Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian actually had not wanted to say “digging empty.” Instead, he’d wanted to say “Sorry to interrupt” and then make a slow retreat. However, he was feeling anxious, and in the heat of the moment, he could not remember what that word was in Japanese. To make matters worse, Richard was not cooperating and kept his mouth firmly shut, making no attempt at speaking.
He suddenly thought of the Western female tourist who’d bumped into him when he’d entered the pyramid. It was no wonder she’d hurriedly walked away from the pyramid. Perhaps she had also witnessed the strange behavior of these people, which made her feel uneasy and disgusted. Rather than feeling unsafe, she might’ve been better off leaving early.
It was at this moment that a black-haired, yellow-skinned tourist stood up. He could not be more than fifty years of age. He easily removed the hands of the two men supporting him, his gaze fixed firmly on Zhang Zian. Slowly but surely, his gaze moved to his clothes.
“Oh, no,” Zhang Zian thought to himself.
Wei Kang had ordered a set of clothes for his workers. They each had a UV protection suit to counter the scorching sun and a thick coat to wear in the cold nights. The clothes had “China Binhai University Biological Science Research Team” printed on them, both in Mandarin and English. The idea was to convey a sense of professionalism and at the same time to hint to potential terrorists not to hurt any Chinese compatriots.
Zhang Zian had seen that it was a really hot day, and he’d decided to wear his UV protection suit. Yet this decision firmly exposed who he was and who he represented as well.
That tourist he’d met smiled and spoke to him in Mandarin. “Binhai City? I have been to Binhai City before. This is such a coincidence! Everyone is from China, so please don’t speak Japanese.”
Zhang Zian laughed heartily. “Please carry on with your work. I shall not bother you.”
“Oh, please, don’t rush to leave. Please come on in,” the tourist said kindly. “It is amazing that we have such an opportunity to meet here, of all places. It must be fate. Besides, we are almost finished.”
As he spoke, he walked over and stood beside Zhang Zian, gesturing “please” in an elaborate hand movement. His behaviour mirrored that of a master of the house.
Zhang Zian was not afraid of him, nor was he afraid of those who were pretending to be ghosts. He simply did not want to involve himself in a scuffle. This was, after all, a restricted area of the Great Pyramid. He knew he could be seen as bribing the staff on duty to offer him access to areas that are strictly forbidden. If word spread on Weibo or any other social media platform, he would certainly get the heat from individuals operating as Moral Police.
And if that happened, there would be nothing he can do.
Therefore, he devised an “I come in peace” plan. He calmly took a few steps into the tomb, pretending to observe the architectural layout of the Queen’s chamber. As he proceeded with his inspections, he could not help but feel other people’s eyes on his back.
The ancient Egyptians had not decorated the Queen’s chambers, yet this did not mean that the Queen’s tomb was lacking in grandeur. On the contrary, the Queen’s tomb carried the reputation for being the most mysterious place within the Great Pyramid.
Like the tomb of the king, there was a vent on each of the north and south walls of the Queen’s tomb—in fact, they were not exactly vents, because the ventilation ducts were not connected to the outside. One could not help but wonder—what was the use of these vents? Had they been created out of fear that the pharaohs and queens of the mummies might feel stifled in their small rooms?
However, unlike the tomb of the king, the two vents of the Queen’s tomb had originally been hidden under the wall. They were only discovered some time later when people assumed that the Queen’s tomb should also have two corresponding vents, much like the King’s tomb. They’d cut open sections of the wall before eventually finding them.
On September 17, 2002, CCTV broadcasted a sensational screening of the secrets of the Great Pyramid. They employed a remote-controlled crawler robot that was able to go deep into the airway on the south vent. The goal was to find what existed at the end of the air duct.
This mammoth event attracted the attention of many people. Many people fantasized about what was to be found at the end of the vent, from long lost mummies to piles of pharaohs’ treasures. Some simply hoped for an awe-inspiring discovery that they simply could not believe.
As the broadcast was to be done live and in real time, CCTV ran a ton of publicity campaigns even before the show aired. Thus, the eventual live broadcast ratings were comparable to spring festival screening ratings.
However, the ending of the live broadcast was a gross letdown. The crawler robot anti-climatically stopped in front of a stone gate at the end of the air passage. It tried, using its pinhole camera, to peek through small cracks on the stone gate. However, it merely returned images of yet another ordinary stone. The stone was rough and full of crack marks, with no indication of decorations. This was unlike the first stone door, which had copper handles on it.
The greater the hype, the greater the disappointment. The interest in the probe cooled very quickly amongst the many viewers.
Zhang Zian stood in front of the vent and tried to use the probe to see further in. Of course, he saw nothing but darkness.
“Can you feel it?” said the Chinese-speaking tourist.
Zhang Zian turned around and glanced at him. “Are you talking to me?”
The tourist nodded and repeated, “Can you feel it?”
“Feel what?” Zhang Zian asked forcefully.
The tourist pointed at the vent and said seriously, “The pure energy from the universe.”
It was rare for Zhang Zian to not have a rebuttal to anyone, but this response left him completely stumped.
“The pure energy of the universe?” he murmured. If it had not been for the other person’s expression, what a bad joke that would’ve been.
The man used his fingers to point to the north and south vents. He said excitedly, “Yes! These are the two ‘constellation passages,’ one pointing to the big dog and the other pointing to the Orion. Their purpose is to receive pure energy from the universe!”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zian knew that they were both operating on different wavelengths.
However, as much as he wanted to refute these claims, he found it difficult to do so. The four “ventilation roads” on the walls of the tombs of the kings and queens were not constructed to conduct the flow of air. So what was the real purpose of their construction? There were currently no conclusive reasons for their existence, and therefore, it might’ve been plausible for them to receive the energy of the universe, though that was a weird claim.
There were a total of 88 constellations appearing throughout the day, and their positions relative to each other were close. It would be easy to use two bamboo poles placed on the ground to align any two constellations. The four ventilation holes were indeed directed towards the big dog and Orion constellations. Yet to claim that it was to capture pure energy was simply absurdity for the modern man.
Zhang Zian stood silently while he processed these thoughts. However, his silence was understood by the man as approval for the concept. He got more excited and extended his arms out like wings. He said with enthusiasm, “We all come from all over the world and share the same purpose. Come here to feel and absorb pure cosmic energy!”
Others may not have understood the language he spoke, but they could understand from his expression and tone what he sought to convey. They let out satisfied smiles, as if they really had absorbed the universe’s pure energy.
Seeing their reaction, even Zhang Zian doubted his own rationality. Did pure energy really exist, and was he the only one unable to feel it?
