1274 The Climb (1/2)

This iron ladder embodied man's belief in steel during the last century. It had a simple structure and felt firm. It was a ladder designed with pragmatism in mind. Little mind had been paid to its aesthetics.

If it had been buried in other places for more than half a century, it may have visible signs of rust. However, the desert had close to zero humidity. Blowing off the sand, it looked as if it had been freshly made in a factory.

When a person went deep into the desert, they wouldn't bring extra things, especially not such a heavy and space-consuming ladder.

Zhang Zian knocked on the steel skeleton with his knuckles. He thought of the aluminum alloy bracket they'd brought along on their vehicle. Might this iron ladder have been brought in for…the same purpose?

This seemed a bit unreasonable. Bamboo poles could achieve similar results. The Germans were not stupid. Why would they choose a more difficult way of doing things?

He was deep in thought. Suddenly, he heard Richard groaning. ”Hey! Like I guessed, htis ladder is, of course, for climbing!”

Was this stating the obvious? If the ladder was not used for climbing, what else could it be used for? For sitting?

Obviously, he hadn't understood when Zhang Zian had told him earlier to keep quiet. This made him really mad. He grabbed a bunch of sand from the ground and tried to stuff it into his mouth.

He fluttered his wings and flew up close to the pyramid. He reached a sufficient height before he then kept his wings. However, he did not fall to the ground like a stone.

What had happened?

Zhang Zian and the elfins were standing at the foot of the pyramid and looked up. Although the entire polished golden exterior couldn't be seen, it was nevertheless rather smooth. There wasn't likely a platform that Richard could land on…

He turned and lifted his buttocks, and his upper torso disappeared from everyone's field of vision.

”There is a hole here. As long as there is a hole, I will always go in... Ah!”

With a scream, he suddenly disappeared.

Zhang Zian and other elfins are stunned. Wait a minute! This was the south side…

Recalling his visit to the Great Pyramid, he noticed that there were two so-called ”ventilation holes” on the north and south sides of the tombs. The holes were about 21 cm x 21 cm, extending at an angle of 45 degrees. It started from the tomb and stopped when it reached the outer pyramid wall.

What were the ”ventilation holes” used for? There were many different opinions, and there was no doubt that it would stay an unsolved mystery.

Might Richard have fallen down one of these holes? Who, then, had opened them?

He looked down at the rest of the iron ladder that was still buried. He felt that may be his answer.

Although Richard had been rather annoying throughout the trip, not saving him would feel wrong.

They had yet to see how the ventilation holes looked, as they were always at the foot of the pyramid. From there, they could not make out anything significant.

Zhang Zian started the drone and flew it to the position where Richard had disappeared. Sure enough, he saw a dark hole. The edge of the hole had some irregular gravel. Perhaps these had been left behind by blasts caused by the German soldiers.

The drone faintly captured Richard's screams. The sound echoed through the entire passageway.