This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 204 Completing the Heavenly Secrets
Aside from the fact that the Jingzhou Guardian happened to be broadcasting a news program live at the time, allowing viewers on that channel to see the Yangtze River turtle shell being filmed, all other information quickly disappeared from public view.

Other television stations' live programs that had already been recorded were canceled, and the footage was taken away by government officials who came to their door.

Even the news program that evening, which featured the Jingzhou Guardian livestream, did not include the Yangtze River Turtle Shell livestream from that daytime.

No news television station, newspaper, or magazine reported on it.

If the Jingzhou Guards hadn't actually broadcast a news report before, and if someone hadn't witnessed it firsthand on the riverbank, perhaps no one would have realized what had happened.

The next morning, people who had heard about the incident still went to the riverbank to see it, but the tree-lined path along the riverbank, which was usually used by people doing morning exercises, was now closed off.

A few curious people and a few joggers were stopped at the perimeter.

Why won't they let us pass?

"We run this track every day!"

"Sorry, sorry, there's a hazardous material leak over there. It's been sealed off. Please take a detour!"

"Is it that tortoise shell? I saw it yesterday!"

"You've seen that tortoise shell too? We came here specifically to see it after hearing about it. It looks like it's all covered up over there?"

The police officers nearby urged the people to leave immediately.

"Let's go! Let's go quickly, this place is not suitable to linger, there may be radioactive materials. That's not a turtle shell, the experts have said it's a protective shield for radioactive materials, it's already damaged, it just looks like a turtle shell from certain angles."

The outer perimeter cordon is clearing people out, while hundreds of meters away, where the turtle shell was originally stranded, a huge white plastic shed has been erected.

The cordon was divided into two parts: the outer part was guarded by local police, while the inner part was actually guarded by military personnel.

Inside the white plastic tent, various simple steel frames and lights have been set up, and even a small section of the river outside has been fenced off to ensure that the waves of the Yangtze River will not affect the inside.

On the Imperial Observatory side, there were more than a dozen experts and scholars, including the director Duan Kang, who arrived directly via a military transfer flight.

To the surprise of Master Ban and Master Gong, they were also among the dozen or so people. This was due to their solid foundation in classical Chinese literature and their superb skills.

Although the group arrived yesterday, and although they had already briefly studied the giant tortoise's shell yesterday.

However, the tortoise shell was far too large and heavy, and a proper transportation plan was still being developed. For the time being, they could only study it on the riverbank. In the past day or so, besides sealing off the site, they were also speeding up the construction of temporary facilities.

Now that the facilities are complete, the eager crowd rushed over from their hotel, even though they had just gotten up.

There were quite a few people standing inside the white plastic tent, but the tent was large enough that it didn't feel crowded.

Among these people were not only people from the Imperial Observatory, but also local leaders and military personnel, as well as some monitoring personnel, who were checking for similar radioactive and toxic substances.

Master Ban and Master Gong had already circled the large tortoise shell several times. At this moment, Master Gong was kneading a lump of specially treated clay on a wooden table, while Master Ban offered suggestions from time to time.

The others were busy observing every corner of the tortoise shell, and some were constantly taking photos and videos, with photos being delivered to the workbenches of Master Ban and Master Gong from time to time.

Duan Kang and several military personnel stood in front of the enormous tortoise shell, gazing up at the colossal creature with awe.

At the same time, the live broadcast signal traveled directly across a vast distance to be presented to some leaders of the Supreme Council somewhere in Kyoto, who belonged to the decision-making level of the contemporary Great Yan Dynasty.

Outsiders are unaware of the situation here, but even these people who used to be inscrutable and seemed to have achieved the highest goals in life are now astonished. The size of this tortoise shell has completely overturned common sense.

Even though we met yesterday, seeing each other again today still feels surreal.

First of all, it has been identified that this is biomass, or rather, bone, and it is no different from a turtle shell in the ordinary sense.

Paleontological experts cannot provide a reasonable explanation for this discovery; the only explanation they can offer is that it is a recent finding. However, none of the experts and scholars gathered here have considered this possibility.

Everyone's thoughts pointed to one thing: an idea that was once labeled "feudal superstition."

The Xuan Tian Yi activated on its own, pointing southwest, and after everyone studied it, it located the Jingzhou area. Soon after, as expected, there was a strange phenomenon in the sky, and this huge tortoise shell appeared.

All of this makes it clear that the Xuan Tian Yi is not referring to an earthquake or a dragon vein disturbance, but rather to the tortoise shell behind the strange phenomenon!
If the shell is already so huge, how big would it be if it were a living creature? How many years would it have lived?

"Director Duan, it's all done here—"

Master Gong called out, and the group of people standing in front of the tortoise shell turned to look.

Duan Kang was slightly surprised. So fast?
The group then immediately walked to the wooden table, which was the workbench of Ban and Gong. On the table, a scaled-down tortoise shell model, about half a meter in size, was made using special quick-drying clay.

This model is only a little smaller, but it is almost identical to the huge tortoise shell, even down to some worn details. The patterns and characters on its back were also engraved by the two masters, Ban Gong.

Duan Kang and the others leaned closer to examine it closely, looking at the model and then at the huge tortoise shell over there, and then picked up the photos on the table to compare the details on the model.

"The skills of these two chefs are truly amazing!"

This is something an archaeological expert couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. He compared the photos and models in his hand, and the ancient inscriptions on the tortoise shell in the photos were perfectly replicated on the tortoise shell of the model. Even the handwriting and artistic conception were almost identical, making it difficult for ordinary people to distinguish them!

No wonder the master craftsmen at the Dayan Ancient Museum were once considered legendary figures in the antique world!
"Great! Master Gong, Master Ban, with this model, our research will be much more intuitive!"

"Yes, the whole picture wasn't seen in the rush, so now the text is all pieced together!"

"However, the contents above are indeed somewhat worrying."

Based on previous photos, as well as by climbing up directly or viewing the turtle's back from a high platform, we have seen some content and deciphered some relatively fragmented information. Through model comparison, some content can be connected by combining directions.

Of course, there is a lot of content on the tortoise shell, and many of it is in unfamiliar characters. In addition, ancient texts are already obscure, and it is difficult for people to understand the whole picture. It is not time to draw conclusions yet.

However, everyone present had some knowledge of classical Chinese or even archaeology, so they could all see something.

If this were said in other contexts or by someone else, it would most likely be dismissed as feudal superstition and nonsense. But today, the information we receive in this way makes it difficult for even the most scientifically literate person to remain calm.

"What does this part mean?" Someone pointed to a spot on the tortoise shell model and found a corresponding photo on the table, although it seemed to be separated by three photos, but the model was pieced together.

"This looks like a pattern, doesn't it?"

"Is it like writing, or perhaps some kind of pictographic writing?"

After thinking for a moment, Master Ban interjected with a comment.

"This should be a combination of ancient cloud patterns and pictographs, but as the old tortoise grew, its shell enlarged and the outer layer shed, which may have caused some degree of deformation."

"Hmm? Right, turtles do molt, but if that's the case, why didn't the inscriptions fall off with them?"

"Perhaps this kind of turtle, due to its physiological structure, is destined not to molt when it reaches its growth limit, but its shell continues to extend?"

Master Gong jokingly remarked from the side.

"This is not physiological structure, it looks like a monster!"

The surrounding sounds fell silent. Many people had thought about this, but no one had said it out loud yet.

After regaining his senses, Duan Kang looked at Masters Ban and Gong with anticipation.

"Could you two please restore the image and text, just as you just said?"

That's exactly what I wanted to hear!

Ban and Gong exchanged a glance, and after what seemed like a long period of thought, Master Ban nodded first.

"Okay, let's give it a try."

Although it was just a trial, it was clear that the two's skill level once again exceeded outsiders' expectations.

However, this time, the "real image restoration" seems to be far more difficult than expected—
As the saying goes, if you're going to do a show, you have to go all the way. Masters Ban and Gong still started their work sitting on the wooden platform next to the giant tortoise shell.

This time it seems to be just transferring the images and text from the model onto an unfolded blank sheet of paper, which should be simpler.

That was indeed the case at first, but as their work continued, some unusual things began to emerge.
When the progress of the text and images was more than 30%, the temporary lights in the plastic greenhouse would flicker from time to time. At first, no one paid attention, but then it became more and more serious.

"Waaah." "Waaah."

The lights overhead flickered incessantly and occasionally emitted a hissing sound, causing many people who had been watching the work to instinctively look up.

"pat~"

The inside of the plastic greenhouse suddenly darkened. If it weren't for the fact that it was daytime and the greenhouse film wasn't completely opaque, it would probably have been completely dark.

"Quickly check the equipment!" "Flashlight! Flashlight!"

Immediately, someone brought a flashlight, while others checked the lights and power supply.

The lights turned on and off several times, and some of the instruments in the room seemed to become unstable.

Looking at the two masters, Ban and Gong, they seemed to be immersed in their work, but they were covered in sweat and seemed to be under a great burden.

The two of them started drawing from both sides, one on the left and one on the right, with drops of sweat falling onto the table.

The surrounding hustle and bustle seemed to have no effect on the two masters. Duan Kang and many others were astonished to discover that the sweat dripping from the two masters onto the paper did not stain it, as if it were being pushed away by some invisible force containing the images and text.
This led to a very strange scene: the area with the pattern on the white paper was completely dry, while the outer edge was already wet, as if it had formed a circle that was dry inside!

Once the power supply stabilized and the lights came back on, those around turned off their flashlights, making the workbench even clearer to the eye.

"Hooray, hooray water, water!" "I want some too!"

Master Ban and Master Gong spoke in hoarse voices, and Duan Kang and the others seemed to wake up from a dream.

"Water, quickly bring me water!"

No sooner had Duan Kang finished speaking than a strange change occurred inside the shed.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"
The lights that had just been restored exploded all at once, and all the machines started malfunctioning, some even sparking.
There was a moment of panic inside the plastic tent, but it quickly calmed down.

"Master Ban! Master Gong!"

A scream startled Duan Kang and the others, who turned around abruptly. Under the flashlight beam, they saw that Master Ban and Master Gong had collapsed onto the workbench. This was not an act; they had genuinely fainted.

The difficulty of completely reproducing the picture left by Mr. Zi'an exceeded the expectations of the two of them.

Or perhaps, although Zhuang Lin created the Yangtze River Turtle Mirror, even if it was just a complete replica pieced together, it would still bring the secrets of the heavens to life to some extent!
Having given it their all, the two were completely exhausted and collapsed.
"What's wrong with them?" "Master Ban, Master Gong, wake up!"

"Quick, a stretcher! Get him to the hospital!"

Amid shouts, Ban and Gong were carried onto stretchers by the crowd and quickly put into a military vehicle, heading straight to a nearby hospital.

After a while, the greenhouse by the river quieted down again. The scene was a mess, and almost all the instruments were damaged.

On the workbench, only the two masters, Ban and Gong, had completed half of their graphic design work.

Someone picked up a pen as if wanting to try it themselves, but the pen just got close to the paper and wouldn't go down.

This was something beyond common sense. Even Duan Kang and the officers accompanying him tried it themselves. The paper seemed to have an invisible wave of air, and the more they pressed down, the greater the pressure on themselves became.

An officer struggled to make a small dot, and was already covered in sweat!

(End of this chapter)