated air sacs. There, some kind of weapon was definitely hidden—

Tani staggered behind, followed by two special forces soldiers holding light machine guns at the ready.

The cannon had already been carried off the elevator, and four people, two in front and two behind, were pulling it deeper into the tunnel. Everyone was busy, except for me, who stood there empty-handed, like a spectator. Actually, what I should have known most was the escape route. Nothing in this world is absolutely certain; it's better to be safe than sorry.

If the "monster" isn't a hallucination but a real thing—then these weapons probably won't be enough to deal with a giant monster that could swallow forty-one workers whole with a single bite. Therefore, I need to plan an escape route first, lest we all perish in the monster's belly.

The tunnel was filled with Miss Fujika's fragrance. Besides that, a faint, cool breeze blew in from somewhere, gently brushing my hair, making me more awake than ever before. My purpose in coming down here was genuinely to uncover the truth of the tunnel, without any ulterior motives.

She hurried forward a bit, caught up with the group ahead, and fell to the very back. The sound of their footsteps echoed loudly in the tunnel, especially the clear "clack-clack" of Miss Fujika's combat boots on the concrete, like the standard marching steps of soldiers in a military parade.

Volume One: The King of Tomb Raiders

The First Egyptian Tomb