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墨書 Inktalez
"Actually, your performance has been quite good," the Colonel said with a hint of amusement on his face. "The few people who signed the confidentiality agreements before you were terrified."
I knew that once I had signed the confidentiality agreement, there was no avoiding entering 'Seven.' However, hearing his words still surprised me. "Who were the people that entered Seven before?" I asked.
"They were all your peers. This project cannot be leaked, but time is really tight," the Colonel replied, regaining his serious demeanor. "I won't go into specifics; let Song Guilong fill you in on the way."
As soon as the Colonel finished speaking, the door to the room opened, and Song Guilong walked in with a mischievous grin.
"Old Song, you're being unfair," I complained.
"I can't help it," Song Guilong said helplessly. "This is a tough job, and with the Confidentiality Agreement in place, no one wants to come without some tricks. It's a decision from above; don't complain. It will be over soon."
"What exactly is going on?" By this point, I felt no need to hold back my questions.
To my surprise, not only did Song Guilong not answer me, but the Colonel, who had been leisurely sitting at his desk, suddenly jumped up and made a gesture for us to pause. "Not here; you'll find out on the way. Everything is ready."
With that, the Colonel pushed us both out of the building.
Once outside, I turned to Song Guilong in confusion. "Why can't we talk about it there?"
"He doesn't have clearance for those details," Song Guilong explained. "Strictly speaking, he doesn't have the authorization level to know specifics. Of course, the main reason is that he doesn't want to know more details. The more you know, the heavier the burden."
I was slightly taken aback by this revelation, but before I could process what he had said, we arrived at our mode of transportation: a Z-8 transport helicopter. The rotors were already spinning, and the roar of the engine drowned out our voices, temporarily robbing me of my ability to think.
The helicopter was filled with a massive instrument that occupied most of the cabin space. As soon as I settled in the back with Song Guilong, the helicopter slowly ascended into the swirling yellow dust kicked up by the rotor blades. Once we reached a stable flight, my ears gradually adjusted to the roaring noise. After I could faintly hear each other's voices, I eagerly asked, "What exactly is going on? We are archaeologists; how did we get involved in military secrets?"
Song Guilong pulled out a drawing clip from behind him and handed me a photograph. I recognized the object in the photo immediately. It was the Four Kings Beast Bronze Square Ding that I had discovered during my first participation in an archaeological dig as a student from the Archaeology Department at the Ancient Town site. This name was temporarily assigned by the team leader when it was unearthed. The significance of this Bronze Tripod in my memory was profound, primarily because I had not encountered anything more mysterious or valuable in subsequent archaeological activities, even though I had since become the leader of an archaeology team.
Before it was transported away, this Bronze Tripod stood exposed in the pit. We students and other archaeology team members surrounded it, carefully clearing away the sand that clung to it, scrutinizing every detail and making countless speculations. Of course, limited by our experience and knowledge at that time, our judgments were merely rough estimates influenced by evaluations from more experienced team members. To be frank, our conclusions were just a synthesis of others' assessments.
However, as I gradually participated in more archaeological activities and absorbed more knowledge about archaeology and cultural relics, I completely overturned my previous judgments. Initially, we had determined based on the patterns on the ding that it was a relic from the Zhou Dynasty, suggesting it had entered this Tang Dynasty Silk Road area from Central China. Later, through various comparative studies of literature, we discovered that the four beast face patterns on the Four Kings Beast Bronze Square Ding differed significantly from those left behind in Central China; they seemed to represent two distinct cultures that merged within this object rich in Eastern cultural connotations.
Since leaving my sight, this Four Kings Beast Bronze Square Ding had not reappeared, nor had I heard any news about it. My curiosity about it and my belief that its discovery was somehow connected to me led me to quietly investigate its origins during my spare time. So when this photograph appeared before me, I immediately recognized it and couldn't help but exclaim, "The Four Kings Beast Bronze Square Ding! Are we here for it?"
The prospect of participating in the excavation of the Four Kings Beast Bronze Square Ding revitalized my initial feelings of frustration and unease. I had always been deeply interested in this matter and would gladly dedicate my life to studying it.
"It's just an ancillary project; no, more accurately, it's a clue guiding us here. That's all there is to it. We are looking for another object's origin," Song Guilong shouted over the roaring noise as he pulled out another photograph from his clip.
The photo depicted a hexagonal metallic object with six smooth and flat surfaces adorned with intricate engravings on its front. Without any reference point in the photo, I couldn't gauge its size; however, the hexagonal metal emitted a dim glow and appeared quite exquisite.
Seeing my bewildered expression, Song Guilong explained, "This object was unearthed at the same site as the Four Kings Beast Bronze Square Ding. At that time, it was wrapped in old soil and went unnoticed—mainly because our primary focus was on the Four Kings Beast Bronze Square Ding. It wasn't until the following year during another archaeological cleanup that we discovered it."
After hearing Song Guilong's words, I felt truly perplexed. This hexagonal metallic object seemed to have been crafted with such precision that it resembled modern manufacturing techniques. Its luster suggested it could not possibly be made of bronze; rather, it resembled ironware's sheen. Both ironware and bronze artifacts are epoch-making products that once represented significant eras. The discovery of two such groundbreaking items—both exquisite—at the same Ancient Town site was indeed astonishing.
While my mind struggled to reconcile how these two items could coexist in one location, another question arose that left me even more shocked. If this were indeed ironware, then even in arid conditions over a millennium, it should have shown signs of rust or corrosion. Yet this hexagonal metallic object appeared as pristine as new; its front engravings were delicate and clear without any trace of having endured thousands of years.
Noticing my astonished expression, Song Guilong's demeanor turned serious as he said, "This is an alloy similar to stainless steel. However, this alloy's craftsmanship is incredibly advanced—so advanced that our current technology cannot comprehend it. In other words, it represents a civilization beyond our own."
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