This time, they might have to go to the Kunlun Glacier after all, to put an end to the nightmare that had haunted Hu Bayi for over a decade. Maybe he'd even get a reward from the system..
Three days later, the westbound train roared across the vast land...
The scenery flashed past the windows of the old train, dreamlike in its beauty.
Hu Ming sat beside the window, gazing outside. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and saw Sa Dipeng, and immediately gave him a frosty look.
"Comrade Sa Dipeng, don't start talking to me about aliens again. My patience is limited."
Hu Ming gave a cold snort. He had no choice but to act this way. That bastard Sa Dipeng was always pestering him about aliens, refusing to let the subject go. He was like a fly buzzing endlessly in his ear.
"Big Brother Hu Ming, I just want to ask one last thing. Are there aliens in Jingjue Ancient City...?"
Hu Ming glared fiercely at Sa Dipeng. That bastard was so clueless he was about to get hit.
"Sa Dipeng, quit bothering my brother, okay? Watch it, or Master Fatty'll beat you up." Fatty was sitting across from Hu Ming. He shouted at Sa Dipeng, who finally shuffled over to the far end of the lower bunk.
It was a six-person sleeper compartment, considered quite luxurious.
"Mr. Hu, could you come over for a moment?" Shirley Yang stood outside the compartment. After glancing at Hu Bayi, she turned and went back to her own compartment.
"Go ahead, Old Hu." Hu Bayi nodded to Hu Ming, then went to Shirley Yang's compartment. Before long, an angry voice rang out, followed by a loud bang as the door slammed shut.
"Mingzi, let's go see what's going on!"
Hu Bayi went to the connection between the train cars and looked outside through the transparent glass set into the door.
His face was dark. He was furious.
Fatty came over first and stopped beside the door. Seeing the icy look on Hu Bayi's face, he paused, then asked with concern, "Old Hu, what's wrong?"
Ever since Hu Bayi had returned from the army, he'd become steady and reserved. Fatty had never seen him this angry before. He'd almost forgotten his brother could get this mad. He'd thought military service had left him without any fire or backbone.
"They want to change course and go to the Kunlun Ice Mountain. They never said a word about it before. Now they're springing it on us halfway through the trip. What do they take us for?" Hu Bayi's icy words gave Fatty goosebumps. It was the first time he'd ever seen Hu Bayi this furious.
He took out a cigarette and handed one over, then lit it for him. Only after that did he venture, "That's what I was thinking. We can go if they pay us more. Just tell them..."
"We're not going!" Hu Bayi roared, nearly shouting himself hoarse. His eyes were bloodshot.
Fatty had yet to say the words "pay us more" when Hu Bayi's roar startled him. He stood there with his mouth half open, at a loss for words. Somewhat bewildered, he shook his long hair away from his ears and took a drag.
"I'm saying, Old Hu, if you don't want to go, then don't. There's no need to get this worked up."
"Old Hu, just talk to us. We're brothers, not enemies."
Fatty complained, but he could tell Hu Bayi must have his reasons. He turned to Hu Ming and said, "Mingzi, you can see Old Hu's in a mood. Why don't you try to talk him down?"
As he spoke, Fatty offered Hu Ming a cigarette. Hu Bayi took a hard drag without saying a word.
"Old Hu, don't take this the wrong way, but whatever's going on, tell us. Getting angry won't solve anything. Come on, talk it out. You'll feel better once you get it off your chest. What happened out there back then? Why do you have nightmares every night?"
At Hu Ming's words, Hu Bayi exhaled a cloud of smoke and took a deep breath.
Some of his anger eased. He looked at Fatty apologetically and said, "Fatty, I raised my voice just now. But a lot happened during my years in the army, and you don't know about it. I didn't dare tell you in my letters. Even after I was discharged, I was ordered to keep it strictly confidential."
Fatty's heart skipped a beat. Had Hu Bayi run into something supernatural?
"It's all right, Old Hu."
Hu Bayi took a deep drag, tossed the cigarette butt to the floor, and ground it under his foot. His fists clenched, then relaxed.
He tried to calm himself, but his face still looked terrible. The memory he'd tried so hard to forget had been stirred up again. Fear and helplessness showed plainly on his face, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Seeing this, Hu Ming said, "Old Hu, take it easy. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'll go ask Yang Xueli why they're changing course."
But Hu Bayi waved him off and said, "Back in 1970, not long after I joined the army, I was sent to the Kunlun Pass in the highlands on a mission. A lot of strange things happened there."
"There are things I still don't think about, or rather, don't dare to think about. Even now, there's no way to explain what happened."
His thoughts drifted back to his time on the Kunlun Glacier!
"One day, my comrade Xiao Luan and I were transporting supplies. The truck was in good shape when we set out, but we had an accident halfway there..."
According to Hu Bayi, he and Xiao Luan had been driving a military truck to deliver supplies. Snow stretched in every direction, and there wasn't a soul around.
Suddenly, something bright blue came hurtling toward them and slammed into the truck's windshield. Xiao Luan, who was driving, panicked and stomped on the brakes.
They stopped and got out to investigate. Xiao Luan spotted a blue ladybug in the snow, about the size of a fingernail. Its whole body looked as if it had been soaked in brilliant blue ink. It was so blue it was almost transparent, and its insides were clearly visible.
Blue flames emanated from the ladybug's body. When it spread its wings, blue fire seemed to flow across them. But it appeared to have been injured in the collision. It struggled in the snow for a long time without managing to take flight.
Neither Hu Bayi nor Xiao Luan recognized the insect. Seeing how brightly blue it was, and how small and pretty, Xiao Luan put it in a glass jar, screwed on the lid, and took it back to the truck.
He planned to show his comrades the little blue thing.
When Xiao Luan started the truck, he discovered it had broken down. Hu Bayi had no choice but to get out and check what was wrong. The high-pressure fuel line had somehow burst for no reason. They had no spare parts, so he could only go to the outpost ahead to ask for help while Xiao Luan waited in the truck.
When Hu Bayi returned with the rescue team a while later, Xiao Luan was nowhere to be found.
In the end, all he saw in a clearing of melted snow was a pile of white ash in the shape of a person.
Hu Bayi was drenched in cold sweat. The white ash on the ground looked just like the remains of someone who'd been burned alive. Not far from it lay a glass jar, the one Xiao Luan had used to hold the blue ladybug. Its lid was open.
The incident was too bizarre. It was etched deep in Hu Bayi's mind. Whether his eyes were open or shut, all he could think of was the blue-flamed insect and Xiao Luan. He believed Xiao Luan's death had something to do with that insect. Had Xiao Luan been burned alive? The thought left him terrified and on edge!
Not long afterward, a mission took Hu Bayi and a squad of soldiers deep into the mountains. They hadn't even made it halfway when a soldier slipped while climbing over a glacier and fell in.
Their squad's motto was that they would never leave a single soldier behind. They took a detour down to rescue him. As soon as they reached the glacier basin, the fallen soldier shouted for them to run.
They saw several blue ladybugs fly out of narrow cracks in the glacier and swarm toward the soldier. The instant they touched him, his whole body burst into flames. Blue fire consumed him. He didn't dare scream, afraid the sound would trigger an avalanche and bury them all.
Unable to bear seeing him suffer, one of the soldiers drew his knife. Weeping, he plunged it into the man's heart. At last, the soldier was free of his pain. Half a minute later, he had been burned to ash.
There was another pile of ash shaped like a person on the ground. The soldier who had used the knife was then attacked by blue ladybugs. He burst into flames in an instant. Biting back his agony, he looked at Hu Bayi and begged him to put an end to it.
Hu Bayi couldn't bear to watch the soldier burn alive, so, fighting back his grief, he drew his combat knife and drove it deep into the man's heart.
But then more blue ladybugs suddenly flew out of the cracks and swarmed toward them. Another soldier was struck by a dozen of them and instantly burned to ash, managing only half a scream. The other soldiers had no choice but to open fire.
But the gunshots only brought more blue ladybugs pouring out of the cracks to attack them.
Their commotion also triggered an avalanche. In the end, Hu Bayi was the only one who survived.
Before you continue