The group ascended through the corridor.
Every now and then, Susanna would open her mouth as if wanting to speak, only to close it again.
Glancing back at Joey and Aesop, who were a bit behind, she finally leaned in to whisper.
"I’m curious."
"How did you kill those monstrous heads?"
Her voice, though soft, carried enough for the two men behind to overhear.
Joey, feigning indifference, quickened his pace to come closer, all ears.
Daniel saw no reason to hold back. "It’s quite simple. The key lies in the blood."
"What?"
How did the blood come into play?
Susanna looked perplexed.
Daniel elaborated, "Whenever they regenerate, they’re always tainted with blood, which is crucial for their replication process."
Understanding dawned upon Susanna, "So, after you killed them, you threw them all onto a place devoid of any blood. Thus, they lost their regenerative ability and were truly dead."
Daniel nodded in affirmation.
At that moment, a voice of doubt arose from behind.
"How could you possibly know that?" Joey asked, skepticism evident in his tone.
It’s a common thing for blood to spill when something dies.
Who would have thought the blood itself was the problem?
With an indifferent demeanor, Daniel replied, "I can foresee such things."
Foresee?
Suddenly it dawned on Joey — Daniel possessed the ability of Information Detection.
Realization struck them both, and they were taken aback.
The capacity to discern even an adversary’s vulnerabilities seemed almost unfairly powerful.
A feeling washed over them, as if they were entirely transparent before Daniel, their secrets laid bare for him to see.
Both Joey and Aesop grew increasingly wary of Daniel.
Only Susanna understood the true implications behind Daniel’s words.
Or at least, she thought she did.
Quickly, the group ascended to the next floor.
Unlike the dimly lit entrance passage, this level was brightly illuminated. Torches blazed on either side of the corridor’s walls.
Daniel had encountered such torches in a previous pyramid — they could burn endlessly. While their nature was mysterious, their use was limited to just illumination.
The other three examined the torches curiously, with Joey even taking one in hand. "If we could take this outside, it’d fetch a pretty penny. Such a pity," he mused.
Daniel walked the perimeter of the corridor.
Each direction led to a burial chamber, all eerily empty without even a casket in sight.
By the chamber on the western side, another ascending passage was found.
Without hesitation, Daniel proceeded upward.
Joey and the others followed closely, not wanting to fall behind.
Just like the floor below, the third level was brightly lit, with a barren burial chamber facing each direction. Three consecutive floors presented nothing unusual.
"How can this be?" Joey voiced his bewilderment, peering into the empty chambers. "I’ve been to pyramids elsewhere. Although they bear the wear and tear of time, you can still glimpse their former grandeur. But this pyramid doesn’t even have sarcophagi. What’s the purpose behind its construction?"
Daniel’s eyes gleamed with a sudden conjecture.
While it’s believed that pyramids served as majestic tombs for pharaohs and held ceremonial significance, was that truly the case?
This Trojan Pyramid clearly diverged from those conventional purposes.
All the way up to the seventh floor. Stepping out of the passageway, they were met with an expansive space.
It was the only area here, with no other passages leading elsewhere. They had reached the pyramid’s pinnacle.
The group followed Daniel into the vast chamber, only to find it seemingly barren.
Empty expanse as far as the eye could see.
However, it didn’t take long for them to realize that wasn’t entirely the case.
"Look! There’s something carved here," Susanna was the first to notice the discrepancy.
Gathering around her, everyone saw that the four walls were engraved with dense, intricate texts and patterns.
The writing was archaic and indecipherable, and the designs were profoundly abstract.
It was beyond the comprehension of the group.
While Daniel too couldn’t understand, a nagging sense of familiarity teased him about these writings.
Suddenly, clarity washed over Daniel.
The script on this wall bore a striking resemblance to the text in the "Necronomicon". It was likely an ancient Egyptian script from a bygone era.
Furthermore, on another wall, Daniel recognized the writing to be identical to the inscriptions on the Atlantean transport stone fragment.
This, then, was the script of the lost Atlantean civilization.
Ancient Egypt on one side, Atlantis on another.
Drawn to the third wall, Daniel’s eyes widened in astonishment, a revelation sending ripples through his very core.
Oracle bone script!
Three walls, three distinct scripts, all intimately connected to him.
Was it serendipity or something more deliberate?
Daniel couldn’t fathom, nor could he seek clarity.
Since acquiring the system, his life had seemed as if blessed with cheat codes.
He once thought it was divine favor.
Now, he felt as though there was an unseen hand orchestrating events from the shadows.
Daniel moved towards the fourth wall.
Unlike the previous ones, this wall was adorned entirely with patterns.
At the base of these designs, there seemed to be a representation of the Earth.
Engraved upon it were all things of the world: not just diverse creatures, but also planes, rockets, spaceships, pyramids, temples, the Great Wall - a rich tapestry encompassing all of creation, in its myriad forms.
Yet, bizarrely, hovering above these countless wonders wasn’t the familiar sky.
Instead, a colossal eyeball dominated the space.
This eyeball bore a pair of wings, so vast that, when spread, they could shroud the entire land beneath.
It stared unblinkingly at everything below, its gaze exuding an indifference reminiscent of a creator.
Perched upon the wings of this behemoth eye were countless odd and eerie creatures.
There was an octopus-headed creature with tentacles all over, a humanoid with a rabbit head donning a wedding gown, a cyclops with an enormous head, and a towering crawling beast with legs like pillars holding up the heavens...
Daniel felt a chill.
The sense was unmistakable: if any of these creatures from the mural were to manifest in the world, it would spell cataclysmic doom for humanity.
Seeing Daniel’s reaction, Joey and the others couldn’t help but grow curious.
"Daniel, can you decipher these markings?"
Without a word, Daniel turned, his thoughts subtly shifting.
"Retrieve the golden safe," he mentally commanded.
Immediately, the system’s voice echoed.
[Item retrieved]
[Awarded 30 billion StellarCoins!]
[Granted 300000 exchange points.]
Daniel accessed the exchange store.
As he had anticipated, skills for understanding Ancient Egyptian, Atlantean, and Oracle Bone Script texts were available for purchase.
Without hesitation, he chose to acquire all of them.
After an automatic deduction of 30000 exchange points, a peculiar warmth flowed into Daniel’s mind.
Fresh memories regarding these ancient scripts began to populate his consciousness.
As he glanced at the three walls again, the meanings of the inscriptions instantly became clear.
He now possessed the knowledge to comprehend every word.
Exile, Imprisonment, Eternity.
Rigorous-defense, Resurrection, Counterattack?
These were the words inscribed on the wall in Ancient Egyptian script.
He moved to the side, gazing at the wall carved in Atlantean text.
Rebirth, Chaos, Gradual demise.
Dust, Settling, Eternal oblivion.
Bypassing that, he turned to face the wall filled with Oracle Bone inscriptions.
Spiritual power, Ascension, Divine favor.
Humanity, Emperor, World-shattering!
Daniel furrowed his brows.
Even though he could now recognize these scripts, he was utterly confounded by their meaning.
It was reminiscent of modern poetry—often cryptic and perplexing.
What did they truly convey?
"What on earth does it say up there?"
"Why won’t you speak?!"
Joey was growing impatient.
He felt that the inscriptions on the walls held something of great significance.
Yet, he was utterly lost.
The pitfalls of ignorance!
Just as their frustration reached a boiling point, suddenly!
Susanna exclaimed, "Danger!"
In an instant, everyone felt an overpowering chill, as if plunged into a frozen abyss!
"What the hell is that?!"
"There’s no one here!"
Joey and Aesop, on high alert, scanned the surroundings warily.
Under the flickering torchlight, the tomb chamber remained empty.
There wasn’t a hint of any creature lurking.
Yet, they trusted Susanna; her senses never deceived.
If she said danger lurked, then danger there was.
Seeing no creature materialize, Daniel understood immediately.
"It’s appeared again, the Memory-Altering Monster."
Joey, with a blank look, asked, "What are you talking about?"
In the next second, their expressions shifted dramatically.
Their facial features started to spin erratically on their faces, and even their heads turned upside down.
Simultaneously, their statures surged.
Their clothes tore as inflamed muscles bulged out.
Their mouths ripped open, letting out a heart-wrenching roar: "Die!"
Arms thick as beams swept down in a strike.
Daniel pushed off the ground, leaping high to evade Joey’s assault.
But immediately following was Aesop’s fist, large as a sandbag.
Damn it!
Suspended mid-air, Daniel found it difficult to dodge.
Thankfully, the silk thread within him reacted promptly.
Emerging from his hands and anchoring into the wall, it yanked him sideways, just in time to dodge Aesop’s blow.
"Danger!"
Before Daniel could catch his breath, he saw Joey, airborne, wielding twin blades.
The blades shimmered with a cold gleam, razor-sharp.
If struck, death would be certain!
Go straight to the new chapter 1 !!!!!
Go straight to the new chapter 1 !!!!!
Go straight to the new chapter 1 !!!!!
Go straight to the new chapter 1 !!!!!