Chapter 831 Ancient Tomb
Under the setting sun, the earth shines with golden light.
The long-term wind and sand erosion has caused the pyramids to lose their former shining brilliance, emitting a hazy matte luster, as if people have traveled through thousands of years of time.
【pyramid!】
[It’s a pyramid! ]
[Wuhu, Wuhu, have we arrived yet? ]
"Yes, the pyramids."
From a distance, this pyramid does not look majestic at all. It looks shabby and its surface is uneven.
The overall structure is like a staircase, and it only has two floors. It has nothing in common with the tall buildings that people imagine.
"'Human beings fear time, and time fears the pyramids'. This is an ancient Egyptian proverb, which certainly embodies people's beautiful expectations and aspirations..."
Bifang slowed down Alpha's pace, with an inexplicable emotion in his tone.
"However, the effects of thousands of years have left indelible marks on it."
"Did you know that the earliest pyramids were actually white in color?"
[Huh? White? Really? 】
【Isn’t this golden? 】
[Strange knowledge is about to start attacking your brain]
"People have found remnants of white limestone on the top of the pyramids of Giza, and there are also scattered pieces of white limestone around the pyramids of Giza, so scholars speculate that the earliest pyramids were covered with a layer of white limestone, and the overall appearance of the building was dazzling white."
"After this inference came out, it caused a sensation around the world."
"Further investigation revealed that the ancient Egyptians sorted the stones when they mined them."
"Limestone, sandstone, alabaster and granite have different hardnesses and are mined in different ways. Workers use different tools to carefully select the hardest limestone and cut it into squares, and then cut the sandstone into large stones with rectangular bottoms."
"What is certain is that the pyramids of Giza are located in a rocky area, above a quarry where limestone was extracted."
"Once the foundations were complete, people began to haul limestone to give the pyramid a white exterior wall, and the white limestone walls came from the Tura quarry, which was just south of the Nile."
"After all the steps are completed, the tall pyramid will gleam with white light, shining brightly in the sun, becoming the most eye-catching building within a few kilometers."
“Is there any building more beautiful than this?”
[Wow, that must be platinum, right? ]
[Definitely like diamonds]
The audience was attracted by Bifang's description for a moment.
"Unfortunately, in the 14th century, Badr al-Din Hassan, a sultan of the Bahri dynasty, wanted to build a temple and a fortress. Since there was not enough stone, and mining limestone would waste a lot of manpower and resources, he turned his attention to the layer of limestone covering the surface of the Egyptian pyramids, and many white stones were stolen by him."
"As time went by, the limestone on the top and bottom of the pyramid was gradually eroded by the sun and the moon."
"After the ground shook, the outer layer of limestone on the pyramid finally collapsed completely, and large chunks of it were scattered around. After being beaten by wind and rain, it became the rubble it is today, and its original appearance can no longer be seen."
"There are more than 80 pyramids discovered in Egypt today, but not all of them are as magnificent as the Pyramid of Khufu. The dilapidated state they are in now is the true portrayal of most of the pyramids. Moreover, even the Pyramid of Khufu is no longer as shiny and white as it used to be."
[What a pity]
[Same as the Old Summer Palace]
【There is always Lao Liu】
But no matter how dilapidated the building in front of us is, it is still the pyramid, one of the wonders of the world, which means that this journey is about to reach its end.
Bifang was very excited, but he did not whip his horse to ask Alpha to speed up.
During this trip across the Sahara, he experienced no less than three sandstorms. Scorpions would crawl on his body when he slept at night, and he had to be careful of the ubiquitous quicksand and poisonous snakes when walking.
The temperature is over 45 degrees during the day and it is below zero at night. It is a double experience of ice and fire. Hunger, thirst and negative states torture the body all the time.
But now that the hope of victory is right in front of us, I don’t want it to end so soon.
Bifang stopped Alpha, got off its back, and started walking towards the pyramid.
Egypt is a tourist destination, especially the pyramids in the country. However, not every one of the more than 80 pyramids is majestic and magnificent. They are scattered in the wilderness, and many of them are ignored.
The same is true of the one in front of Bifang.
There were no tourists nearby, standing alone in the wilderness.
The sun slowly sets behind Bifang, giving it a golden edge.
"Uh, wait, this looks like quicksand."
Bifang Wude stopped while walking, looked down at his feet that were mostly sunk in the water, and felt a little depressed.
These quicksands hidden in the desert environment are impossible to guard against. Once you walk on them, you must be prepared to be swallowed. But for a master with rich survival experience like Bifang, the quicksands are just a novice's copy.
Bifang loosened the reins, and Alpha took two steps back alone, away from the quicksand.
Then he threw away his backpack, placed a tree stick behind him as a support point, and began to fall slowly backwards, moving bit by bit, trying to get up from the quicksand.
"You can also take your shoes off if you feel the need to, as shoes can create a lot of resistance when you try to pull your foot out, especially if they have a flat, hard sole."
"Wait, something is wrong..."
Lying on the quicksand, Bifang, who was about to wiggle his shoulder muscles, stopped and felt the touch of the soles of his feet, feeling a little surprised.
The ground underfoot was not soft gravel at all, but very hard.
Just as Bifang was puzzled, a long-lost voice sounded in his mind.
[Detection in progress, triggering the side quest: Lost Tomb, do you want to accept it? ]
'catch!'
Bifang felt delighted.
Side quests!
How long has it been since this word appeared?
It has been so long that Bifang's memory has become fuzzy, and he doubts whether the branch line really exists.
It has been almost two years, and I have only completed a handful of side quests. I never expected that another one would pop up now, so naturally I chose to accept it without any hesitation.
Looking at the name of the task, I seem to be lucky enough to have stepped on something unusual...
Surprisingly, ancient ruins were discovered here near the pyramids.
Bifang stopped in the quicksand, and the audience in the live broadcast room were still immersed in his words.
【What's wrong? 】
[What's wrong? Does quicksand prick my butt? ]
"No, quicksand doesn't sting my butt. I feel like there's something under my feet."
After receiving the system prompt, Bifang was not in a hurry to break free from the quicksand.
There was wilderness all around, and apart from the pyramid in the distance, there were no other relics.
Combined with the unusual feeling under his feet, it became very clear where the so-called ruins were.
This is normal. If the ruins were really on the surface, it would not be Bifang's turn to discover them.
Bifang stood up again from the quicksand and slid down gradually. The hard touch on the soles of his feet became more and more obvious.
Feeling carefully under the feet, it felt like a huge rock, but it was not that hard. When Bifang put the weight of his entire body on it and shook it deliberately to speed up his sinking, the huge rock under his feet also sank with it.
The audience's curiosity was aroused and they asked what it was.
【What the hell?】
[Could it be that I stepped on a treasure?]
[Alibaba's Forty Thieves, right?]
"It should be a stone, very flat, but not solid. Wait a moment, I'll come out first."
Bifang stopped moving. The quicksand had already sunk to his chest, almost submerging him completely.
Just as Bifang spread out his hands, preparing to slowly "swim" out, the stone that had been under his feet suddenly disappeared, and there was suddenly nothing under his feet.
Then, the quicksand around began to flow slowly from its original static state, and then faster and faster, almost forming a whirlpool.
Bifang, who had just stuck half of his body out, was pulled by the powerful suction of the whirlpool and could not get out at all. He sank deeper and deeper, and was soon buried back in the chest cavity, and it was even more serious than before.
Seeing that the sand was about to bury Bifang's neck, the audience in the live broadcast room were completely worried.
【Oh my god, the horse stumbled! 】
[What's wrong with Lao Fang? Why is he going to fail?]
[Why is the sand flowing so fast?]
[Is this still quicksand? Are you bullying me for being ignorant?! ? ]
Bifang's heart was pounding, and he felt the pressure all around him growing greater and greater, making it completely impossible for him to breathe. He grabbed around with his hands, but could grab nothing except the sliding sand.
The situation was not good, Bifang quickly withdrew his right hand and tried to untie the rope around his waist.
From the chest to the neck, and then to the chin, until only the eyes were left. Just when it was about to be completely submerged, a big hand broke through the quicksand again and threw out a piece of rope.
All the muscles in Bifang's body were connected as one, and they all exerted their strength, like a flying fish jumping out of the sea, revealing half of its face, and shouting.
"alpha!"
"bite!"
"rope!"
Alpha, who was jumping back and forth on the shore , received the order and saw the rope end on the ground. He was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted before the rope end slipped down. He stepped forward and bit the rope, then stepped back.
The rope was stretched straight, but with the help of Alpha, the sea-stabilizing beast, it was quickly moved out of the sand sea bit by bit.
The situation was completely opposite to that before: the palms, arms, and finally the head, neck, and chest, and the scene was recreated as if time was going backwards.
The muscles in Bifang's forearms were as hard as rocks, and he held on to the rope tightly. With a slight shake, the pressure around him was greatly reduced.
The remaining quicksand flowed into the infinite abyss underground like running water, even affecting the sandy ground where Alpha was standing, scaring it so much that it quickly retreated.
Bifang was dragged and slid outwards, surrounded by choking yellowish smoke and dust. From a distance, it looked like a thin mist suddenly rose from the ground.
The entire earth was roaring, like a non-stop polishing machine, constantly vibrating the gravel inside.
When everything was settled, Bifang lay on the ground, coughing violently and almost retching. Tiny gravel was floating everywhere. He had no idea how much he had inhaled into his lungs.
"Luckily I trained Alpha before, hahaha."
Bifang, who had finally caught his breath, couldn't help but laugh.
People make mistakes, and horses stumble.
Quicksand is the most ingenious device designed by nature.
There are too many and too dense quicksands in the Sahara, and there are different types, including dry quicksand, wet quicksand, and so on.
Bifang had already thought about the situation in which he would be trapped in danger and unable to free himself, and had trained Alpha in advance to bite the rope and drag it.
【Awesome! 】
[It has to be my brother Fang! ! ]
【Please pay attention to Fangshen!!】
[The little milk bottle with a beard is presented to the anchor's spaceship*1. 】
[Pig heart and shrimp are presented to the live broadcast yacht *1. ——Follow, follow! 】
[What's that on the ground? Is there a hole over there?]
When the yellow mist in the air slowly dissipated, Bifang carefully came to the place where he had encountered quicksand before, and found that a small hole with a diameter of less than half a meter was revealed.
The cave was pitch black and I couldn't see what was inside.
But it appeared clearly on the ground, and no one could resist the urge to go in and take a look.
[What the hell, what the hell, what the hell is this? ]
[Ruins? Or caves? ]
[Old Fang, you are so lucky that you can find this. Why do you want to be an explorer? Be a treasure hunter! ]
【Hurry up and take a look, hurry up! 】
The audience in the live broadcast room had completely forgotten the thrilling scene that just happened and were all urging Bifang to go in and take a look.
"Don't worry."
Compared with the audience, Bifang, the professional explorer, calmed down after seeing the hole in the ground.
In other words, it was Bifang's professionalism that made him restrain the urge to go in immediately.
"These strange caves have been buried underground for a long time. There is a high possibility that there are some poisonous gases and some flammable and explosive gases in them. You must not go in rashly."
"I don't know if you have ever heard of the curse of the Egyptian Pharaoh."
"This claim was discovered by Howard Carter in the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt in 1922."
"The owner of that ancient Egyptian tomb is Tutankhamun. The curse inscription roughly means that whoever enters the pharaoh's tomb will be visited by the god of death."
After hearing what Bifang said, many viewers immediately had an impression.
After all, I have seen many movie plots with similar plots.
Many viewers felt a shudder on their backs as they looked at the dark cave, as if they would die in the next second.
Bifang then changed the subject: "Of course this curse is fake. It was completely exaggerated by the media. The media hyped it up. Later it was proven that the curse of the Egyptian pharaohs did not exist. Today, the Egyptian tomb is housed in the Egyptian National Museum."
Howard Carter became famous after discovering Tutankhamun's tomb, and the person who funded him was Lord Carnarvon.
It took them 15 years to find the tomb, but Lord Carnarvon died the year after discovering Tutankhamun's tomb.
Some people began to say that this was a curse from the Egyptian pharaoh, and the more they talked, the more evil it became.
Later, more and more deaths were related to the Pharaoh's curse, and there were even rumors that Howard Carter had died, until Carter came out to refute the rumors, saying that he was still alive and that the Pharaoh's curse did not exist.
In the end, Carter lived to be 64, and the rumors backfired.
"Regarding the curse of the Egyptian pharaohs, why do many people who come into contact with the Egyptian pharaohs' tombs die young? The correct speculation is that this has nothing to do with the curse of the Egyptian pharaohs, but is related to the tombs."
"The organisms in the pharaoh's tomb will rot and deteriorate, and may produce pathogenic bacteria or some toxic gases."
"People at that time did not have a good sense of prevention and rushed in as soon as they discovered the ruins, so many people who entered the tomb were easily infected or even died."
“So we still need to make some preparations before going in.”
