Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
On the second day of March, Li Du met up with Luo Qun.
Luo Qun had packed lightly and was only carrying a backpack. It seemed like she was planning to travel light.
On the other hand, Li Du’s side was much more encumbered. He brought along Godzilla, Lu Guan, Brother Wolf, Big Ivan, and his eight other bodyguards. These people, together with Sophie, could form a team on their own.
Luo Qun was surprised. “You are bringing so many people along?”
Li Du said impatiently, “You think I want to? Do you know how much money I need to pay to include so many people? However, if I don’t bring more people along, how are we going to deal with the dangers of Siberia? Who knows what’s waiting for us there?”
Luo Qun grew silent, and when they were boarding the plane, she said sincerely, “Thank you, Old Li, I owe you this time around.”
Seeing that that lady was bowing down to him, Li Du was pleased. He said, “Don’t worry about it. You just have to follow my instructions on our trip to Siberia.”
Luo Qun was not happy with that. She patted her backpack and said, “I’ve prepared a lot of information…”
“However, it’s not going to be of much use,” Li Du interrupted. “You just have to listen to me. Listen, Luo Qun, I’m bringing so many people to help you. This is no simple matter, so we have to work together.”
Luo Qun was too rash and Li Du was afraid that she would take action behind his back and cause some sort of trouble.
As for the information that Luo Qun had gathered, Li Du did not feel that it would be of much use. That was because he had already got Steve to prepare the ground.
They were greeted with a gust of cold wind as they alighted from their plane that landed in Juneau, Alaska.
In Phoenix, it was already summer. However, in Alaska, it was still winter. The temperature was very low and when the wind blew, it felt like it was slapping them hard.
Of course, that drastic feeling` could also be attributed to the fact that they had suddenly changed their environment. The temperature in Juneau City had currently dipped to around zero degrees Celsius. In the afternoon, it could go up to four or five degrees and would not be considered very cold.
Li Du straightened his clothes and saw Steve and his party waiting for them at the airport.
There were also quite a number of people on Steve’s team. Other than the Ford brothers and Grandpa Elson, there were more than twenty others. The total number was similar to Li Du’s team.
They had yet to include the meteorite hunters that they had engaged. The hunters had headed north before them. Some of the Nenets had stayed behind, as they were familiar with Siberia. These people, who would serve as their guides, were waiting for the group in Siberia.
They stopped briefly in Juneau City to replenish some of their equipment before they got ready to set off.
Luo Qun was impatient while Steve maintained his calm. He said, “We’ve gotta wait for a few more people, they are VIPs.”
Li Du was worried that Luo Quo would torment herself as she had nothing to do. Hence, he pushed the information files that Steve had gathered to her. “Check it out yourself,” he said to her.
Luo Quo flipped open one photo album and saw that the first photo featured a black man. He looked to be in his early thirties. He was tall and thin, had thick lips and a tattoo darker than his skin.
Seeing that picture, Luo Qun’s eyes immediately narrowed. She said, “Jonas Malone!”
That was one of the murderers who had killed her parents and brother. She continued to flip the album’s pages and saw many more photos that followed. They all featured Jonas Malone and were photos of him from thirty to forty-odd years old.
Li Du said, “These are the photos that I asked people to help me obtain. They have been checking this man’s background and noticed that he is very cautious. Ever since he arrived in Siberia, he has joined one of the mammoth ivory hunter teams and kept a low profile. He is rarely seen in cities and mostly hangs around remote areas.”
Luo Qun gritted her teeth and said, “This f*ggot. I will bring his crimes to light!”
Li Du had not been bored as he waited. Sophie and he went around Juneau City.
Juneau City was the capital of Alaska. In the administrative division, Juneau was a county, but there was only one city in the county – that is, Juneau itself. Hence, the administrative boundaries of the two entities were completely overlapping, which was rare in the United States.
Although the city spanned across eight thousand square kilometers, its population fell short of four hundred thousand. Hence, it was considered to have a rather low population for its size.
Naturally, as the population was low, the city would not be well developed. However, as it was located in a unique area, it still had certain attractions. After exploring it for two days, Li Du and Sophie widened their general knowledge.
Juneau had a robust fishing trade. For the past two days, they had had delicious salmon with every meal.
Besides salmon, Juneau City also produced furs from sea otters, arctic foxes, red foxes, Arctic seals, and other animals. Li Du had wanted to buy Sophie some beautiful fur coats but she had refused firmly.
“If nobody buys them, nobody would hunt those poor animals. We should protect the environment.”
They stayed for another two days in Juneau City before the people Steve had been waiting for finally arrived.
To Li Du’s surprise, those were two people that he was familiar with – Tang Chaoyang and Song Biaozi.
The two of them were wearing windbreakers. Tang Chaoyang was carrying a backpack, while Song Biaozi was carrying two, one on his back and another on his front. Song Biaozi was also carrying another bag in his hand while kicking the wheels of his suitcase to move it.
Li Du was stunned to see the two of them.
As they met, Tang Chaoyang greeted Li Du enthusiastically. “Hey, brother Li, it’s been a while. How have you been? Are you going to the Arctic too? That’s great, we can have a chat.”
Li Du greeted him and Song Biaozi. Song Biaozi said as he panted with exertion, “Don’t talk to me. Don’t talk to me, people. I can’t catch my breath, next thing I know I’ll have a bag between my teeth.”
Tang Chaoyang said, “But nobody’s talking more than you.”
Song Biaozi shot him an angry look and Tang Chaoyang shrugged. Tang Chaoyang pretended that nothing had happened and slipped away.
Now that the two of them had arrived, the party could set off.
Their mode of transportation would be through a civil aviation plane. Either Steve or the Ford brothers had booked the aircraft, which was reserved for their party.
As the plane flew from east to west, Steve sighed and said, “We are now tracking the path that our ancestors have traveled. I hope that we will have good luck and discover the traces left by our ancestors.”
The ancestral path that he was referring to was traveling to North America from Siberia via the Bering Strait.
Before the Stone Age, Siberia had already been inhabited. The climate was cold during the last ice age, and hence the water level was relatively low.
The current Bering Strait had a land bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska. The ancestors of the Native Americans had arrived in Alaska from Siberia by crossing that land bridge.
Hearing his words, Song Biaozi pouted and said, “Our ancestors did not walk this path.”
Although his words were rude, Steve was not offended and only laughed after hearing him.
Tang Chaoyang glared at Song Biaozi and said, “Didn’t you say you can’t speak with a bag hanging from your mouth?”
“I bought a bag last year,” Song Biaozi replied.
Sophie was confused and she asked, “What does that mean?”
Li Du pondered for a moment and said awkwardly, “Nothing, Sophie. It’s a dialect form. Difficult to explain.”
Tang Chaoyang ignored him. He took out an old notebook and frowned as he read it.
Li Du peered over and was shocked.
