Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As the screaming was so loud, the people from the surrounding campsites walked out of their tents to check out what was happening.
As the soundproofing of the tents was very poor, most people would wear earplugs when they camped outdoors. Li Du was also wearing them, and their ability to block out the noise was superior.
Li Du had been pushed awake by someone. He opened his eyes, blinked and yawned. “What happened? Is it morning already?”
“No, it’s that the animals attacked some men. Some of them are crying in pain outside.”
Hearing that, Li Du immediately made his way out. D*mnit, he had been defending himself against trouble from outsiders, but it was most difficult to stop his own animals from making trouble. Those animals have stirred up trouble for him again!
As someone might have been hurt, they would have to switch on the lights. Besides, at that timing, no one was admiring the galaxy anymore. It was already the middle of the night and everyone had long gone to bed. Hence, it would be no problem turning on the lights.
When the lights had been switched on, the entire campsite became bright as if flooded by daylight.
Seeing the young men who were groaning on the ground and the telescope that had fallen down, Li Du was no longer anxious. He quickly deduced what had happened.
Needless to say, those scumbags have come here to steal the telescopes, but Ah Meow taught them a lesson.
Sophie shouted, “Come back, all of you!”
The little animals saw that there were now many people and understood that there would be no opportunity for them to strike further. It was fortunate that they had had so much fun already. Hence, they hopped and jumped over to Sophie’s side.
There was only one exception: Ah Meng was still clawing onto Grande’s thigh and biting at it relentlessly.
Grande was frightened and in pain. He screamed as he rolled on the ground, “Ah, what’s this? Help me! Quick, save me! Save me!”
Some people thought that he had really been attacked by wild animals and started to pick up baseball bats or other defensive weapons chase Ah Meng away. However, because Grande suddenly struggled hard and moved, the bats did not strike Ah Meng, but hit him a couple of times instead.
“Poor man,” one lady said sympathetically. “Hope that this animal doesn’t have rabies.”
“What is this thing? Where did it come from? Haven’t we already chased off all the wild beasts from our campsite?”
“This is a honey badger. However, they are only found in Africa. Why would it be here? Is this a pet?”
Li Du walked over and reached out to pull Ah Meng back.
Ah Meng refused to let go. Someone had kicked him, and he was now full of vengeance. Either you kill me or I’ll kill you! There’s no other way out of this!
Sophie took out a bottle of honey and when Ah Meng caught a whiff of the scent, it finally let go. Well, if someone is willing to offer honey, that could be another way out of this.
Someone had called the police. In America, animals attacking humans was considered a serious security issue.
When the police arrived, some of the youths picked themselves up and wanted to run off. Grande endured the pain and shouted, “Why run, we are the victims!”
Li Du pointed at the telescope, which was lying on the ground. “You guys are victims?”
Brother Wolf showed the police officers a video recording. It was the one he had captured using the infrared vision device. The made-in-US device was very advanced and had many functions, including recording.
Now that there was clear evidence, the youths started to tell the truth as they were frightened. They revealed that they had wanted to steal the telescope but had been attacked by the animals.
As the small town had prepared for incidents like this, the local doctor was present at the campsite. The doctor and nurse rushed over to treat the young men’s wounds before they were brought to the police station.
Li Du was too lazy to stoop to the level of those youths and merely complied with the procedures to sue them for stealing. He chose to stay on at the camp to join in the rest of the gathering.
Although the gathering was officially held over two days, it would stretch for a day or two. Li Du was planning to stay until 14 February before he would begin his journey back to Phoenix.
Hans had sold off the portrait of the prince. His idea had been very clever. This painting fetched a million dollars for them.
Like the painting verification master, Logan Stanley, had mentioned, Spoilum’s paintings could sell for millions. However, Logan had made that comment with the assumption that the painting would be sold at an auction. As it had been sold through private channels at that price, it was already considered a pretty impressive feat.
In the second half of February, Hans managed to sell off another three paintings. The prices of those three were slightly lower. They were collectively sold for 2,200,000 US dollars.
As for the telescopes, Li Du did not intend to sell them. He wanted to keep them for himself. Observing the stars was something that he felt was very interesting.
As February ended and March began, spring was in full bloom. They started to get ready for their trip to Siberia.
Siberia was a vast area of North Asia, stretching from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Chukchi Peninsula in the east, and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the mountains in the north-central part of Kazakhstan in the southwest and the Mongolian and Stanovoy Range in the south. Siberia spanned across an impressive 13 million square kilometers.
Li Du was going to accompany Luo Qun to search for the person who murdered her family. It was definitely going to be a long journey. After all, it was difficult to look for someone in a region as vast as Siberia.
Fortunately, Luo Qun had taken advantage of the connections she had amassed during her stint as a police officer. She had been doing some checks and found that Jonas Malone was indeed somewhere in Siberia. He was doing work related to excavating mammoth ivory.
Humans understood mammoths well. They were the distant cousins of elephants, but bigger-sized and stronger. They had been completely extinct for more than 3500 years.
These animals had survived on earth for three to four hundred thousand years. They could have gone on to become one of the animals that humans could domesticate and interact with. However, they went into extinction when civilizations first kicked in.
In ancient times, the mammoths lived in wide range areas and there were many different species. They had been named after the place where they were first discovered. Some of those species included Columbian mammoth, Romanian mammoth, North American gnome mammoth, Wrangel mammoth, African mammoth, southern mammoth, Sardinian mammoth and so on.
However, few of those mammoths had been successfully preserved. They were named after the wreckage left behind.
Siberia was an exception. From the prehistoric era, it had been a cold and deserted area. When mammoths died, they would be frozen in the soil and were often well-preserved thanks to unique geological activities or some other reasons.
Hence, a new profession was born in Siberia. Those people worked like meteorite hunters but could be defined as ivory hunters. There were many people who had become rich from excavating mammoth ivory.
Li Du had a map of the mammoth ivory locations. He was planning to become a mammoth ivory hunter himself during his trip in Siberia.
In March, Steve waited for them in Alaska so they could meet up. Then they flew towards Russia across the Bering Strait.
Other than its southwestern area, Siberia was almost entirely a part of Russia. Based on its terrain, the vast region could be divided into three parts: the Western Siberian Plain, the Central Siberian Plateau, and the Eastern Siberian Mountains.
Li Du’s destination was the Central Siberian Plateau, where the weather was cold and the environment harsh. There were few people around there, but in the past, many mammoths had roamed in the area. Most of the mammoth ivory that ended up in the market had been found there.
Of course, many mammoths also used to live in the West Siberia Plains. However, the weather there was warmer and hence, the environment was not ideal for preserving mammoth remains.
Although Luo Qun had resigned from the police force, she had not been idling around. She had been busy checking up on Jonas Malone and located him to be somewhere near the highlands of Mid-west Siberia.
