Larry gave a thumb-up to the recon men, Arthur raised a lever tool and placed it neatly under the sturdy door. After a count to 3, Arthur and Barry exerted extreme force on the lever, and the 2 men of monstrous human size constantly regained their breath during the process.
A small gap between the double doors emerged.
Arthur immediately placed down 2 solid pads to hold the current position of the right door whilst Barry was still gripping the lever firmly in his palms. Barry slowly removed his trembling hands away from the lever, the rest of the recon men quickly moved ahead and settled a portable liquid-force piston between the gap. Arthur and Barry deliberately walked away from the doors, and the two recon men began cranking the piston. The tenacious door swung open at the rate of everyone's heartbeat.
A recon man positioned an extensible camera inside the gap. One minute has passed since the recon man started to scrutinize inside, he signalled Arthur and Barry to open the door wider. Arthur carefully replaced the solid pads with smooth rollers, motioned Barry to stand next to him and began pulling the door open.
A vast room came into view, with a ceiling that was very high and board despite the recent overall structure of the ruins. The walls were predominantly white, with extensive gold decorations and highlights.
Luxurious, multicoloured chandeliers made from precious stones from all the colours of the rainbow depended from the ceiling, radiating a fantastic light. Huge flags hung from poles set into the walls.
This room was the epitome of a "Throne Room" used by the Mayan monarchs. There was no better word to describe a place like this.
Several sudden intakes of breath reached Pan's ears. It was not just one or two instances, but over ten of them. Many among them had not been able to fully muster their resolve against the sight before them, the sensation of unexpectedness, the pondering questions about the immaculate state of the gigantic room hidden 500 meters beneath the earth and swarming impulses dancing in their mind had led their desire to flee to show on their faces.
Arthur laughed hysterically whilst lifting the gas mask and night-vision goggles away.
"Damn boi, if the room was this bright, no way in hell I'm putting those gears on again haha."
There were a total of 18 gemstones each equivalent to the size of an adult human palm. The stones were considered primordial Amber in the modern age, its complex molecule layers allowed the absorbed sunlight to reflect symmetrically within the structure. In other words, the light retained within the stone without being displaced since ancient times.
Larry, with his optimal caution that was plummeting down just now, glanced at the Chandelier 'This is an incredible work of art, I never would have believed that the ancient gems that absorbed sunlight relentlessly would appear in such secluded ancient ruins.'
Larry was well aware of the gemstones, the "primordial amber" on the chandelier.
A crimson carpet ran down the centre of the room and flanking it were a series of immeasurably spectacular Mayan warrior stone statues.
There were warrior statues that bore demonic masks, warrior statues that rode on the back of bizarre beasts and warrior statues with bipedal insects crawling around them. Each statue was different from the others in size and appearance, but the one thing these statues had in common was the overwhelming might each of them possessed if one can vividly visualize these warriors in flesh and blood. The statues were arranged in two lines on either side of the carpet, and it felt too disheartening to count every single one of them. The statues watched the intruders and company in silence.
Above the statues, upon the stairs stationed a vacant emerald throne that appeared to have always been there.
The 4 explorers from Arthur's team aligned themselves neatly, each of them held an EMF and some tools. The first explorer came close to a recon man who stood near the door. He placed a small device on the floor of the room, the device resembled a remote control toy car, and he controlled the device to move forward. The remote control device went to every corner of the room and stopped occasionally, the antenna attached to the side of the car shook slightly at every corner of the room. At the same time Larry and the archaeological team also sent out multiple drones, the drones were quickly assembled and flew at a slow pace around the walls. The procedure did not take a long time until Larry confirmed that the room did not have any hidden encumbrances.
"Arthur, the ruptures behind the walls were just sound-insulating gaps and a ventilation system for the room. The structure did not have anything similar to a trap as far as we were concerned, but you and the pioneers should head in first."
The man who deployed the RC wheel earlier also voiced his verdict.
"I did not detect anything beneath the floor as well, the tiles beneath the room are quite thick in regards to that as well. Still, I agree with Larry that Arthur and the pioneers should also take the lead."
Arthur and the pioneers slowly walked around the room, Arthur who was always sharp with the surroundings of ancient ruins quickly turned his head at Larry.
"Larry, the coast is clear, I can confirm it. Most ruins that we've been in so far have the same firm sensation on the foot, this one is the same, especially a throne room for some kings. Pan right there is looking desperate to head in as well haha."
Larry frowned and turned to Pan and James.
"Tsukamoto-san, please keep a close distance between me and Bailie-san. Arthur seems to be a bit reckless but he's never made false speculation."
Pan along with James came into the room.
Pan did not have much interest in the room except for the chandelier that used exotic gemstones.
This is a building that was used as an experimental area to prepare and process food for the Mayans who were high-positioned in society. I'm sure that this room right here despite its extravagant settings, I don't believe that the room itself is a crucial factor. Although my assumptions might be wrong, the golden sun emblem on the doors from before is not exactly the symbol of the Mayan monarchs. The underlying components of the room may be hidden somewhere else.
I glanced closely at the third flag hung on the left side, the purple sunflower embroidery streaks guided me back to the times when I was using the library of the Le Cordon Bleu French culinary university, the book I was reading was used as an heirloom of the founders had a similar seal icon stamped at the bottom left of the book cover.
I quickly compromised myself and talked to Larry.
"Sanderson-san, would it be possible to send back most of the explorers? I would like to have only Bailie-san, Ronald-san, some explorers and archaeologists from your team and Ronald-san, also the explorer who has helped Sanderson-san to open the doors earlier as well."
Larry raised his eyebrows but then he suddenly realized Pan's intentions. Larry then informed Arthur about the new arrangement. Arthur did not pay much heed to the proposal, he had a smirk and spoke casually.
"Well, I may be the leader here but my man is the one who is funding everything so what can I do about this haha? Oi the lads in charge and their teams disassemble for now except for Barry and his team."
Only 10 men remained behind whilst the rest of the 30 men crew went back to the campsite.
______________________________________
An explorer from Barry's team gulped on a bottle of sparkling water, it is believed that sparkling water can hydrate a fatigued explorer quicker and suppress the desire to thirst longer during an excavation operation, particularly high-end sparkling water from Beverly Hills.
There were only two explorers from Barry's team, and they exchanged pleasantries while resting in the most luxurious room they had ever seen. In the modern world, the only people who can use a room similar to this are the global elites or wealthy politicians, ordinary people like them can only gaze in vain at royal surroundings like this in a museum.
"I swear this room is somewhat super old like ancient times or something but it gives me the chills haha. A normal person who has never been in a place like this would disagree with me that he or she would prefer to chill in their living rooms at their homes."
"Ah Henry, you're telling me that sitting on a floor is way more enjoyable than chilling on a comfy sofa back in your crib huh? Well I also agree with that haha"
"C'on Archie, even the guy with the lowest self-awareness in our crew is well aware that this is very likely to be the last excursion. They were talking animatedly about this on the way into the ruin."
Henry took another sip of sparkling water and stared vaguely at the bottle.
"To be honest, I never wanted to do this. By this, I mean doing illegal activities like, we've been following Barry for a while so I hope that you can console me. When I started my career as a professional explorer, I had hopes that one day I'll have my name written on a Wikipedia page. But the pushovers throughout my adulthood have brought in a handful of surprises. By the way, have you ever heard of Rick?"
Archie scratched his hair and made a fist under his chin.
"R-rick, Rick….. Ah, get Rick rolled' lmao?"
Henry was relieved at Archie's words, he had thought that a crew filled with greedy and domineering men would never have an innocent young man. His sensation of relief grew bigger the more he thought about Archie, the shackling burden of guilt that has crooked his shoulders now felt much lighter. Perhaps the fact that the reward from the exploration will eventually retire Henry from his profession also contributed a little to alleviating his sense of guilt.
"Hmm, I guess that youngsters would find this joke more entertaining than a middle-aged man like me would. Well, Rick was the most sincere explorer amongst the explorers of Arthur's crew at the time, his integrity can be described as a great asset of a human being. He left the crew as soon as he found out that Arthur was starting illegal explorations, I think that he is working for a charity organization now. After all, a payroll was never a charm to a man like that."
"Hmm, interesting story. How come you never tell me about a man like Rick ...."
Archie burst into laughter as the joke from earlier conjured up in his mind.
"Hahaha….. I'm sorry Henry, I may seem lacking a little bit but well yeah I'll look for this man named Rick that you're talking about after this."
Barry approached the 2 men and patted their shoulders.
"Sorry to disturb your conversation but the client has decided to continue with his search. Gather your bags and we'll be following Arthur and his team."
Barry turned and went away. While Henry was packing his bag, Archie tapped his shoulder and whispered.
"I'm excited about this, talk to me more about Rick afterwards, deal?"
Henry nodded, a warm smile spread across his face.