Zhou Liao moved to the United States from Yuanji Province.
A bulldozer driver was cursing while working. It’s been 6025 years according to the Xia calendar, but the construction site was still the same. Wages were always late, darn foreman, darn capitalists.
"Bang"
Not long after, a strange sound suddenly came from the bulldozer’s bucket. The driver immediately stopped and looked ahead, seeing a hole appeared in front of him.
"Wow, did I just dig up an ancient tomb?"
The driver carefully got out of the car and looked down. The hole was very deep. He used a flashlight but couldn’t see the bottom.
In that moment, he thought about many things, like whether there would be treasure below, and if he could become rich by swallowing it, reaching the peak of life.
Of course, it was also possible to end up in prison, the chances were high because both the authorities and their company had a hundred ways to deal with him.
Ultimately, rationality overcame greed, he was ultimately an honest person, so he took out his phone and called his boss.
"Boss, guess what I dug up.""What did you dig up, is it the fiber optic cable of a telecom company? Wait, I’ll send someone to deal with it."
"Nope, boss, guess again."
"Oh wow, oh wow…"
"Haha, boss, don’t rush to buy a plane ticket to go abroad, guess again."
The driver, hearing the boss’s terrified voice, felt very satisfied, scaring the boss, he thought to himself.
·······
The archaeological team from Yuanji Province quickly appeared at the construction site. After clearing the surroundings, they found a huge cave inside. It took a long time for the cave to form, but they couldn’t determine the exact time.
Using a crane basket, the team slowly descended into the cave. Someone took out a portable flashlight and installed it around, soon the scene inside the cave came into view.
In the south, there was a passage that seemed accessible but was blocked. The cave walls had many intricate patterns.
"Professor, look at these patterns. They are Immortal Patterns. Qingyun over there has discovered many of them. According to ancient records, these patterns have special powers and can produce incredible forces."
"I know, Qingyun was formerly known as the Immortal Kingdom with a history of several thousand years. They have always claimed to be descendants of immortals. Let’s go check out the central stone coffin to see which era it belongs to. If it’s over three thousand years old, this tomb would be very valuable."
"We haven’t discovered any tombs over three thousand years old in Yuanji Province yet. If we can confirm this, it can indeed fill the historical void of our province and provide evidence for our Zhou Liao’s origins."
One of them said, whether it’s Qingyun or Huaxia, their historical origins are very clear, but Zhou Liao’s origins are difficult to define. Some say they are a branch of Huaxia, while others say they are a branch of Qingyun. The historians and archaeologists are in a heated debate.
The group slowly walked up the stone platform, confirmed it was safe, and then turned their gaze towards the transparent coffin on the platform, where they saw a person lying inside.
There weren’t just one stone coffins, but five of them, three for men and two for women, all with transparent lids.
"They look so lifelike, as if they were just asleep."
"What kind of technology is this, preserving them so well."
"I remember fifty years ago, we also found a well-preserved body in a tomb in Zhou Liao, but there was a mysterious liquid inside. Isn’t this coffin supposed to be dry?"
"Is this made of crystal?"
"This style of clothing doesn’t belong to the early history of Qingyun, it can be traced back at least three thousand years, maybe even five to six thousand years."
"It’s attracting worldwide attention. I have a feeling that this is definitely a remarkable ancient tomb. Haha, we made it, no need to worry about academic papers for the rest of our lives."
Several people raised doubts, and the professor seemed a bit crazy, thinking that the appearance of such an ancient tomb could lead to dozens or even hundreds of research papers, giving him a chance to become a director.
People didn’t dare to act rashly, quickly reporting the discovery at all levels. Within a few days, a well-equipped archaeological team of several hundred people from Zhou Liao arrived.
But they only took photos and didn’t dare to touch anything casually, afraid of damaging what’s inside. This was a painful lesson learned. About seventy to eighty years ago, they found the tomb of an emperor from the Zhou Dynasty. In their haste, they opened it without much protection, causing the colorful items inside to oxidize and turn into fragile waste in no time.
From then on, they learned their lesson. When encountering large tombs, they would refrain from excavation and preserve them for future generations. With more advanced technology in the future, they believed the tombs could be better protected.
Nowadays, they still held this belief. However, others had different thoughts. The construction site was a crucial project supported by the prominent Zhou Liao Corporation. After some activities, the company quickly decided to excavate the site protectively within three months to resume work promptly – three months was the limit.
The director of the Cultural Relics Bureau was infuriated but had limited authority. They urgently mobilized specialized experts for a salvage excavation. They even invited top experts from Qingyun and Huaxia to assist.
Qingyun and Huaxia promptly sent personnel to help. They were eager to lend a hand in such matters.
Consequently, construction halted, and a team of over a thousand people began excavating meticulously, documenting patterns on cave walls and more.
Eventually, they removed the stone coffin by cutting it as a whole stone slab and transporting it using heavy-duty cranes.
After more than two busy months, they finally resolved the matter, and construction on the site could resume.
Meanwhile, the archaeologists continued their work, conducting thorough research on the person inside the stone coffin. They speculated that the clothing style dated back over 4,500 years. At that time, people from Qingyun wore similar clothing. However, there wasn’t much information available from Qingyun’s side.
However, when they used scientific methods to determine the time of the stone coffin, they were shocked to find out that it dates back at least 40,000 years ago.
According to public information in the archaeology field, Huaxia has the longest history ever recorded, starting from the establishment of Xia Kingdom by Emperor Xia, which has a history of over 6,000 years and they still use the Xia calendar.
On the other hand, during the same period, there is no clear record of a dynasty like the Xia Kingdom in the history of Qingyun, Zhou Liao, or other continents.
"Over 6,000 years seems to mark a significant point. Before that, humans were primitive, as evidenced by cave paintings and archaeological finds from around the world."
"Around 10,000 years ago, there seems to have been a rupture in world history. Archaeological discoveries suggest a catastrophic event took place at that time."
Beyond 10,000 years, if we talk about civilizations, there are only two notable ones. One is the legendary era of immortals in the Green Cloud Republic, claiming to be descendants of immortals and believed for thousands of years.
The other is the history of Demon Humans from the Ghost Orchid Country. Demon Humans have not completely died out, as genetic tests in the Ghost Orchid Country have revealed many individuals with genes that are not of the human lineage.
"If the dating of this stone coffin is correct, does it mean we have discovered a prehistoric civilization?"
"Over 40,000 years ago, there was a thriving civilization on this land. Judging by their clothing, their level of civilization was no less advanced than that of Qingyun. If true, this would be a groundbreaking discovery that would be known worldwide."
The archaeology experts were all very excited, as if they had just been energized. This was very, very important to them. Even for Zhou Liao, it was extremely important. Once confirmed, they would no longer be just a branch of someone else, even Qingyun and Huaxia were their branches.
The news was quickly organized and reached Zhou Liao’s national intelligence agency. The President of Zhou Liao personally inquired and allocated funds. Many research institutions provided technical support.
Two months later, the stone coffin was transported to the laboratory at Zhou Liao Jingdu University. The laboratory had been transformed to completely recreate the sealed environment of the cave. Even the clothes inside would not immediately oxidize when taken out.
With all preparations in place, dozens of archaeologists dressed in their gear and carefully opened the stone coffin in the lab. There were hardly any burial items inside the coffin. They only found some ornaments on the bodies, but the clothes on them were fascinating and made of materials they had never seen before.
"Ah!"
As everyone was discussing cautiously, a person in charge of taking photos suddenly shouted, making everyone turn around at once.
"Xiao Zhao, why are you making strange noises?"
"Professor, that, that, that person’s fingers moved."
"Are you crazy? This is a stone coffin with a history of over forty thousand years. Even if a living person was put inside back then, could they live for forty thousand years?"
"Ah…"
In the midst of angry scolding from the teachers, little Zhao cried out in fear, pointing at the stone coffin. When everyone turned around, they witnessed a scene that they would never forget in their lifetime.