Chapter 18 - The Depths of the Ruins

Li Wenyuan felt as if he was in a different world when he entered the inverted pyramid again.

Unlike its futuristic exterior, the inside of the inverted pyramid was made of limestone.

The smell of wind erosion lingered on the inner wall, and the gaps between the layers of gravel could be seen.

At first glance, it looked very ancient and did not seem to fit in with the sci-fi buildings.

When one actually touched the walls, one would realize that they were really just limestone.

The synthetic humanoid could sweep some dust from the walls with a wave of its hand.

The test report also showed that these stones were pure limestone, and there was nothing unusual about them.

However, this was the most unusual thing.

Why would such rock walls appear in a futuristic building?

Li Wenyuan couldn't figure it out no matter how much he thought about it. He could only hope that the aliens would be able to decipher the secret here.

Therefore, he walked at the back of the group, not worried that the invisible synthetic humanoid would be discovered.

In line with the appearance of the inverted pyramid, the interior grew wider from bottom to top, and the hidden secret was also at the top.

After walking up a spiral staircase, the interior gradually became wider.

He soon reached the top floor.

This was the deepest part of the ruins, also where Li Wenyuan hadn't been able to find the problem.

The remaining four members of the small alien team were gathered here and seemed to be discussing the situation.

Li Wenyuan didn't approach them rashly. He listened in on their conversation with the super hearing of the synthetic humanoid.

"...Cooper, did you find anything?"

"I didn't observe while running, but now that I think about it, the shape of this ruin is similar to what was recorded in my father's manuscript," Cooper took out the old manuscript and pointed to a page.

If Li Wenyuan could see the manuscript, he would have been surprised, because there was a pyramid on the page!

There was even a very familiar statue lying on the side of the pyramid, the Sphinx.

One must know that these wonders could not even be found on modern Earth, so why would they appear in the manuscript of an alien?

The professor's eyes flashed and he quickly pointed out Cooper's shortcomings, "Indeed, just by looking at the shape, the two ruins are like reflections that are similar but different. However, you and I both know that the shape of a prism is extremely common in the universe. Even a primitive civilization could have built similar buildings. We can't confuse these two types of ruins."

The professor's words did make sense. A prism was indeed a very common shape. Many other alien civilizations would build similar buildings as well.

Cooper was silent for a while, then said helplessly, "We've explored this ruin for so long, but we didn't find anything, nor did we encounter any danger. Anything that can provide direct information is simply not around. This ruin feels like an empty shell to me, and everything that should have been here is gone."

His words were also what Li Wenyuan thought. This ruin was by far the most spacious one he had ever explored. It really looked like there was nothing there, not even danger.

This was extremely rare on this planet. Li Wenyuan had encountered terrifying ruin defense systems more than once, and this ruin was the only one that was ordinary.

"But we can't just wait like this. Who knows if that black mist has dispersed or not? Let's assume that this ruin is the same type as the one your father explored. Can you analyze anything?" The young man who had secretly killed fatty was a little unwilling to just admit defeat and urged Cooper to say something.

Cooper glanced at him and still decided to follow the other party's train of thought.

"...My father's manuscript used a lot of code words and codes, and I haven't been able to completely decipher them until now, so I can only get limited information. He thinks that this kind of pyramid-shaped ruin was used by the lost civilization to... uh, to bury the dead."

"To bury the dead?" The young man couldn't help but ask, "Are you kidding me? Such a huge building just to bury the dead?"

"From the information in the manuscript, that is indeed the case, but it's also possible that my interpretation is not perfect enough," Cooper helplessly added. After all, he didn't believe that such a building only existed as a tomb as well.

The speaker didn't think much of it, but the listener took it seriously.

Li Wenyuan, who was hiding, looked surprised. It was normal that these aliens didn't know, but as an Earthling, he knew that pyramids were indeed used as tombs.

"Cooper, continue with your speculation. Maybe we can solve the secret here," The professor, who was listening carefully, frowned. He was also thinking hard, trying to make a judgment through more information.

Cooper continued, "According to my father's speculation, the remains of a certain creature should be kept in the deepest part of the ruins. That creature must have made a great contribution to the entire civilization, which is why it received such treatment."

"But the exploration team he was in didn't enter the depths of the ruins. What they encountered there wasn't recorded in the manuscript, but from the results, it was obviously an extremely dangerous existence."

"This place seems to be the opposite of the tomb ruins as mentioned in the manuscript. We didn't encounter any danger, but we didn't get any information either. If we look at it from the opposite point of view, that ruin is where the dead are buried, then this ruin might be to... resurrect the dead?"

His bold guess stunned everyone for a moment, then the young man laughed. "Resurrect the dead? It's better for you to discuss such things with those stupid socialites!"

His laughter echoed in the space, but no one paid him any attention. They were frowning and deep in thought.

Seeing this, the young man stopped laughing and looked at the crowd in disbelief. "...You guys can't possibly believe in such absurdity, right? Isn't this completely out of line with reality?"

"The idea of resurrecting the dead isn't too far off from reality. If you've read Professor Calles's latest paper, you'll know that there's a level 3 civilization that has almost completed the feat of resurrecting the dead. In fact, many idealistic civilizations have done research in this area. There was a related paper at the last science convention too. Not only that, but some materialistic civilizations and huge corporations are also secretly studying related technology. This is not a topic worth laughing at. Rather, its influence on ethics is even a part that we must think about."

Cooper's explanation made the young man's face turn ugly. In the end, he could only remain silent with an ugly expression.

Li Wenyuan, who was in hiding, also had a new idea because of what the aliens said.

However, it was not about the idea that the pyramid was to "resurrect the dead", but about the concept of the "opposite".

"The pyramids are not only used to bury the dead but also responsible for letting the souls go up to heaven... Is this upside-down pyramid guiding something here?" His eyes flickered as he fell into deep thought.