Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian observed the six people other than Peter Lee, finding that the difference in strength between both teams was extremely huge. His team comprised of all kinds of jobs, able to handle both physical and mental work, while their own team… Well, they were basically sick, old, young, and disabled.
The thing that he couldn’t understand was that as elites in their own field, how had they ended up so caught up in Peter Lee’s gibberish and believed in it so much that they’d decided to join the Cosmological Information Society?
Back then, there had been a period in China’s history where everyone was obsessed with Qigong, from babies all the way to the elderly. Everyone rushed to the nearest open area to follow some master who’d popped out of nowhere to practice all kinds of Qigong advertised to be able to cure all illnesses. There were many people who’d gone bankrupt for these too, as well as scientists and government bodies that helped further the craze.
Compared to that, Peter Lee’s actions were minor.
“So, I should call these followers by their jobs?” Zhang Zian’s eyes brushed over them.
Peter Lee smiled. “That would be great. It’s hard to remember names, isn’t it? The Spanish man who looks like the Father—his real name is really long. I can’t remember it even after knowing him for so long.”
“Alright, I will inform Professor Wei Kang and his team as well.”
Zhang Zian agreed. Names were just identities. It was as Peter Lee said. It would be difficult to remember six different names from different languages and match them up to their faces too. It was easier to just call them by their occupations.
“So you’re trying to find Zhong Guanying in the desert?” he asked again.
Peter Lee didn’t mind the mockery in his voice, answering solemly, “We have considered it before. If the sheepskin map is real, that pyramid must belong to an amazing pharaoh. Only then would people have exerted so much human energy and so many materials to build a pyramid in the deepest depths of the desert to hide this secret.”
Peter took a quick glance at their surroundings before lowering his voice. “I won’t hide from you. We have done investigations on the age of the sheepskin map,” he said. “The results show that it comes from the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty to the beginning of Rome’s rule. In this period of time, you could count the number of people that had great capabilities, great determination, upheld the culture of Ancient Egypt, and had amazing understanding of math and architecture on one hand…”
Zhang Zian tried his best to hide the great shock that he felt in his heart. If Peter wasn’t lying, then there was clearly only one person that the pyramid had been built for—Cleopatra the Seventh. There was no one else who fit that criteria.
Zhang Zian put his focus on Peter Lee and the six other people, not noticing how Fina’s ear twitched as it quietly shuffled closer, its green eyes fixed on Peter.
“You mean Cleopatra? That’s impossible. Why would she build a pyramid there?” Zhang Zian asked him.
Peter shook his head. “No one knows why. We are inclined to believe that that spot is where the purest energy in the universe collects, and she chose that spot after detailed calculations.”
Zhang Zian didn’t think they were on the same wavelength at all.
“I know you don’t quite believe me, but the tales that people have passed down through time are even more unbelievable.” Peter Lee guessed what he was thinking. “The impression that people have of that time period come from Plutarch’s ‘Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans,’ but Plutarch was born a hundred years after Cleopatra. This book is more like a piece of literature rather than a record of history.
“How did Plutarch know about the extremely secretive meeting of Cleopatra and Caesar? It’s just like how Sima Qian had recorded many conversations that happened between two people. Since they would never reveal the contents of the conversations, how did Sima Qian know what was talked about? Most likely, he looked at the results and guessed what was said from their personalities.”
Zhang Zian couldn’t refute that, since that was how history was. Even as an official scribe, the author was bound to use their own imagination to fill in the gaps. How else would everyone know what conversation had taken place between two people? Even if the scribe knew what was said, they couldn’t possibly write every single word down. Scribes were people, not gods.
“After Cleopatra and Anthony met, to win her heart, Anthony gifted Rome’s colony, Libya, to her. So, as a scholar, she had the ability to build a pyramid there. We just don’t know whether she managed to complete it before her death… Such a big operation. It shouldn’t be hard to keep it a secret in the depths of the desert.” Peter Lee smiled easily. “Besides, at the very least, we’d have toured the desert.”
Zhang Zian nodded. Peter had certainly done his homework before coming. His words seemed fleeting and unreliable, but it was hard to find a loophole in them.
“I had wanted to ask previously, brother, but the dog and cat are yours? You plan to bring them into the desert?” Peter Lee pointed at Fina and Famous. As for the other elfins, he couldn’t see them.
“Yes, they are related to our main aim for the expedition,” Zhang Zian answered vaguely.
Peter Lee nodded, not asking anything more. “Alright. As long as we are able to, we will fully support your expedition team and research work. We did enter the desert to research the purest energy in the universe, so we are doing the same work.”
Zhang Zian thought, “What shamelessness!”
“Then we’ll be heading off first. Let’s meet at the Bedouin tribe at noon.” Peter Lee asked the others to return to their cars first.
Zhang Zian felt that Professor Wei Kang and the rest would be able to arrive before noon, so he agreed on behalf of them.
Peter Lee whistled, and his team left Siwa in style, the sea of sand that they kicked up not dissipating for a while.
“Let’s return to the hotel,” Zhang Zian suggested. “We can still rest for a few hours before Professor Wei Kang and the rest will arive. We won’t be able to sleep on such soft beds from now on.”
Vladimir spoke confidently. “No issue! A believer of the Meow Meow Doctrine isn’t afraid of difficulties. The sky is our blanket, the earth is our bed, guns are our pillows, and the sand is our canteen!”
“Gah gah! Good! The sky’s our blanket, the earth our bed, with a wild couple in between! We have to be confident. Even if we meet men in between more men, we have to advance towards the men, to face the men as they are, and eliminate the men!” Richard landed on his shoulder, squawking away. It still had a bump on its forehead, not from the mosquitoes but from banging its head last night.
Even though it was trying to cheer everyone up, Zhang Zian couldn’t help but feel that some words were pronounced a little strangely!
