1283 Stalemate

The Colonel and Consul, who'd stayed outside to deal with the explosives, were envious of the people who got to go into the pyramid first. However, they knew that the work outside needed someone to take care of it. They could only seek to work faster and finish so as to join up with everyone as soon as possible. Or perhaps they could wait for someone to come out and take over, as they had to juggle guarding the vehicles and equipment as well.

But was there a need to guard the vehicle?

There were no large beasts nearby. The wild cats that they encountered on the road may be the biggest beasts they'd met. What could they do to the vehicles? They probably could, at most, urinate on the tires.

As for people... The Germans were already dead. The only others were the scientific expedition team and the Bedouin guide. The Bedouin people were afraid of entering the Devil's Sea, and the research team did not seem to have the courage to enter. Even if the expedition team heard the explosion, came in to see, and thereafter disagreed with their work, they would not think of destroying their vehicles, would they?

The Consul pointed to the explosives that had not been used and asked, "Where should we move them to?"

The Colonel had absolute control over the explosives. He looked up at the sky and spit out a mouthful of sand and stone shards. He said, "To the sand dunes a little farther away from the car. God, this sun rises really fast!"

"Let's finish early and rest early," the Consul advised.

To prevent the direct sunlight from excessively heating up the explosives, they put them back into the luggage and carefully carried them together to a nearby honeycomb sand dune.

The homemade explosives were less stable than military explosives. The quality of the materials obtained through the black market was also suspicious. Excessive temperature or impact might cause the explosives to detonate.

They headed for the shade on the north side of the sand dunes and gently lowered the suitcase. The Colonel squatted on the ground and began to power up the remote control.

Under normal circumstances, the explosives should be buried and detonated. However, they were pressed for time. In addition, there were sand dunes that would block the dust and gravel, and they would not land on the vehicles.

"Let's go."

The two men hurriedly ran to evacuate the scene.

"Stop! Don't move!"

Suddenly, a person was standing next to the vehicle waiting for them. This person was holding a pistol.

It was Zhang Zian.

"You…"

The Colonel's and the Consul's faces changed slightly, and they looked at one another. They smiled and said, "What's wrong? Let's talk about it and not have that gun around. You could accidentally fire it."

Zhang Zian was unmoved and continued pointing the gun at them. He said, "Hand over the remote control, and then go back and remove the explosives."

"Is there a misunderstanding? Didn't we get along well before?" The Colonel and the Consul were slowly moving to the left and right without leaving any traces, slowly encircling him from both sides.

Zhang Zian said, "It's okay to get along with each other. I thank you for your care throughout our journey. However, these are separate things. Do you know that it is illegal to destroy a masterpiece of human civilization?"

"What law did we violate? Which one?" the Consul said with a smile. "Is Libya's law still an Egyptian law? Could it be Chinese law? China's law does not apply here... Oh yes, I heard while on the road that you run a pet shop. Life isn't that easy, is it? Do you want to go to the pyramid with us? You can take whatever you like. Anything here can last you a lifetime, even for your sons and grandsons. To tell you the truth, we can't be bothered with these things. We would not snatch it from you. Let's work together. It's better to get what you want. If you can't, in the future, sell these goods. We can help you sell them as well. How about that?"

The colonel said, "Did you take that gun from those goddamn Germans? I advise you to put the gun down. That gun is more than half a century old and should be sent to a museum as a cultural relic! It would be bad if you hurt yourself using it."

They kept talking as a means to distract Zhang Zian. As they spoke, they formed a circle around Zhang Zian. If they could not come to an agreement, they would attack from both sides.

"Stop your nonsense and dismantle the explosives now! Then scatter everything everywhere!" Zhang Zian urged. "You don't know, but beneath the Devil's Sea was a copper mine. While this pyramid is golden, the minerals underneath have long been gone. What stands below our feet is nothing but emptiness. Your previous blasting has made the mine highly unstable. If there is another explosion, this entire place may simply collapse!"

The Colonel and the Consul thought what he'd said made sense but didn't believe him at all. If it was true, it could explain their radio failure and their other electronic equipment being disrupted.

But the other things were simply too bizarre to them. They were more inclined to think that Zhang Zian was merely trying to scare them so that he could monopolize the treasures in the pyramid. They could not tell, but this person was very greedy and still so young. If the wealth in the pyramid was converted into money, it was estimated to be equivalent to the gross national product of a small country.

On the way there, Zhang Zian had felt the vibration of the explosion and witnessed the deformation of the ground. However, they had not. The ground deformation occurred only after they'd arrived, and as they were close to the explosion site, the vibrations were normal to them.

"Oh? So how do you know about these things?" the Colonel asked. "We can listen to you. It is not impossible. But you have to make it clear."

"This…" Zhang Zian had no way to explain. Telling them that Fina had told him about it would simply make them dismiss it as nonsense. It would make them believe in him even less.

"If you want proof, I can give it to you, but you must first remove the detonator!" Zhang Zian urged again. If they agreed to cooperate, he would take them to see the uneven ground.

The colonel squinted and looked up at the sky. "It's a pity... It's too late."

"Late?" Zhang Zian asked.

It was noon. The entire Devil's Sea was bathed in direct sunlight.

The colonel smiled and revealed the remote control in his hand. "Even if I give it to you now, it is useless. Now no one will dare to remove the detonator. Let us verify your claims right now. Are you really speaking the truth?"

The air stagnated briefly.

Bang!

An earth-shattering bang filled the air. Half a dune was blown up into the sky, raising a dust cloud.

The three men were shaken and could not stand stable. The Consul and the Colonel, who were prepared, rushed towards Zhang Zian with the intention to snatch his gun. Yet as they began to take their first steps, they felt nothing but a sense of falling through space.