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墨書 Inktalez
At the same time, the Red Indicator Light on the Hatch began to flash. Moments later, the light went out, and the Hatch opened, allowing four warriors to exit in single file. The Hatch closed again, and everything returned to normal.
"Brother Qiang, you give it a try," Liu Squad Leader said to me.
I thought for a moment; it was indeed necessary to familiarize myself with this, or I might falter at a critical moment and end up in danger.
"Alright, I'll give it a shot." As I spoke, I began to turn the handwheel. When the handwheel loosened completely, the Hatch automatically tilted inward under gravity. The door was heavy; I hadn’t expected it to be so weighty. I didn’t pull hard enough and ended up letting the Hatch fall to the ground. Fortunately, it didn’t make much noise, indicating there were protective measures inside.
Imitating the warriors, I turned my back to the Hatch and bent down to fall backward, hitting the back of my head against the hatchway. Luckily, there was a sealing strip at the hatchway; although it hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes, the sound wasn’t loud. The space inside the Sealed Chamber was extremely cramped, with four independent Seats arranged in two opposing rows. The space between the two rows of Seats was so narrow that each person had to spread their legs apart into the other's space. If one faced a lady across from them, it would be quite awkward.
As I rubbed my sore head and observed the facilities within the Sealed Chamber, Liu Squad Leader backed in. "The first one in must sit at the back," he said, pointing to one of the Seats beside me. "That’s Number One Seat; opposite is Number Two. You’re sitting in Number Three, and across from you is Number Four. The first one in sits in Number One."
Seeing his determined gaze, I shifted one seat inward.
Liu Squad Leader lifted and secured the Hatch before pressing a button on it. "The red light outside is on now," he explained. "Every Sealed Chamber must have its indicator light activated when full to alert those outside that this Sealed Chamber is at capacity."
To give me a sense of how cramped this Sealed Chamber was, Liu Squad Leader took a seat directly across from me. Our knees were pressed together between each other’s legs. After sitting down, Liu Squad Leader's first action was to reach up and pull down his Breathing Mask to wear it. At that moment, I felt short of breath and uncomfortable; I quickly pulled down my own Breathing Mask from above and opened the air supply switch before putting it on my face.
He pointed at two toggle switches on the wall at the back of the Sealed Chamber—right next to us—saying, "These two communication switches connect to the Ground Command Center and three other Sealed Chambers." My voice sounded slightly altered through the Breathing Mask, but thankfully it was still clear enough.
I strained to ask, "How long can we maintain oxygen inside?"
"In a full capacity situation with four people, it can last for six hours," he replied. "There are Steel Cables and telephone lines connecting from above the Sealed Chamber to the outside; it's easy to locate the Escape Pod's position. Six hours for rescue is quite sufficient."
I nodded, feeling a mix of curiosity and discomfort in the cramped, sealed space. I gestured to Liu Squad Leader that I wanted to leave. Reluctantly, he replied, "Each of us needs to stay here for over two hours to adapt to this environment, so that if we ever truly need it, we won't react out of fear or other factors."
Liu Squad Leader didn’t physically stop me, but under my insistence, we exited the Sealed Chamber. However, he was adamant about one thing: I needed to master the entry procedure into the pod. Under the watchful gaze of twelve pairs of eyes, I practiced the backward entry countless times. After my head had been bumped enough times that I felt numb, I finally earned Liu Squad Leader's approval. The maneuver was deemed acceptable. "Next, we will practice the collective entry procedure in an emergency situation." Hearing Liu Squad Leader say this nearly pushed me over the edge.
The twelve soldiers and I were scattered across various positions in the Excavation Pit. At Liu Squad Leader's whistle, everyone dropped what they were holding and rushed toward the Escape Pod. The ten-meter-deep Excavation Pit was still filled with soft, fine yellow sand. I scrambled up the public passage of the Escape Pod and saw that two Sealed Chambers had already lit up with red lights. I rolled backward into the nearest Sealed Chamber, and a soldier sitting on the outside Seats helped me close the Hatch. In an instant, I felt a lack of oxygen and pulled down the Breathing Mask from above to put it on. At that moment, a chaotic announcement echoed in my ears.
"All thirteen individuals have entered the Escape Pod in fifteen seconds. Failure. At least one Sealed Chamber will be buried." Although Liu Squad Leader was not in this Sealed Chamber, his voice still penetrated through: "Rehearse again."
This time, personnel were randomly dispersed again, with no overlap from the first positions; it seemed like a real combat drill. Once again, I lagged behind, and coincidentally ended up in the same Sealed Chamber as Liu Squad Leader.
After we emerged, Liu Squad Leader said to me, "During previous drills, I specifically assigned two soldiers to assist Captain Song. While this made things look difficult, it allowed us to meet the time requirements. Do you need assistance?"
Upon hearing this, my expression darkened for the first time. Although I was older than these soldiers by a bit, I was still under thirty years old. My physical condition was my pride; being compared unfavorably to them already irked me, but his words pushed me over the edge. "No need. I can meet the requirements. Again!" I shouted angrily.
My stubbornness finally paid off; before dinner, I successfully met the requirements. Of course, during the drill, I hadn’t run to the farthest point from the Escape Pod. Even so, after dinner, I collapsed onto my bed like a dead dog and fell into a deep sleep. Despite wearing sand-proof covers on my feet, I still ended up with two large blisters.
The next morning, there were a pair of hard-soled high-top Boots by my bedside. I tried them on; they fit perfectly.
Liu Squad Leader and the others were already waiting for me in front of the Test Pit. "Are your shoes suitable?" Liu Squad Leader asked.
"Thank you, they fit well."
I noticed a hint of respect in Liu Squad Leader's eyes and realized that my stubbornness from yesterday had earned their acknowledgment.
As I entered the Excavation Pit, the formal digging work began. The hard-soled Boots made it much easier for me to walk on the sandy ground. The warriors wielded Flat-Head Iron Shovels, scraping the yellow sand from the bottom of the Excavation Pit and gathering it in the center. This action resembled how our Archaeology team members used hand trowels to scrape soil. However, given the vast area, especially with the loose yellow sand, it would be somewhat unrealistic to do this by hand. Their skill was clearly learned and honed during this operation; I couldn't imagine any other fieldwork where such gentle handling of sand would be required.
Two other warriors scooped the gathered yellow sand into a Dump. Once this Dump was full, one warrior would use a Walkie-Talkie to notify the Lifting Center to have the load of yellow sand removed. Meanwhile, another empty Dump would enter the site. The work was orderly and intense.
I patrolled over the sand they had already worked on, using a probe to search for any large artifacts underground.
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