"The situation is more complicated than we imagined." After Fan Meng explained and showed the video evidence, Liang En spoke seriously. "It indeed seems to be related to those illegal salvagers we encountered before."
If following a vehicle might lead to various misunderstandings, then monitoring Liang En and his team's actions so closely was a clear indication of their intent.
"So, what exactly are they doing now?" Fan Meng furrowed his brows. "Are they planning to attack us, or are they after something specific?"
"I personally believe they are after something specific," Liang En said, tapping his finger lightly on the table.
"After all, this isn't a particularly chaotic era, and Greece isn't a chaotic country. More importantly, we haven't made any deep enemies. So, the likelihood of an attack is minimal."
"I suspect they are searching for something around this island. Because we are excavating certain ruins, they believe we've found what they're looking for."
"Your reasoning makes sense, but reality doesn't always follow logic like a novel," Fan Meng said, spreading his hands in frustration. "Unless we ask them directly, we'll never know their true intentions."
"However, your analysis seems closest to the truth. Therefore, I suggest our next steps focus on safeguarding whatever they might be after."
While Liang En and Fan Meng discussed the recent trackers, the stalker had already joined Speer in a house more than 200 meters from Liang En's hotel.
"How's the situation?" Speer stood up eagerly as soon as the two men entered. "Do you know what they are looking for?"
"They seem to be excavating the ruins of an ancient building," said the older of the two men. "But we're too far to see exactly what they're digging up."
"However, we can confirm they've found something valuable because they've hired over twenty workers besides their own people," the younger man added.
"Labor isn't cheap on this island, and hiring so many workers suggests they've indeed found something of great value."
"Damn it! Does this mean our three years of effort have been in vain?" Speer slammed his fist on the table in anger.
"Not necessarily," the older man shook his head. "We still have a chance to recover, though it may involve high-risk actions."
"Yes, some of the people they've hired are our informants. If they find anything valuable, we'll know quickly and find a way to get it," the younger man nodded.
"That's good, but I prefer more discreet methods," Speer cautioned. "I trust your skills as knights, but remember, these people are an international archaeological team. Any big commotion could attract unwanted attention."
"No problem, sir. We'll be careful," the older knight assured. "We've done similar things many times. These opponents are just scholars and local police, nothing we can't handle."
"I trust you. After all, you're knights," Speer smiled but couldn't hide his concern about their overconfidence.
Despite his worries, Speer had no choice but to rely on them. Given the circumstances, all he could do was pray silently.
Unaware of the impending danger, Liang En's team continued their excavation work. Especially after discovering a smelting furnace, the outline of a metalworking workshop over 3500 years old gradually emerged.
The workshop, built against a small hill on solid rock, was carefully chosen. It covered an area of about two to three hundred square meters.
Besides the remnants of multiple smelting furnaces, there were many metalworking tools, though most had not survived the test of time.
"Could the tools have corroded over time?" Jeanne d'Arc pondered, looking at the unusually clean workbenches.
"Unlikely. If the impure metals survived, the tools should too," Liang En shook his head. "Look at these preserved metals. Even if corroded, they wouldn't be completely gone."
Liang En pointed to a pile of waste metal they had just unearthed, filled with visible impurities, likely smelting byproducts.
Though considered good raw materials today, these would have been discarded in ancient times.
Judging by the scene, the waste was placed in a pit surrounded by stones, probably cleared out periodically. However, the workers left without cleaning it before abandoning the site.
These discarded metals, along with burnt charcoal, were treasures for studying ancient metallurgy.
Sadly, the ash pit only confirmed the tools couldn't have completely corroded. To uncover the truth, they had to continue digging.
As the excavation progressed, they began piecing together the past events. Cracks in the buildings and the absence of human remains suggested what happened.
Combining this with the situation at the Palace of Minos, they concluded multiple earthquakes occurred before a volcanic eruption, causing people to flee the coastal city.
Precious items were naturally taken when they escaped, but what remained was still valuable. On the eleventh day of digging, they found a stack of clay tablets covered in writing in a side room of the metal workshop.
Unnoticed by everyone, as they carefully extracted the tablets, a worker watching from a distance had a strange gleam in his eyes.
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