Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Professor Wei Kang was most worried about how unfamiliar they were with Egyptian culture and living conditions. Although he would definitely hire a guide after arriving there, the guide was only a guide in geography. It would be too extravagant to expect them to know the culture and language of ancient Egypt. He probably could not afford a guide who had such knowledge.
When it came to Chinese history, it must be said to be 5000 years in length, and when it came to Egyptian history, it must be said to be 7000 years. But in fact, the history of ancient Egypt was actually only 5000 years long. When the era of Cleopatra ended, it was completely interrupted. The latter 2000 years were no longer the era of pharaohs. The inheritors threw the culture and heritage of ancient Egypt into the rubbish heap of history, and the Arabs replaced the real Egyptians to become the masters of that land.
The Chinese people of today were still the people of China from 2000 years ago, but the Egyptians of today were no longer the Egyptians of 2000 years ago. The official language was Arabic now.
The reason for this was probably that China was in a better geographical location, with a plateau and the sea as natural barriers in the east, south and southwest direction. China could also ensure that there were suitable exchanges with other countries in other directions, so as not to be isolated from the outside world.
Egypt was at the strategic juncture of three continents and two seas. Since ancient times, it had been a battleground for military strategists. Especially in ancient times, everyone had coveted this rich world granary. The unfortunate ancient Egyptians were rotated every few decades. Not only was their cultural heritage interrupted, but their ancient buildings were damaged by war. It was said that the nose of the Sphinx figure had been bombarded by Napoleon and ruined.
One of the main objectives of this scientific examination was to find the primitive Egyptian cats of thousands of years ago and to find decisive evidence for the domestication process of cats, which was bound to intersect with archaeology and history. Wei Kang had no knowledge of these subjects. Hence, he had invited Teacher Luo at the last minute to hold make-up lessons for the expedition team, but he also knew that it would be of little significance. Still, ever since he had found out that Zhang Zian knew ancient Egyptian language and history, he felt as if he had been injected with a cardiac stimulant and had managed to put down something that troubled him.
“Come, let us familiarize ourselves with the equipment for the journey this time and try on the clothes to see if they fit.” He pointed at the stack of equipment and clothes at the corner of the room.
Wei Kang had made a complete set of clothes for each member of the team. Short-sleeved shirts and shorts and long-sleeved shirts and long pants, sun-proof clothes, cold-proof clothes and matching baseball caps. The logo of Binhai University was printed on their clothes and hats. Wearing these clothes to Egypt would look very official, and if they met with a messy situation, they could easily find their comrades in the crowd to keep from being separated. After all, Egypt’s current situation was not very stable.
Zhang Zian simply tried it on. The size was suitable.
His gaze moved, and he saw a very special thing in the box. He could not help but walk over and ask, “Professor Wei, what is this thing?”
Wei Kang was also trying on clothes, and when he took a look, he answered, “Oh, this is the newest model of a UAV.”
“UAV?” Zhang Zian had heard of this thing before, but it was his first time seeing it with his own eyes.
Wei Kang nodded. “During this scientific research operation in the field, there will be UAVs to follow the whole journey,” he said. “One reason is to record the details of the whole journey as valuable information for the future. Another is for safety. If there is any movement around us, the UAVs hovering in the air can find it ahead of time. The third is to search for wildlife more effectively. After all, it can fly high and far.”
In a portable suitcase, a highly technological and aesthetic UAV lay quietly. The silver-white magnesium-aluminum alloy body and carbon fiber arm were light and strong. The four propellers were thin and sharp, twisted in beautiful angles.
A pan tilt camera, which looked like a high-end camera lens, was placed in another small box. Its big, agile eyes were coated with green film, reflecting Zhang Zian’s figure.
Besides that, there was also a remote control and a backup battery, as well as a lot of other parts.
He could see that this thing was quite expensive with one look. Zhang Zian was thinking that Professor Wei had really prepared well for this expedition.
“Xiao Zhang, I just wanted to tell you about this—when we go out into the wild, we all have other things to do, such as collecting samples of wildlife and taking photos, so I want to arrange for you to operate this UAV. What do you think?” Wei Kang asked.
“Me? But I’ve never played with this kind of thing before.” Zhang Zian really wanted to play around with it. If it was an entry-level UAV worth thousands of yuan, it was not that bad, but this was a professional UAV with all kinds of accessories that added up to at least tens of thousands of yuan. If it fell… He really could not afford it!
“It doesn’t matter. It’s very simple,” Wei Kang said. “You can just follow the operation instructions. The supporting software of the UAV is very intelligent. It can detect collisions from top to bottom and avoid obstacles automatically. You just need to make sure that the UAV is hovering overhead all the time and use the eyes of the UAV to find the wild animals we are looking for.”
Zhang Zian understood it was because only he was quite free and suitable to do that.
“Alright, I understand,” he said. He did not try to push the responsibility any more and straightforwardly accepted his task.
“Ah, when you go back in a while, take the UAV back as well and get familiar with using it,” Wei Kang said. At the same time, he did not forget to remind him, “Right, when you are testing it, remember to find an empty space. It’s better to be somewhere in the suburbs. Don’t fly in the no-fly zone!”
“Alright.”
Zhang Zian was also very happy, like a child who had gotten a new toy. It was expected that the shop assistants and elfins would be surprised to see him take the drone back to the pet shop.
As for the test flight site, was there not a ready-made space behind the pet shop? Although it wasn’t the suburbs, it was usually not visited at all and was probably not a no-fly zone.
Then Zhang Zian noticed a box of strange equipment. It was not as exquisite as the UAV, but there was a large number of camouflage-coated rectangular boxes arranged neatly in the suitcase. Each box had embedded lenses and sensors right in front.
“What is this?”
He was like Grandma Liu, continuously asking questions when she entered the Grand View Garden. Everything was fresh.
“You’ve never seen it before, right? This is an infrared trigger camera.” Xiao Tianyu, a plump man, struggled to take off his sunscreen clothes. Although they were the biggest size, they were still tight on him.
“All of these?” Zhang Zian asked.
“Yes, it’s useless to take only one,” Xiao Tianyu explained. “We can place many units in the area where wildlife may appear. When warm-blooded animals or moving objects pass in front of the camera, they will take photos automatically. Because lots of wildlife are afraid of people, and we have limited time, we cannot always wait in one place. But we can put down a good infrared camera, and we can then go to other places to do other things. We can come back to check on it after we are done with the matter.”
Zhang Zian inwardly clicked his tongue. Wei Kang really had put down a lot of money this time. It seemed that the possibility of the success of this mission was very high. As long as there were still primitive Egyptian cats in Egypt, there was an 80 percent chance they could be found.
