Awakening Day Collection

Chapter 4 Preface (4)
"What I did is described in detail in those materials," Professor Hadley said, "you will understand everything after reading it. If you still feel inappropriate after reading it, you can hand over the materials to the police. Is that all right?"

"...Well, if this is the case, how can I get these materials?" Zhan Ying said reluctantly.

"I hid the materials in a very safe place, but you must have my key to open the safe. I will tell you an address. When you arrive there at 9 am tomorrow, someone will give you the key and tell you where the materials are. .”

Zhan Ying wrote down the address and was a little disappointed: "Professor, can't you meet with me for such an important matter?"

"I'm sorry, I can't, dear," said Professor Hadley's voice full of tension. "I'm surrounded by danger, and there are people far more dangerous than the police waiting to kill me."

"Then you should turn yourself in quickly!" Zhan Ying said, "If it falls into the hands of the police, at least you won't die!"

"It's too late, it's too late," Professor Hadley let out a long sigh with complicated meanings, "I'm leaving, and those people will come after me right away. Jenny, please keep those materials carefully, I found them in China Something incredible... the fate of humanity lies in it."

"What did you say?" Zhan Ying was horrified.She wanted to ask again, but the other end of the phone had already hung up, leaving only a long monotonous tone.

Zhan Ying put down the phone and lost sleepiness at all.She put on her pajamas, sat on the balcony, lit a cigarette, and began to think about Professor Hadley.

Professor Hodge Hadley was her advisor when she was studying for a Ph.D. Not very good at it.But his academic achievements are indisputable, and he has profound attainments in archaeology and cultural anthropology, which is why Zhan Ying chose him.She believes that with her unique Chinese diligence and hard work, she will be able to achieve something under this strange old man.

Sure enough, after a short break-in period, the two became more and more compatible academically. Professor Hadley also became interested in ancient oriental civilization under the influence of Zhan Ying.At first, he just joined a few classes on Analects of Confucius and Tao Te Ching with great interest, and then recited "Tao Ke Dao is very Dao" in a strange way in front of Zhan Ying, but later he delved deeper and deeper.

In the second year after Zhan Ying passed her Ph.D. An overseas call.

"I'm not going back to the United States! I want to stay in China for a few more days, even for several years!" Hadley's voice was full of excitement.

"Why?" Zhan Ying asked.

"I found what I've been looking for all my life! It's amazing!" Hadley almost yelled on the phone.

"What did you find so happy?" Zhan Ying was not surprised.Hadley was such a person, usually taciturn and bossy, but once he was really happy, he would get carried away.

"I can't tell you the specifics yet. It's a big secret, a big secret that can rewrite history." Hadley's beaming expression could be transmitted to the other side of the ocean through the microphone, "Anyway, I met a Taoist priest here... "

"Taoist?" Zhan Ying was stunned.She originally thought that Hadley had joined an archaeological team to excavate Sanxingdui or something.

"Yes, I'm going to find their Taoist temple, a Taoist temple that has disappeared for a long time. The secret that is enough to shock the world lies in that Taoist temple!"

"Don't be fooled by some liar," Zhan Ying reminded, "There are some cultural liars in China who use archaeological discoveries, rare antiques and other things to deceive foreigners."

"Don't worry, I'm definitely not a liar! No fake cultural relics or fake antiques can hide from my eyes!" Hadley said, "Wait for my good news."

That was the last time Hadley called her when he was in China, and since then he seems to have disappeared, and no one knows where he is, except for an occasional vague email to prove that he is still alive and there is no need to report him missing persons.Seven years later, when Zhan Ying seldom thought of this mentor, he reappeared in New York where Zhan Ying lived, and this time he appeared on the TV news.

Hadley kills.In Chinatown in lower Manhattan, he murdered a family of five Chinese-American antique shop owners with extremely cruel methods, and dismembered them all.Surveillance video, eyewitness testimony, and evidence such as fingerprints, hair, and footprints found at the scene all show that Hadley is the only suspect.This long-lost archaeologist turned into a murder suspect overnight.

A week later, late at night, he made this inexplicable phone call to Zhan Ying.

Under the blowing of the night wind, Zhan Ying's mind was extraordinarily clear.She guessed that Hadley must have found the "disappeared Taoist temple" that he said back then, and then found what he called "a secret enough to shock the world" in it.But what the secret is, he has never explained it in detail.

"It can't be the elixir of immortality..." Zhan Ying said to herself.

In addition, from the horrible death of the Chinese family in Chinatown, she also realized that this matter was extremely dangerous.Now that she has become an American citizen, her life is stable and comfortable, and she really doesn't want any twists and turns in her life.With that information, she might have a chance to become famous overnight in the academic world, but she was a little undecided whether to bet her life.

Zhan Ying spent the night in indecisiveness.After dawn, she finally made up her mind. No matter what, she should get the key in her hand first, and then she can slowly consider whether to take out the mysterious document or not before making a plan.

So she drank a cup of strong black coffee, changed her clothes and went out, driving to the meeting place.The road was a bit congested that day, and at 8:45, there were still two streets away from the meeting place.

Zhan Ying, who has always had the habit of being punctual, honked her horn dissatisfiedly, urging the car in front to go faster.At this time, there was an unusually loud bang in the sky, it sounded like a plane was flying by, but the sound was much louder than normal planes.She raised her head in confusion, and was immediately stunned.

A Boeing 767 airliner flew over people's heads like a big iron bird at an incredible flying height, and judging from its flight route, it may have to...

"My God!" Zhan Ying covered her mouth.The sudden great fear even made her forget that she was still driving, and the car crashed straight into the rear of the vehicle in front.At the same time, chaotic screams resounded throughout the street.

But the sound of the impact and the screams of people were drowned out by a louder sound. At 8:46:40, American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston flew over Manhattan and crashed straight into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.There was a deafening bang, flames and smoke billowing from the highest point in New York.

The meeting place designated by Professor Hadley is the cafe on the 107th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

This day is July 2001, 9.

Zhan Ying covered her face and wept for the unfortunate fate of the United States, while thinking that Professor Hadley's secret that may shock the world may never be known.

treasure mystery
The winch made a creaking sound, and the taut cable began to be retracted.Judging from the constant sweat and strenuous demeanor of the laborers pulling the winch, it seems that the big net in the river has caught something heavy.

"Found it!" There was an exclamation from the river.At the moment, the Jiuyan Bridge is full of Chengdu citizens who are watching. Their faces are full of excitement and anticipation. They are watching the salvage boat in the river which is working. The six words "Taoyin Company" are particularly eye-catching.

The heavy cables were tightened one by one, and the sound of the winch turning became more and more overwhelming, making people a little worried about whether those cables would be broken.But luckily, what people were worried about did not happen. A few minutes later, the big net was pulled out of the water, and a huge object that was black and full of river mud was wrapped in the net, and the river water was still dripping wet.Although the true face of this object cannot be seen clearly for the time being, people have already had preconceived ideas and recognized its general shape almost immediately.

"Shi Niu! I found it, it's really Shi Niu!" The citizens couldn't help shouting, "I found the Shi Niu! Zhang Xianzhong's Shi Niu was found!" "I found the Shi Gu yesterday, and now I found the Shi Niu again." Niu, the code is right! That ballad is true!"

"Shi Niu is against Shigu, the silver is ten million and five!" An old man in a long gown and beard who looks like a Confucianism sighed softly in the crowd, "I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it, the legendary treasure of Zhang Xianzhong turned out to be real. If we can find it Those treasures can add a lot of funds for the war of resistance, what a great contribution, what a great contribution..."

This year is the sixth year since the start of the all-out war of resistance.Although Sichuan has not been persecuted by the Japanese army for the time being, everyone in Sichuan understands the simple truth that the Chinese family is dependent on each other.As a result, millions of Sichuan troops went out to fight against the Japanese, and the casualties were tragic.

On the other hand, all walks of life in Sichuan have never stopped various fundraising activities for the Anti-Japanese War.However, the consumption of resources by the war machine was too crazy, and Sichuan was not rich. There were even cases where farmers donated rations and died of starvation by eating Guanyin soil.In order to find money that can be donated, people tried everything possible. Under such circumstances, some folk legends related to treasures spread like wildfire and began to spread. Among them, the most attractive one is Zhang Xianzhong's treasure trove. .

Zhang Xianzhong is a well-known leader of the peasant uprising army in the late Ming Dynasty. He conquered Chengdu in 1644 and established the Daxi Kingdom regime.Although this short-lived regime fell under the iron hooves of the Qing army two years later, and Zhang Xianzhong himself was shot and killed by Prince Heshuosu Hauge, there is always a rumor related to him in later generations: During his conquest career, he amassed an unbelievably huge amount of treasure, which could fill 24 houses.When he realized that his doom was approaching, he hid all the gold and silver treasures secretly, and designed a stone ox and a stone drum as treasure marks for future excavation.

Since then, the legendary treasure of Zhang Xianzhong has attracted the attention of countless people, and all kinds of serious theories have never stopped.Some people say that the treasure was buried at the bottom of Jinjiang River, the river that runs through Chengdu. Some people say that when Zhang Xianzhong was defeated and fled Chengdu, he used a large ship to transport all the treasures away, but unfortunately sank into the Minjiang River with the boat. Zi Zhang Kewang excavated a huge underground palace in Qingfeng Mountain, a branch of Qingcheng Mountain, and hid treasures in the underground palace.

These rumors are just rumors anyway, and there is no real evidence. Although many people in history have been digging for this treasure because they coveted it, they have never found anything.But a year ago, due to the need for anti-Japanese war donations, this treasure began to become a hot topic of discussion. Several well-known chambers of commerce in Chengdu even specially organized an event involving archaeologists, folklorists, historians and geographers. Many scholars, including Zhang Xianzhong, conducted serious research on the legend of Zhang Xianzhong's treasure, and finally delineated the two most likely locations for the treasure: in the Jinjiang River and in Qingfeng Mountain.

Just when this trend of treasure hunting was gradually heating up, an astonishing change pushed the enthusiasm of the people to the peak: a man named Chen Guangze publicly declared that he had obtained the treasure map of Zhang Xianzhong's treasure, according to the treasure map marked, the treasure was buried at the bottom of the Jinjiang River!

Of course, there were quite a few people who claimed to have treasure maps in their hands before, but it was later confirmed that these people were just trying to cheat money with fake maps.But Chen Guangze didn't do anything to sell the map. On the contrary, he invested in the establishment of Jinjiang Taoyin Company and began to hunt for treasures himself.This is the first physical institution to put treasure hunting into practice since the rumors of Zhang Xianzhong hiding treasures started.

This move was ridiculed by people at first, and sometimes critics directly wrote an article in "Xin Min Bao" accusing Chen Guangze of "crazy about money".After Chen Guangze told the press that "the brothers are not for their own selfishness, the purpose of the treasure hunt is to raise funds to fight against Japan", although the public ridicule disappeared, the suspicion did not diminish at all.It is generally believed that even if Chen Guangze founded Taoyin Company out of patriotism, the final outcome would still be nothing.

However, no one expected that Chen Guangze actually found something that seemed to be related to the treasure.He used salvage boats to search day and night in the Jinjiang River channel marked on the map. First, he caught a few scattered gold and silver ingots, and then found some coins minted and circulated by the Daxi regime at that time, Dashun Tongbao.These findings quickly aroused the public's attention.

Jinjiang Taoyin Company has gradually become the focus of attention in Chengdu, and more and more people come to the riverside to watch the salvage process every day.Although it takes less time to find things and more times to return in vain, even finding a few rusty Dashun Tongbao every time can keep people hopeful.

Finally, in these two days, a breakthrough occurred: the salvage ship first fished out a huge stone drum, and then found a stone ox, which happened to correspond to the long-standing folk song in Chengdu: the stone ox faces the stone drum, Five thousand and five silver coins.Stone cattle and stone drums are the symbols of Zhang Xianzhong's treasure in the legend.

For the rest of the day, Chen Guangze was surrounded by reporters. When he finally returned to his apartment on Lianguangongfu Street, the wall clock in the living room struck nine o'clock.

Chen Guangze didn't turn on the light, didn't take off his hat and coat, but went straight to the sofa and sat down, as if he was exhausted from the torment of the day.He took the teacup on the coffee table, took a sip of the cold tea in it, put down the teacup, and lit a cigarette.A blinding flame from an Austrian IMCO lighter briefly illuminated his face.This is a capable middle-aged man in his forties. He is a "Xiajiang native" who moved from Nanjing to Chengdu. He has a handsome face with a slightly western style. Because of the settlement and business in the frontier area, the blood is more mixed.

Chen Guangze quickly took a few deep breaths, finished smoking the cigarette, stood up again and walked into the bedroom.He still didn't turn on the light, but his eyes seemed to be able to see in the dark, easily avoiding all obstacles.He came to the window of the bedroom and stretched out his hand to close the curtains. Suddenly, his movements stopped, and his body slowly turned around, facing the wardrobe on the side of the bedroom.

"Come out, I know you're there." Chen Guangze said in a deep voice.

There was a muffled chuckle in the room, and then the closet was pushed open, and a petite woman came out of it, her skills were exceptionally agile.She was wearing a tight night gown and covered her face with a black cloth, only a pair of shining eyes could be seen.

"You really are not an ordinary person, Mr. Chen," the masked woman said in a relaxed tone, "I have controlled my breathing well enough, I didn't expect to be heard by you."

"Hear it? No, I didn't hear it," Chen Guangze didn't look nervous, and replied in the same relaxed tone, "I just have a very sharp nose and smell a fragrance that doesn't belong to this room. I believe it comes from to a beautiful lady."

The masked woman giggled, and her voice was as gentle as a silver bell: "Mr. Chen is really good at pleasing women, and he is also a vagabond."

"I don't dare to be a prodigal son, maybe I am romantic," Chen Guangze said, "but there is one thing - I am not interested in Japanese women."

"Good eyesight!" The masked woman did not deny, "So, you should also understand my reason for coming?"

(End of this chapter)