Maxwell Pip is one of the lead archeologists up to date and a fairly wealthy individual.
If you ask an acquaintance of his to describe him, then they will say he's a charismatic man, well-educated, a little handsome, and overall, he's the kind of person you feel like a breeze while talking to.
However, in case you ask someone who knows him, then the answer will be completely the opposite, an absolute scumbag, a Lawless individual with a very low moral bottom line, although he still has some good points, no matter how few they are, for example, his adventurous spirit, and his work ethics, well maybe forget about work ethics, but his professionalism can't be doubted.
...
2039 first of May.
In the middle of nowhere, on an empty Baron plane, four people stood under the scorching sun.
Next to the group, multiple automatic digging equipment was operating.
One of them, a thin Shady-looking man named Jim, spoke.
Oy Max are you sure there is something down there, we've been digging for weeks now, don't get me wrong Max I don't mind the wait but you know we shouldn't be here I had to call a lot of favors for this, and honestly, we're running out of time and our biggest problem is that we can't buy more.
Multiple endangered species live in this place, both plants and animals, simply if found ruining the natural environment around here, we're done for. Added a brown-skinned man, Jim's bodyguard.
The only woman in the group, Natalie, looked at the countless pits all over as she spoke; well, we'd better find something soon or just make a run for it since we still can.
Max didn't respond. He just stood there, deep in thought.
What are we looking for anyway, asked the bodyguard?
Jim just shrugged at him. "Only Max knows".
Max hired Jim to make it easier for him to dig around since he didn't have many connections around here, but Jim brought Natalie, a second archaeologist, and that bodyguard.
Obviously, he wanted to take a piece of the pie, and Max knew that, but he didn't care much because even he didn't think they would find anything of value.
It's been 5 years since he started this wild goose chase.
At that time, He had just uncovered a lost Egyptian pyramid with a bunch of other archeologists, the same as most pyramids. This pyramid contained lots of gold and numerous dead mummies.
A few days later, some Lost history was uncovered, and more renown was added to their names, so everyone was happy.
Max was the same, happily taking selfies with mummies, at least until he found a weird stone tablet with unusual hieroglyphics on it.
Normally, Egyptian hieroglyphics are a combination of symbols and drawings; even a normal person will be able to understand a thing or two from it.
Pretty straightforward! but this one wasn't; it was extremely complex, to the point that even with Max's extensive knowledge, the only conclusion he came up with was that this thing was indeed of Egyptian origin; other than that, it was all a mystery.
curious and intrigued, Max decided to keep it for himself, so he simply smuggled it out.
It wasn't the first time he had done such an act, so it was a simple job for him.
From that point on, Max didn't spare any time, wealth, or connections to uncover the Secrets within this Stone tablet.
But the more he found, the more perplexed he gets.
The main topic in it is about some mysterious ruins of death.
If that was all, Max would have just taken it for some random mythological story; however, the weird thing is that some other civilizations across time seem to hint or straight-up mention this ruins of death thing.
At some point, Max even doubted his mental sanity, but no matter what, he kept his treasure hunt, and today, it led him here.
Right below this land, the supposed ever-elusive ruins lie down there.
.... At this point, Max noticed something: the equipment stopped operating.
This equipment is extremely advanced and will stop automatically before it comes in contact with anything that surpasses a certain level of hardness.
The others noticed as well.
I got this, said the bodyguard as he used the rope to head down the pit.
Normally, this is Max's job. However, he has been feeling a little down lately, so it was left for the others.
As Max was deep in thought, he suddenly heard the bodyguard calling.
Guys, guys, come down, hurry, we're definitely on to something here.
Max didn't waste time. Directly grabbed the rope and slid down in a hurry. He landed, and he instantly felt the ground under him was flat. Moving the flashlight, he looked down.
At this point, his eyes were shining because this seemed to be the roof of some temple-like building.
Max smiled. "finely found you."
Oy boys, we got to hurry up and find the entrance; from the look of this room,f, it should be either left or right. Let's dig both ways.
As Max gave the order, he climbed up and then went to his tent to get some sleep; he needed to be in the perfect condition to explore this tomb, although sleeping might prove challenging because of his excitement.
He didn't worry about the others betraying him, Jim was the boss of the three, and although he didn't trust him he knew Jim was far too greedy to share the news now, as for them backstabbing him, maybe it would happen but not now because they needed him to tell them what's valuable and what isn't.
This tomb will garner a lot of attention, and the government isn't stupid.
They can choose to kill Max, don't make this place public, and slowly sell every antique inside; if they are smart about it, they might pull it off.
But they already made a lot of commotion, and the traces from digging cannot be erased.
this place will be found sooner or later; after, an investigation will be launched, and they will be found. The government doesn't joke around with any historical legacy.
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So instead, it's better to explore the tomb, then pick a few valuable yet small items to take, hide them well, report the tomb, and use Max's reputation to not be suspected.
... A few hours later.
Max, Max, wake up, we found it.
Opening his eyes, Max felt a rush of excitement, hearing Jim's words.
Standing up, Max took a black box from his backpack, pulling the necklace key from his neck; he used it to open the box.
A pistol, a muzzle, and 3 full mags.
The only reason Max brought company on this venture is because he didn't think he'd find anything, but now everything is different.
This is most probably the tomb of a completely undiscovered and unrecorded civilization. The value of every piece of garbage inside is priceless.
More importantly, these guys are greedy and stupid.
Sorry Jim, but if I let you go, I am 100% sure you bunch will drag me down with you to prison.
Putting the muzzle on, Max walked out of the te, not keeping the gun hidden.
The three didn't notice; in fact, they didn't even look at Max. Their gazes were locked on the entrance with greed practically shining from their eyes.
Greedy and stupid!
Max pulls the gun and aims at the bodyguard first, since he is armed.
Piw.. A body falls.
Immediately, y max shot at Jim next Piw.
Natalie looked at her two dead companions; her body stiffened in horror, and he screamed. Ahh. Piw. Piw..
Max was annoyed because just now Natalie fell to the ground and surprisingly dodged a bullet; he didn't care much and just gave her a second shot, ending her life.
But the problem is that the first bullet hit the stone entrance. I will have to hammer it later to hide the bullet's trace.
Nevertheless, he rushed to clean the scene, putting the bodies in the tent. He drove fast from the tomb while making a call.
Hi James, how are you?
Good, good, but Max, why didn't you come to my party last week? I was waiting for you.
Sorry, I'm a little busy. Anyway, James, I need to clean my house this week. Can you take your bags back?
Clean the house, huh? But why?
Just a few bugs, not a big deal.
Alright, how many bags did I give you, anyway? I can't remember.
Three.
As Max spoke, he used a second phone to send the location to an unknown contact.
Alright, alright, but you know I got health problems, max can't you bring them over?
No, can't do. I am busy, so get them yourself, man. I don't even know why you keep so many comic books.
On the second phone, a message was received with just a number on it: this was the amount of money he had to pay to get rid of the bodies.
Just take them already, James.
Alright, alright, I got this. Just give me 15 min.
James was his neighbor and the trusted right-hand man of the mafia's big boss around here, whenever max needed some Shady business dealt with, James was your go-to guy, and from the coded conversation between the two, you can tell this isn't the first time they dealt with each other. Max unloaded the tent, and waited for 10 minutes, then left back to the excavation site, max trusted James's efficiency, if he said 15 minutes, then it was 15 minutes he didn't even have to wait that 10 minutes, it just being extra cautious
....
In front of the entrance of the tomb, Max had already forgotten about the bodies and James; he was checking his last preparation for the exploration of the Tomb: thick leather boots and gloves, a gun, a military knife, a lighter, and both a flashlight and a night vision goggles.
Let's do this.
But before that, he picked a hammer, planning to camouflage The Bullet Hole that was made earlier, as some damage was made while excavating.
however, Max just stood still because he just noticed that there was no Bullet Hole.
The bullet didn't even leave a scratch on the Stonewall; it was just flattened and stuck to it, Max's eyes widened, how could a Stonewall, that survived God knows how long, be able to handle a bullet without even suffering a single scratch, looking at the entrance, the sense of mystery in Max's heart intensified, however, he wasn't scared, not even a bit, actually he got even more excited.
Holding a long walking stick in his hand, Max walked carefully, exploring the road, making sure there were no traps, or some hidden mechanisms on the ground.
The walls were filled with weird Engravings; it looked like some sort of language. However, Max didn't recognize it.
...
10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour of exploration, and Max didn't get in any danger, of course, he didn't explore much, because he was walking slowly, and carefully, but this is too weird, after reading all the mysterious text, the idea he got about this place is that it should be filled with traps, however, this place seems to be completely the opposite, so Max started to explore more brazenly, but still carefully..
After some time, he already found a bunch of antiques, a well-made Stone Dagger, too well made in his opinion; after all, a normal stone dagger shouldn't be able to cut steel.
some jars, some statues, and stone tablets.
He only picked a few to take. With his connections, he can sell these things without any backlash...
standing in what seemed to be the main chamber, Max couldn't help but marvel at the Exquisite yet Majestic structure.
this place gave that sacrificial alter Vibe kind of feeling.
A gleam of light flashed in Max's eyes, looking at a bronze coin necklace on top of the altar.
Years of experience, plus his natural sense of treasure, told him one thing.
This necklace is the most precious item he ever laid his eyes on.
In his heart, a decision was made; he will keep this one.
He never plans to sell all the items he got today; after all, he is a collector himself, and he always keeps some rare treasures in his collection.