civilwarnovels Chapter 4587 The Day of Brightest Day (46)
Chapter 4587 The Day of Brightest Day (46)
Chapter 4587 The Day of Brightest Light (Forty-Six)
"boom!!!!!"
After the deafening roar, a series of tremors followed. The earth shook so violently that it was difficult to stand. Schiller and the Bell both fell to the ground. Only after the tremors subsided and they got up did they realize that Joseph was gone.
"They ran pretty fast," Schiller said, shaking his hand and looking out the window again. The bright meteor was gone, but the entire city of Cairo had been awakened. The meteor had fallen in the southwest, and everyone was looking in that direction.
"Is that a desert over there?" Deathstroke asked, looking out the window.
Egypt's Nile River basin is relatively fertile, but the further inland you go, the more barren it becomes, mostly vast deserts with few decent cities. The area southwest of Cairo is also likely desert.
“Let’s go take a look.” Schiller took one last look at the mural. The light on the mural had gone out, and it looked ordinary, but it must have been the mural’s anomaly that attracted the meteor.
“This is a huge problem,” Deathstroke said. “You didn’t mention the shooting star.”
“You didn’t say your son is a superhuman, or that he’d target me like crazy because of you. If it weren’t for him, I would have shipped this troublesome thing back to America by now.”
The death knell is speechless.
The Bell and Schiller emerged from the museum. The moon was exceptionally bright that night, and many people came out of their homes to look in the direction where the meteor had fallen, all discussing something.
Not everyone saw the meteor, but everyone was certain that the incident didn't occur in Cairo, but rather in an area on its outskirts. The public's first reaction was that Cairo had been bombed, given the recent turmoil. But since the city center was unharmed, it was unlikely to be an enemy attack. Could it be that the Egyptian authorities were testing missiles?
People murmured amongst themselves. Schiller and the Bell walked through them unnoticed. The Bell got into the driver's seat, and Schiller sat in the passenger seat. As the car started moving, a warm night breeze blew in. The Bell reached out and turned on the car radio; the local channel was always broadcasting Arabic-style dance music.
“Looks like I owe you another favor.” Deathstroke lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled smoke toward the window. He said with some emotion, “I’ve never seen this side of Joseph before. It’s amazing, can you imagine? Just a few days ago he was a tiny baby who couldn’t even walk, and now he’s stepped up to protect me, and he almost succeeded.”
“Yes, by making things difficult for me,” Schiller kept emphasizing this point.
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Deathstroke laughed. “Now you’re not even mentioning that you’re one person?”
Schiller was also somewhat speechless. He glanced at Deathstroke and then said, "How about I call him over to talk to you?"
“No, he’s not as concise as you are.” Deathstroke shook his head, took another drag of his cigarette, and said, “I don’t need your answer, just listen. Of course, you might not hear me at all, or maybe you can just take a nap.”
Schiller seemed to take his advice, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, and closed his eyes for a nap. The tolling of the death knell echoed in his ears, its mumbling hypnotic.
“I’ve thought a lot about what you said about social rules. I think you’re right. New Orleans, although it’s much safer than those coastal cities, is too conservative. We’re from out of town, and I don’t go home for years. Who can they rely on? If it were the 19th century, in an era of gunmen and outlaws, they probably would have been dead long ago. It’s the law and social order that protect them.”
"This means that I can only appear before them as a good husband and a good father. They won't accept any other possibility. But lies will always be exposed, and one day they will find out what their father does. I have no way to explain, and they will definitely be heartbroken and disappointed."
“They must have tried to understand me, to understand how hard I worked outside, to understand how much I struggled to achieve their comfortable and wealthy life, and to convince themselves that there is no such thing as having it all, that you can’t have money if you want companionship. Then when they discovered that it was all a lie, that the so-called hard work was actually just wanton killing, of course they would break down.”
"The key is that those moments when they tried to convince themselves become ridiculous. Because only those who live within the rules of society, subject to various restrictions, and still manage to create a good life for themselves and their families can be called hardworking people. Those who make money through illegal and criminal means deserve it no matter how hard they work. Besides, I don't work hard at all."
“They will target me in order to defend their existing life and social order. This stems from their hatred for me. But you present another possibility. That is, when I am in danger and my life is hanging by a thread, their love for me will prompt them to save me.”
“How could they not love me?” Deathstroke murmured to himself. “After all, we’ve had so many good times together. In the yard, on the lawn, by the Mississippi River…”
"Of course I love them too. Even though you say I have a birth defect and that many things are just an act, people are always willing to believe what they believe. When I indulge in certain feelings, I may have briefly experienced genuine emotions. Without a doubt, I love my family."
“Go apologize,” Schiller muttered, “for your cover-up and for getting him into this mess.”
“Of course I will,” Deathstroke said. “There are many other things. For example, I didn’t heed his advice to stay away from you.”
“That’s not necessary.” Schiller closed his eyes, turned his head to the other side, and his voice grew weaker and weaker, as if he had fallen asleep. “You’re right about this.”
When Schiller woke up, he felt like he had had a very long dream, but he had only slept for a short while. He seemed to hear the death knell say something, but he had already forgotten it. When he woke up again, the car had already entered the desert.
Some shadows swept across the horizon. Schiller looked over and felt they were somewhat familiar, but the car was moving too fast for him to make out clearly. Until, as they drew closer, the shadows grew larger and larger—they were pyramids.
Schiller finally remembered that southwest of Cairo was the famous Giza pyramid complex.
Many people may not have heard of the Giza pyramid complex. But the Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the pyramids in the complex. And if you haven't heard of that yet, the Sphinx stands in front of it.
The Giza pyramids at night don't look terrifying; instead, they appear more sacred, perhaps because the moonlight is so bright. The entire desert is bathed in a silvery-white glow. Each face of the pyramids, standing in the desert, is brilliantly illuminated. Their straight and regular shapes don't seem like ancient Egyptian creations; they appear more like products of modern industry, exuding a supernatural, technological feel.
"This is my first time seeing pyramids," said Deathstroke, looking at the pyramid complex on the high ground with a hint of awe. "How the hell did the ancient Egyptians manage to build these things?"
Schiller stood there for a while and suddenly realized: if the meteorite really hit the Giza pyramid complex, would they lose a pyramid forever?
"Damn it," Schiller cursed, "go check it out!"
They ran towards the center of the pyramid complex. But halfway there, Schiller stopped, realizing something was wrong. He turned back, and a cloud of dust engulfed their car. It vanished, and there was no one left.
The death knell finally caught on. Logically, many people should have witnessed the meteorite falling southwest. The loud noise and earthquake proved it had struck. Surely, people would come to investigate. As Cairo's most important tourist attraction, the Egyptian authorities would be more concerned about the safety of the Giza pyramids than anyone else. If it had been damaged by a meteorite, it wouldn't just be a loss for Cairo or Egypt, but a loss for all of human civilization.
The area should be surrounded by police and cordoned off by now, and the experts should have already rushed in. But so far, only the two of them are here, and their car has mysteriously disappeared.
“I told you this was a huge problem,” Deathstroke said. “Looks like we’re involved in a magical affair. You know what that is.”
“I’m probably the least knowledgeable about this,” Schiller said. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have fallen into the trap so easily. I hadn’t even considered that possibility.”
Neither of them were the type to complain. The Bell continued toward the pyramids. As they walked, Schiller began to sense something was amiss. He said, "Don't you feel like we're not moving at all?"
Deathstroke glanced back at his footprints, but the sandstorm was still raging behind them, and the footprints they had made were long gone. The pyramids ahead hadn't grown any larger. This proved their advance was futile; they might have been stuck in place.
“It seems to be a puzzle,” Schiller said. “If we don’t solve it, we’ll never be able to reach the pyramids, and we might never be able to leave.”
“Okay, do you see the key point?” Deathstroke observed intently. “I feel there’s something wrong with these pyramids we’re seeing. They look too regular. I don’t know what the real Giza pyramid complex should look like, but I do know these might not be normal.”
Schiller didn't actually know what the real Giza pyramid complex looked like. Although he had been to Egypt, he clearly wouldn't visit the tourist attractions. Moreover, the pyramid tour was a poor experience. There was nothing to see outside except for taking pictures, and the inside was cramped and uncomfortable. It was better not to see it at all.
However, this puzzle probably has nothing to do with the original Giza pyramid complex. Those pyramids still standing on the horizon seem to follow a certain pattern. What could it be?
Schiller didn't choose to move forward or backward; instead, he moved to the side. He then discovered that a portion of the pyramid in the distance would move with him. When Schiller moved to the left, it shifted to the left; when Schiller moved to the right, it shifted to the right.
The Bell clearly noticed the anomaly. Schiller moved to the left, and he moved to the right. As a result, part of the pyramid shifted with him. Clearly, this was a little game testing teamwork.
"What are we going to turn these things into?" Deathstroke asked. "So they'll line the streets to welcome us?"
"why not?"
So the two began to try. But it wasn't easy. Some of the pyramids were fickle; if Schiller moved one to the left, it would move to the left too; if Bell moved one to the right, it would move to the right too. The two had to repeatedly adjust the positions of these fickle pyramids to ensure they were in their proper places.
"Good heavens!" Deathstroke roared after taking another half-step too far and falling off-alignment, "Why are we playing the role of desert crabs in the middle of the night?!"
“What do you have to be angry about?” Schiller said coldly, looking at him. “I’ve never seen such a stupid crab as you.”
He pulled out his revolver. "Let's try one last time."
"And then you destroyed the pyramid?"
"Then I'll blow you up."