Xixia dead book

Chapter 1: Legend of the Undead in the Book of the Dead (1)
【Introduction】

One summer in the late 20s, in the depths of the Badain Jaran Desert in Northwest China, the scorching sun was shining in the sky, and the yellow sand was long. The ruthless sandstorm just changed the position of a sand dune. The skeleton, the horrible skeleton, with the dehydrated fur attached to it, still stands in the sand, refusing to fall for a long time.Its tallness proves to the world that it had a strong body during its lifetime; its not falling down symbolizes its tenacious character.Another gust of wind blew by, and there was an ear-piercing and strange sound from the depths of the desert. After the strange sound, the tall skeletons finally fell slowly... These are not human bones. Belongs to the owner of this desert - the Bactrian camel.Just when the strong wind was engulfing another sand dune and was about to bury these bones again, in the distance, a Soviet-made Mi-50 helicopter flew at low altitude, from far to near.The helicopter hovered over the sand for a long time, and finally hovered directly at the place where the Bactrian camel fell.

Five minutes later, the pilot began to report to the headquarters: "Headquarters! I am the Hornet. We found the camel remains and equipment of the Sino-Soviet joint scientific expedition team, but no members of the scientific expedition team were found..."

Two days later, another helicopter found a Chinese man unconscious on the edge of the Badain Jaran Desert.

Five days later, border guards found a dying Soviet on the border between China and Mongolia.

Eight days later, in Beijing, the Third Department of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, a file was placed on the minister’s desk: “After many days of searching, the Air Force, the local garrison and the border guards found nothing but two survivors and the equipment of the scientific expedition team. Other members of the Sino-Soviet joint scientific expedition team were found. In view of the fact that there was no possibility of surviving the missing persons, our ministry has decided to give up the rescue, but what is strange is that when the two survivors were found, they were several days away from the core area where the scientific expedition team disappeared. One hundred kilometers..." The confidentiality level of this file is: top secret; declassification period: 100 years.

Ten days later, Moscow, KGB, KGB chairman Ya Ny Shelepin was standing in front of the window, staring at the portrait of Dzerzhinsky in front of the KGB building, and there was a file he had just read on the window sill: "In view of There is no possibility of the missing persons surviving, and the Chinese side gave up rescue the day before yesterday. The scientific expedition team disappeared mysteriously, and sabotage by the intelligence personnel of the hostile camp cannot be ruled out..." The confidentiality level of this file is: top secret; the declassification period: 200 years.

Half a month later, there was a file on the desk of Zhang Yanyuan, director of the National Intelligence Bureau in Taipei: "The CCP-Soviet-Russia joint scientific expedition team mysteriously disappeared in the Badain Jaran Desert, and the 'St. Somebody found the whereabouts of 'Chamaschama flower' in San Francisco, USA..." The confidentiality level of this file is: top secret; declassification period: 200 years.

A month later, Langley, the CIA, and CIA Director Allen Dulles held a file in his hand and frowned: "The Sino-Soviet joint scientific expedition team mysteriously disappeared in the hinterland of the Badain Jaran Desert. This scientific expedition team It is very suspicious. It is a geological survey in name, but in addition to geological experts, it has many top experts in biology, archaeology, history, meteorology, anthropology, medicine and military industry from China and the Soviet Union. What is even more disturbing is that the scientific There are many soldiers and intelligence personnel in the expedition team. The mysterious disappearance of such a high-level scientific expedition team is confusing. The Taiwan side may have something to do with this, and the hijacking of extraterrestrial civilizations cannot be ruled out..." The confidentiality level of this file Yes: top secret; declassification period: forever.

[Part [-] Auction Doubts]

1
In midsummer, a belated spring art auction is being held in a five-star hotel on the East Third Ring Road of Beijing.The organizer Huabao International Auction Company, since the implementation of the "Auction Law of the People's Republic of China" in 1997, the spring auction held every year has already become the most influential auction in the country, and Huabao International has also become a world-class auction company.

Qi Ning, Chief Auctioneer of Huabao International, famous mouth, famous eyes.He is called a famous talker because he has witty words and good eloquence in the auction field, and he can always arouse the emotions of buyers to the greatest extent; he is called a famous eye because he has a sharp eye and has a very high level of antique appreciation.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, a young auctioneer stepped back from the auction stage, walked up to Qi Ning, and said respectfully, "Mr. Qi, it's your turn to play." Qi Ning nodded, but frowned, walked to auction table.

The spring auction will last for ten days, and every day there will be a finale auction, which will be auctioned at the end.Only when the auction was the finale of the lot did Qi Ning come on stage to host it.Today is the last day of the auction, and this last auction item should be the most precious item in the entire spring auction, the real finale item.But everyone present could see that Qi Ning's interest is not high now.

"The following is... the 1038th lot, Xixia inlaid jewelry and jade screen with lotus patterns, flowed back from abroad, non-targeted auction." Qi Ning's introduction couldn't be simpler, and then announced, "The bidding starts now, and the auction starts." The price is 80."

The auction hall is huge, with 488 buyer seats.Because today is the last spring auction, and now the auction is the final finale, the auction hall is full of people, and many buyers who can't find a seat can only stand.In places with so many people, it will inevitably be a little noisy.But when Qi Ning came to the stage just now, the noise gradually stopped.And when Qi Ning announced the start of bidding, the hall was completely silent.

Five or six hundred people remained silent.They are not professionally trained soldiers, but people from all over the world. Most of them, because of their own assets, have long been used to disobedience. But now they not only shut up, but also seem to mute or turn off their mobile phones up.The hall was eerily quiet.

No one spoke, and naturally no one bid for it.

Qi Ning frowned deeper, and announced again: "The bidding starts now, and the starting price is 80."

Still no one made an offer, and no one spoke.Some of the buyers in the audience looked at Qi Ning with smiles on their faces; A knowing smile.

Qi Ning looked embarrassed, took a deep breath, and announced for the third time: "The bidding starts now, and the starting price is 80."

Still no one answered.At this time, the buyers in the audience stopped looking around, and all eyes were on Qi Ning, to see how he would end up.There was sneer and sympathy in those eyes.The dignified Chief Auctioneer of Huabao International presided over the auction of the most important item at the nationally important spring auction, but no one bid.How funny and sad is this?

Qi Ning's face was flushed red, he was about to throw down the auction hammer, turned around and stepped off the stage.At this moment, someone in the audience suddenly raised a placard and said loudly at the same time: "I bid..."

The one holding up the placard and asking for the price was a middle-aged man sitting in the middle left of the third row, and his voice attracted the attention of everyone in the hall.He triumphantly turned the sign in his hand, signaled to the people around him, and said loudly, "I bid 10!"

He only bid 80 yuan for the jade screen with a starting price of 10 yuan, which is obviously a mischief and a spoof.

Qi Ning obviously knew this person, and said politely, "I'm sorry Mr. Liu, your bid is lower than the starting price, so it's invalid."

The middle-aged man surnamed Liu said with a smile: "Oh, I saw you yelling on the stage, and no one paid any attention to you. I was embarrassed and wanted to help you out. It turns out that I did something wrong. This is the most precious finale." It seems that Huabao International wants to keep it for itself, and is not going to auction it at all." When talking about "the most precious finale", he deliberately emphasized his tone, which caused a burst of laughter.

Qi Ning reluctantly said: "Take it out for auction, of course it is going to be auctioned."

The middle-aged man surnamed Liu turned sharp and asked loudly: "It's going to be auctioned, why is the starting price so high? It's really worth 80 yuan? Is it qualified to be the finale?!"

Qi Ning was speechless.

The middle-aged man surnamed Liu was persistent and said aggressively: "Twenty or so antique experts said it was a low-grade product, and Mr. Wang even concluded that it was only worth 10 yuan. Could it be that they have problems with their vision? You use a low-grade defective product as the finale, which is only worth 10 yuan but the starting price is 80 yuan. Are you trying to rely on the reputation of Huabao International to deceive buyers and defraud money? Or are you deliberately using low-grade defective products as the finale to create a gimmick? To deceive everyone's feelings and attract everyone's attention? No matter what your purpose is, this kind of behavior is extremely bad. As an auction industry insider, I, Liu Huadong, despise you! Dear buyers! And you, Qi Ning, with a famous mouth and eyes, and first-class appreciation ability, can't you see that you are not worth the money? Don't you, a top auctioneer, only have money in your eyes, and you don't even have the most basic professional ethics!"

These words became more and more severe, from criticizing the lot to criticizing Huabao International, and finally turned to Qi Ning's personal attack. Qi Ning supported the case with both hands, his face was pale, and he was extremely embarrassed, but he couldn't say a word of rebuttal. come out.The emotions of the buyers in the audience were also aroused, followed by booing, some sneered, some scorned, some scolded, some were in small groups, exchanging contempt for Huabao International and Qi Ning... the entire auction , the moment of confusion reached the extreme.

2
Tang Feng was entrusted by the president of Jinling University to collect collections for the newly built museum of Jinling University, and began to participate in the auction from the seventh day of the spring auction.Now he sits in the front row of the buyer's seat and sees what's going on.When the surrounding chaos reached the extreme, Liu Huadong was triumphant, and Qi Ning was trembling all over and almost fell on the stage, Tang Feng finally couldn't help it, raised the sign in his hand, and shouted loudly at the same time: "I offer 80!"

Since Tang Feng was sitting in the front row, he yelled loudly again. Although the surrounding environment was very chaotic, Qi Ning still noticed him, and his eyes lit up immediately, as if he had caught a life-saving straw. He pointed at him and yelled repeatedly: "Mr. Bid 80! This gentleman bid 80!"

At this moment, everyone noticed Tang Feng's actions, and the field suddenly fell silent again.Liu Huadong stood up as if stung by a scorpion, pointed at Tang Feng and said, "Impossible! This is impossible! You must be Huabao International's nurse, you must be!"

At this time, Qi Ning had regained his composure, and said seriously: "Mr. Liu, please pay attention to your own words. We can sue you in court for your slander without evidence."

Liu Huadong is obviously also a smooth person. He just lost his composure just now, and immediately said: "I take back what I just said." After speaking, he turned his gaze to Tang Feng and said, "Young man, are you sure you want to pay 80 for this thing?"

From the conversation just now, Tang Feng has already heard that Liu Huadong is from another auction company, and he is a little disgusted with his behavior of taking the opportunity to incite buyers to suppress opponents.Hearing this, he gave him a sideways glance and said, "Do you have a problem with your eyes or your brain? Not sure what I'm doing with the sign?"

Liu Huadong was robbed, cursed in a low voice, and sat down embarrassingly.

Tang Feng couldn't hear what he was cursing, but he thought it was nothing more than "idiot" and "stupid", and looking at the eyes of the surrounding buyers, they almost all wanted to express this meaning.He was unmoved and thought to himself: You think I'm stupid, but I also think you are stupid!

Raising the sign in his hand to Qi Ning, Qi Ning shouted on the stage: "This gentleman bids 80 yuan, is there anyone else who can offer a higher price?" Can bite the bullet and go on according to the procedure, "80 for the first time... 80 for the second time... 80 for the first time... the lady behind, bid 85!"

The buyers in the hall were stunned.Tang Feng had already made preparations for Qi Ning to drop the hammer to make the final decision. He was shocked when he heard the words, and looked back, and saw that the person raising the bid was actually a blonde.It is estimated that she came late, and she didn't even have a seat, so she stood in the back row, holding a sign in her right hand, and wearing a strange emerald ring on her middle finger, which was very conspicuous.

A piece of auction that no one wanted at first, after he made an offer, someone came out to snatch it.Tang Feng shook his head with a grin, and put down the sign.His bid just now was only a temporary one, and of course he will not continue to compete.

"This lady bid 85 yuan, is there any higher price?"

"Okay, this old gentleman bids 90 yuan!" Someone came out to bid again, this time it was a gray-haired old man with a pale, thin, and stiff arm holding a placard.

Both the blonde girl and the white-haired old man seem to be determined to win this jade screen, and they refuse to give in to each other.Under the auspices of Qi Ning, the bidding has been rising all the way.The finale of this spring auction, the starting price of 80 was quickly raised to a high price of 900 million.

The buyers in the audience, from the initial whispers, have all quieted down now, watching the fierce bidding between the blonde girl and the white-haired old man.

When the blond girl quoted a price of 900 million, the white-haired old man seemed to have lost his patience, holding up a sign and shouting: "1000 million!" The direct price increase of 100 million like this is obviously to completely defeat the other party's psychological defense.

Sure enough, the blonde no longer immediately raised the price as before, but hesitated.

Taking advantage of his reputation as a famous talker, Qi Ning asked without losing the opportunity: "Madam, that old gentleman bid 1000 million, do you have a higher price?"

The blond bowed her head in silence.

Qi Ning started the countdown on the stage, "1000 million for the first time...1000 million for the second time..."

At this moment, Tang Feng saw the blonde girl gesture to wait a moment, then took out her mobile phone and dialed.Qi Ning said on the stage: "Think again, we can wait for you! But your time is running out."

The blond girl dialed the phone and spoke in fluent English. She spoke very fast. Tang Feng was sitting in the front row, far away, so he couldn't hear what she was saying clearly.At this time, I heard Qi Ning's urging again: "If you don't bid, this jade screen will belong to that old gentleman!"

The blonde girl hung up the phone, raised the sign in her hand, and shouted in somewhat blunt Chinese: "I offer..." Before she called out the price, Tang Feng heard a "ding", and he knew it was There was the sound of the auction hammer knocking down, but the blond girl had already raised the signboard. With Qi Ning's vision and reaction as Huabao International's chief auctioneer, it was impossible not to take care of it.

Tang Feng turned his head to look at Qi Ning on the stage, only to see that Qi Ning looked back from one direction complicatedly.Following his gaze, Tang Feng saw the small door on the left side of the hall shake twice.

Qi Ning announced the ownership of Yuchaping on stage.

The blond girl was so angry that she spoke Chinese even worse, she simply spoke to Qining in English, accusing him of dropping the hammer when he saw her holding up the placard.Qi Ning replied in fluent English, explaining that she had been given time, and it would be unfair to other buyers if she waited any longer.The blonde argued that she had already raised her card, and before she raised her card, Qi Ning hadn't hinted "the last time"!

Some people understood their conversation and started booing, accusing Qi Ning of being unfair.But most people are no longer interested in this. The auction in the afternoon exhausted everyone. Everyone got up and left their seats and rushed out of the hall. The blonde girl standing in the back row was quickly overwhelmed by the crowd leaving the hall. middle.

Tang Feng saw that Qi Ning was about to leave the stage, so he stopped him and asked, "What did you see just now?"

Qi Ning showed a puzzled expression.

Tang Feng glanced at the small door on the left side of the hall, and said, "Did someone instruct you?"

Qi Ning's face changed drastically, and he stammered: "No... I don't understand what you are talking about. I'm sorry, the auction is over, I have to go!" Saying this, he left in a hurry.

(End of this chapter)