Histoires de fantômes

Chapitre 52

"Is this question important?" James deliberately avoided my question.

I nodded firmly.

“I work for… two things…” he answered ambiguously.

I understand now. His true identity is that of a "double agent" caught between the United States and India, capable of navigating between the two sides at any time.

"Mr. Feng, in truth, the only constant in life is the pursuit of wealth. I was born in Germany, so whether the US or India destroys the other is none of my concern. Even if World War III breaks out and the world descends into chaos, I will certainly remain uninvolved, fleeing to Antarctica or the Arctic Circle to build a happy private kingdom and live out my retirement in peace. Politics is nothing but a dog-eat-dog affair, isn't it..."

I smiled, not agreeing with his argument.

Every human being on Earth has a sense of national identity. For example, I am Chinese, and as long as I live, I will always place China's interests above those of any other country. If a person doesn't even love their own country, then you certainly can't expect them to do something as heroic as "going to great lengths for a friend."

"Now, shall we go in?" James pointed to Gu Ye's back, then chopped down hard with his right hand and slashed across his own neck with his left hand, making a "silence" gesture.

The camp was in complete chaos. Even if Scalpel, Natura and the others could quickly restore order and clean up the mess, in such a hurry, I'm afraid no one would be willing to risk their life to go down into the well to investigate.

With James and me teaming up, taking down Taniguchi would be a piece of cake. Since meeting him, he hasn't seemed to bring me any benefit, only repeatedly trying to provoke me with his arrogant attitude. Eliminating him wouldn't seem to violate my moral principles.

As I stepped into the square, a chill ran down my spine, fearing that this strange tomb might undergo further changes, forever destroying the three of us.

Fortunately, the ground beneath my feet was solid, and apart from the intense cold that permeated the surroundings, there seemed to be nothing else unusual. I silently gathered my Taoist internal energy in my lower abdomen, allowing this warmth to slowly radiate throughout my body like a hot spring, in order to resist the cold.

James wasn't dressed in heavy clothes, but he strode forward in the extremely cold conditions without showing any signs of being cold or afraid of the cold.

His hands were always behind his back, thumbs touching, the other four fingers tightly intertwined, forming a "Sun and Moon in Harmony" hand seal. From his powerful strides and imposing presence, I could sense a peculiar energy spreading throughout his body, likely a kind of magical skill similar to the gentle and pure internal energy cultivation of Taoism in China.

Indians are most proud of their national martial art, "yoga." Since James was working for the Indian government, it is very likely that he had been exposed to yoga and had a high level of skill in it.

The "Sun and Moon in Harmony" hand seal is actually an extremely insidious technique in yoga, emphasizing "endurance like a virgin and attack like a rabbit," waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and once it is done, it is a fatal blow.

"Doctor, is there... a slightly more lenient solution?" As we approached the pool, my heart softened.

James shook his head, his lips pressed tightly together, and behind his glasses, he shot two sharp glares at Gu Ye's back. This usually impeccably dressed and debonair academic expert was now tense, like an arrow already drawn on a bowstring, exuding an indescribable and intimidating aura.

After walking ten more steps, we stood at the edge of the pool and looked down into the air—

Although the pool wasn't as astonishingly deep as 180 meters, it was still a considerable 25 meters, enough to make one dizzy. The square pool walls were covered with eerie red runes, which stretched out to the bottom of the pool in a flamboyant fashion, almost completely covering the space except for the stone platform in the center of the bottom.

The vibrant and flamboyant red color instantly makes one feel hot all over and dizzy.

The stone platform at the bottom of the pool is divided into three layers. Currently, the top layer, which is about two meters square, is clearly visible. There is a person lying on it—or rather, a corpse, a mummy.

This is the first mummy discovered since the excavation of the Pyramid of Tariq Khan, and it should have high academic research value. However, what attracts our attention is not the mummy bound by thick shrouds, but a dazzling gem placed on top of the mummy's head.

All the white light comes from this gemstone.

From this angle, the gemstone emits an astonishingly pure white light with a constant brightness, just like—the "light bulb theory" that Suren once spoke of has been proven true once again. In my opinion, this gemstone is no different from an electric light bulb; as long as the power is not interrupted, it will continue to shine forever, never stopping.

I was in no mood for exclamations or praises; I was just desperately trying to control my legs, preventing them from trembling uncontrollably. It was simply unimaginable what kind of enormous force could have transformed the previous Go board-like tomb structure into its current form in an instant.

Perhaps Cheney, hailed as the "pyramid construction expert," could explain all this, but what about him? His body is probably long gone by now.

“What beautiful gems…” James took off his glasses, then took out a glasses cloth from his pocket and slowly wiped the lenses.

Obtaining the gem seemed straightforward: simply lower enough steel cables to descend to the bottom of the pool, then climb the stone platform and pry it off. Yelan's workers could easily accomplish such a task.

The gemstone's brilliance was so great that its size could only be roughly estimated to be the size of a slender egg, yet its light rivaled that of a high-intensity searchlight.

"That's—mine!" Gu Ye interrupted James without hesitation, baring his teeth and roaring like an enraged beast. His face had turned a deep purplish-red, white foam was spewing from the corners of his mouth, and his chest was heaving violently like a bellows.

"Yours? Okay, it's yours, it's yours, then why don't you go down and bring the gems up now?"

James remained calm and composed, employing a strategy of retreat as a means of advance. This eerie pool was unlikely to be easy to enter, especially those areas covered with strange symbols; who knew what unpredictable traps might be lurking there?

"Of course I'll go down! But not now, but..." Gu Ye pressed his hands to his chest to calm his agitated emotions before continuing loudly, "but when all my men come down, they will naturally take action for me..."

The mercenaries he hired had become mere bystanders, essentially equivalent to laborers, since the camp was taken over by Tina's Rainbow Warriors military. However, they were still considered Tanino's confidants and would likely obey his commands in crucial moments.

"So, you two had better stand back a bit, or I won't be so polite—"

Despite being outnumbered two to one, Tanino remained arrogant. In his biographical information, I'd seen phrases like "proficient in judo, karate, and taekwondo," but given my martial arts foundation, defeating him wouldn't take more than a minute. However, I had no reason to attack; I was more interested in seeing James make his move.

I stepped back from the pool, looked around, and walked towards the northernmost end of the north-south axis, muttering to myself, "The tomb structure has changed; is that mysterious 'weathering' force still there?"

Suddenly, James gave the order in a very low voice: "Kill...all of them..."

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He was speaking into a very concealed communicator near his collar. The indistinct words strung together made it easy to deduce the meaning of his complete sentence. He wanted to kill Gu Ye's men—"So, who was he giving orders to? The Desert Legion or the Rainbow Warriors? Surely there wasn't another force lying in ambush around the camp?"

In an instant, the tense atmosphere silently returned.

Part 5: The Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes

— Chapter 4 - The Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes —

Tano gradually calmed down. After all, at this height, without ropes to climb, it was impossible to get down to the bottom of the pool.

I don't know why I was interested in that mysterious "weathering" force, and why I kept risking my life to approach that stone wall. Perhaps it was just curiosity about the unknown world?

So far, the situation has strayed far, far from the initial topic discussed at the Scalpel Villa: "exchanging the pyramid excavation rights for photographs." If Gu Ye is an imposter, then the authenticity of those photographs is naturally questionable. So how could a top expert like Scalpel not have seen through Gu Ye's deception?

An endless chill seemed to be rising from the ground. If it weren't for my profound Taoist internal strength, I probably would have already left the tomb and returned to the camp.

Soon, I reached the stone wall. Before the tomb's structure underwent a sudden change, it was right here that Bawan, Oulu, and Dr. Tang were miraculously weathered away. Now, their bodies have turned into strange powder, packed into boxes, and placed in the tent in the valley.

"What's behind that rock face?" I pondered, pinching my chin hard, trying to find some clues from the inscriptions on the rock face. The most urgent task was to crack the code to start the drilling rig, to drill as much as I wanted in this location without any hesitation, until I found convincing results.

James had reached the southernmost point of the axis, and was now looking at me across that large pool.

Tanino stood blankly by the pool, as if he were extremely tired, and slowly fell into deep thought. The three people, each with their own thoughts, stood in three different places in the tomb, but what each of them cared about most was that gem, that mysterious "Eye of the Moon Goddess".

Legends about gemstones are varied and numerous, but the most convincing one is that "by combining the power of the seven gemstones, one can turn the tide and reshape the world"—"to reshape the world according to one's own will, to become the creator and savior of the world"—this may be the greatest ideal of every ambitious person.

James waved at me, looking smug and confident.

What he wants is probably just money, endless money. So, after obtaining the "Eye of the Moon," who will he sell it to? The US and Indian governments, or a powerful international industry tycoon?

I turned to face the stone wall and pressed my body against it, spreading my arms out to the top and sticking them tightly against the wall.

In just a few seconds, the icy stone wall had frozen my body to the bone; my thin clothes offered no protection against the chill. I sneezed violently three or four times in a row, quickly leaping away from the stone wall. The stone wall remained unresponsive; it seemed I would have to wait for the drill to start and then drill through it head-on to get a result.

Returning to the poolside for the second time, I focused all my attention on the mummy and suddenly realized that the platform beneath its body had human-shaped recesses. Although its body was wrapped in layers of shrouds, it still appeared that its head, shoulders, hips, and feet were slightly sunken, fitting perfectly into the recesses.

Aside from the platform's color, this situation is very similar to the jade coffin I found when I fell to the bottom of the well to rescue Fujika. The mummy's body is much larger than Fujika's, so it couldn't fit entirely into the recess.

Looking at the size of the platform, it is exactly the same as the jade coffin.

"Could it be such a coincidence? The platform is the jade coffin?" The reason for this thought was that Yelan had mentioned several times that the distance from the tomb floor to the bottom of the well was constantly decreasing. With the continuous rise, it was entirely conceivable that the plane of the jade coffin would rise from 180 meters to 25 meters, exposed in this huge pool.

"Mr. Feng, if it were you, how would you go down and retrieve the gem?"

James easily circled the pool once and then stopped next to me.

I shook my head. Why bother with things that aren't my business? But Gu Ye, as if on cue, rattled off a string of words: "That's simple..."

I didn't want to listen to him, so I simply nodded to James and prepared to leave.

It seems Tanino intends to stay here until his mercenaries arrive. However, I highly suspect that he's not waiting for his men, but rather for James's vengeful spirit. In this situation, my decision to retreat first is absolutely the wise one.

James stopped trying to stop them and stood side by side with Gu Ye by the pool, gazing longingly at the "Eye of the Moon Goddess".

On the way back, I kept thinking, "What exactly did Cheney do? After paying a hundred million dollars for that golden sword, where did he go?"

After taking the elevator up to the top of the shaft, I was met with Su Lun's haggard and tired face. She hadn't slept all night, and there were two alarming dark circles under her eyes.

"Brother Wind, thank goodness, you've finally made it up!"

It was already broad daylight. Although she had a joyful smile on her face, she refused to jump into my arms without any restraint in public.

The rising sun shone on the chaotic campsite, making me sigh: "The power of nature is something that earthlings simply cannot resist."

The overturned military vehicle and collapsed tents have been restored to their original state, and a team of soldiers is busy repairing the watchtower under Tina's command.

Yelan and the workers had been busy in the generator room; without the power supply, none of their work could be carried out.

Back in the tent, it only took me five minutes to explain everything that had happened down the well to Suren, including my concerns: "Everyone else was prepared for potential problems during the excavation, whether it was James, Gu Ye, or Tina, and I even think Mr. Scalpel and the High Priest knew something about it. Only the two of us were kept in the dark from beginning to end..."

Working in this state will not only fail to produce results, but on the contrary, any action could result in death due to changes in the tomb.

“In that case… is it still necessary for us to stay here?” Suren put forward his opinion and used the pronoun “we” to bring us closer together.

Outside the tent, a cacophony of sounds mingled and clamored, but no one cared that two people still lingered below the well, coveting the "Eye of the Moon." When crisis struck suddenly, "survival" was the most fundamental requirement; money and treasure were irrelevant.

I sighed deeply and slumped onto the bed, the back of my head hitting a tattered notebook hard. It was Long's keepsake; I hadn't had a chance to examine it closely since bringing it back.

"Brother Feng, I have a suggestion. If it's feasible, let's leave the camp immediately, go back to Cairo, and then transfer there—"

I interrupted Suren, smiling wryly, "Suren, do you know why Tina was so eager to repair the watchtower? The life and death of everyone in the camp is under the control of the Desert Legion. Without Tina's permission, it's almost impossible for anyone to leave."

After a series of synchronized work chants, the watchtower could be seen being re-erected through the side of the curtain. Four snipers, carrying heavy sniper rifles, stood on a makeshift elevator and were ascending to the top. In a few minutes, the snipers would once again dominate the scene.

“Nothing is absolute. Look, the tiger has already escaped.” Suren was unwilling to give up when the phone rang. She answered the phone in silence, a complex expression of mixed feelings flashing across her face, and replied hesitantly, “Okay, you can stay in Cairo for a day. I will send a car to pick you up.”

After hanging up the phone, she gave a helpless, bitter smile: "It was the super computer hacker I hired. Of all times, he had to come now..."

That super drilling rig has been kept in the large tent in the valley. As long as the start code is cracked, it can be put into operation at any time.

"What should we do? Should we bring him here?" Suren hesitated. The current situation in the camp seemed to indicate that no matter what efforts they made, they would only be "doing the work for others," and in the end, they would gain nothing.

I couldn't answer that; if a computer hacker entered the camp, he probably wouldn't come back alive.

Suren paced anxiously for a few moments, then threw open the curtain and rushed out.

Neither of us mentioned the report about the scalpel and Natura. If we don't get any benefit, what obligation do we have to provide Tina with free technical assistance? I wonder how things are down there. If James and Tanino were to fight one-on-one, who would have a better chance of winning?

Bored, I rolled over, intending to take a nap, when I spotted Long's notebook.

On a randomly opened page, he had drawn a huge square in pencil, with a rough human figure in the center of the square, and the word "mummy" written next to it in clumsy English handwriting.

Outside the box, there were only winding, lush wild grasses, and in many places, the grasses were even tied together.

Next to the grass were the words "ground" and "snake"—"ground? snake?" I asked myself suspiciously. What did this mean? Was there a snake in the grass? If the human figure represented the mummy, then the square frame should naturally be the coffin containing the mummy. Common sense dictates that all mummy coffins are rectangular, similar to the shape of coffins used in ancient Chinese burials, and certainly not square.

The dragon painting has no skill whatsoever; it is entirely an impromptu, childlike scribble.

Turning to the next page, there was a large box containing a smaller box, from which a great many messy blades of grass grew. And these blades of grass weren't entirely within the boxes; at least dozens of them seemed to be trying to break free and fly into the air.

The labels next to them read "Heaven, Serpent"—"A serpent in the sky? A serpent in the sky?" The obscurity of these paintings is no less than that of the poems in the book "Les Prophecies," which has been mysteriously circulated among the world.

Grass might represent snakes, but where did all these snakes come from? Suren should really see these inexplicable paintings; her thinking is so expansive, she should gain more insights.

The next two pages, one of which features a simple "Sun Boat" with seven small dots carelessly placed where a gem should be set at the bow, is extremely sloppy.

The other image is an enlarged view of the ship's bow, still showing seven small dots. The only difference is that the dot representing the handle of the Big Dipper has been carefully traced several times.

There were still twenty or thirty pages left in the drawing. As I flipped through them, most of the drawings were of grass, squares, and grids. Towards the end, there were several consecutive pages with simple drawings of two human figures, one large and one small. The larger one was labeled "God," and the smaller one was labeled "Visitor."

These things don't qualify as "paintings" at all; they should be classified as "heavenly books."