With three superpowers at his fingertips, he could dominate the 1970s.

Chapter 221 Mysterious Bronze Artifacts

Jiang Zhiyu took a deep breath and gently lifted the outermost layer of the red velvet cloth with her fingertips.

The velvet fabric was peeled back layer by layer—

What comes into view are two bronze objects.

A bronze walking stick entwined with a snake.

The cane was short, its surface a dark green patina. The top was carved into a snake's head, its body coiling around the handle and spiraling downwards, each scale meticulously carved. Two black stone beads were inlaid in the snake's eyes, making its gaze seem alive even under the soft office lighting.

Another one—

It is a kneeling figure with its head turned.

It's a bit bigger than a cane, about the height of an adult's palm.

The human figure is kneeling with its hands neatly placed on its knees, but the head—

It's not facing directly forward, nor is it a natural side turn.

Instead, it twisted awkwardly to the left rear, almost at a right angle to its body.

The bronze veins on the neck were meticulously cast by the craftsman, as if the head was about to be twisted off at any moment.

Jiang Zhiyu frowned slightly.

This posture is just too awkward.

It was not a dance, not a prayer, not any of the rituals she had ever seen.

Like...

Attracted by something, they had to turn their heads to look.

---

Seventeen popped into her mind in a flash.

"Host, host, host—!"

"It's them! It's them! They're the ones with power!"

The little ball of light bounced around in my mind, its voice trembling with excitement.

"but"

Seventeen's tone suddenly dropped by half a degree.

"There's so little energy."

"It's less than a tenth the size of the small bronze tripod we salvaged in the port city."

"Just a tiny bit...like a lamp running out of oil."

Jiang Zhiyu hummed in response but did not reply.

She extended her index finger—

It gently rested on the head of the statue with its head turned.

Beneath my fingertips lies the cool bronze.

A faint, almost imperceptible coolness crept up my fingertips and then quickly dissipated.

Yes, it is true.

But it's too weak.

It's like a container that once held something, now only a faint trace of its original flavor remains.

She withdrew her hand and glanced at the snake-entwined cane again.

Unlike burial goods.

Burial goods are characterized by solemnity, completeness, and adherence to ritual.

And these two statues—

A cane, a figure turning its head.

One is bizarre, the other is even more bizarre.

The styles don't match, the uses are unclear, and the combinations are completely random.

Zhang Haisheng's phrase, "things that were offered on the altar," refers to...

In retrospect, it seems much more appropriate than the word "burial".

Jiang Zhiyu silently went through it in her mind.

An ancient tribe, now completely lost to time, placed these items on a high platform, where they remained for countless millennia.

Who exactly is being worshipped, and what is being offered?

It cannot be verified.

---

She looked away, covered the red velvet cloth back up layer by layer, and tied the hemp rope back up as before.

Just as I finished tying the slipknot, there was a gentle knock on the office door.

Commander Yan poked his head in, grinning, and asked, "Finished reading?"

"I've finished reading it, Commander Yan."

Jiang Zhiyu picked up the box and stood up. "Thank you."

Commander Yan quickly waved his hand: "Hey—why are you being so polite with me, young comrade?"

"Our duty is to work together to get things done."

He paused, then remembered something: "Oh, right, Comrade Xiao Jiang—"

"And the two items that have already been recovered are currently locked up at the provincial department's evidence office."

"If you want to take them with you today, I'll write you a slip right now—just go there, and they'll release you with the slip."

Jiang Zhiyu nodded: "Then I'll trouble Commander Yan."

"Hi—no trouble at all."

Commander Yan chuckled and turned to his desk, quickly wrote a note, stamped it with a red seal, and handed it over.

"Take it."

"I've already spoken to Old Zhou at the evidence department; you can go directly to him."

"Thank you so much, Commander Yan."

"Don't mention it," Commander Yan waved his hand. "If your bureau hadn't intervened, who knows how long this would have dragged on. On the contrary, we were the ones who couldn't recover any of your other items, making you come all this way—we should be the ones apologizing."

Jiang Zhiyu smiled slightly and didn't exchange any more pleasantries.

He carried the box out of the office.

The sun was shining brightly in the courtyard.

Jiang Zhiyu turned into a secluded corner of the corridor and paused—

17. Received.

"bite--"

The box entered the space silently.

With her hands empty, she continued walking straight towards the provincial government building.

---

The provincial department is not far from the armed forces department; it takes about twenty minutes to walk there.

The sun blew the asphalt pavement white, and there were few pedestrians on the road. The autumn cicadas chirped intermittently from the old locust trees beside the road.

She had just turned into the alley leading to the provincial government building—

I looked up—

Wang Xiangdong was already standing on the steps at the entrance of the provincial government building.

He was wearing a faded old military uniform and had a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers.

Seeing her approach, he stubbed out his cigarette on the ground and took two steps forward with a smile.

"Comrade Xiao Jiang."

"I figured you'd be coming."

Jiang Zhiyu was somewhat surprised: "Comrade Wang, what are you doing waiting here?"

"Hey--"

Wang Xiangdong put his hands behind his back. "I can see you're taking this matter seriously. You just got those two items from Commander Yan, so you'll definitely have to come and see them."

"These two items have been locked up in our evidence department for a while now."

"Let me tell you—the one inside is quite big."

Jiang Zhiyu raised an eyebrow slightly but remained silent.

Large item?

Seventeen hissed in his mind—

"Host, host, did you hear that? Big, big, big—!"

Jiang Zhiyu chuckled inwardly, but didn't show it on her face.

"Then I'll have to trouble Comrade Wang."

"No trouble at all, please follow me."

---

The provincial government compound was more secluded than the armed forces compound, with several old locust trees covering most of the courtyard.

Wang Xiangdong led her through a maze of turns into a low, blue-brick building in the backyard.

The three characters "Evidence Office" are on an old-fashioned red lacquered wooden plaque.

The elderly man on duty at the gate, wearing reading glasses, looked up, saw Wang Xiangdong, and nodded to him.

Jiang Zhiyu handed over Commander Yan's note.

The old man took it, squinted at it once, then looked up and carefully examined her before scribbling a few notes in the register.

"Sign here."

Jiang Zhiyu took the pen and neatly signed her name, "Jiang Zhiyu".

The old comrade closed the registration book, got up, and went into the inner room.

A heavy iron door creaked shut from the inside.

---

Wang Xiangdong leaned against the door frame and smiled at her.

"Comrade Xiao Jiang, you wait here until he brings the things out."

"I have some things to take care of, so I'll go now—"

"If you ever need my help in any way, just let me know."

"Thank you, Comrade Wang."

Jiang Zhiyu nodded in greeting.

Wang Xiangdong waved his hand, turned around and left the building.

---

The reception room of the physical evidence office is not large.

The room was a square cement floor with a long wooden bench. On the wall hung a red banner that read "Serve the People," the color of which had faded somewhat.

Jiang Zhiyu sat down on the bench.

The iron gate creaked and groaned inside the room, and one could faintly hear the old comrade whispering secrets to someone.

And seventeen—

Seventeen has completely gone mad by now.

The little ball of light spun like a top in her mind, bouncing from one end to the other and back again.

"Host...host..."

Its voice even became somewhat ethereal.

"I felt it..."

"There's...one item inside..."

It paused, its tone suddenly becoming serious—

"It looks very similar to a small bronze tripod."

Jiang Zhiyu's lips twitched slightly.