Chapter 1318: Igloo
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
From Steve and Elson’s words, Li Du knew that Bobby Blodwen had another brother who seemed to be somebody important.
Li Du thought that brother was on the northernmost island as well, but he wasn’t. Bobby Blodwen was in charge of the northern island. However, he did not have many bodyguards; there were only about 20 of them.
The helicopter landed, and the bodyguards who got a warning in advance came forward. There were only four or five people, and they were soon knocked down by Li Du and his men.
When Blodwen got off the plane, several bodyguards rushed up with serious faces.
Steve patted Blodwen on the shoulder as they stood before the group and said, “Tell them not to get so worked up.”
“We are friends, not enemies,” Blodwen said with a feeble wave.
The bodyguards knew what he had been doing the other day and saw him being escorted back. The phone conversations, too, told them what was going on. However, they were just employees, and since the boss gave the order, they had to carry it out.
After they descended from the helicopter, they moved to snowmobiles, and the group headed for Blodwen’s camp.
Brother Wolf arranged for Madman, Big Ivan, and some others to stay behind to guard the helicopter. As they occupied the helicopter, it would be extremely difficult for Blodwen to take it back.
On the way, Steve asked Blodwen, “How much fuel do you have for the helicopter? Ask someone to refill the tank and bring us some more to take on the road.”
Maybe because he was on his turf again, Blodwen regained some confidence. He frowned and said, “The helicopter does not belong to my family. We borrowed it in Russia. You can’t take it away.”
Steve laughed. “I’m borrowing it, too. Don’t worry, I don’t want to keep your helicopter. I just need it for a while.”
Blodwen shook his head firmly. “I’m sorry, this is im…”
Steve flashed his pistol at him, and Blodwen stiffened his neck and said, “Don’t think I’m a chicken, man. If you think that scares me, you are underestimating me!”
Shrugging, Steve put away his gun and said, “Well, I guess I used the wrong approach!”
He pulled out a bag of grayish dried mushrooms, the same Fly Amanita they had seized from Blodwen. Steve shook the bag and said, “Would you like to have some of this? Then I can collect your urine and pour it on you. I suppose you’d be glad to lend me a chopper in the middle of a hallucination.”
Blodwen’s face grew pale. “Don’t you dare!”
Steve opened the bag, and Blodwen said, “Okay, fine, I’ll lend you the helicopter, but only for a week!”
“Deal!” Steve smiled with satisfaction.
Blodwen was not afraid of a gun because he knew no one would actually dare to shoot him, but he was afraid of the Fly Amanita that Steve and the Ford brothers might use against him.
The snowmobile team made their way, and soon, led by bodyguards, they approached a building.
If there had not been someone leading the way, Li Du thought he wouldn’t have noticed Blodwen’s camp, which was made of ice houses, similar to Eskimo igloos. The ice houses were larger than the typical Eskimo igloo. They were made of ice blocks, and the tallest of them looked the two-story square houses in Li Du’s hometown.
The igloos were perched on ice caps. When they pulled up to the building, Blodwen pointed ahead. “This is my place. Come in and grab a drink.”
Li Du looked at the igloo in front of him. It was quite splendid and magnificent. In front, there were near-transparent ice sculptures of tigers resting on their bellies with their front paws stretched forward.
Surprised, Li Du said, “Master Blodwen, you seem to know a lot about Chinese culture.”
“What do you mean?” said Blodwen.
Li Du pointed to the ice tigers and said, “G.o.ds and beasts are guarding the gate. Don’t tell me that this is a British influence.”
Blodwen’s mouth twitched as he patted the heads of the two tigers, lighting them up with a golden glow. “These are front-door lamps.” He started proudly showing them around his icy abode.
Outside, the igloo was white, but inside it was a world of color. After entering through the door, they found themselves in a hall with a thick, fluffy carpet spread on the ground. Animal hides hung on the walls all around, mitigating the chill of the ice blocks so that there hardly was a sense of chill indoors.
The living room was lavishly furnished, and the walls were inlaid with light-emitting diodes or lamps that sparkled in various colors when lit.
Blodwen took a high chair, put a cus.h.i.+on on it, and said, “Make yourselves at home.”
Half of the hall was in the style of a small bar, with a freezer, ice shelf, ice bucket, a table, and some drinks on it. Everything was perfectly comfortable despite the freezing temperatures outside.
When they had all sat down, the dim light came on, the dome above shone brightly, and green lights of varying brightness flickered across the ice ceiling like an aurora.
When the bartender came out, Blodwen patted the table and asked, “What would you like to drink?”
Steve nodded to Li Du, indicating him to choose first.
Li Du snapped his fingers and said, “Whatever.”
Blodwen laughed at his words and said, “Give him a stiff killer.”
It was a very strong c.o.c.ktail, made with one part vodka, one part gin, one part rum, and three parts Bacardi 151, which contained 70 proof alcohol. No doubt, Blodwen wanted to see him make a fool of himself, but Li Du did not care.
This c.o.c.ktail was beautifully mixed, with a rich, pure, pale gold color in the sparkling clear gla.s.s. The drink swirled, creating white bubbles.
Li Du asked, “Don’t I get some ice?”
“When you get the gla.s.s, you’ll know it doesn’t need ice,” laughed Blodwen.
Li Du touched the gla.s.s and found that it was cold and wet. He realized it was carved out of an ice cube. He swirled his gla.s.s before drinking, and Blodwen, thinking he was afraid, said, “Hey, it’s best to drink it right away.” He winked at the bartender as he spoke.
The bartender responded, “Mr. Blodwen, the freshly mixed killer is too strong. It’s better to stop for a moment and let the ice chill temper it.”
Blodwen made a show of recalling something and said, “Oh, oh, I’m sorry, I forgot that. You Chinese don’t drink as much as the Russians, so you’d better drink it slowly.”
Li Du laughed. Blodwen’s acting was very poor, and it was obvious he deliberately wanted to embarra.s.s Li Du. Therefore, he put down his gla.s.s and said, “Yes, it’s too strong. I’ll have a beer instead.”