New Gods of North America.

Chapter 317 Value

The next day was Thursday.

The afternoon course is still "Introduction to Archaeology and Cultural Relics Research" taught by Dr. Allen.

After eating the sandwich Doug brought to me in the detective agency's carriage at noon,

After a short rest, Wayne couldn't wait to go to class.

This is not because I can meet rich and beautiful female classmates in this course,

Instead, according to the feedback relayed by Miss Olivia, the stone rubbings that the detective agency had asked her to ask Dr. Allen to translate have been said to have made initial progress.

Dr. Allen is now considered a well-known scholar with extensive knowledge and authority in the American archaeological community.
His teaching position in the college is a bit special, being of a "semi-temporary" nature - he and the school can suspend or terminate the course at any time. Of course, if any adverse effects are caused, the breaching party must pay corresponding compensation.

The reason why this happens is that

The main reason actually lies with Dr. Allen himself.

Compared to "professor" or "scholar", Dr. Allen is more famous for his title "explorer" or "treasure hunter" in newspapers and in the eyes of some people.
One of his most famous deeds was that he would go to various strange corners of the world to dig for lost treasures based on the clues he found.

Unlike what many people imagine,
In today's era, "treasure hunting" can actually be considered a "big gamble" with a high threshold.

——The age of great navigation has long passed. In theory, the footprints of "civilized society" have already reached all the continents in the world. Any treasures that could be easily discovered or plundered no longer exist.

The fact that they are “left behind” means that the treasures are hidden and remote enough, or dangerous enough.

In the process of treasure hunting, in addition to the necessary knowledge reserves, organizing personnel, preparing luggage, collecting clues, and the food and necessities of a group of people traveling to a foreign land actually mean the consumption of initial funds.
In order to obtain the greatest benefits, one needs to recruit sufficiently reliable personnel or companions, and the expenses and risks must be borne by the "financial sponsor".
Otherwise, you have to bear the risks and share the profits with your companions as agreed.

Dr. Allen likes to gamble big. In his eyes, those replaceable companions who are so poor that they can only bet their lives on the game are not qualified to share too much of the profits.
Therefore, he would rather choose "hiring" and let the "financier" or himself bear the greatest risk and initial expenses.

As for the safety problems that may arise after the treasure is found, they will be solved through high labor fees and compensation for casualties.

Not all of them are desperate and reckless criminals. With proper selection and advance prevention and publicity, it is actually very difficult for some people to abandon their families and go into exile in a foreign country, nor can they quietly bring back huge wealth stained with the blood of their companions without being suspected.

Although such an approach would cause costs to skyrocket, it would also make peers more reliable, and investors would ultimately be able to obtain higher returns.

Unfortunately, although the idea is beautiful,
But as a "gambler", Dr. Allen is the type who is both "lucky" and "unlucky".

I guess I'm lucky.
His previous adventures had never been smooth. He either encountered various accidents and suffered heavy casualties, or was greatly disappointed and the losses outweighed the gains. Not only did his investors suffer losses repeatedly, but he himself also lost all his family assets several times.

But unfortunately,
He did make some discoveries in several of his adventures, and he could earn a considerable profit just by writing down his adventure experiences. He also made great achievements in academics, and his position in the industry is difficult to shake.

So when he ran out of money, he became a consultant for wealthy people, gave lectures at universities, and also wrote articles and published books.

Once he has saved enough money or found a financial sponsor, if he happens to have some strange clues, he may plan to set off again without any hesitation, and start another adventure that may make him rich.

After finishing the class,

Dr. Allen invited Miss Olivia to his office to report the preliminary results of the translation to her.
As a "follower" of a "potential sponsor" like Miss Olivia, Wayne was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend the lecture as an observer.

Inissa had previously made a rubbing of the obsidian slab, and the rubbing was now placed on a table in the office, with several open books beside it, seemingly for reference or comparison.
Dr. Allen led Miss Olivia to the table and hesitated before speaking. He did not look excited:
"Miss Olivia, what I am about to tell you may not be pleasant news." Miss Olivia raised her eyebrows slightly.

She tried to guess, "Could this thing be a fake?"

"Oh, that's not it."

Dr. Allen gradually got into the state, "These hieroglyphs come from the southern continent of the Old World. Although the corresponding ancient civilization has long disappeared and scholars have not been able to fully interpret them, the meaning of some of the characters has been gradually deciphered by the academic community, and some specific grammatical structures have also been confirmed. It is very difficult for laymen to imitate them.

"According to the analysis of the content displayed above, the specific origin of this item should be in the ruins of a very ancient temple. The deity enshrined there is the dark god 'Apep' revered by the local ancient civilization.

"If I'm not mistaken, these contents should be copied from an obsidian slab?"

When Miss Olivia heard Dr. Allen's question, she turned her gaze to Wayne with a questioning look.

Wayne nodded slightly, admiring in his heart.

sure,
After seeing the rubbing, it is not surprising that one can guess that the thing is a "stone slab", but it is quite amazing that one can even judge the "texture" of obsidian.

Miss Olivia took the opportunity to express her affirmation, and at the same time, she helped Wayne to continue asking:

"If it's not fake, then what is the 'unpleasant news' it contains?"

Dr. Allen extended his hand and motioned for the two to look at the contents on the rubbing:
“The specific content of these texts describes the real name, image, deeds and power of ‘Apep’ in the local ancient civilization mythology.

“For example, He is the twin brother and mortal enemy of the ancient civilization’s Supreme Sun God, the God of Darkness and the embodiment of destruction, chaos, and darkness. He constantly tries to plunge the world into permanent darkness, and his image is a giant snake that covers the sky and the sun.

"According to the customs of that ancient civilization, a 'real name slab' like this would usually be inlaid on the core statue in the temple. Judging from the size of this slab, the statue should be very huge, perhaps one of the main temples dedicated to Him."

Miss Olivia deliberately showed an expression that said, "I still don't understand." "So what's the key point?"

Dr. Allen sighed slightly:

"In that era, this god was a being that people feared, feared, and kept away from. Therefore, his temple was usually built by the pharaohs deep in the desert far away from the oasis. It was not easy for explorers to find and bring it out. The price of buying that stone slab might not be very low.

"As the 'God of Darkness', the objects people use to worship him are various obsidian products. According to records, his statues and temples are mainly made of yellow sandstone, with obsidian as decoration. But in his temple, there is absolutely no gold representing his mortal enemy, the Supreme Sun God.

"Obsidian may have been a rare material in the southern continent back then, and the cost of processing it was also very high, but obsidian is no longer very valuable and there are not many collectors. The stone slab itself and the temple are not worth further excavation. Even if it is authentic, it is not worth buying it at a high price."

"I see."

Miss Olivia nodded, and then continued to use her emotional intelligence, "But as a cultural relic, it should still have some value, right?"

Dr. Allen does not seem optimistic:

"As an explorer, I certainly hope that all treasure hunts can be marked with a high enough price.

"But as a conscientious antiquarian, I think the value of that slab is no more than $1000 - that's already factored in its historical and cultural value. If you haven't bought it yet, I think that's a reasonable upper limit."

(End of this chapter)