Chapter 149: The Tomb Was Already Robbed! The Skeleton Is from the Republic Era

As she spoke, Gu Shengsheng and the others splashed the baking soda solution they had brought all over the stone door.

Once the baking soda finished neutralizing the concentrated sulfuric acid, it would be safe to open the stone door.

The tomb was designed this way during its construction specifically to deter tomb raiders.

Clearly, the small artifacts outside weren’t the most important ones.

You could tell the tomb’s occupant was very wealthy, and the burial goods were bound to be exceptional.

With a trap like this in just the outer section of the tomb, there was no telling what they would face deeper inside.

Gu Shengsheng looked over at Zhang Zhengyi. "Mr. Zhang, what’s our status?"

"We’ve done a preliminary survey of the area and found a few clues. Based on the script style and the scattered artifacts, we can confirm the tomb is from the Ming Dynasty."

"Two people are missing, and we’ve completely lost contact. I’ve already notified the support team to bring in an excavator."

Gu Shengsheng nodded. "An excavator is too slow. It’ll take at least an hour to get here. I’m afraid the people inside don’t have that long."

Gu Shengsheng then took out her communicator and contacted the survey team. She told them how to conduct their scans, how to search for signs of life, and where they should begin.

As she spoke, she used a tree branch to sketch something on the ground.

’To be honest, this was her first time in a tomb, too, and this one felt strange from the very start.’

’If they hadn’t come this far, she would have advised everyone to just leave. Their safety was more important.’

’But now, with two people already missing, they had to be found.’

Zhang Zhengyi came over and handed Gu Shengsheng a small oxygen canister.

He asked, "Shengsheng, how are you holding up? Are you feeling alright?"

"We’ll probably need a lot more of your help from here on out." The deeper they went, the more difficult things would become. Discovering artifacts was inevitable, and they would likely need to analyze them to plan their next move.

With two of his most capable assistants injured and sent away, the situation wasn’t looking optimistic.

Zhang Zhengyi said guiltily, "I’m the one who brought them here, so I have to be the one to take every single one of them back. I’m not leaving."

His eyes were filled with determination.

Gu Shengsheng replied, "Don’t worry, Mr. Zhang. Now that I’m here, I’ll see this through with you to the end."

"Besides, it’s a good chance to see for myself what secrets this tomb really holds."

’Seeing real treasures inside a tomb is completely different from seeing what fences bring to the market.’

’Fences always repair and clean up the artifacts they acquire. They might even work in teams, with specialists whose restoration skills are on par with any museum.’

’Gu Shengsheng had seen plenty of these shady operations. They were certainly profitable and consisted of many interconnected parts.’

’By the time the artifacts hit the open market, they’ve long lost their original appearance.’

’Seeing them here, in the tomb, might allow for the compilation of more accurate historical records.’

With Gu Shengsheng’s help, Zhang Zhengyi felt much more at ease.

Zhang Zhengyi then picked up his notebook and addressed a young woman, a paleobiology researcher. "I’ve just observed the soil and its chemical composition here and have already bagged samples. When you go inside, do not touch anything with your hands. You must first ascertain the structural integrity of any object you see."

Next, he gave instructions to a young man with glasses who was in charge of surveying the stratigraphy and geological structure.

Gu Shengsheng crossed her arms and paced in a small circle. The professor had just told her that based on their earlier soil analysis, the total area of the tomb site was estimated to be about three times larger than this chamber.

Yet the space they had entered was only a third of that estimated size.

’This was very strange. An idea began to form in Gu Shengsheng’s mind: could this be a tomb within a tomb?’

Finally, after taking all the necessary precautions, the group opened the door they had just cleaned with the baking soda solution. They discovered another wall directly behind it. They still hadn’t entered the tomb proper.

Gu Shengsheng and Zhang Zhengyi, who were at the front, exchanged a look.

Zhang Zhengyi put on a pair of special protective gloves and goggles, then pressed two of the unevenly surfaced inscriptions on the wall.

As it turned out, the characters carved here were a continuation of the inscription on the stone they found outside yesterday.

He pressed them, and a doorway opened.

The whole team followed cautiously behind them into a small chamber where the air was noticeably thinner.

Fortunately, everyone had oxygen tanks and other protective gear.

Zhang Zhengyi sounded disappointed. "They aren’t here."

It was true. This was a burial chamber, but there was no sign of anyone alive.

The only thing that was suspicious was the open coffin.

The young paleobiology researcher was the boldest of the group and was the first to walk up and peek inside.

She then let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn’t some horrific scene out of a tomb-raiding novel.

She reported, "It’s just a skeleton. There are four porcelain vases around it. Phew, thank goodness. No thousand-year-old corpse with its skin still on."

"..." The young man with glasses was speechless. "You’ve been watching too much TV. You’re hilarious."

Gu Shengsheng laughed as well. "This is real life, not some fantasy story. There are certainly many things that are hard to explain, but it’s unlikely we’d actually run into something like that."

Then, she noticed eight stone niches, each holding various items. At a glance, they all looked valuable—mostly gold and silver jewelry. They were common burial goods, nothing particularly surprising.

Even the thick layer of dust on them suggested they had been sitting there for a great many years.

Gu Shengsheng walked over to the young woman and casually ran a hand over the skeleton, specifically feeling the rib cage and pelvis. Everything seemed normal.

The young woman gave her a thumbs-up. "I’ve got to say, Sister Gu, you’re a true heroine. You’re not scared of anything, are you!"

Gu Shengsheng replied, "How can the dead be scarier than the living?"

"There’s something wrong with these bones. They don’t feel like they’ve been calcified over many, many years." The reason she could tell was that in her past life as an artifact restorer, she had once restored a human skeleton for a museum exhibit.

That’s why they felt wrong to the touch now.

"What are these jars over here?" the young woman asked curiously. "There are so many of them!"

Gu Shengsheng explained, "In ancient burials, it was common to place grains and cereals in earthenware jars. This symbolized a wish that their descendants would never lack food or clothing. After centuries or millennia of fermentation, the grain in the pots can turn into a kind of wine!"

With that, Gu Shengsheng touched one of the earthenware jars.

[System]:

Item: Glazed Earthenware Jar

Era: Republic

Description: Three Republic-era Yuan Datou coins. Note: This item has no value.

Market Value: None

Recycle Value: None

’Looks like the System found it too worthless to even recycle.’

Seeing Gu Shengsheng lost in thought, the young woman asked, "Sister Gu, you said these jars are usually filled with all sorts of grains. Does that mean the wine they produce is drinkable?"

"Purer than Wuliangye?"

Gu Shengsheng said, "...Do you think wine just magically appears if you throw a bunch of grains together?"