One knock was all it took to verify Tsukino Kyoko’s words. The returning sound was solid, indicating the lack of open spaces behind the rocks. There were no cracks around the surface either. This was too weird. Xia Changhe had hinted at this area, the intersection of 369 and 225. But the current circumstances had justified Tsukino Kyoko’s assumption of a faulty interpretation.
Was Xia Lei mistaken?
One minute of X-ray vision usage later, Xia Lei pulled out his dagger and continued to climb the surface. He grabbed the rock that the ninja had nailed to the wall. He climbed and made gashes on the surface with his dagger.
Tsukino Kyoko was surprised to notice that Xia Lei had slashed the rock surface so effortlessly like he was creating patterns on dirt instead. The marks were deep and its edges had appeared jagged. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for a mere dagger to register scratches this deep.
Xia Lei’s motion ceased as soon as he marked a circle of one-metre diameter. Following that, he then drove his blade into its centre.
Clack! The sharp dagger was pierced deep into the rocks with a smooth glide.
Tsukino Kyoko moved closer to Xia Lei, picking up some ‘debris’ from the freshly-made gaps on her fingertips. Upon closer inspection, her mind was blown. The debris had not come from the rocks. It was wax. Someone had sealed the entrance with wax! The person had even gone through the process of matching the wax with the colour of the stone.
There was no way of knowing who had created this wax ball and when it was planted in this place. But it was certain that the wax ball had been here for a very long time. It seemed to be made of a special formula, else it would have been worn down from harsh weather.
Xia Lei was now plagued with another question. How the hell did his father know about this entrance?
“Boss, I bet you can see female underwear on a whim, right?” Tsukino Kyoko’s remark felt almost out of place.
“Huh?” Xia Lei feigned confusion and surprise.
“You’re able to notice a discreet entrance like this. I’m sure you won’t face a problem trying to figure out someone’s underwear colour,” commented Tsukino Kyoko.
Xia Lei was taken aback. His heart had sunk earlier, thinking that the ninja had found out about his X-ray vision. He had only confided in his father about this, not once had he told this to someone else. If Tsukino Kyoko had this knowledge, it would be obvious that its source was Xia Changhe. Why would his father reveal such a secret to her?
Suddenly, Tsukino Kyoko huffed a laugh. “Boss, I was just joking. What’s with your expression?”
The joke was almost uncanny.
Xia Lei sighed in relief in his heart, a smile blooming across his face. “I was deep in thought, trying to guess the colour of your underwear. It’s black, isn’t it? With lace edges?”
In his line of sight, the long pants that covered Tsukino Kyoko’s lower half were gone. It left behind the scanty piece of undergarment. However, it was far from the black lace-edged panty he had described. It was a plain white cotton panty. The material was thin. Its attempt to provide modesty to the mysteriously mature scenery behind it was futile. Things felt like a calligraphy painting; non-defined arches of the hills, mists that veiled the piece along with vegetation and a flowing stream. It was fruit for imagination.
Tsukino Kyoko’s cheeks were adorned with a splash of red. “Pervert.”
Xia Lei chuckled. “I’m correct, no?”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. How are we supposed to open it?” Tsukino Kyoko was desperate to deviate the topic. She had initiated the joke but was caught in the awkward situation herself.
Xia Lei replied, “It’s simple. Just destroying it would do.” He pulled out his silenced Viper pistol from its holster and began firing at the wax ball.
Tsukino Kyoko mimicked his action.
A wax wall of this calibre was only weak to one thing, heat. Their bullets were hot and the impact it offered was immense. It only took them a cartridge to turn the wax ball into a ‘beehive’ littered with cracks.
Xia Lei stomped at it.
Crack!
The damaged wax ball broke with a crisp noise. Some parts of it fell to the bottom while a part of it rolled back into the mountain body. A tunnel was now presented to them. Its diameter is only about one metre wide with a seemingly bottomless drop. There was no uniformity in its structure, hinting that this was natural and a part of a cave.
While the pyramid within the mountain was artificially constructed, it had lent strength from the hill. One hypothesis could be drawn. Someone had found a gigantic cave within this mountain and built the pyramid in its centre. But the ‘someone’ might not be a singular party. It could’ve been a country or a tribe. There was no way that the pyramid was a solo effort, it had to be a community or country.
Though so, history seemed to contradict with his theory. Even if the history of Israel was pushed to the thirteenth century BC, when the Hebrews had returned to Canaan from Egypt, Xia Lei was not convinced that the Hebrews possessed the capability to create a pyramid within the mountain.
If it wasn’t the Hebrews nor the Arabians, who could’ve built it?
As Xia Lei was occupied with his thoughts, Tsukino Kyoko twisted a fluorescent stick and began squeezing herself into the tunnel.
“Careful.” Xia Lei gripped her ankle. Then, he snaked an arm along the curve of her spine into the tunnel.
The man had on a multifunctional wristwatch that could test the altitude, air pressure and air composition in a given area. This tactical watch was customized from Audemars Piguet in Switzerland. Xia Lei wasn’t the only one who owned it, every member of the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team had one too. However, he was worried about Tsukino Kyoko’s impatience. This was the sole reason behind him holding her back.
If there was poisonous gas in the enclosed space, it would be highly dangerous.
There was no guarantee for their safety. Even if the likelihood of his concern was small, the consequences would be unfixable.
The results were revealed in a second. The air quality ahead wasn’t ideal but it was still considered normal.
Xia Lei released Tsukino Kyoko’s ankle.
And she continued to crawl forward and said, “If there’s a shift in the air quality, you must reverse upon my command.”
Xia Lei followed her lead. “Be careful, this place feels eerie.”
The naturally formed tunnel was winding and curved, shaped almost like a human intestine. To crawl in such a situation with no telling of its end was anxiety-inducing.
Xia Lei crawled, occasionally pausing to graze his dagger against the walls as marks. This was necessary. If they had gotten lost in the tunnel, they could still retrace their steps through his marks.
After a laborious crawl that spanned across half an hour, Tsukino Kyoko stopped and started to back away. Xia Lei had just finished off another mark and hadn’t noticed her sudden movement. He crashed headfirst into her ass.
The sensation was as if he had dunked his face into a large jello chunk. His nose was assaulted with a feminine fragrance and a very special scent.
“What’s the matter?” Xia Lei frantically moved back.
Tsukino Kyoko did not mind their close interaction earlier. She answered, “We’ve reached the end, come take a look.” Letting her sentence fall, she gripped a rock and slid her body out of the tunnel.
Xia Lei moved forward to her spot, immediately breaking into a gasp at the sight.
Under the illumination of Tsukino Kyoko’s fluorescent stick, all Xia Lei could see were densely-arranged skulls in neat circles. Beneath them was pitch darkness that felt like an eternal drop. Despite that, his eyes were able to borrow the weak light of the fluorescent stick to study the situation below. It was the bottom of the pyramid. The man could locate the sarcophagus and the skeletons that were littered around it.
Those were the bodies of George the archaeologist, Professor Mark and the Israeli personnel. This was the exact location where they had met their demise twenty years ago.
Tsukino Kyoko threw her fluorescent stick to the bottom. It fell at the base of the pyramid, finally allowing Tsukino Kyoko some vision. Her jaw slacked as she inhaled sharply. “This place… It’s a miracle!”
A miracle was probably the only best praise she could come up with for now.
Xia Lei twisted another fluorescent stick and held it above his head. He lifted his chin and the scene before him had him shocked to the core.
George’s video was captured from the base of the pyramid. The peak was about a few hundreds of metres from the base and the camera quality back then was grainy. Along with the lack of light, it was hard to make out what was in the pyramid. The details of the pyramid’s peak were vague. Albeit so, things were different now. The spot where Xia Lei and Tsukino Kyoko had emerged from was close to the peak. Now, the man could see everything in clear detail!
There were also skulls at its peak, arranged in a dense line formation. It was as if the skull had acted as bricks to support the peak. However, the skull at the summit was unique. It was crystal clear like it was carved from crystal. Catching the light of their fluorescent sticks, it shone dazzlingly.
Xia Lei’s left eye twitched, the crystal skull immediately brought forward into his vision. In that instance, his eye switched into the microscopic mode that allowed him to study the minute details of the crystal skull. It was void of artificial manipulation. It was natural!
A natural crystal skull!
Which human would have such a skull?!
Though there was no advanced equipment to analyze it, Xia Lei was certain that it was impossible for the skull to be of crystalline material. The truth behind this skull would definitely be another unsolvable mystery.
“Boss, what are you looking at- Ah?” Tsukino Kyoko followed his line of sight, finally settling her gaze on the crystal skull. Her mouth hung low at the sight of the skull.
Xia Lei peeled his eyes away after a few moments. “Let’s head down.”
“That skull. Are you not planning to take it away?” Tsukino Kyoko felt the urge to whisk it away.
Xia Lei chided. “It’s best if we don’t touch anything until we have grasped the situation. We’re definitely not the first ones to find it. Why did the people before us not take it away?”
“You got a point. Let’s head down.” Tsukino Kyoko agreed.