Histoires de fantômes

Chapitre 45

“Hey, Wind, I’ll add more money. Make an offer, okay? We can talk it over properly…” Cheney seemed a little flustered. It seemed he understood the importance of the sword very well and was determined to get it.

Suren extended her right index finger, answering for me: "One hundred million, not a penny less."

One hundred million US dollars for a golden sword is indeed an astronomical price, but Cheney hesitated for a moment and then raised his arm to indicate: "Deal."

Suren was also taken aback: "Dr. Cheney, shouldn't you reconsider?"

I recalled the sword's appearance; aside from its antique style, it didn't seem to have anything particularly outstanding about it. Had Cheney gone mad? Would he really spend a hundred million to acquire such an ordinary golden sword?

Faced with this price, it seems I no longer have any reason to keep this precious sword to myself.

Dr. Cheney wrote me another check for one hundred million dollars without hesitation or remorse, as if he would do it without hesitation if he were asked to exchange his entire fortune for this sword.

"The sword is yours, Doctor. You can come to my tent tonight to collect it."

Cheney shook his head impatiently: "No, no, I'll go with you to get it now, lest something goes wrong."

The three of us returned to the ground together. Suren hurriedly said "sorry" and then disappeared in a flash.

I led Cheney into the tent, opened Suren's suitcase, took out the golden sword, and handed it to Cheney.

He had become very calm at this moment. After carefully examining the patterns on the sword, he pressed the hilt against his cheek and, as if experiencing a beautiful woman's kiss, concentrated on feeling it for several minutes before looking up and sighing as he left.

Tina didn't know the origin of the sword; otherwise, she could have used the excuse that "all unearthed cultural relics belong to the state" to suppress the matter and confiscate the golden sword, thus throwing Cheney's $100 million away.

I've imagined dozens of complicated backstories for this sword, but none of them seem to be a legitimate reason for Cheney's exorbitant purchase price.

Suren slipped into the tent, holding a stack of photocopied papers in her hand.

Where did you go?

I held up the huge check to Suren, but she didn't seem to care about the long string of zeros on it.

“Brother Feng, I got these photocopies from Cheney’s tent. Come and take a look. It seems we still lost money on this deal…”

The documents were somewhat messy, but they were rich in illustrations and text.

The first sheet of paper contained a picture that appeared to show a huge spaceship lying horizontally high on a launch pad. The spaceship's shape, pointed at the front and receding at the back, resembled a completely overturned pyramid.

Countless people crowded around the spaceship, seemingly holding a grand welcoming ceremony.

I frowned. "Sulen, I have important things to do. We can look at these later tonight, right?"

Suren gave a wry smile: "Alright, anyway, I haven't fully understood all of this information yet. Let's discuss it again tonight—"

The three military vehicles in the camp were ready to go, carrying at least thirty Rainbow Warriors armed with guns.

Natura was already waiting for me in front of the car, rattling off a string of words: "Feng, hoofprints of a camel caravan crossing the desert have been found near Lu Jiacan's empty car. The president has ordered that General Lu Jiacan be found at all costs, alive or dead. Please follow the convoy immediately; you must find them. Regardless of who wins or loses, you must find them..."

Natura's forehead was covered in glistening beads of sweat, and he was already somewhat out of sorts.

The theft of the scriptures was only a loss for the Japanese, but if Tang Xin killed Lu Jiacan, it would be like pulling the whiskers of the Egyptian president, that electric tiger. How could he not be angry?

The military vehicles sped out of the camp and raced along the highway towards Cairo. In this highly charged state, if Tang Xin and his group were captured, the outcome would likely be bloody and horrific.

Tina personally drove the lead military vehicle and had me sit next to her, her face ashen as she floored the accelerator the whole way.

I had been pondering the purpose of that sword and Chenicken's reasons for spending a hundred million dollars to buy it, and I couldn't help but ask, "General Tina, are there any other anecdotes about the 'Blade of Salvation' stored in your notebook? For example, its purpose, its origin..."

As the car sped forward, Tina shook her head, her face growing increasingly grim. Lu Jiacan's disappearance was likely a heavy blow to the entire Egyptian government.

I had no choice but to tug at my collar and keep quiet to avoid angering Tina.

In the vast desert, where the yellow sand stretches for thousands of miles, the sky and earth are boundless and empty.

Leaving behind the rights and wrongs, the twists and turns of the camp, I was finally able to calm down and think about some fundamental questions. For example, the "superweapon" issue that several parties were focusing on—could the golden sword be related to the "superweapon"?

Because apart from that, I can't think of any other reason why Cheney would buy it for $100 million.

This is no small sum. Although Cheney is extremely famous, he is neither the Arab oil tycoon nor an American super-tycoon. It seems extremely difficult for him to come up with such a large sum of money in a short period of time.

So, who is the mysterious force supporting him? And why is he so determined to obtain the Golden Sword?

The only group that remained uninvolved was the Tang Clan of Sichuan, because neither the "Millennial Corpse Worm" nor the "Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs Scripture" had much to do with the "super weapon." However, it was precisely this unexpected outside force that struck a nerve with the Egyptians.

I have reason to believe that the Egyptian president has already issued a kill order against Tang Xin and his group; otherwise, Natura wouldn't have been so panicked, and the Rainbow Warriors wouldn't have been so on high alert...

Tina's phone suddenly rang. After a brief call, she turned the steering wheel, and the military vehicle sped off onto a side road to the right, heading due east of Cairo.

"The caravan is in Ahkan town. The intelligence department suspects that the missing people might have been caught up in the caravan." Tina didn't look at me, as if I were Tang Xin's accomplice.

I was both angry and amused, and silently turned my head to look at the dust rising in the rearview mirror.

Before I went down the well, I was a hero in the camp. Now, because of Tang Xin, I'm almost becoming a scapegoat for Lu Jiacan's disappearance.

Ahkan Town, despite its name, is actually just a tiny oasis in the desert, less than three square kilometers in circumference, providing a place for camel caravans and travelers to rest temporarily. In such a small place, and not during peak tourist season, finding a conspicuous camel caravan is naturally very easy.

As soon as the military vehicles entered the town, they split into three groups and took full control of the four main streets and the town's three exits.

From a distance, the clamor of a camel caravan could be heard; it was coming from a large courtyard enclosed by a wooden fence half a meter high. Outside the huge tent, there were seven or eight long tables, where a dozen or so burly-looking middle-aged men were drinking and eating heartily. On the tables, besides whole jars of desert liquor, there were also four roasted whole lambs, torn to shreds.

The pungent, hot smell of mutton, cumin, and local liquor filled my nostrils from twenty paces away.

The group was dressed entirely in ordinary gray robes, with layers of scarves slipping down and haphazardly wrapped around their necks. Without exception, each person held a half-foot-long sharp knife in their right hand, cutting meat and drinking wine without any restraint, completely disregarding the soldiers who had suddenly appeared.

More than twenty large camels were tethered to wooden stakes on the side of the yard, some standing and some lying down, grazing leisurely. The bags and boxes on the camels' backs had been unloaded and were piled up in a corner of the tent.

As soon as Tina entered the courtyard, the snipers quickly took up advantageous positions, placing everyone in the caravan under their watchful sniper lenses.

According to the intelligence that Tina received, this camel caravan had passed by the empty cart left behind by Lu Jiacan. This was the only clue that could be obtained at the scene.

When the caravan members saw Tina approaching menacingly, they suddenly whistled, dropped the wine and meat they were holding, and stood up in unison, holding knives in their right hands and holding them horizontally in front of their chests.

"Who is the leader of the caravan?" Tina shouted coldly.

“It’s me.” A middle-aged man with a dark complexion and a large scar across his forehead stepped forward. His eyes were narrow and long, his gaze cold and stern, and he exuded a murderous aura like that of a North American cheetah.

Camel caravans traversing the desert were much like the镖局 (security escort agencies) of ancient China. In addition to transporting goods, they also had to be prepared to fight off fierce bandits in the desert and ensure the safety of the goods. Therefore, those who dared to wander among the camel caravans in the desert almost always had to be courageous and skilled in martial arts.

Another point is that I'm sure these people were carrying both long and short firearms, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to remain completely unfazed by the well-trained Rainbow Warriors' encirclement.

Tina coldly scrutinized the other party, then waved her hand lightly. A small squad of soldiers filed in and quickly began searching the goods inside the tent.

"Military inspection, please cooperate." Tina's face was devoid of any smile, as if she were only facing a camel or a sea buckthorn plant in the desert. In the desert, the legion holds the greatest power; they are the all-powerful gods, so this nominal inspection can serve as a legal guise for any illegal action.

The middle-aged man took out his cigarette case, slowly put one in his mouth, and then flicked open the bronze Zippo lighter with a snap.

"It's alright, everyone sit down. They're military personnel, not desert bandits." He waved his hand, signaling the group of burly men who were drinking and eating to sit down.

“We are transporting deep-sea diving equipment for the Naser Reservoir, and we have a contract from the reservoir…” The middle-aged man took an envelope from his jacket pocket and was about to hand it to Tina.

Tina shook her head and refused without hesitation.

The middle-aged man smiled with a hint of helplessness: "Excuse me, what else do you need me to cooperate with? Our goods and camels are all here, please feel free to inspect them. There's nothing to hide anyway."

The soldiers' examination was disheartening; there was absolutely nothing suspicious about it.

The search results for the entire town of Ahkan yielded nothing, proving that the caravan had absolutely no connection to Lu Jiacan's disappearance. The cargo consisted of ordinary compressed oxygen, deep-sea diving fins, and deep-sea sonar equipment—obvious to everyone and impossible to conceal a living person like Lu Jiacan.

However, Lu Jiacan, Tang Xin, and Song Jiu have truly disappeared, vanished without a trace.

After we left the courtyard, the men from the camel caravan burst into a raucous roar of laughter, as if mocking the neurotic, headless Rainbow Warriors.

"Mr. Feng, don't you think those camels are suspicious?" Tina asked in a gloomy tone after getting into the car.

I gave a noncommittal snort, showing no enthusiasm whatsoever for offering any reasonable suggestions. The military's attitude towards me suggested they already considered me an accomplice of Tang Xin, only they hadn't yet revealed their true colors by handcuffing me. Under these circumstances, getting any useful information from me would be quite difficult.

"Did you hear my question?" Tina emphasized, causing all the anger I had been suppressing for so long to erupt at once.

I shoved the car door open, jumped out, and turned back with a cold laugh: "Do you think I'm a criminal? Then just handcuff me. Why bother trying to trick me into giving a confession? To tell you the truth, I discovered the mark Tang Xin left a long time ago, but I just didn't want to say it so soon—"

I've had enough of Tina's unpredictable, hot-and-cold attitude, her shifting allegiance.

Especially after receiving such enthusiastic praise from warriors like Scalpel and Natura, less than two hours later, Tina was ordering him around like this. How could he stand it?

Part 4: The Battle Between Heaven and Man

— Chapter 11 - The Search for Lu Jiacan —

In this desolate oasis, even without riding in Tina's military vehicle, I should be able to return to Cairo safely. Given my personality, I would never allow myself to be bossed around by someone like Tina.

With a loud bang, I slammed the car door shut behind me, took a few steps forward, and glared at the group of burly men drinking and eating meat through the railing.

Suddenly, I heard someone call my name in a deep, resonant voice: "Wind, hurry—"

The voice seemed to come through a thick curtain, muffled and strained, and the person appeared to be severely injured, unable to sustain their internal energy.

"Get out of here! Get out of here quickly!"

My first thought was, "Who? Who is it?"

This is still a skill of "transmitting sound secretly," and among my acquaintances, only Tiger is skilled in this kind of skill.

"Quick...go..." That was indeed the tiger's voice, but it was spoken with all its might under extremely difficult circumstances.

I opened my mouth, then suddenly realized: "We absolutely mustn't let Tina find out—"

How did the tiger manage to escape the Rainbow Warriors' meticulous search? He's here, but Lu Jiacan, Tang Xin, and Song Jiu have mysteriously disappeared. Could everyone be hiding in this courtyard?

“Mr. Feng, please don’t be angry. I was too harsh—I’m so sorry. But with such an important matter at hand, it would be best if we cooperated more, wouldn’t it? I think Mr. Scalpel and High Priest Natura would also like us to cooperate well…”

Tina rolled down the car window and started using her old tricks again, speaking sweet words.

The leader of the camel caravan strode over, tossing his knife back and forth incessantly. His sleeves were rolled up high, revealing his solid, well-developed, dark muscles. He was constantly chewing, his jaw muscles bulging and subsiding repeatedly.

His appearance seemed familiar, because deep in my memory, I had a faint impression of that cold and aloof gaze.

"Friend, have you found anything?" He tossed the knife up again, its blade gleaming coldly.

I sneered, "What do you think? You want me to discover something?"

"Haha..." He laughed wildly, his fierce aura overwhelming, no less than that of a ruthless bandit who roamed the world.

With a "whoosh," he flung the knife out, and it pierced into a jujube wood railing three meters away, penetrating deep into the wood.

“This is Egyptian territory. If it weren’t for those three truckloads of fully armed soldiers backing you up, I guarantee you wouldn’t have made it out of this oasis!” He pinched his nose, sneezed loudly, and kicked a camel next to him hard in the leg, glaring at my face defiantly.

His physique was that of a typical European, with a dark, shiny complexion a testament to years of wandering the martial world. In terms of martial arts skills, I didn't take him seriously at all—I even thought he was Tiger in disguise. Tiger's martial arts were incredibly diverse; he had studied under at least forty different masters, and his skills in disguise were also remarkable.

"Mr. Feng, shall we get going?" Tina called out again, the car engine roaring furiously. If the caravan couldn't find any news of Lu Jiacan, then this mysterious disappearance would remain unsolved.

I pointed at the middle-aged man and said, "Friend, whether you're skilled enough or not, we'll only know after we try. If you've got the guts, leave your name, and we'll have a one-on-one fight sometime." I had witnessed Tiger's incredible disguise skills before; he could easily impersonate others or himself.

The middle-aged man suddenly swung his right hand downwards, and with a crack, he actually chopped a jujube wood stick as thick as a wrist off the railing.

“Buy, that’s my name. Kid, remember this well. Things will change, and you’ll definitely have your chance to die.” He became even more arrogant, and the group of burly men let out a series of eerie howls and laughter, as if this one slap had scared me so much that I was completely disoriented.

Mai Chai is a Thai name, and the way he breaks wooden sticks is clearly a simple yet highly effective Muay Thai technique.