"Two months ago, our school’s archaeological team discovered so ancient records. Based on those records, combined with our field investigations, we found that there is a huge ancient tomb hidden in the outskirts of North County."
Hao Dongnan slowly said, "At that ti, a few professors and I brought a group of interns over here and found that the Feng Shui of this place is quite extraordinary. According to ancient funeral practices, only a prince or a king would be worthy of such Feng Shui. However, we scoured the ancient books and couldn’t figure out which king might be buried here."
"After discussions, we decided to carry out a protective excavation of this ancient tomb. Given the tomb’s age and size, it should provide us with a wealth of archaeological research material. However, the excavation work was much more arduous than we had imagined. It took us over a month just to clear the tomb’s entrance."
"Why didn’t you get more help?" Ling Chen asked. "For large archaeological projects like this, you would need a team of dozens or even hundreds. How can you manage with just a dozen people?"
Upon hearing this, Hao Dongnan and several other professors appeared hesitant, looking as if they wanted to speak but couldn’t.
Noticing their change in expression, Ling Chen said, "What? At this point, is there still sothing you can’t disclose?"
Hao Dongnan hesitated for a mont before saying, "We didn’t dare to gather too many people. The more people, the more likely it is for information to leak. If word about this tomb got out, all our hard work over these months would go down the drain. Mr. Ling, usually, governnt permission is needed to conduct a protective excavation of such a tomb. But we didn’t dare report it to the state. Otherwise, once the state knows, they will send the National Archaeological Team to take over the tomb. At that point, all our efforts would beco worthless. This is a tomb that we discovered, and I hope to personally oversee the excavation."
So that’s how it is! Ling Chen suddenly understood. No wonder Hao Dongnan was not seeking help; he was afraid his discovery might be taken away by soone else.
"Professor Hao, what about Su Lin? Where is she now?"
"She’s in the tomb," Hao Dongnan explained. "A few days ago, we started preliminary excavation work on the tomb. However, the work didn’t go smoothly; the tomb door is incredibly heavy and we couldn’t move it with our equipnt alone. Later, after careful examination, we found a robbery hole on the other end of the tomb. The robbery hole is several hundred years old, with weeds growing all around. Luckily, Miss Su was attentive and we discovered the hole’s existence."
"Due to the limited width of the robbery hole, only Miss Su could barely fit through among us. According to our plan, Miss Su was to enter the tomb through the robbery hole to see if it had been damaged by grave robbers. However, not long after Miss Su entered the hole, a collapse occurred in the middle due to its age, blocking the entire passage."
"For the past two days, we’ve been keeping in touch with Miss Su via cellphone, trying to rescue her as soon as possible. Just yesterday, her phone probably ran out of battery, and we lost contact with her."
Nanrong Wanqing, beside them, said, "Lin called right before her phone died. She told she was trapped sowhere and hoped I could quickly bring help. After the call, I tried reaching her several tis, but the phone kept notifying that it was off."
Ling Chen nodded and said, "Professor Hao, I understand you’re concerned about losing credit for your discovery. However, this matter requires governnt authorization. Without it, despite being for archaeology, your actions are not much different from those of tomb robbers." Pausing for a mont, Ling Chen thought for a while and continued, "Professor Hao, I’ll ask a friend in Beijing to get you a governnt authorization. This way, everything you do will be legal, and we can also mobilize more manpower to assist."
"You...you an it?" Hao Dongnan’s eyes lit up, looking excitedly at Ling Chen.
"Don’t worry, I keep my promises. However, your first priority must be to help us rescue Miss Su. Professor Hao, let be clear, if anything happens to Miss Su, it will be the end for all of you, understood?"
Hao Dongnan quickly agreed, "No problem, even if you hadn’t said it, I would do everything possible to rescue Miss Su."
By now, it was already late at night. Having run around all day, Ling Chen imdiately called Qiao Zhen without taking a break. Although Qiao Zhen had already retired, he still had influence, and this matter required his help.
After making all the arrangents, Ling Chen accompanied Nanrong Wanqing to the excavation site. The ancient tomb was surrounded by tarps, and because it was too dark, many things were hard to see clearly.
Nanrong Wanqing, full of worry, asked, "Ling Chen, it’s been two days now. Lin doesn’t have anything to eat or drink. Do you think she could be in danger?"
Ling Chen comforted, "Don’t worry. Even without food or drink, it’s possible to hold on for three or four days. I’ve already contacted help. As long as everything goes smoothly, we can rescue Miss Su tomorrow."
With that, Ling Chen looked at the sky and said, "It’s late. Go get so rest. There’s still a lot to do tomorrow."
Nanrong Wanqing softly responded, and then returned to the tent with Ling Chen.
The next morning.
A dozing Ling Chen suddenly heard the roar of engines approaching the camp.
Opening his eyes, Ling Chen crawled off his folding bed and quickly stepped outside the tent. He imdiately saw three military transport vehicles and two large engineering trucks slowly approaching.
Finally, they arrived!
Ling Chen breathed a sigh of relief. He had been most worried that support might not arrive in ti. Now it seed his heart could finally settle.
As the vehicles stopped, the door of the leading military transport truck opened, and a young man jumped out from the passenger seat.
Seeing who it was, Ling Chen was slightly taken aback, quickly went over, and exclaid, "Old Tang, why are you here?"
Tang Yuan, looking helpless, said, "How could I not co? The old General was worried and specifically had co along. I say, ever since I’m acquainted with you, I’ve turned into a handyman, doing all sorts of odd jobs."
Ling Chen laughed and patted Tang Yuan on the shoulder, "Brother, I appreciate it."
"Hey! I brought fifty people over from the army. Is that enough? If not, I’ll have the Southwest Military District send more manpower."
"No need, just have everyone rest and eat sothing, then we’ll get to work in half an hour."
"Alright, no problem." With that, Tang Yuan handed a docunt to Ling Chen, "Here, this is the authorization you wanted. The old General had to pull a lot of strings for it."
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