Roughly several minutes had passed, and Oredell still patiently waited for his familiar acquaintances.
Instantly unstimulated, Oredell leaned against the staircase handrails and enjoyed the whispering sensation of the breeze blowing through his hair.
This caused him to unconsciously close his eyes and let the warming light from high above mingle with the cooling chill on his skin.
However, despite the calming atmosphere around him, Oredell felt two lingering daggers instinctively sink into his face and soul, almost as if the very sun decided to come alive and cast a judgmental gaze upon him.
Opening his eyes cautiously, Oredell followed that cold gaze only to be met by a silent Yong, who parsed his every movement and stood like a statue beside him, as if waiting to enter the world of the living.
Feeling uncomfortable under such an intense gaze, Oredell questioned in a level tone, "...Yong. Do you need something?"
"...."
Yong continued to stare down at him for a few moments and dramatically closed his eyes.
"Oredell... Where are those two individuals you mentioned earlier? You know, the ones who were supposed to join our group?"
Oredell tilted his head upward as if he was in deep thought and eventually shrugged his shoulders.
"...Well, I am a bit surprised we haven't encountered them yet, but there is no need to panic for the time being... After all, they only have one way of access into the only main entrance of the field site; therefore, we will eventually meet them as they pass by leading staircases, and we can link up in the internal complex for the complete tour trip. The moment they enter my sight, I will notice you, and we can swiftly ambush them..."
Oredell explained confidently with a tone of certainty. However, Yong's lips instinctively twitched as if he was prepared to berate, but he swiftly stopped the urge forcibly.
With crafted patience on his features, he pointed behind himself. "Oredell. There is no one here."
"Huh?"
Oredell opened his eyes fully in mid-surprise and hesitantly followed Yong's finger, scanning reluctantly across the entire parking section, which was devoid of any loitering students, with only some professors questioningly watching them closely.
*Cough*
Oredell cleared his throat and straightened his posture quickly.
"Oh, I see... That's why we haven't met them yet. Makes sense."
He straightened his back and looked over the parking lot one last time.
'Honestly, I expected Aurelia to be absent, but Tanaka as well? I didn't know he was the type to ditch others who he himself considered to be friends... However, judging by his character and sincerity, he didn't seem like the type to do this intentionally. Perhaps we were just too indecisive, and they got swept away by some rogue stragglers. Maybe I was being overly optimistic for a guy I met yesterday...'
Breaking away from his thoughts, Oredell side-glanced at Yong's back, but he promptly returned his gaze.
"What's on your mind?" Yong asked questioningly.
"It's time to investigate those missing individuals. If we are fortunate, we could find them along the way there. If not, we will simply hunt for some stragglers who are desperate to join a group before our final expedition into the undergrounds."
"Risking points for uncertainty had better be worth my patience."
'...Weren't you the one who asked to join our group since you didn't have anyone to go to? We're all loners here, bunny.' Oredell secretly shook his head.
Yong turned himself and strolled up the stairs decisively. Oredell reluctantly followed closely behind and rubbed off his lingering stiffness.
'...Where did those two bottom-of-the-barrel wander off to? And why do I feel like a distressed parent looking for their children?'
Oredell lamented to himself while picking his information card from his left pocket. The information card was simply designed with numerous map icons and paragraphs of the vast number of facilities surrounding the site.
It even warned areas that were restricted and heavily guarded for those without eligible clearance.
The nearest point near Oredell and Yong was a towering shopping mall on the far left and a grand museum on the far right.
With a hurried pace, they breached the internal complex of the entire site and were visibly greeted by many architectural marvels and tourist attractions.
Yong slowed his steps and looked around with an amazed expression. Oredell reluctantly removed his eyes from the surrounding sights and firmly looked around for any recognizable silhouettes in the vast pool of excited students.
Despite his best efforts, it was almost impossible to find them with just a single glance in the dispersed crowd. Yong took a deep breath and pointed to an area deep in the complex.
"Let's not waste time. We will adventure deep into the main facilities of the site and station ourselves until we find them," Yong advised and aimed to take an efficient lead.
However, Oredell mildly shook his head in disagreement and pointed in another direction with his eyes.
"No need to strain ourselves. I believe we need to go to the museum first and investigate around that area."
"Could you elaborate?" Yong looked at him with curiosity.
"Well, if you can have some faith and trust in me, we will find our missing members in a short amount of time."
Yong could only stare at him for a few moments and slowly placed his information card back in his pocket.
"I don't have to trust you; I will only need to trust my intuition. Right, lead the way as usual but I will remind you we cannot afford to lag any further before any important announcements begin."
"....I understand your concern. Just follow me." Oredell straightened his back and led Yong to the so-called grand museum. They went through a neat network of pathways that were not the easiest to navigate for any first-timer, but with great vigilance, Oredell finally found a clear path that didn't demand too many detours and memorized most of the main directions. Yong was secretly impressed by Oredell's navigation skills.
"This entire complex is so reminiscent of the National University back in the city. I wonder if both departments are heavily managed by the same construction contractors?" Oredell mumbled thoughtfully.
Yong acknowledged with a fleeting nod and informally informed him.
"The National University of Nigeria and the Proto-Civilisation Site were actually built at the same time, and most articles believe they were made at approximately 8.5 billion dollars in construction costs—"
"Wait a minute. Where did you get that information? What are your credible sources?"
"...Let me start over then. If you were attentive during our lectures, you would know that they give out official articles and magazines during our lounge breaks, so if you ask nicely to your dormitory receptionist, they will give it to you for free. Not that it actually cost anything..."
"Oh, that's... Good to know. Please continue." Oredell turned his focus away sheepishly.
"Regardless... I should note that most of the projects surrounding the Nigerian Archaeology Studies and National Academic Institutions were significantly reformed by the leading World Unions and Private Infrastructure Corporations through humanitarian efforts and substantial investments. Therefore, the Nigerian Government was given enough funding and resources to remodel most of their prominent academic centers to reach the global influx of foreign investors and researchers. Although some may argue that their tourist campaigns were the backbone of the recent boom in their economy."
"You're right. The world now has its sights on Africa, and it seems Nigeria is at the heart of it, but it's unfortunate that most students don't even consider learning such significant hidden details. Anyway, putting our scholarly views aside, I am generally impressed by your attentiveness to study more than the average student..." Oredell complimented and watched the various students roaming around the surrounding complexes.
Yong simply shook his head and slightly chuckled. "...You don't seem to really react to any of my words, so I should potentially presume you already knew this information and you are just pretending to be a pedestrian? In a way, I should ask if you are complimenting yourself or me?"
'A pedestrian? Ouch. This is the second time this week....'
Oredell crafted a thoughtful expression and nonchalantly shrugged.
"You can say both."
Yong could shake his head in amusement.
"I thought so."
----Thirty minutes by the estimate had passed when Oredell and Yong eventually reached the trailblazing museum along the edge of the archaeological area.
Yong scanned the building to observe only a handful of students roaming around its proximity. Taking a bottle of water from his bag, he took a deep, tentative sip to quench his thirst.
Oredell looked at the grand museum in anticipation before he heard Yong. "All right. We have finally reached it. What's your next move from here? Is one of your companions in the building or around it?"
"If I am wrong like a total idiot at reading people, they should be inside the building if their claim of being historians is true... keep following me and let's hope we find them inside."
Oredell strolled casually inside the building and climbed the stairs at a measured pace. Yong sighed audibly and paced himself behind.
They entered the main long entrance and were quickly blinded by the inner light radiating inside.
Just before Oredell could recover, he barely saw silhouettes of middle-aged researchers all gathering near a glass-closed archaeological item.
However, when Oredell finally came to, he could faintly see a distant lone statue reading a book in a small library illuminated by golden lights at the center of the museum.