Bob was stunned for a moment when he heard what Miterte said, and then exclaimed in shock, "Does that mean your grandfather...?"
"That's right," Miterte nodded. "That was a long time ago. My grandfather led an expedition deep into the Sahara Desert to search for a lost ancient civilization. It was a very ancient civilization, rumored to have been built by demons, but it was buried by sand overnight and disappeared into the river of history."
Bob listened intently and, as if possessed, asked, "Did you find it in the end?"
"Yes," Miterte said. "My grandfather and his expedition team endured all sorts of hardships and finally found the lost civilization. It's a pity, though, that it wasn't the birthplace of that ancient civilization, but merely a branch. Even so, the amount of treasure buried there drove everyone mad."
The story was still good up to this point. The brave expedition team endured hardships and finally reached the ruins of the ancient civilization they were looking for. It was not only a great discovery but also a huge fortune. However, the main part of the story was just beginning.
"After the expedition returned home with enough treasure to last them lifetimes, a terrifying thing happened. All members of the expedition were cursed and soon died bizarrely, one after another."
Upon hearing this, Bob couldn't help but interject, "Then your grandfather...?"
Miterte wasn't angry at Bob's interruption; he sighed helplessly and said, "My grandfather touched a strange stone eye in the ruins, so he didn't die like the other members. But the curse didn't disappear; it became even more malevolent."
As he spoke, Miterte pulled up his shirt, revealing a palm-sized red mark on the left side of his abdomen. Even more terrifying, the mark was shaped like a human eye.
"Do you see? This is the Eye of the Curse. Starting from my grandfather, everyone in the family is born with such a red mark, and it grows larger with age, until they die bizarrely at fifty, without exception."
Bob tentatively said, "Now that technology is so advanced, have you tried to treat it with modern medicine? Perhaps it's some kind of genetic mutation?"
Miterte shook his head helplessly. "We've tried everything. Nothing worked."
Miterte used his cane to pull aside the curtain beside him. It was covered with photos of ancient civilizations and demonic writings. Some of these photos were from documents, while others were actual images. They filled the entire wall, and all of them pointed to the magic disk that Bob had brought.
"From my grandfather to my father, and then to me, we have all been searching for a cure. And I have always believed that the way to cure myself and my family lies on that lost continent you spoke of."
After hearing Miterte's long explanation, Bob finally realized, "You mean, you're going to support my expedition?"
"Of course, why not? This is your chance to fulfill your dream, and for me, it's the only chance for my family to be redeemed."
By now, Bob was completely excited and spoke incoherently.
"Wait, wait, wait. To go to the lost continent, we need a lot of preparation. We need a team, engineers, and geologists..."
"I have all of that prepared."
Miterte took out a stack of resumes from a drawer and placed them on the table. "Morganton, expert in geology and excavation. This guy knows soil like the back of his hand. Tarenivenik, explosives expert, dug out of the Turk Prison. Lamirez Odri, don't be fooled by her age; she's touched more engines than both of us combined. Broldo, an experienced field doctor who has pulled many wounded soldiers back from the brink of death, and so on. Now, we just need a specialist in glyphs."
Listening to Miterte's words and looking at the stack of resumes piled like a small mountain on the table, Bob slumped back into his chair, taking deep breaths to prevent his brain from suffocating.
"Is this for real this time?"
Despite Bob's constant clamor about expeditions, he was still a novice with no real experience. His only advantage was that he could understand the writings on the magic disk and the disk itself.
"Of course. Now let's complete the final step: activate it and complete the last piece of the puzzle for our journey to the lost continent."
With that, Miterte took out a small box and placed it behind the disk.
Bob held the disk in his hands. As soon as the small box touched the disk, it magnetically adhered to it as if summoned.
The next moment, the disk began to rotate and expand in all directions, and then buildings slowly rose from within.
"What is this!?"
Shocked, Bob fumbled, and the disk dropped to the ground.
The instant the disk left Bob's hands, it retracted, and all the buildings returned to its interior, as if nothing had happened.
"Don't be so agitated, Mr. Bob."
Miterte bent down, picked up the disk, and handed it back to Bob. "This disk is our only hope of reaching the lost continent. It's like a map; with it, we can find the gateway to the lost continent."
"But, but why me? It didn't react when you held it?"
"It's simple. The disk can only be used by those with a pure heart, and you are that pure person."
"Me? Pure-hearted? You must be... joking."
Miterte frowned, clearly not wanting to discuss the matter further. He changed the subject, saying, "Alright, now let's study the route to the lost continent."
Looking at the map displayed by the magic disk, Miterte's brow furrowed slightly.
Although the magic disk had been activated with Bob's assistance, revealing the route map to the lost continent, it was still far from enough.
The magic disk only provided a vague direction. There was no specific distance indicated between each landmark building, and one could only estimate based on the relative lengths of the lines.
This was not the most troublesome issue. The most troublesome thing was that more than ninety percent of the route was by water, and even more crucially, they had to traverse the waters inhabited by the Trenchers, and finally pass through the Gate of Hell, guarded by giant lobster monsters, to reach the entrance of the lost continent.
Don't ask how they knew. It was all clearly marked on the map. The ugly-looking merman monsters were the Trenchers. Behind them was a giant lobster several times larger than the fish-monsters. As for the so-called Gate of Hell, it was a long underwater fissure.