Chapter 1321: s.h.i.+ft
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Just like their name suggested, killer c.o.c.ktails were lethal when they kicked in.
The combined effect of six killer c.o.c.ktails could destroy even the toughest men. Li Du considered Bobby Blodwen as a tough guy, anyway. In any case, the man had crashed on the sofa and slept for a full twenty hours!
They had stayed in an igloo that night. The igloo was pretty decent and much more comfortable than their tents. It also had a better ambiance.
Li Du took a couple of photos to post on social media. His ex-cla.s.smates in China liked his photos and sent him all sorts of positive comments. Everyone had thought that he was on a holiday and had asked him which igloo hotel he had booked.
It was actually nice to stay in the igloo. He had a good night’s sleep. When it was morning and they got up, there was even the ‘Arctic Wake-up Call Service’. Sadly, there was no magnificent starry sky view. Falling asleep under the light of the aurora and stars would be so beautiful!
The next morning, Bobby Blodwen held onto his head as he woke up. He immediately shouted, “Oh s*hit, oh G.o.d! My head is going to explode! D*mn it, who stuffed something in my head? It hurts, it hurts!”
Someone pa.s.sed him a basin of cold water and said, “Wash up first.”
Bobby Blodwen placed his head into the cold water and finally felt better.
Another guy pa.s.sed him a cup of warm tea. He waved his hands and said, “Not gonna drink it, no way, I can’t drink anymore.”
“It’s tea. I brought this top-grade red tea from China. It’s meant to help with hangovers,” Li Du smiled as he spoke.
Bobby Blodwen shook his head to wake himself up. Then he realized that it had been Steve who pa.s.sed him the basin of cold water and Li Du who offered him the tea.
He cleared his throat and pushed the tea away before walking to the bar. He said in a hoa.r.s.e voice, “Hot coffee.”
“Yes, boss,” The bartender said curtly. He looked at Steve and the rest before turning away silently.
Steve smiled. “It’s good that you woke up, Bobby, pal. You can’t imagine how worried I was. Do not engage in a drinking compet.i.tion so carelessly next time. You’re not much of a drinker.”
Bobby Blodwen did not speak, though he was ready to lash out. Who the heck could drink six shots of hard liquor that contained 70% alcohol without pa.s.sing out?
Young Ford said, “Alright, it’s good that he’s fine. We should go.”
“Take care, bro, we gotta make a move first. Thank you for your steak. It was very delicious.”
“Pfft, can I make a suggestion before I leave?” Li Du said. “Can you improve the bedrooms? The aurora is nice, but it would be even nicer if there was also a dark sky, especially with the Milky Way. It would be fantastic if those were to be added!”
Saying that, the group turned to leave.
Bobby Blodwen had just woken up and his mind was not completely in gear. He watched their retreating backs and frowned. “D*mn, my brain cannot think anymore! F*ck, what happened? It seems like something is wrong about this!”
After a short while, he finally remembered. “Hey, didn’t these b*stards want my meteorites? Are they leaving without taking them?”
The bartender spoke up. He said, “Boss, they found the safe and took away some things. I’m not sure about the exact details.”
Hearing that, Bobby Blodwen shuddered.
He did not care anymore that his head was splitting or that his body ached all over. He disregarded his weakened legs and stumbled towards the study as fast as he could. Then, he pulled open the door to the safe for a look. He almost fainted at the sight!
“F*ck! My meteorites! These thieves! My four meteorite pieces! D*mn it, I want to kill them!”
Honk, honk, honk! The engine of the helicopter was started and the propeller spun. The helicopter rose into the sky and flew towards the south, retreating farther and farther away.
Blodwen grabbed a rifle from the hands of one of his subordinates and pointed it at the helicopter. He did his best to fire as many shots as he could in its direction, to no avail. “F*ck you, wh.o.r.esons! This is stealing! This is a robbery! Help me connect with the local police! I must kill them!”
A helicopter and four pieces of meteorite. This was a worthy deal.
Steve caressed one of the meteorites and looked back. He smiled and said, “I really hope that we can be ambushed again by someone. If we can get some meteorites each time it happens, we can go home early.”
Li Du was very keen to know how the meteorites were connected to the Fifth Dimension, but he knew that he should not ask.
If he learned more and became more entwined in the entire matter, he would not be able to dissociate himself later on.
Ever since the start of their Arctic journey, he had felt unhappy. He did not think he would like to partic.i.p.ate in such adventures in the future.
Back on Bolshevik Island, Li Du said, “We’d better leave this place and go to other islands or something. I don’t think Blodwen will let us go that easily.”
“Will he call the police? And arrest us based on charges of stealing and robbery?” Young Ford asked.
Steve said, “That’s possible. However, the police wouldn’t be able to comb through this whole huge frozen island! However, just to be safe, let’s change direction.”
“To another island?”
“No, let’s go to the east of the island and search there. We’ve glimpsed the Blodwens’ search diary. They have not paid much attention to this island. The east is an area they barely looked through,” Steve said,
The search diary and meteorites were kept in the safe. It was a work diary recording Bobby Blodwen’s work on Severnaya Zemlya.
On the southeastern end of Bolshevik Island, according to the notes from the diary, there was a vast tundra region. They had b.u.mped into smuggling gangs there before. The two parties had a poor relations.h.i.+p and they had a skirmish back then.
Having set their goal, they immediately split into two groups turning to the southeast region. First, the helicopter brought one group to check out the routes from above. Then, the other group of people took the heavy-duty SUVs and made their way slowly on the ground.
Li Du and Sophie were on the helicopter. It was much more comfortable than riding an SUV across such terrain. There were tons of b.u.mps and the environment was harsh. Sitting in the car for a full day would make their bones ache.
Li Du and young Ford each led a group. He led the bodyguards’ team while young Ford took charge of Hank and the rest of the meteorite hunters.
The helicopter was speedy. They covered a distance of two hundred kilometers in less than forty minutes.
It would be much slower if they traveled in the car. There were no proper roads on the islands and the terrain was rugged. Travelling in the car would not be much faster than walking on foot. A journey of two hundred kilometers would take at least two to three days.
The helicopter brought them to the west side of the area. A flat stretch of tundra appeared before them.
From the top, they could observe that the tundra covered an area of several dozen square kilometers, but the vegetation was spa.r.s.e. Li Du raised his binoculars and looked down carefully. He realized that the place looked as if it had been poached recently. There were wheel tracks and rough pathways crisscrossing the area.
The pilot picked an empty plot to land. Two old Soviet-style metal pickup trucks b.u.mped over and Li Du signaled for Brother Wolf to hide their firearms. Then he gestured for the men to check out the situation ahead.
Like a savage bison, the pickup truck rushed directly to the helicopter. Li Du was stunned. Then he watched as the pickup truck slammed headlong into the helicopter!