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墨書 Inktalez
Because the actual participants in the Archaeological Work are all professionals, our work is more organized, and the progress has not slowed down at all. Meanwhile, the command center has also begun protective work on the temporarily halted Test Pit. This task has no precedent and therefore lacks any reference experience; it is entirely based on the estimates made by Engineers who have worked in the desert for years regarding the potential damage caused by Sandstorms, leading to a temporary design. The core idea of this approach is Sand-fixing, which aims to secure the base and surrounding sand through robust measures. Their method is quite simple and seems feasible: they transport large quantities of iron plates, welding them together to form a continuous sheet, ensuring that at least a dozen Test Pits and the surrounding sand do not shift when a Sandstorm arrives, followed by constructing Windbreaks around the area.
The most notable feature of this plan is its strong feasibility. The previously established Lifting System not only assists this project but can also be welded together with the iron plates covering the surface, creating a dual fixation between the Ground and the air, thereby enhancing the stability of this system.
Their engineering efforts do not affect our progress; after all, our work remains the priority. If there is any impact, it is merely due to the noise reverberating throughout the base and the pungent smell of welding arcs permeating the air.
In this complex and chaotic environment, the only ones feeling relaxed are the Materials Scientists because the current excavation work has been concentrated into a single Test Pit, drastically reducing the volume of findings and freeing them from their burdens. They even have time to visit our worksite now.
The workload is heavy and tense; not only is our work demanding, but the Sand-fixing efforts involving welding iron plates are equally busy. Nighttime excavation and Sand-fixing work come to a halt, yet the noise from transporting materials and unloading equipment keeps us from sleeping well. Everyone in the Archaeology team appears unwell, their faces drawn, especially those who are older; they seem stretched too thin, teetering on the edge of collapse.
I am not in good shape either; my main issue is poor sleep at night, leaving my head constantly foggy. One evening after dinner, I walked back with Captain Song Guilong from the dining hall, both of us dragging our feet. Song Guilong spoke heavily to me: “I’ve been having nightmares lately; I can’t sleep well at night. If this continues, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold on.”
I felt similarly; however, being young allows me to endure a bit longer. I glanced at Song Guilong’s furrowed brow and noticed his bloodshot eyes and ashen face—he really seemed to be pushing himself to his limits. Age does take its toll. “If it gets too much, just take a break; you can’t keep going like this without consequences. Don’t push yourself too hard,” I advised him earnestly.
Two days after our conversation, Captain Song collapsed and was urgently sent to Base Camp—the military camp where I had signed a confidentiality agreement.
It’s not unusual for someone to be sent to Base Camp for rest or treatment due to injury or illness; I had anticipated that given our recent conditions, someone among us would eventually reach their breaking point. It was no surprise that Song Guilong was the first to crack.
A few days later, Song Guilong returned looking much better. Xiao Guolin, who is about his age, teasingly remarked upon seeing his recovery: “Clearly you staged a pity act just to get some rest.”
Fortunately, everyone else managed to hold on without injuries affecting our project’s progress.
By mid-December, we had completed organizing this Test Pit, revealing a fragment of an ancient site before us.
The depth of this Excavation Pit has approached twenty meters. From above, the view reveals that two-thirds of the Azure Stone Floor is visible, with a stone pillar standing prominently on it. At one narrow edge of the rectangular Excavation Pit, several fragments of Brick remnants are scattered. Among these walls, some can vaguely be identified as parts of a building's Wall, with one wall featuring a gap over a meter wide, which likely served as a door.
Within the area enclosed by the Brick Wall, several pieces of broken Pottery have been unearthed. Judging by their style, they are clearly everyday utensils, crafted in a rough manner. Aside from this, nothing else has been discovered on the Bluestone Slab paved Ground that resembles a plaza. Neither I nor Captain Zhou and the others expressed any surprise at this. After all, among all the Test Pits excavated, the one I was in charge of was the least likely to yield significant artifacts. Ironically, it was my Test Pit that first struck down to reveal the layer of disturbed soil. This scoop changed the fate of this Test Pit and altered my own destiny as well. Naturally, many others' fates were also changed because of it.
Once the cleaning work in this Test Pit reached a pause, the Archaeology team members gathered at the top of the Excavation Pit to gaze down at this fragment of ancient relics. No one spoke of anything shocking; instead, we all felt that this Cultural Relic was truly remarkable, leading in many aspects compared to contemporary cultures. However, due to the fragmentary nature of what we unearthed, we could not make any more specific judgments. Nevertheless, this Azure Stone Floor plaza sparked some associations for us—that it might be the center of this site. Of course, this could only be speculation based on existing cultural knowledge; whether this culture shares commonalities with known cultures remains uncertain.
Even so, it was enough to excite us professionals in Archaeology; this could very well be a discovery distinct from currently known cultures. Thus, collecting the most compelling relics for dating analysis became an urgent priority. Simultaneously, an Archaeological Report was drafted under my leadership with great urgency.
The Azure Brick Wall on the site is undoubtedly the most representative and compelling evidence of these remains. When we removed two pieces of the Azure Brick Wall, one brick's mortar still exhibited strong adhesive properties; it took considerable effort to pry that piece off. Consequently, these hardened bonding materials were also boxed separately for compositional testing.
At this point, our work had reached a temporary conclusion. The Materials Scientist collaborated with Engineers to bring down some equipment and instruments for testing. I glanced over; it seemed to be something like a Metal Detector with greater power than civilian models. During our initial site selection for digging Test Pits, this device had made an appearance but withdrew once excavation began. Now that this site had emerged from beneath Pavement, its discovery was quite shocking within Archaeology circles as it could overturn certain historical understandings and would undoubtedly cause a stir. We were naturally pleased with our findings; however, for the project's leader—the One Commander present—this outcome was extremely disappointing. He sought a culture represented by iron rather than one symbolized by copper or brick.
This type of Metal Detector was advanced for its time and could detect objects up to five meters underground. As soon as the Metal Detector entered the Excavation Pit for the second time, we learned about its findings during a meeting held at headquarters that afternoon. The Material Expert responsible for detection reported first: there were no discoveries.
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