Chapter 83: Discovery and Commencement

"Buying a bag of broken clay pieces for 8000 euros is truly an unimaginable thing," exclaimed Fan Meng in astonishment as he walked out of the souvenir shop with Liang En.

You see, in France, the average monthly salary of a middle-income programmer was 3640 euros last year. In other words, this pile of clay fragments equated to more than two months' worth of wages for a programmer. It was not a small amount by any means.

"Because I believe there might be something valuable inside this thing," Liang En shook the plastic bag in his hand, saying, "If we can piece together relatively complete clay tablets from it, then spending 8000 euros is worth it."

By the time they returned to the hotel, the sky had already turned dark. So, after having dinner at the hotel's ground-floor restaurant, the two of them immediately went upstairs to their room and started playing a jigsaw puzzle game.

Most of the items in this plastic bag were indeed just small pieces of ordinary clay tablets, some even mixed with a few modern-day fakes, sold as souvenirs to tourists without any issues.

Of course, Liang En's purchase of this bag of fragments wasn't merely for selecting some souvenirs. Soon enough, he followed the faint gleams of light to pick out a dozen or so fragments from the pile.

Assembling a dozen pieces was naturally easier than piecing together the hundreds here, so in a short amount of time, Liang En and Fan Meng managed to assemble a clay tablet about the size of an adult man's palm.

"Surprisingly, there's a complete clay tablet in here." After finishing the assembly, Fan Meng looked astonished at the tablet and said, "By the way, what's written on this tablet?"

"Don't rush, let me take a look. Fortunately, I understand Akkadian," Liang En said as he picked up a pen and paper and began translating the text on the tablet little by little.

"This should be the fifth tablet from the Epic of Gilgamesh, a 12-part series." As he wrote and translated, Liang En gradually revealed the tablet's contents.

"The upper part of the tablet describes how Gilgamesh and Enkidu entered the Cedar Forest together, and with the help of the sun god Shamash, they slew the monstrous god Humbaba."

"The lower part of the tablet then tells how the two of them, having felled many cedar trees in the forest, fashioned a raft from the trees and carried the cedar logs and Humbaba's head, destined for the construction of a temple, back along the Euphrates to Uruk—"

Liang En said, connecting his laptop to the internet, then comparing it with the version translated by a professor from Oxford University more than a decade ago. Soon, he discovered that the content on the clay tablet in his hands contained additional details.

The extra content primarily focused on the beginning of the text. Unlike the existing versions, the content on Liang En's tablet included more descriptions of the sounds the two heard after entering the forest, including bird songs, insect chirping, and the cries of apes.

Clearly, this clay tablet provided an important supplement to a world-renowned literary classic from 3000 years ago.

And just as Liang En was deciphering the identity of this clay tablet, he gained three new cards. Two of them were common [Detection (N)] cards, while the last one was a new R-grade card he had acquired, [Poetic Chant (R)].

[Poetic Chant (R): In the most ancient of eras, only a select few possessed various forms of writing. For the majority, the means to acquire information was through oral tradition.

Hence, in that era, the role of the wandering minstrel was indispensable to society, serving as a crucial link for conveying important information and maintaining a certain level of vibrancy in the community.]

Strengthening Card (One-Time Use): Consuming this card allows the user to gain a certain level of talent in various ancient folk song chants, quickly mastering various poetic chants.]

"I can't see the immediate usefulness of this ability, but since there doesn't seem to be an upper limit to skills in this area, learning a bit more can't hurt."

After selecting and using this card, Liang En felt a vague and inexplicable presence in his mind. Though he couldn't discern its immediate use, gaining a new ability was definitely not a bad thing.

The next day was dedicated to a collective visit to the pyramids. Contrary to what many might imagine, the pyramids weren't situated in some desolate desert; they were right in the Giza district of Cairo.

"Just like a local saying goes, humans fear time, and time fears the pyramids!" Standing on the sandy ground and looking at the massive pyramids before him, Liang En subconsciously remarked.

Unfortunately, the pyramids had been emptied by people 3000 years ago. Even the tomb raiders of that time had become important archaeological subjects if placed in today's context.

Moreover, the ancient Egyptians had a knack for recycling items. At least yesterday at the museum, Liang En saw a single sarcophagus that had held several pharaohs over time.

When the purely sightseeing day came to an end and they returned to the hotel, Fan Meng borrowed a thousand euros from Liang En, stating that he was buying self-defense items, and left. He only returned more than two hours later.

The following morning, everyone woke up early and headed to Alexandria to procure the necessary supplies for the upcoming excavation. After finishing the inventory around noon, they drove directly to Rashid City, located at the western mouth of the Nile Delta.

Once the Nile reaches north of Cairo, it splits into two rivers: the Damietta River to the east and the Rosetta River to the west. These rivers flow separately into the sea, without converging. Just before the Rosetta River joins the Mediterranean, it passes through a small city called Rashid.

Today, this city is an unassuming coastal town with a population of just over forty thousand. However, in contrast to the Europeanized Cairo and Alexandria, this city exudes Arab and Ottoman flavors.

Unlike its present-day desolation, from the Medieval Mamluk period to the Ottoman Empire era, Rashid had been Egypt's foremost port city during Arab and Turkish rule.

During this period, Egypt, as a crossroads between Europe, Asia, and Africa, naturally became a hub for East-West trade. Wealth from the East, such as spices from India and porcelain from China, would first be brought here before sailors took it to Venice, RNY.

During that time, Rashid's port must have been bustling, whereas Alexandria, its contemporary, was comparatively overlooked.

However, with the advancement of technology, ships grew larger. Rashid, situated at the mouth of a river and often affected by silt deposits, eventually couldn't accommodate large vessels due to shallow waters. Consequently, over time, its vibrancy dwindled.

Therefore, as Liang En and the others drove into the city, they found that Rashid hadn't retained many modern traces. It was as if time had paused in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Since they carried quite a few items, their transportation switched from buses to their individual pickup trucks and trucks after leaving Alexandria. Upon entering the city, the radios in their vehicles buzzed to life.

"We won't stop here, heading directly to our destination, the Qaitbay Citadel." Professor Jacques' voice came through the radio.

"Also, follow my instructions on the road later. Do what I say. This place isn't very safe."

"It seems this place isn't as safe as the travel guides suggest." After ending the conversation, Liang En sighed and turned to Fan Meng, who was driving in the driver's seat. "Where are those self-defense items you bought yesterday?"

"They're in the storage compartment in front of you." Fan Meng said, gripping the steering wheel. "These items might not be entirely legal, so when you need to carry them later, it's better to cover them up a bit."