<b>Extra 5: If There’s A Next Life, Who’ll Remember The Other First?</b>
After Field Archaeology lost the academic battle against the Scientific and Technological Restoration Archaeology in ancient battlefields for the tenth time, the reputation that Field Archaeology had accumulated over a hundred years began to gradually decay.
A series of labels such as ‘conservative’, ‘stuck in the past’, ‘unwilling to adapt’, and ‘inefficient’ began to fall upon them.
It was true that Field Archaeology, which relied on conjectures of ancient artifacts, seemed ‘outdated and inefficient’ when compared to the recent rise of scientific and technological methods. Such as genetic descriptions and computer graphics to recreate ancient battlefields.
The editorials stated: “Field archaeology reached its peak during the Xu Dynasty revelation era under the leadership of Professor Qin. Now, on the contrary, it is in decline.”
Such claims became even more out of control when Scientific and Technological Restoration Archaeology depicted the appearance of XX, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty.
Student enrollment in Field Archaeology was already low, but now the numbers were falling sharply. People lamented how “lonely and desolate” Field Archaeology had become.
A century later, in the year 2XX1.
Across the country, among hundreds of universities, Professor Song Yuanyin of X University in Xi’an continued to advocate the ‘ancient profession’ of Field Archaeology. As a woman in her sixties, who had devoted herself to Field Archaeology for nearly forty years, she still led her students on field excursions to the Northwest for six months each year. One day, one of those students just so happened to discover an exquisite, but rare jade carving in a desert pit. Subsequently, Professor Song took her students to explore the Gobi Desert for several months.
In the Autumn of the year 2XX3, a large construction team set up camp in a Northwest desert oasis in the Gobi Desert. The day the shield machine began digging, Professor Song rushed to the construction site overnight to stop them.
In the Spring of the year 2XX4, in warm and vibrant Zhangye, Gansu Province, a conference for archaeologists took place. The conference room was on the top floor of a newly built skyscraper in the center of the city, which welcomed archaeologists from all over the country. The archaeologists greeted each other with big smiles, reuniting with field colleagues they hadn’t seen in a long time.
However, if one were to look closely, one could tell that almost three-quarters of the people present were the elites in the field of Scientific and Technological Restoration Archaeology.
As Professor Song’s voice was hoarse due to a cold, she assigned one of her students, a young man with glasses, to replace her in giving the presentation of the discoveries made by her archaeological team in recent years.
The young man looked no more than 26 or 27 years old. He was tall and thin, but his voice during the presentation was serious and firm. Although the conference room was packed with industry elites, the young man was not intimidated by it. Everyone in the conference room, including him, understood how many ripples were hiding beneath the seemingly calm atmosphere of today’s meeting. This was because the Scientific and Technological Restoration Archeology had determined that there were no relic traces under that layer of soil.
In the magnificent Qilian Mountains, after several decades, Field Archaeology was about to once again engage in a discussion with the Scientific and Technological Restoration Archaeology over an ancient Dynasty under the oasis lands of the Gobi Desert.
At that very moment, on the top floor of the building across the conference room, an extremely handsome and elegant unknown man, dressed in a military uniform, came out of his office. The guards, who were guarding the door, rushed to catch up with him as soon as they saw him leave.
“Mr. Su.” The Bodyguard walked half a step behind the man’s left side and with his head slightly bowed. “The car is ready.”
Once outside, the man, who was only referred to as ‘Mr. Su’, never turned around. He simply nodded slightly with a low: “Hmm.”
Upon noticing the number of people coming in and out of the conference room on the other side of the glass screen, the man asked: “Why are there so many people today?”
After hearing the question, the Bodyguard hurried to explain: “It’s an academic conference on archaeology. It was arranged in advance….”
Mr. Su’s itinerary had always been confidential, including the trip this time in Gansu, which was part of an important mission organized in Beijing…. So having so many people coming and going at this time was a bit inconvenient.
“Archaeology?” The man’s peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly, and his emotions became unclear. “How did a conference of this style end up being arranged here?”
This building belonged to the offices of the Military Defense Enterprise XX. Even if there were a shortage of places to host conferences, an archaeological academic meeting shouldn’t have been arranged in this place.
“Since the academic discussion involved the construction in the Northwest that was scheduled here…. the Company decided to invite other archaeological experts to discuss it here.”
Once the Bodyguard explained the reason, the man understood everything. The construction of the large-scale armament warehouse in the Northwest had been hindered by some old-school archaeologists. Although Mr. Su knew about this matter, he didn’t know that the situation had dragged on until now.
Although the deadline for the completion of the armaments warehouse was still far off….
The man smiled and stopped looking in the direction of the conference room: “Make it clear to the person in charge that the opinions of the experts will certainly be respected. However….” The man’s tone of voice changed slightly. “The construction period is something we cannot afford to delay.”
The meaning behind his words were clear.
As the man was supposed to walk down the stairs, he inevitably had to pass through the glass wall to get to the floating stairs on the other side of the conference room.
However, the moment the man found himself in front of the conference room, he suddenly stopped walking. At that instant, a fleeting surprised expression crossed his face as he heard the voice coming from inside the conference room, but it vanished as soon as it arrived.
The man thus resumed his way to the floating stairs, walking as usual. Once there, the sensory floating stairs automatically opened the crystal light screen before him.
However, the man stood in front of the door and never walked inside.
Upon noticing that the man had stood still for a while, the Bodyguard asked: “Mr. Su?”
As soon as he heard his name, the Bodyguard immediately stood firm.
“I heard that the Field Archaeology faction has fallen into decline across the Nation for a long time. So how is it that barely a dozen people can delay a project of this magnitude for nearly half a year?”
“Well….” Even though Zhou Fei was a skilled military man, he had never had any contact with the academic world, nor did he understand it. Much less had he ever come across the people from Field Archaeology before.
The man, naturally knowing that his Bodyguard would be unable to answer him, turned with eyes curved in a smile and walked towards the door of the conference room, leaving Zhao Fei clueless, not knowing what the man intended to do.
However, Zhou Fei asked no further questions. As for the meeting scheduled at 3pm in the south of the City…. Since his superior didn’t seem to care, why should he care? Zhou Fei would simply follow the man wherever he went.
In the meeting room, the young student’s presentation was coming to an end.
“…. Based on our calculations from last year, we are certain that relics of an ancient Dynasty are buried beneath the earth of the oasis. If we….”
Before the young man could finish his words, the old-style mahogany door in the meeting room creaked open.
Following the direction of the sound, everyone in the meeting room turned their heads to see who it was. However, as soon as he saw who had walked in, the young man, who had been speaking during his presentation with so much confidence and calmness, froze in place.
Standing in front of the mahogany door were two men dressed in military uniforms. The man standing in front of the other had a tall figure, and possessed an elegant yet solemn temperament, with a pair of slightly curved peach blossom eyes. At that instant, a feeling of familiarity struck the heart of the young man in glasses. This sudden recognition made the young man’s heart feel heavy, as if a whirlwind of emotions had surged within him.
However, before he could observe the man more closely, the man in charge of the Enterprise, who was sitting at the front of the meeting room, hurriedly got up to rush to the newcomer’s side and courteously greeted him. He not only blocked the young man’s line of sight, but also blocked the line of sight of the military man who wished to see the young man wearing glasses.
“Great—” Just as the Enterprise leader was about to address the man, he suddenly remembered that the man didn’t like to be addressed that way, so he changed his words: “Mr. Su, how did you find time to come? Ah, I sincerely apologize for not being able to come and greet you properly!”
Upon hearing these words, the people in the conference room couldn’t help, but wonder about the identity of the man who had just arrived. It was someone with a young appearance, wearing a military uniform, having a ‘Great’ military rank and was addressed as ‘Mr. Su’….
As the people in the conference room pondered over this, those who had paid a little attention to the current events became surprised. They recognized this man. In the military, there was an incredibly accomplished young Great General with several military achievements: Su Lingxing.
‘ Why is he here? Did he come here to put pressure on the archaeological team that has been delaying the construction deadline? ’
As the people in the conference room gasped in astonishment at his presence, Su Lingxing, whose vision was still blocked by the man in charge of the Enterprise, looked at him with his eyes lowered, holding a certain amount of disdain. Shaking his head, Su Lingxing said: “I’ve come to take a look. No need to make a fuss, carry on.”
“Of course, of course.” The Enterprise leader nodded and bowed, leading Su Lingxing to where he was sitting earlier, bringing him a cup of freshly brewed tea.
Professor Song, who was on stage, noticed that her young student was still in a dumbfounded state. A bit puzzled, she followed the young man’s line of sight, until she noticed who he was looking at. Professor Song then cleared her throat slightly, whispering: “Qin Cheng, cough cough —”
Upon hearing this, the young man stood firm once again. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the screen in his hand and continued: “If the project doesn’t change its location, when the big drilling machine starts digging, the relics of a several thousands year old historical site will be destroyed overnight…..”
As he finished the presentation, Qin Cheng’s gaze turned away from the electronic screen and fixed on Su Lingxing, who was seated in the front row. Su Lingxing had been looking at the data in his hands. At that very moment, he casually looked up as well, meeting Qin Cheng’s eyes. Qin Cheng was stunned, feeling a sense of familiarity. Closing the electronic tablet, Qin Cheng looked up, surveying the experts and Scholars seated in the conference room: “Regardless of how the results turn out today, regardless of whether the project continues or not, one thing is certain. That piece of history existed! It existed regardless of the different argumentative views we may have today. This brief and superficial debate will not change that fact.”
With these words, the murmurs in the conference room subsided considerably, flooding the room in silence.
Next to Professor Song, a prominent figure in archaeology from a major University, Huang Zhi, softly murmured: “You told him to say that?”
Professor Song shook her head and smiled at her former classmate: “No. It would be more accurate to say that, after having to deal with you guys for so long, he ended up forming his own opinions.”
Huang Zhi pretended not to notice the mocking tone in Professor Song’s words, and asked: “This student of yours is named Qin Cheng?”
“He has the same name as that old Xiansheng.”
Professor Song looked at Qin Cheng standing on the stage and sighed: “That’s right, same surname, same name.”
Huang Zhi commented: “If technology has 99% accuracy, then thorough research can achieve 100% accuracy.”
Professor Song smiled: “Then why did you ‘drop out’ in the first place?”
“Because it was too slow. So slow that I might never have gotten to see the true history in my entire lifetime.”
“And yet, you won’t win today. We’ve already explored the terrain, while you’ve just been making conjectures.”
In the end, the discussion in this meeting didn’t come to any conclusion. Song Yuanyin’s side was unable to provide stronger concrete evidence to prove that there were indeed relics of a Dynasty buried in the oasis lands. However, Qin Cheng identified a loophole in Huang Zhi’s scientific investigation. After observing the attitude of Su Lingxing, the person in charge of the military project, Qin Cheng concluded: “History should be respected. I ask Huang Zhi’s team to conduct further research in order to confirm whether there are any relics.”
The meeting lasted nearly five full hours, and didn’t come to an end until 8pm.
At that point, Su Lingxing approached Song Yuanyin and said with a faint smile: “Professor Song, your lecture today was truly eye-opening. Your academic rigor is truly breathtakingly admirable and inspiring.”
“It is an honor for us to have Mr. Su be here to support us.”
Su Lingxing smiled and then turned to look at the young man who had been observing him: “It is true that a great teacher produces outstanding students. This Mr. Qin will undoubtedly be a pillar of archaeology in the future.”
Qin Cheng, who had wanted to engage in a conversation with Su Lingxing all this time, was interrupted by Huang Zhi right when he was about to respond. Huang Zhi said: “Today I am really amazed. Professor Song, this young man of yours really understands CG technology and has a high level in X research! He even found some loopholes in our research and overturned several of our conclusions.”
Qin Cheng smiled: “Know your enemy, know yourself.”
Huang Zhi stared at the young man, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say. He simply patted Qin Cheng on the shoulder and said: “The younger generation is certainly formidable.”
At that moment, Su Lingxing’s Bodyguard whispered something to him. Su Lingxing nodded and said to the people in front of him: “Masters, I have some urgent matters to attend to. I will have to leave first.”
“Of course, Mr. Su. Take care.”
Su Lingxing nodded and looked at Qin Cheng in front of him before turning to leave.
However, just at that moment Qin Cheng’s heart anxiously skipped a beat, and he ended up taking a step forward to grab Su Lingxing’s hand.
This sudden action surprised everyone present, so much so that even Su Lingxing’s Bodyguard stepped forward ready to push Qin Cheng away. However, Su Lingxing gestured to him, to not to take any reckless actions, stopping the hand that had intended to grab Qin Cheng by the neck.
Although Qin Cheng knew that he had overstepped his bounds by grabbing Su Lingxing’s hand, at that moment he didn’t have the time to think about it and simply moved.
Loosening his grip, Qin Cheng stared into Su Lingxing’s eyes for a while, finding himself unable to speak.
“Mr. Qin, is there anything you need?”
Feeling the puzzled stares of his classmates and Professors around him, Qin Cheng gently breathed out and replied: “Mr. Su…. I’d like to talk to you about something…. I wonder if you would be…. willing…..”
Seeing this, Song Yuanyin rushed over to intervene, blocking Qin Cheng and preventing him from continuing. Everyone present knew of Su Lingxing’s status and position, so what could a student like Qin Cheng discuss with the leader of a Military Unit?
Moreover, it was rumored that Su Lingxing would be the person to assume an influential position in the future…..
What could a student, like Qin Cheng, possibly say to such a person, such a figure? Where could he even begin?
“Senior brother….” A female classmate at Qin Cheng’s side rushed up to him and tugged his arm: “Don’t….”
Without realizing it, Su Lingxing directed his gaze at the girl’s soft and tender hands grasping at Qin Cheng.
Raising an eyebrow with an unknown meaning, Su Lingxing looked at Qin Cheng and calmly said: “Ten minutes.”
Everyone around them was stunned.
The Bodyguard was even more dumbfounded. As he recalled an incident from the past, he panicked and even blurted out: “Mr. Su….”
However, before the Bodyguard could finish what he was about to say, Su Lingxing raised his hand, silencing the Bodyguard.
“I’ll give you ten minutes.”
Qin Cheng looked at the man in front of him. That bitter and astringent feeling of familiarity surged in his heart once again causing it to beat wildly. The only word Qin Cheng was able to utter at that moment was: “Alright.”
That’s it! This is the last chapter, the novel is officially over! Thank you all for reading and being with me on this journey the last 3 years (and those that came after). This novel is one of my favorites, I love all the characters, the history elements, the spooky stuff, the angt, the romance, the immense simpness(? of Qin Cheng lmao.
I had a great time and I already miss the time when I translated the chapters as if I was rediscovering the story all over again (especially since it’s been so long since I first read it hahaha).
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Without further ado, see you in my other projects ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆
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