Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Following the excavation team, Evan and his companions entered a building located in the square.

Inside the building was a long and narrow hall. A dozen goblins were sitting on high stools behind a row of long counters on both sides. Many disheveled adventurers were queuing in front of the counters, holding various ancient Egyptian artifacts and some gems in their hands. The goblins were appraising them and hastily recording them in the big ledger.

At the front of the hall was a pitch-black hole.

This was the entrance to the interior of the Ruins of Amun Ra, guarded outside by two goblins and three wizards.

For unofficial excavation teams and adventurers, they needed to undergo strict inspection if they wanted to enter, and all their belongings needed to be registered.

The same was true when exiting, as everything found within the ruins had to be handed over.

Depending on the value of the items, the Egyptian Ministry of Magic and Gringotts would also give generous gold Galleons as compensation.

This reminded Evan of the mines in ancient times where gold, silver and other precious metals were mined. Due to a shortage of manpower, the owners of the mines allowed everyone to go in and mine, and then repurchased the raw minerals they mined at a certain price. This behavior led to the birth of the gold rush.

It seemed that regardless of the era, whether for Muggles or wizards, the idea of getting rich overnight always dominated the mainstream.

Fortunately, his official excavation team did not need to undergo inspections to enter the ruins.

Going down along the dark and narrow cave entrance, the oxygen in the passage was thin; the smell of soil and the pungent smell of long-burning torches mixed together, and the dim passage was filled with a dark and mysterious atmosphere.

Except for the goblins, everyone else in the excavation team moved very slowly and with great difficulty.

The passage seemed to be built according to the goblins’ stature, being low and narrow.

Not to mention the adults, even Evan had to stoop to move forward.

“Slow down, the slope here is too steep!”

“Damn it, can’t those goblins widen this passage a bit!”

“That would undoubtedly require a lot of Galleons and manpower to maintain. We only need to enter the Ruins of Amun Ra. The size of the passage doesn’t matter much.” The voice of Pendulum sounded at the front. “Mr. Saeed, if it is really difficult, I suggest you use the Shrinking Potion. You only need five silver Sickles to buy a bottle.”

He was met with a string of harsh curses, and Evan silently followed behind Rawya.

Saeed and those Arab wizards kept cursing, and at the end of the team the half-giant Benny was even worse off.

This guy had just drunk a bottle of Shrinking Potion brewed by the goblins; otherwise he would never have been able to get in.

Even so, he now looked like a big chunk of meat forced into a tube. Evan really feared he might get stuck, unable to move forward or backward.

They walked for five minutes along the narrow downward passage and reached a slightly wider area.

But the height of the entire space was still very low, and everyone had to stoop.

Just like inside Gringotts, the goblins used their expertise to build two small railways here.

The railways continued into the sand, leading to a small platform where many wizards were waiting to ride the small carts.

Because the height was not enough, they were all sitting on the ground.

Everybody was unhappy about the weird look of having to curl up their legs and bend their backs when they wanted to stand up.

Only the goblins had mischievous smiles on their faces.

Pendulum went over and communicated with the goblins in charge of controlling the carts, and they could have priority to use the fifteen carts that would be back soon.

Just then, there was a clanging sound from the railroad tracks.

Evan saw three carts coming back, emerging directly from the sand. Unlike those he had seen at Gringotts, these carts were not open but fully enclosed, resembling a canister, allowing them to travel through the sand…

“Rawya, you, Evan, Benny and the supplies take the last cart!” Pendulum ordered.

Seeing that they were trying to cut in line, the situation got a little out of control. Several fierce-looking wizards were yelling loudly, questioning why Evan and his friends didn’t have to queue. The goblins were explaining casually, but it seemed that they didn’t mind a fight.

These wizards couldn’t even stand up straight now, so if a fight broke out, the outcome was obvious.

It took Benny a lot of effort to walk into the last cart with a lot of supplies.

He alone took up the space of three people, and was trying hard to lower his head and huddle together to make room.

Evan and Rawya followed, and then with a bang, the lid of the cart closed, plunging them into darkness.

They were packed inside like sardines.

With a violent jolt, the cart started moving.

“The goblins are very clever!” Rawya whispered, now tightly pressed against Evan. “The Ruins of Amun Ra are deep underground, and it’s impossible to reinforce all the sand, so they built this railway so that we can pass through the sand.”

“The idea is good, but it’s too stuffy!” said Evan, unable to hear anything.

The shaking sensation disappeared, and now the inside of the cart seemed to be still, stuffy and hot.

It felt like being packed into a can and then heated…

This was a terrible way to travel, and after the Floo Network, the Portkey, and Mr. Weasley’s car, Evan experienced yet another terrible way to travel.

“It’s not comfortable, but we’re going through thick layers of sand,” said Rawya. “Just hang in there…”

“Not long ago, these carts malfunctioned, and five of them, full of people, stopped halfway. By the time the goblins found them, everyone inside had starved to death!” Benny suddenly said, interrupting Rawya.

“That’s just an isolated incident, probably because too many people have been entering the Ruins of Amun Ra recently. Generally speaking, the things goblins make are reliable,” Rawya said hurriedly, though her voice carried a hint of uncertainty. “Besides, we have plenty of supplies in this cart. Even if something unexpected happens, we won’t starve. Anyway, Evan, you should know that this railway leads to three excavation sites. We’ll visit the Hall of the Gods first, then the Obelisk, and if there’s time, I’ll take you to the Necropolis.”

Perhaps due to the unbearable environment, Evan felt that time passed very slowly.

They were indeed traveling through thick layers of sand, which, under the sun’s heat, were quite hot.

In the end, it was so hot that no one was in the mood to talk.

Evan used his wand to create some cool air to make the cart less stifling.

Despite this, when the cart stopped, he was soaked in sweat, as if he had just been fished out of the water, and the same was true for Rawya and Benny.

“Thank goodness … here we are, the Hall of the Gods!” Rawya climbed down from the cart.

Evan followed and saw a platform in front of him similar to the one they had just left, but there were not so many people.

“I still need to move these supplies to our excavation area!” Benny said miserably.

Then, under the control of a goblin, the lid of the cart was closed again with a bang!

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