pdf-ebookys Chapter 603 The Sneaky Archaeological Team
Chapter 603 The Sneaky Archaeological Team
Instead of heading back to the desert immediately, Xu Ning and his group were first invited by Tina to the Zen Garden.
After all, Tirzad was eager to see this regeneration mechanism, which was comparable to Benben, and Xu Ning also wanted to see what kind of parts were needed so that they would have something to look for when they got to the desert.
While Farusan was explaining to Tirzad and the Air Force University how many traditions and laws those scholars who created mechanical life had violated, Xu Ning dragged Tinari to a corner of the large greenhouse.
"Was there anything wrong with what I just said? The way you and Sora acted."
Tina gave a wry smile, glanced cautiously at Farusan, and said softly, "There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that it's a bit like bringing up a sore spot."
Xu Ning was a little confused.
Tinari explained, "Falusian is actually a senior member of the Church who lived a hundred years ago..."
Xu Ning exclaimed in surprise, "Is she already a centenarian? I thought she was just pretending when she kept saying she was old. But with her physical condition, have any scholars in the Academy concocted a youth-preserving pill?"
"Well, it's all just pretense, actually... that's true."
Tina felt awkward as she exposed the "older sister's" shortcomings, and then said, "However, while she was doing her research, she accidentally wandered into a tomb chamber of the Red King's Mausoleum and was trapped there for nearly a hundred years."
Xu Ning was utterly astonished upon hearing this.
"Perhaps there is some strange power in this tomb, which seems to have frozen time for a hundred years, keeping her life stuck at that moment until she solved the puzzle, broke the mechanism, and escaped..."
If Xu Ning was merely surprised by Farusan's experience, then...
Upon hearing this, Xu Ning felt nothing but boundless admiration for this centenarian "senior" who was only in his early twenties.
If all the people in Sumeru were confined to a small underground space like she was, I'm afraid at least half of them would go insane within a month, and very few could last more than a year.
She was trapped for a hundred years, yet she was able to deduce and calculate day after day until she broke free.
Such extraordinary resilience and perseverance are rare, perhaps even among millions of people, let alone being able to smile and face a completely unfamiliar world after experiencing such hardship.
Xu Ning then realized why Tina and Kong were so wary of him saying those words.
The reason Farusian was trapped for a hundred years was because she "couldn't open the door." Her smug statement that "no door can trap me" was indeed a bit of a sore point.
"Okay, I understand what happened."
Xu Ning smiled and said, "For the rest of the journey, I will try to avoid talking about sectarian topics and just use topics about mechanical engineering that she is interested in to make her happy."
Tinaly nodded, but quickly shook her head after hearing the rest of the sentence. "Absolutely not! You must remember that Senior Farusan is a master of the Epistemology school, specializing in ancient scripts and stone inscriptions. Don't ever say she's from the Mystery school, otherwise, imagine the level of insults a master of script studies can unleash!"
"Alright, if you two keep chatting there, it'll get dark."
A few people not far away had probably seen Kakata. Tirzad looked like he had lost his parents, and it seemed that he had confirmed that Benben was not some "last regeneration mechanism" but a thing that any scholar could easily create.
"Cough," Xu Ning said, offering a casual word of comfort as he looked at him, "Think about it, what was the name of that manufacturer again, Abtuyi? He's dead, right? If we can't find the parts for this Kakata, then Benben really will be the last one..."
"Brother Xu!" Kong called out loudly from the side, "Kakata is still listening!"
Paimon shook his fist angrily, "That's right! What are you saying! Sora, let's not take them. They'll definitely drag us down on purpose because of their papers."
Xu Ning instructed Belial to take Tirzad into the Dust Concealment Cave, then quickly raised his hand and said, "Alright, alright, I was wrong, okay? If we keep arguing, it'll get really dark. Come, come, senior, please go first. Kong, why don't you go and lead the way for senior?"
Xu Ning's quick transition into the role of a sycophant not only dispelled the previous accusations but also earned him praise from the senior intellectuals.
The group finally re-entered the ley line teleportation system and headed towards the location where they had first met.
Kong also explained to Xu Ning why this position was chosen.
It turned out that before they came looking for the parts, Farusan had specifically inquired through her connections within the academy and learned that there happened to be an archaeological team organized by a scholar named Raed who had been exploring for antiquities in the Pillar Sands for many years and was said to have achieved considerable success.
"Find them directly and see if they have any parts that are compatible with Kakata. This is the fastest way to obtain Regeneration Machine parts."
Xu Ning naturally had no objection to this convenient method, so as soon as the group appeared at the teleportation anchor point, they began communicating with the locals, hoping to find the archaeologists as soon as possible and quickly end the mission.
Almost no one had heard of the name "Rayd," but five dunes ahead, a chaplaincy seemed to have hired some people to build a large mechanical monster on the dunes.
"It seems this is our goal."
Upon hearing this, Kong was overjoyed and said, "Brother Xu, let's hurry over there."
The three of them hadn't run far in that direction when they spotted the huge mechanical body lying on the sand dune.
This mechanical object was almost the largest mechanical creation Xu Ning had ever seen, apart from the Relic Heavy Machine.
But before they could get close, two burly men who looked like mercenaries suddenly jumped out.
"Halt! This is private property. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to approach without Mr. Raed's permission!"
Xu Ning took a sip of wine, pondering whether to silently knock them out, while Senior Falushan over there had already exploded.
"Besides the Red King, who dares to say that the Sand Sea is his private domain? Unauthorized persons? Go and call Raid over. I'd like to ask him in person which junior student he is, and see who can consider me an unauthorized person!"
However, the two burly men were very stubborn and wouldn't allow anyone to get even a little closer to the mechanical body.
Amid the commotion, a middle-aged man dressed in the robes of a scholar from the Order of the Church jogged over.
"Oh my, it's Senior Farusan who has come in person! I've heard so much about you at the academy. May I ask what brings you here?"
Seeing that he was quite polite, Farusan smiled and said, "You must be Raid, right? It seems that some of the younger ones have run into some problems with the mechanisms they're researching. I've come here to find some parts for ancient mechanisms so I can explain the development and evolution of ancient mechanisms to them and help them understand."
Raed readily agreed, “Although the harvest this time was not much, we still managed to collect quite a few old parts. However, it’s getting late, and it’s not easy to observe in this dark camp. Why don’t you take these people to the tent area over there and rest for the night? I’ll have someone send you some more parts of different shapes tomorrow morning.”
Farusian still had a smiling face, "Then thank you very much!"
Kong was never good at dealing with people. He just listened to Farusan negotiating and glanced at Xu Ning when Farusan turned to leave.
Xu Ning smiled, indicating that everything was up to Farusan, and then turned around and followed Farusan's steps.
However, in the instant he turned around, Xu Ning seemed to catch a glimpse of a triangular symbol flashing slightly on the pile of mechanical objects on the ground.
I looked back one more time and found that the symbol had dimmed; it seemed to be just an illusion.
"These tents are set up so far away that you can hardly see what's going on over there."
Paimon shaded his eyes with his hand and peered over in that direction. "It feels like they're doing something sneaky, deliberately sending us away..."
Xu Ning laughed heartily, "Paimon, you're surprisingly smart for once!"
Paimon blushed and said angrily, "I've always been smart, okay! So you're saying they really are doing bad things?"
Farusan laughed and said, "I don't know if it's bad news, but being so secretive is definitely not a good thing. If nothing unexpected happens, they will definitely take action tonight. Let's gather some information here first before deciding on our actions tonight."