Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian was not surprised to meet Peter Lee. After all, they had an appointment with the Bedouin tribe today, and Siwa was the only way to go to the Bedouin tribe. It was also their final stop.
Following behind the land cruiser were several other cars. They were identical and apparently belonged to members of the Cosmological Information Society.
“It’s fine. I have to wait for the other members of the expedition team. They will still need a little while to get here.” Zhang Zian shook his head, refusing.
He did not have a good impression of the members of the Cosmological Information Society. They had not done anything bad or out of the ordinary. The thing he took issue with was that they thought very differently from ordinary people. In fact, from their outer appearances, they looked more friendly than the common man. Perhaps that was the expression of those who had firm belief in their hearts.
If they met while going about their daily affairs, Zhang Zian would probably not pay them too much attention and laugh them off. In any case, they probably had nothing they needed from one another. However, when it came to entering the desert, suddenly, the personalities of one’s teammates were very important.
“Are all of you going in?” he asked, counting the number of cars.
“No, there are doctors in our ranks. We had a physical examination yesterday and are leaving a few people behind—merely those with poor physical fitness. The rest of them will enter the desert together,” Peter Lee said as he stuck his head out. He blew a whistle towards the cars behind them. “Come, let me use this opportunity to introduce everyone.”
Six people emerged from the back of the car, five men and one woman. They were all from different countries with different skin colors. As Peter Lee had said, these six people were in their prime, both physically and mentally.
Zhang Zian had seen them before, but he didn’t know their names.
“I am a consul. I used to be in politics. Hello, comrade.” A middle-aged man with a Mediterranean hairstyle introduced himself. The first words he uttered were those of a high-level official. They carried the weight of one who was in power.
Zhang Zian was shocked and thought that this person was a former diplomat. Why didn’t he say his name?
The other five people also spoke in the same format. They claimed to be priests, colonels, poets, and scholars. The only woman on the team claimed to be a detective.
The female detective had a temperament similar to Sun Xiaomeng, but she was about ten years older. She was most likely the doctor that Peter Lee had mentioned. Yet she claimed to be a detective. Perhaps she was responsible for searching the human body?
The other people also had characteristics similar to their self-proclaimed identities. For example, the colonel’s eyes and movements indicated that he was a former soldier, and the poet had curly hair that is somewhat romantic. The scholar wore thick glasses and looked somewhat like Wei Kang. Finally, the priest was a solemn man and had an awe-inspiring look.
The strange thing was that they did not introduce themselves by their names.
The more he heard, the more Zhang Zian got confused. He was just about to ask about this, but he saw Pi quietly gesturing to him not to do so.
He had been with Pi for a long time, and Pi often asked him questions about the novel, so he was familiar with the gesture he was seeing. He saw Pi spread his hands out like a book, and its mouth parted to form a square. Pi seemed to be sending him some type of message.
Wait a minute! Consul, priest, colonel, poet, scholar, and detective. Was this peculiar combination…
It suddenly became clear to Zhang Zian. He immediately knew their intentions.
After the six introduced themselves, Peter Lee smiled quietly while observing Zhang Zian.
Zhang Zian turned and looked at Peter Lee. He said quietly, “So, you must be a saint.”
“Haha! Brother, you guessed it!” Peter laughed. Everyone else also smiled.
Consul, priest, colonel, poet, scholar, detective, and saint. Wasn’t this the combination of the pilgrimage team in the science fiction novel Hyperion? That was quite something!
Just like the pilgrimage team in Hyperion that had gone through hardships to form the core shape of the pyramid, Peter Lee and his team used the same professions as their code names. It indicated that they had a similar purpose—to find the pyramid deep within the desert. The hope was that through their journey, they would also be able to discover the great secrets of the inverse entropy field.
Zhang Zian had a copy of this novel in his house. He had shown it to Pi before. He himself had seen it a long time ago, but if Pi had not reminded him, he may not have associated Peter Lee and his team with this science fiction novel.
He searched his memory for more information, although he had already forgotten many of the details of the novel. He only remembered that the story was set at the day before the prophecy. A team of seven, each with different statuses, identities, and experiences, got together to uncover the secrets of Zhong Guangyin.
What impressed him the most was Zhong Guangyin.
Zhong Guangyin was like a pyramid and was surrounded by inverse entropy. In the realm of time, it flowed backward instead of forward.
In the prophecy, when the saga was over, a great sorrower would emerge from the tomb. They came from the other side of time. Their sole purpose was to declare the end of mankind.
To be honest, the narrative of this novel was somewhat difficult to understand. Its style was typical of a hardcover book: highly suitable for inducing sleep. However, it would not work as well with online literature. At the time, when he was reading the book, he had to force himself to finish it. The curiosity he had for Zhong Guangyin kept him reading till the end. However, when the pilgrims finally reached the valley where Zhong Guangyin was, the novel ended abruptly. He was furious.
He could not be bothered thereafter to read the sequels. He regretted buying a full set and wasting his money.
However, when he gave this set of books to Pi, it was originally intended to let Pi slowly pass time. However, Pi loved the novel very much and soon finished it. Pi even finished the sequels. It made Zhang Zian wonder how Pi derived so much pleasure from reading this novel.
In addition to being obscure, the novel gave Zhang Zian the feeling that Zhong Guangyin as a concept was highly unscientific. If, as described in the novel, it connected the past and the future, then what advancements in technology must the world have had to create such a thing?
Was this therefore not a hallmark of a fantasy novel?
It was just… If he was to read this novel again now, he may not make such a statement.
He glanced at the sea of stars. Things that were less scientific than Zhong Guangyin were right there in front of him. To add on the strange sunsets of yesterday evening and the experience of retribution after Richard’s pee…
So if one did not see it, could one simply ignore it?
He was unable to ascertain if Zhong Guangyin truly existed. Even if it did, he was sure that if a pyramid could be found in the depths of the desert, it should merely be just an ordinary pyramid. There could be no such thing as pure universe energy and mysterious things. Peter Lee would be grossly disappointed.
