Chapter 019: The Scarab

Evelyn said nothing. She found an ancient Egyptian mirror in the room, wiped the dust off it, and angled it toward the sunlight streaming in through the cave entrance.

The mirror emitted a beam of light.

Evelyn slowly adjusted the angle of the beam, shining it onto another mirror.

In an instant, beams of light darted back and forth, illuminating one mirror after another, flooding the entire room with brilliant brightness.

O'Connor couldn't help but let out a wow of amazement.

Evelyn said calmly, "This is just a little trick of ancient Egypt, nothing special, but..."

She looked around and finally fixed her gaze on Wang Bo. "This really is the preservation room. How did you know? Didn't you say you've never been here before?"

Wang Bo said calmly, "That's right, I really haven't been here before."

"Then how do you know this is the embalming room?" O'Connor asked.

"I just know." Wang Bo said calmly. "But this is my secret, and I don't want anyone to cling to my secret relentlessly."

O'Connor glanced at him but said nothing. Since the other had put it that way, he felt it awkward to pursue the matter further.

Evelyn averted her gaze and changed the subject. "Fine, it's your secret. We won't press further. Can we go take a look somewhere else?"

O'Connor nodded. The others took out the prepared torches, lit them, and advanced toward the area directly beneath the statue of Anubis.

However, as the crowd passed through a narrow underground corridor, they suddenly heard a faint commotion.

It was as if something were passing beneath them, underground.

This sound seemed faint, yet it gave one a creepy feeling.

For a moment, everyone's nerves were taut in unison.

Evelyn asked, still shaken: "What on earth is this?"

O'Connor frowned. "It sounds like some kind of... insect? What do you think?" He wasn't sure, and turned to look at Wang Bo, feeling that Wang Bo might know.

Wang Bo gripped the torch tightly, nodded, and said, "Indeed, they are insects, and moreover, they are some kind of extremely formidable insects."

"Insects?" Evelyn said. "This ancient city has been sleeping for over three thousand years; how could there be insects."

"Why can't there be bugs?" Wang Bo retorted. "And I believe, Your Highness, you should know what kind of bugs these are."

Evelyn was taken aback, then began to think. Ancient tomb, underground, insects—with her knowledge, it was easy to find the answer.

"You mean... the scarab!" For a moment, Evelyn's skin crawled with goosebumps.

"That's right."

To be honest, Wang Bo also hated bugs. If it weren't for wanting to find the Book of the Dead, he really wouldn't have been willing to enter a place like this. Just now, when he was up above, he had already felt this pervasive yin energy, or negative spiritual force.

Now entering the underground, Wang Bo felt a tingling sensation all over his body, as the terrifying yin energy almost rushed toward his face.

Ordinary people would feel nothing, but Wang Bo was different. He now wished he could immediately drop the torch and go back the way he came.

He expended a great deal of his willpower to withstand this pressure.

O'Connor asked, puzzled, "What is a scarab?"

Evelyn quickly explained, "Scarab beetles are a type of insect that specifically feeds on corpses. As long as there are corpses, they can survive. They were a very terrifying insect in ancient times. But I don't understand..."

"Don't understand what?"

"Why does this city have scarab beetles?" Evelyn voiced the doubt in her mind.

O'Connor retorted, "This is the Pharaoh's tomb. Isn't it normal to have scarabs?"

"But in three thousand years, we are the first visitors here. Even if there were corpses, the scarabs would have devoured them long ago. How have they managed to survive for three thousand years?"

Evelyn voiced the doubt in her heart.

O'Connell was taken aback. Right, three thousand years had passed. Even if the mummy had been perfectly preserved, it should have been eaten by now. So how had the scarab beetles survived for three thousand years without food?

Let alone three thousand years, even if there were no food for three years, these little creatures would have starved to death long ago.

But they have survived for three thousand years.

This is truly incredible. How on earth was this accomplished?

O'Connor couldn't help but look at Wang Bo, feeling that he could give them a reasonable explanation.

Wang Bo said calmly, "It's simple. For three thousand years, these scarab beetles have actually been sleeping all along. As the first visitors in over three thousand years, we have awakened them. That's all."

"Is that so?" O'Connell turned his head and asked Evelyn.

"On the surface, this answer seems quite reasonable, but there is still one problem." Evelyn, without waiting for O'Connell to ask, voiced the greatest doubt in her mind.

“What method did the ancient Egyptians use to make the sacred scarab sleep for three thousand years without dying.”

O'Connor nodded. He knew that animals hibernated, but even the most powerful animal couldn't possibly hibernate for three thousand years without dying.

Wang Bo said, "Sorcery!"

Evelyn couldn't help but widen her eyes. "What did you say?"

"I said, magic!"

"Impossible!" Evelyn had thought about what kind of answer Wang Bo would give her, but she never expected that he would give her such an unreliable one.

So he rejected it without a second thought.

"How could there possibly be magic in this world? Are you joking?"

Jonathan couldn't help but nod, feeling that this answer was unreliable.

O'Connor, however, was lost in thought and did not contradict Wang Bo immediately, because he had long sensed that this place was eerie, and he also did not think Wang Bo would joke about it here.

Wang Bo walked forward and said calmly, "Believe it or not, magic really exists. Otherwise, why do you think I want to obtain the Book of the Dead?"

Just then, the group finally passed through the underground corridor and arrived beneath the legs of Anubis, the god of death.

This is a very spacious space.

Evelyn had been captivated by Wang Bo's words just moments ago, but now her attention had already shifted to this room. "It's here—there must be a compartment nearby!"

She looked around with considerable excitement.

Wang Bo looked around and found that the Americans did not seem to have entered yet, so he walked around the base of the Anubis sculpture and quickly found a spot that could be opened.

“It's right here.”

Evelyn came over, took a few looks, and said excitedly, "That's right, this can indeed be pried open."

Jonathan's eyes lit up. Could it be that what was buried here was gold? Without hesitation, he picked up the crowbar and walked over. "What are we waiting for? Let's get started."

Wang Bo sighed and said, "If you don't want to die, you'd better step back!"