Ahmed now regrets accepting the mission. If he had refused the chief's orders and insisted on going to Hurghada for vacation, the worst consequence would have been a scolding upon his return. Now, however, he faces unknown dangers. This is clearly not an ordinary murder case.
"Professor Alef, did you know something before you came?" Ahmed asked tentatively, looking at the empty sarcophagus and the deep cave.
"No, I know nothing, just like you," Alef said, "But now I know a little."
"What do you know?"
"Since the discovery of the Pyramid of Khufu, no the Mummy have been found. The tombs of the pharaohs and queens are empty. Rumor has it that the pyramid was looted long ago," said Alef. "In fact, we have never found the pharaoh's body in any of the pyramids; all the Mummy have been found in the Valley of the Kings. I've always wondered why the emperors of the Ancient Egypt dynasties built their tombs so conspicuously. Wasn't that practically telling tomb robbers, 'Come and steal my treasures!' Now I know, the pyramids above ground were a decoy; their underground chambers were the real burial sites."
"Then why is the coffin empty?"
"We'll have to go down and see for ourselves to find out."
Ahmed said, "Alright, I'll go first, you all follow behind me. Abdullah, you can stay here if you're scared."
Abdullah puffed out his chest and said, "No, sir, I'm not afraid. I was just... unprepared. I swear in the name of my father and grandfather that Abdullah Rashad Rashid Buzblashi Izjerashi Tsshalash Mudzhal is a brave warrior who will never desert. If you don't believe me, I'm willing to go first!"
Ahmed thought for a moment and decided to acknowledge the bravery of the lovable park ranger and let him go first. This wasn't to make Abdullah a cannon fodder, but rather to give him time to make a more accurate judgment should danger arise.
Climbing into the stone coffin, one finds a steep downward slope with bloodstains on the floor and corners of the walls. A short distance down the slope, one enters another stone chamber.
This stone chamber is much larger than the one above, but it is not square; rather, it is a regular pentagon. The walls are also covered with murals. In the center of the chamber is a stone coffin, and five stone tablets stand around it.
Professor Alef's gaze was completely drawn to the five stone tablets, while Ahmed walked to the corner of the stone chamber where there was a corpse.
Unlike the previous one, the body here was cleaned very thoroughly. The internal organs had been completely removed, and the entire abdominal cavity was empty, but it was certain that the heart was still inside. The hole in the face had also been cleaned, and the deceased's eyeballs and brain matter were gone. The entire head looked like a hollowed-out pumpkin.
There was a corpse in each corner of the stone chamber, a total of five corpses in five corners. They all died in the same manner and were placed in the same position. Their feet were pointing towards the cracks in the corner wall of the stone chamber, and their heads were facing the direction of the stone coffin in the center, which seemed to be a kind of sacrificial ritual.
This overturned Ahmed's theory about the killer; it was impossible for a wild animal to arrange the bodies so neatly.
He carefully examined the area around the stone chamber and found no other passageways except for two ventilation openings in the wall. Therefore, he turned his attention to the stone coffin in the center.
Alef was still looking at the stone tablets, muttering to himself, "This isn't hieroglyphics, it's not Ancient Egypt hieroglyphs, damn it, I don't recognize a single one of these characters, it's so strange!"
He moved from the first stele to the fifth, a bewildered look on his face. "It is indeed hieroglyphics, at least somewhat similar to hieroglyphics. Could it be Chinese characters? No, no, impossible! How could China characters appear in a pharaoh's tomb from four thousand years ago! Hey—" He turned around and shouted, "Does anyone here understand Chinese?"
Ahmed shrugged, thinking to himself, "How could anyone here possibly understand Chinese? Aren't you a professor? An archaeologist? If you don't know it, who else would?"
Just as Alef was feeling disappointed, Abdullah suddenly stepped forward and said somewhat uncertainly, "I think I might know a little Chinese."
"You?" Ahmed was quite surprised, "You understand Chinese?"
"Just a little," Abdullah said. "Tourism officials said everyone working at the scenic area should learn a little Chinese if... if they want to make money from China tourists."
Alef nodded and said, "Then come here and see what's written on this monument."
Abdullah straightened his back and walked over, stood in front of the monument, stared at it for a while, but his face quickly showed a look of confusion and bewilderment.
"This isn't Chinese," he said.
"Are you sure?" Alef asked.
Abdullah said, "Although my Chinese isn't very good, I'm sure what's written on this isn't Chinese characters, at least not the modern ones. If it were the kind of ancient characters carved on tortoise shells, I wouldn't recognize them; I've heard from China people that most of them don't recognize them either."
Alef was somewhat disappointed, but quickly became excited again. "Ah, that means we've discovered a new script, an ancient script distinct from hieroglyphs! This is a major discovery in the history of civilization! This tomb is newly discovered; no one has ever been inside before. The script and murals are perfectly preserved, without any problems. I, and you, will all be remembered for eternity, just like Champollion!"
Ahmed didn't care about being remembered for eternity. He reminded him, "Sir, you may have forgotten, we are currently at the scene of a murder. There are five bodies here. Including those in the corridor, a total of seven tourists have been killed."
Alef paused for a moment, as if only then realizing what had happened, and said, "Well, it's nothing, just a few people died."
"Only a few people died?! That's easy for you to say!" Ahmed thought the scholar had something wrong with his head. "Don't you think we're in danger?"
"Danger? Oh yes, danger. What isn't dangerous? But since the person is already dead, that means the danger has passed, right?"
Alef then ordered the two soldiers, "Open the coffin lid."
This sarcophagus was larger than the one above, and the lid was properly closed. It looked very heavy, and it took two soldiers a lot of effort to push it open.
Ahmed and Abdullah stood ready with their pistols raised, while Alef seemed relaxed and turned to look at the inscription on the stone tablet.
The coffin lid was half-opened, but no monster jumped out as expected. Ahmed went closer and saw a human-shaped the Mummy lying in the coffin, wearing a golden mask and covered with a blanket inlaid with many ornaments.
Although Ahmed found the Mummy strange and suspected something was amiss, he understood that it was a most precious artifact and should not be touched lightly, even though the chief had given him the authority to make a decision on the spot. He felt it was better to let the archaeological experts around him make the decision.
Alef leaned over the coffin and exclaimed, "Ah, it's perfect! It's exactly the same as Tutankhamun's mask!"
Then, he did something no one expected: he actually reached out and picked up the mask.
Beneath the mask was not the pharaoh's head, but only a pile of tattered rags.
He lifted the blanket again, and underneath it was a pile of tattered burlap and many other scattered items, piled up like stones.
"What... what's going on?" Ahmed was incredulous.
"Do you know what this is?" Alef picked up a piece of linen from the sarcophagus, pinched it between his fingers, and shook it gently.
"What's this?"
"This is the shroud of a pharaoh's the Mummy."